The Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014— Satyam Shivam Sundaram
Introduction by Carlos del Cueto
It was several years ago that Gurumayi asked me if I would be willing to be a conductor for a Chanting Tour in Australia. And as most of you know, this milestone event took place in 2014, and it set into motion a veritable stream of blessings for this entire planet. Gurumayi gave to the Chanting Tour the title… Read more “The Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014—Satyam Shivam Sundaram.”
Let me share with you a backstory. When Gurumayi was on a Teachings Visit to Australia in 1997, she told everyone that there would be a Chanting Tour in Australia, and it would remind people once again of the goal of inner transformation, and of their responsibility to create a paradise in this world.
The opening satsang of the Chanting Tour was held on March 22, 2014, via livestream to all of Australia. Gurumayi gave this satsang the title “Arise to the Power of Chanting.” In many ways, this is precisely what happened that day and over the course of the next month as the Chanting Tour was underway. All of you, whether you were in Australia or on the Siddha Yoga path website, participated in chanting together. All of you studied the Siddha Yoga teachings on chanting. All of you shared with one another your experiences of chanting with intention. Many of you said that in doing these things, you experienced anew the power of chanting the divine Name. You experienced firsthand what the sages of India have taught about how chanting nourishes the soul; how it gives rise to abundance, an inner abundance that you also reflect without; how it brings about clarity of mind and refinement of perception. In ways seen and unseen, the music that you chanted cloaked the earth, bringing to it the same balm that many of you shared you felt in your own hearts. It is a known fact on the Siddha Yoga path: prayers have potency. Blessings, derived from the sadhana of chanting and made with focus and intention, have tangible outcomes. Having faith in the power of chanting uncovers healing energy.
Today, I like to remember the Chanting Tour, and remind you of it, because it so beautifully illustrated what manifests through the Guru’s grace and through the collective intention of a sangham engaged in the Siddha Yoga practices. It illustrated Satyam Shivam Sundaram —Truth, auspiciousness, and beauty. You and I can remember the Chanting Tour for how it brought music—Siddha Yoga music through which the Guru imparts the knowledge of the Self—to thousands of people. You and I can remember the Chanting Tour for how it inspired so many of you to take heed of Gurumayi’s teachings.
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On the first day of the Chanting Tour, we had a mudslide in the area where I work. The highway had been wiped out, and my commute turned into a 4-hour one.
I began chanting. I chanted the whole time. I knew the music was giving strength to the community.
Today, as we recited Shri Guru Gita in the live stream from Shree Muktananada Ashram, and as I heard Gurumayi’s words, I understood my responsibility to help infuse this world with joy through the power of my joy-filled practice of Siddha Yoga chanting.
I began chanting. I chanted the whole time. I knew the music was giving strength to the community.
Today, as we recited Shri Guru Gita in the live stream from Shree Muktananada Ashram, and as I heard Gurumayi’s words, I understood my responsibility to help infuse this world with joy through the power of my joy-filled practice of Siddha Yoga chanting.
Washington, United States
I was beyond fortunate to offer guruseva for the Chanting Tour. One day I’d flown across the country on little sleep and arrived back at our hotel feeling empty and contracted. I then spied a bowl of fruit in our entryway, perfectly placed, with a handwritten note from the sangham welcoming us with such love and caring. So I took a peach and went to the balcony, where the view was spectacular. I found myself meditating on this peach, appreciating it from all angles, until I finally took a bite.
The explosion of sweetness inside my mouth felt like a new form of shaktipat! Tears came to my eyes at the profundity of what it felt like to taste the rasa, the nectar, of this peach.
I suddenly understood that I could only give something—like the rasa of each chant—to others that I’d actually tasted for myself. I have dedicated my practice of music ever since to this lesson.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your sublime patience in allowing me to ripen in my own time.
The explosion of sweetness inside my mouth felt like a new form of shaktipat! Tears came to my eyes at the profundity of what it felt like to taste the rasa, the nectar, of this peach.
I suddenly understood that I could only give something—like the rasa of each chant—to others that I’d actually tasted for myself. I have dedicated my practice of music ever since to this lesson.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your sublime patience in allowing me to ripen in my own time.
New York, United States
As I reflected on my experience of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014, I came to the realization that the Chanting Tour was a gift of love from our Guru.
Participating in the Chanting Tour has deepened and strengthened my connection to the practices of chanting and meditation. Each day during the tour, I recited Shri Guru Gita, meditated, and read Gurumayi’s thirteen intentions for the Chanting Tour; I then offered them to the universe as my own intentions for the Chanting Tour.
The days of the tour flew by and each day I felt more alive, with more love, joy, and contentment in my entire being. I now have a new and expanded sense of purpose in my sadhana, more inner peace and satisfaction, and a feeling of oneness with Gurumayi. My heart pulsates with compassion and gratitude for the gift of walking this path.
Thank you, beloved Baba, and most beloved Gurumayi!
Participating in the Chanting Tour has deepened and strengthened my connection to the practices of chanting and meditation. Each day during the tour, I recited Shri Guru Gita, meditated, and read Gurumayi’s thirteen intentions for the Chanting Tour; I then offered them to the universe as my own intentions for the Chanting Tour.
The days of the tour flew by and each day I felt more alive, with more love, joy, and contentment in my entire being. I now have a new and expanded sense of purpose in my sadhana, more inner peace and satisfaction, and a feeling of oneness with Gurumayi. My heart pulsates with compassion and gratitude for the gift of walking this path.
Thank you, beloved Baba, and most beloved Gurumayi!
South Carolina, USA
I am so grateful to be blessed with the experience of paradise by participating in the Chanting Tour: Satyam Shivam Sundaram. The Chanting Tour has concluded, but in my heart the chanting and love for my beloved Guru continue to flow. This nectar of chanting has filled my heart with bliss, joy, happiness, and gratitude. Every cell in my body expresses gratitude and thankfulness to beloved Gurumayi for this blissful experience.
How blessed I feel that my Guru has lifted me into paradise, where the magic of music continuously sings God’s name and my Guru’s glory.
I feel that this Chanting Tour has also given rise to the beautiful virtues of brotherhood, global friendship, and devotion in the form of seva. Siddha Yogis around the world united with each other in one voice by the invisible thread of the Guru’s grace, love, guidance, and teachings.
Thank you, beloved Gurumayi, for your love and blessings. I offer my heartfelt pranams to you in gratitude.
Mumbai, India
The power of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour became so palpable for me during the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang. I had been wondering how I would recognize paradise in this world. Will I feel it or see it? How will I know it is paradise?
The answer came even before we began to chant during the Audio Satsang. It was crystal clear to me that we were experiencing paradise when we did the practice of the Shiva-Shakti Movements. When I looked around the hall, the beauty of paradise appeared in the waves of all our blissful bodies moving in harmony, together stretching, yawning, gently tapping. I felt it in the warmth of our voices tuning themselves to the "ahhhhhh" sound. Paradise was made visible in the shining eyes and the smiling faces. It was palpable in my heart when we walked and leapt in delight. Everyone was just so happy to join in! I recognized that there is joy, there is fun in paradise! From the five-year-old to the ninety-year-old, everyone had come together for chanting, and everyone was participating.
Yes, we do create a paradise when we offer our Siddha Yoga practices together.
Gurumayi, thank you so much for this life-transforming experience!
Montreal, Canada
Arriving at the venue for the last Chanting Satsang of the Chanting Tour, here on the Gold Coast, I felt so happy! People from many different places in our spread-out community were gathering, merging our voices into one voice—and how sweet that voice was as we chanted.
As the chant took hold, I experienced my consciousness unfurl, like the bulb of a chrysanthemum flower in the dawn, with each call and response of Om Namo Bhagavate Muktanandaya falling as divine rain onto each petal—awakening, nourishing, glistening. I felt this consciousness expanding out into infinite space—our Universal Hall!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for visiting us all the way over here in Queensland. Chanting truly does create a paradise on Earth!
Brisbane, Australia
Tonight, via the Siddha Yoga path website, I traveled virtually through every day of the Chanting Tour in all its bliss and glory. My heart leaped and danced with joy. At the end, I felt suspended in the bliss of chanting!
Thank you, Gurumayi!
New York, USA
I offer seva as the area music coordinator for Australia and New Zealand, and I was also a musician in the music ensemble for the Chanting Tour. It was an honor to witness and experience how everyone gave their best, supporting each other and arriving prepared and on time for the daily schedule of warm-ups, rehearsals, and personal practice. From my perspective, this commitment and selflessness allowed the musicians to offer seva with complete freedom and to become vehicles for the pure sound.
The daily practice of reading and aligning ourselves with Gurumayi’s Intention for the Chanting Tour, along with Carlos del Cueto’s light-hearted but firm insistence on excellence, transformed this truly global ensemble of musicians into one heart and one voice.
