Vedic Chanting

The precious process of Vedic chanting or ‘Adhyayanam’ is preserved till this very day through a long lineage of oral transmission between teacher and student. For much of its history it was reserved to the male orthodox community of India. However, in the late part of the twenty first century, the legendary master T Krishnamacharya threw open the doors of Vedic chanting to everyone with a strong belief that anyone who is sincerely interested must benefit from it. Thanks to him this unique art has become accessible to many ardent practitioners engaged in a spiritual journey.
Brahma is understood to be the source and Creator of all beings. He is the Vedas personified and is also known as the ‘Lord of speech and sound’. Sabda Brahma is a Vedic Chanting intensive that will include chants from the Brahmanandavalli section of the Taittiriya Upanisad, Narayana Suktam, etc. It provides chant practitioners and teachers a platform for continuous education and gain deeper knowledge in Vedic Chanting. Participants of this two week program will be taught by senior and experienced faculty. The Gayatri mantra is considered to be the crystallization of the entire Vedic compendium of hymns. It is one of the central mantra-s in any Vedic ritual and is believed to be one of the most potent of the Vedic mantra.

Vedic Chanting is the correct and only method of chanting the Vedas—the repositories of ancient Indian texts and scriptures. Transmitted orally from teacher to student over millennia, the chanting of the Vedas is bound by strict rules that have remained unchanged since the beginning.

It is in this strict, unbroken line of transmission that can potentially take the chanter to the core of his or her being and towards the source of this ancient wisdom. The wisdom does not lie alone in the word or the content alone but in the combination of thought and experience. This experience lies in mindfully attending on both the meaning and the prescribed method of chanting: the measure, the cadence, the correct enunciation, the grammatical formation and most importantly the subtle modulation of breath that is integral to it. In fact Vedic chanting is in itself a complete mode of pranayama and is said to change the physical chemistry of the body.

Vedic Chanting for Children

Considering that children have short attention span and are unable to attend upon the subtleties of breath required in pranayama, Vedic chanting is particularly suitable for children; in fact being the traditional mode of education it was/is intended and designed specially for children. Precise and highly prescribed methods of chanting mantras modulate and challenge the breath plus strengthen the body, spine and posture; the various manners of chanting (samhita, pada, krama, jata, and ghanam) involve various permutations and combinations of sound patterns which are meant to serve as “mental gymnastics” and therefore geared to sharpen the mind and improve memory. Above all Vedic chanting equips the child for life with the precise skill and ability to evoke the magical circle of mantra at will.

 

 

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