Akhand Bhajan:

Akhand Bhajan: Singing the Names of God continuously for 12 or 24 hours.

(See also: Akhand Bhajan, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhajan:

Bhajan: Devotional singing, reciting one or more holy names of the Lord. Bhajan or reverential adoration must be a mental upsurge, not an oral exercise (SSS-II)

(See also: Bhajan, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sound Healing

is a unique type of vibrational therapy that uses the human voice, tuning forks, Tibetan singing bowls, bells and tingshas, and crystal singing bowls that are directed into and around the body to balance the energy. This therapy, which may be used in combination with other energy therapies, allows the gentle "tuning" of the body's nervous system which provides support in its return to a natural balanced state.

(See also: Sound Healing, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Vidyadhara - a class of supernatural beings who possess magical powers and knowledge of various heavenly arts and sciences, especially singing and dancing.

(See also: Vidyadhara, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Gandharvas - celestial beings situated in the higher planets who are especially noted for their expertise in singing and music.

(See also: Gandharvas, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sama-veda:

Sama-veda (Saama-vedha). Collection of Vedic hymns appropriate for singing as liturgies.Sambara (Shambara). Leader of the demons who possessed great magical powers; killed by Dasaratha.

(See also: Sama-veda, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Hwyl (Welsh) Sail; the method of chanting used in Wales for poetry and rhetoric, the idea being that the inspiration drives and fills the spoken words with a certain vibrant, singing quality of sound, as the wind fills, swells, and drives the sails of a ship.

(See also: Hwyl, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hwyl (Welsh) Sail; the method of chanting used in Wales for poetry and rhetoric, the idea being that the inspiration drives and fills the spoken words with a certain vibrant, singing quality of sound, as the wind fills, swells, and drives the sails of a ship.

(See also: Hwun, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Akshavanta, Akshanvanta aksanvanta (Sanskrit) One furnished with eyes; used in the Vedas (10:71:7), where friends emulate each other in singing. Connected by Blavatsky with the development of sight, hearing, and human language, and with the fact that words for light and sound originate from the same roots. (BCW 7:67)

(See also: Akshavanta, Akshanvanta, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Gatha (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root ga to sing)

A song, metrical hymn, or verse; usually applied to a verse consisting of a moral aphorism which belongs not to the Vedic writings but to the Itihasas or the epic poetry and legends of a later date. A gatha of eight equal feet or 32 syllables is called aryagiti.

(See also: Gatha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Saga (Scandianvian Norse). The goddess "who sings of the deeds of gods and heroes ", and to whom the black ravens of Odin reveal the history of the Past and of the Future in the Norsemen’s Edda.

(See also: Saga, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Heranasikha (Sing.) From Herana "novice" and Sikha "rule" or precept: manual of Precepts. A work written in Elu or the ancient Singhalese, for the use of young priests.

(See also: Heranasikha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Narada Muni

a great devotee of Lord Krishna who travels throughout the spiritual and material worlds singing the Lord’s glories and preaching the path of devotional service.

(See also: Narada Muni, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kirtana - congregational singing of Krsna’s holy names, sometimes accompanied by music. This may also refer to loud individual chanting of the holy name, as well as oral descriptions of Bhagavan names, forms, qualities, associates, and pastimes. Kirtana is the most important of the nine angas of bhakti.

(See also: Kirtana, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Ananta (Ananta Sesha, Sesha Naga)

1. An expansion of God who appears as a serpent with thousands of heads and who serves as the bed of Lord Vishnu. Ananta Sesha holds all the planets of the universe on His hoods and constantly sings the glories of Vishnu from all His mouths. 2. Unlimited.

(See also: Ananta, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Resonant Kinesiology SM (RK): Meditative, educational form of bodywork pioneered and taught by Susan Gallagher Borg, B.A., author of Sing Your Body. One of RK's principles is that human bodies are a metaphors for beliefs. when Resonant Kinesiologists work, they relate to clients in a vibrational manner.

(See also: Resonant Kinesiology, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Nagara Sankirtan:

Nagara Sankirtan: Gather together in the hours before dawn, and walk slowly along the streets, singing Bhajans glorifying God. Carry the Name to every doorstep. Wake up the sleeping. Purify the air polluted by day-long angry shouts of hate and greed, faction and fear. What greater service can you render than this - beginning the day with the Name of God and helping others to remember Him? (SSS-III)

(See also: Nagara Sankirtan, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhakthi Yoga:

Bhakthi Yoga: Linking with the Supreme Lord (Krishna) by devotional service. "Union through devotion." Bhakti yoga is the practice of devotional disciplines, worship, prayer, chanting and singing with the aim of awakening love in the heart and opening oneself to God's grace. Bhakti may be directed toward God, Gods or one's spiritual preceptor. Bhakti yoga seeks communion and ever closer rapport with the Divine, developing qualities that make communion possible, such as love, selflessness and purity.

(See also: Bhakthi Yoga, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Hum or Hum (Sanskrit) A mystical syllable used as an interjection or exclamation in sentences in sacred texts such as mantras, closely akin to and virtually identic with the sacred syllables Om and Aum.

In Vedic ritual, used before the singing of the Prastava (prelude), as well as during the chanting of the Pratihara (response). It is present in the well-known Tibetan mystical sentence Om mani padme hum.

(See also: Hum, Hum, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hum or Hum (Sanskrit) A mystical syllable used as an interjection or exclamation in sentences in sacred texts such as mantras, closely akin to and virtually identic with the sacred syllables Om and Aum.

In Vedic ritual, used before the singing of the Prastava (prelude), as well as during the chanting of the Pratihara (response). It is present in the well-known Tibetan mystical sentence Om mani padme hum.

(See also: Huitzilopochtli, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Anugita (Sanskrit) (from anu after, alongside + gita sung, chanted, song from the verbal root gai to sing, intone)

After-song; chapters 16-92 of the Asvamedhika-parvan, 14th book of the Mahabharata that deals with the asvamedha (horse sacrifice) conducted by Yudhishthira, a rite that stems from the Vedic period.

Like the Bhagavad-Gita, the Anugita is a discourse between Krishna and Arjuna, an "after-song" in which Krishna gives a fuller unfolding of teaching with many mystical allusions.

(See also: Anugita, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)