Sheela Bringi: A Lifetime of Evolving the Indian Traditions of Mantra, Music & Bhakti

A Heartfelt Exchange on the Power of Sound and Tradition

In this episode of Mantras for Peace: A Widsom Gathering, Anandra joyfully welcomes Sheela Bringi, a musician, teacher, and “lineage keeper” of sacred sound traditions from India. Over the years, Sheela has dedicated herself to preserving the wisdom of these traditions while breathing new life into them in America.

Sheela Bringi, MFA, is a sacred music artist and educator. She is faculty at Naropa University in Boulder, CO, where she teaches courses in Indian Devotional and Rāga Singing. She is a vocalist and plays the harp, harmonium and bansuri (Indian classical bamboo flute). Sheela’s parents are from South India and were her first music teachers. She was raised in Colorado with kīrtan, bhakti yoga, and Indian classical music in the home. Sheela has extensive training in North Indian classical, devotional and Western musical traditions, and past teachers include Indian maestros Pt. G.S. Sachdev and Ust. Aashish Khan, and Western contemporary greats such as Cecil Taylor and Meredith Monk. She currently studies Hindustani voice with Sri Subhashish Mukhopadyay (a topmost exponent of the Kotali Gharana). She has released two albums as a solo artist (Shakti Sutra and Incantations). Her work to bridge the musical worlds of India and America has been profiled by NBC News, NPR, Public Radio International, and others. Sheela tours and teaches internationally and has collaborated with artists including Idan Raichel, Karsh Kale, Jai Uttal, and many others.

 Anandra had the great privilege to have talked with Sheela Bringi. The interview video below was for our Mantras for Peace: A Wisdom Gathering project.*

A Conversation of Anandra with Sheela Bringi

Anandra:
Yay.
Welcome again to Mantras for Peace, and welcome to Sheela Bringi.
I'm so glad that you're willing to share your time and your voice with us today, Sheela. Thank you.

Sheela:
Thank you so much for having me, Anandra.

Anandra:
We've known each other or orbited around each other for a decade, maybe.
I don't know, but we've never really gotten a chance to sit down and have a proper heart-to-heart conversation.
I just feel so excited to have you. You know, if this was our excuse, I'm into it.
Sheila, for our viewers and listeners who might not know you, Sheela is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, and a really accomplished teacher.
You may or may not feel comfortable with this, but I'm going to call you a lineage keeper.
You are doing such an incredible service in keeping the essence of the wisdom traditions of sacred sound from India alive and fresh in America.
Props for that—it’s not an easy job. Can we start there, with empathy for the challenge? Would you share a little about what it’s been like to do the teaching and performance work you do?

Sheela:
Sure. I'll start off with a bit about my background.
I’m coming to you from just outside Boulder, Colorado. I grew up in a small mountain college town not far from here—Fort Collins, Colorado.
My parents are both from South India. They’re scientists, musicians, and spiritual seekers.
They came to this country in the early seventies and moved to Colorado in the early eighties.
As you can imagine, at that time, there were very few Indian families in our town.
My mother was like the matriarch of our community, gathering everyone every Friday night in the basement of a cold, unwelcoming church to sing bhajans.

Anandra:
Oh, wow.

Sheela:
My brother and I protested every week. We never wanted to go.
We wanted to spend time with friends or watch TV.
To us, the sessions felt dry and boring, and we were not interested.
We rarely practiced. Then, when I was around twelve years old, my mom learned about Amma, the hugging saint, from a guest staying at our house.
She found a picture of Amma while cleaning his room.
He told her who Amma was, and my mom decided we had to meet her.
It just so happened Amma was coming to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
So, my mom put us all in the van, and we drove down to meet Amma.

My first experience of her was walking into a tent where she was leading bhajans passionately with a group of a couple of hundred people.
I was around twelve years old, so this was in the mid-nineties.
I remember walking into the hall, and even at that young age, I was immediately floored by the music and her singing.
It felt like she was cutting my heart and mind open with the music.
From then on, my experience of those basement bhajan sessions was completely transformed.

