Bhava is sheer ecstasy, a condition caused when the heart is seized by the Divine embrace. In Bhava Yoga, the cosmic power of Brahman in the Vedas — awakened through the complex mantras of Shabda Yoga as well as the mysterious, often unintelligible bijas of the Tantric tradition — becomes more approachable through devotion. “Bhava Yoga” is the term I prefer to use for the sonic stream of devotion found within the Bhakti tradition of Hinduism. “Bhakti” means devotion, while “bhava” is the state of mind or consciousness associated with devotion. The term “Bhava Yoga” helps us differentiate sacred sound used as a yoga path toward devotional ecstasy from the sacred words used for strength and protection in Shabda Yoga or the mystic syllables used for energy in Shakti Yoga.
The Bhakti tradition officially began between the first and second century B.C., although its existence precedes that era by about a thousand years. The Bhagavad Gita, dated around 600 B.C., emphasizes devotion — Bhakti Yoga — among the many paths of yoga. Bhakti started to become a powerful movement around 800 A.D., reached its peak in the Middle Ages, and was firmly established by 1700 A.D. Its popularity may have been a reaction to Shabda Yoga’s strict rules of grammar and pronunciation on one hand, and the Tantric schools’ secrecy and rigorous asceticism on the other. An interesting parallel was the oppressive regime of Muslim rule in India (711-1775 A.D.) and the destruction and desecration of many ancient and sacred Hindu temples during that period. These extremities may have propelled this movement of devotional chanting and singing into existence.
The accessible spirit of bhakti allows a less technical approach to sacred sound, drawing worship into the simplicity of the human heart without the complex hierarchies of spiritual systems. This was a significant development in the Yoga of Sound, as it invited the ordinary householder to practice mantras with freedom and confidence. Through the use of simple melodies, the devotional and musical chanting of mantras became a powerful way of finding union with the Beloved in whatever form of Divinity one felt drawn to.
Bhava points to the state of “being in the heart” that devotional mantras evoke; this state of samadhi brings ecstasy and rapture. Moreover, devotional mantras are available to everyone without too many rules and regulations about their usage. This accessibility made Bhava Yoga the devotional elixir of the masses.
THE TERM “Bhava Yoga” is best associated with the Vaishnava tradition, an orthodox branch of Hinduism that goes back to the inception of the Vedic age. Although some of their cultural beliefs were questionable, such as their strong sense of caste and the requirement that widows self-immolate upon the death of their husbands, the Vaishnavas built their tradition on an intense love relationship between the human soul and the Divine; theirs is a path of ecstatic love and rapturous union. Vaishnavism develops around Vishnu, the one who pervades and preserves the universe. In Vaishnavism, we find all the principles of sacred sound that we’ve studied; Vak, the parts of the syllable Om signifying states of consciousness, and the various stages of linguistic expression are all found in mystical relationship to Vishnu. While Shabda Brahman is perceived to be the ultimate principle of the universe, the alphabet and vowels are associated with Lakshmi, Vishnu’s shakti and feminine counterpart. For Vaishnavas, Lakshmi is the “mother of all sound.”1 Vishnu and Lakshmi form the hearth of the householder’s devotion because, together, these deities preserve the well-being of the household and generate abundance and wealth for the family and the community.
In the Bhakti cults of devotional yoga, Vishnu, incarnating through the beauty of Krishna and the righteous reign of Rama, allows the Divine to become human. Of course, Shiva and Shakti have their devotees, too. What is special about Vaishnava Bhakti is the intensity of the devotion. Attributes associated with Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, and Sita became a powerful means of infusing the same attributes into the soul of the devotee. Many of these universal Divine attributes can also be found in mantras associated with Shiva, Ganesha, or the Great Goddess Shakti. All Hindus, whether worshippers of Vishnu, Shiva, or Shakti, believe that ultimately there is only one Supreme Being who transcends both name and form; devotion to a specific name or form is based only on circumstantial need and the personality of the yogi or devotee.
