Prabhu Nam Kaur has been singing sacred mantra and shabad from the Kundalini Yoga and Sikh traditions for more than 35 years. She aspires to sing these songs of God with devotion, so that their wisdom and beauty can shine forth, and so that listeners can find their own ability to sing and experience them as well.
Her most recent CD is titled, “Seasons of the Soul,” released in June 2010 by Spirit Voyage Records. She has also recorded the CD, “Mother’s Blessing.” Prabhu Nam Kaur began taking piano lessons when she was 5 years old until she was 20, and studied the flute for a few years in high school. She sang in the school choir and with her sisters at home, for fun. She never had any formal training in voice, but all the years of piano lessons transferred easily over to harmonium!
Wanting to do justice to Gurbani Kirtan taught her a lot about singing. The first shabad she ever learned was Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur, in a class taught by Amarjeet Kaur in Los Angeles in 1974. She studied later briefly with Jasbir Kaur. In 1977, she went to Amritsar and met Bhai Hari Singh, who played at the Golden Temple for 54 years before retiring. She has continued studying with him whenever the opportunity has arisen, both in India and in the US when he has travelled here.
Prabhu Nam Kaur says that her daughter, Snatam Kaur, continually inspires her, and if she has taught Snatam about music, Snatam has certainly taught Prabhu Nam much as well. She believes that being a singer of Gurbani Kirtan is a willingness to serve the shabad, and is quite a spiritual practice in itself. She looks forward to deepening that practice. She lives in San Leandro, California, USA, and is married to Sat Santokh Singh, who teaches Self-Worth workshops throughout Europe and the US.
She is the mother of Snatam Kaur, who travels the world sharing her music. She teaches yoga and kirtan. She has six children altogether, ranging in age between 21 and 46. There are by name: Andrew, Jiwan Shakti Kaur, Snatam Kaur, Nam Kirn, Steven, and Rishi Parbhaat Singh.