Repertoire Collection and Justification

With a focus on personal spirituality and forest chaplaincy, this collection has been gathered as a response to experiences that predispose individuals for spiritual awakening and spiritual reflection, such as “issues concerning inner being, search for meaning, bereavement and death, and other religious dilemmas” (Maximo 2019, 124). In Bereavement and Final Saṃskāra (Antyeṣṭi) in Hindu Tradition, Sri Dhira Chaitanya (2005) emphasizes the presence of the Veda and how Vedic tradition establishes the authenticity of the Vedas. “Another example of how the Vedas serve as an unknown means for a known end is by providing the means for self-knowledge, knowing the essential nature of Oneself” (2005, 14). Through this process, one develops trust in the words of the Vedas, especially in regard to the unknown and means to achieve ends. Virtue and the very notion of preserving universal harmony is known as Dharma, in which resonance amplifies connection with harmony.

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The selected list of songs for sermon were chosen for the sake of an inevitable intersection of regions across the world, while considering shared sentiments of virtue. The main account is to consider how Dharma traditions, and particularly Vedic tradition, continues to be transmitted by traveling bhakta and devotional musician Sam Garrett, who is also connecting in Rastrafian roots and offering bilingual songs with Spanish lyrics. Sam Garret implements Sanskrit mantras and amplifies the liturgical presence, while acknowledging his mentors and particularly his spiritual teacher Mooji Baba. “With respect to self-knowledge, tradition has established the truth of the words of the Vedas as a means of knowing oneself. Self-knowledge has been passed down from one generation to the next, in an unbroken line of teaching tradition to the present day, and is available for any individual to access” (Chaitanya 2005, 14). Overall, a Bhakti saint is guided by understanding the principles of Dharma, which bring ease and insights for issues concerning inner being and the search for meaning.

 

Sanskrit Liturgical Music

Sanskrit stems from many traditions, and particularly within Hinduism where there are many branches with variant perspectives. In the introduction of her translation and commentary of the Devī Gītā, C. Mackenzie Brown. (1998) writes, “Between the time of composition of the Bhagavad Gītā [where Vaishnava saints orient] and of the Devī Gītā, in addition to the arising of Sakta-orientated bhakti, there were two other major philosophical and religious developments that directly or indirectly impacted almost all of the subsequent Hindu tradition, and are intricately intertwined with Devī Gītā” (Brown 1998, 12), providing clarity for the Sakta perspective. In Saiva Tantra a Way of Self Awareness, L. N. Sharma (1981) provides clarity for the Saiva perspective, “Mantra as the pre-eminent technique and symbolical form of Saiva tantra. Sound is the unifying stream that grounds the reality” (Sharma 1981, 87). The Agama scripture is where Shaiva saints signify this notion, while Hindus may come to realize this truth of mantra and sound through their own perspective and particular lineage.

Sound studies in anthropology and theology find roots within Hindu studies because of many conceptualizations, with one being Sabda. “That Sabda or any form of sound also has similar or greater impact – cannot be believed or realized so clearly. Even the visible effects of music are found to vary according to the psychology or emotional state of the subject and are therefore experienced in varied contexts and intensities” (Acharya 2003, 11). With the Sanskrit alphabet symbolizing the entirety of creation made manifest through sound. “Each letter is itself a mantra, and a divinity. Taken as a whole, they represent the mantric body of the Kundalini, who is none other than the Sabda-Brahman—the pure consciousness in the form of the primal, unarticulated sound that is in all beings sandwich emerges from the primal point (bindu)” (Brown 1998, 187). Overall, in both Saivite and Sakta yoga, the sahasrara is where reunion and inner union of the masculine and feminine, where one becomes in tune with the cosmic rhythm.

