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1975 Paramahansa Yogananda Songs Of My Heart Chants & Poems Vinyl LP Record VG+
Vinyl / Jacket Grade per Goldmine Standard: VG+ / VG+
Chants and Poems The Voice of Paramahansa Yogananda "Music that is saturated with soul force is the real universal music, understandable by all hearts." —Paramahansa Yogananda The chants and most of the inspirational selec- tions presented in this album were composed by Paramahansa Yogananda, the first great yoga master of India to live in the West for a long period (over thirty years). In 1920 Sri Yogananda founded Self- Realization Fellowship (Yogoda Satsanga Society of India), an international nonprofit organization de- voted to the study and dissemination of the ancient philosophy of Yoga. A natural poet and musician, Paramahansa Yogananda was probably the first Hindu to give Westerners the English words and the music of many traditional sacred hymns and bhajans (devotional songs) of India. With the exception of The Hound of Heaven, the material included in this recording con- sists of original compositions created from the depths of his own God-communion. “In India/' wrote Sri Yogananda, “poetry and music have always gone hand in hand. In the West the composer writes the music and the poet adds the words, but the Indian melody and song are one.... The profound aim of Indian music is to blend the singer with the Cosmic Song, the creature with his Creator." In his book Cosmic Chants, from which the musi- cal renditions in this recording are taken, Para- mahansa Yogananda wrote: “Popular songs are usu- ally inspired through sentiment or passing interests. But a song bom out of the depths of true devotion to God and continuously chanted, audibly or mentally, until a response is consciously received from Him in the form of boundless joy, is a spiritualized song. Such songs like live matches produce the fire of God-awareness whenever they are struck on the foundation stone of devotion. Ordinary songs are like wet matches that do not produce any spark of divine realization. “Each of these chants has been spiritualized; that is, at various gatherings each song has been sung aloud and mentally until the chanters found ac- tual response from God.... "One of the Ten Commandments in the Bible is: 'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.' Whenever one repeats a chant or prayer ab- sentmindedly, without complete attention on the LONG PLAY No. 2003 MONAURAL 10290-54321 Lord, one has taken the Divine Name in vain; that is, without result, without utilizing the omnipresent power of that Name, and without receiving God- response. The Lord does not answer such parrot prayers. To repeat a chant with ever-increasing un- derstanding and devotion is to take the Name of God not in vain, but effectively." The selections in this album were recorded dur- ing impromptu gatherings at Self-Realization Fel- lowship international headquarters in Los Angeles, under conditions far removed from those of a profes- sional recording studio. However, the best available techniques and equipment have been used for re- production on this long-play disc. The chants were originally made available on 78 r.p.m. records of approximately three minutes each. Subsequently numerous students of Paramahansa Yogananda expressed a desire for longer periods of chanting, which would help them deepen their devo- tional concentration before meditation. Therefore in this new long-play record some of the songs have been lengthened (by repetition) to several minutes. (It is not uncommon in Hindu-style chanting to re- peat a song, or perhaps just a line of it, over and over for periods of from ten minutes to an hour, continu- ally increasing the devotional intensity.) Paramahansa Yogananda plays the harmonium (a small, hand-operated reed organ) as he sings. Other accompaniment consists of the mridanga (a long drum of clay, or wood, and skin) and kartal (a pair of small flat hand cymbals) SIDE ONE Prayer at Noon. In the midst of the day's activities, the devotee asks the Lord to radiate through his life the perfect expression of His strength and love. The Hound of Heaven (Excerpts from the poem by Francis Thompson). Sri Yogananda wrote: “The poet Francis Thompson spoke of God as the 'Hound of Heaven': God is depicted as pursuing man, rather than as being sought by him." This poem was much loved and often quoted by Paramahansa Yogananda. “As God is the Essence of our own being," he said, “we cannot truly express ourselves until we learn to manifest His presence within us. This is the Truth. It is because we are divine, a part of Him, that we are unable to find lasting satisfaction in anything mate- rial. 'Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me.'"* The great Master felt this poem uniquely ex- pressed a particularly touching aspect of the Divine. “The Lord," he wrote, "may be said to be a beggar. * The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson He yearns for our attention. The Master of the Uni- verse, at whose glance all stars, suns, moons, and planets quiver, is running after man and saying: 'Won't you give me your affection? Don't you love Me, the Giver, more than the things I have made for you? Won't you seek Me?"' Sri Yogananda often said that in countless ways God is seeking the love of each heart. “He doesn't punish you, if you refuse Him," he tells us, “but you punish yourself. You find that 'all things betray thee, who betrayest Me.'" Cloud-Colored Christ. This chant invokes the pres- ence and help of Jesus Christ. It is sung frequently during the all-day Christmas meditations held in Self-Realization Fellowship ashrams, temples, and centers. Many seekers who have made the effort in these long periods of deep meditation and devo- tional chanting in honor of the blessed Christ have experienced the truth of Paramahansa Yogananda's words: “Sing to Christ...a song of bursting love, an undying prayer from your heart; then Christ shall manifest himself a second time. You shall behold the Christ of all churches, the Christ of centuried sacred lore: the Man nobody knows, the Christ nobody knows, shall be known inwardly by you." SIDE TWO I Will Be Thine Always. The devotee sings of his un- dying loyalty and devotion to God alone. I Will Be Thine Always. Sung in Hindi. Do Not Dry the Ocean of My Love. The devotee sings this song to help him overcome restlessness and happiness-destroying desires. In Autobiography of a Yogi Paramahansaji recorded these words of his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar: “Devotees...who have found the way to God never dream of exchanging Him for any other happiness; He is seductive beyond thought of competition. How quickly we weary of earthly pleasures! Desire for material things is endless; man is never satisfied completely, and pursues one goal after another. The 'something else' he seeks is the Lord, who alone can grant lasting joy." Prayer at Night. In the solitude of night, free from the day's countless distractions, the devotee invokes the Divine Beloved of his soul. All rights reserved No portion of this recording may be reproduced in any form without written permission from Self-Realization Fellowship, 3880 San Rafael Ave., Los Angeles, California. 1975 Self-Realization Fellowship




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