I am not a religious person, don't subscribe to deity/idol worship. But there's something about mantras and bhajans that's immensely calming. Unknowingly, I used to listen to Gayatri Mantra everytime I walked to college for an exam or a quiz or a lab test. I didn't realize at
that time. It sort of helped me calm myself. Last year, when I was at a different juncture in life and required some much needed calm - especially after listening to the "Autobiography of a yogi" book that spread an overwhelming sense of calm and bliss, showed a glimpse
and took it away after the book ended, I turned to Gayatri Mantra again one day, just to listen to it. This time though, I became consciously very aware of the effects of the mantra on the psyche. After just 30 mins of listening to it with open eyes (focusing on any work at hand)
or better yet, just closing my eyes and sitting down with the chant with earphones on, the sense of calm, bliss and peace that engulfed me was immense. I still don't know why this happens, but it happens every time I am distressed and choose to listen to it.
Not just Gayatri mantra, any mantra/chant with a soothing voice feels good, but there's just something unique about Gayatri Mantra that makes it such a way that nothing else can top it.
So, everyone else chants it the wrong way and there are only two singers whose chant was spot on. One was sung by SP Balasubramaniam - and his version was the one i used to listen almost on a regular basis between 2010 and 2016. Here it is:
Another version that's very soothing to listen to at low volume is Anuradha Paudwal. Very soothing voice.
I also occasionally listen to Bombay Jayashree's singing. She's a class apart from all the other carnatic singers, and her voice just has some magic that's beyond worldly. She knows exactly where to use that carnatic "Ghaneer" voice and where to use the soothing motherly voice.
In any profession or even person life, you might have some tension or stress or work pressure/performance pressure. Half an hour of closed eye listening to such peaceful music/chants would make a world of difference in your mood. Try it out.
You need not be religious to listen to chants. Explore chants outside of hinduism also - like arabic chants and all that and whichever feels like the best suited music to calm you - choose that one. I believe hindu chants have a certain spiritual power to them because of the
way I think that ancient sages had cracked the vibrational frequencies of sounds and tapped into the right divine frequencies with the right words/intonations. This may sound like a crock of bollocks to many, but I still keep my mind open to such possibilities.
At the end of the day, Divine/Miraculous/Spiritual are just things that science hasn't found a way to explain, YET. So it always pays to be open-minded. Especially if it benefits you for good.