Lilyfield, Australia
Thank you for the Audio Recordings! They have added such a wonderful dimension to the reporting of the Chanting Tour in Australia. I love all the musical audio clips created especially for the website. Recently, I have been playing over and over again the rendition of "The Secret of My Love." The combination of the words of the poet-saint, the music by Gurumayi, and the pure and innocent voices of the young Australian Siddha Yogis makes the recording so moving and powerful. Thank you!
New York, USA
The Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014 Satyam Shivam Sundaram was such a blessing from our beloved Guru. We could feel the Guru’s shakti everywhere. We could feel Gurumayi’s presence everywhere, every moment. The Guru’s intention for the tour was fulfilled!
It was like a dream come true. Every moment was precious, magical. The icing on the cake was the video "Experience Darshan in Silence." Bade Baba was looking so radiant and happy. We are so fortunate to have Bade Baba’s darshan right here in Melbourne.
Thank you, Gurumayi, from the bottom of my heart for the great gift of the Chanting Tour.
Melbourne, Australia
At night, before retiring, I like to look at the amazing images of the Chanting Tour. Afterwards, I play each one of the Audio Recordings and chant along softly. I conclude this joyful session by going to the Temple— through the video Experience Darshan in Silence —to receive Bade Baba’s darshan. Finally, I go to bed with a heart saturated with blissful feelings of love.
Yesterday morning, to my surprise, I woke up hearing my own voice chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in my heart. I listened to it for a while with total abandon. Then I remembered I had a busy day ahead of me, and I got up to fulfill my duties.
Last night, while viewing the images again, I remembered my experience from the morning. Looking at these beautiful, glowing faces, I could feel how drenched in bliss the participants were from chanting. Each image I saw—whether of an adult, a child, a flower, a tree, the ocean, or the sky—was suffused with truth, auspiciousness, and beauty. Everyone and everything was radiating their own light, their own goodness, and their own color.
I am so grateful to everyone for sharing this treasure with us. Through chanting God’s name all together, we have created such a deep connection!
Yesterday morning, to my surprise, I woke up hearing my own voice chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in my heart. I listened to it for a while with total abandon. Then I remembered I had a busy day ahead of me, and I got up to fulfill my duties.
Last night, while viewing the images again, I remembered my experience from the morning. Looking at these beautiful, glowing faces, I could feel how drenched in bliss the participants were from chanting. Each image I saw—whether of an adult, a child, a flower, a tree, the ocean, or the sky—was suffused with truth, auspiciousness, and beauty. Everyone and everything was radiating their own light, their own goodness, and their own color.
I am so grateful to everyone for sharing this treasure with us. Through chanting God’s name all together, we have created such a deep connection!
Joliette, Canada
My 11-year-old daughter offered seva as one of the ensemble members for the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014. Four days after the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, she made a recording of herself singing a song. She shared with me that during the Tour, all the musicians were learning about allowing the sound of the chant to linger on even after the sound itself had stopped. She said, "I was also aware of that silence very consciously when I was recording my song. I didn’t hit the stop button for the recording until I heard that silent sound had subsided."
Melbourne, Australia
I have just listened to the sweetest singing from Alicia Sutcliffe and Mia Italiano in the Audio Recordings. Listening to them, I feel the love of Krishna in every cell of my being. So much love! Such sweet nectar in my heart!
Thank you so much, Gurumayi. And thank you, dearest girls.
The Patch, Australia
As the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour began to unfold, I made the intention to participate with my whole heart and being. To support this intention, I reserved a special time in the evenings to view and contemplate the tour postings on the Siddha Yoga path website, and to give my full attention to the tour.
Every time I began engaging with the postings, the exquisite image of the opal ocean in the tour poster would come to my awareness spontaneously, opening like a door to the infinite. Through the effulgent, blissful undulation of this ocean arising inside, I found myself immediately connected to the sublime and ecstatic energy of the tour.
I have been reflecting on how the cells of my own being are learning, through the precious gift of this tour, to find and dwell in my very own heart. In that space of pure connection, I experience how chanting the Lord’s name reaches everyone and every corner of this blessed world of bliss, resonating with the truth of union.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and for the opal ocean on which to travel the world.
Every time I began engaging with the postings, the exquisite image of the opal ocean in the tour poster would come to my awareness spontaneously, opening like a door to the infinite. Through the effulgent, blissful undulation of this ocean arising inside, I found myself immediately connected to the sublime and ecstatic energy of the tour.
I have been reflecting on how the cells of my own being are learning, through the precious gift of this tour, to find and dwell in my very own heart. In that space of pure connection, I experience how chanting the Lord’s name reaches everyone and every corner of this blessed world of bliss, resonating with the truth of union.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and for the opal ocean on which to travel the world.
New York, USA
I think the Chanting Tour was very successful and you could really tell how much the people in Australia enjoyed the chanting. I think Gurumayi’s intention has been fulfilled.
an 11-year-old from New York, USA
One evening, I made an announcement at the Siddha Yoga meditation center about the Chanting Tour. During the announcement, while I was sharing about the places where the Tour has been, I was reminded of the palkhi procession that goes from Alandi, the birth place of Saint Jnaneshwar, to Pandharpur.
Thousands of pilgrims make a pilgrimage on foot, chanting the Lord’s name all the way. Their hearts are filled with intense longing, love, and devotion as they eagerly look forward to having darshan of the Lord. This tradition has existed for more than 700 years. Every year when the palkhi is moving from one destination to another, there is excitement in the air among devotees, an eagerness to know where it has reached. I felt the same joy and enthusiasm in myself and in the satsang participants, while I was sharing about the destinations of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour in Australia!
Thank you, Gurumayiji.
Thousands of pilgrims make a pilgrimage on foot, chanting the Lord’s name all the way. Their hearts are filled with intense longing, love, and devotion as they eagerly look forward to having darshan of the Lord. This tradition has existed for more than 700 years. Every year when the palkhi is moving from one destination to another, there is excitement in the air among devotees, an eagerness to know where it has reached. I felt the same joy and enthusiasm in myself and in the satsang participants, while I was sharing about the destinations of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour in Australia!
Thank you, Gurumayiji.
Pune, India
I often evaluate the effectiveness of my sadhana and my level of spiritual expansion by how patient I am with a certain relative. Through the years, my progress has been very slow but steady—little by little, step by step. However, I have noticed that since the Chanting Tour began, my baby steps have picked up pace and I can feel my flower of patience opening up,petal by petal!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the precious gift of the Chanting Tour!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the precious gift of the Chanting Tour!
New York, USA
The two Chanting Satsangs at the NIDA Parade Theatre in Sydney were unique events: a beautiful theater setting, an accomplished live music ensemble, Siddha Yoga teachings and explorations on mantra and sound, the resonant Aum of the didgeridoo invoking and offering blessings to the indigenous people of the great southern land, and vivid stories about the history of Siddha Yoga chanting. And when we chanted, we all contributed to creating celestial sounds! All of this was permeated by Gurumayi’s loving presence. Bravo!
Thank you so much, Gurumayi, for inspiring this historical and inspired event.
Thank you so much, Gurumayi, for inspiring this historical and inspired event.
Sydney, Australia
I was hosting a Chanting Satsang at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney during the Chanting Tour. We were chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho as people entered the hall, and as the hall filled up, the chanting increased in intensity. Suddenly I began to feel nervous. I remembered at that moment to invoke grace, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do it. Then I started to listen intently to the chant, a practice we had learned about earlier in the week. As I did this, almost immediately, I experienced that Gurumayi wasn’t far away; her grace was manifest in the chant and in the chanting, which enveloped me—the sound was all around me and through me. I felt calm and reassured—an experience that lasted as I offered hosting seva throughout the sublime night we had here in Sydney.
Thank you, Gurumayi!
Thank you, Gurumayi!
Sydney, Australia
Several days after participating in the Regional Audio Broadcast Enter the Abode of Sound, I was having lunch in a rather busy and noisy restaurant. All of a sudden, I could hear the chant Shri Ram Jay Ram. I kept my focus inward, quietly eating and enjoying my lunch, listening to the strains of Shri Ram Jay Ram. This experience showed me the power of chanting to permeate my everyday life and activities.
Deepest gratitude to you, Gurumayi, for all that you have given and all I have received.
Deepest gratitude to you, Gurumayi, for all that you have given and all I have received.
Busselton, Australia
As a result of the Chanting Tour, the world has been bathed in the sweet and pure vibrations of chanting from Siddha Yogis around the globe. Gurumayi has taught us how paradise can be made manifest through the power of sound, and that we can do this on a daily and moment-to-moment basis. We are so blessed!
Thank you, Gurumayi.
Thank you, Gurumayi.
Armidale, Australia
The swan came by this morning, after a long absence. I ran downstairs and out to the water’s edge and greeted this beautiful emissary of my beloved Guru’s grace.
Today is an auspicious day and my heart rejoiced to see the swan on the estuary, connecting with Gurumayi’s grace and blessings for the Chanting Tour. The last time I saw the swan was on the day of A Sweet Surprise 2014 broadcast. The Guru’s shakti transcends time and geography to reveal to me, again and again, her grace in the form of the swan, which has now shown up on the occasion of several auspicious Siddha Yoga events.
