In India, audiences have been known to flock to her as if she were the Beatles. "We play to crowds of 200,000 people," she says. "They want to touch you and get your autograph. You go to these parks when it's a Sikh holiday, and they hear that these American Sikhs are going to sing, and you can't even see the end of the sea of people."
As the decades have passed, that sea of people has never managed to hoist Sada Sat Kaur toward a recording studio-until now. "The feeling inside myself was that this was all going to happen when it was supposed to happen," she says, "and it did."
In 2000 she was hanging around the watermelon tent at a Summer Solstice retreat in the mountains of New Mexico when she fell into an exchange with musician and producer Jeremy Toback. "We just got to talking and Jeremy and I were like, 'Let's do an album." The result of that chance encounter is Angels' Waltz, a debut disc from a 56-year-old homeopath and yoga instructor who also just happens to be a master of a musical and spiritual form.
Gobinday Mukunday
Sada Sat Kaur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sustainer, Liberator, Enlgihtener, Infinite, Destroyer, Creator, Nameless, Desireless
The above lyrics are from Sada Sat Kaur's song Gobinday Mukunday, which is a prayer that praises the divine qualities of the Sikh God, and asks for blessings, protection, and liberation. The prayer begins by invoking the name of God as Gobinday, which means sustainer, and Mukunday, which means liberator. These two names represent God's role as the one who nurtures and protects, as well as the one who frees us from the cycle of birth and death.
Next, the prayer refers to God as Udaaray, which means enlightener, and Apaaray, which means infinite. These two names speak to God's boundless knowledge and wisdom, and the infinite nature of consciousness. The prayer then refers to God as Hariang, which means destroyer, and Kariang, which means creator. These two names represent the duality of life and death, and the role of destruction and renewal in the cycle of creation.
Finally, the prayer refers to God as Nirnamay, which means nameless, and Akamay, which means desireless. These names remind us to let go of attachment to worldly desires and to surrender to the divine will, which is beyond human comprehension. In summary, the prayer celebrates the diverse qualities of God and the transformative power of surrendering to the divine.
Line by Line Meaning
Gobinday
The one who sustains us, even during our darkest moments.
Mukunday
The one who liberates us from our own limitations and sets us free.
Udaaray
The one who enlightens us and shows us the way forward.
Apaaray
The one who is infinite and without limits, who is always present and at work in our lives.
Hariang
The one who destroys that which no longer serves us, making way for new growth and transformation.
Kariang
The one who creates new opportunities and experiences for us to learn and grow.
Nirnamay
The one who is nameless and beyond human comprehension, yet always present and guiding us.
Akamay
The one who is desireless and not bound by human wants and needs, but who always fulfills our deepest desires and needs.
Contributed by Olivia E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.