 

Songs for Sermon

1. La Luz / Raffa Martinez and Sam Garrett

https://youtu.be/d3xyUJ8g24g?si=mG3THBlF5_LInSz5 

 

This song has made it to the top of the list, while considering a viable recognition of at least three layers of cultural intersections that place one in the mountains and where rivers of traditions merge at pura vida. Seeing the Blue Morpho Butterfly on the far right corner of this image while listening to La Luz and playing the cajon placed me right where I am upon a beautiful synchronicity of happening to see the butterfly. Krishna playing the flute alongside the butterfly seems to signify the butterfly in the gross body and Krishna in the subtle body. The question is where is the casual body, while one may initially say at the center where the musicians touch. Considering the song name, “La Luz,” or The Light, the light rays from a central source of light takes over in my contemplation as the causal body in this image.
In Bereavement and Final Saṃskāra (Antyeṣṭi) in Hindu Tradition, Sri Dhira Chaitanya (2005) states, “According to the model presented in the Vedic tradition, an individual is made up of gross, subtle and causal bodies” (Chaitanya 2005, 71). To conceptualize the image presented for this song a macrocosm of the individual as microcosm, offers a connection to the threads of self that may be revealed through an image, viz. an iconography forming through an album or record cover. “Whereas the gross body can be perceived and objectified by the sense organs, the subtle body is not available for sense perception. However, the subtle body can be objectified cognitively to an extent, as when one observes one’s thoughts, feelings and memories. One experiences the physical world during the waking state of experience, by means of the gross and subtle bodies. One experiences an inner subjective world by the subtle body, while totally preoccupied with thought or while in the dream state” (2005, 71). Overall, this contemporary Latin song offers space for iconography of Lord Krishna and iconology of Hare Krishna mantra.

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1. I Choose to Live in Love (Lakshmi) / Sam Garrett and Mollie Mendoza

In this record, Mollie Mendoza commences the prayer, “Bringing an awareness to the sense of lack that so often we hold, and instead infusing our heart, our life, our whole being with this sense of “I am enough. I have enough and I do enough. And so we sing for Lakshmi.” Sam Garrett starts the song with the guitar, setting up the words, “I sing like the birds. I grow like the trees. I choose to live in love. I am joy. I am ease.” These words are to be chanted with the group several times, and then the group layers in with the mantra, “Om Sri Maha Lakshmiyei Namah” which may be translated as “Salutations to the great Goddess Lakshmi.” The group then continues to weave the initial words of affirmation with the mantra, singing and chanting them every other set of motion. Then Sam Garrett guides the group to sing, “I was softly on this Earth in the Light of God’s name. I walk softly on this Earth in the Light of God’s name.” These words are sung in repetition, until Sam says, “...softly in the Light of Your name.” 

 

https://youtu.be/pOL66P0FdPQ?si=LInkbY6zU47S2WUx 

 

Subsequent to Sam’s turn of “in the Light of God’s name” to “in the Light of Your name,” Mollie affirms, “Bringing the energy of abundance. Sense of enoughness to permeate the whole being. Seeing all the beauty of knowing that we are truly enough.” Then the mantra. The record concludes with the words “...softly on this Earth in the Light of God’s name.” Upon the rootedness of the Great Goddess, with Lakṣmi as one of her various forms, C. Mackenzie Brown comments on the Devī Gītā, “The multiform Great Goddess not only dwells within this world, she is also embodied in it, thereby thoroughly sacralizing the world. Essential to such embodiment is the concrete specificity that characterizes” (Brown 1998, 239) embodiment on Earth. The specificity of mantra for Lakṣmi signifies a direct relational energy with the Earth, while specifying a goddess connects with the pīṭha, as “the ritual altar upon which one invokes the Goddess” (1998, 240). Overall, from a Sakta perspective, the all-embodying Great Goddess or MahaDev is acknowledged upon Sam’s lyrical shift from “God’s name” to “your name.”
 

