Guest guest Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Dear All, Here are some of my favorite tongue twisters in the Chandi - lines that I consistently trip over...interesting that most of them seem to be from chapter 3 chapter 3 - Verse 5 - Chiccheda cha dhanuh sadyo (written as pronounced) Chapter 3 - Verse 9 - chikshepa cha tatas tattu chapter 3 - verse 22 - laangulataaditamshchaanyaan chapter 3 - verse 32 - ... tam chakarsha jagarja cha And a few more somewhere... Other than constant repetition , do people have any techniques to iron out these vocal wrinkles ? (I remember Eliza Dolittle with marbles in her mouth - courtesy Professor Higgins - before beginning her voice lessons) If you have any tips or tricks to handle these tongue twisters , it would be great if you can share them with the group. Jai Maa Latha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Listen to Shree Maa and Swamiji chanting of the MP3 and go back over it until you've "got it". Make marks in your text to show you where to break the line. Write the line the way it sounds to you. Don't try to be a speed demon. Try to break out the meaning of the individual verse word by word (use a Sanskrit dictionary). Pray for divine help. Latha Nanda <lathananda Dec 16, 2004 9:00 AM Can you say this three times quick ? <html><body> <tt> <BR> <BR> Dear All,<BR> <BR> Here are some of my favorite tongue twisters in the Chandi - lines <BR> that I consistently trip over...interesting that most of them seem <BR> to be from chapter 3<BR> <BR> chapter 3 - Verse 5 - Chiccheda cha dhanuh sadyo (written as <BR> pronounced)<BR> Chapter 3 - Verse 9 - chikshepa cha tatas tattu<BR> chapter 3 - verse 22 - laangulataaditamshchaanyaan<BR> chapter 3 - verse 32 - ... tam chakarsha jagarja cha<BR> <BR> And a few more somewhere...<BR> <BR> Other than constant repetition , do people have any techniques to <BR> iron out these vocal wrinkles ? (I remember Eliza Dolittle with <BR> marbles in her mouth - courtesy Professor Higgins - before beginning <BR> her voice lessons)<BR> <BR> If you have any tips or tricks to handle these tongue twisters , it <BR> would be great if you can share them with the group.<BR> <BR> Jai Maa<BR> Latha<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> </tt> <br> <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> <tr bgcolor=#FFFFCC> <td align=center><font size="-1" color=#003399><b> Sponsor</b></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor=#FFFFFF> <td align=center width=470><table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0> <tr> <td align=center><font face=arial size=-2></font><br><a href="http://us.ard./SIG=129nr0aov/M=298184.5639630.6699735.3001176/D=g\ roups/S=1705075991:HM/EXP=1103302943/A=2434971/R=0/SIG=11eeoolb0/*http://www.net\ flix.com/Default?mqso=60185400" alt=""><img src=" " alt="click here" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a></td></tr></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td><img alt="" width=1 height=1 src="http://us.adserver./l?M=298184.5639630.6699735.3001176/D=groups/S=\ :HM/A=2434971/rand=191393674"></td></tr> </table> <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --> <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> <br> <tt><hr width="500"> <b> Links</b><br> <ul> <li><br><a href="/">\ /</a><br> <li><br><a href="?subject=Un">Devi_M\ andir</a><br> <li><a href=""> Terms of Service</a>. </ul> </tt> </br> <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --> </body></html> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Jai Maa! Ardis' suggestions are very good. In my experience with learning and also tutoring others in chanting, the most important activity (aside from praying for divine help!) is to break down the lines and longer words into more manageable pieces. Then those smaller pieces should be repeated individually until they become easier. As each individual piece starts to feel natural, they should be linked together until one can chant an entire line naturally. FOr example, the line "laangulataaditamshchaanyaan" could be broken up as: "laangu lataadi tamsh chaanyaan" THe line can be broken up by writing small lines in one's book, or by typing out the line, inserting spaces, and then printing it out for practice. If a particular section of something is more difficult, take a day or two to focus ONLY on that section. Chant it repeatedly until it "sinks in". If you hit any fatigue or resistance, take a break until you've had a good night's sleep. Sleep is necessary for certain learning tasks, and it's more productive to come back to something after solid sleep. Another tip is to focus on one aspect of chanting at a time. So you could start out just making sure all the right sounds are coming out in the right order. After practicing, listen to a recording of Maa or Swamiji to make sure your pronunciation is reasonably close to theirs. Once the basic sounds are in place, you can then focus on getting the rhythm and stress down. There are certain rules for this, and I can maybe post on those later. Without knowing the rules, just listen to the recording and listen for the rhythm/melody. With enough studious listening and practicing, the rhythm will come. I find that getting the rhythm really helps me to get into the "flow" of the chant, which helps me to feel the energy much better. One aspect of chanting that really helps to invoke powerful energy is to work on pronouncing the "aspirate" sounds. These are known as "mahaprana" sounds in Sanskrit, because they contain great (maha) energy (prana). These sounds are represented in transliteration as gh, kh, dh, th, ph, bh, etc. I can post some tips on pronouncing these sounds later, too. Making sure not to miss the mahaprana sounds really enhances the energy of one's chanting, in my personal experience. A few years ago, my guru taught a group of Westerners to chant the Purusha Suktam. She would only teach one line per day, with about an hour devoted to that line. We would spend an hour practicing this much: "Om sahasra shiirShaa puruShaH | sahasraakShaH sahasrapaat" She would chant one word, then have us repeat. After we had gone through all the words in the line, she would chant half the line and have us repeat it. Once we had gone through the entire line she would have us chant it together 5, 10, or 20 times. She would make any necessary corrections, then have us repeat it