Mantras have been used for centuries to aid a seeker to reach a meditative state. It can be a simple word or set of words or sounds, repeated over and over. Many, or even most, mantras we in the West know about today are in the ancient Sanskrit language.
Because my brain doesn’t seem to be strong in the language area, I’ve never been able to learn these mantras beyond the very, very simple ones. I’ve literally sang the Gayatri mantra thousands and thousands of times to a recording and yet still get tripped up if I try and sing it on my own. I love chanting AUM (sometimes spelled OM), mainly because I like the reverberation it causes in the heart-centre (chakra) and how it can quickly silence my mind. Sri Chinmoy did not generally seem to focus on mantras/chanting/japa as a main spiritual practice in his teachings — though certainly encouraged its practice as an aid or for quick results. (For more on this: read Prayer-World, Mantra-World and Japa-World, by Sri Chinmoy)
Due to my challenge in learning languages, my song group (the “Enthusiasm-Awakeners”) focuses on songs that Sri Chinmoy composed in English rather than the majority of the songs he composed in Bengali (his mother-language). Of the 1,528 songs we’ve so far learned, there are a few that I personally call “mantric”. My own criteria to call a song ‘mantric’ is this: (a) it reverberates in my heart-centre; (b) it is super simple and yet powerful; and (c) if I had to live the rest of my life with only one thought, it could well continuously feed my heart and mind.
As with many mantras, the way they affect a seeker is personal and may not strike another seeker’s heart-chord in the same way. That said, here are my ideal English mantric songs by Sri Chinmoy.
Kindly note: recordings are below the scores are for learning or practice purposes only — and meant to just get you started. Once you listen to it, sing the song over and over and over and over (and over!) again. 🙂
[top of page] or
[see index of the 1,528 set of selected English songs on this website]
[Go to the 90-day project main materials page which has all 1,528 songs, scores and practice recordings]
Visit other links:
- SriChinmoy.org — information on the teachings and creative manifestations of Sri Chinmoy
- SriChinmoySongs.com — search through all 23,000 songs in all languages
- SriChinmoyLibary.com — search through poetry, prose and more
- SriChinmoy-Reflections.com — an ‘on this day’ reflection. Search by timeline (select month tabs on top webpage)
[Go to DevotionSongs.com homepage for other articles or sets of songs]