Feeling summoned by the power of the Guru’s love, I have changed my plans for this evening and I will be going to my local meditation center to participate in the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, Chanting Creates a Paradise in this World.
Today is an auspicious day and my heart rejoiced to see the swan on the estuary, connecting with Gurumayi’s grace and blessings for the Chanting Tour. The last time I saw the swan was on the day of A Sweet Surprise 2014 broadcast. The Guru’s shakti transcends time and geography to reveal to me, again and again, her grace in the form of the swan, which has now shown up on the occasion of several auspicious Siddha Yoga events.
Feeling summoned by the power of the Guru’s love, I have changed my plans for this evening and I will be going to my local meditation center to participate in the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, Chanting Creates a Paradise in this World.
Massachusetts, USA
I was fortunate to be at the final satsang in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney with Gurumayi on her teachings visit in 1997. I was one of the tour managers and on that day I was overseeing the overflow room. Hundreds of people had come to be with Gurumayi.
As the satsang began, I was told that the distribution audio feed to the overflow room was not working. When Gurumayi was informed of this situation, she made a gesture—she raised her hands and moved them toward her heart, inviting everyone in the main hall to move forward. This created enough room for everyone from the overflow room to move comfortably into the main hall.
This morning, as I was singing the Kundalini Stavaha in the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland, I had a vision of Gurumayi. She was once again gesturing us to move closer, moving her hands toward her heart, inviting us all to the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, Chanting Creates a Paradise in this World. Gurumayi has created a Universal Hall—with room for us all.
As the satsang began, I was told that the distribution audio feed to the overflow room was not working. When Gurumayi was informed of this situation, she made a gesture—she raised her hands and moved them toward her heart, inviting everyone in the main hall to move forward. This created enough room for everyone from the overflow room to move comfortably into the main hall.
This morning, as I was singing the Kundalini Stavaha in the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland, I had a vision of Gurumayi. She was once again gesturing us to move closer, moving her hands toward her heart, inviting us all to the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, Chanting Creates a Paradise in this World. Gurumayi has created a Universal Hall—with room for us all.
California, USA
I play in a symphony orchestra and for three weeks in March, we were touring in Europe to give concerts. It was amazing to be able to follow the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour on my tiny smart-phone screen! In the mornings I would recite Shri Guru Gita in my hotel room, read shares and Tour Reports, and view radiant photos from the tour.
I was entranced by Swami Indirananda’s report of the Shri Guru Gita Recitation that was held on March 16 to send blessings for the Chanting Tour. I remember chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in my room in Madrid as my heart so wanted to join in! I felt connected and inspired throughout my own smaller tour.
A thousand thanks to Gurumayi. And thank you to the sangham in Australia and to the website team!
Montreal, Canada
I was in the hall of the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney in 1997 when Gurumayi said that in the future there would be chanting tours. She also said that people would remember the goal.
I was at the Ashram in Sydney on Tuesday night, April 15, 2014, when we chanted Kali Durge. It was scintillating with rasa. Now, in the afterglow of Kali Durge, I still feel remarkably soft and benevolent.
To anyone in Sydney who hasn’t yet booked their reservation in the hall for the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, or anyone around the globe who has not yet registered for the live audio stream online, I would say to you, "Remember the goal."
Sydney, Australia
This Chanting Tour is like opening a Christmas present again and again. The present is my own heart.
Thank you so much, Gurumayi.
Sydney, Australia
I am bursting with joy in anticipation of the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang, "Chanting Creates a Paradise in this World." I can’t wait to offer my heart and my voice in this grace-filled event with local Siddha Yogis and Siddha Yogis around the world!
Minnesota, USA
I had been reflecting on my desire to connect more with the Chanting Tour, and I set aside a CD to play in my car on my commute to work. On my way home, I played Govinda Jaya Jaya, and I was immediately filled with joy from the ecstatic rasa of this chant. My heart region expanded, and I saw a large, pink, lotus-like mandala with a golden center there. I began to chant with my awareness in my heart, and felt my heart chant too. It was alive and ecstatic with the chant. I was filled with joy and gratitude to Gurumayi, and I was reminded that the power and grace of this ecstatic chant lives inside me.
The chant changed the world to a paradise in an instant—in the midst of chanting, I felt only love. I am so fortunate to be able to chant.
With deepest gratitude, thank you, Gurumayi.
Washington, USA
My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, my baby in my belly, and I immersed ourselves in the bliss and sweetness of the Chanting Tour in Melbourne. My daughter had been requesting, "I want Om Namah Shivaya, mummy," and she was thrilled to participate in the chanting satsangs offered in Melbourne. Very soon after the section of the tour that took place in Melbourne concluded, I went into labor. I was feeling completely empowered by the power of the chants. During the labor, I had the chants playing in the background, guiding me deep into a pool of inner strength and courage. The birth of my son was truly blissful, peaceful, and miraculous—the fruits of all the chanting.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the gift of this Chanting Tour, which has given me the opportunity to reconnect with the power of this sacred practice. My son was born on 4/4/14 and continues to hear the sacred chants at home.
Melbourne, Australia
This past weekend, I was caring for my granddaughter. Throughout the day, we sang. We sang her nursery rhymes, and I chanted, as I always do when she is with me. I was chanting Narayana in practice for the evening satsang. My granddaughter started singing "Jaya Jaya" in the way only a three-year-old can—full of joy and enthusiasm, playing with the words, as if tasting them. All of a sudden, she started to sing Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho loud and clear. She had remembered the words from the chant I had been practicing the week before. She seemed very pleased with herself and sang and sang.
I was filled with love and gratitude as I felt the joy and upliftment coming from within her and moving within me. I have been feeling more and more the blessedness of the wonderful gifts we as humanity are receiving from the Chanting Tour, from the Siddha Yoga teachings, from the grace abounding in our lives.
Thank you, dear Gurumayi.
Melbourne, Australia
Today I woke up early in the morning, feeling great gratitude for my parents. My mind became quiet and serene. I wondered, “Why is this divine bhava, this great virtue of gratitude sprouting up so early in the morning?”
For me the answer is Siddha Yoga chanting. Yesterday we were chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in the Siddha Yoga Family Satsang, and I felt so much love and gratitude for my parents and for their benevolent nature.
Chanting inspires love in me, not only for myself but for others. Siddha Yoga chants bring out my love for my parents, my daughter, my wife, my students, my friends, nature, and this wonderful planet. Siddha Yoga chants inspire in me unconditional love for my beloved Guru, Gurumayiji.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour. Thank you for all the Siddha Yoga sevites who are making the Chanting Tour possible.
For me the answer is Siddha Yoga chanting. Yesterday we were chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in the Siddha Yoga Family Satsang, and I felt so much love and gratitude for my parents and for their benevolent nature.
Chanting inspires love in me, not only for myself but for others. Siddha Yoga chants bring out my love for my parents, my daughter, my wife, my students, my friends, nature, and this wonderful planet. Siddha Yoga chants inspire in me unconditional love for my beloved Guru, Gurumayiji.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour. Thank you for all the Siddha Yoga sevites who are making the Chanting Tour possible.
Pune, India
Last night, a Siddha Yogi who had met Baba many years ago unexpectedly appeared at the Siddha Yoga meditation center. He had not attended the center for twenty years. After we warmly welcomed him, someone asked him, "What has brought you here tonight?"
He answered, "You know, I am not quite sure. But tonight I suddenly felt drawn to come here by a great urge to chant. It came out of the blue. I suddenly wanted to chant."
He said he hadn’t seen the Siddha Yoga path website or heard about the Chanting Tour, but an insistent urge to chant, which had come “out of the blue,” had brought him to the center. Everyone who heard him say this shared in his delight.
He answered, "You know, I am not quite sure. But tonight I suddenly felt drawn to come here by a great urge to chant. It came out of the blue. I suddenly wanted to chant."
He said he hadn’t seen the Siddha Yoga path website or heard about the Chanting Tour, but an insistent urge to chant, which had come “out of the blue,” had brought him to the center. Everyone who heard him say this shared in his delight.
Washington, USA
For the past 41 years I’ve been chanting and doing daily Siddha Yoga practices. I still clearly remember experiencing my first Shri Guru Gita recitation at age five while sitting at Baba’s feet. Now I am a health practitioner, and when my patients say to me, “I find it hard to meditate,” I respond with “Then chant!”
This Chanting Tour has been a great experience for Siddha Yogis and new seekers alike. Chanting is easy, and it remains my great love.
Thank you, Gurumayi!
This Chanting Tour has been a great experience for Siddha Yogis and new seekers alike. Chanting is easy, and it remains my great love.
Thank you, Gurumayi!
Melbourne, Australia
Just before the Chanting Tour began, I was inspired to retrieve my harmonium, which I had lent to someone a long time ago. I hadn’t played the harmonium for over ten years. I have now been playing almost every day, and it is ecstatic! I am amazed how easily the chants are coming back to my fingers.
