Conscious Choice: The Magic of Mantras

July 2003

The Magic of Mantras

How Musician Russill Paul Empowers the Soul

by Darlene E. Paris

I was introduced to chanting about five years ago when I heard friends who lived with me in a meditation community sing the Gayatri — an Eastern Indian devotional prayer of sorts for healing and spiritual illumination. Although I did not understand the meaning of the mantra, the melody of the words touched me deeply, so deeply it seemed I knew exactly what my friends were singing about.

As they approached the end of the song, I noticed that tears had meandered down the sides of my face. But these were not tears of sadness. The mantra had opened me to a level of bliss and contentment I had never experienced. The tears were tears of joy.

At the time I was a bit puzzled by my reaction. I could not understand how an African American woman, like myself, who was raised in a hand-clapping, foot stomping, Bible boasting Baptist church could possibly be moved by a musical tradition other than gospel. The tears along with the peaceful countenance on my face, however, convinced me that mantras were very powerful and they had the ability to change my life.

According to Southern Indian born musician Russill Paul, mantras are a tool for spiritual transformation. "It’s a vehicle for us to travel to the inner world," says Paul who has produced a collection of highly acclaimed CDs featuring different kinds of mantras that he collectively calls The Yoga of Sound. "Singing or even just listening to mantras enables us to expand our consciousness and access our higher selves," he says.

Like myself, more and more people in the Chicago area are tuning into mantras. Co-owner of Healing Earth Resource Center Dawn Silver says musicians who chant are booking gigs at her place almost every month. Chicago yoga centers, like Moksha Yoga, are hosting chanting concerts every four weeks, and the Sivananda Center is attracting new students who are interested in learning devotional chants. The plethora of activities surrounding mantras proves that this form of expression transcends all cultures.

"There’s a strong universal appeal toward Hindu mantras, in particular, because Sanskrit, the language of the ancient Indian seers and the language of mantra, has gone through 3,500 years of refinement linking language with spiritual transformation," Paul says. He goes on to explain that people may not know exactly what the mantra means, but they can feel what it means because it comes from a deep space of spiritual essence. "Often, the very instant you hear mantras, you feel happy, you feel whole, you feel bliss."

Paul, who received spiritual training as a monk for five years at a Hindu-Christian ashram in India, shares his knowledge of the healing power of mantras in a workshop entitled "Sound and Spirituality" (which he will be presenting in Chicago). During the three-day event, participants learn to use mantras in combination with movement, breathing techniques, and yoga postures to bring about positive changes in their lives.

The workshop gives participants a chance to experience nada yoga, the practice of using sound as a vehicle for spiritual illumination, which has been practiced by yogis for over 3,000 years. Paul performs selections from his CDs — Shabda Yoga, Shakti Yoga, and Bhava Yoga that feature mantras from various time periods throughout the history of India. "At one time hatha yoga and nada yoga were very much fused together, until about the time in which yoga became formalized around the second century B.C. with Pantajali," says Paul, who studied hatha yoga and meditation under the tutelage of the late Dom Bede Griffiths, a pioneering Benedictine monk while living in the ashram. "From that time on, hatha yoga focused on strength and sound yoga continued in its own vein." Unfortunately, the formality of yoga separated hatha and nada yoga into two distinct fields.

The resurgence of mantra, however, is an indication that things on the yoga scene are about to change. "Today we’re looking for a more unified approach, and sound is integral part of the yoga experience," Paul says. He believes the benefits of chanting mantras are similar to the results you get doing hatha yoga: a clear mind, reduced stress and better health. "During the time in which I lived in the ashram, I realized I could achieve the same experience I had attained performing certain asanas just by singing mantras," he says. I then realized that there’s a whole culture of sound that can produce these yogic states just as well as any physical exercise."

Darlene Paris is a Chicago freelance writer, teacher and Reiki Master.

Sound and Spirituality Retreat

Russill Paul, his wife Asha, and best selling author Chicagoan Wayne Teasdale will conduct their three-day healing retreat at the Warrenville Cenacle Retreat Center in Warrenville, IL, July 18-20. Asha Paul will also talk on the importance of diet and nutrition on the path of spirituality. Call 630-393-1231 for information and reservations.

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