"The word of man is the Spirit present in man. Spoken words are sounds originating from the vibrations of thoughts, and thoughts are in turn vibrations emitted by the ego or soul." Paramahansa Yogananda The music of the Divine Gypsies is rooted in Mantra Yoga, a millenary practice that involves the uninterrupted chanting of specific texts from the Oriental tradition, in Sanskrit. During chanting, the sacred vibration of this ancient language stimulates the subtle energy centres along the spinal column (chakras), setting into action a series of processes that deeply purify and energise the physical, mental and spiritual levels of being.

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The word Yoga derives from the Sanskrit root YUJ, which means 'to unite, bind together, direct and focus attention' but also 'to subdue' in the sense of disciplining the intellect, mind, emotions, will, in order to achieve a balance of all parts to reconnect our soul with the universe. The word Mantra (composed of the two syllables 'man' and 'tra') can be translated as 'to save the mind from suffering and illness'. The vibration of the Sanskrit words helps the mind to achieve concentration (MAN: mind, thought, intellect, act of thinking, breath, soul) while the will power applied to the sound of the voice in repetition implies action (TRA: freeing, accomplishing, protecting).

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Mantra yoga is thus a practice that passes through the repetition of the word and the intention of the sound to foster introspection and lead naturally to the stillness of silent meditation. The repetition usually occurs first out loud and then gradually decreases in intensity until it becomes a whisper and finally continues only mentally. At the end of the chanting one enters the silence of meditation with a state of deep calm, a state of stillness due to the fact that we have 'defused' normal mental processes and worries not through the futile effort of stopping or controlling them, but through concentrated vibration on the chanting by practising the ancient system of 'nailing down'!

 

The Maha-Mantra (Great Mantra) is a historical mantra in the bhakti tradition consisting of sixteen words. Only three are actually used: Hare, Krishna and Rama (sometimes shortened to Ram). It is recited or chanted in a typical form, at the end of which the three words are repeated a total of sixteen times. The text is always the same, but the melody may change in the different variants in use. It is first mentioned in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad contained in the Yajur Veda.