Chants As Forms of the Divine

Question

SO through my studies, I'm finding that many religions and spiritual belief system hold chants as a method to become closer and align with god/the universe and calm the mind through both the words, intentions, and vibrations. Christians have their religious songs in Doxology, Jews chant Hebrew names of god (YHWH), Muslims chant names and praises of Allah, Buddhists and Hindu's (and overall spiritualists) chant mantras calling upon aspects of the inner self, gods, and the universe, and even Native tribes sang chants typically involving as well their own gods in praise or sacrifice. And I'm sure there are other examples in Pagan and other belief systems, however I'm not well-read on those Why are these practices shared? What are the similarities and differences? Do these chants hold any actual noticeably scientific results? And where might I learn more about these?

Answer 1

So to put it broadly chants are the mechanisms in which humans can relate to the divine. As different religions have different specific "goals" within their respective ideologies (Ie. Hindus seek to connect with the Inner Atman, Buddhists seek to release from the dharma of the self, christians seek to transcend the mortality of sin into the benevolence of Christ) the types of chants differ among religions, and so do their uses. Even within the same religion different chants have been created for different purposes. For example in Christianity the repeated prayer of "Our Father" is used to build a consistent dialogue within the mind that acts as a wall against the pervading thoughts of evil, while a repeated prayer such as "Hail Mary" serves the purpose of contemplating the specific image of the Heavenly Mother and to instill in the worshiper the desired qualities of the Heavenly Mother. Interestingly enough, while chants, meditative breathing patterns, and repeated prayers vary amongst religions the "needs" of said religions seem to align. We can find chants and prayers created for the purpose of exorcism, manifestation, praise, contemplation, and invocation across tradition.

From a secular/scientific perspective the power of breathing patterns and spoken word is factually evident. Studies have been done measuring the pain tolerance of people whose arms were dipped in ice water. Those that were allowed to use swear words vs. those that were unable to swear reportedly were able to withstand the frigid temperatures of the water far longer than their counterparts. Studies have also shown that using spoken mottos for "visualization" practices (Ie, I will get the job promotion) places the user in a mindset that allows them to better achieve the desired result.

I have yet to see or hear of an instance where the effects of chanting were used successfully in a cross cultural context. While I simply may be unaware of the reported phenomena, this could also mean that the power of these chants are also drawing from the power of myth instilled into practitioners by their specific religious tradition. Just as the participants in the ice water challenge were able to use swear words they understood contextually, those in the study that used words that could not be understood in the context of describing anger or pain ( Ie, "fuck that hurts") did not gain the desired result from the words they were allowed to use.

If you are looking for further information I would look into the traditions of western witchcraft and magyk as much of the tradition involves written runes or incantation worded specifically to the desire of the user. If you are looking for instances within a specific religion you could always choose a ritual and dissect the epistemology of the chant and compare the wording to another chant used in a radically different ritual.