Vedic = From the Vedas

What is Vedic Chanting?

Vedic is a term that is used to describe a world of traditions that stem from the ancient texts of India, the Vedas. Within these traditions there are various types of things we might chant, some directly from the Vedas, and some written much later. Sutras, shlokas, bhajans, bīja mantras and Veda recitation may all be categorized as chanting, but are very different in origin, cultural context and intention.

I incorporate different forms of chanting in my classes, because as most people who begin a yoga journey here in the West, I was exposed to different lineages along the way and have picked up things that resonate with me from a few different teachers. One important thing that I have learned, now that I’m studying within a living Veda lineage, is how important it is to understand the difference between these practices, and why Veda mantras are different.

The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts from which Indic knowledge systems including Yoga, Ayurveda, and Jyotish stem from. They are considered śruti, that which is heard, indicating their status as revealed texts that ancient seers brought back from states of deep meditation.

These ancient seers or ṛṣis and ṛṣikas, had direct experience of the nature of reality which they expressed through esoteric poetry that was passed on through oral tradition in the form of the mantras that were later organized and written down in Sanskrit as the four Vedas.

These mantras contain deep wisdom on many things, including how to live in harmony and alignment with nature, each other and ourselves. Veda recitation aligns your vibration with this wisdom and over time it begins to unfold inside of you, inviting new insight and understanding.

When we chant mantras from Veda, it’s important to follow certain rules for chanting, because when we keep the integrity of the mantra we keep the integrity of the wisdom intact. The wisdom is encoded in the sound.

Learning mantras within a lineage is a way to tap into a vibration that has been preserved by a rigorous oral tradition, precisely transmitting the knowledge from teacher to student for thousands of years.

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