The power of the Bhakti tradition was that it offered the ordinary householder a means of liberation from suffering and the endless cycle of birth and death. This liberation is essentially gained through chanting and singing the holy names of personal deities, praising their attributes to infuse them into the soul of the devotee, and celebrating the deities’ interventions in human suffering. This devotional stream of sacred sound continues to be prevalent throughout India as the grassroots spirituality of the working classes. While mantra shastra, the science of mantra, is also prevalent in the Vaishnava tradition, its complex rules and rituals are practiced only by the Brahmin, or priestly, community, as mentioned before. Kirtana, a common and widespread practice of Sound Yoga that originated in the Bhakti tradition, has in recent years become extremely popular in yoga studios across America in the form of the call-and-response chanting called kirtan.
“KIRTANA,” which means “chanting the holy names of God and singing songs about God,” was the means through which the Bhakti movement spread throughout India during the Middle Ages. Many of the spiritual catalysts of this movement — musician saints and poets such as Kabir, Mirabai, and Tukaram — are now well-known in the West. One point of confusion is that kirtans are not always composed of mantras. In the Hindu system, only certain words and sounds qualify as mantras, although many words and phrases may “function” as mantras. There is obviously a difference. Certain kirtans and spiritual songs, for instance, may refer to Divine exploits mentioned in mythological stories. Such phrases would not be considered to have the same power as mantras that directly embody the essence or attributes of a deity; the exploits only tell about the deity. Yet, if repeated over and over, such kirtans would have a mantra-like effect.
It is also important to realize that many kirtans and spiritual songs were written in regional languages — Bengali, Gujarati, Marati, Hindi — that are derived from Sanskrit. Because Sanskrit was known only by the priestly and administrative castes, this is how the Bhakti movement spread throughout the country and became accessible to everyone, including the illiterate villager. Like modern English, the sounds of these vernacular tongues, although derived from the original mantric power of the Sanskrit language, became adulterated through colloquialisms and adaptations. Even the classical Sanskrit of literature would be considered less mantric in its power than the old Vedic Sanskrit. From the mantric point of view, one may describe the comparisons using sugar as a metaphor. Ancient Vedic Sanskrit is like raw sugar; classical Sanskrit is like refined white sugar; and the vernacular derivatives are like synthetic sugar substitutes. Tantric bijas, on the other hand, are like molasses; they are the purest, most intense form of mantra.
But even in light of this important comparison — one that few propagators of mantras in the West are truly knowledgeable about — kirtans and Hindu spiritual songs in regional languages have a unique spiritual power. The yearning for union, for yoga, described in these beautiful lyrical passages, and the haunting melodies that go with them, effortlessly transport the yogi into a profound state of union with the Deity. Once in that mystic union, why argue about whether the lyrical sounds used to get there were mantras or not?
A famous story from the life of Shankaracharya, one of Hinduism’s greatest philosophers who lived in the eighth century A.D., sets the record straight about the power of devotion — a power that I trust and believe in from my own experience. Coming upon a brahmin priest struggling to master the rules of grammar, Shankara cries out: “Sing with devotion the name of God, you fool! Of what use will your rules of grammar be at the appointed hour of death?”
The point to remember, though, is that Vedic and Tantric mantras do have rules, and pronunciation is indeed important with these types of mantras. Westerners tend to confuse Vedic and Tantric mantras with kirtana, and this corrupts the power of their sound and function. The hundreds — perhaps thousands — of years of research that have gone into sculpting these amazing sounds are disregarded and lost in the sometimes frivolous adaptation to contemporary tunes and the domestication of the primal power of these mantras.
I am not a purist. I do believe in the evolution of art and spirituality. But I also believe that the process should not sacrifice power, depth, and function, as you will discover in any of my yoga music albums. My hope, in bringing out the full scope of the Yoga of Sound in this literary work, is that it will encourage Western yogis to gradually develop mantric power through their systematic effort. If Western yogis employ even one-tenth of the effort that they put into their asana practice in the proper application and pronunciation of Vedic and Tantric mantras, they will gain a tremendous depth of realization.
THE MESMERIZING melodies and mystical power of kirtans and Hindu devotional songs are derived from sacred Hindu ragas. Ragas are specific sequences of musical intervals with distinctive musical nuances that evoke particular shades of spiritual emotion. Each raga serves to enhance, deepen, and nurture the soul’s relationship with the Divine through its unique tonal characteristics. The soul’s longing for union with the Divine, the bliss of that union when it happens, the pain of separation — all of these conditions are exquisitely portrayed and lived to the fullest through the song and chant expressed in the raga.
