As we approach the prophetic year of 2012, we seem to be building up to some sort of grand ‘Karmic Crescendo’ on planet Earth, with a wopping cast of 7 billion human beings taking part in the unfolding drama. We’ve just had the 2011 Arab Spring, and now we’re having the European Winter. Long entrenched and established political leaders are dropping like flies, along with their corrupt and dysfunctional regimes, we hope. The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest movement of the 99%’ers . is building up momentum and spreading like wild fire throughout the main political and financial centers of the world.

Social changes always involve a certain amount of conflict between the old established orders and the heralders of new dawns, it’s just that the nature and rapidity of recent and present events, are happening on a scale that is unpresidented in our lifetimes. The massive shifts in social perspectives and realities that are occurring all over the world at present are telling symptoms of the imminent planetary crisis that we are all destined to face, one way or another.

The recent BBC documentary ‘How Facebook changed the World’, focusing on the ‘Arab Spring’ phenomena, provided amazingly in-depth research and detailed accounts, of how popular use of the internet, via computers and specifically mobile phones, was at the heart of the numerous uprisings. Without the use of incredibly modern internet facilities like Facebook, Youtube and sophisticated mobile phone interfaces that have only been in existence for a few years, none of this would have come about in the way that it has and will continue to do so. We now know that the world is a much more unpredictable place to live in than we could have ever imagined a few years ago, and the rapid rate of change we are witnessing and experiencing, is only going to keep on increasing until it reaches some kind of climax or amazing crescendo. And what’s more, we’re all part of it somehow.  We can’t escape our communality with the rest of humanity and all the other gross and subtle life forms on earth, what to speak of the multitude of beings that inhabit other dimensional planes of existence – we are all links and threads within the intricate web of life.

Will the unsettling turmoils that are sprouting all over the world at present, eventually lead to a unification of the people towards a common cause that is for the good of all, or will the mighty 1% attempt to halt the tides of change,  by clamping down on the revolutionary zeal with excessive draconian measures? But what we do know, is that millions of people around the world right now, are also busy with speculating and prophesying about the various outcomes that may or may not befall our collective lot. Through living in Glastonbury, the New Age spiritual center of Britain, throughout the spring and summer seasons this year, I became consumed to the point of suffocation, with all the latest conspiracy theories and cosmic prophecies that are doing the rounds. And as with most info. these days, it is all coming via sources on the internet. Though the most popular trend amongst my circle of friends has been to start building up stores of dry and tinned food in preparation for the imminent world wide crisis that many of us are expecting, whether it be through economic collapse, cosmic catastrophe, natural disasters, war, massive social upheaval, alien intervention or through a mixture of causes.

Everyone is talking about change as if it were some new  phenomena, but change is the most inevitable aspect of reality that we have to encounter on a daily, or moment to moment basis – But the reasons why we’ve  become so obsessed with the notion of change in recent times, is because everything in our realities is shifting with such rapidity that it has become unsettling for many and a new cause for wonder, plus there are a host of tangible reasons, why the human race must radically change it’s lifestyle orientations as a must for the very survival of the planet.

Meanwhile the cosmic clock is ticking away, moving us all towards unknown futures. In actuality, we have no control over the outcome of our desires, actions and wishes, all we can do is choose what type of thoughts and actions we would like to contribute towards the well being of our souls and others, perform our dharmas and strive to achieve those goals, but ultimately everything will rest in the hands of the gods.

We are honoured to be joining the great rostrum of talent available on
the Times Music catalogue, the most prestigeous music label in India
and Asia…We are also proud to introduce a new flavour into the
melting pot of modern contemporary crossover music.

I’ve had a love affair with Indian culture and spirituality for over
40 years, specifically with music in its various forms; regional folk
music, bhajans, dhoons, kirtans, thumris, khayal, and Drupada. So it
was with good fortune that I was able to meet Darren with his vast
technical know how and mature aesthetic sensibilities. We were also
fortunate enough to share a mutual vision, where through collaborative
efforts, our creative synergy has produced a harmonious blend of
musical elements, which we believe is not only unique, but also
provides an accessible bridge in the contemporary cross cultural
genres, adding a refreshingly new contribution to the ever expanding
marriage between east and west.

