Interview:

It has been a blessing that my life has been a search for the spiritual in music and sound. Over the years, I have experienced a handful of musical turning points. These occurred when I heard a new form of music that seemed to reach to the depth of my soul. I would hear a voice within me say: “It doesn’t matter how long it takes or what it costs, you must learn and master this music and the spirit and culture from whence it comes.”

The first time was when I was just ten years old. “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley was my inspiration. “What was spiritual about that?” one might well ask. In post-war London of the Fifties, an age of bland music, that recording stood out like a beacon of hope. The energy and sensuality that burst from its grooves sent my life in a new direction.

As I pursued a career in music, mastering Rock, Blues, and Jazz, it was Indian Classical music that first gave me a glimpse of the sublime levels of consciousness to which music could transport the human psyche. I was so enamored with the spirituality that the Sarod of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan invoked within me that I was ready to abandon my career and home in Los Angeles to go and study with 11 him. I might well have done so if my spiritual teacher had not sent me to London to start a yoga center there.

It was there that I discovered the Sacred Music of the Sikhs, Gurbani Kirtan. Music and singing is the lifeblood of all Sikh spiritual gatherings. The Sikh scripture, known as Siri Guru Granth Sahib is divided into thirty-one Ragas or musical scales in which the compositions known as shabads, literally “Word of God” are to be sung. Woven into the writings of the God-realized beings who composed it are secrets of Naad Yoga, the science of achieving union with the Divine through Sacred Sound.

The music itself, based in Sangeet or Indian Classical music, is fired with devotion. It is a powerful, intense, passionate style of singing. Any instruments are only there to accompany the singers. I was immediately attracted to the uninhibited passion and the intense energy of the best singers. Their passion stirred mine as I realized that, on this path, there was no limit to the amount of devotional energy that could be expressed through this music.

I found a teacher and threw myself into studying. It was not long before I had the privilege to sing at many Gurdwaras, Sikh Temples of Worship, around the world. The music was so spiritually fulfilling that I happily abandoned all other forms of music. In 1979, I had the opportunity to become the first non-Indian to sing in the Harimandir Sahib, known as the Golden Temple, the most sacred shrine of the Sikhs.

Situated in Amritsar, meaning “Tank of Nectar”, in Punjab, India, the Harimandir stands in the middle of a huge tank of sacred water. Its upper half coated with gold leaf, the temple appears to float on the water. The singing starts at 2:00am and goes until 9:30pm daily, each jatha or group of singers performing for an hour or so. The strains of the sacred music are carried by a huge sound system and bounce off the buildings surrounding the tank. As you listen, in an ambiance of serenity, devotion and bliss, it is easy to slip into spiritual intoxication.

The spiritual traditions of the Sikhs are rooted in Punjab, the land of the five rivers. Punjab is a land of warrior tradition and a 12 fiery devotion to the Infinite. Gurbani Kirtan draws its essence from a connection to that sacred land and its spiritual passion. During that era of my life, I was quite satisfied with my musical path. I was not looking for anything else. Spirit had other ideas. A chance reunion with Jerry Garcia in 1989 led me to buy the first guitar I had owned in twenty years. Later that year, a friend invited me to vacation in Hawaii, a place I had never thought about visiting. That was the first of many visits. On my third visit, I was exposed to Hawaiian music, Oli, Hawaiian Chant, and Hula Kahiko, the ancient style of Hawaiian dance.

I stood there watching the performance with tears running down my face. Once again I was confronted with music and culture that I knew I would have to make part of my being. Two-and-a-half years later, my wife and I moved to the island of Kauai and once again I began to study.

Hawaiian music, and the spirituality that inspires it, is also of the Earth. It is rooted in love of the land held sacred, the aina. The music undulates like a playful breeze through the coconut palms. It rises and falls like waves as they break on white sands. It is gentle, sweet, and soft. It celebrates life and creation. It is the epitome of Yin. Gurbani Kirtan, on the other hand, is very powerful, passionate, and devotional. It is about the love of God, and sacrifice, and longing for God. It is masculine and very Yang.

I love both forms of music deeply and passionately. The power of Divine Love shines through both, yet manifests in two very different energies. Through Gurbani Kirtan, I relate to and express my love for God the Infinite. Through Hawaiian music, I express my love for God in Creation and the Earth. I often think that my twenty years of passionate devotion made me too Yang. The gentle celebration of life and Spirit in Hawaii was what I needed to balance me out.

I feel greatly privileged to have incorporated these two forms of sacred music into my being and my soul’s expression. I can only look forward to further musical merging on the inner planes. Who knows what Spirit has in store?

“Hawaiian music, and the spirituality that inspires it, is also of the Earth. It is rooted in love of the land held sacred, the aina. The music undulates like a playful breeze through the coconut palms… It celebrates life and creation.”
– Antion, Hawaiian chant musician and vocalist