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Chords & Notes
AURA OF POSITIVITY
MANTRAS FOR UNLEASHING
CONSTRUCTIVE ENERGY
Times Music, Rs.65
In these troubled times, people look for various ways of soothing their worries, ways that take minimum time and effort and interfere as little as possible with the business of earning a living and all the other commitments of householders. Music albums like this one offer one of the best techniques to relax and turn the thoughts spirit-wards. This collection of Sanskrit mantras is sung by renowned musicians Shankar Mahadevan, Sadhana Sargam, Rattan Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev Abhyankar and others. Maintaining a sedate tone, the Sanskrit verses are set to music with a relatively unobtrusive instrumental backing.
Ganesh Dhyan mantra, Tulsi Namashtakam, Gayatri mantra and Navagraha Peedahaar stotra are among the traditional renditions. A simple chorus that can provide a soothing background to any activity is "Hari Om", sung by Sadhana Sargam and Ravindra Sathe. A special composition is "Positive Vibes - A Musical Interpretation" by Sanjeev Abhyankar and chorus, using classical aakar and repetition of the words Om Shri Bhagavate Namah. "Yachna" is another interesting and melodious piece. Interweaving benedictory verses with nom tom syllables set to percussions and instrumental support, it closes the album on a rousing note.
DISCOURSES BY H.H. SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Sa Re Ga Ma, Rs. 55 each
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar hardly needs an introduction. The brain behind the famous "Art of Living Foundation", he can tell one what to look for in oneself, can speak with simplicity and disarming ease and in a language that is extraordinarily lucid. His discourses are peppered with witty anecdotes and earthy, day-to-day experiences that connect sweetly with the audience.
These three albums, recordings of his talks called "Astrology", "Comb of Human Knowledge" and "On Buddha, Manifestation of Silence" give us an insight into his mind - the clarity of his thought, the simplicity of his language, the way in which he explains things that are usually beyond the grasp of ordinary human minds, the measured way in which he speaks and, more importantly, the absolutely unhurried and relaxed pace.
An open mind, he says in "Astrology", "is full of possibilities - may be, perhaps, something you don't know - while a closed mind boasts of well, I know, meaning a mind with a pre-conceived notion. An open mind is full of joy, patience and open to anything. So don't close your mind." Astrology, he says, "is dissociating the event from the person and attributing it to space and time." Urging everyone to use the brain, he says, "Divine has given knowledge and power to use your brain. We don't use our brain and get into more complications. Do not return this brain to God unused."
In the discourse on the Buddha, he says, "Silence is the soul of life. Words cannot capture existence but silence can. In silence you come back to the source and that creates joy." The discourse is very elaborate as he recaptures Buddha's journey from a rich man to his attaining Nirvana. "You cannot be unhappy without any reason but you can be happy without a reason. Joy does not need reason but misery needs one," he says. In the third talk he says, "Mind is always in dialogue, agreeing or disagreeing, yes or no, with something. It vacillates between past and future. It goes back to the past and there is tendency to cling on to the negative." Urging everyone to shed this negative tendency, he goes on to talk about meditation, bringing out the difference between concentration and meditation. "The deeper the meditation, the sharper the ability to concentrate."
Curiously, he is against the principle of questioning. "Turn the question mark into an exclamation mark" is what he says. Well, one begins to wonder after listening to these lectures how this modern guru is able to bring out the nuances of such complex issues so lucidly.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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