‘Ashirvad’ was recorded with a mobile studio as part of our sacred
pilgrimage through India, so the initial inspiration and intention
behind the production of ‘Ashirvad’ became intrinsically woven into the main fabric and creation of the album, which naturally evolved to take the listener on
a kaleidoscopic, transcendental journey through this colourful and
fantastic land.

The musical flavours of Ashirvad are inspired by the different tastes
and rasas (aesthetic sentiments) inherent in the varieties of Indian
music that we both relish and desired as crucial elements in our
album. Our creative challenge was to try and enhance those traditional
elements, along with western instruments and the sensitive use of
modern technology, which we feel we’ve achieved, and therefore feel
extremely pleased and fortunate to be able to finally share the fruits of our
creativity with other discerning listeners and enjoyers of beautiful
music in India………..

‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ – ‘The Post Charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant.’

The first time I came across references to, ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ – ‘The Post Charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant’, edited by Edwin F. Bryant & Maria Ekstrand, was in ‘Forty Years of Chant and Change’, a book published last year by Iskcon UK. I checked it out on Amazon at that time, but only managed to order it just over a week ago. Since then I’ve been absorbed in reading the many fascinating, informative and sometimes challenging essays that have been collected by the editors, to create this unique compendium, that focuses on the fate of ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ after the passing of A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami in November 1977. The editors have gone to great lengths to ensure that as many sides and voices of the complex Krishna phenomena as possible could be covered in a 430 page scholarly volume.

Over the last three years I’ve been working on my own autobiographical project ‘Between Worlds’ – ‘The problem with being Mathura das’, with a major chunk of it concerning my personal involvement with Iskcon between 1973- 80, and my passionate interest in general with the historical, philosophical and sociological Krishna phenomena that I have been a part of and am still inextricably involved with as a major contributing factor towards me being ‘Mathura das’.  I therefore desperately needed to read this comprehensive volume for my personal research needs, as many of the contentious issues and anomalies raised in this unique compendium are the same as, or similar to the ones I’ve had to face, or that have come up through writing my own persona account of things, and also through my interest in general with exploring the broader historical context of the modern Krishna Movement.

The scope and range of issues attended to by the twenty nine authors in ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’, is so vast that I will not attempt at this stage to give a comprehensive review but rather just some short comments to possibly inspire others to get hold of a copy via Amazon and read it for themselves.

The editors have divided the book into six sections;

• 1. Krishna Consciousness in the Context of Hindu Theology. incl. four essays.
• 2. Bhaktivedanta Swami and His Predecessors- five essays.
• 3. Post- Bhaktivedanta Controversies of Lineage- four essays.
• 4. Heresies- two essays.
• 5. Social Issues. six essays.
• 6 Re-evaluations. with three essays and a final essay, ‘Concluding Reflections’ by the editors.

Even though all the writers are not academics, the articles are backed up by extensive references listed at the end of the articles. What makes the majority of articles interesting is the level of specialization each writer brings to their respective topic of interest. Everyone evolved in the volume has had extensive experience with the Krishna Movement either as insiders, some extending back over forty years, or as academic outsiders who’ve studied it for more than twenty years, such as :-

Larry D. Shinn who writes the foreword;

Burke Rochford Jr. who reflects on Airports, Conflict and Change in the Hare Krishna Movement;

Kim Knott on Healing the Heart Of Iskcon; The Place of Women.

The rest of the articles are by a mixture of Iskcon or ex Iskcon members who are either academics, scholars or at least reasonably articulate. Some ex Iskcon members who are are now academics, have chosen to write their essays without revealing the diksha names they received from A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami in the late 60’s and early 70’s, but three of those authors are curiously quoted in other articles by their Iskcon names.