While musical knowledge is helpful for drawing out the subtleties of human emotions, many practitioners of devotional yoga are able to penetrate to the heart of this union, even with a crackly voice and no ability to carry a tune. It is their intense desire and yearning for the Beloved that breaks through all barriers.
The greatest asset a sound yogi has is his or her voice, which has been provided as a tool for self-realization, empowerment, and the expression of joy. Through song, we open and lift up our heart to the Divine. I often meet people who, in childhood, were told not to sing because their voice wasn’t good enough or because they were considered tone-deaf. Bhava Yoga is a powerful way to heal the wounded singer who dwells in many of us; the singer is the healer, as in the Shamanic traditions. Bhava Yoga is not about performance; it is not about impressing an audience, or for that matter even impressing ourselves. It is about singing for God and pouring out the deepest sentiments of our soul into a conscious awareness of the Divine presence.
A classic story exemplifying the spirit of Bhava Yoga comes to us from the thirteenth century. Tan Sen was the chief court musician of the great Mogul emperor Akbar, a passionate patron of the arts with a keen interest in world spirituality. Tan Sen was an expert in Hindustani music, the Persian-influenced form of Indian music that developed in Northern India where the Mughals ruled.
Curious about where Tan Sen disappeared to on certain days of the month, the Emperor made inquiries and discovered that he went to be with his music teacher. Akbar, who never let an opportunity to hear great music pass him by, asked Tan Sen to arrange for his master to perform at court. “I’m sorry, your majesty,” was Tan Sen’s reply. “My teacher is a yogi who lives in a remote cave. His lifestyle and spiritual practice keep him absorbed in the woods. He rarely ventures outside the forest.”
Akbar, now desperate, wanted to go to this yogi. But Tan Sen refused to take the king, explaining that his majesty’s retinue of servants and horses would only drive the yogi deeper into the forest, perhaps never to be found again. Finally it was agreed that the king would disguise himself as Tan Sen’s solitary servant and carry a musical instrument on the journey.
As they neared the cave, Akbar stopped in his tracks and inhaled deeply. A pleasant feeling came over him; he looked almost intoxicated. Slowly, the king began to turn. Round and round he turned, throwing up his arms and rolling his head in ecstasy until he fell down exhausted. Hours later, Akbar awoke from his deep sleep and looked around. Everything seemed to have changed. The leaves looked brighter, the sounds of the birds were more melodious, and there was lightness in his heart.
“Oh, Tan Sen,” he exclaimed, “all I could hear was a raspy voice singing a raga that I’ve heard you sing many times in court. But never have I felt this way! Why is this so?”
“Your majesty,” replied Tan Sen, “while you have commissioned me to sing exclusively at your court, my master has commissioned himself to sing exclusively at God’s.”
BHAVA YOGA relies on the rich, dynamic use of music. Indian classical music, one of the oldest and most sophisticated musical traditions in the world, originated between the fifth and ninth centuries A.D., escalated in development in the Middle Ages through its interaction with the Persian musical strains brought into the country by Muslims. Bhava yogis, called bhaktas because of their intense devotion to a particular God or Goddess, used not only the sophisticated classical music traditions — the ancient indigenous Carnatic music of the South as well as the Persian-influenced Hindustani of the North — but also the simple folk melodies of the rice fields and the mountains. Such melodies had been in use for many hundreds of years and were the roots of Indian classical music, in the same way that gospel and blues are the basis for modern jazz and pop in the West.
Indian classical music itself can be considered a sophisticated expression of Bhava Yoga, with its spiritual principles founded on Nada Yoga, the stream we will explore in the next chapter. Yet one need not be a musical expert to enjoy the experience of Bhava, which is a quality of the heart. In fact, too much technical knowledge of music could become an obstacle to the interior journey.
The musicality of Bhava Yoga sets it in stark contrast to the three other streams. You will recall that the Vedic mantras of Shabda Yoga are typically chanted with just three musical intervals, one higher and one lower than the base tone. Shakti Yoga mantras, on the other hand, are generally not sung unless they are being expressed devotionally. Bija mantras, for example, are never sung.
