Meditation Series: Trance
About Meditation Series: Trance
TRANCE combines elements of repetitive rhythm and unique melodic scales to lift the mind from the ordinary. The lyrics describe an ancient Brahman breathing and purification technique (see lyrics below), written by a 12th century poet named Jai Dev, with translation, music and arrangement by Wah! …voice, harmonium, light tabla, Chinese gong, and Balinese gamelon.
“This mantra has a powerful healing effect.”
The Story Behind Meditation Series: Trance
This CD was created as a live soundtrack to a yoga video. I watched the TV screen and created the music as I saw the energy shift from posture to posture. I then overdubbed basslines, gongs and gamelons. The master was lost for a few years, rediscovered, and then digitally remastered in 2003. I made it 68 minutes to inspire you to meditate with this breathing practice for an hour.
The poem was originally written by Jai Dev (1170-1245 AD) in northern India. About 400 hundred years later it was included in the Adi Granth, a compilation of spiritual writings used by the Sikh religion. Delighted to discover this yogic reference in the Sikh scriptures, I put it to music. It specifies Maru Raga; my melody is close but not exact; there are a number of scale variations within the Maru Raga.
The language is from northern India. Some scholars believe Jai Dev lived in Eastern India which would be today’s Bengali area. Jai Dev was famous for composing the Govinda Gita, a 12-chapter Indian classic telling stories of love between Krishna and Radha. The Govinda Gita is a mainstay for Krishna devotees worldwide and marks a watershed in the development of Sanskrit Kavya literature in the use of a simple style that is much closer to the spoken language than the purely literary or ornate style of earlier works.
However, this poem is revolutionary not just for its change to clearer language; it is also remarkable because the yogic information is not put into “code” – most yogic texts were written in a secret code so normal people wouldn’t detect it. For example, if Hafiz had written this poem he might have said, “I hold the wine with my left hand and drink deeply, taking the Lord’s nectar close to my heart. Left hand, right hand, all my love transfers as I hold the wine. My right hand takes the wine and gives it to the wind…”. Or something like that. They never openly gave yogic information. So, for that alone, it is significant.
Here are the words:
Ekongkar Satgur Prasad (I replaced this opening salutation with Sat Nam)
Chand sat bhedia nad sat puria sur sat khor sadat kia
Abal bal toria achal chal thapia, aghar gharia taha apiu pia
Man ad gun ad vakhania, tere dubidha drisht sammania (rahau)
Arad kau aradia sharadh kau sharadhia salal kau salal samman aia
Badat jaideo jaidev kau rammiya braham nirvan liv lin paia
Here is the translation:
Chand sat bhedia nad sat puria sur sat khor sadat kia
I pierced the moon with breath (chand = ida = left nostril) on the inhale, and filled the nada during breath retention (nada is sound, in this case reverberating in shushmana, top of brainstem/ pituitary/pineal area during breath retention); I gave up the breath by the sun (sura = pingala = right nostril on the exhale) sixteen times (khorsa = repeating the pranava = seed mantra 16 times in each round of inhale, retention and exhale).
Abal bal toria achal chal thapia, aghar gharia taha apiu pia
I broke my strength; I became immovable; I fixed and made stable my unstable mind and quaffed nectar.
Man ad gun ad vakhania, tere dubidha drisht sammania (rahau)
0h my mind! Duality (the idea that ‘You and I are distinct’) ended for me when I remembered the Source of all qualities. (Rahau indicates the key line of the poem).
Arad kau aradia sharadh kau sharadhia salal kau salal samman aia
What was worthy of worship I worshipped, what was worthy of trust I trusted. I merged with God as water mingles with water (salal kau salal).
Badat jaideo jaidev kau rammiya braham nirvan liv lin paia
Poet of the Supreme Lord (jaideo) Jaidev says, ‘I have taken joy in the God who triumphs; being absorbed in Brahman I received Nirvana, final absorption.’
Much of my lifetime has been spent discovering yogic teachings and writings and putting them to music, as well as putting them into practice. This poem describes alternate nostril breathing, and also begins the study of the nostrils, nostril dominance and how it corresponds to the brain. If you want to join me, I started a research project tracking the dominance of the nostrils, writing down at what time the nostrils change naturally from one side to the other. Yogic scriptures only state that nostril dominance changes approximately every 80 minutes but lacks specific information on how to influence nostril dominance or under what circumstances they will not switch. I have found through 2 years of research on myself, tracking and graphing the nostril dominance cycles, that physical toxicity engages right nostril for longer periods of time and emotional clearing engages left nostril for longer periods of time. During periods of deep emotional healing, left nostril engages abnormally, in my case sometimes for periods of 3-8 hours. During periods of physical toxicity, right nostril remains abnormally engaged for long periods of time. Want to track your nostril dominance and add to my research? Email me!
After 20 years sharing mantra and music, I am happy to share this recording. My meditative music is a celebration of people coming together to share the practices of mantra, yoga, meditation and divine connection. Thank you for listening, thank you for chanting, for coming to the kirtans, for making this world an amazing place.
Om Shanti
Wah!