By the window is an altar with tiny Hindu gods holding instruments that resemble the six-stringed tamboura resting at Kabir's feet. The tamboura makes that magical drone you hear first and last in Indian music, says Kabir, who spent many years studying devotional music in India. I'm not sure religion can occur without music. Kabir is one of an eclectic group of people in Boulder who perform and teach sacred or spiritual music. Music is part of every tradition, from Sufi and Hindu chants to Christian hymns.
Sacred music is more than a solemn melody that accompanies a religious event.
To those who practice it, sacred music can be the clearest path to the divine. In the past decade, spiritual music has entered popular culture and also become an increasing focus in places of worship. Five years ago, college students were buying Gregorian chants by Spanish Benedictine monks. Today, Madonna's recording of a Hindu chant, Om Namah Shivaya, is one of her most popular tunes. Churches and synagogues around the country are finding music attracts people to services.