Spirit Voyage

A Sadhana Compilation.  Beautiful versions of the morning Sadhana chants from Amrit Kirtan, Gurunam Singh, Sada Sat Kaur, Gurutrang Singh, GuruGanesha and Mirabai Ceiba.
 
In Kundalini Yoga, it is recommended that you wake in the ambrosial hours of the morning and practice yoga and meditation before the rising of the sun.  The yoga sets practiced at this time can change from day to day.  The mantras and meditations to practice after your yoga for the Aquarian Age were given by Yogi Bhajan on June 21, 1992 with instructions to use them for 21 years.  The CDs in this section include the mantras given by Yogi Bhajan to be practiced at this time.

 

“The greatest reward of doing sadhana is that the person becomes incapable of being defeated.  Sadhana is a self-victory, and it is a victory over time and space.  Getting up is a victory over time, and doing it is a victory over space.  That is what sadhana is. “ – Yogi Bhajan

Gurunam Singh LIVE on Tour! Don't miss your chance to book Gurunam as he travels world-wide on tour for the release of his new CD! Email Vyda at Vyda@independentyogi.com for more information.

When Gurunam Singh graduated high school he was given a guitar and began composing simple songs. At 22 he found Yogi Bhajan and Sikh Dharma. He sang and played along with others and over time began leading chants in the early morning hours, before the rising of the sun. He spent lots of time in the solitude of his own home, and in the Sikh temple late at night, chanting to God and writing devotional songs. Gurunam's influences range from gospel, folk and country to classical Indian raag and traditional Sikh hymns to many of the current artists who sing devotional Hindu chants. He occasionally studied with some great ragi's such as Bhai Avtar Singh, from India, and Dya Singh from Australia. But his music is very simple. Anyone can chant along.

Back in 1973, a young man left an up-and-coming rock band called Cat's Cradle to walk the spiritual path, embracing the Sikh faith and the practice of Kundalini Yoga. It was a hard choice. But his spiritual guide, the world-renowned master of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan, told the young man, "Whatever you leave behind to walk this path will re-manifest later, in a higher form."

Today the world knows that man as GuruGanesha Singh, a guitarist of exceptional grace and expressiveness, a singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur who has been a leading figure in establishing World Sacred Music as one of the fastest-rising and creatively fertile genres on the current scene. With a brand new album, Kundalini Surjhee, an exciting new live project with golden-voiced singer Tina Malia titled Song of the Soul, and an on-going musical collaboration with the incomparable Snatam Kaur (in its12th year and still thriving), GuruGanesha feels that he's now experiencing the complete realization of the prophecy Yogi Bhajan made all those years ago.

"What's happening now is a full manifestation," he says. "All the same pieces are there that were there in '73, but they've re-manifested in a higher form. All the spiritual and musical work I've done for the past 38 years has been preparing me for this."

GuruGanesha is one of those rare individuals who combine the heart and soul of an artist with the clear, quick mind of a seasoned and wise business leader. By the time he started Spirit Voyage Records in January, 2000 he had already made a substantial financial success as CEO of Sandler Training Institute of Virginia, a company dedicated to providing integrity based sales training for the high-tech industry. For many people, that would suffice as a life's achievement, but for GuruGanesha it was just a prelude.

The first year of the 21st Century proved a musical watershed for him. He released the album A Game of Chants with Guru Singh, Thomas Barquee and the Grammy-winning singer Seal and began to record as part of the Peace Family, a group featuring the extraordinary, angelic voice of Snatam Kaur. Becoming Snatam's manager as well as her guitarist and co-vocalist in 2000, GuruGanesha helped launch Snatam as a solo artist with the Spirit Voyage album release Prem. It was the first in a string of outstanding CDs, including Shanti, Grace, Anand and Liberation's Door that established the diminutive yet divinely guided singer as one of the preeminent voices in the growing world of mantra, kirtan and devotional music.

GuruGanesha's shimmering, evocative guitar melodies and supple chordal rhythms played an integral role in creating Snatam's signature sound. Their collaboration over the years has been extremely fruitful and always dedicated to the service of humanity and the cause of world peace. In a similar way, GuruGanesha has helped foster the careers of producer Thomas Barquee, the devotional duo Mirabai Ceiba, Nirinjan Kaur and now, Tina Malia.