Anandra:
She lit the bhakti fire in you.

Sheela:
She did. She absolutely did.

Anandra:
It’s contagious.

Sheela:
It really is.
Before and even during those years, I struggled a lot with expressing myself.
I often felt frozen in my communication and found it hard to share my heart with others.
The place I grew up was predominantly white, and I was often the only minority in the whole school.
I had intense social anxiety.

After meeting Amma and feeling the power of her music and voice, I saw an example of singing with abandon, passion, and ecstasy.
Singing in that way naturally opened me up.
It might sound cheesy, but it opened love within me.

Anandra:
You’re in the right crowd for that kind of talk.

Sheela:
Yeah. Singing bhajans and using my voice that way helped me open up in other areas too.
Even though my teenage years were rough, music became my refuge.
Once that light of bhakti was lit, you couldn’t get me to stop leading bhajans at Friday night sessions.

Eventually, the sessions moved to our house, and we became very dedicated to Amma.
We learned many of Amma’s bhajans, hosted Amma’s satsangs, and welcomed the swamis into our home yearly.

Even though I’ve studied other types of music from a young age—Indian classical, Western classical, jazz, and creative music—that thread of bhakti and devotional music has inspired everything I do.
It’s the center of my work and music.

After that trip to Santa Fe, my brother and I revealed during the next bhajan session that we knew the entire songbook by heart, even though we’d never opened it before.
We led many of the songs after that.

Anandra:
Wow.

Sheela:
Music became my refuge and a way to explore my identity.
It helped me figure out what I could uniquely contribute to the world.
Through music, I felt at home and like I belonged, despite the social anxiety and challenges of growing up.
It pulled me through those difficult years.

I’ve always been a boundary pusher and someone who loves to explore and innovate.

Anandra:
And you're the daughter of your mother.

Sheela:
Yeah. That too. Very much now.
Yeah, and she was my first music teacher and my first singing teacher. She sings in the Carnatic style of music, the South Indian style. That was my earliest training—Carnatic singing. My father plays the Mridangam, which is the South Indian classical drum.

Every Sunday, all the little Indian girls would have singing class with my mom, and the little Indian boys would have rhythm class with my dad. It was very cacophonous in our house on Sundays. My dad, even though I didn’t study Mridangam with him, had such a huge influence on me in terms of rhythm, meter, and my sense of time. He would make me put tala for him while he practiced his lessons from his teacher. From a young age, I learned to put tala in 7, 5, or Adi tala in 8, and so on.

I’m so grateful for that influence and the opportunity to grow up with it because it shaped me so much. My mother, of course, influenced me with the melodic side—Maya Malava Gaula and the early Carnatic lessons of singing. I became familiar with the intervals in Maya Malava Gaula, which is the same as the Phrygian mode in Western music. Combining that with the rhythm training was invaluable.

I’m very grateful for that early Carnatic training. It’s very structured, and I like how structured it is. The tala and rhythm cycles are shorter, which worked well for my young, somewhat impatient mind. I could wrap my head around those cycles when I was younger.

Both of my parents were my earliest teachers. My mom also noticed I had a talent for piano. Her first earnings as a community college science teacher were used to buy me a piano and pay for lessons. When I was an early teenager, I got bored with classical piano lessons. Then I saw a jazz piano player at a wedding, and I was fascinated. He was playing spontaneously, singing while playing. I asked my mom, "What is he doing? How does he know what to play?" I told her I wanted to learn that.

She was my champion at that time and encouraged me so much. She made lessons accessible and drove me to them. I owe so much to both of my parents. The early exposure to jazz really sparked my creativity and allowed me to explore different aspects of myself.

