Gayatri Mantra and Maha Mrityeonjaya Mantra - Hein Braat
Twenty years ago Hein got into touch with mantra singing through a teacher in kriya yoga. Although he couldn’t totally find himself in the yoga doctrine and the content of the mantra lyrics, it was the inspiration with which this teacher sang his mantras that appealed to him most. Thus his interest was aroused, and driven by his musical constitution, he wondered what kind of technique and mechanism was behind it all. The rest of the yoga he more or less put aside and decided to focus all his attention and energy on the art of chanting mantras. By experimenting and constant practice, Hein managed to open many doors within himself. In order to widen/deepen his understanding of mantras he also studied Sanskrit for one year (the language in which the mantras were originally written down). Compared to Dutch he finds Sanskrit a much richer language with a wide spectrum of sounds that involve the entire body in pronunciation. And that he finds essential for reaching unity. Just like an instrument, all tones are utilised to reach an integral sound that unites everything together. The mantra does the same thing: the singer uses his own body to tune himself to his Higher Self, Soul, Life essence or whatever name you wish to attach to it.
