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Rudram Chanting

A year or so ago, I started to develop a deep interest in the Shree Rudram. This Vedic hymn appears in the Yajurveda and can be chanted every day. Shree Rudram sounds spectacular, when chanted with the right intonations and at the right tempo. There is a certain splendor to this specific chant, and I have often drifted off into space mere minutes into the chanting. I have not learned to chant it yet myself but I have an intention to, someday.

What is it about these ancient sounds that is so special? They soothe the mind and environment, they are energizing yet relaxing, and they inspire courage and love, both at the same time. Well, this has been my experience, listening to the various Vedic chants and hymns. I didn’t grow up chanting them but I have come to realize a deep and abiding love for these sounds. They are majestic and full of grandeur, and I can literally sense centuries resonating with these age-old Mantras.

What is the Shree Rudram about? Here is my uninitiated yet respectful opinion. This chant extols the infinite virtues of Shiva, the unseen force in this creation. Shiva is present in every aspect of this universe, in the flowing river and the still lake, in the horse and the rider, in the army and its commander, in the clan and in the leader, in the young ones and the old… Shiva Tattva resides in all of creation.

Here is a video uploaded by the Veda Union that features the chanting of the first Anuvaka of the Shree Rudram. As per the Veda Union website, their long-term goal is to unite all Europe by collective chanting of Shree Rudram. Wow! I would love to believe that there are similar groups in India as well.

After listening to this, I have only one thought: How can one not love the Shree Rudram?