Snatam Kaur

Snatam Kaur is an American artist raised in the kundalini yoga tradition. Schooled in kirtan, meditation, and Gurmukhi (the Sanskrit-based language of Sikh scriptures from northern India), she met her first music teacher at the age of six. She has released eight records, including the most recent Liberation's Door (Spirit Voyage, 2009), and is the lead singer for the Celebrate Peace tours. A resident of Santa Cruz, California, she teaches kundalini yoga and kirtan workshops across the U.S.

Author photo © Fran Gealer

Also By Author

Snatam Kaur: Original Light

Snatam Kaur is an American-born, internationally renowned kirtan singer raised in the Sikh and kundalini yoga tradition. Known for her blends of ancient chant and modern instrumentation, Snatam also teaches meditation and yoga. With Sounds True, she has published the book-and-CD set Original Light: The Morning Practice of Kundalini Yoga. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Snatam discuss the roots of her spiritual practices and the meaning of the Aquarian Sadhana, which is one of the most important aspects of Original Light. They speak on the tradition of Japji meditation and why working with the spine is an essential part of kundalini yoga. Finally, Snatam shares a pair of potent chants for expressing and celebrating one’s own sense of kundalini. (71 minutes)

Snatam Kaur: By Thy Grace

Snatam Kaur is one of the most recognized voices in the world of devotional chant. Snatam is an American artist who was raised in the kundalini yoga tradition and schooled in kirtan meditation and Gurmukhi, the Sanskrit-based language of Sikh scriptures in northern India. She is the lead singer for the Celebrate Peace tours and has released eight records. In this episode, Tami Simon speaks with Snatam about her bottom line in terms of daily meditation practice, what has been her go-to mantra in life, and how motherhood keeps her ego in check. She also shares three excerpts from The Essential Snatam Kaur, the Sounds True compilation of her favorite sacred chants for healing. (76 minutes)

Free live stream from opening night of The Wake Up Fes...

Dear friends, as we prepare the field for the upcoming Wake Up Festival, I am so happy to announce that we’ll be offering a free live stream of our dear friend Snatam Kaur’s opening night performance, on Wednesday, August 14. We’d really love to share this evening with all of you around the world and hope that you can join us.

To learn more and to register, at no cost, for the live stream, please see http://bit.ly/15tkdk9.

snatam_wuf

You Might Also Enjoy

Kamilah Majied: Joyfully Just

The painful injustices we see across society may seem insurmountable. Yet as therapist and author Dr. Kamilah Majied teaches, “Undoing some of the injustice that we do to ourselves and others is actually one of the most joyful things we can do.” Instilling joy into our social change work is the theme of Dr. Majied’s new book, Joyfully Just, and the subject of this inspiring conversation hosted by Tami Simon. 

Give a listen to this energizing and infectious discussion of: the power of literacy; exploring the roots of suffering; uncovering and healing our unconscious biases; the destructive limitations of our “isms”; releasing the song that wants to burst forth; using our creativity to transmute suffering into joy; making a genuine resolution to be joyful; an enlightened experience of grief; a daily mantra—“let me manifest my highest self, my greater self, my most wise, courageous self”; gratitude and growth; the freedom to create value out of suffering; living with courage; honest conversations; the concept of Black joy; resilience; the contagious nature of “undefeated joy”; respect as the act of looking again; connecting with our heritage and appreciating our interdependence; language as a meditative practice; the shift from cultural appropriation to reparative relationality; resisting despair and “suffering with determination”; self-worth; overcoming the bias of ableism; the practice of “a new moment resolution”; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Henry Shukman: Allowing, Welcoming, and Loving

There is a boundless goodness at the heart of this and every moment. And the path to realizing this goodness directly and more continuously is often what we would least expect. In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with poet, author, and Zen meditation teacher Henry Shukman about his personal journey and the insights he shares in his latest book, Original Love

In a conversation that will appeal to both meditators and non-meditators alike, Tami and Henry discuss: suffering, love, and the awakening of the world; being simultaneously broken-hearted, open-hearted, and wholehearted; the practice of allowing; how our most difficult feeling states become portals to higher awareness; Buddhism’s Five Hindrances; the discovery of emptiness; the four faces of awakening and what Henry calls, “no way but through” and “blazing forth”; finding the spiritual practice that fits you best; the meditative state known as absorption; choosing to love oneself; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

Sam Harris, PhD: Cutting Through to Consciousness With...

How do meditation and mindfulness accelerate moral progress? Is spiritual insight alone sufficient to solve today’s problems? Dr. Sam Harris is a five-time New York Times bestselling author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and host of the popular podcast Making Sense. He is also someone who has practiced meditation for more than 30 years, having studied with teachers in Tibetan, Burmese, Indian, and Western traditions. Here, Tami Simon sits down with Sam Harris for a deep conversation on the nature of consciousness and the implications of spiritual realization. 

Tune in for this “aha moment”–filled podcast exploring: the illusion of the self and the default state of identity; advaita and nonduality; two different types of mystery; the future of AI; psychic phenomena; synchronicity, superstition, and skepticism; a new perspective on how to be happy; the superpower of noticing; tantra; Dzogchen and “the goal as the path”; looking for what is looking; resolving the view; becoming mindful of “the glimpse”; meditating from the neck down; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

>