NEW VIDEO: Steady as Stone LIVE at Bhakti Fest 2018

Sat Nam Friends,

I have some more awesome footage from Bhakti Fest to share with y'all. This one begins with a sweet sweet UKULELE SOLO! Yes, that's what I said. I honestly could not believe what an an amazing line-up of musicians I got for this festival. Chad Wilkins plays ukulele like no one I have ever heard.

This song is a trio of English mantras. Words that are meant to reprogram your brain to make you know your excellence and strength.

I hope we can effectively "brain wash" you. :-)

Joyfully,
Sirgun Kaur

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

Greetings,

I'm excited to share a little more footage from my Sacred Chant Concert at Bhakti Fest's 10th Anniversary. 

This one is of a mantra that many of you will know very well: "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo." 

The translation I give in the video is the best one I've given so far. 

Ong = I focus my consciousness

Namo = I acknowledge, I bow

Guru Dev = the divine teacher within

So all together, it translates to something like: 

I now focus all of my awareness on the divine teacher within. I acknowledge this transformative energy that already exists within me. I bow to that POTENTIAL.

Within each living being (including every living cell) there is an innate intelligence. So often we ask other people to substitute that intelligence for us. This is called "seeking advice."

Quantum Physics tells us that our Universe is a hologram. We are all holograms. This means that the ENTIRE body of intelligence that is our Universe exists in exactly the same form in every single living thing on this planet. 

The degree to which we are "enlightened" is the degree to which we put ourselves in a place of allowing that intelligence to flow through us... as us. 

As you chant this mantra, make sure the ONG sound resounds through your forehead and nasal cavities. It will activate the frontal lobe, which is associated with learning, and our personality. Vibrate that area with awareness and you will make yourself available to all the intelligence that is already within you.

JOYfully,

Sirgun Kaur

P.S. If you enjoy this video, please SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel for more videos like this, as well as little educational videos on mantras and technologies for greater awareness. Thank you in advance!

Playing Total Surrender for Bhakti Fest's 10th Anniversary Celebration!

Sat Nam Friend,

I am back from a week in the California desert, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Bhakti Fest. This is one of the pieces I played for my sacred chant concert on Friday, Sept. 14.

I was joined by Greg Barnett on bass, Clayton Campbell on percussion, Chad Wilkins on guitar, Candace Park on viola, Radharani on vocals, and Dharma Fears on vocals.

I was not expecting to get footage from this concert, so seeing this in my inbox upon my return was a very nice surprise indeed!

The mantras in this song are:

1. So paatisah(u) sahaa paatisahib Naanak rahan rajaaee
2. Ik ong kaar sat naam siree waaheguroo
3. Waaheguroo, waaheguroo, waaheguroo, waahe jio

They are not generally used together. They came to me in a dream when I was writing the music for -8. I loved the way they sounded together, especially the overlapping "waheguru" part. 

And thank you to Jake J. Thomas and Masood Ali Khan for your footage!

Joyfully,

Sirgun

Live at Joyful Yoga ~ Monica's "Om Dum Durgaye Namaha"

After an entire week in Joshua Tree, CA, it is nice to get back and be at home.

I always seem to have an ample amount of live footage because I film nearly EVERYTHING I do. It's a habit I've had since I was a singer-songwriter, and it has remained a habit to this day. I mean, I can always delete it, right? (And I do. A lot of it.)

This video of "Om Dum Durgaye Namaha" I wanted to share though. Monica Page Subia has been supporting my music for years now, and this concert at Joyful Yoga marked the first time that I supported her. It was such a pleasure to share her music. She has such a deep love of devotional chanting (as you'll hear), and she is a wonderful teacher here in the "valley."

Thank you to Joyful Yoga in Tempe, AZ for hosting us.

And many thanks to Monica for sharing her beautiful music.

Joyfully,
Sirgun Kaur

Live Music for Kia Miller's Yoga Class @ Bhakti Fest

Sat Naaaaaam!

I was so blessed to be part of this class at Bhakti Fest. Kia Miller is an amazing hatha and kundalini yoga teacher. I love playing music for her classes. And at Bhakti Fest! People are so engaged and appreciative to move their bodies to live mantra music/kirtan.

Thank you to Monica Page Subia, Chad Wilkins, Chad Wilkins and Oshri Hakak for joining me in making a joyous noise!

Love,
Sirgun Kaur

Joyful Yoga Kirtan - Bhalay Amar Das & Ong Namo

Sat Nam,

Happy first day of the week!

On Friday night I did a kirtan with my longtime musical partner, Monica Page Subia. In all the years we have played live shows together, I had NEVER seen her lead chant herself. This is humorous not only because she does it way more often that I do, but also because she is AMAZING at it.

I will post one of the songs that she led very soon. For now, I did the opening invocation - "Bhalay Amar Das" (from -8) and an unrecorded version of "Ong Namo."

Monica wanted me to explain what "Bhalay Amar Das" meant in the beginning of the kirtan, and, honestly, I was a little stumped. Besides knowing that it is a song written in praise on Guru Amar Das by Bal the Poet, all I could do was say how it FELT to me.

That seems to be a lot more in the forefront of my chanting these days. I pick chants based on how I FEEL about them... how I FEEL when I chant them... how I FEEL when others chant them with me.

I have a bit of a different perspective when it comes to writing songs in English, where meaning is very important to me. I suppose that is because I am WRITING the words, rather than interpreting them with new melodies.

I really liked the way these songs turned out. Our band was great. The people who showed up were ready to use their "outside" voices. And how could you not love the name of the studio we played at: Joyful Yoga!?

If you enjoy the opening song, this is a video of the recorded version.

Joyfully,
Sirgun Kaur