“Dwell on Dharma” is an innovative experiment that attempts to use the power of the Internet, to deliver a well-regarded spiritual technique to the community for free, while raising funds for a charitable cause (Hindu Temple of New Hampshire) at the same time. Results from another fund raising experiment called “Chant for Dharma” are also included.

Dwell on Dharma

“Dwell on Dharma” is a new and innovative fund-raising experiment, which attempts to seamlessly weave some elements of Hindu spiritual traditions into your daily life using the medium of music and modern technology, with zero or minimal cost and inconvenience to you.  It attempts to exploit the global reach and ubiquity of the Internet, the popularity and appeal of modern content delivery mechanisms such as iTunes and Spotify among the younger generation, and tap the advertisement revenue streams of these mechanisms, to raise funds to support a charitable cause.

“Dwell on Dharma” is based on an experientially verifiable axiomatic principle which may be summarized as “Yad Bhavam Tad Bhavati” (यद् भावम् तद् भवति) – as you think so you are.  The thoughts that you dwell on shape your life, or to quote Mahatma Gandhi – “A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes”. The Golden Rule of life which underlies most religions and spiritual traditions - “Do unto others what you would have others do unto you” - entails that individuals in a community practice the divine qualities of truthfulness (satya), righteousness (dharma), harmony (shanti), love (prema),  non-violence (ahimsa), and service (seva). The Hindu practice of Nama Smarana (dwelling on the names and attributes of the divine, using musical devices such as chanting and singing) provides a simple and easy way of cultivating these divine qualities through repetitive immersion. “Dwell on Dharma” brings Nama Smarana to your favorite free Internet music streaming service, such as Spotify,  Xbox Music and rdio, and to popular purchase-and-download outlets such as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon.com, Sony Music, and eMusic.  Any payments received by the artist, either from purchases or from streaming will be donated to the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire. Streaming revenues are expected to be a small fraction of the advertising revenue earned by the streaming service. As you immerse yourself in the vibrations of Nama Smarana, you enhance the quality of not only your own life, but also that of others around you both intangibly (by becoming a more positive individual) and tangibly (any payments received by the artist will be donated to the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, and thus used in service of the community). “Dwell on Dharma”, in effect provides a practical repudiation to a skeptic’s assertion that nothing of tangible value can come out of spiritual practices.

The first “Dwell on Dharma” album, “Ishwara Nama Smarana – Dwelling on the Divine”, was released as a CD to the children of Bharathi Vidyashram, the cultural school of the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, at the annual awards ceremony of the school held on June 14^th, 2014.  However, the album itself is not targeted at any specific age group, and is now available on all major labels including iTunes, Amazon.com, Google Play, Sony Music, eMusic, Spotify, Xbox Music and rdio. You can listen to it for free on streaming services such as Spotify, Xbox Music and rdio, or if you prefer you can purchase and download the album at iTunes, Amazon.com or Google Play.  Please click on these links or search for “Ishwara Nama Smarana” at the web sites of these services to listen to the album.

The album consists of 12 tracks ranging in length from about half a minute to ten and a half minutes, and the whole album runs for about an hour. The album starts with Omkara (chanting of the sacred syllable “Om” to initiate a spiritually receptive frame of mind) and includes a brief talk in English on Nama Smarana.  This is followed by tracks dedicated to various deities and themes including “Ganesha” (Success), “Saraswathi” (Learning), “Guru” (Knowledge), “Nitya Shlokas” (Glorious Day),  “Shiva” (Auspiciousness), “Durga” (Motherly Love), “Vishnu” (Righteousness), “Lakshmi” (Abundance), “Subrahmanya-Anjaneya-Ayyappa” (Divine Grace), and “Mangalam” (Well-being). The tracks are mostly in Sanskrit, interspersed with some Tamil (Kandar Alankaram, Thiruppallandu, Ayyapa Kshama Prarthana) hymns. There are hymns composed by Adi Shankara, as well as the Vedic hymn Medha Sooktham and some Bhajans, in addition to various Shlokas. Each track starts with a Gayathri Mantra for the deity associated with the track, and ends with a prayer for forgiveness (Kshama Prarthana).   As you listen to the album, your thoughts will dwell on the divine names of Sri Ganesha, on sacred rivers, on the sacredness of the environment (included is a shloka - "Pruthvee Kshamaapanam" seeking forgiveness for the disrespect that might be caused by placing our feet on Mother Earth as we get up in the morning),  on the revered Jyothirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva, on the great lineage of Gurus, on the Goddesses of learning and wealth, on the noble qualities of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, on Sri Hanuman, Sri Subrahmanya and Sri Ayyappa, and on wishing the highest good for all.

We hope readers will enjoy the album, and will help generate funds which will be used to support a noble cause, either by purchasing the album or streaming it for free. Streaming revenue is not expected to be significant unless the streaming count is large. However, “Nama Smarana” is typically a daily practice, and thus the album has the potential of being streamed by a listener frequently.  The larger the base of listeners and the more frequently a listener streams the album, the more will be the funds raised for this charitable cause! So do listen to the album and “Dwell on Dharma” whenever you get a chance! Also, please spread the word to help expand the base of listeners, and help repudiate the skeptic!

The next section reports results from another fund-raising experiment with a different flavor.

Chant for Dharma

Chant for Dharma is an innovative socio-spiritual fund raising  experiment that interweaves the themes of volunteering and service, with highly-regarded Hindu spiritual traditions and practices from the ages, to raise funds for a charitable cause. The experiment was initiated in the fall of 2012 with the goal of raising funds, using a cause-appropriate means, to support the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, in its purchase of a new property to house the Temple. The experiment is being run with the support of dedicated amateur volunteer Ritwiks, who possess expertise and experience in the chanting of Vedas, Hindu hymns bequeathed from millennia ago. It has brought the unique blessing of experiencing the sacred and divine vibrations of the Vedas, to the homes of various sponsors in the Greater Boston area, in a simple format.

We have held 20 Chant for Dharma events and have raised over $12000 in charitable contributions thanks to the generosity of the donors. Some of the events have had the honor of including additional programs by well-regarded exponents of Hindu traditions, including Ashtapadi by Sri Venkatramani of Chennai, Srimad Bhagavatam by Smt. Mangalam Ramaswamy of Trivandrum, and Thiruppugazh by a team led by Smt. Malini Ramakrishnan, daughter of Guruji Raghavan.  One of the events used audio-conferencing to reach a sponsor in Canada, while another employed Ustream webcasting from the Temple to reach a sponsor in Maine. In addition to generating feelings of harmony and purification that are typically felt during a chanting event, these events have also helped raise awareness about, and respect for Hindu spiritual traditions, among the younger generation.  Event sponsors have included faculty from academia (including Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts), and technology and medical professionals. Here are some simple statistics for the curious - total number of events: 20, average number of events per month: 1, total amount raised: $12012, average amount raised per event: $600, maximum amount raised in an event: $1100, minimum amount raised in an event: $101. Based on these results, the experiment can be considered a success, especially given that it tries to inject ancient spiritual traditions into a community with a modern outlook, and that is composed predominantly of people with a science, technology, engineering and mangement background. Chant for Dharma is still open for sponsorship. Please contact k_arvind@yahoo.com or rveermani@gmail.com, if you wish to sponsor a Chant for Dharma event at your home.

तस्माद्धर्मप्रधानेन भवितव्यं यतात्मना ।  
तथा च सर्वभूतेषु वर्तितव्यं यथात्मनि ॥

“With Dharma and self-control, treat others as you treat yourself”

     (Vidura teaches the Golden Rule to Yudhishtira in Mahābhārata Shānti-Parva 167:9)

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