Kaur was also active in social and environmental causes while in high school, serving as president of the Social Action Club, which started a campus recycling program and organized environmenal awareness programs. The Club also led the effort to change the school mascot and sports team names from the Indians to the Red Tailed Hawk in 1990 and 1991.
After graduating from Tam, Kaur attended Mills College in Oakland, California, receiving a bachelors degree in biochemistry. She then returned to India, to study kirtan under her mother's teacher, Bhai Hari Singh. She lived near the Golden Temple. In 1997, Kaur began a career as a food technologist with Peace Cereals in Eugene, Oregon.
A Sikh and Kundalini Yoga teacher, Snatam Kaur is a singer and musician, gaining a growing fame in the world of spiritual music.
After a few years as the singer of the spiritual music group The Peace Family, she started a solo career. Her music mixes western melodies with Indian sounds, mantras from the Kundalini yoga tradition, words of Harbhajan Singh Yogi and personal lyrics.
She often tours in the United States and Canada, and within Sikh communities worldwide (India, Singapore) among which she is more and more renowned as a talented kirtan singer.
Spiritual music artists such as Deva Premal now sing her compositions.
Ra Ma Da Sa
Snatam Kaur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sa Ta Na Ma Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung
Language: Sanskrit
Translation:
Sa Ta Na Ma: The five primal sonds representing the complete cycle of life.
Ra: Sun
Ma: Moon
Sa: Impersonal Infinity
Sa Say: Totality of Infinity
So: personal sense of merger and infinity
Hung: Infinity vibrating and real. (So Hung: I am Thou)
The song "Ra Ma Da Sa" by Snatam Kaur is a mantra in the Sanskrit language that holds a profound significance in the Sikh and Kundalini yoga traditions. The mantra is composed of seven syllables, each of them representing various aspects of cosmic energy. The first four syllables - Sa Ta Na Ma - stand for the cycle of life, while Ra stands for the sun, Ma for the moon, and Da for the earth. These three syllables are particularly significant as they symbolize the three primary sources of energy in the universe.
The mantra invokes healing and positive energies, which can purify the body, mind, and soul of the individual chanting it. The repetition of Sa Ta Na Ma Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung, invokes the presence of the divine and helps the practitioner connect with their inner self. Moreover, the mantra helps the individual release any negative emotions, let go of stress and bring forth feelings of tranquility and peace.
Furthermore, Sa Ta Na Ma Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung can be interpreted in several ways, each with its unique significance. For instance, Sa Ta Na Ma Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung can be interpreted as 'I am that, Thou art That' or 'I am infinite, I am you.' The mantra implies that the seeker and the divine are one and the same, hence, every individual can attain self-realization on their own.
Line by Line Meaning
Sa Ta Na Ma
The five primal sounds representing the cycle of life.
Ra Ma Da Sa
Sun, Moon, Earth, Impersonal Infinity.
Sa Say
Totality of Infinity.
So Hung
Personal sense of merger and infinity - I am Thou.
Contributed by Ellie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.