Atmastakam

This ancient Sanskrit chant “Atmastakam” is another deeply philosophical composition attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, the great Advaita Vedanta teacher of the eight century in India. The central theme of this chant is the realisation of one’s true Self (Atman) as 1) beyond the the body, mind, and senses, 2) unaffected by dualities like pleasure and pain, 3) free from birth and death, and 4) identical with Brahman (the Supreme Reality). It is an expression of non-duality (Advaita) — the idea that the individual self (Atman) is not different from the ultimate reality (Brahman). This recording, as with all the selections from the album “Sacred Chants of Shiva,” is carefully tuned to special frequencies to deepen the effect on the consciousness of the listener. Vocal by Bhanumati Narasimhan, music, instruments, arrangement, production, and sound engineering by Craig Pruess.