Jeremy Occhipinti, an acoustic performer from the Art of Living Foundation, gave a free concert in the Campus Center Friday afternoon. The show was put on by the Art of Living club, which is a graduate student organization at the University of Massachusetts.

Occhipinti, although 26, looked like a typical college kid, dressed in warm-up pants and a fleece pullover upon arrival, carrying an acoustic guitar with a Grateful Dead sticker on it. He played just outside the University Store.

Both light-hearted and funny, Occhipinti started with what he called the performance aspect of his set – running through classics like “Soul Shake Down Party” by Bob Marley and “Love The One You’re With” by Stephen Stills – and then moved on to a few call-and-response songs that allowed the crowd to get more involved with the show.

“This is how a performance space turns into a sharing space,” Occhipinti said.

Many of the songs, learned during his travels to India in the fall of 2001, were in Sanskrit. According to Occhipinti, the 50,000 year-old language gives off certain vibrations in the body when spoken.

“When singing it call-and-response style, it gives off good vibrations in the environment,” Occhipiniti said.

After handing out lyric sheets, Occhipinti guided the audience through his own acoustic version of “Ganesha Sharanam” and “Govinda Jaya Jaya,” which are classic Indian chanting/folk songs.

The singing from both the performer and the audience gave the Campus Center concourse a church-like atmosphere. People passing by glanced inquisitively, cracking half smiles – not sure exactly what was going on.

“I can see people walking by with jealous looks on their faces,” Occhipinti joked, acknowledging the onlookers. “They want to sing.”

While spending time in Belize and other parts of Central America – “making tortillas and stone-washing my clothes in the river” – Occhipinti popularized another Indian song called “Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho,” which spent last summer on Mexico City radio. The song was a softer, more ballad-like number despite having the same call-and-response enthusiasm from the audience.

Occhipinti also performed Bob Dylan’s “Quinn the Eskimo.” During a meeting between the two, Occhipinti told Dylan he had been using the song to teach music to elementary school kids – Occhipinti’s other profession – and Dylan challenged him to teach it to college kids.

“It’s my mission from Bob Dylan,” Occhipinti said.

By the end of the concert, the energy had changed from quiet and reserved to upbeat and lively. Occhipinti bobbed and gyrated with the music while the crowd clapped and sang, and more and more people stopped to see what was going on.

“On TV they’re celebrating in Baghdad,” Occhipinti said. “So, I figured I have to turn up the juice on the college tour, because this is the home of celebration. And bringing everybody together in the form of celebration is a great thing.”

Occhipinti called what he was doing “true education,” because it gave people “a chance to experience something they’ve never experienced before.”

Taking small breaks throughout the show to sip his drink to soothe his throat from singing, Occhipinti used the time to explain the purpose of the Art of Living Foundation.

The Art of Living ideal is stress reduction through yoga and meditation. There is an Art of Living course designed to bring greater clarity of mind and overall peace and harmony in daily life, which the club offers on campus each semester.

The importance of the course, Occhipinti said, was to give people a presence of mind that allowed them to be in the moment. Through relaxation techniques, people can put down their worries and be present in life.

Occhipinti said his call-and-response shows were one way for people to do just that. He was grateful for the opportunity to play.

“If I didn’t share this with you guys,” he said, “I think that would be the greatest crime in the world.”