For me, playing music is meditation.
To sit in the space of Being and Becoming—
between Silence and Melody—
resting in the groove when you find it.
With Kṛṣṇa.
Music and musicality have been a big part of my life.
Kīrtan, rhythm, and instruments have been my constant companions.
My first dear friend was the mṛdaṅga drum,
known traditionally as the Śrī Khol in Bengal, where it comes from.
As a six-year-old boy, my father gifted me one,
and each day, as we greeted the Deities at the temple with collective voices—
hand cymbals and drums resounding—
I played along, picking up the coordination and the beats.
I look back fondly on those kīrtans in Los Angeles and New Talavan.
Rhythm is primal - like your heartbeat
combined with the physicality of beating a drum
to this day I find it one of my great joys.
When I was fifteen, I picked up the guitar.
Oh, what a companion it has been.
I love sitting down and letting it flow
as life moves on around me—pure spontaneity.
Rhythm—the Beat—the space around the Beat—
and the notes that dance around Him.
At some point, I had the bright idea of hitting record on my phone—
usually when I had the wherewithal to notice a magic moment,
one I might never catch again.
And while the quality is not polished,
something about it in the rough
speaks of the raw and the true.
I think this is a fitting space to share some of them here with you.
Love and respect to you, one and all.
