A Journey Through Yogananda’s
Early Spiritualized Chants
Prayer
May the Cosmic Chants serve to unite all Yogananda’s devotees, whether they belong to SRF, to Ananda, or to any other organization. While in our minds we can be distant and hard, in our devotional hearts we are united and tender. When we chant, may all barriers break down so that only love remains. Jai Guru.
Introduction
Great soul,
You are invited on this journey through Yogananda’s early Cosmic Chants, as he first printed them in 1938. The journey highlights their inspired background, their transcendental beauty, and their spiritual power. Some of them you may not even have heard.
You are also invited to sing along: often with Swami Kriyananda, or with Durga Mata, the SRF monks, Ananda devotees, or with Yogananda himself (the source is always given, most chants can be found on YouTube).
Let us begin on this musical journey with the following prayer of Yogananda in mind:
“Teach us to chant in harmony
our love’s many expressions unto Thee,
that our melody of souls may rouse Thee
to break Thy vows of silence
and lift us upon Thy lap
of universal understanding and immortality.”
INDEX
– The Spiritual Power of the Cosmic Chants
– Yogananda: the Father of Kirtan in the West
– The Healing Power of the Cosmic Chants
– Yogananda’s Chanting Technique in Indian Scriptures
– Reminiscences of Disciples
– How Yogananda Composed the Cosmic Chants
– Why Are There Different Versions of the Cosmic Chants?
– Yogananda Brought a New Way of Chanting
– The First Publication of Cosmic Chants in 1938
– The Original Cosmic Chants from 1938
The “about forty songs” which Yogananda describes in the Autobiography of a Yogi were 38. 41 songs are listed in the “Table of Contents”, but the third one is a prayer (without notes) from Whispers From Eternity and the last two songs are duplicates (printed twice… the young disciples did their best, but mistakes happen).
Here they are, one by one, each one offering some extra information.
The Cosmic Chants which haven’t made it into the modern version are marked with a red •. The first two were given without musical notations, offering only the lyrics, stating the specific tune with which it is to be sung.
The lyrics given for each chant are the ones written in 1938. Nowadays they are often slightly different, following Yogananda’s modifications.
- Divine Love Sorrows •
- Sitting In The Silence •
***INSERT: Blow Thy Music Through My Shattered Reed (This is not a Cosmic Chant, but a prayer from Whispers From Eternity. No notes were given.) - No Birth, No Death
- Deliver Us From Delusion
- In The Land Beyond My Dreams
- Polestar Of My Life
- Where Is There Love?
- They Have Heard Thy Name
- Thou Art My Life
- I Will Drink Thy Name
- Wink Did Not Touch My Eyes
- Today My Mind Has Dived
- I Will Never Forget Thee (Listen, Listen, Listen)
- Divine Gypsy
- Blue Lotus Feet
- Ever New Joy
- What Lightning Flash
- Wake, Yet Wake, O My Saint
- I Will Be Thine Always
- Come Out Of The Silent Sky (I Give You My Soul Call)
- In the Temple Of Silence
- Om Brahma •
- Hymn to Brahma-Guru—Two English Translations
- Hymn To Brahma—Sanskrit Temple Melody
- O God Beautiful
- I Am The Bubble, Make Me The Sea
- My Soul is Marching On •
- Listen To My Soul Call (now called “Come, Listen to My Soul Song”, different from “I Give You My Soul Call”)
- Om Chant (I Am OM)
- Door of My Heart
- OM Song (different from “I am OM” or “OM Chant”: it’s the chakra song)
- When My Dream’s Dream is Done
- Light The Lamp Of Thy Love
- Desire, My Great Enemy
- Who Is In My Temple?
- Thousands Of Suns (Who Tells Me Thou Art Dark)
- God Of Beauty •
- From This Sleep, Lord
- I Give Thee My Soul Call Oops… This Cosmic Chant and the notation given is a duplicate of Nr. 20.
- I Will Never Forget Thee (listen, Listen, Listen) Oops… This Cosmic Chant and the notation given is a duplicate of Nr. 13.
– The 2nd Edition of Cosmic Chants
– After the Master’s Passing: the 3rd and 4th enlarged Edition of the Cosmic Chants
– Today