We were lucky to catch up with GAAYATRI recently and have shared our conversation below.

GAAYATRI, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Growing up first generation Indian-American, a career as an Artist isn’t exactly what most people have in mind. While my parents were an exception and unconditionally supported my growth as an Artist, I definitely had internalized narratives that I should have a “regular” job. I pursued studies in science, intending to double in a career in medicine. From the days of my high school internship at the Buck Institute for Age Research where I worked on a research publication for the Journal of Neuroscience, I always pursued science alongside my art. After my college days at UCLA, I went briefly to USC to do a pre-med post baccalaureate program. Despite the fact that I was doing a lot with my art at the time, I still felt internalized pressure to do something stable with a predictable paycheck.

What I soon learned was that there is more than one way to approach life. If you have to work hard to build whatever life you choose, why not put your energy into creatively figuring out how you can live a life of love and passion while providing value for the world with your gifts? This realization literally hit me when I was hit by a truck in a major car accident my second semester into the pre-med program. The accident forced me to pull out of school for a while to heal, and in the process I came to introspect what I really wanted my life to feel like. At the time, rather than building a life around what made me feel most alive, finding ways to provide value with my unique gifts and talents, I was taking the energy I could be investing into my dream life and putting it into what I thought my life should be. I was always drained, my body wasn’t healthy, and my energy was always scattered. The moment I let go of these expectations and allowed myself to fall into my inner nature, I felt so much more at peace with myself.

While it was uncertain at first, what I came to understand was that if I actually put my effort into building a life around what brought me inner joy, everything else would just fall into place. It would also be the most stabilizing thing I could ever do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Gaayatri. I consider myself to be a practicing Naad Yogini, Singer & Music Creator. I specialize in Hindustani Raaga music, and Indian influenced music making.

What makes my approach different is that I don’t consider myself to be a musician first, but rather a Naad Yogini first. Naad Yoga is the practice of vibrational Yoga. This means becoming aware of the vibrations and energies we carry within us, and express out into the world. Its objective is to attune to the energetic frequency of universal consciousness, and live in a state of flow with pure cosmic creation energy. This is why the definition of Naad Yoga means “union through vibration.”

It is practiced through sound because sound is considered to be the manifest form of vibration. A core principle of the subject is that the internal and external are mirrors of each other, and whatever we carry within us is what we will reflect outwardly – so sound is used as a mirror to show us where we are internally with our vibrational energy. The ancient practices of Aum chanting, mantra chanting, Raaga music, and Bhakti music are the main forms through which this is practiced in Vedic traditions. Raaga music is most heavily associated almost interchangeably as Naad Yoga because it was developed as a set of sonic Asanas for this practice. Naad Yoga is different from what we typically think of as “music” because its primary goal is not to entertain but to enlighten us.

In Naad Yoga, musical abilities are considered siddhis, or acquired abilities. They are not the goal, but rather a byproduct if a certain level of awareness within a practice is achieved. Naad Yoga has different facets of practice, and not every path is oriented in such a way where musicianship is a siddhi. Raaga practice is one of the forms of Naad Yoga that does orient towards this, and the depth of musical skill to render it is incredibly complex requiring many layers of deep understanding of musicianship.

Therefore, I separate music making meant for entertainment from my Naad Yoga Sadhana, or practice. While I find enjoyment in music making for entertainment, and certainly have a career in the entertainment industry as a singer and composer for film, TV, digital media, and commercial music, the Naad Yoga that I practice through Raaga is meant as a meditative experience.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

If we can shift our perspective to encourage people to find their joy, and figure out how best to provide value from what they love – we will have a much happier and healthier society. Also, showing up to local concerts, events, and showcases is a great way to support artists and creatives in particular.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Don’t live by what others think you should be or do, find what you want and live your life on your own terms. You’ll find that often it’s actually less scary and more stable than you think, and more rooted in truth.

For me, I think I always knew within the truth of what I am. Accepting it, living it, and then finding the words to really express it took time.

For a long time, even in music, it was hard to accept and articulate what I really resonated with. Within the performing artist Hindustani music world, I felt in many places I didn’t quite fit in because my approach to Raaga was not really one that centered around rendering it as a performance art, but rather as a spiritual practice. I would find often that people were oriented around a very different set of values than I was. So I took time off from singing public concerts and just kept this as a private practice of my own.

For a time, I felt maybe I should make music that is more commercially oriented for the world. For a while, I kept that as my public offering, and kept my Raaga practice private. I built a career in commercial music production, film scoring, and session singing. I am fortunate to have stepped into a blessed career taking part in collaborations with A-list artists, and blockbuster productions. But even through all of these pursuits, it was always my grounding in Raaga practice that gave me the ability to uniquely provide value. It became clear that this was the thing that grounded me, and was always present no matter what I was doing. It was my most valuable strength. Embracing this has been the most rewarding thing I have done so far.

What I came to learn was that accepting what I actually am, and presenting the truth of it with vulnerability, and confidence, was actually my greatest strength. As I continue on this path, I’m excited to see where the journey takes me on a personal and professional level.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gaayatrimusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaayatrimusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gaayatrimusic