Heckmondwike, United Kingdom
Oh, my goodness! We just had the chant of Kali Durge in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney. It was the 10th Chanting Satsang of the Tour—in the very room where, in 1997, Gurumayi announced that there would be Chanting Tours. In this hall, the sound of Kali Durge rose and rose and filled the room, the hearts, and the minds of the Siddha Yoga sangham. The chant was a welling-up of love, power, and reverberating divinity. The sound of the ensemble was pure and clear, and the sound of the response group was something to treasure! Strength and power and beauty. Truth, auspiciousness, and beauty. All in one place!
How blessed we are, Gurumayi, to have your intention resting in our hearts and minds. Australia is blessed—really, really blessed. Thank you.
How blessed we are, Gurumayi, to have your intention resting in our hearts and minds. Australia is blessed—really, really blessed. Thank you.
Dulwich Hill, Australia
Being immersed in Chanting Tour seva involves many meetings with other sevites as we plan, offer, and debrief after events. These meetings have provided me with beautiful opportunities to implement Gurumayi’s teachings from her book The Yoga of Discipline about applying the two "C’s" of concentration and contemplation before I speak. Practicing this is so precious, and so honoring of others.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for these emerging gifts of Chanting Tour seva.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for these emerging gifts of Chanting Tour seva.
Melbourne, Australia
I have been a practicing Siddha Yogi for 40 years and feel so grateful for this latest gift from Gurumayi. I am impressed with the way the chanting has become so refined and elegant. The discipline of musicianship has created a stage for the shakti to dance upon. The way Carlos built the chant to a crescendo then pulled back a little, then again built to the final ecstatic moments, until the heart was bursting. Then the vibrating stillness, the sweetness of the soundless sound.
There was no need even to give meditation instructions after chanting as meditation found me and held me in its beauty and silence. Opening my eyes, I felt such a connection with others in the room, and my eyes finally rested on the photo of our beloved Guru. Profound peace.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Chanting Tour.
Palm Beach, Australia
When I read the share from a Siddha Yogi in Mumbai, it reminded me of an experience I had yesterday in the satsang Enter the Abode of Sound. This Siddha Yogi shared about the Ganges flowing from the Himalayas as a healing river. During the pause in the satsang, I felt and saw an inner spring become a river of music, bubbling up from deep from within. I said to a fellow Siddha Yogi, “All we need to do is join the river, the great flow of music that springs up from within.” I imagined it flowing over, around, and through us. And it occurred to me that, indeed, we are made up of music; all our cells are singing.
This Chanting Tour is giving me a deep experience of the essential nature of music within our being. And that music is flowing out as joy.
Yulara, Australia
I’m a musician by profession, and I love chanting. In fact, I chant in my car before performing and everywhere I go. There is so much to learn about life and music through this practice. Yesterday in Sydney, at the satsang, Enter the Abode of Sound, I had a very sweet and tangible experience of the silence from which all sound arises and subsides.
Carlos directed us to "listen with intention" and showed us how to do it. I experienced the silence of my own being as very full, still, and supremely peaceful. The Guru’s grace supported my self-effort of continuing to consciously focus my awareness on the spaces of silence between chanting. As I meditated afterward, the vibrations of the chant drew me deep into the nectarean silence of my own being.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your endless grace. And thank you, Carlos, for the beautiful seva you offer.
Newcastle, Australia
I participated in the satsang Enter the Abode of Sound yesterday in the family hall with my five-year-old son and many other children. It was incredibly joyous. Even though I was moving around the hall with children, I fully experienced the teachings of the satsang. We chanted with great enthusiasm and danced with joy. We played quietly while absorbing the teachings and the sounds.
I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to participate so fully with my child and with all the other children. I woke up the next morning with waves of joy flowing within. I can hardly wait for April 19 and what this upcoming satsang will hold for us all!
Melbourne, Australia
Yesterday we were blessed with the regional audio satsang, Enter the Abode of Sound.
I have been on the Siddha Yoga path for over 33 years and have always loved chanting. My experience yesterday was totally new. With each round we chanted, my awareness rested in an exquisite, sweet stillness that expanded and expanded. It was clear from conversations with other participants that this was a common experience.
Normally, I struggle to sit for meditation. This morning it was effortless, and I was able to sit with a very still mind for an extended period of time.
I offer my gratitude to Gurumayi. And thank you to all who have contributed to this extraordinary event.
Artarmon, Australia
While sitting admiring the wonders of spring, I realized there has been a transformation in my heart since the Chanting Tour began. I am kinder and gentler to myself and to others, and I feel more peaceful throughout the day. I especially notice this inner change when I am out doing errands and I encounter strangers; they feel as if they are my family.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for this Chanting Tour, which is spreading peace on earth!
New York, USA
I have just recovered from being hospitalized a month ago. While I was recovering, my strength was limited, and I couldn’t keep my regular spiritual practices up or visit the local meditation center.
Around the same time, the Chanting Tour—Satyam Shivam Sundaram began, and I have felt blessed to be able to participate in it daily via the Siddha Yoga path website. My commitment to chant every day with focus, and to send my love and gratitude to the tour, has miraculously shifted me from illness to wellness. The physical pain in my body has been replaced with new energy, enthusiasm, love, and gratitude. To me every element of Satyam Shivam Sundaram feels like a gushing flow of the Ganges from the holy Himalaya mountains, which is purifying me, uplifting me, and filling me with joy and sweetness.
I am so grateful to beloved Gurumayiji. Thank you for blessing me and inspiring me in ever new ways to connect with the love, joy and sweetness in my own heart.
Mumbai, India
Just before the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour arrived in Sydney, I was at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney offering seva. In the Ashram foyer I stopped to read Gurumayi’s Intention for the Chanting Tour. I was very moved by it, because for the past two years I’ve been yearning to make music and have now begun learning to play an instrument.
In the first Chanting Satsang at the Ashram in Sydney, we chanted Om Namah Shivaya. As I chanted, I was focusing on the word namah; as I did this, my heart felt warm. This warmth turned into a feeling of love and I realized that my heart was opening, and the music was transforming my heart.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for giving me the opportunity to have these experiences and for creating this wonderful Chanting Tour. Its gifts will support me in continuing to fulfill my yearning to make music.
Sydney, Australia
Recently, I have noticed that my participation in the Chanting Tour, via the website, has changed my perception of music. Usually, I chant inwardly when I shop for groceries, and if there is music playing over the loudspeaker, I feel it’s an intrusion into my chanting. But today while shopping, I was very pleasantly surprised: the music playing over the loudspeaker felt as if it were harmoniously joining in my chanting. I felt a gentle smile within, in deep gratitude for the gifts of this sacred path.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Chanting Tour. It is changing my perception of the world, revealing the paradise it is.
New York, USA
The Chanting Tour has been amazing thus far. It has revolutionized my practice of chanting. My approach to chanting is so much more focused on respect, love, and intention. While chanting namasankirtanas that I have sung for many years, I experience greater shakti and new meaning.
The two Chanting Satsangs I have attended in Sydney this week have been powerful, amazing—such a gift. I am filled with gratitude. And I am so looking forward to chanting with the global Siddha Yoga sangham and merging into the bliss of chanting.
Sydney, Australia
This morning, as we rode alongside the Yarra River with our dog, my heart felt warm, full, and peaceful. It occurred to me that this is satyam—this is how I really am and how everything really is. I realized how auspicious it is to be participating in the Chanting Tour and living my life—shivam. The sky, the river, the trees and birds, the people and dogs, the stones and insects—how beautiful it all is—sundaram!
Thank you so very much, Gurumayi. How else can I thank you but to keep on chanting and remembering the truth, auspiciousness, and beauty of your teachings! I am so blessed to have met a great Siddha Yoga Guru and to be able to live a life of service.
Melbourne, Australia
My husband and I have been out sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, taking our boat Hanuman from the east coast of Florida to South Carolina.
Numerous times dolphins appeared alongside the boat, and I would chant to them, asking them to take the vibrations and love of the chant to all the creatures they visit in the sea. They seemed to understand my intention; they would swim alongside of us, and the faster I would chant and keep time on the side of our boat, the more they would dance—twirling and leaping out of the water. Others would then join in—such a delight!
How joyful to know that our beloved Guru’s intention for this Chanting Tour is bearing fruit all over the globe—even in the seas.
Thank you, Shri Gurumayi, for the extraordinary gift of this Chanting Tour, and for the opportunity to participate in it from wherever we are on our planet! And thank you to all the sevites worldwide who continue to make accessing this tour possible! We love you!
Numerous times dolphins appeared alongside the boat, and I would chant to them, asking them to take the vibrations and love of the chant to all the creatures they visit in the sea. They seemed to understand my intention; they would swim alongside of us, and the faster I would chant and keep time on the side of our boat, the more they would dance—twirling and leaping out of the water. Others would then join in—such a delight!
How joyful to know that our beloved Guru’s intention for this Chanting Tour is bearing fruit all over the globe—even in the seas.
Thank you, Shri Gurumayi, for the extraordinary gift of this Chanting Tour, and for the opportunity to participate in it from wherever we are on our planet! And thank you to all the sevites worldwide who continue to make accessing this tour possible! We love you!
Colorado, USA
Thank you, Gurumayi, for all the gifts you are giving the Siddha Yoga global sangham. Chanting is sublime!
And thank you, Aussies, for hosting the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014! Every morning, I eagerly visit the Siddha Yoga path website. When I read the Tour Reports and see the pictures of your happy faces, I am right there with you.
This morning, while watching the slide show, I recalled my New Year’s resolution—to stay in the present moment, to be brave, and to live in joy. I realized that my intention for 2014 has become a reality because of the Chanting Tour’s tremendous outpouring of love. What a blessing it is to chant God’s name with Siddha Yogis from around the world!
Boundless gratitude to all the sevites for the tour and to the Siddha Yoga path website team for your dedication and devotion. I am counting the days till the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang.
Virginia, USA
Last Tuesday, I participated in the Chanting Satsang at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney. After the satsang, when I came out of the Ashram, I saw colorful rings around the moon.
This afternoon, as I was approaching the Ashram for the next Chanting Satsang, I saw a full double rainbow in the sky. Just below it, I saw lots of people waiting for a train. My heart exclaimed, "Aha, the Chanting Tour!" I sensed something opening in my heart.
Later, after chanting, I felt bubbling, soft vibrations in the region of my heart. And very gently, my heart said, "When you repeat the Name, you become the Name."
Thank you, Baba and Gurumayi, for the practice of chanting. Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Chanting Tour. I’m ready to dive in.
Sydney, Australia
The celebration of the Chanting Tour: Australia 2014 is very present here in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. The daily evening chants are the focus of celebration. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this.
Four days ago, I was enjoying the chant, drowned in its nectar, swaying with a complete sense of joy. After the chant, I had a natural instinct to remain in that ecstasy. In order to do that, I continued repeating the mantra, even as I went to bed. Very soon, I observed my whole body feeling waves of bliss. I continued mantra japa, wanting to remain in that state. I have never enjoyed such a great state of intoxication.
As I stayed awake in this state of ecstasy, I was a little concerned about feeling sleepy during seva the next day. But that didn’t stop me. I continued mantra japa, and my ecstatic state continued throughout the whole night. The next day, I was fresher than I had been on the previous day.
I offer my love and gratitude to Gurumayi.
Gurudev Siddha Peeth
When Gurumayi came to New York City for a teachings visit many years ago, I remember that during that time there was a lift and lightness to my gait while walking along the city streets because Gurumayi was visiting "my town." In the past few days, I have been feeling the same lightness and exuberant lift as I walk the sidewalks. Why am I feeling this? I wondered. Then I thought, "Oh, Gurumayi has come back to my town, only this time my town is the whole globe!" I am so looking forward to the "town meeting" during the Global Live Audio Stream Chanting Satsang.
New York, USA
I was the host for the first Chanting Satsang in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney. What a wonderful event it was! Everyone was feeling effervescent—light and bubbling with excitement. The chants were heavenly. Everyone, including some newcomers I spoke with, had a wonderful experience and they were booking in for the next events.
The evening has stayed with me. I am full of energy, vitality, and an enthusiasm to share with lots of new people about this tour. Just this morning, in a hatha yoga class, I was telling everyone about the great events coming up.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for this extraordinary Chanting Tour!
Sydney, Australia
I am a short-term Gurukula student in Gurudev Siddha Peeth, and yesterday when I was walking to Hridayadeep for the evening chant, I was remembering Gurumayi’s intention for the Chanting Tour on my way. I felt deeply grateful and blessed to be a part of the Chanting Tour by chanting here every day.
I kept Gurumayi’s intention in my awareness as I chanted, and I could feel the energy very strongly. I was feeling that Nature is blessing us all and we are blessing the plants, the trees, the oceans, the rivers, the animals, and the birds, and I was feeling contented inside.
All of us in Hridayadeep were chanting Lord Vitthal’s name with such devotion and rasa that Lord Vitthal himself must have been dancing with joy!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for such a blessed Chanting Tour.
Bhusawal, India
I am noticing that each day my excitement about the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour Global Live Audio Stream Satsang is expanding in my heart more and more as I think about singing the name of the Lord in unison with all the devotees around the world. I feel as if this growing excitement is itself a divine inner chant welling up from the depths of my being, sprinkling me with moments of bliss throughout the day!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the grace you have bestowed upon us during the Chanting Tour.
New York, USA
Ever since I first heard about this beautiful Chanting Tour, I was filled with enthusiasm. I had a deep urge to be a part of it. I knew I couldn’t fly down to Australia to physically be a part of it, but I still had a deep longing to contribute to the tour. After participating in the Shri Guru Gita recitation satsang for the Chanting Tour, I instantly decided to refresh my practice of chanting. Meanwhile, a friend and fellow Siddha Yogi told me, "Keep visiting the website.” Now, each time I come back to the website, I feel present and in the company of Siddha Yogis around the world in the Universal Hall.
The Audio Recordings have been such a beautiful surprise. In a second, I am connected and relishing the same bliss, enthusiasm, and divine love as the participants of the Chanting Tour in Australia.
Thank you, Gurumayiji, for including every Siddha Yogi in the world in this beautiful Chanting Tour. Thank you to each one of the sevites for all the thought and effort you have put forth to bring this experience to us. I am eagerly waiting to be a part of the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang!
The Audio Recordings have been such a beautiful surprise. In a second, I am connected and relishing the same bliss, enthusiasm, and divine love as the participants of the Chanting Tour in Australia.
Thank you, Gurumayiji, for including every Siddha Yogi in the world in this beautiful Chanting Tour. Thank you to each one of the sevites for all the thought and effort you have put forth to bring this experience to us. I am eagerly waiting to be a part of the Global Live Audio Stream Satsang!
New Delhi, India
Thank you to the Siddha Yogi from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who shared, "I believe life itself is very much like music…" Your share really "struck a chord" with me. I have been chanting to energize myself for many years. And since participating in the Chanting Tour, this energy has multiplied many times.
The Chanting Tour has also given me back my voice. For many years, I have had to chant an octave below everyone else because of a restriction in my throat, but now my voice soars!
I have been in the habit of taking a mantra japa walk. Now, since participating in the Chanting Tour, I go on a chanting walk. This change happened spontaneously. My breath and my strides are coordinated as I chant, and I can feel every cell in my body resonating with the chant. Even my dog, Jem, has more energy and is more joyful!
All my love and gratitude to Gurumayi for the Chanting Tour. And thank you to all the sevites who are offering seva to make this tour a great success.
Lake Bolac, Australia
Arising earlier this morning, I made myself a cup of tea and sat to listen to the sweet birds chanting. The thought arose, "Ahh, visit the Siddha Yoga website." I clicked on the excerpt of Deva Mazha Mi Devatsa! What bliss! The feeling arose, "I am in paradise."
Thank you, Gurumayi!
Massachusetts, USA
Here in Sydney, offering seva for the Chanting Tour, I have been experiencing the freedom of being in the present and giving myself to what is in front of me—whatever is needed.
As the tour approached, my schedule at work freed up to allow me to start offering more seva for the tour. I’ve been moving from one seva to another: leading hatha yoga sessions, cleaning bathrooms, moving beds, making up beds. There’s been hall seva. Seva with the teens. More cleaning. Someone suddenly had to go on a trip, and I was able to step in and take care of her area while she was away. Then she returned and—at short notice—I was able to offer seva for the first chanting satsang.
At work, too, my schedule has been rearranged with last-minute changes, so I get to practice being present there, too. And amidst all this, I’ve been inviting family, colleagues, and friends to be a part of this experience of joy and fullness.
This is how I’m experiencing the grace of the Chanting Tour. It’s supporting me to be light, flexible, and present to the needs of the moment, and more compassionate with myself and others when things don’t happen as I want or expect or think they could have been done.
Sydney, Australia
This morning, I heard something familiar outside our house. A carpenter friend, who is working on the house, was whistling while he worked. It was the raga we chanted last night during the chanting satsang at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney. He had visited the Ashram for the first time last night and it was a discovery he was still enjoying!
Sydney, Australia
Last night was the first Chanting Tour satsang at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney. It felt like walking into a joyful, buoyant land, full of bright faces and welcome. There were old friends from far and wide, tour staff, regular satsang participants and newcomers, children darting among us like quicksilver, filling the hall and overflow rooms.
We learned to chant with our whole bodies, to honor each letter and word, and to remember the true meaning of the chant. Carlos showed us how to chant as we have never chanted before—everything came together with volume and heart— resounding in the hall, calling and responding, holding us in the mantra, culminating in a delicious full meditation. So much energy and happiness! The chant is still reverberating in my cells.
We are so blessed.
Sydney, Australia
The Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour has arrived in Sydney! A few days ago, I was fortunate to take part in a rehearsal session with Carlos and local music sevites. Just as in the opening Chanting Tour event, we were asked to shift our awareness of how we were chanting—just in small ways. On both occasions, the experience for me has been of being more grounded in my body. I hadn’t realized before how much I have been "in my head" while chanting. And from there, exquisite experiences of sweetness came.
Boundless gratitude to Gurumayi for the vision for the Chanting Tour, and for the grace underlying this priceless event. And thank you to all who are taking the opportunity to offer seva in support of the tour.
Artarmon, Australia
Last night I dreamed that I was in a busy room where people were singing. I decided to join them, and I made up lyrics like, "May there be peace in the world; may there be harmony; may there be love." I sang these words over and over, like a chant. Soon, the room became full of voices singing different songs, yet all held the same high intention of sending love and blessings to this beautiful world. In my dream, everyone was very happy, and I felt love and joy pouring through me. Today I turned once again to Gurumayi’s Intention for the Chanting Tour, and felt such gratitude.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your loving intention for this world and for enabling me to be part of this shared experience.
Havant, United Kingdom
Last night, my younger brother and I were preparing for a Prison Project satsang we will be conducting next weekend. We will be chanting Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho in honor of the Chanting Tour. I called a Siddha Yogi I know who is a Siddha Yoga musician, and I asked her what key the chant is in. She started to give me each note. As she did this, I relayed the notes to my brother, and he immediately figured out how to accompany the chant on the piano. When we had learned the notes, we all three started chanting!
We put my friend on speakerphone, and she started playing the mrdang. I grabbed the cymbals and we were off! The chant was intoxicating. I felt as if we were all three in Australia, participating in a live chant with all of the wonderful instruments.
I can’t wait for the Prison Project satsang on Sunday. Thank you, Gurumayi. Because of your intention, even the men and women who are incarcerated will be able to participate in the Chanting Tour!
Utah, USA
I am so grateful for these stories, shares, audio clips, reports, and photos, which give us so many ways to participate in the Chanting Tour: Australia 2014. Like the sevite in Shree Muktananda Ashram, I too urgently renewed my passport in February upon discovering that it was expiring.
When the passport agency official asked me where I would be traveling, I replied, "Australia!" I too am participating virtually, but it felt wonderful to be ready!
The shakti and fruits of the Chanting Tour are certainly radiating around the globe. The local Siddha Yoga meditation center has welcomed several newcomers, and it feels as though they are arriving for the Chanting Tour! Enthusiasm is contagious.
Thank you Aussies for welcoming us. Thank you, Gurumayi, for miraculously uniting us all in the universal hall!
California, USA
I am a staff member in Shree Muktananda Ashram. In January, I realized my passport was due to expire in April 2014. Even though I had no plans to travel anywhere, I felt such an urgency to renew my passport just as soon as possible. It wasn’t until this morning, after my daily dip in the ocean of divine nectar that is the Siddha Yoga Path website, that I realized why I needed to have my passport: I was going on the Chanting Tour in Australia!
Although my travel has been purely virtual, I feel so strongly connected to, and included in, the extraordinary energy of this Chanting Tour. Seeing, hearing, and reading about all the amazing and profound effects the Tour is having all around the world fills me with joy and gratitude.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your presence on this earth. Thank you for your teachings, grace, generosity, and immense love. Thank you for showing me that this world is a paradise and for giving me the golden passport to access this paradise at any time.
Shree Muktananda Ashram
Two nights ago, I attended satsang at the local meditation center with the intention of supporting the Chanting Tour. During meditation after the chant Om Guru Jaya Guru, I was blessed with a wonderful vision of a thousand suns and I thought, "Each sun is a devotee participating in the Chanting Tour. How bright with light the earth must be!"
I am honored to be able to support the Chanting Tour through chanting and to help create a better paradise on earth.
New York, USA
I have been so touched and moved by the blessings, intentions, and practices people everywhere are offering to support the Chanting Tour. The love flowing toward Australia from around the world truly makes this a worldwide Chanting Tour.
When the Tour arrived in Perth and then Busselton, I felt an immense tide of grace and blessings had swept over and immersed us in the sweetest elixir of love and auspiciousness. Such a beautiful coming together of the community and the tour group, buoyed by a deep heartfelt caring and sharing, is pure delight.
The satsangs have been deliciously sweet with so many people being inspired and energized by the experience that Gurumayi’s intention and grace have brought into our lives. Mother Earth is also sharing her bounty. It rained here for the first time in six months—for three days—when the Chanting Tour arrived.
Truly, Gurumayi’s intention is being fulfilled.
Perth, Australia
Yesterday, I offered seva in the Accommodations Department at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney in preparation for the visitors who were coming to participate in the Chanting Tour. The intention for the accommodations seva was posted on each door along with the checklist of what needed to be done. Side by side were the highest teachings about service and the most practical details about how to tuck in the corners of a bed. Time seemed to stop as I made neat corners and plumped up pillows.
The Ashram is full of love, vibrating with energy, and I am more and more aware of the immensity of this Chanting Tour, the Guru’s intention, and the love and blessings from Siddha Yogis all around the world. There seems to be no end to it! I feel blissful and filled with wonder and happiness at the beauty of this path.
Sydney, Australia
I have been chanting every day since the beginning of the Chanting Tour as a way of giving my blessings to the Tour and supporting Gurumayi’s intention for it. I wondered, as the days went by, if I could formulate my own intention for the Tour, but nothing would come to me. The other night, as I was chanting with my family, I felt words arising directly from the space of my heart. Their motive power was love. In that moment, my intention formulated itself: “May every utterance of mine be infused with love.”
I have experienced now that words can arise directly from the boundless space of love. Now I need to remember this and practice it. I know that chanting is the easiest way of practicing this intention!
I have experienced now that words can arise directly from the boundless space of love. Now I need to remember this and practice it. I know that chanting is the easiest way of practicing this intention!
Nelson, Canada
Recently, I read a story in my local newspaper about a difficult situation that had been experienced by some people in a neighboring community. It was evening, and I had been so much affected by the news, that I could not go to sleep.
As I wondered what to do, I was inspired by Gurumayi’s intention for the Chanting Tour: "May the power of the Chanting Tour bring about goodwill and peace among all people, all societies, all nations, all regions, all cultures, and all religions." And I remembered a share I had read on the Siddha Yoga path website about a Siddha Yogi who chanted and prayed for his nearby community after a natural disaster had taken place there. A clear intention grew in my heart, and I prayed for the healing and well-being of everyone involved in the situation. I imagined the powerful blessings of the Chanting Tour supporting, uplifting and bringing peace to each one of them.
As I made that prayer, I felt it would truly reach everyone who needed it. I felt I had tapped into the grace of the Gurus of our lineage as well as the grace of the seekers participating in the Chanting Tour all over the world. I slept peacefully that night.
California, USA
I have been offering music seva as vocalist and harmonium player in Gurudev Siddha Peeth and Siddha Yoga meditation centers for ten years. This seva has given me the opportunity to appreciate the inner love and sweetness of chanting, as well as deepening my meditation practice and my experiences of my own pure and blissful Self.
I have frequently longed and prayed that every Siddha Yogi could learn the skills of chanting, so that they could easily turn within and taste the rasa of the pure, blissful Self. The Chanting Tour has answered these prayers and I feel truly grateful.
Udhana, India
When I chant, I feel as if I have fallen deeply in love with all of creation—from the smallest particle of dust to the largest star!
New York, USA
Since the Chanting Tour started, my wife and I have started our day with chanting in our meditation room. She plays the mrdang, and I play the harmonium. We feel at one with the entire sangham. I feel my cells strengthened and rejuvenated. It is a wonderful way to be connected and to live my cause, feeling the blessings of nature and sharing this as an urgent cause for future generations.
Nairobi, Kenya
Such a wonderful week! I attended the opening satsang in Melbourne with joyous anticipation. As I walked down the steps making my way into the hall, I was transported back to Gurudev Siddha Peeth and the times that I had taken Shaktipat Intensives there with Baba. On entering the hall, I was welcomed by a sweet feeling of peace. The sight of the Guru’s chair, and the simple, exquisite flower arrangements made me feel at home. My heart was content.
I have had the joy of offering seva and participating in each of the satsangs this week. The Family Chanting Satsang yesterday morning was incredibly beautiful and heart opening.
What a wonderful learning opportunity it is been for us to be able to share in this auspicious beginning!
Thank you to the global sangham for your contribution to the development of this glorious mosaic of love.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for entrusting this much cherished and unforgettable gift to us.
Melbourne, Australia
As I was chanting Shri Ram Jay Ram, the namasankirtana for today, with every repetition I felt all the sweetness of the chant pouring into every cell of my body, and my heart was just overcome with joy, sweet joy.
