Sunday, October 13th, I attended MantraFest featuring Deva Premal & Miten in Boulder, with special guests MANOSE and Maneesh de Moor. For those of you who do not already follow Deva and Miten – please do so. If you have every participated in yoga or visited a spa, chances are, you have heard this talented musical collective. My experience at MantraFest was so magical that that is poses difficult to capture in words. Let me set the scene …
Produced by Bright Star Events and Hosted at the Macky Auditorium on the campus of CU Boulder, this performance by Deva Premal and Miten in Boulder, was nothing less than opulent, professionally organized, and a true soulful experience. The opening act, GuruGanesha Band, got the rhythm going, and the crowd out of their seats for a movement of joyous expression. The band’s quirky feel was nothing short of entertaining and inspiring. A clear connection of the generations and a contagious light hearted yet energetic appreciation for life.
When the “main performers”, Deva and Miten, along with their fellow musicians, entered the stage, a silence overtook the crowd of almost 2000 people. A complete silence. A silence that was far more powerful than a million patrons clapping would be. I stared at the stage and it was evident that a true goddess was in our presence. Deva and Miten opened by sharing the truly grand impact that the Mantras they would be singing had on their lives. When Deva was born, the first breath she took was to her father reciting the Gayatri Mantra to her. A mantra that envokes enlightenment. Recently, her father passed away, and the last breath that he took was Deva singing Gayatri Mantra back to him. It was clear that our purpose of the night was to receive this beauty and love. Deva and Miten have an air about them, a chemistry, a connection on stage that is unrivaled. There fellow musicians, MANOSE and Maneesh de Moor, are not to be left out. The sounds emitted from the bamboo flute played by MANOSE were awe inspiring and the piano melodies from Maneesh de Moor seamlessly integrated into the production with beauty and grace.
Deva & Miten invited us to join in a prayer mantra. We were all asked to send our healing energy, as a collective, to those that need to be prayed for, including a number of victims of the recent Colorado Floods that had been invited to attend this event and were in the audience. As the music began, the energy of the grief felt by so many as they imagined those who needed prayer travelled through the auditorium in a tsunami of emotion. I immediately began crying. As the chanting began one was able to feel that our collective community was truly manifesting and projecting a healing energy to all those in our hearts. It was a feeling of ultimate power. Once the Mantra was complete, again, the most peaceful silence overcame the crowd, only to be broken by a single cry from a small child who said simply “YAY!”. If the child could feel the power of our successful prayer, then there was no doubt it had been received by the universe.
Throughout the remainder of the night we continued to be showered with the most beautiful compilation of soul music I had ever heard, in this life or any other. I was so deeply moved by the Mantra chants of protection (recited first by the men and then by the women), of love, of togetherness, and of community. While the entire audience joined along in a melody of the ages, Deva’s voice rang true as the carrier of the ancient messages found in the Mantras. After the last performance, Deva and Miten again stood in silence. I stared at them and watched them, watching us, watching them. They were so clearly moved by the experience of spreading their joy and teachings to the masses – I don’t think I would be wrong in saying that they must have seen our Auras, radiating power. The night concluded and we were urged to carry the wonderful bliss of silence with us, into our lives, for as long as possible. I took the advice.
If my musings didn’t quite make it clear enough, if you have a soul, and you want to feed it, then do NOT miss any opportunity you can find to embrace the experience offered at MantraFest with Deva Premal and Miten.
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