When we chant we create rasa, the moistness of the heart. Repeating or chanting the names of God or the enlightened ones aligns us with the highest vibrations and impresses those vibrations in our subtle nervous system. Chanting dissolves anger, greed, pride, envy and delusion and opens the heart. These sounds wash away impurities. They allow the heart to open.

Gayatri Mantra

Sung by: Deva Premal & Miten with Manose

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat
The mantra means:
We meditate upon the adorable, enchanting and radiant source of all things.
The divine light of spiritual consciousness energizes and awakens us.

Aad Guray Nameh

Sung by: Snatam Kaur

Aad Guray Nameh, Jugaad Guray Nameh, Sat Guray Nameh, Siri Guroo Dayvay Nameh
The mantra means:
I bow to the Primal Source of Creation,
I bow to Creation woven throughout time,
I bow to the True Source of Creation, the true identity of self,
I bow to Creation whose Great Glory will always be

Medicine Buddha Mantra

Sung by: His Holiness Penor Rinpoche

Tayata Om Bekandze Bekandze Maha Bekandze Radza Samudgate Soha
The mantra means:
May the sentient beings who are sick, quickly be freed from sickness. And may all the sicknesses of beings Never arise again.

Govinda Hare

Sung by Krishna Das

Govinda hare, Gopaala hare
He Prabhu deena dayaala hare
Govinda refers to Krishna, the Lord of the cows. Hare is Lord Vishnu of whom Krishna was the incarnation

Chanting

Chanting is a form of silence. Because these sounds arise from the purity of absolute Being, they hold the space with one foot in absolute silence and one foot in the finest relative manifestation. Sacred mantras vibrate with the purity of God and fill us with that power and experience.

Chanting allows our mind to rest in the vibration of God and embrace God’s purity. When mantras or the name of God or the names of the enlightened ones are repeated, their vibration pulsates in our mind and this allows the restlessness and agitation of the mind to relax. The mind can begin to function with gentleness and kindness and feel virtue naturally arising from our true nature. There is great freedom and joy when we can feel the mind’s true nature; bliss.

When we chant, the atmosphere around us becomes permeated with the pure vibration of the names of God. Besides filling ourselves with the power and purity of the name, we fill that which surrounds us also, blessing ourselves and the world.