Well that was an experience. This morning I did my first session of Samadhi Mandir chanting, or chanting done in a mausoleum to aid concentration. There are 3 Mandirs in the Ashram, each containing the remains of Swami Ramdas, Mother Krishnabai and Swami Satchidananda respectively. Chanting sessions alternate between men, women and Mandirs. For 1 day devotees will circumambulate the tomb and chant in the Swami Ramdas Mandir, the next day in the Mother Krishnabai Mandir, and finally in the Swami Satchidananda Mandir before the cycle repeats again. Every half hour the sexes change over, not literally, because that would be very strange indeed. Men chant and circumambulate for half an hour, then women, then men, then women and so on all day from 6am to 6pm.
There were only a handful of men in my first session. All of them, with the exception of the lead chanter, were totally tone deaf. A short while into the session we were joined by an enthusiastic drummer who was also tone deaf and couldn’t keep time to save his life. He was drumming at roughly triple speed on all the wrong accents. Another drummer entered the Mandir to join the fray but didn’t do much better. All the while I was doing my best to stay in tune and in time to a chant in another language that I had only adopted last night. It was really difficult to do so if I listened to the others at all, so I went into a world of my own and sang as if I was the only person in the room. Initially I was quite self conscious about chanting, but soon realized I had absolutely nothing to worry about given that nobody else in the room could actually sing. I found myself singing louder and louder to combat (or add to) the cacophony. When in India, louder OK please.
Just as I was beginning to find my groove I smelt alcohol and felt someone shuffling up behind me so close that they were touching my feet and arms. I let it slide for a few rounds but then stopped, turned round and waved Roadrunner on. As I did so I saw that he was homeless. His clothes gave away that he’d slept in the dirt and he looked very worse for wear. As we walked I thought to myself how great it is that in India someone who is in such dire straits can at least come to a temple and generate some positivity in their lives that way. Five minutes after I had that thought, he was escorted from the Mandir by a security guard. Maybe not then....
Ultimately the session couldn’t have been better for me – it helped me let go of the self consciousness I normally carry around with me. I think the opposite may have occured if I had been surrounded by world class singers and musicians from the get go. Let’s see how the next session goes....
I’ve just returned from Samadhi Mandir session number 2 (sounds like the name of a CD collection – Samadhi Mandir Sessions Vol 2, the new chillout compilation by Kruder and Dorfmeister, available in all good stockists now). The lead chanter in this session was very good – he sang the Divine Name brilliantly in a multitude of different melodies. It’s just a shame nobody could follow ;) This time it was a Westerner who was the most out of tune, and unfortunately also the loudest singer. I think his tone deafness had led him to believe he was in fact Aled Jones. Not only did he sing stridently out of tune, but he attempted to harmonize out of tune. It really, really didn’t work, but he carried on regardless. I stepped into the outside lane and picked up my walking pace in an attempt to put as much distance between me and him as possible ;) Mind you, nobody said anything about singing the Divine Name tunefully, although God may want to wear ear plugs when we’re doing it. Again, time to surrender to the practice and give the technique a fair trial....
The mosquitoes in Karnataka and Kerala are chronic – I have been nailed by the little b’stards all over my back, legs and arms. They even got through my long sleeve shirt and trousers. The bites have flared up big time and are itchy as hell. Yet one more thing to let go of ;) I’m trying to remind myself that the divine is also within mosquitoes.... Hmmm.... I’m not quite feeling that one just yet. My feeling is that all mosquitoes should die, or at the very least find somewhere else to live. Perhaps more chanting is required ;) Actually that might work, the guys are so bad at singing I’m sure even animal life would cringe and run away screaming (or buzzing as the case may be)....
There is a prayer session every day at midday and then at 9.15pm. If you make it through these you get rewarded with sweeties at the end ;) Prasad (blessed food) is a great concept, and I have taken to it like a duck to water. At school we were given dry wafers during dry ceremonies each Sunday which didn’t have quite the same impact.
Back from Samadhi Mandir session 3. This time the lead chanter had a speech impediment which meant he could not say “Sri”, so the chant sounded something like this “Om ung ram jaia ram jaia jaia ram”. He was however melodious in his speech impediment which made it tolerable. Towards the end he speeded up the chant, and now it was my turn to sound odd. The hyper speed chanting caused me to mix up the words and I began to sing about “Sri Jam”, and in so doing came up with a blinding brand name for a new line of Indian preserve. Every time different, every time more to observe in my mind.... I think chanting is quite a useful tool to help narrow your attention to one point, much like the breath in meditation. It also provides fertile ground for surrender – to the tone deafness, timing deficiencies, and so on – and to be in the moment. Although clearly I have a ways to go still with all the monkey mind action I’ve been experiencing today ;)
This evening during bhajans I was told off for making use of a “swami cushion”. Interesting. We are all one with God, but we cannot sit on the same cushions ;) So it’s more a case of we’re all one with God, but some are more one than others.... Haha ;) I noticed that the swami cushion was much more padded than the ordinary one that was unceremoniously dropped in front of me and I was told to use. Another paradox – I would have thought swamis had moved beyond ego and the desire for comfort. But what do I know....
