The Netherlands' most famous mantra singer with a worldwide audience (1945-2025)

Music and singing were a common thread throughout Hein's life. First as a hobby, later as a profession. Around the age of 40, he discovered chanted mantras through Gerard van Wijk, a kriya yoga teacher. Although he had little connection to the yoga teachings themselves, he was touched by the inspiration with which this teacher sang the mantras.

His own path

No ashram. No classical school. Hein developed his art through 20+ years of self-study, experimentation, and collaboration with therapist Hans van Druten. He studied Sanskrit for a year for pronunciation and sitar for four years to understand Indian music. He did the rest in his own Western way: seeing is believing.

Technology meets transcendence

For Hein, a mantra was simple: "Directing sound to open a specific door. A door to higher consciousness."

His definition differed from traditional schools—he found them too rigid, too disciplined. His approach: first pronounce the text properly, study the rhythm, then balance melody and emotion. If it's right, you allow the text and melody to merge.

The essence

Connecting with your natural sound. Singing with your whole body, not just your throat. Singing with your soul until you no longer have to think about it.

Hein has released four CDs and given concerts and workshops worldwide. His voice was pure and warm—the sounds are deeply received.

The Origin

According to Hein:

Besides teaching yoga, Gerard van Wijk played a Hindustani harmonium during the relaxation sessions. He sang in a way that impressed me. Upon inquiry, it turned out to be a sung sloka from the Rig Veda—one of the four sacred books of the Brahmins. That was the first time I'd heard a sung mantra.

After a while, I could sense that it had to do with concentration and energy transfer through the voice. After experimenting with it at home, an unexpected opportunity presented itself.

Hans van Druten was teaching courses at the time where he had people experience sound through their bodies, not their ears, with the goal of identifying and releasing blockages. He gave me a Sanskrit text and asked if I could create and record a vocal piece from it.

I did so, unhindered by any prior knowledge. It was the Gayatri mantra. After recording it, I let my friend Hans listen to it, after which he told me, "Don't change a thing." This was the birth of the mantra series.

I then studied sitar for 4 years to better understand Hindustani music, and Sanskrit for 1 year to learn the correct pronunciation.

"The mantra has profoundly changed my perspective on music. Singing or chanting mantras evokes diverse emotions. My approach to the lyrics and music remains the same as it was in the beginning. First, pronounce the lyrics properly and study the rhythm of the lyrics. When melody and emotion are in balance, then let the melody and lyrics merge," says Hein Braat.

During his concerts, Hein Braat's voice took listeners on a captivating journey through the chakras. The mantras reflect the unpolished primal sound.

Mantra is a means of stopping the mind, a way to go beyond it and arrive at meditation. Chanting mantras is a meditation technique. Hein: "It is gaining insight and becoming aware of the mystical essence of the great world religions. A sense of Light, Love, and Unity."

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