In this second post about music, Leslie shares how her musical journey through Amrita Virtual Academy with the ganjira led her to start to learn how to play the kaimani*, the challenges she faced and ways she could overcome them.
* (handbells – kai means hand and mani bell in Malayalam).
The Rhythm of the Mind
In my first blog, I shared my journey with the ganjira. Let me now share with you how the ganjira led me to learn kaimani, about the challenges I faced while practicing and playing with others, and the wonderful ways I was shown to overcome those challenges.
During a silent retreat in Hawaii, despite being a beginner, I was blessed to play the ganjira during bhajans. While I was playing though, the singer sitting next to me gave me a thumbs up and then indicated that I should play softer, and then softer, and even softer until I was effectively muted!
So, following his guidance, I continued to play the ganjira very quietly, while still enjoying the amazing energy that is created when one is inside the music with a group of musicians. I felt like I was blessed to be allowed to experience a world in which I felt I didn’t actually belong.
Kaimani teacher Lalita
The next day, it just so happened that I met Lalitha, who was also at the retreat. She offered to show me a few simple beats to play for each of the bhajans scheduled for that night. I could not imagine how I was going to remember everything. But when it came time, I somehow remembered all she had shown me!
The kaimani player and I connected during this set, and while making eye contact, he mouthed the beats and rhythms for me to follow.
Then, the same person who had asked me to play quietly the previous night – started asking me to play louder and louder!
So the next night, I tried once again to play the ganjira. If I didn’t know how to play properly, I flipped it over in my lap and tapped in rhythm along with the kaimani player. That is when I realized that if I wanted to hear the music better I needed to also learn kaimani.
I soon began taking kaimani lessons through Amrita Virtual Academy. When I signed up, I was so surprised and encouraged to see that Lalitha was actually one of the teachers!
…by continuing to show up, and by practicing my instruments, I trust that I am doing what I can to become fit for the path...
My son’s old room has become my puja/music room where I practice. But just like my sadhana, I often don’t feel like practicing my instruments when it is time.
Every morning, when I ask myself to stay focused while chanting archana, I find my mind wandering. It is the same with my music practice. I can intellectually understand what I need to do, and set an intention, but there is always the mind creating a distraction. I find that the same qualities of shradha (faith and loving awareness) and laksha bodham (intent on the Goal)that are needed for the path are needed for learning these instruments.
Just as when I learn about the teachings of Vedanta, I can intellectually understand them, but I find it difficult to put them into practice in my life. I find myself challenged to move from a concept, an understanding of the rhythms I want to play, to an experience of actually being able to play them. This requires repeated effort and grace. In this, and other ways, these instruments become my teachers.
To be honest, when I sit along with the musicians during bhajans, I’m not actually that comfortable. If I listen to my mind telling me that I am an old western woman with no musical talent, I won’t be able to do anything.
…by practicing, and holding a vision of letting a pure divine expression shine through, I keep going. I am always glad I did afterwards. I just let the discipline lead. One day, maybe I will be clear enough to have the kind of one pointed focus that allows the Divine to shine through in a pure form…
But, still, I just keep showing up, not caring so much about what I think and feel. And by practicing, and holding a vision of letting a pure divine expression shine through, I keep going. I am always glad I did afterwards. I just let the discipline lead. I trust that I am doing what I can to become fit for the path.
Amma says we are not kittens—we are lions. We are not candles that need to be lit by the world—we are the self effulgent sun. Why should I care what my mind says? I should be willing to sometimes not shine, but still be able to offer whatever I can to Amma. After all, she will not waste half a grain of rice; She will find a way to do something good with me.
One day, maybe I will be clear enough to have the kind of one pointed focus that allows the Divine to shine through in a pure form.
For now, regardless of what my mind thinks, I just keep showing up. It’s time to practice.
Thanks to Leslie for sharing her inspiring experience with Amrita Virtual Academy. We encourage you to try out the Kaimani Course with Anu Chechi and Lalitha, here.
Amrita Virtual Academy offers a wide range of musical classes, from singing to learning different instruments. See more here.
As a Amrita Virtual Academy member you have access to more than 60 different courses in different fields. Discover more about the AVA Membership here, and join.
In December 2022, I began taking music instrument classes from Amrita Virtual Academy, starting with the ganjira. In February 2024, I also started learning kaimani. Both classes have had a strong impact on my life, my path and my sadhana. They have given me access to a practice that has sent its roots deep into many areas of my life.
The classes have helped connect me to other spiritual seekers in a beautiful way. They have challenged me to expand at multiple levels and shown me that it is most important that my actions be connected to love. They have also shown me that Amma is very much with me, that her plans are often surprising, and that her work is deep and constant. I feel very lucky to find myself in these classes. I would not have predicted that I would do something like this.
