River of Light by Ashana

Mantras and chants inspired by the Sikh tradition with crystal singing bowls 

Inspired by sacred texts and mantras from the Sikh tradition, River of Light is a portal of sound and vibration to open the heart and soothe emotional wounds that keep us from knowing ourselves as a full expression of the Divine. 

Ashana’s pure, angelic vocals and the crystalline sound of alchemy crystal singing bowls weave a sonic texture of transcendent love through these chants, mantras and sacred prayers. 

Ong Namo is the whisper of the Soul in the etheric realms responding to our prayer to merge and live as One. Mere Man Loche, one of the most beautiful love poems ever written, is a heart opening prayer of divine devotion. Aad Guray Nameh carries the listener on a wave of compassion, invoking divine protection within an ocean of peace. Mul Mantra/Golden Amrit takes us into an experience of Expansive Creation and immerses us deeply into the Void of Stillness. Sat Narayan helps to heal and balance the waters of the emotional body and align with the light that courses through all life, alive in us, as us. Sat Gur Prasad inspires us to celebrate all of life’s experiences with gratitude. Guru Ram Das invokes the grace that comes when we open ourselves to Love, in every part of our being.

Musicians:

Ashana: Lead and Background Vocals, Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls

Thomas Barquee: Keyboards, Bass, Background Vocals

Simone Sello: Acoustic and Electric Guitars

Sheila Bringhi: Flute

Neelamjit Dhillon: Tablas

Notes

Many years ago, a friend introduced me to crystal singing bowls, suggesting that they were (and I quote) “right up your alley.” On the auspicious day when my first bowl arrived in my house, I took it out of the box, chimed the side and promptly burst into tears. I knew instantly that light had come to live in my house and I vowed that one day I would put this exquisite sound to music. Along those same lines, upon hearing Gurmukhi as it was being read from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (the sacred scriptures of the Sikhs) during my first visit to a Sikh Temple, known as a Gurdwara, my knees buckled and I burst into tears. The very cells in my body recognized the sound and I wept.

It is with great love and joy that I now offer these mantras and prayers to you. Every crystal bowl on this album was chosen to enhance, expand and support the vibration of these sacred texts. I believe the alchemy of these mantras with the crystal bowls creates a powerful marriage that can take us deep within so we can soar to the highest heights and rest peacefully in the Presence of our own Divine Light.

May this Sacred Sound give you comfort, bring you joy and be a reminder that the Beloved lives ever and always within you as the Love You Are.

With all my heart,

Ashana

Lyrics

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

I bow to the Divine wisdom, the teacher within

Mere Man Loche

Mere Man Loche, also known as the Shabad Hazaaray, is a prayer of longing for the Beloved. It was written by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, when he was separated from Guru Ram Das, his father for a duration of time. During that period of separation he sent these three letters to his beloved Guru and father expressing his longing for the "blessed vision of the Guru". Reciting this prayer brings union with your beloved; it expresses in deep terms the true sense, the hurt of separation; the pain endured by the heart when the thought remains focused just on union and nothing else holds any meaning; when everything else loses any interest or meaning. It is an ultimate expression of love and longing for the Divine Beloved.

Mera Man Lochai gur darshan taa-ee

Bilap karay chaatrik kee ni-aa-ee

Trikhaa na utarai shaant na aavai

Bin Darshan Sant pi-aaray jee-o

Hao gholee jee-o ghol ghumaa-ee

Gur darshan sant pi-aaray jee-o

Tayraa much suhaavaa jee-o sahaj dhun baanee

Chir ho-aa daykhay saaring paanee

Dhan so days jahaa too(n) vasi-aa

Mayray sajan meet muraaray jee-o

Hao gholee hao ghol ghumaa-ee

Gur sajan meet muraaray jee-o

Ik gharee na milatay taa kalijug hotaa

Hun kad milee-ai pri-a tudh bhagavantaa

Mo-eh rain na vihaavai need na aavai

Bin daykhay gur darbaaray jee-o

Hao gholee jee-o ghol ghumaa-ee

Tis sachay gur darbaaray jee-o

Bhaag ho-aa gur sant milaa-i-aa

Prabh abinaasee ghar meh paa-i-aa

Sayv karee pal chasaa na vichhuraa

Jan Naanak daas tumaaray jee-o

Hao gholee jee-o ghol ghumaa-ee

Jan Naanak daas tumaaray jee-o

Translation below by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa ©2014

First Letter

My mind longs to see you, Oh Guide of Light.

