Category Archives: Music

What’s New

What’s new? Well, it was a busy summer for one thing, too busy to keep up with everything. Like my homepage for instance! But better late than never as the saying goes. These updates fall under the icon “what’s new?” so I think it appropriate to start with what really is new (like my new acoustic guitar!) and then look back briefly and give a nod to the many adventures the last five months. The guitar is a Larrivee L-10E, a very well-crafted instrument from Canada. It has a wonderful sound, great feel, and balanced tonality. Not only this, but it looks beautiful! As with any new instrument, current life with my Larrivee is a kind of mutual “getting-to-know-each-other” — an on-going tuning in and feeling process. From the first strum I can say without a doubt it is an absolute joy to play and will certainly look forward to the secrets it has to share and reveal.

As for the events, starting from where the last update left off(Romania) beginning with the first of the summer events in Lisbon, Portugal, the photos proceed choronologically through the recently-finished USA tour. Enjoy!

Osho News Online Magazine, August 30, 2010

Osho Afroz Summer Festival with Milarepa and Friends, August 16-20, 2010 by Punya

Milarepa had spent a few summers supporting the ‘Love, Devotion, Surrender’ group with Premartha and Svarup at the Osho Afroz Centre in Lesvos, Greece. He enjoyed the atmosphere so much that he came up with an idea, together with the co-founders of the centre, Varidhi and Tameer, to create a festival with music, creativity, and meditation. He and his co-organizer Disha from Istanbul invited musicians and facilitators from all over the world to support the programme.

Disha writes: “For five days, August 16 to 20, more than 120 people attended to enjoy what Milarepa calls a ‘holiday with a difference’. The intensive program started from early morning with Dynamic Meditation followed by Morning Satsang with live music. Everyday felt full and abundant with a variety of meditations and workshops; also mini-sessions, dance parties, concerts – even a variety show! One of the daily highlights included the evening White Robe meditation where everyone enjoyed celebrating with the band and listening to Osho in the outdoor buddhahall. These evenings were very special indeed. And there were plenty of breaks in the schedule for participants to relax and enjoy the sea and beautiful Erresos Beach.”

Niskriya has just come back from Lesvos saying: “The festival was very alive and juicy. The more the days passed the more I felt we were all connected with each other. The combination of celebration and meditation works! To dance with live music and then to sit down creates a space where meditation happens spontaneously. I facilitated the group ‘Spontaneous Singing’ together with Ranjana. There were 35 participants and still it went so easy. Everybody was open and ready to sing, probably because of the many meditations and the strong Buddhafield. Ranjana, together with the other Greek musicians – Sundaram, Pan, Premdas, Geetprem and Kirad – gave that special Greek flavor. It was a joy to see how Milarepa, Teerth, and Chandira melted with the Greek musicians as if they had played together forever. I can’t wait to go again!”

Pictures can sometimes say more than words, so here are thirty for you to enjoy. Photos are by Advita (used with permission – thanks!). Next year’s festival dates will be August 16-20, 2011.

Love, Freedom, Friendliness

The spring touring season in the West started in Istanbul at the end of April with a beautiful evening event in Aletya — the workshop center of my organizer, Kareemi. Turkey is a part of the world still very much unknown to me, a place of new discoveries and friendships. The fact it is the birthplace of Jalaluddin Rumi and the Sufis makes it even more intriguing.

The first week of May, I begin rehearsals in Germany with Chandira and Sudhananda for the new Moksha project. It took some days to build strength in my hands and develop fingertip callousness again, but if there was anything to be called pain, it was a sweet one. We stayed in Chandira’s flat. It is in an old castle (a real one!) from medieval times. It has no ghosts I am relieved to report, but it is a silent place good for rest and rejuvenation. My longing since a year has been to play more music and spend less time organizing and being on the Net. These days certainly nourished that desire. Everyday we fine-tuned our sound and repertoire. We took breaks for walks through the surrounding forest, nice tea-times together, and delicious dinners with all of us cooking. Sudhananda is something of a nature spirit, so we enjoyed his steamed nettles and fresh dandelion salad greens, all in season at the time; also spargel (white asparagus), another spring delicacy in Europe.

The Moksha tour began in Denmark with the RISK Spring Festival. We continued rehearsals in the daytime and enjoyed playing in the evenings for the meditation meeting where a select series of Osho discourses reflected the festival theme: “Love, Freedom and Friendliness”. One of the festival’s many highlights was our concert the last evening.

From RISK, we traveled back to Germany for a concert in the Parimal Center, nearby where Chandira lives. Our repertoire crystallized on this evening. It was also a joy to have so many dear friends in the audience like Anubuddha and Anasha.

The following days, Jaldhara joined us on keyboards for more rehearsals as we modified our repertoire for a bigger band sound and the upcoming Rainbow Spirit Festival in Baden Baden. There, we were joined by Luna (flute), Rishi (drums), and Veetkam (percussion). Peter Makena (a.k.a. from the Pune One Music Group and Sufi Dances) opened the evening. He graciously invited us on-stage for his last two songs which made a nice transition to our concert. With him, we played some of the old Pune One favorites, songs that were among my first taste of Osho bliss when I reached India in 1976. The entire evening was a joy. We even managed to persuade a local Italian restaurant to stay open late and the celebration continued.

From Baden Baden, I traveled to The Netherlands to facilitate a one-day meditation event in Wajid Center, The Hague. A special “thank you” to Srajan for supporting me in the Heart Dance. Moksha gave its last concert of the tour that same evening. The Moksha project was an opportunity to explore the acoustic and more intimate side of music. It also provided a chance to give energy to new songs and explore different ideas. It is still an experiment unfolding, a new flower. But after these weeks of touring, I can say its fragrance is certainly divine.

In Holland, I said goodbye to the band and continued on alone to Romania for a meditation training. It happened in a beautiful part of Romania called Transylvania. Everywhere was so green and I could see the snow-covered Carpathian Mountain peaks from my hotel room. The group process was deep and at the same time high-energy. Special thanks to Punita and Parimal for inviting me and organizing this smooth, successful workshop. I find it always a joy to be in an energy of transformation. It is as nourishing for me as everyone else.

The summer comes into focus. For upcoming events in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I will be joined by Vatayan (drums) and Bikram (bamboo flute) — two talented musicians from India. They will bring a new flavor to the Russian events. For the Europe tour, Teerth is coming to drum, Chandira to play bass, and we will be joined by musician-friends along the way. Please see the tour schedule page for details. One highlight this summer will be the Afroz Festival on the Island of Lesvos, Greece: a five-day event filled with creative workshops and meditations. There will be lots of live-music, theater, art, dancing, good food, and of course the beautiful beach and sea nearby. It is advertised a “holiday for everyone ” and promises to be exactly this.

I am reminded of the RISK Spring Festival theme ” Love, Freedom, Friendliness”. I would like this to also be the theme for the summer events. Let’s enjoy.

The Moksha Project featuring Sudhananda and Chandira

Moksha Concert – Osho RISK Center, Denmark

Rainbow Spirit Festival – Baden Baden, Germany

rehearsal with Jaldhara (keyboards)	sound-check with Luna, Rishi, and Veetkam
onstage with Peter Makena	Chandira and Sudhananda

Meditation Training — Brasov, Romania

Spring Comes and the Grass Grows By Itself

I usually visit Japan once a year for the tours, sometimes twice, and in either Spring or Fall. Because of work, I rarely have an opportunity to just relax, be with friends, and explore. I came earlier than usual this year, mid-February and in time to celebrate my 57th birthday. I made two series of events during this time — one in mid-March on the main island of Honshu; and one in mid-April on the south island, Kyushu . The rest of the time, I practiced my Japanese and dissolved myself into daily-life: nowhere to go, no one to be.

One cannot mention Japan without speaking of flowers. The Japanese love their flowers. And there are many and an endless variety in Japan . The cherry blossoms are especially famous and when in their full glory, one understands why. They are a wonder to behold and leave no doubt Spring has arrived.

One cannot mention Japan without speaking of food. The Japanese cuisine, washoku, has to be in my opinion one of the tastiest and most-refined in the world. On this particular visit, it has contributed to a well-rounded “buddha-belly” for me to meditate upon.

One cannot mention Japan without speaking of good friends. And I am lucky to have so many that love and care for me. Perhaps this is why Japan is one of those places in the world I am most “at home”. I feel I have lived here for lifetimes. And who knows? Perhaps I have.

One cannot speak about Japan without mentioning onsen which means “hotspring” in Japanese. One of life’s ultimate luxuries, there can be nothing more relaxing in the world than to soak oneself in these volcanic-heated, mineral-laden waters. It is a national past-time in Japan — and a healthy one, too!