With the advent and rampant spread of the internet over the last decade most of the issues discussed here are not new and have already been addressed before in Iskcon or the other various Vaishnava related forums, but this book brings together in one volume many of the differing or specialist views and voices of opinion, which helps in focusing the reader through the multiple perspectives. My personal favourites are Jan Brzeznski dealing with, ‘Charismatic Renewal and Institutionalization in the History of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and the Gaudiya Math’; Kundali Das on, ‘Doctrinal controversy and Group Dynamic’; Irvin H. Collins on The “Routinization of Charisma” and the confrontation between Iskcon and Narayana Maharaja; & Subhananda das (Steven Gelberg), ‘On leaving Iskcon’.  I especially resonated with Subhanada’s sense of acceptance of the human condition and his well articulated sense of frustration with having dealt with endless years of Iskconisms, and the sense of empowerment and liberation he and his wife felt upon finally leaving the confines of the claustrophobic Institutional bubble. (Gabriel Deadwyler) Yudhisthira Das’s story; ‘ Fifteen Years Later’: A Critique of Gurukula’, is a fascinating and quite balanced account of a boy who was brought up during the 70’s and 80’s in Iskcon schools (Gurukula’s), and who also happens to be the son of Ravindra Swarupa (William H Deadwyler), one of  Iskcon’s senior leader’s and reformers and a contributor to another article in this engaging book: ‘Cleaning House and cleaning hearts: Reform and renewal in Iskcon’.

There are quite a few challenging articles for followers of Srila Prabhupada, especially the two essays by Ekkhard Lorenz. 1. ‘The Guru, Mayavadins, and Women: Tracing the Origins of Selected Polemical Statements in the Work of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami’. 2.’Race, Monarchy and Gender: Bhaktivedanta Swami’s Social Experiment. I have to admit I felt bit wobbly after reading his well researched articles, as they raised all sorts of hard hitting questions and issues regarding source statements from Srila Prabhupada that have had an effect on some of the root belief structures of Iskcon and It’s members both past and present. I was shocked at how shocked I felt when considering some of Prabhupada’s controversial ideas and statements that have been selected by the author to make his critical points. Then the next day I went on Facebook for the first time ever and discovered an internet forum initiated on former Iskcon Guru, Bhagavan Das’s Blog site http://bhagavandasa.blogspot.com, that funnily enough is attempting to address the very same controversial statements of Prabhupada mentioned in the articles by Ekkhard Lorenz. It seems that certain statements of Srila Prabhupada that have recently been unearthed and rubbed in our faces are very important issues that are plaguing the devotee community and hopefully many such forums will arise from the Vaishnava collective and that such forms of communication may help shed light on the major Sociological and Theological issues that we as lovers of Radha Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu & Srila Prabhupada are all concerned about.

The final essay, ‘Concluding Reflections’ by the editors is well thought out, and gives the reader an opportunity to see a summery, synopsis and review of all the issues raised through the eyes of a sympathetic but detached academic perspective.

For those interested in the well fare, development and preservation of Srila Prabhupada’s and the Gaudiya Vaishnava legacy, I also recommend the the recent article by Prof. Thomas Hopkins, ‘Iskcon’s search for Identity’ published by Iskcon in ‘Forty Years of Chant and Change’.

I have just touched on some of the points raised in ‘The Hare Krishna Movement- The Post Charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant’ edited by Edwin F. Bryant & Maria L. Ekstrand, and hope that more devotees get around to reading it as way of broadening their horizens and educating themselves on the often perplexing and paradoxical nature of the modern ‘Krishna Movement’.

Peace & Love

Mathura das.

Apart from editing and publishing these brilliant compendiums by academic scholars, he’s published 22 books dealing with interfaith conversations, ‘Om Shalom’ – ‘East West Dialogue’ and with other various topical subjects such as, ‘Vegetarianism in World Religions – ‘The Reincarnation Controversy’- ‘Vedic Archeology’, as well as his well researched, readable and informative short summaries on the lives of Sri Chaitanya and other influential saints in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. In fact Satyaraja far excels other contemporary writers that deal with these fascinating subjects, not just by the vast range of pertinent topics that he covers, but also by the accessible manner with which he is able to convey complex theological and historical ideas to both students of religion, scholars and lay readers alike.

So I was excited to find out through my old friend Kiran that he was in Vrindavana on a rare visit from New York, as well as having copies of his latest books, ‘The Yoga of Kirtan’, ‘Holy Cow’ and a new edition of  ‘Journal of Vaishnava Studies’. We had a wonderful long chat over refreshments in the MVT restaurant along with our mutual friend Kiran, about all sorts of fascinating subjects, especially his timely new publication on the rapidly expanding popularity of Kirtan in the Western yoga world.

‘The Yoga of Kirtan’, ‘Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting’, is a collection of interviews with some of the most prominent kirtan and devotional singers in the Western World of Yoga. Satyaraja manages to skillfully direct the interviews in a format that allows the twenty one singers to tell the very personal and revealing journeys that led them to become chanters and singers of sacred sound. By telling their individual stories we get to hear all the amazing and varied ways in which spiritual seekers interact with the divine presence. Some are mature adepts in their 50’s and 60’s and a few are younger, representing a new generation of children born to parents who adopted yogic practices in the 60’s and 70’s. Due to these fascinating personal and historical anecdotes the book oozes the wonderful quality of human warmth through a revealing honesty and humility that seems to pervade and unify all the twenty one approaches expressed here.

Most of these sacred singers have been influenced or connected to a variety of well known Gurus or Indian spiritual traditions. Eight of those interviewed have or had a direct connection with Iskcon and Srila Prabhupada; Six have been influenced by Neem Karoli Baba; One by Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga and Sikhism; One with Rama Swami of the Himalayan Institute; Two with Osho; Two through Muktananda or Sri Mayi’s Kashmiri Shaivism; And one an exponent of modern Jewish Kabbala. Many have come from ethnic Jewish backgrounds, some of them religious the others not. A few have had Christian upbringings and the others atheistic, agnostic, bohemian or leftist political. And as mentioned before, four of those interviewed were born into modern yoga families. Some have spent long periods in India, studying spirituality and Indian music, both folk, devotional and classical. Others have come across Indian Kirtan or Bhajan chanting through the various Temples, Ashrams , Yoga schools and studios that now exist in every town of the western world. But this book focuses mainly on the American phenomena of kirtan profusion, and misses out quite a few European influences such as the popular ‘Goma’ in the UK who are followers of ‘Hedakhand Babaji’, and Prem Joshua from Germany.

What also makes the book interesting for me is that I have or have had a personal connection with about five of the singers. Vaiyasaki is an old friend and god brother from back in 77 on the library party in India and later in 79 when I also went to Bangladesh in search of ‘Raga Kirtan’. I met Karnamrita in Vrindavana through a mutual close connection with the late Vidhur Mallik and the rest of his wonderfully talented musical family. Miten and Deva Premal are exceptionally beautiful people and talented musicians, who I’ve met through another gifted English musician friend called Ravi and cooked for them on a few occasions. Havi das is another talented godbrother of mine who I know first from 78 when he came to Amsterdam to perform with his rock band at the Rathayatra festival that I organised there that year.

The other reason ‘The Yoga of kirtan’ makes a fascinating read is it’s timely appearance already mentioned earlier. I have been observing a definite trend in the worlds I inhabit over the last 15 years towards kirtan as a popular way of communing together on a spiritual platform. I am a musician and kirtaniya and have spent the last years performing and traveling to various alternative festivals in the Uk and have noticed bhajan circles, popping up all over the place. Indian chants and mantras seem to be more accessible and attractive than say, reciting Native American or Pagan incantations. Sanskrit names have a magical appeal that appears to transcend cultural boundaries, a principle that is attested to by all those interviewed. Another factor in the popularising of kirtan and mantra chanting is the incredible worldwide increase in Yoga practices in general. Yoga has become mainstream and many of those who are getting involved want to know more about the spiritual roots and philosophy behind this ancient science. India and Indian culture is now a very cool thing to be associated with, and many young people now go to India as gap year students and are more familiar and attracted to Yoga and Eastern spirituality.

Through the many illuminating conversations with Satyaraja we discover the central themes of grace and ego transcendence that come about through immersion in sacred sound. For the lead musician to be able to continually focus on sacred songs as a means to unite with God, a certain sensibility has to develop within the heart and mind, where the artist becomes an instrument of the mantra and allows the divine potency of the Holy Names to flow through them. And this purified state of spiritual consciousness is what all the singers mention as being at the crux of the successful kirtan experience, both for the leader of the chant and the participants. Jai Uttal sums it up beautifully with, “Kirtan is like a magnet, inviting and begging grace to enter our hearts and lives….We go into meditation without knowing we have gone into meditation, not even caring that we’ve going into meditation. Because the mind takes a backseat to the heart”.

