The benefits of science and technology — high-fidelity sound systems, advanced audio recording processes, and the convenience of car stereos, boom boxes, and portable music systems — can all be used to enhance our spiritual practice, enabling us to channel consciousness in ways never before experienced. The Yoga of Sound can play an important role in this era, bridging the gap between the human and technological realms by employing the living power of the human voice and the resonant temple of the human body.
I like to picture Shabda Yoga harnessing huge swirling vortexes of cosmic energy as it expands infinitely; Shakti Yoga stepping this energy down to function in our body through the chakras; Bhava Yoga receiving the finest and purest form of energy as it spirals directly into the core of our being; and Nada Yoga sustaining the entire experience in one harmonious balance.
The Yoga of Sound is, I believe, the next step in spirituality. I’m not just referring to the Hindu traditions that form the foundation of what we’ve explored in this book. I am excited about all the global explorations of sonic spirituality and consciousness. I believe that musicians and music producers are our new priests and shamans; performances are our greatest rituals; and lyrical expressions are our most popular mantras, as they echo through the minds of listeners around the world.
Something powerful is happening. The evolutionary process has been stepped up to new and dramatic levels; with this, of course, comes the danger of self-annihilation, since only a portion of the human population has found its way to the mouth of the spiritual birth canal. Others feel the passage but are unable to see how things can change, while mother Gaia groans in travail. She is not as healthy as she used to be, and as we struggle to be born into a new consciousness, we may hurt both ourselves and the mother who is giving birth to us.
DURING THE VEDIC period in India, the Aryan integration into Harrappan culture was violent and oppressive. It developed the skincolor caste system that has been the bane of Hindu society for thousands of years. The dark-skinned Dravidians, the original inhabitants of the land, were subjugated even as their mathematics and other advanced knowledge were being harnessed by the established Aryan state. Despite these conditions, the Vedic culture and religion that emerged in India between 1500 B.C. and 500 B.C. developed into one of the most powerful spiritual traditions on the planet.
I believe that we can draw an analogy between that tumultuous period of racial convergence in ancient India and the current convergence of diverse cultural and religious streams here in America. Indeed, this second convergence may turn out to be far more pronounced than what took place on the Indian subcontinent 3,500 years ago. It may even officially usher in the second Axial period, when the many and the One come together in the All. The present conditions are more democratic, with healthier checks and balances, a more developed human species, and an extraordinary amount of information available to anyone seeking it. The signs point to a new civilization being born here in America; in the words of Wayne Teasdale, we hope that it will be “a civilization with a heart.”1
America is obviously a fledgling culture — just a few hundred years old, in comparison to the thousand-year histories of other cultures — and it frightens the rest of the world that this culture has the technological power to destroy life on earth. But the opposite is equally true: America has the potential to turn inward and discover its spiritual power to become the protector and nurturer of the world. There is no doubt that Americans are a deeply spiritual people. Despite a cultural tendency toward superficiality, Americans are eager to learn new things and willing to give untried ideas a chance. This refreshing eagerness has drawn, and continues to draw, many spiritual teachers from around the world, contributing to a unique perspective enriched by diverse and profound worldviews.
But there is also a shadow here in America: a history of racial prejudice that continues to assert itself along with the development of corporate greed that cares nothing for the global human family. To our credit, this shadow is dying. In the midst of the mass mentality of obsessive consumerism, a spiritual force is gathering momentum in America. Many spiritual teachers have pointed to the attacks of September 11 as precipitating a spiritual awakening of immense magnitude. This evolutionary process is now pushing global consciousness through the spiritual birth canal, and each of us must play our part in ushering in our own new life.
MY HOPE IS that yogis and spiritual seekers in America will earnestly take up the study and practice of the Yoga of Sound; I truly believe that it can contribute an essential element to the spiritual depth that people are seeking. Americans have a natural openness to absorbing information and are good at developing teaching systems once they have learned a practice; they also know how to propagate their knowledge effectively to the rest of the world.
As I said earlier, although there is already a wonderful flowering of interest in Sound Yoga, this interest has placed too much emphasis on Bhakti Yoga mantras, and not enough on Tantric and Vedic mantras. These two latter streams are generally not being practiced or taught skillfully enough to communicate the true power and potency of mantras. By incorporating Vedic and Tantric mantras into your yoga practice and your daily prayers and rituals, you will discover for yourself the vision of India’s Rishis, those enlightened individuals who authored the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita. Once discovered, this vision will find a new and exciting articulation in our mix of cultures and perspectives.
For the past few decades, yoga has been presented to Americans free of its mystical and cultural traditions in order to make it appear safe and acceptable. This has eased its entry into the mainstream of American culture, precluding opposition from religious groups and establishing credibility with the medical profession. However, now that both Western medicine and Western religion are gravitating toward yoga, I feel that it is time for American yogis and spiritual practitioners to reintroduce the yoga of sacred sound. Such a study will empower the American soul, infusing the growing practice of yoga in this country with a mystical system for reaching the highest goal of samadhi. This will allow American yoga practice — both on and off the mat — to reach new levels of spiritual achievement. Perhaps it was part of the Divine plan that the physical emphasis on Hatha Yoga in the West has tempered our spiritual and nervous systems, preparing people to efficiently handle the energy that mantras are capable of releasing. The chariot is ready; it is now time for the soul to take flight.
Know the Atman [the Spirit] as the Lord of the chariot, and the body as the chariot itself.
Know that reason is the charioteer, and the mind indeed is the reins.
The horses, they say, are the senses, and their paths are the objects of sense.
The [person] whose chariot is driven by reason, who watches and holds
the reins of the mind, reaches the end of the journey, the supreme everlasting Spirit.
Katha Upanishad2
OM TAT SAT*
* This pithy statement, often used to conclude spiritual discourses and mantra chanting, translates as: “Om. That’s the truth.” On a humorous note, it actually sounds like, “Om, that’s it!”