One cannot speak about Japan with mentioning love. Although no word exists in Japanese language which can translate exactly to the English equivalent, perhaps ai comes closest. Ai has many meanings, shades, and nuances. Love in Japan is not spoken directly, a quality I have come to appreciate and understand. Pehaps it is like the Truth according to Lao Tzu: The closer one comes to it the less language is able to exactly express it.

One cannot mention Japan without speaking about spirituality. Here, human consciousness reached one of its highest peaks when Buddhism rebelled against tradition and gave birth to Zen. Osho spoke a lot about Zen. All these things together make Japan one of my favorite places in the world to meditate and work.

My fascination with Japan began as a child on family holidays at the beach. Each year, I would insist on visiting a small souvenir shop. It was run by an elegant Japanese woman who always wore a neatly-pressed kimono and greeted me with a bow. Her shop was full of wonder for a young boy: so many small, interesting things that spoke of far-off lands and stirred something deep in me — like a dream I could not quite catch or remember.

Later in life, I met many Japanese when I lived in India and worked in the Osho Commune. But I can say my connection with Japan crystallized when Osho began the Zen discourse series in 1989. From that time on, it has been a love-affair, an endless discovery and learning, that continues to this day and brings me here so often.

There is a famous Zen poem by the Basho that goes: Sitting silently, Doing nothing, Spring comes and the grass grows by itself. Well, Spring finally has come, and the grass has started growing, and I can say without a doubt this visit has been one of the highlights of my life. Arigato (thank you) Japan. Otsukaresamadeshita (job well done). And mata, neh ? (see you again).

Setting A Course

I made a conscious decision last year to spend winter in a warm climate. However, as my recent I travels were soon to reveal, existence had other ideas about this. Another decision, to start the New Year with meditation, turned out to be a good (and nourishing!) one. I have to say I have never enjoyed a winter season like this one.

And so my winter’s tale unfolds. The Russian events fulfilled a long-long dream to experience Moscow in the Christmas season. What a magical city it is in the snow: fairy lights around every corner, giant Christmas trees in every square, not to mention the wonderful architecture. But the real beauty in a country is its people and in this sense, the Russians are warm-hearted, sincere, and enthusiastic — all of which made the events and my time there a pleasure.

From Moscow, my travels took me to Turkey for two weeks. The new workshop center of my organizer Kareemi, Aletya, was a joy to work in. I had some extra days between events, so I used the opportunity to learn about the long and amazing history of Istanbul. Turkey is a part of the world I am still very unfamiliar with. Interestingly, it is one of the few countries to have given birth to an enlightened being (Rumi). Although Sufism was heavily repressed when Turkey modernized at the beginning of the last century, I experience the vibrations of meditation and spiritual ecstasy still tangible and accessible. This was my third visit to Istanbul. I always leave the city with a feeling to come back and explore it more thoroughly. One normally thinks of Turkey as a warm place but alas, winter seemed to be following me as it snowed heavily during my last days. At this time, it began to dawn on me I was fulfilling a destiny of which I had no choice but to accept and go deeper into — not meditation, but snow!

Athens, my next stop, had no snow (at least in the city) but was cold. If one has any knowledge of the Greeks, one knows they are are also warm and welcoming people, so my days there were nice. I made some new friends and also enjoyed meeting some old ones: such as Ranjana and Sundaram, two wonderful musicians, and the staff at Essence Human-Space where the events happened. In my spare time, I played in Sundaram’s home studio exploring creative ideas with him. Also, the idea was crystalized for a summer festival at Afroz Center on the Island of Lesvos. It will be five days of music, creativity, meditation, dance, good food, beach, and more. So if you have any ideas for a summer vacation later this year (mid-august), keep it in mind. Lesvos is a special place and Afroz a special atmosphere. Did I mention the gorgeous beaches? View the tour schedule page for more details.

The recent January 2010 events are especially significant because they indicate the tone for things to come — new directions, new horizons. I know such things as time distinctions are imaginary lines in the sand  — where the old ends and the new begins, what difference does in make in the bigger picture of things?  — yet I do feel the New Year marked a fresh beginning for me personally with the potential to expand in love and meditation.

Athens was my last event in a tour cycle that began last March 2009. I transited Hamburg, Germany on my return to Denmark where at the Osho RISK Center a five-day Vipassana group was in progress, creating a lovely “going in” atmosphere. This — combined with my walks through the frozen Danish landscape, some fun kitchen work, live-music for the evening meditation, stoking the wood stove in the office and hanging out with the cat –- all contributed to a long-overdue unwinding from eleven continuous months on the road, a let-go that continues even at this writing.

