Jai Uttal: Mantra Sounds Into Silence
Liane Buck: It is. It is, and I think that the seed sounds of one way through the repetition, they weave themselves into your system. I mean, it’s like, we become music, as well.
Jai Uttal: Yeah.
Liane Buck: I do have another question. Do you think that the mantra chants and participating of Kirtan can actually change a person for the better? Can Kirtan transform us into better people?
Jai Uttal: Well, yes. There’s a simple way, as the heart and the mind become well, what happens is the more. It’s like some people will listen to a Kirtan and not be interested, and it’s okay. But the ones who hear Mantra Music and then start joining into a Kirtan and feel the affinity with this practice and the resonance with the songs, what happens is they develop a desire for more, and it’s a, it’s a funny thing. It’s like not a desire for more material things. I don’t mean that, but for more of that spiritual energy, and bit by bit, their negative aspects of the mind and all their conditioning, dissolve.
That’s a slow process, but bit by bit all those negative motivations and inner demons or whatever you want to call them, they begin to get slowly, slowly washed away. They get cleansed, and their desire system starts wanting the more divine things in life, love and compassion, helping others, and the desire to share the good feelings in your heart with other people becomes much more prevalent than the desire to just serve your own ego.
Liane Buck: Oh, well, that’s awesome. What are your next projects, and do you have a message to our audience?
Jai Uttal: Well, that’s two questions. I have a bunch of next projects. I’m almost done with the new album. I think it’s going to be called “Roots, Rock, Rama”. It’s almost completed. We have one or two more tracks to record and then to mix and mastering. So, that’s a big project that’s almost done. I’m also involved in this online thing, online platform called Patreon. I’m very involved with, with getting that rolling, and I think it’s an amazing model for musicians and artists. My son just turned 11. You know, my half Brazilian son. So, my family is probably the biggest ongoing project that I have. Well, I guess the simple message is just to each day, which if we can try to live our lives in kindness, then we’re doing a lot of good in the world.
Liane Buck: Oh, yeah. It’s simple, but it’s profound. Thank you Jai, for talking to us today. Namaste.
As the popularity of this ancient Indian tradition rises in the west, more and more people are discovering the joys and the feelings of inner peace that this music movement is bringing to them. Now we want to explore this new musical phenomenon further by making this film and sharing what we find with you and also with people who are not familiar with mantras and chanting. Through revealing interviews with the artists, who have sparked off this new musical movement, we will find out what inspired them on their paths and how this influenced their music which is reaching out to so many people. Then we will learn about the music’s transformative effects on those people whose lives have been transformed by the practice.
Kirtan is for anyone and everyone regardless of background or beliefs; it is the universal language of the heart.