again. This is something that can be done with any of Maa's or Swamiji's MP3 recordings by playing short sections of a chant repeatedly, then practicing, then going on to the next section. As a final step, one could then chant the whole thing along with the recording. I had one particular experience with the Purusha Suktam class that really made an impact on me, and encouraged me to always do my very best with pronunciation. We were learning the section "yadannenati rohati". In this phrase there are certain sounds that my guru was focusing on, in terms of where exactly to place the tongue (against the upper teeth with the tip of the tongue extended a bit). I was wondering whether it really mattered where one placed one's tongue, as long as the sound seemed to be accurate. I decided to just follow exactly what my guru was instructing, and was chanting the line with everyone. After a few repetitions, my whole mouth area started to feel numb and I couldn't chant out loud anymore. Then some very strong vibrations erupted in my trunk and filled my entire torso and head. It felt like there was a machine inside me that had been switched on. The electrical energy moved down my arms into my hands, and my hands spontaneously formed chinmudra. Curious, I experimented by trying to move my fingers out of the mudra, but I couldn't, they were definitely stuck. I could feel energy streaming out of the third, ring, and pinkie fingers. I was also having spontaneous deep breathing, which felt like a bellows being used to feed the fire inside me with prana and oxygen. Luckily I was at the very back of the room, so no one noticed anything unusual! I felt a tremendous sense of elation and joy, with a feeling that felt like it went back many births, of "Yes, I am finally exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing...I've waited so long for this!" When the energy subsided and I was finally able to unlock my hands and open my eyes, I saw that my guru was looking at me with a beaming smile on her face. I thought "Wow, all that just from paying attention to where my tongue was!" I want to stress that my reason for improving my pronunciation is never to make a certain impression or to feel proud that I might be doing it "properly". It is to make sure that I am doing everything in my power to benefit from the purifying grace of Devi's sacred mantras. For me, it's about putting forth effort out of devotion and desire for true progress. Swamiji's writings about pronunciation are really important. I've seen lots of people who chant perfectly, but they don't radiate love or purity like others who may not chant so perfectly. It all depends on one's heart. Chanting is a lot like yoga for the tongue. Just as we would focus on our yoga posture in order to generate a healing flow of energy, focusing on pronunciation helps us to attract tremendous cosmic energy. As the tongue moves in different positions, it stimulates many different centers in the oral cavity and brings energy to all of them. Well, if I don't stop here, I may never stop! Jai Maa, Ekta --- Ardis Jackson <anandamama wrote: > > Listen to Shree Maa and Swamiji chanting of the MP3 and go back over it until > you've "got it". Make marks in your text to show you where to break the line. > Write the line the way it sounds to you. Don't try to be a speed demon. Try > to break out the meaning of the individual verse word by word (use a Sanskrit > dictionary). Pray for divine help. > > > Latha Nanda <lathananda > Dec 16, 2004 9:00 AM > > Can you say this three times quick ? > > > <html><body> > > > > <tt> > <BR> > <BR> > Dear All,<BR> > <BR> > Here are some of my favorite tongue twisters in the Chandi - lines <BR> > that I consistently trip over...interesting that most of them seem <BR> > to be from chapter 3<BR> > <BR> > chapter 3 - Verse 5 - Chiccheda cha dhanuh sadyo (written as <BR> > pronounced)<BR> > Chapter 3 - Verse 9 - chikshepa cha tatas tattu<BR> > chapter 3 - verse 22 - laangulataaditamshchaanyaan<BR> > chapter 3 - verse 32 - ... tam chakarsha jagarja cha<BR> > <BR> > And a few more somewhere...<BR> > <BR> > Other than constant repetition , do people have any techniques to <BR> > iron out these vocal wrinkles ? (I remember Eliza Dolittle with <BR> > marbles in her mouth - courtesy Professor Higgins - before beginning <BR> > her voice lessons)<BR> > <BR> > If you have any tips or tricks to handle these tongue twisters , it <BR> > would be great if you can share them with the group.<BR> > <BR> > Jai Maa<BR> > Latha<BR> > <BR> > <BR> > <BR> > <BR> > <BR> > <BR> > </tt> > > > <br> > > <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> > > <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2> > <tr bgcolor=#FFFFCC> > <td align=center><font size="-1" color=#003399><b> > Sponsor</b></font></td> > </tr> > <tr bgcolor=#FFFFFF> > <td align=center width=470><table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0> <tr> > <td align=center><font face=arial size=-2></font><br><a > href="http://us.ard./SIG=129nr0aov/M=298184.5639630.6699735.3001176/D=g\ roups/S=1705075991:HM/EXP=1103302943/A=2434971/R=0/SIG=11eeoolb0/*http://www.net\ flix.com/Default?mqso=60185400" > alt=""><img > src=" " > alt="click here" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a></td></tr></table> > </td> > </tr> > <tr><td><img alt="" width=1 height=1 > src="http://us.adserver./l?M=298184.5639630.6699735.3001176/D=groups/S=\ :HM/A=2434971/rand=191393674"></td></tr> > </table> > > <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --> > > > > <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> > > <br> > <tt><hr width="500"> > <b> Links</b><br> > <ul> > <li><br><a > href="/">\ /</a><br> > <li><br><a > href="?subject=Un">Devi_M\ andir</a><br> > <li><a > href=""> Terms of Service</a>. > </ul> > </tt> > </br> > > <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --> > > > </body></html> > > > > > > > The all-new My - Get yours free! 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Guest guest Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Dear Ardis and Ekta, Thank you for those excellent suggestions and shared experiences. Ekta - you wrote - "Well, if I don't stop here, I may never stop!" Please dont stop . It is always nice and informative to hear from you. Jai Maa Latha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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