It weeps like the cuckoo without water.

My desire goes unsatisfied.

Peace does not come so long as do not see my Wise, Beloved One.

I would give everything that I am.

I would dissolve myself as a sacrifice.

So that I could behold you, Guide of Light.

My Wise, Beloved One.

Second Letter

Oh Darling, Your face is so delightful,

And the sound of Your heavenly words brings harmony and ease.

It has been such a long time since this cuckoo, lost in longing,

has seen a single raindrop.

My Dear. My Beloved Protector and Friend,

the land where you live is so blessed.

I would give everything that I am.

I would dissolve myself as a sacrifice.

For you, Guide of Light.

My Dear.

My Beloved Protector and Friend.

Third Letter

Just one moment of being apart from you

Takes me into the age of darkness.

Now, when will we meet again, Beloved?

You Adorable, Enchanting, Divine One!

My nights never end.

Sleep does not come

Without seeing the Radiant Court of my Dear Guide of Light.

I would give everything I am.

I would dissolve myself as a sacrifice

For that Radiant Court of Ultimate Truth

Where my Dear Guide of Light abides.

Fourth Letter

How wonderfully fortunate!

This wise saint,

My Guide of Light

Has taken me into His embrace.

I have found the Indestructable Creator

In the home of my own heart.

Serving You, I am never apart from You

Not even for an instant.

Dear One,

Nanak has become Your devotee and Your slave.

I give everything I am.

I dissolve myself as a sacrifice.

Dear One,

Nanak has become Your devotee and Your slave. 

Aad Guray Nameh

Aad Guray Nameh, Jugaad Guray Nameh, 

Sat Guray Nameh, Siri Guru Dayvay Nameh

I bow to the primal Guru

I bow to the truth that has existed throughout the ages

I bow to True Wisdom

I bow to the Great Divine Wisdom

Mul Mantra

Ek ong kaar

sat naam 

karataa purakh

nirbho, nirvair

Akaal moorat

Ajoonee

Saibhang

gur prasaad

Jap!

Aad such

jugaad such

Hai bhee such

Naanak hosee bhee such

One Creator.

Truth is Its name.

Doer of everything.

Fearless.

Revengeless.

Undying.

Unborn.

Self-illumined.

The guru's gift.

Meditate!

True in the beginning.

True through all the ages.

True even now.

Oh Nanak, it is forever true. 

This is the first composition of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The sacred scriptures of the Sikh Religion open with this mantra and it appears more than 100 times throughout the entire text, often inserted before sacred songs known as “shabads” .

The Mul Mantra encapsulates, in thirteen lines, the essence of the entire cosmology of the Sikh faith -- the nature of reality and the relationship of the Divine to all consciousness. 

Sat Narayan

Sat Narayan Hari Narayan

Hari Narayan Hari Hari

Everywhere you turn

There is a river of light flowing free

It pours through every part of you

The earth, the stars, the seas

Waters of life into infinity

Ultimate Truth

The Shakti, the creative power of the Divine Feminine, flows through all life

Narayan is one of the five cosmic emanations of the Divine and refers to “one who is in yogic slumber on the celestial waters”. Narayana is another name for Vishnu. According to the Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu is considered the Lord of the Universe, the Great Sustainer; and in the Vedas (the oldest Sanskrit texts) Narayana is the ultimate soul. 

Hari invokes the feminine form of the Shakti, the creative energy. Sat means “true or truth”

Sat Gur Prasad

Ek Ong Kar Sat Gur Prasad, Sat Gur Prasad Ek Ong Ka

The Primal Spirit is realized through the True Guru's Grace.

Guru Ram Dass

Guru Guru Wahe Guru Guru Ram Dass Guru

A chant invoking the healing grace and blessings of the Divine through the fourth guru in the Sikh lineage, Guru Ram Dass, who founded the Golden Temple in India. “Wahe Guru” is the mantra used in Sikhism to refer to God and is an exclamation peppered liberally in the conversations of those who practice the Sikh faith. Roughly translated, it means “Wonderful Teacher!”  Or, the wondrous one who leads us out of darkness into light.