“Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
These are the words that gently echo the room as members of the Spirituality, Philosophical and Yoga Society (SPYS) gather for their weekly meditation session.
“Imagine you stopped showering for weeks, how would you feel? Would you have the same mental clarity if you are no longer cleansing yourself? The minute you start showering, you will feel it.
“I think we need to attach that same level of importance to cleansing ourselves internally every morning. Everyone’s morning should include meditation and prayer because it does for your mind what brushing your teeth does to your mouth, for example,” says Axl Maas (28), SPYS former chairman.
Members of SPYS gather for their weekly meditation. The session takes places every Thursday. PHOTO: Tiana Lesley-Anne Kamoetie.
The SPYS are a group who encourage everyone to get in touch with their spirituality and pay particular attention to meditation as a mechanism to maintain mental health and to be at peace with oneself. The society emphasizes the importance of coexistence as a foundation to protect the general welfare of everyone.
Although the society aims to create a space for people to connect on a spiritual level and to meditate harmoniously, they acknowledge that there is a gap between what their goals are and how the public perceives SPYS.
Gopi Jivana Dasa (27), chairperson of SPYS, explains perhaps the biggest issue the group faces on their quest to get the message out. “We can clearly see a gap between what we try and share with people and the idea that people have of us.”
Gopi Jivana Dasa performs during the 2018 Freedom Fest in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Amar Metha.
Dasa also added that many people involved in the behind-the-scenes running of SPYS practice the Bhakti Yoga tradition personally, but the society is not exclusively aligned to it. Although the tradition inspires the society’s approach to spirituality, Dasa said that SPYS’s doors are open to people of all backgrounds.
“The Bhakti tradition tells one that spirituality is a universal thing and almost all the different cultures that exist are trying to achieve the same thing. We want to encourage anyone that believes that there is more than a physical, a soul, someone who believes there is a God and even atheists interested in spiritual philosophy to join SPYS,” he says.
Mental health has become a strong topic of discussion in society these days and SPYS administrator, Tara-Leigh Sassin (21), believes that a spiritual approach is part of the solution to poor mental health.
“With physical diseases, you see it and you can monitor it and mental health can be experienced the same way. We are starting to see that mental health can bring physical discomfort and pain,” she says. “So, instead of always taking pain tablets or antidepressants for it, we need to deal with the issues root cause and this is where meditation comes in.”
It is this perspective on the power of meditation, coupled with the power of music that has prompted SPYS’s band to release their first music album, Gaurafest Collections.
Maas added that one of the album’s aims is to preserve this “beautiful art” and the musical talent within the society.
“One of the big aspects of this album was to share the work these people make. They put in so much effort and heart into these songs and we want it to affect the hearts of more people. Music has a huge effect on our consciousness and it actively helps with the problems in one’s life and offers refreshing perspectives. We want that.”
Sassin nodded in agreement and added to Maas’s comment by explaining that the aim of the album is to give power and empower those in a depressed mental state and cannot help themselves back up.
Tasmin Le Roux (22), SPYS yoga teacher and part of the SPYS band, explained the creative process that went into making the album.
“We carry a little bit of the music with us wherever we go and in the songs there is so much meaning. We have to feel and visualize every word we are saying and it has to sit in our hearts,” she says. “After going through this process we go on stage and we give it to people and they feed off it. So the aim is to give something precious to the soul first to the performers, and then to the audience.”
Le Roux and Dasa perform during the 2018 Freedom Fest in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Amar Metha.
Lusi Balwethu (22), one of the singers and songwriters of the production team, explained that the biggest goal for the album is for it to speak to as many people as possible.
“We want a lot of people to enjoy the music. There are a lot of mellow and groovy tunes but within that music there is a very powerful language and a powerful tool to spread a good message which is one of people to be aware and to be in tune with their spirituality.”
Watch the first track from the SPYS band’s new live album, “Divine Troubadour”: