The Album

“Beautifully recorded and mixed voices surrounded by lush pianos and atmospheres, this album transports you to another, more serene and mysterious world” – Simon Gogerly, Grammy Award winner 2006 for production of U2′s album How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb – the album of the year.

They say that everyone has a book inside them, and I think that’s true. I also think that everyone has an album inside them, just waiting to come out.

We all have a soundtrack of our lives; songs and music that have supported us along the way, made the journey more pleasant, or taught us a few things about life. These are the discs we’d take with us to that mythical desert island if we were ever asked.

In one way, the songs (and one reading) on CHAKRAM are the songs I’ve had with me for some time. I didn’t write the words or compose the melodies, but I’ve carried them inside me for some years after hearing them. It has taken a few midwives to help me finally deliver them.

They say that in spiritual life the greatest midwife is adversity. When there is pain in your life, sometimes inside as well as out, then it can be a very good time for you spiritually. I had a visit from Mother Cancer twice in succession a few years back, and it served to concentrate my spiritual endeavour like nothing else. A lot of prayers later, and with the help of many kind friends, I was out of immediate danger. Not surprisingly, I wanted to sing some songs that had a deep spiritual significance for me.

It has taken around two years for it all to be completed, and it would not have been possible without my highly musical, expert and philanthropic friends who so generously gave their time, skills and resources for the project. In that sense, CHAKRAM is the product of a group – and I’m a firm believer in groups as the best human resource for the spiritual life.

CHAKRAM

The name of the album is taken from one rendering of the name of the fiery discus held in the hands of Vishnu. The ancient Sanskrit epics tell of the powerful protection offered by this attribute of God and there are many eye-witness accounts of its appearance at just the right time. Traditionally the Sudarshan Chakram is depicted, both artistically and for meditation purposes, as a wheel with many sharp blades surrounding a shat-kona yantra or six-pointed star.

THE SONGS

When played together at a quiet time, the songs on the album take the attentive listener on a journey through different colours of spirituality. The powerful Sanskrit mantras contained within the songs, and the ideas expressed within them, form a series of lessons that can help one advance along any chosen path. And the music is refreshingly different.

THE ACHARYA

Nothing in the spiritual life is possible without the grace of a guru, someone whose compassionate teaching and guidance help us until we reach the goal. This album has been made entirely possible by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who kindly accepted me as his student in 1975, and his followers who have helped me along the path a million times.