Notes From the Road

As you may have heard we had 1100 people at our first concert in Mexico City. It was absolutely amazing. When I first walked out on stage I was totally overwhelmed by the love from the audience. They clapped and clapped and clapped and I hadn't even started singing yet! I found that this love permeated through our whole experience. Our hosts, who have a beautiful ashram in the hills of Mexico City took care of us with so much love... I was considering moving there. Just kidding... but wow... the mangos were so good. Let me just tell you a little bit about the ashram that we stayed at... it is run by Jai Hari Singh and Jai Hari Kaur. If you want to find out about it you can go on line to www.yoga-mexico.com In any case, this ashram is the home of the first Siri Guru Granth Sahib in Spanish. A beautiful man by the name of Baba ji did the translation work. I read from the very first copy ever printed, and currently there are 200 more copies on the way. For those of you who don't know what the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is... it is a collection of sacred poems and writings from the Sikh Gurus and other enlightened masters of early India. As Sikhs we bow to the Siri Guru Granth Sahib as our Guru, because the tenth Guru of the Sikhs instead of appointing a human being as his successor appointed the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. I absolutely love reading from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib... I feel a connection with my Guru, and have received so much guidance that I can't even believe it. For me, the deeper I go into the relationship, the more it serves me. What I do is before I take a reading or a "Hukam" is I meditate and sit in silence, or pray. Then I read, and sometimes the internal question that I have will be answered right there in the reading of the hukam. If the answer is not directly there for me, after I read I sit and meditate again, and feel how the hukam has affected me in relationship to the question... and it seems to really work for me... the answer comes, or I'm given guidance as to how to answer the question. In any case... when I read from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib at this ashram in Mexico City the energy and power of the Guru was so potent there. I felt that it was because of this great work that Babaji did to translate all of those pages into Spanish. Babaji had lived in that ashram and had recently died... but this was his life's work.

We not only had a concert, I also taught a workshop that spanned over a two day period. We focused on sound and mantra, and specifically we experienced the power of the Shabad, "Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur". For those of you unfamiliar with this Shabad, you can find it on the "Mother's Blessing" cd that my mother and I made a few years back. This Shabad has brought many miracles in my life, and so I shared my experiences with people about it, and we went into the translation of every single word. Awhile back, my mother helped me with the translation. She loves to understand every word, and usually when she learns a new Shabad she makes sure that she knows the meaning. I do my best to do this as well. It really is a powerful experience. In fact, here are the words for the Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur Shabad... check them out.

The basic power in this Shabad is that it describes and relates how Guru Ram Das became the Guru. He was an orphan, but because of his purity and inner meditation, he shone through to the world as a king and through his life experience his inner being was recognized by the world and he was given the Guruship. I feel that for many of us on the spiritual path that it is a daily process of discovering our inner strength, royalty and grace. We must discover it, honor it, and make it real. Then others will recognize you... that You who is God incarnate. So, this Shabad helps to tap into that inner self and go through the miracle of transformation so that the shining light of the inner self will guide the whole life.

Dhan Dhan Raamdaas gur jin siri-aa tinai savaari-aa
Vaar Of Raamkalee, Uttered By Satta And Balwand The Drummer:

Dhan Dhan Raamdaas gur jin siri-aa tinai savaari-aa.
Blessed, blessed is the court of Guru Raam Daas; The One who has created You, has adorned You.
Dhan- Blessed, Hail, Praise be to
Raamdaas Gur- Ram Das Guruship, Vibration of the Guruship of Ram Das
jin- the one
siri-aa- create
tinai- that one
savaari-aa- adorn, set in order, arrange, correct.

Pooree ho-ee karaamaat aap sirjanhaarai dhaari-aa.
Perfect is Your action; the Creator Lord Himself has installed You on the throne.
Pooree- perfect
ho-ee- is
karaamaat- action
aap-God Himself, of Himself
sirjanhaarai-Creator
dhaari-aa- install/place.

Sikhee atai sangtee paarbarahm kar namaskaari-aa.
The Sikhs and the holy community recognize You as the Supreme Lord God, and bow to You.
Sikhee- Sikhs
atai- and
sangtee- holy community
paarbarahm- God
kar- do
namaskaari-aa- bow, pay obeisance to.

Atal athaahu atol too tayraa ant na paaraavaari-aa.
You are permanent, deep like an ocean and unweighable; You have no end or limitation.
Atal-permanent, unchanging
athaahu- deep ocean, profound
atol-unweighable
too- you
tayraa-yours
ant- limits
na- no
paaraavaari-aa- limit, boundaries.

Jinhee too(n) sayvi-aa bhaa-o kar say tudh paar utaari-aa.
Those who serve You with love - You carry them across.
Jinhee- those
too(n)- you
sayvi-aa- serve
bhaa-o- naturally with love
kar- do
say- they
tudh- you
paar- shore, other side
utaari-aa- lift across, carry across, bring across

Lab lobh kaam krodh moh maar kadhay tudh saparvaari-aa.
Greed, desire, lust, anger and emotional attachment - You have beaten them and driven them out of those who are still householders and living with family. The entire family is blessed.
Lab- greed, lust, desire
lobh- desire, what you want for yourself, greed
kaam- passion, lust, sexual love
krodh- anger
moh-bewitched, dilusion, fascination
maar-beat
kadhay-remove, push out, bring out
tudh- you
saparvaari-aa- living with family

Dhan so tayraa thaan hai sach tayraa paiskaari-aa.
Blessed is Your place, and True is Your extension or expansion of the Guru’s presence.
Dhan-Blessed, Hail to, Praise be to
so- that
tayraa-your
thaan- place, land
hai- is
sach- true
tayraa- yours
paiskaari-aa- extension, expansion

Naanak too lahnaa toohai gur amar too veechaari-aa.
You are Nanak, You are Angad, and You are Amar Daas; so do I recognize You through deep meditation.
Naanak- Guru Nanak
too- You
lahnaa- Lahnaa was Guru Angad’s name before becoming Guru
toohai- you are
Gur Amar- Guru Amar Das
too- You
veechaari-aa- deep reflection and meditation

Gur dithaa taa(n) man saadhaari-aa.
When I saw the vision of the Guru’s Court, then my mind body and soul was supported and sustained forever.
Gur- Guruship of Guru Ram Das, Guru’s Court
Dithaa- sight or vision
taa(n)- then so
man- body, mind, soul
saadhaari-aa- sustained, supported