As I continued chanting, I experienced that my whole being was emanating from the center of my heart and was poised on this inner center. The whole world was actually emanating from there, poised on this invisible center. Then Bade Baba’s words came to my mind: "The heart is the hub of all sacred places."
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Siddha Yoga chants and the practice of chanting. Thank you for giving us this possibility to participate in the amazing Chanting Tour Australia 2014 from wherever we are.
Rome, Italy
As host of the satsang on March 18 at the Siddha Yoga center in Montpellier, I invited everyone to send blessings during the chant for the Chanting Tour in Australia. At the beginning of the chant, I had a vision: I saw our chant becoming a big heart made of roses, and it was flying towards Gurumayi, who was surrounded by sevites and Siddha Yogis. As it reached her, this heart released all the flowers as petals in the air, and Gurumayi received them with open arms.
Later on in the chant, I heard the pure laughter of Gurumayi within, a laughter made of divine joy. I experienced oneness with the chant. I felt it was such a great gift to send blessings for the Chanting Tour, and I recognized that I always receive so much by offering blessings.
Thank you, Gurumayi, from the depths of my heart.
Later on in the chant, I heard the pure laughter of Gurumayi within, a laughter made of divine joy. I experienced oneness with the chant. I felt it was such a great gift to send blessings for the Chanting Tour, and I recognized that I always receive so much by offering blessings.
Thank you, Gurumayi, from the depths of my heart.
Montpellier, France
During one of the chanting satsangs, the music sevites on the Chanting Tour in Australia chanted Deva Mazha—an abhanga written by Tukaram Maharaj with a melody written by Gurumayi. I had a tremendous fit of joyful laughter with my friend whilst we were practicing the chant the night before the satsang. This same joyful energy carried through to the satsang the next day, when I had an extended "heart in my mouth" experience. I’ve never been in a space so powerful for such an extended period of time. I experienced a flawless, pure sound whilst still singing with great emotion.
With the focused practice of chanting, this joyful, devotional experience has been bubbling inside ever since.
Melbourne, Australia
On the second day of the Chanting Tour, the community where I work experienced a tragic landslide that greatly affected all the people who live there. I chanted many hours before going to work and then chanted AUM—silently, and when possible aloud—during the whole day. I remembered Gurumayi’s teaching that music can help the recovery in situations of natural disaster like this.
On the drive home from work, I imagined being in the Bade Baba Temple and asked Bade Baba for blessings for all the people who were affected. Then I chanted for this blessing.
When I passed the old exit where the town is located, I saw a huge rainbow. I felt confident that Bade Baba had heard the blessing and that the chanting had helped the blessing. Today, I have been hearing stories of how loved ones in the community are feeling strong.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for giving me the practice of chanting, which is so perfect an answer to how I can help myself to be my best in this world.
On the drive home from work, I imagined being in the Bade Baba Temple and asked Bade Baba for blessings for all the people who were affected. Then I chanted for this blessing.
When I passed the old exit where the town is located, I saw a huge rainbow. I felt confident that Bade Baba had heard the blessing and that the chanting had helped the blessing. Today, I have been hearing stories of how loved ones in the community are feeling strong.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for giving me the practice of chanting, which is so perfect an answer to how I can help myself to be my best in this world.
Washington, USA
I have been a Siddha Yoga student for over 20 years, and my favorite practice has always been chanting. So when the Chanting Tour was announced, I knew I would be at the opening program. Carlos instructed us, delightfully, in teachings on posture and breath. I learnt how to listen and to respond wholeheartedly, I experienced the joy of our finely tuned chanting, and I learnt so much more.
I responded to the poise of the host, the warm intelligence of the teacher, the focus of the musicians, the loving commitment of the sevites, the brilliant Australian welcome that resonated throughout the ashram, and the subtle inner radiance of the other students. How marvelous that I now experience this "call and response" everywhere! More and more, I listen to those around me and receive their best whilst I, in turn, respond with mine.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for this wonderful opportunity to expand and deepen our understanding and practice of chanting.
I responded to the poise of the host, the warm intelligence of the teacher, the focus of the musicians, the loving commitment of the sevites, the brilliant Australian welcome that resonated throughout the ashram, and the subtle inner radiance of the other students. How marvelous that I now experience this "call and response" everywhere! More and more, I listen to those around me and receive their best whilst I, in turn, respond with mine.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for this wonderful opportunity to expand and deepen our understanding and practice of chanting.
Auckland, New Zealand
When I am chanting from deep within my heart, I feel I am exclaiming "Yes!" to life and all its blessings, apparent or hidden, that it has to offer.
Each day, as I follow the Chanting Tour and read the teachings and shares, I become aware of new gifts within that the practice of chanting offers me.
Thank you, Gurumayi. And thank you to all the devotees in the Universal Hall who are participating in this sacred event.
Each day, as I follow the Chanting Tour and read the teachings and shares, I become aware of new gifts within that the practice of chanting offers me.
Thank you, Gurumayi. And thank you to all the devotees in the Universal Hall who are participating in this sacred event.
New York, USA
We, the teens of the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Varanasi, decided to participate in the Chanting Tour: Australia 2014, Satyam Shivam Sundaram by chanting every evening for 35 minutes and meditating for 10 minutes.
Yesterday, we chanted Govinda Jaya Jaya, Gopala Jaya Jaya. I was playing the harmonium. As I started chanting, my mind became calm and steady. As the chant proceeded, my mind became more and more quiet and just turned inward.
When I opened my eyes, I could not see anything but darkness. When I closed my eyes, I saw light. I saw Gurumayi sitting in front of me and chanting with me. I also saw Baba sitting near me, and I was playing the chant on his feet with my fingers.
I played the whole chant with closed eyes. I don’t know even a little bit how I did it. I could see each and every person in the hall fully intoxicated with the chant.
When the Namasankirtana ended, I went into deep meditation. And when I came out of meditation, I saw everyone had left the hall. I found myself full of energy.
When I went home, my 4-year-old cousin, who chanted with us, asked me, “Didi, why were you sleeping during the chant? I answered, “I was not sleeping. I was with Gurumayi.”
She also shared, “Gurumayi was smiling at me and gave toffee to you and me.” I asked her, “Why didn’t you share this with the others?” She replied, “If I shared, then they might take my toffee. So I didn’t. I asked, “Where is your toffee?” She replied, “I ate it.”
Later on, someone shared that after the chanting my cousin was sitting “still like a statue” for about ten minutes in front of Gurumayi’s puja.
Thank you, Gurumayiji, for this wonderful experience.
Yesterday, we chanted Govinda Jaya Jaya, Gopala Jaya Jaya. I was playing the harmonium. As I started chanting, my mind became calm and steady. As the chant proceeded, my mind became more and more quiet and just turned inward.
When I opened my eyes, I could not see anything but darkness. When I closed my eyes, I saw light. I saw Gurumayi sitting in front of me and chanting with me. I also saw Baba sitting near me, and I was playing the chant on his feet with my fingers.
I played the whole chant with closed eyes. I don’t know even a little bit how I did it. I could see each and every person in the hall fully intoxicated with the chant.
When the Namasankirtana ended, I went into deep meditation. And when I came out of meditation, I saw everyone had left the hall. I found myself full of energy.
When I went home, my 4-year-old cousin, who chanted with us, asked me, “Didi, why were you sleeping during the chant? I answered, “I was not sleeping. I was with Gurumayi.”
She also shared, “Gurumayi was smiling at me and gave toffee to you and me.” I asked her, “Why didn’t you share this with the others?” She replied, “If I shared, then they might take my toffee. So I didn’t. I asked, “Where is your toffee?” She replied, “I ate it.”
Later on, someone shared that after the chanting my cousin was sitting “still like a statue” for about ten minutes in front of Gurumayi’s puja.
Thank you, Gurumayiji, for this wonderful experience.
a teen-ager from Varanasi, India
During the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour, I had a direct experience of Gurumayi’s Message for 2014. When the chanting stopped and there was silence in the hall, in that moment I experienced the "soundless sound."
Thank you, Gurumayi, for continuing to enliven my spiritual practice.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for continuing to enliven my spiritual practice.
Gold Coast, Australia
Tonight, in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Melbourne, Carlos del Cueto instructed us on chanting with careful focus on pronunciation and phrasing. Very soon I became aware of a weight pressing on my heart and my head: it felt like an ancient weight that’s been pressing on me for many lifetimes. All the time I chanted, I maintained the focus on pronunciation and phrasing, and tears were coming from my eyes. I could feel myself gradually loosen and let go inside. The chanting itself, along with the practice of specific focus, seemed to be working on dissolving or lightening the weight.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for imbuing my favorite practice of chanting with such transformative power!
Thank you, Gurumayi, for imbuing my favorite practice of chanting with such transformative power!
Clifton Hill, Australia
The power of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour is immense! Every moment of the day is filled with the Guru’s shakti. In fact, 24 hours a day it feels like Gurumayi is sitting in the room, in the car, in the chanting hall, guiding every moment of this special and sacred time. It is transformative, refined, enlivened, and joyful!
