Veda GhoSha at Dharmakshetra on 12-11-2005

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Veda ghoSha at Dharmakshetra on 12th Nov. 2005

Sai sankalpa has it that Veda chanting be given first priority during Swami’s

darshan at Sai Kulwant Hall. Swami’s Grace ensured that veda-students of

Maharashtra chanted Veda for 15 minutes in His Divine presence on the last

aashaadhii ekaadashii day. Encouraged by this loving gesture on Swami’s part,

more students are now gravitating towards learning Veda. The possibility of

chanting in Swami’s presence again on the next aashaadhii [Friday, 7th July

2006] is too tempting to ignore. Let’s all make a concerted, heartfelt effort.

May Swami Grace us with many more opportunities.

Towards this end, Dharmakshetra has scheduled “Veda ghoSha” by samithis of

Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & Panvel on Saturday, the 12th November 2005 at 6:00 pm for

about 30 to 40 mins; i.e. at the beginning of global akhanda bhajan.

To ensure that all of us speak God’s mantras with one united voice, two

rehearsals on the previous two Sundays are scheduled from 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

On 30th Oct at Sai Prem, Vashi… and Dharmakshetra rehearsal on 6th Nov.

Trained veda-chanters from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & Panvel are taking part in

these rehearsals.

The rehearsal-chanting-sequence will be:

OM gaNaanaa-aan-tvaa gaNapatigm havaamahe… praNo devii sarasvatii…

saaiishvaraaya vidmahe satyadevaaya dhiimahi… bhadram karNebhiH… shaantiH…

gaNapati atharva shiirSha, and; its phalashruti bhadram karNebhih… shaantiH…

sahanaa vavatu… shaantiH… naaraayaNa upaniShad sahanaa vavatu… shaantiH…

tat chhanyoraavrNiimahe [shaanti for puruSha suukta] puruSha suukta upto

amum maniShaaNa naaraayaNa suukta… sahasra shiirSham devam durgaa suukta

gaayatrii saama gaana (this is rarely heard, even in Sai Kulwant Hall) sarve

bhavantu sukhinaH… svasti prajaabhyaH paripaalayantaam… lokaaH

samastaaH(thrice) OM

Please attend the rehearsals so that our mantras be meticulous & melodious.

Please pour your heartfelt Love in this saadhanaa. Let us all experience Sai

in the veda-vibrations.

O Sai ! Let us realize our inherent amrtatvam! Let’s be firmly fixed in that

realization! May our bodies be firm & fit; quick & eager for sevaa. May our

tongues speak loving-words; dripping with the sweetness of honey. May our ears

hear many many sweet & spiritually-charged words.[liberal translation from

shikshaa valli… “jihvaa me madhumattamaa” etc.]

OM ! Let’s become stronger together! Let’s enjoy together! Let’s undertake

difficult tasks like brave ones! Let’s make our spiritual-sevaa-aura-glow

spread everywhere! Let’s not harbour ill-feelings towards each other! Let’s

DO it !!! OM ! shaantiH, shaantiH, shaantiH ! [translation of sahanaa vavatu,

sahanau bhunaktu… with a bit of poetic license!]

General instructions for Veda chanting

Same start & same end

Unification is required as different samithis are using different mantras to

start & end. For one voice, we shall start with one single OM and end with one

single OM.

The starting sequence is: [1] OM ! [2] gaNaanaa-aan-tvaa gaNapatigm

havaamahe…………….; [3] praNo devii sarasvatii…… [4] two namaHs, shrii gurubhyo

namaH, hariHi OM ….

[5] saaiishvaraaya vidmahe satyadevaaya dhiimahi…

The ending mantras are: [1] sarve bhavantu sukhinaH…. [2] svasti prajaabhyaH

paripaalayantaam … … … three times lokaaH samastaaH sukhino bhavantu …. [3]

OM !

Listen ! Listen !! Listen !!!

Contrary to popular belief, keen listening is more important during Veda

chanting. Perfect pronunciation automatically follows. Quite difficult to

believe, but true. Some team members chant at their own speed without being

aware that the neighbour has fallen slightly behind. Listening to our team

members will ensure that we chant in perfect sync.

When the teacher is correctly re-explaining a wrongly chanted svara, some

students are chanting in a low humming voice together with the teacher. They

are not listening. If they did in the first place, the mistake would not

happen. Even if the student feels he is perfect enough to hum alongwith the

teacher, the other students get distracted, affecting their concentration.