I’ve always been most interested in cultural exchange—exploring the common ground connecting us, celebrating differences, and using the universal language of music. That has always been my passion. I’m happiest when I’m doing that.

Anandra:
That really comes across in what you do and how you do it. What stands out for me is the personal transformative moment when you sat in your identity and expressed your unique contribution to the world through your music—your heritage. It was transformative in the wider sphere of your life, empowering your voice.

Sheela:
Absolutely. By nature, I’m more introverted. Expanding into the online world has been an edge for me. I’m much better in small groups, in person, and being more intimate with people. My partner and I started an online devotional music school called the Sacred SoundLab in September, which has provided so many amazing growth opportunities.

I’ve noticed that despite my introverted nature and initial resistance, the more I share authentically, the more my singing voice opens up. And vice versa—the more I sing and spend time in deep listening, toning, and meditative sound practices, the more my communication opens up. It feeds into each other.
  
Yeah. You mentioned teaching earlier. I had the fortune to attend the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) near Los Angeles for a Master’s in World Music Performance with an emphasis on North Indian classical music.

After graduating, like many arts grads, I wondered, "What am I going to do with this degree? How do I find an audience, cultivate relationships with fans and supporters, and make a living doing what I love?"

Even before graduating, I noticed a burgeoning kirtan scene in LA, the hotbed for yoga and cultural events. I started getting invitations and putting out feelers. The first time I led kirtan in a Western yoga space was at a small yoga studio in Venice. I brought musicians from my music school to play with me.

The music felt wonderful, but something felt off. Growing up, I sang in our living room with family and friends, facing the altar, surrounded by food and community. In comparison, the studio felt sterile, despite the people being sweet.

Since then, I’ve been searching for ways to stay connected to the roots while adapting to the modern context and circumstances I find myself in.

Anandra:
To serve your art, to serve the hunger of your participants who want to connect to what you are being an instrument of, but they might need some translation or simplification, musically.

Sheela:
Exactly.

Anandra:
Probably the big thing that you figured out with that.

Sheela:
Exactly. So I've always kind of—it's always been this little journey of how do we really celebrate the roots and embrace them and, at the same time, create adaptations so that we can serve the communities.

Anandra:
That's exactly right.

Sheela:
And so I feel like that's been an exploration and a journey for the last 15 years or something like that. There are different things I've experimented with and explored—everything from musical things like you were talking about, to seating arrangements, to food, to ticketing, tiers, and sponsorships. Just a whole range of things to experiment with and see. What I've learned is there are myriad ways to embrace the roots, create adaptations, and make things more accessible.

The same thing with my teaching—it's the same thing. What I strive for is, like, I am not an Indian master. I'm not a master of rag singing or a guru of Indian classical music, you know? And so I tell people that right off the bat, and I really encourage them. If they feel compelled and they really want to learn the classical side, to study with an Indian master. At the same time, try to create connections between the different streams—mantra, rāga, kīrtan, bhajan, and the meditational side of Nāda yoga. And I know you do the same thing. So this is all most of us have, I know.

Yeah. So as a teacher, I feel like it's the same. It's very similar—it's like a similar exploration of how do we create accessibility and, at the same time, allow openness to innovation?

Anandra:
I could add something to that, which is a framework I've been working with more consciously lately. There's a really clear difference between performative and interoceptive experiences. So, like, if I'm there as a performer sharing my music, my setup and objective is completely different than if I'm there to invite others into an experience of their music, inside their own sensory experience. If I'm there to help someone connect to the voice in their heart—not listen to my voice, but to listen to their heart voice. It's a totally different strategy for teaching, and both are beautiful and valuable.

What I'm really appreciating about what you're sharing is there is this constant negotiation between honoring, respecting, and caring for the transmission of the art and culture you're using as a tool to express versus making it accessible. What adaptations do you have to make to make it accessible to someone who is not a musician, who didn't grow up in a family like yours of musicians, with people who speak the language of music or mantra? They're compelled to explore those tools.