1. MAMA - Sam Garrett and Mollie Mendoza 

- Lyrics - 

Tierra, mi cuerpo 

Agua, mi sangre 

Aire, mi aliento 

Y fuego, mi espíritu

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Earth is my body

Water is my blood 

Air is my breath

Fire is my spirit 

•

I feel the earth calling us home, back to the heart to the wild unknown, humbled and gracious is where we belong, one family one tribe can we all get along. We call on the stars the rivers and trees, we learn from the mountains, the birds and the bees, we gather this sangha our roots grow down deep, beneath the surface beyond our beliefs.

We can come home children don’t be afraid, life is your teacher so don’t run away, stay wild and free raise your hands up and pray, this is our moment there’s only today.

Hey mamacita show us the way, we’ll no longer hide from the shadows and pain, we are alive, we are awake, we are the open and this is our faith.

•

Tierra, mi cuerpo 

Agua, mi sangre 

Aire, mi aliento 

Y fuego, mi espíritu

•

I feel the Earth beneath my feet

I feel the life, within her leaves

I feel her song, in the rain that falls

I feel the warmth in her heart that calls

•

Hey Mama Hey Mama Hey

 

The lyrics of this song speak for themselves, while also offering a bilingual song to the world that is not technically claiming any one tradition but calling earth our home. The lyric, “Hey mamacita show us the way, we’ll no longer hide from the shadows and pain, we are alive, we are awake, we are the open and this is our faith.” To signify Mamacita is to be known for addressing a Latin woman, while in this context it seems to be speaking to Mother Nature, or other the Feminine Divine. It is also interesting to note that Sita in the Vedic tradition lived her life in the forest with her twin sons, and is known for her connection to Mother and the core of the Earth, especially upon the grief of being isolated after the decision made by Rama as king. These lyrics clearly are acknowledging culture and the life of people among Latin land with Mamacita, while seems essential to share back in Vedic tradition. Overall, these lyrics aim to address the four main elements of Earth, to honor the planet and it, itself, as a creator or Creator.

 

 

https://youtu.be/HvLNje4aC6c?si=aabukDen5lk1PFU4

 

The cinematography seems to be offering the function of motion and the shift of power dynamics, while definitely employing the rule-of-thirds in filmmaking. In most of the shots, the individuals as lover and beloved are off to the right or left of the frame, while there are also many other shots where the individuals are walking or moving toward the center of the frame. This motion picture is one of my favorite creations as far as studying cinematography in the rainforest, which so seamlessly goes along with the lyrics of MAMA. The journey between the lover and beloved is offered to those a part of the dance, with a sensation of knowing the softness and sweetness of where Sam and Mollie are together at that particular time in their lives together. Overall, the vulnerability of devotional musicians and musicians in general in a motion picture emphasizes the intention and coalescence of the musical art and craft of cinematography. 

 

1. Sam Garrett - I & I (Official Music Video) 

The cinematographers of this motion picture are brothers, Nick Waraksa and Nico Waraksa. The camera in the frame during one shot of this music video reminded me of the ethnographic filmmaking notion toward reflexivity. The entire creation breathes the sensitivity contemporary ethnographers aim for while holding space for interlocutors to the point of participatory ethnography and potentially letting individuals guide the course of the production. This also seems to invite viewers to participate and sense every drum beat to the core.  “In other words truth is often arrived at inter-subjectively via a collective process and not ,in practice, in isolation. Even in the cases where much of an individual’s theological and ideological orientation in Rastafari is arrived at introspectively, there is reinforcement via collective, communal experiences” (Barnett 2002, 10). The video ends in a gathering, with a reaffirmation of identity and emphasis on “I an I” rather than “me and you.” The entire ethnographic process and immersive experience may be considered synced and synthesized upon that statement.