Music is a powerful means of opening the heart, often piercing it to the core. The most popular form of devotional chanting, kirtan, employs an ingenious yoga technique in which the leader sings a phrase and the group repeats it; a variation is sung, and the group echoes the variation. The variations, which could be either predictable or unpredictable, allows for constant change in the style, meter, rhythm, melody, and even lyrics. It is a wonderful form of meditation, because it keeps both the chant leader and those responding fully alert in the moment, while at the same time sustaining an uninterrupted flow of energy between the chanters and the Divine. This devotional connection can be maintained for a prolonged period, even by poor meditators.
In chapter one, we discussed the imbalance caused by modern culture, which coerces us to live and function solely from the left, analytical brain. We also learned that yoga, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, is the cessation of the modifications of the mind — notably linear, discursive thinking. Devotional chant and kirtan provide a simple method of sustaining right-brain activity for an extended period. Quite simply, variations in melody and rhythm stimulate the feminine brain of the practitioner. In India, this sort of devotional chanting often goes on all night.
EVENINGS are the best time for devotional yoga practice. After a long day’s work, we want comfort and relationship; we want to express our pain or frustration at events that didn’t go well, and give thanks for those that did. Bhava Yoga allows us to surrender the fruits of our labor as a selfless offering to the Beloved, and to seek the Divine embrace, often through ritual. We have largely lost our capacity for personal ritual in the West, conferring most of its power upon priests. In Hinduism, the technology of ritual is an essential way of caring for the soul. When performed regularly, ritual can release the accumulation of psychic toxicity in our spiritual system.
Ritual, although not imperative in any of the streams of sacred sound, is the backbone of the Yoga of Sound tradition. For eons, it has provided the human family with a medium that accommodates the full spectrum of human and spiritual emotion in a safe container. Although we have all but banished it from Western culture, ritual is what holds a community together, heals it, and allows it to transform into a spiritual entity. Ritual is about expressing grief and joy; it is about going both deep and high; it is about facing our communal shadow and embracing our communal soul. We need personal as well as communal rituals to enhance our spiritual lives, and Bhava Yoga offers us a way to do this.
1. Take a quick shower to purify your body. Dress in comfortable white clothes — a color used to represent inner purity. Gather about ten to twenty small flowers, or remove the petals of a larger flower to obtain this number. You can also use a bunch of leaves or blades of grass. Put these in a basket or arrange them on a plate; they will be used to express your devotion. Keep a small pitcher of water — preferably one that has a spout — near your meditation seat.
2. For your altar, place your personal deity in front of you; it could be a statue of Krishna, a photograph of the Buddha, a crucifix, even a special stone or sacred object that is particularly meaningful to you. You may also use a photograph of someone dear to you, such as a lover, a teacher, a child, or a parent. If you prefer not to use an image, you can sit before an open window overlooking a garden, a body of water, or the open sky.
3. Pour a small quantity of water into the palm of your right hand and sip it. Visualize your mind being purified. Sprinkle some water around the place where you are sitting and visualize your meditation seat being cleared of any undesirable emotions. Finally, sprinkle some water around your altar and visualize a wall of fire springing up around your place of worship; this fire will protect you from all negative energy throughout the ceremony.
4. Take a flower, petal, or leaf in your right hand and place it on your heart. If your personal deity is masculine, say, “Lord, I love you” and place the flower at the foot of his image; you may also place the flower between you and the image, or directly upon it. If the image is feminine, you may say, “Mother, I adore you,” or “Goddess, I worship you.” If it is a child, you could say, “My child, I embrace you with all my heart.” These phrases are just examples of how you can express your devotion; you can always express this devotion to life itself or to the unseen presence of the Divine, without shape or form. The objective is to stimulate love and devotion in your heart, and to do so meaningfully. See the beginning of appendix three for a devotional mantra litany that can be used with this ritual.
5. Since you will be doing this practice in private, I encourage you to sing as you place the flower or leaf on your heart and then on the image. St. Augustine once wrote that “those who sing pray twice.” Tones evoke emotion. Don’t be overly concerned about whether you can sing or whether you have a pleasing voice. Remember the tuneless song that wins a heart in romance, or the crackly voice of a mother soothing her baby to sleep? The soul does not judge, nor does it compare. Spirit doesn’t either. Only the personality does that. When you sing, you evoke your soul. Don’t let your personality keep you from doing that. A couple of tonal sequences are also featured for the mantra litany in appendix three.
