I recently listened to an interview with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr on the WTF podcast with Marc Maron. For the interview, go here. Wiki on Dinosaur Jr is here; on Mascis here; the band website is here.

I had heard of Dinosaur Jr., but did not know about their music. But one of the parts of the interview with Mr. Mascis that I found interesting was his discussion of his relationship to Mata Amritanandamayi. She is known popularly as the “hugging saint,” or simply as “Amma” (mother) or “Ammachi”. Her website is here; Wiki here. Mr. Mascis tells of the profound impact that her embrace and presence has had on him. (Learn more about preparing to be embraced by her here.) He has also recorded an album in her honor, J and Friends Sing and Chant for Amma.

Here is “Heavy Metal Ai Giri Nandini” by J Mascis and friends:

This reminded me of a post here at R&T about the guitarist Jason Becker, by Mary McDonough here. McDonough introduced R&T readers to Mr. Becker’s remarkable story. On his website, Becker tells the story of Amma’s profound role in his life. I don’t know if rock and roll musicians are more inclined to active spiritual seeking than others, but these are two very talented musicians who have found in Amma a profoundly inspiring and healing presence.

For more information about Amma, here is a CNN story:

And here is part of a film produced by an organization affiliated with Amma, “Embracing the World”:

Electric guitar mastery comes from many places, and takes one to many destinations, and this Hindu teacher and her doctrine are wrapped up in these rock stories.

My own perspective on approaching these questions is a curious sympathy tempered by an equally curious caution. However one balances appreciation with skepticism, however, the manner in which musicians find their ways in and out of religious paths — Christian, Hindu, and so many more — is an important consideration when taking the full measure of their musical accomplishment.

Is their music a waystation for the spiritual search, or are spiritual teachers and texts the waystation for the musical journey? The paths seem inseparable.

Tommy Beaudoin, New York City

 

1 Comment »

1. 

   Tom, this Dinosaur Jr. fan thanks you for this post. I had heard of the J and Friends Sing and Chant for Amma but didn’t know much about it. Thanks for pointing to some info.

   I highly recommend the Dinosaur album Where You Been as a good starting point, if you’re interested! One of my favorite records to this day.

   Comment by Michael Iafrate — January 7, 2013 @ 8:22 pm

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