Radhika Das: Hi I'm Radhika Das, and you're watching LifeMinute TV. Joann Butler: London based mantra artist, author and Bhakti yoga teacher Radhika Das is bringing ancient mantra to modern audiences. Following the release of his EP Lightfall, he's now released The Heart Album, a live collection featuring 17 performances recorded from around the world. We recently caught up with him to talk about his music, mindfulness, and the power of mantra.
Radhika Das: So the EP was a collection of songs, mantras that was done in a spirit of trying to condense what was traditionally 45 minutes to one hour long, into three minute mantra sound bites, if you will. And the idea behind all of the tracks was to try and bring the essence, but in an accessible and relevant format, to people who ordinarily wouldn't listen to spiritual music, to try and bring that format to the masses and, yeah, I feel like it's done a beautiful job of doing that. The entire EP was produced by an incredible fellow called Ryan Hadlock. He felt very drawn to it.
It was almost as though it was meant to be, because he just got into Eastern spirituality. And so it was a real joy to work with him. He's a real virtuoso producer and someone that is incredibly talented, and I went along, as you do with a dear friend called Keli Woods, and he was kind of like a backbone for me because this whole world is new to me. I can share spirituality.
I feel that's one of my strengths. But to put it in recorded format, I felt that what really helped me was having a dear friend with me, and someone that was able to just see my vision and help me to translate it into a musical format that people could beautifully, appreciate. Hundreds if not thousands of people attended the tour. It was really magical to see that the chanting of mantra has crossed boundaries.
People who had never heard before but have seen videos and thought, “Alright let's give this a shot.” And for me, it was really, proof that people are looking for something to not just escape the modern world, but to connect to something higher. I see meditation and yoga as a means to steady the body and steady the mind. I think that what we are currently suffering from in the modern age is weapons of mass distraction. People are constantly being distracted by their fears, by their desires, the practices of yoga and meditation steady the mind, but see what mantra does, and what Bhakti is trying to do is go a step further.
We're trying to move the mind towards a positive, a more loving, a more joyous connection. We have music for everything. Music connects us. It transforms our mind.
We've got music when it comes to our workout. We've got a playlist when it comes to cooking. You've got a playlist when you're in love. But what about the playlist for the soul?
This tradition of the Vedic, the Hindu, the Eastern, it also has a soundtrack and that's mantra. And that mantra is meant to bring you to a place of, yeah, joyful connection. I got into this whole thing after a breakup, and I went on a spiritual retreat. I was attracted by a dear friend of mine.
I remember just feeling very overwhelmed with how amazing it was. And all of a sudden I get a text message on my phone saying, “It's over.” And I came to the conclusion, I can either go to my room and throw things around the room and get angry about it, or I put the phone face down and I get stuck in with these people, and I remember by the end of that I just felt a cathartic release. Yes, but a connection to something that made me feel like almost as though God was hugging me. I came back almost like a new person.
And to end the story, the girlfriend got back with me, we’re married. We’ve got two kids, a five year old and a beautiful three year old and so everything worked out in the end. And I guess I pin it all to that moment of taking a leap in the direction of God. We were meant for something more.
We have the incredible ability to experience something above and beyond, simply just eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, like we have the ability to live a life less ordinary. And I think that what my message would be to the world is, to try and find yourself a life less ordinary. Joann Butler: For more of this interview, check out LifeMinute on all streaming podcast platforms.