Sheela:
I think you and I are on the same page, although I'm coming at it from the other side in a lot of ways because I didn’t have any of that growing up. I found it later but have dedicated my adult life to it, navigating the same kind of East-West, old-new bridge thing.

Anandra:
Yeah. I think it's less about finding the right mix than it is about continuing to be curious, asking the question, and improvising the offering in the moment.

Sheela:
Yeah, I agree. I feel like I was really fortunate when I was younger. My first teacher of the Bansuri Flute introduced me to a raga through devotional melody. He really connected it to the person's heart and created a strong connection, then got them interested in the classical side over time, but it was through the devotional side. So that coming together of rag and kirtan, which isn't really traditional, you know—classical and devotional are generally not presented together. But for me, it was really natural, and I loved that mode of expression.

I take a similar approach because I feel like what people are yearning for is tools moving them into greater presence—letting the mind fall into the heart. Expressing themselves through their voice and feeling connected to something greater.
Which is what some teachings of nada yoga helps us to understand—that it is truly connected to something greater, and a path of exploring one's relationship to sound and the divine through sound.
So, yeah, I feel there's so much richness in all the streams of sacred music—the different sonic streams, the pajan I was singing, the mantra, the nada yoga. I try to create a model where we explore those overlaps and the alchemy, if you will.

Anandra:
Like, it's a really brave work that you do in sharing that. I'm so grateful you offer what you're offering in the way that you are. The fact that you're both rooted in tradition—honoring your gurus—is such a cultural thing, and there's reverence in your responses to the conversation, which I appreciate. Yet you're also really curious and adapting how that can flow through.

I know it must be a challenge, being, you know, from a small town in Colorado, the only Indian family. Probably lonely and weird.
Yeah. But it speaks to the universality of music and mantra—people hear the mantra and are attracted to it, whether they understand the words or not.

Sheela:
Exactly. I totally relate to that because, honestly, it wasn't until I started studying philosophy and language that I understood the deeper meanings. When I was younger, I was just so attracted to the sound, melodies, and resonance that it really didn't matter if I understood the deeper meaning.

Later, I thought, "Maybe I should learn more about this"—the truth, the deeper meanings. Until probably my early twenties, I was just attracted to the sound. It was Bhava and the Rasa. It was just deeply compelling. The meaning came later.

Anandra:
Well, I mean, having spent a lot more time in the Indian Kirtan, Bhajan, and classical music scene than in the American scene, I've spent very little time in the American scene. It's funny, it's ironic, right? That you and I are having this conversation. But I could say that my observation is that in India, when I've been to a kirtan & mantra practice with people, whether as a participant or if I'm leading something, oftentimes it's really rote. The emphasis isn't there. The juice isn't there. You know, it's often not there. It can be a very kind of mechanical or "we should be doing this" practice. We think we know we're supposed to feel something mystical and magical, but we do it in hopes that we will.

But until that living spark of the divine starts to pulse through the heart of the sound, it’s just aspirational rather than embodied. And I think what I'm capturing from what you're saying is this beautiful storyline and inspiration that, you know, you work with the voice, you spend time in the practices, and then that does open up. Whether you get it from a guru or from the Shakti of the sound itself, it's just a matter of time until that happens.

I wish that for everyone who is in love with mantra and sound, but to have the honor and the pleasure of, even just hearing someone like you in a devotional communion moment, sends the resonance of that—the tonal quality of a heart that's just splayed open to the divine. It's a medicine. It's a magic that can spark that for others. So lucky you and lucky your students and audiences who get to experience that through you.

Sheelah:
Oh, well, that's so generous. Thank you. And beautifully expressed. That's definitely what I wish for myself and my practice, for sure. Yeah. And I feel really strongly that the arts—and I'm biased—I feel music is one of the most powerful ways that we communicate with each other as humans. And I feel it is also one of the most powerful ways that we humanize each other.