The interview with Shyam das is most revealing and resolves many of the questions regarding Neem Karoli Baba’s role in the divine scheme of things. Most people know about Neen Karoli Baba through Ram das’s (Richard Alpert) books ‘Be Here Now’ and ‘Miracle of Love’, but Shyam das offers fresh insights into the Bhakti roots of this mysterious Vaishnava Siddha Avadhoot. Shyam das had powerful spiritual experiences connected with Maharaji that brought him to India, but instead of becoming part of the Neem Karoli gang in Vrindavana in the early seventies he got initiated into the Vallabha Sampradaya of Vaishnavism. Through years of living in Braj and studying both Vaishnava literature and music he is well placed to accurately ascertain Neem Karoli Baba’s mode of being and the cultural nuances surrounding his lifestyle. Maharaji, as his devotees call him, didn’t have a formalised teaching and therefor most of what we know about him is through Ram Das’s projections and interpretations as to what made him tick. But it obvious that he was a bhakta who worshiped the form and Name of God and was definitely not a follower of Shankara’s lineage of non dual Impersonal Advaita. Also Vrindavana was not only his spiritual home but is where he decided to leave his body, and the fact that he brought Bengali kirtaniyas from there to perform kirtan at his Ashram near Nainital is evidence enough. These styles of Bengali kirtan that Krishna das and Jai Uttal were exposed to around Maharaji in India are influences from the culture inaugurated 500 years ago by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What is great news, is that most of Maharaji’s followers have a natural sense of bhakti even if they don’t have a philosophical interest or background in the subject, but I think that is going to develop as the Yuga Dharma of chanting the Holy Names of God becomes a universally shared perspective of communion with the divine, and the nectar of Radha Krishna Prema becomes the sought after jewel that all are really searching for.

The last interview with Vaiyasaki is the most informed and mature conversation in the book due to his years of research and training in Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and music at it’s roots in Bengal and Bangladesh. It shows through in the recordings represented in the accompanying cd as well. I think in a live or recording context Vaiyasaki’s exposition of kirtan or bhajan would be equally appreciated both by westerners and Indians, where as the other singers in my opinion although talented in many ways, have still not managed to capture the full subtleties of bhajan and kirtan styles that have developed in India over centuries. Vaiyasaki has spent a considerable amount of time to understand and practice the various elements involved in performing kirtan and I hope his authentic influence and style of kirtan spreads to the western world of yoga. But in the meantime there is now a huge swell of interest in the West, and that is what this book is indicative of.  People of various musical and spiritual tastes are appreciating kirtan through different forms of individual expression and feeling the immense benefits and wonderfully transformative experiences that are felt through the recitation of the Holy Names as the most effective and sublime way to unite with God – The goal of all Yoga practices.

“The Yoga of Kirtan” by Steven Rosen on Folk Books, is must read for all those interested in Indian sacred sound in the Western Yoga scene and the contemporary spiritual quest for uniting with the divine.

Thank you Satyaraja Prabhu for keeping the world linked up to the Divine through your exemplary efforts in ‘The Yoga of Communication’.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

Keeping in touch with the rest of the world from 6000 ft in the Himalayas with a weak internet connection is not always easy. But somehow we are managing to keep abreast of developments back home in the UK and abroad. Darren has moved Sangita Sounds Studios down to Glastonbury in the West Country and has been settling in over the last couple of months during the festive season and snowy spell you’ve been having in Europe this winter.

Here in the Himalayas we are blessed with warm sunny days as the rest of North India shivers under a dense blanket of fog stretching for thousands on miles from the far West below Kashmir, all the way to Bengal in the East.

The massive Haridwar Kumbha Mela festival only 3 hours away, has already started with the first main bathing day of Maha Sankranti on the 15th Jan. attracting millions of pilgrims. The next important bathing days are on the 15th Feb. and 15th March, which is the most important day of the three month long festival, and are on Amavasya’s (days of the dark moon). There has been a lot of tension this year from the local Govt. and police of Uttarakhand due to the fear of terrorist attacks and in providing enough power and facilities for the millions expected. Haridwara Kumba Mela is quite a different set up from the Allahabad Kumba, having it’s own set of unimaginable human logistics to contend with. I have been to 3 major Kumb’s and one Aradh Kumbh(half) and spent weeks at both of the two major locations, the other two being Nasik and Ujjain. This year I’ll probably pop in for a couple of days around the 15th March to capture some visuals on my Kodak HD Zi6 camera for our Sangita Sounds video archive.