In 2004 GuruGanesha made his debut as a solo artist with the album Grateful Ganesh, a title that pays playful tribute to the artist's all-time favorite band, the Grateful Dead. This was followed by Pure Ganesh in 2006 and Joy Is Now in 2008. All these releases are remarkable for their blend of heartfelt songcraft and sterling guitar work embracing a cornucopia of musical styles, from kirtan to jazz to raga to rock.

GuruGanesha has taken his unique musical vision to even greater heights on his new release Kundalini Surjhee, an album that includes several collaborations with Tina Malia, a gifted singer whose recordings span the devotional, pop and electronic fields and who has worked with such diverse artists as Carlos Santana, Jai Uttal, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Loggins, India.Arie and Bassnectar. In addition to his usual robust touring schedule with Snatam Kaur, GuruGanesha will be hitting the road this year with Tina Malia on their Song of the Soul tour along with multi-instrumentalist Hans Christian, percussionist/remix master Craig Kohland and fast rising young bassist Jared May.

"I've been aware of Tina for a long time," says GuruGanesha. "I feel she's right up there with the best female devotional singers on the planet. And she has a beguiling pop side as well, which I love."

And so the young man who turned his back on rock and roll glory has become an icon and inspiration in another great musical genre-one with higher goals than fame or wealth.

"I'm 60 years old now and I've dedicated the past ten years of my life to sending healing sound currents out to the world," he says. "I'm not doing it for the money. I've already had success in business. It's been a labor of love and devotion, from starting Spirit Voyage, to my work with Snatam and now embarking on the Song of the Soul Tour with Tina. People on the planet are so stressed out now. They need the healing, soothing energy of the Divine Mother. When a Snatam Kaur or a Tina Malia sings, there is an innocence and purity to their voice that opens every heart in the room within seconds. Everyone in the audience will feel like a child again, in their mother's arms. For a time, they will forget all their troubles and cares, and rediscover their true identity as spiritual beings."

Sada Sat Kaur's name represents within yogic circles the alchemy of everyday custom turned into high art. For over 30 years she has toured the world, chanting mantras and singing kirtan in ashrams, concert halls, schools, public parks.

In India, audiences have been known to flock to her as if she were the Beatles. "We play to crowds of 200,000 people," she says. "They want to touch you and get your autograph. You go to these parks when it's a Sikh holiday, and they hear that these American Sikhs are going to sing, and you can't even see the end of the sea of people."

As the decades have passed, that sea of people has never managed to hoist Sada Sat Kaur toward a recording studio-until now. "The feeling inside myself was that this was all going to happen when it was supposed to happen," she says, "and it did."

In 2000 she was hanging around the watermelon tent at a Summer Solstice retreat in the mountains of New Mexico when she fell into an exchange with musician and producer Jeremy Toback. "We just got to talking and Jeremy and I were like, `Let's do an album." The result of that chance encounter is Angels' Waltz, a debut disc from a 56-year-old homeopath and yoga instructor who also just happens to be a master of a musical and spiritual form.

Amrit Kirtan was born in New Orleans, Louisianna, and raised in Houston Texas. One of her fondest childhood memories was singing at the nursing home her adoptive grandmother was in, performing particularly for the elderly, sick or suffering. At the age of 12, she started voice lessons, and attracted the attention of renowned opera singer coach Alana Nicolaidi, who was then teaching at the University of Houston. She then attended the American Music and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan’s upper west side, trained in musical theatre. Amrit then moved to L.A. to start a brief and unfulfilling life as an actor. There, she met Chris, the man who would change her life forever. She took an extended break from acting, qualified as an Emergency Medical Technician, a Phlebotomist, even took flying lessons, all the while finding her way back to music. Amrit’s curiosity was piqued when she met a white Sikh. Two hours later, she found out about her local Gurudwara, the 4am Sadhanas, the chanting, and Kundalini Yoga.

Two years later she was a fully qualified and accredited Kundalini Yoga instructor. Meeting Yogi Bhajan was another life changing experience, as was the chance to journey alone to India on a voyage of self discovery and spiritual growth. There, she found the spiritual root of her musical inspiration, the source of her definitive sound of music. Eventually she contacted the renowned producer Thomas Barquee, and started on their first project together. A year and a half later, “Sacred Circle” was completed.