I hope everyone all around the world is experiencing what we are feeling here in this extraordinary Siddha Yoga Chanting tour: Australia 2014 Satyam Shivam Sundaram! You are all welcome!
I hope everyone all around the world is experiencing what we are feeling here in this extraordinary Siddha Yoga Chanting tour: Australia 2014 Satyam Shivam Sundaram! You are all welcome!
Melbourne, Australia
Yes, I have arisen to the power of chanting!
Yesterday in Sydney, I experienced the full power of the opening satsang of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014 by audio feed from Melbourne. No matter that we were 870 kilometers away!
Shalini’s explanation of Satyam Shivam Sundaram brought tears to my eyes. As I followed Carlos’s chanting instructions, I became immersed in the sound of the melody and the voices. The chant soared back and forth as though it were God breathing. As it concluded, I remained absorbed in deep inner silence, at rest in the Heart.
This awareness has stayed with me and, judging by the quality of the recitation of Shri Guru Gita at the Ashram in Sydney this morning, so it does with many others. And the tour has just begun! I am in awe of the power of the Guru’s intention.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour. And thank you to the sevites throughout the world.
Sydney, Australia
Yesterday in Melbourne, the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014 began! Beautiful flowers from Gurumayi adorned the meditation hall. It was clear to us that the blessings bestowed by Gurumayi during the recitation of Shri Guru Gita in the Bhagavan Nityananda Temple were manifesting tangibly in the majestic chanting of Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho and other chants.
The musicians and lead singers had been preparing for a solid two weeks under the inspiring and extraordinary direction of Carlos del Cueto. The resulting level of musicianship—from the beautiful and harmonious singing of the lead singers to the stunning vocal and instrumental introduction to the namasankirtana—provided us with incredible support for our chanting.
We were definitely in the space of Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
What an extraordinary gift from Gurumayi!
Melbourne, Australia
Yesterday, in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Sydney, we took part in the opening satsang of the Chanting Tour by audio broadcast from Melbourne. The immense, joyful power of this program reached every cell of my body and I can still feel it resounding. I feel so blessed, so in awe of the power of the Guru’s sankalpa, and so awakened to what I truly am.
This morning our weekly recitation of Shri Guru Gita in the Ashram was sublime. Our chanting felt stronger and more unified, and reflected yet again the huge shower of grace we are experiencing from Gurumayi’s sankalpa for the Chanting Tour, and the blessings of Siddha Yogis from all around the world.
Thank you, thank you all, so much.
Sydney, Australia
I just returned from spending some peaceful time in the beautiful Yosemite Valley in California. While there, I aligned myself with the global sangham by chanting Shri Guru Gita and the daily namasankirtanas, and I offered them to the mountains, waterfalls, animals, and trees. It was such an incredible experience of devotion and gratitude to Mother Nature in all her beauty!
On the last day, I visited a silent, old-growth redwood grove, whose trees are over fourteen feet across. The trees were so majestic that I spontaneously felt I should chant Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho to honor their power as Lord Shiva’s own form. I became totally and ecstatically absorbed in the chant.
Upon returning home, I shouted with delight to see that I had naturally been drawn to the same chant which Gurumayi chose as the theme for the chanting tour. We are all connected!
California, USA
What a sublime experience! I feel so grateful to Gurumayi for creating this extraordinary event. Two teachings from Gurumayi encapsulate the experience for me. The first teaching is "Everything happens in God’s Time." The second teaching is "Remember the Guru’s Grace." I felt such a strong connection to that grace!
Carlos conducted the chant with great elegance and beauty. At the moment the chant reached its crescendo, powerful waves of energy flowed through me and I felt as if Gurumayi were walking down the aisle and sitting in her chair. When the chant finished, I closed my eyes to meditate. In those few minutes I fell into a profoundly deep and effortless meditation.
Thank you, Gurumayi.
Carlos conducted the chant with great elegance and beauty. At the moment the chant reached its crescendo, powerful waves of energy flowed through me and I felt as if Gurumayi were walking down the aisle and sitting in her chair. When the chant finished, I closed my eyes to meditate. In those few minutes I fell into a profoundly deep and effortless meditation.
Thank you, Gurumayi.
Gold Coast, Australia
The Chanting Tour has begun and what a sweet beginning! Everything was perfect. The hall of the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Melbourne looked resplendent and you could feel how excited everyone was in anticipation of what was about to happen.
The chant began with the deep, resonant sounds of cello and violin, which went straight to my heart. Pure magic! I can feel it now as I close my eyes and recall that moment. The voices in the hall united to chant Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho, honoring Lord Shiva as the auspicious one who brings supreme joy. And supreme joy was present!
My son sat near the drummer, chanting, tapping his knees, and gently swaying. Seated behind my son, I felt such immense gratitude to be able to share this experience with him.
After he went to bed last night, I could hear him quietly singing Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambo. Such sweetness! My heart was full of gratitude. Thank you, Gurumayi!
The chant began with the deep, resonant sounds of cello and violin, which went straight to my heart. Pure magic! I can feel it now as I close my eyes and recall that moment. The voices in the hall united to chant Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho, honoring Lord Shiva as the auspicious one who brings supreme joy. And supreme joy was present!
My son sat near the drummer, chanting, tapping his knees, and gently swaying. Seated behind my son, I felt such immense gratitude to be able to share this experience with him.
After he went to bed last night, I could hear him quietly singing Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambo. Such sweetness! My heart was full of gratitude. Thank you, Gurumayi!
Balnarring, Australia
Today, the first day of the Chanting Tour, was a very tangible manifestation of Gurumayi’s love and intention.
As my day comes to a close, Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho is still resounding within me, full of the stateliness and magnificence contained within the words and melody of the chant.
Thank you, Gurumayi.
Melbourne, Australia
I was offering seva at the Siddha Yoga Casa de Estudios in Mexico City at the time the Chanting Tour started. A few fellow sevites and I began chanting at the very same time. It was so indescribably sweet, loving, and redeeming—what a gift! And the silence afterwards was marvelously soothing and joyful!
As if there weren’t enough blessings, the sky presented us with a beautiful cover of soft clouds painted with the most subtle blues and a few strokes of pink, as if it were saying: "I am here, I hear you everywhere."
Mexico City, Mexico
As the Chanting Tour began this morning, we felt God’s love raining down upon us and arising within us, as though Shiva were dancing in the Himalayas and the reverberation of his footsteps were gentle far-off thunder, vibrating through the chant.
Afterward, I spoke to a devotee who had participated some kilometers away. She was so exuberant, and I realized that the shakti is everywhere—no one is left out.
Melbourne, Australia
We send huge gratitude to Gurumayi. And we are thankful to all the really helpful, gracious sevites who made the first satsang of the Chanting Tour flow so smoothly and easefully. It all came together so well here in our Siddha Yoga chanting and meditation group. And what a sublime, powerful, joyous satsang it was!
I loved the feeling of chanting with my whole body; I could feel tingling energy inside and out. The directions we received gave a grounded strength and connectedness to our chanting. Looking around the room, I could see everyone embodying magnificence.
We loved bathing in the nectar of chanting together with everyone in Australia and New Zealand. We were also bathing in light! A beam of light coming through the skylight lit up chanters as the sun passed across the mid-morning sky. I thought of the shaft of light that had touched Gurumayi during the recitation of Shri Guru Gita to send blessings for the Chanting Tour.
This afternoon I am still feeling the sound waves of the Chanting Tour reverberating within, accompanied with a kind of stillness.
May chanting the divine Name continue forever!
Ocean Shores, Australia
We were back in our house after the conclusion of the opening satsang of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour today, when an unusually huge flock of white cockatoos flew over our house, squawking very loudly… or perhaps chanting! What a great and auspicious day!
Melbourne, Australia
Today, my children and I attended the opening satsang of the Chanting Tour at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Melbourne. We had an audio link to the hall from the lovingly prepared family room.
The sevites in the Taruna Poshana department had organized a number of quiet activities that the children could choose to do as we listened and participated in the satsang. My five-year-old daughter diligently worked on creating a bracelet, chanting and humming softly as she worked. But what made my heart melt was that my seven-year-old son chose to stop what he was doing whenever the chanting started and to come sit on my lap and chant. He listened to the voices around us, and blended his to be part of the larger whole. The two hours just flew by.
Later, after going through our collection of chants and discovering we don’t have Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho, he has asked me to order it online straightaway.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for the love and blessings you shower on us. We love to chant.
Melbourne, Australia
As soon as I woke up, I thought about the beginning of the Chanting Tour!
I read again the beautiful and inspiring account by Swami Indirananda. I looked at the Chanting Tour Calendar and the Map of Tour Stops. I viewed the first images of so many smiling and focused faces. I chanted Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambo.
So, from my place in France, I feel I just stepped into the Chanting Tour, ready to go forth in my practice of chanting God’s name!
Marseille, France