 

https://youtu.be/9kGkwSPCzMw?si=6YtI5S5Eq6f02EEd 

The lyrics of this song resonate with the dialectic of the epistemological individualism and epistemologicaI collectivism of Rastafari, centering largely on the I and I concept. Whereby,  affirming “that knowledge resides in the soul and is teased out with introspection, in this sense we need not rely on anyone to give us knowledge, as the knowledge lies within us” (Barnett 2002, 10). In “Towards a Just Worship, A Black Practitioner’s Methodology for Decolonizing Worship,” Alisha Lola Jones (2021) discusses the process of including “just” or “justice” in our worship. “The culture-bearer, one who cares and preserves the culture, is a living epistle whose transmission of the African-derived oral music tradition is designed to complete the performance. Through their life experience and seasoned mentorship, the true verification occurs in musicians’ performance practice and awareness of the song’s placement in everyday life” (2021, 16). In this case, the motion picture seems to be revealing Sam Garrett’s affirmation of identity and Rastafari-reasoning session upon his prayer and devotional song. 

 

1. Sam Garrett | Higher Than The Mountains

The lyrics in this song as well as the deliverance and timing has brought tears to tears many times through the years. I could say that it is this song that inspired me to live in mountains in luscious forest, after living in the snow and desert most of my life. The meditative theme of finding one’s inner world in the mountains, to me, could not be any more true. The ocean has its own influence, while the mountains bring a sense of knowing of both unity and individuality. The record cover offers an image of Shiva, which corresponds with the individual in the mountains who is meditating for inner peace and may have dreadlocks. This does seem to be the space in which Sam Garrett resonates the most, though his devotional music is intentional and naturally includes other human faiths, Dharma traditions, and branches of Hinduism. The song leaves the listeners with a contemplative gesture to go deeper inward, while you may find soul family in the similar resonance. 

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https://youtu.be/PCSEub0i7Gk?si=cU62LBkVWbPnqRrA

The motion picture begins with Sam honoring his guru at the altar, while there then continues to be an offering of softness and connection throughout the music video. The Hindu gesture to Brahman as “one alone, without second” as eternal and unchanging seems to carry the substructure of this song, as an intrinsic truth felt by all in a shared ocean or universe. “When associated with Maya, Brahman appears in three successive forms or bodies, causal, subtle, and gross, which represent stages of manifestation of the material universe…Maya itself is not fully real, as it is not eternal (since it comes to and with knowledge) and is subject to change” (Brown 1998, 15). Sam seems to aim to offer comfort in distinguishing Brahman and Maya, with this awareness lending to a knowing of release and acceptance. The group in the room embraces this offer toward a sense of communion and appreciation of their presence together, while aware of the source of the world. Overall, this motion picture seems to be an example of what can happen when a network of people come together in terms of consent and sharing in video production.

 

Suitable For Interfaith Ministry

It is currently a time where interfaith is both inevitable and necessary. While aims toward interfaith ministry are inevitable within humanity, I ponder how we can assure these transmissions are met with an intentional impact of sharing traditions. Since it is necessary for interfaith ministry to occur, I wonder how we can hold space for traditions more justly. This exploration was meant to consider an acoustemology of the process in which there is a multiplicity of perspectives within Hinduism, while the Vedic tradition remains a unifying force that is met in multi-cultural spaces. Centroamérica is generally known for Catholicism and its admiration for the humility of Mother Mary, while also holding space for Catholic litany among saints that are revered for their connection with humanity and nature. Sam Garrett seems to be connecting the notions of virtue across different faiths while in tune with intrinsic values of the Latin land that may welcome him in Costa Rica, while emphasizing a substructure of virtue within human consciousness and favorably connected to the Divine Feminine.

This interfaith premise is experienced in his lyrics and multiple use of languages, and considers how traditions are shared or how tradition is felt, as well as how faiths are known or how faith is embodied. Other prayer records by Sam Garrett include Light of Your Grace, Hallelujah, Gayatri Mantra with Mollie Mendoza. Sam seems to be most well-known for The Dance and the Wonder in relation to Shiva’s dance and selfhood, while One Family is his latest album reaching the Rastrifarian inside. If world artists and musicians continue to network within such an interfaith dialogue among traditions, I can imagine this will allow for a wholesome pathway of musicians such as Gauri Paighan with songs like “Behalf of Us.”