I’ve also been making progress with my autobiographical project ‘Between Worlds’ focusing on the events of 1978 when I was still a full time member of the ‘Hare Krishna Movement’ and the dramatic sequence of events which proceeded the passing of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, the founder of Iskcon in Nov. 77 which I was also fortunate to witness. There are very few, if any personal descriptions of this important historical period involving the tricky transition of power in Iskcon and the calamities that followed in it’s wake. I’ve been sitting through the winter months here at Mussoorie in my cozy pad, reliving those events and describing what actually happened and how it affected me personally and the lives of thousands of others at the time. But the ramifications of those turbulent events are now being felt by millions throughout the world due to the vast expanse of the Krishna phenomena that was instigated and inspired by HDG. Srila Prabhupada. I hope to do justice and bear witness to the truth and reality as seen and experienced by me and share that with anyone who is interested in the story of Iskcon, social religious history and a personalised account of how and why it happened and what it all possibly means for us 2010 and beyond.

That’s all for now folks. Must dash.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

Image Credit : Dirk Hartung

My beloved Vrindavana the holy place of Krishna’s divine sports (Lilas), just three hours south of Delhi, has become a victim to this new wave of economic prosperity sweeping over India’s middle classes. Spiritual tourism has become extremely popular these days and Vrindavana has become a convenient pilgrimage destination for city dwellers wishing to escape with their families to somewhere different for the weekend. Unfortunately the infrastructure of Vrindavana is unable to cope adequately with the massive influx of Vehicles plowing into the small town. To make it even worse, work on the roads was left unfinished during the height of the popular Kartick season, thus creating even more havoc, dust, pollution and disturbance than usual.

A new bridge is also being built across the Jamuna river right next to Keshi Ghat, and none of the public seems to know who has authorized it’s construction or why it is there. Apparently there are various parties and organisations both political and non political in the Vrindavana area, that are competing with each other to implement their various agendas and blueprints for the regeneration of the area, and some seem to have more powerful connections than the others and it looks like the more questionable parties have the upper hand at present.

Let us pray to Sri Sri Radha Govinda that some sort of sincere civic sense eventually prevails and that development in the Holy Dham can move with times without completely decimating it’s remaining charm and natural beauty in the process.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

Rohini, Fenula and family provided one of the most beautiful versions of the ‘Radha’s Grove’ sacred space ever, for our non aligned Krishna collective to congregate and make mystical merriment. Many wonderful, chants, bhajans, pujas and arotics streamed constantly from Radha’s Grove throughout the Rainbow Camp, mingling with other joyful sonic creations from other micro tribes dotted around the picturesque hill top site.

I felt honoured to be invited by Jules to give a work shop on the sacred sound traditions of India and equally blessed to share my experiences in Radha’s Grove with my friend and co-producer Darren. We ended our presentation with a small world premier of our new album ‘Ashirvad’. Even though it was played on a small ghetto blaster the audience were blown away and gave us more ‘blessings’ (ashirvad) to complete our project.

Sangita Sounds studios is in preparation for a move from London to Glastonbury in the West Country in the middle of November. So we decided to move the essential studio equipment in advance down to our dear friend Jagganath’s house near the Mendip hills not far from Taunton, where we were going get the mastering done. John Dent of LOUD MASTERING in Taunton Somerset came recommended by two of my friends, Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker and John Leckie the award winning record producer, so we knew we would be in safe hands.

Mastering is an esoteric sonic finale to an album project. The Mastering process has been explained to me by other producers as akin to putting a frame around a painting. We were initially quite nervous when we stepped into Johns immaculate studio, while greeting us in comfortable bare feet. But after an introductory talk, Darren became relaxed with the realization that we were ‘blessed’ to be with one of the master ‘Master’ technicians in the world. After listening through to see/hear what he was dealing with, he realized it was a ‘Journey’ album with very specific types of sonic considerations, then set about demonstrating how he was going to make it a polished, integrated piece of work.

Darren has been to many mastering studios while he worked for Youth’s ‘Dragonfly’ record company during the nineties, but this being my first experience I was doubly excited, as this was our personal project. When he put the track ‘Garuda’s Dream’ through analogue tape and tweeked a few nobs from his array of specialised equipment, the track subtly became more spacious and present, producing simultaneous expressions of wonder, relief and joy from both me and Darren at the modern alchemical technological wonder and the sensitive treatment from John.

