Spiritus (More Sacred Chants)

Song list:

ONE
Opening the Lotus (Purification)

Riding on the sound waves of this sacred love song we allow the lotus of our hearts to open. Calling out past the perceived boundaries of space and time we gently gather all the other parts of ourselves, bringing them safely and completely into the sacred, perfect and whole moment of now where we experience the great perfection of the present moment. As our lotus heart slowly unfolds, obstructions and impurities are loosened allowing the full power of the divine to pour through us. In the fires of divine love all that is less than loving is released, creating a sanctuary of safety and healing. Into this sacred space of our purified heart we invite the souls of animals past present and yet to be born.

This piece contains two mantras:

The first entitled 'Opening of the Lotus', comes from the Shrimad Bhagavatam section of the Vedic scriptures, the original commentary of the Vedanta Sutra, the greatest treatise of Vedic cosmology which foretells of the coming of Buddha 2000 years in the future. This Divine Being will appear on earth out of great compassion and to stop the killing of animals for sacrifice. This mantra has great significance today because our civilization has become increasingly merciless to animals. In the past people killed animals in the name of religion and today we kill them in the name of health and science, which have become a kind of god.

Om nindasi yajnavidhe rahaha srutijatam
Om sadaya hrdaya darsitapasughatam
Kesava dhrta buddhasartra
Jaya jaya jahadisa hare
Jaya jayadisa hare

Translation:
O supreme Source in the body of Buddha
-the enlightened-
Out of the compassion of your heart
You have come to revoke the ritualistic portion of the Vedas
Ordaining the killing of animals.
Hail! Hari, Consciousness of the Universes. Glory to Thee!
You are in me.

The second piece, 'Sutra of the Lotus', an ancient Japanese mantra was chosen because of the beautiful sonorousness of the Japanese language. In this particular mantra the words are very short. Animals resonate with words that are sonorous and short. Also, this mantra contains the word “renge” which refers to the law of cause and effect. It resonates with the appearance of Lord Buddha who predicted that the killing of animals would create a reaction appearing in the form of disease, war and pestilence which we experience today.

Sutra of the Lotus (Buddhist Mantra-Japan)

Myo ho renge kyo
Nam myoho renge kyo
Namu ho renge kyo

Translation:
Myo: that which exists but is un-manifest
Ho: that which is manifest
Nam: engagement
Renge: lotus flower as a symbol of the law of cause and effect
Kyo: action, the path of Buddha

TWO
Atonement

Vini Creator Spiritus (9th century Gregorian hymn)

Vay-nee(vini) Creator Spiritus
Mentes tuorum visita
Implea Supearma gratia
Vene tu creasti pectoera

Translation:
Come Creator Spirit
Visit the Souls of your Creatures
Fill the hearts of those
Whom you have made
With Heavenly Grace.

All healing is available in the sacred moment of now. Atonemen ... At--one--ment ... means to be in tune in present moment with All That Is.

In this piece we move from the Eastern, Japanese or Indian culture, into the Western/Middle East culture with the coming of Christianity. Even though Veni Creator Spiritus is a Gregorian Christian hymn it evokes a sense of eternity. This chant is an invocation to the Creator which confers a blessing on all creatures, past – present – and to come. We ask the great Creator Spirit to fill their hearts and ours with heavenly grace releasing the past and delivering us complete and whole into the moment of now. As we sing this chant we honor each species of animal, and each individual within each species for their power, their wisdom and their courage.

THREE
Resting in the Divine
Prayer of the Four Immeasurables

Tad yatha Bekaja Bekaja
Maha Bekaja Raja
Samudgate ye soha

Translation:
Living beings are innumerable
Like the stars in the sky.
May they have happiness
and the causes of happiness.
May they be free of suffering
and the causes of suffering
May they never be separated
from sacred bliss.
With heart and mind liberated from dualities,
May they always be in a state
of absolute equanimity.

Resting in the Divine is a blessing of happiness. May the animals have lives free of suffering. May they always be in the state of absolute equanimity, and the Tara Chant
Is a blessing of compassion. Sound vibrations are energy and are carried everywhere by ether, a mysterious element yet to be discovered by official science. When animals listen to particular sound vibrations they listen to the mood or intention carried by either which is omni-present. When there is a particular intention in the heart automatically this intention is transmitted into the sound vibrations. So the sound vibration carries our intention to the animals in the same way the air carries the fragrance of a flower. First our compassion was in the intention that was set at the beginning of the project. Then we carried this intention in our hearts as the music unfolded. Our intention was compassion not only for the animals but compassion for human beings that they may see beyond physical differences to the soul that animates animals. If we develop this vision then we will have compassion. As you listen to this music and add the energy of your compassion with ours, the vibrational “field” of compassion created by the music will increase and each human being or animal that hears it will perceive this intention and compassion will expand again. May the fragrance of compassion ride on the ether and be perceived by all living beings in all dimensions.

A Sacrament of Forgiveness Between Species
(A Celebration of Oneness)

For far too long the relationship of human beings toward non-human animals has been largely one of exploitation and abuse. While on the one hand the great bulk of humanity still tends to regard non human animals as dispensible commodities, for others whose hearts have opened to the precious sacredness of the animal kingdom contemplating the magnitude of the suffering animals have sustained at the hands of human beings over millennia can seem overwhelming and beyond our capacity to face or to resolve. The pain often seems to great to bear. In reaction the tendency is to move to one of two extremes; either retreat into a self-protective shell of numbness or strike out at a perceived offender. But extremes are by their very nature divisive. What is needed on the other hand is a massive act of ego-less heart opening by and for all beings without exception; One complete, powerful, potent and perfect moment in time met in truthfulness, total compassion and nakedness. Such a collective act of atonement transcend space and time releasing all beings to move forward together toward their highest potential.

Internationally acclaimed musician Patrick Bernard, meditation teacher and musician Purusha Ananda, animal communication specialist Sharon Callahan and awards winning producer/composer Robert Lafond have come together as the vehicle for this offering of healing between species.