Keen listening is a must. Close your eyes and listen. It appears odd. Initial

discomfort is felt. Nevertheless, this enables the mind to focus all the

divergent energy channels going out to all the ten indriiyas into one

singular-concentrated-energy-channel going only to the ear.

Breath Control & Pause

yasya nishvasitam vedaaH says the shruti. It means “God breathes in and out

the veda mantras” Consequently, we must chant with proper and full breathing.

At all full stops, a full pause must be taken with a proper breath intake to

ensure vibrancy in the succeeding mantra. Not taking a proper breath means one

will jump ahead of the chanting leader, and the leader might have to skip a word

to catch up with the discordant chanter. Those with naturally loud volumes

should avoid “jumping ahead” especially as they will affect the entire group.

They should wait for the leader to chant the first akshara at the beginning of

the sentence and catch up by chanting the second akshara in sync.

Technical Pause: One must have a short pause before akaara series vowels in

the beginning of a word occuring in the middle of a sentence. As per shikshaa

shaastra [science of pronunciation] the line must be chanted with sandhi rules.

Example 1: akaara, [shrt pause] ukaara makaara, [shrt pause] iti. Ex 2:

niShkalo niranjano nirvikalpo niraakhyaatash-shuddho deva, [shrt pause] eko

naaraayanNaH. Ex 3: tasmaa-aadashvaa, [s.p.] ajaayanta. Ex. 4 : saadhyaa,

[s.p.] riShayashcha ye. Ex 5 : saashanaanashane, [s.p.] abhi. One could put a

comma at those places in the devanaagarii text as a self-reminder that: “I have

to pause here”.

Avoid jhatkaa while chanting

Some students tend to give a jhatkaa [sudden, short explosive raising of volume]

when chanting the lower / high pitched svaras. Some seniors with traditional

training also commit this mistake. This author also did it till it was pointed

out to him. The volume must be smooth and even throughout. Too loud volume

cannot be sustained without running out of breath [before the actual full

stop]. Too soft volume is considered a fault. The ending mantras are chanted

with higher pitch and volume as they are special [ashiirvaada, lokaaH

samastaaH, etc.]

Don’t make short vowels long

Normally short vowels are pronounced short. There exists a small allowance for

those occuring at the end of a sentence. They may be chanted long. This does

not mean that ALL those short endings should be chanted long. An “allowance”

is like a little grace mark. It cannot become the “rule”. There are occasions

when “prachodayaat” occurring at the end of all gaayatriis is pronounced

“prachodayaat-i ” or “prachodayaat-u ” or “prachodayaat-a ” Now “prachodayaat”

is not a short vowel ending. It is a no vowel ending. This is not an example

of the above allowance, but incorrect pronunciation. The vowel sound at the

end of the “dayaat” must be cut off.

Shiva-shakti method of chanting

If proper co-ordination is achieved at our rehearsals, we may chant each line

alternating between ladies and gents. This gives a special flavour and gives a

well rounded listening experience. The standard beginning mantras upto

“saaiishvaraaya vidmahe…. prachodayaat” will be chanted by both ladies and

gents. First line of shaanti paaTha beginning with “bhadram karNebhiH” will be

chanted by ladies. Second line “bhadram pashyemaakshabhiH” by gents… and so on…

The standard ending mantras “sarve bhavantu sukhinaH” onwards will be chanted

again by both ladies and gents. This gives “punch” to a line as all get a

“breather” before the next line.

Dharmakshetra chanting: next date

The 1st of January 2006 happens to be a Sunday and the Christian new year. If

the majority does commit to make it to Dharmakshetra on that date, we propose

the next chanting session on the occasion of the new year.

Further chanting selections

The currently five samithi groups taking part may select one suukta with a time

bound commitment. Each samithi selects a different suukta for svaadhyaaya. The

same may be presented for chanting at the end of the study period… say three to

six months, depending on the portion.

Proposed are: [1] gaNapati suukta, [2] naasadaasiit suukta; [3] hiraNyagarbha

suukta; [4] devii suukta; and [5] shrii suukta. Others not mentioned may be

selected, if one is so inclined. Audio and text will be made available.

Saama gaana singers specialization

Swami has said “Among the vedas, I am the saama veda” [bhagavadgiitaa 10:22]

It means the most difficult to master is the saama veda, which is also the most

elevating for the listener. Singers with a natural knack of mimicking the tune

may volunteer to learn saama veda songs. Even among braamhaNas, the saama

vedis just sing the saama songs at the ending puurNaahutii, which sort of

“climaxes” a yaaga. We are looking for singers who are willing to specialize

and learn at home from audio provided. The saama veda has very few teachers

left. We need to revive this tradition

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