There were only a handful of men in my first session. All of them, with the exception of the lead chanter, were totally tone deaf. A short while into the session we were joined by an enthusiastic drummer who was also tone deaf and couldn’t keep time to save his life. He was drumming at roughly triple speed on all the wrong accents. Another drummer entered the Mandir to join the fray but didn’t do much better. All the while I was doing my best to stay in tune and in time to a chant in another language that I had only adopted last night. It was really difficult to do so if I listened to the others at all, so I went into a world of my own and sang as if I was the only person in the room. Initially I was quite self conscious about chanting, but soon realized I had absolutely nothing to worry about given that nobody else in the room could actually sing. I found myself singing louder and louder to combat (or add to) the cacophony. When in India, louder OK please.
Just as I was beginning to find my groove I smelt alcohol and felt someone shuffling up behind me so close that they were touching my feet and arms. I let it slide for a few rounds but then stopped, turned round and waved Roadrunner on. As I did so I saw that he was homeless. His clothes gave away that he’d slept in the dirt and he looked very worse for wear. As we walked I thought to myself how great it is that in India someone who is in such dire straits can at least come to a temple and generate some positivity in their lives that way. Five minutes after I had that thought, he was escorted from the Mandir by a security guard. Maybe not then....
Ultimately the session couldn’t have been better for me – it helped me let go of the self consciousness I normally carry around with me. I think the opposite may have occured if I had been surrounded by world class singers and musicians from the get go. Let’s see how the next session goes....
I’ve just returned from Samadhi Mandir session number 2 (sounds like the name of a CD collection – Samadhi Mandir Sessions Vol 2, the new chillout compilation by Kruder and Dorfmeister, available in all good stockists now). The lead chanter in this session was very good – he sang the Divine Name brilliantly in a multitude of different melodies. It’s just a shame nobody could follow ;) This time it was a Westerner who was the most out of tune, and unfortunately also the loudest singer. I think his tone deafness had led him to believe he was in fact Aled Jones. Not only did he sing stridently out of tune, but he attempted to harmonize out of tune. It really, really didn’t work, but he carried on regardless. I stepped into the outside lane and picked up my walking pace in an attempt to put as much distance between me and him as possible ;) Mind you, nobody said anything about singing the Divine Name tunefully, although God may want to wear ear plugs when we’re doing it. Again, time to surrender to the practice and give the technique a fair trial....
The mosquitoes in Karnataka and Kerala are chronic – I have been nailed by the little b’stards all over my back, legs and arms. They even got through my long sleeve shirt and trousers. The bites have flared up big time and are itchy as hell. Yet one more thing to let go of ;) I’m trying to remind myself that the divine is also within mosquitoes.... Hmmm.... I’m not quite feeling that one just yet. My feeling is that all mosquitoes should die, or at the very least find somewhere else to live. Perhaps more chanting is required ;) Actually that might work, the guys are so bad at singing I’m sure even animal life would cringe and run away screaming (or buzzing as the case may be)....
There is a prayer session every day at midday and then at 9.15pm. If you make it through these you get rewarded with sweeties at the end ;) Prasad (blessed food) is a great concept, and I have taken to it like a duck to water. At school we were given dry wafers during dry ceremonies each Sunday which didn’t have quite the same impact.
Back from Samadhi Mandir session 3. This time the lead chanter had a speech impediment which meant he could not say “Sri”, so the chant sounded something like this “Om ung ram jaia ram jaia jaia ram”. He was however melodious in his speech impediment which made it tolerable. Towards the end he speeded up the chant, and now it was my turn to sound odd. The hyper speed chanting caused me to mix up the words and I began to sing about “Sri Jam”, and in so doing came up with a blinding brand name for a new line of Indian preserve. Every time different, every time more to observe in my mind.... I think chanting is quite a useful tool to help narrow your attention to one point, much like the breath in meditation. It also provides fertile ground for surrender – to the tone deafness, timing deficiencies, and so on – and to be in the moment. Although clearly I have a ways to go still with all the monkey mind action I’ve been experiencing today ;)
This evening during bhajans I was told off for making use of a “swami cushion”. Interesting. We are all one with God, but we cannot sit on the same cushions ;) So it’s more a case of we’re all one with God, but some are more one than others.... Haha ;) I noticed that the swami cushion was much more padded than the ordinary one that was unceremoniously dropped in front of me and I was told to use. Another paradox – I would have thought swamis had moved beyond ego and the desire for comfort. But what do I know....