Anandra:
Yeah.

Sheelah:
And I think the power of the arts to foster greater empathy between humans, and therefore more peace, is incredibly powerful. You know? And as musicians and artists, when we have a performance or a gig, or we're leading an event or facilitating an experience, we have the opportunity to take the participants or the listeners on a journey, and they have come because they've agreed, and they've put their trust in us to be taken on a journey. So we get the opportunity to have a dialogue with people through music or through the arts or through poetry or theater or dance, whatever your medium is, that we probably wouldn't be able to have just in conversation or any other way. Like, I believe that through the arts, we can have a kind of dialogue that we can't have otherwise. And we can engender greater empathy and humanization of each other so that we can, yeah, facilitate greater peace. And that's where I'd like to put my energy and my focus.

Anandra:
That feels like a really nice way of elaborating on the concept of subtle activism, you know, that I refer to in this Mantras for Peace project. And that feels like a really great place to complete. To me, like, you just bam, laid it down.

Sheelah:
It's not perfect.

Anandra:
Yeah. Well, and to that end, truly, may all beings and all worlds be happy!!!

Learn more about Sheela's awesome work at: www.shebrings.com

FREE Sound & Mantra Training!

A little skills training, philosophical and scientific understanding, and sensitivity to cultural appropriation are necessary if we hope to develop its potential in our lives. That's why Anandra created the Heart of Sound courses! Many are totally free.

Discover the best sound yoga therapy, mantra meditation, and nada yoga FREE resources here:

• Dive deep with the world's first and only online sound and mantra 200HR & 500HR Teacher Training
• More free sound baths and chant experiences of all different types are available at HeartofSound on YouTube / Sound Bath Playlist
• Get to know Anandra through her IG reels and media appearances. 
• Interested? ☎️ Book a FREE 30 minute Discovery call! Let's explore together and find the perfect option for you! 

Mantras for Peace: A Wisdom Gathering Online

Many of the world’s indigenous wisdom cultures acknowledge that the unseen sound of prayers keep the delicate fabric of life in harmony.

Learn about ancient and innovative subtle activism practices from thought leaders, teachers, and artists from 6 continents in Mantras for Peace: A Wisdom Gathering Online

👂🏽 From labels to listening

🤝 From divisiveness to deescalation

🤗 From extremism to empathy

💞 From disassociation to deep connection

Featuring radically inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with global thought leaders dedicated to a vibrant future through ancient and innovative subtle activism practices, Mantras for Peace: Wisdom Gathering is an all-volunteer project dedicated to empowering people with peacemaking skills. (Originally aired 2019 & 2021)

Hosted by Anandra George, a pioneer in the transformational personal practice of sound and mantra and founder of the Heart of Sound.

45 profound, provocative, inspiring conversations with a diverse panel of global thought leaders.

Together, let's explore ancient and innovative subtle activism practices for a vibrant future!

Featuring radically inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with

• Neuroscience Educator Dr. Sarah Peyton
• Trauma Informed NVC Facilitator Meenadchi
• Biologist Bruce Lipton, Arhuaco
• Medicine Keeper Biskungwi Marquez
• Futurist Christine Mason
• Sanskrit Scholar Dr. Katy Jane
• Tantra Expert Devi Ward Erickson
• Marketing Queen Mari Smith
• Devotional Musician Punnu Singh Wasu
• Voice Expert Chloe Goodchild
• Yoga Philosophy Teacher Bhavani Maki
• Artist Activist Zena El Khalil
• Sound Medicine Expert Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary
• Peace Activist Michelle Button
• Mantra Researcher Gemma Perry
• Musician Gina Salā
• Wellness Entrepreneur Ayana Dake
• Devotional Singer Radhamadhav Das
• Non-Violent Communication Trainer Jori Manske
• Yoga Misfit Dana Trixie Flynn
• Musician Sheela Bringi and More...