New chant “Piano Stotram” out now
Our kirtan group, Kripa, just released a new “Mix-Tape.” In honor of Ram Dass’s birthday, we will each be releasing a new song for each day of the week. You can listen to the album here
My track just dropped today:
The Guru Stotram is a river of Grace, an ever-flowing current to the heart of Eternity. These days many of us wonder if we need gurus anymore, and for good reason. It seems that almost every day we hear about new cases of abuse within the hierarchy of spiritual communities.
But this is a love song. It is a love song to God in the form of Guru, the Dispeller of Darkness who shows us the path and how to walk it towards the light. It captures the essence of Guru Kripa, or the effervescent Grace of the Dispeller of Darkness.
Just like in worldly relationships, many of us have been in unhealthy or even abusive relationships. Yet the drive to find a good relationship keeps us going. We don’t have to keep seeking relationships, but we do. I imagine that many people are done with gurus. There’s no reason not to be, but for those of us with a heart yearning for a personal relationship with God, what do we do? The Guru Stotram is a love song about a Sat Guru, or True Guru.
For me, the Guru is how God becomes personal. The Guru shows me that God is not just an Eternal, Impartial, Truth, or even an All-Pervading Essence of Love, but is also a Being who loves me and all of us unconditionally. Before meeting the Guru, I had faith in God, but not a personal relationship. It was the Guru that gave that to me. Now I see that the lines of the Guru Stotram are true: “There is no truth higher than the Guru, no practice higher than the Guru, and no knowledge higher than the Guru.” (read more about Sat Gurus here)
All I know is what I’ve found in my faith and spiritual community. Neem Karoli Baba, Siddhi Ma, and Ram Dass has opened me up to Grace. It’s a GOOD relationship. And so in this song I sing to them out of love. It’s a love song.
Photo Track Art by Thais Aquino at http://www.thaisaquino.com/
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