In this first blog post, I would like to tell the story about how, by Amma’s Grace, I started to attend these classes, beginning with the ganjira, and how I found my ganjira teacher, Br. Vipin.
The story begins in Amma’s Ashram Amritapuri….
The first time I remember hearing a ganjira was in the Kali temple at Amritapuri. It was in the fall of 2022 on my first trip to India. Every morning, women gather for archana in the Kali temple. The 1000 Names of the Divine Mother are followed by the Sri Mahisausuramardini Stotram – a chant depicting an epic battle where the Divine Mother in the form of Durga slays various demons. Normally, there are no instruments played during the chanting but one day, the woman who was leading the chant played the ganjira.
This changed everything for me.
The stotram came to life. I became enchanted and wondered if I could learn to play that instrument to bring this experience home with me.
Connecting to the ganjira back home
I am not really musical, and I had never heard a ganjira played like that before. No one I spoke to had either. The thought of my learning to play one seemed like a long shot. But as it turned out, some time after I got home, I saw lessons offered online through the Amrita Virtual Academy. So now, all I needed was the instrument.
A few weeks later, I rode with a friend to the San Ramon Ashram in California to attend satsang.
That very night, someone was playing a ganjira, in the bookstore, after bhajans. And sure enough, he was a student of Br. Vipin who teaches both in-person and online ganjira classes through Amrita Virtual Academy. We then discovered that a few ganjiras were for sale in the bookstore. We each bought one that very night.
“This is how the Amma introduced me to my teacher and to my instrument.“
But that is not the end of her grace.
The online classes
Now that I had my own ganjira, I quickly signed up for the online class. The class is detailed and starts with a comprehensive lesson on how to approach the instrument, how to hold it, and how to respect it.
Br. Vipin introduces a few basic beats (or rhythms) used in Indian music which we are encouraged to practice with a metronome. Then step by step, beat by beat, the classes add something new each time. Each section of the course is followed by an invitation to connect with Br. Vipin and submit a sample of our homework in video format. Br. Vipin then responds with encouraging words and clear and precise recommendations for improvement.
At the beginning, my playing was a bit stiff, my timing was off, and in some ways, not strong. Despite this, we—the ganjira and I—would practice and play together. If I found an exercise too challenging to do on my own with the metronome. I would just set a 20 minute timer and play along with Br. Vipin and the demonstration videos, until it felt natural to me.
Returning to Amritapuri
In September 2023, I returned to Amritapuri where I was able to meet Br. Vipin in person and take in-person lessons. During our first lesson at the beach, he mentioned that this day was Ganesh Chaturthi (celebration of the birth of Lord Ganesh) and that a group of young people would be playing bhajans as part of the Ganesh puja at the Kalari (the space where Amma first started to give darshan and where the fire ceremonies are now held). He invited me to join them. It turned out to be a wonderful experience—very vibrant, fun and dynamic. This opened up to other opportunities for me to play along with others.
There is a video from the Ganesh Chaturthi 2023. You can see it here.
Shortly after Ganesh Chaturthi, during Onam (the harvest festival of Kerala where the relationship between man and Nature and human beings and God, is celebrated—read more here), I was able to hear first-hand other forms of percussion that are found in Kerala. This helped to give me a context for what I was trying to create with the ganjira.
“As we continued our in-person lessons, Br. Vipin helped refine my playing. He stressed that the purpose of playing is a meditation—a way to come closer to God, to bring the name of God to others, and to multiply the blessings of what we have received.“
The ganjira as part of my spiritual path
Br. Vipin also gave tips to help me reduce my tension by encouraging me to slow down, relax, be in the moment and to play naturally. Through these suggestions, as well as through the focus on playing as a meditation, he wove ganjira playing into my spiritual path.
In Napa Valley, California (also known as wine country) people talk about “terroir”, a way of referring to the unique, recognizable qualities that a specific soil of an area offers to a grape, and later to the wine it produces. Being immersed in the rhythms of Amritapuri and the surrounding area, I was able to feel that terroir of the rhythms of the Ganjira. I could hear them echoing from their origin.
Recognizing this instrument as a form of Amma’s love has helped me to keep practicing. Every now and then, I hear something lovely in my playing—it feels like a kind of grace, an attunement with the beauty contained within all things. This has become my meditation practice.
Try out the Ganjira Course with Brahmachari Vipin, here.
Amrita Virtual Academy offers a wide range of musical classes, from singing to learning different instruments. See more here.
As a Amrita Virtual Academy member you have access to more than 60 different courses in different fields. Discover more about the AVA Membership here, and join.