6. Get into the experience and keep it simple. Maintain eye contact with the image or keep your eyes closed; you can even alternate between closed and open eyes in a way that feels natural.
7. Follow step four with each flower, one by one, slowly and mindfully conscious of every action and of the energy being built up by your devotion. At times, words may not come to your mind. That’s okay; just place the flower silently and lovingly in front of you. The petals or leaves could also be arranged in a pattern or cast lovingly upon the image. Don’t get too caught up in what might be correct; be natural, spontaneous, present, open, and soft.
8. When you feel satiated with love and devotion, sit quietly and allow the energy you are experiencing to infuse every layer of your being.
IF YOU CAN’T put together the ingredients for the ritual, you can always create the entire experience in your mind, using your imagination. Then you can offer gold, precious stones, beautifully crafted ornaments, and generous quantities of grain.Manasika Puja means “mental ritual.” Traditionally, because Vishnu helps us find support in our worldly lives, he is offered sweets and rich, buttery offerings. On the other hand, Shiva, the God of yogis, is offered fruits and shoots. The fierce aspect of Shakti, the goddess, is offered lemon and chilies, while her healing presence is offered turmeric.
If you open up your heart
You will know what I mean
We’ve been polluted so long
But here’s a way for you to get clean
By chanting the names of the Lord and you’ll be free
The Lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see.
— George Harrison,
“Awaiting On You All,” from the album All Things Must Pass
ONE PART of the Vaishnava tradition that many Westerners have encountered is the Hare Krishna sect, which traces its lineage to Lord Chaitanya in the second century B.C. I have always been struck by their passionate love for the Divine, which they uninhibitedly express on the streets as they dance and chant in praise of Krishna. This uninhibited abandonment to the love of God is at the heart of Bhava Yoga and the Bhakti tradition. While we may not feel comfortable dressing in formal spiritual attire, wearing markings on our forehead, or dancing ecstatically in public, we can always chant mentally or whisper while we walk, run, or exercise. An excellent mantra to use while walking or jogging is the Vaishnava Maha Mantra, which means “great mantra.” This rhythmic series of syllables — the same ones you may have heard the Hare Krishna devotees chanting — can serve to awaken tremendous joy and devotion in your heart in the midst of any activity:
Ha-re Raa-ma, Ha-re Raa-ma
Raa-ma, Raa-ma, Ha-re, Ha-re
Ha-re Krish-na, Ha-re Krish-na
Krish-na Krish-na, Ha-re, Ha-re
Rama and Krishna are both manifestations of Vishnu. According to the mystical interpretation of these mantric sounds, Ram is perceived to awaken joy in the heart, and Krish attracts because it embodies the power of the Divine to draw us unto itself.
You might remember that, in 1969, George Harrison recorded the Hare Krishna mantra with the devotees of the London Radha-Krishna Temple. Soon after rising to the top twenty on the best-selling record charts throughout England, Europe, and parts of Asia, the Hare Krishna chant became a familiar sound, especially in England.2
Another good walking and jogging mantra is:
Shree Raam, Jai Raam, Jai Jai Raamo
Shree is a title of respect, Jai is praise, and Ram is that which awakens joy in the heart. When writing this chapter, I contacted Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, to determine the complete form of the Ram mantra that the Mahatma used. He graciously replied with the following devotional song in Hindi, which everyone sang at morning and evening prayer at Gandhi’s ashram. This is a good example of a popular devotional chant, kirtana, which is not a mantra but can have a powerful effect upon our consciousness. Two versions of the song are available on my album, Bhava Yoga.
Ra-gu-pa-ti Raa-gha-va Raa-jaa Raam
Pa-tee-ta paa-va-na See-taa Raam
See-taa Raam jai See-taa Raam
Ba-ja pyaa-re to See-taa Raam
Eesh-vara Allah tay-ro naam
Sabiko San-mati de Bha-ga-vaan
The shortened form of this chant is simply Jai Ram, or “praise Ram.” Translated into English, the full version means:
Great king Ram of the Raghu clan,
Holy husband of Sita, the earth’s daughter
We praise you joined in holiness as Sita Ram.
Let us sing together of your love,
Lord Ishvar, Allah, whichever name we call you,
It is still the same reality that we are addressing.