Each track proceeded in a similar way with a constant rapport going on between Darren and John, until “voila”, we had a finished album that sounded superbly integrated and complete. It took days to come out of the shock of completion, and to realise we still had to complete the cover art work, text and lay out. To make sure ‘Ashirvad’ gets maximum exposure we are planning to release the album in SPring 2010. But before that we are having a preview party at the InSpiral lounge cafe in Camden on the 9th October that you are all cordilly invited to, a week before I head off to India on the 16th.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

30,000 active participants of the British ‘Alternative’ counter culture collective have just experienced a very peculiar situation. Regularly for over ten years now, around the end of July, thousands of dedicated, caring, creative eco enthusiasts have been coming together to share and celebrate alternative lifestyle options as a way of expressing our democratic rights to be who we are. Unfortunately the last minute cancellation of this year’s BGG by elements within the local Mendip council and Police force, in cahoots with the central Govt. has shocked many reasonable peace loving people by unmasking the true nature of the rapidly encroaching fascist police state developing here in the UK..

One of the ways the Babylon System uses to control and manipulate the masses is by limiting their rights to congregate en mass, as it is an extremely frightening prospect for control freaks who absolutely loathe any type of threatening force that stands in the way of their various nefarious modus operandi. So you can see how scared they are of the largest bunch of hippy types getting together to do their own thing. They’ve been scared of the Alternative type of persons refusal to be taken in and milked by the System since the late sixties, and now that the world is in crises mode and the ideas generated from that revolutionary period are becoming more relevant, they are even more scared than ever. This attempt from the Establishment to thwart our alternative lifestyle options is another proof of how powerful ‘People’ can be in a unified type of state. The reason they are scared of events such as the BGG happening, is that the people coming together to celebrate and share their visions are clever, funny, well informed, creative, spiritual, motivated, and have an immense influential power potential in the synergistic amalgamation of their combined collective.

‘As above so below’ as the old saying goes. While all this underhand manipulation of UK’s grooviest peoples, favourite family week out of the year was being carried out with smug smiles from the masonic brotherhood, the stars and planets were lining up into rare configurations, indicating the seeds of revolutionary upheaval ready to rise again in full force for next year’s 2010 major summer Planetary Alignment. Things are stirring in the heavens and the micro cosmic reflections on Earth indicate a developing of radical energy shifts away from and in conflict with the ‘Old Order’ that is scared of it’s impending demise as the main force driving the direction of the Earth and human project.

The amazing  spontaneous flexibility and know how of the disrupted and disgruntled 30,000, who are wised up and wary of the Establishment, allowed them to immediately reevaluate the situation and find positive compensatory solutions, by diverting their energies to smaller more intimate events. Our mini tribe of 40 or so ended up at our friends farm near Malvern in the testing monsoon conditions, having the best time of our lives, making gorgeously sweet lemonade out of sour lemons. We all learned  another lesson in creating a positive space and group dynamic within a system opposed to harmonious, positive, life enhancing gatherings.

The decay and destruction of our civil liberties seems to be a top agenda issue within the ‘Old Order’. But there’s only so much an intelligent informed person can take, and the trend is rapidly falling in favour of opposition and dissatisfaction from even moderate middle England perspectives who are fed up with the lies, deceit, missapropriation etc, and are beginning to question their imposed conditioned status quo. When the dissatisfaction levels rise to seriously challenge the smug comfort zones of the middle class there will be real trouble brewing on the streets and fields of the UK. Something has to shift as it is written in the stars. They thought they would trick us by dispersing our energy force, but it has only ignited our determination to continually out wit them by our obviously superior motives, intentions and ingenuity.

‘LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION’ we all sighed in unison as we sung, danced and laughed in wet fields on our way out of trickery and dispondancy through the gushing rain and sunny spells of our green and pleasant, muddy land of Albion.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

With the blessings and assistance of lovely friends, we’ve luckily managed to escape in the nick of time to the quiet and breezy country side to finish off the final mix’s of ‘ASHIRVAD’. Hopefully we will have the album mastered in a couple of weeks, with more focus going towards the cover lay out, art work and more promo video’s.

The second half of July is going to be a busy season, with the Bindoo Babas performing at the ‘BUDDHA FIELD’ Festival followed by the Big Green Gathering. I’ll keep you informed on our developments as the splendour of summer unfolds.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

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