My dance with winter was not over, however. My flight from Copenhagen was re-routed to New York instead of Washington, D.C. because of another giant, impending snowstorm. I reached America only to be stranded as all the airports began closing down. Winter whispered in my ear this lesson: Every season has its own beauty, every cloud a silver lining. Sometimes one needs to pull back the lens on one’s life and re-focus to see the apparent blessings. Looked at from one direction, my being stranded could be taken as a major disaster — certainly, if one were to watch the TV news where even the weather is a talked about as a terrorist plot, it was. Looked at from another perspective, it is can be a gift. Which it actually was as it provided me the unexpected opportunity to visit my brother, Isa, who lives in Brooklyn. So for a few stranded days, we played as brothers will, in the snow, oblivious to the TV commentary and so-called white disaster falling all around us.

I caught a re-scheduled flight out to Washington after a few days and my onward journey took me ever-deeper into winter. I arrived to Virginia where the population was digging out of the second biggest snowfall of a century. At this part of my journey, I smiled, realizing actually all my life I have loved the snow, in all its beautiful, white, and divine majesty. Not for the disater it brings, but for the magic it brings.

I’ve arranged the photos chronologically so they tell a winter story, tracing my footsteps since the last update. They also document the unfolding weather pattern I began experiencing just before Christmas in Virginia before my flight to Europe. There’s a famous Zen saying: Spring comes and the grass grows by itself. After these last few month’s experience, I would like to change it a little with all due respect to Basho. You guessed it! Winter comes and the snow falls by itself. And so far, it hasn’t stopped.

Preparing for Europe

oh my god!

Christmas – Osho RISK Center, Denmark

outside — my god, no escape!

cozy time with friends

New Year Celebration – Moscow, Russia

 New Year Meditation Festival – Moscow, Russia

 

Meditation Facilitator’s Training – Istanbul, Turkey

Essence Human Space Center – Athens, Greece

Osho RISK Center – Denmark

Brooklyn, New York City

Now is the “winter of my heart’s content” — Virginia

 

Riding the Big Wave

The recent Way of the Heart tour of Taiwan and Japan was an energy phenomenon that became so obvious that when Okinawa’s event finished everyone was talking about The Big Wave. Several things were responsible for this. The meditation training in I-Lan, northeast Taiwan, where the combination of tranquil venue and sincere group of participants sparked an inner momentum from which the tsunami began to grow. Secondly, a particular Osho’s discourse, The Invitation #23, which was shown at many of the events. Question number three from this discourse has to be the clearest, most comprehensive explanation of the spiritual search I have ever heard. Osho’s answer to a seeker’s question: “Please say something about the disciple’s courage and aloneness” is a pearl among pearls. I was fortunate to have had the text translated into Japanese courtesy of Atmarama, proof-read by Anupa of Osho Japan, and helped along technically by Pragyana and Deepyaman. As the wave grew stronger with each passing event, the poet Walt Whitman’s famous phrase “I celebrate myself” became a collective reality touching every heart in its path.

Taiwan

                                Meditation Training — I-Lan, Taiwan

Japan

Matsumoto

	my soba noodle master – the best!

Okayama

Kobe

Hiroshima

Kyushu

 Okinawa

“Champloose” performing …	… at Chakra Live House, Naha City

Osaka

December 11 Celebrations

Osaka

Nagoya

Tokyo

Maebashi City-  a visit with Vimal, Mukti, and Aineh-chan

           **  Happy New Year 2010  **

Down Every Road

As I work on this update, something I heard Osho say recently comes to mind — about how man is like a river, the great current of life always flowing within him. Only he forgets. Osho goes on to say we just need a little digging sometimes to find that source again, to access it and be nourished by those crystal-clear waters of who we are.

In these last few weeks, it has been like this for me: Lots of digging in the sense of driving, traveling, and a host of practical things to organize for the tours, but it’s been worth all of it. Because just one taste of those inner waters of who I am, and I’m home again. Not in a physical sense, just home again: Home to myself. What’s that Zen phrase, “Ah this!”? Exactly. Even better: “Ahhhhhh … This!”

And so it has been: That long and winding road that led me recently to Chicago, New York, all the way to Costa Rica and back (a magical mystery tour of the heart and soul) delivers me home again — only this time to Virginia! The present moment finds me typing away on this bright Fall morning, having my delicious Costa Rican coffee, watching the colors change outside the cabin window. The shadows are a little longer with each passing day and the cool snap of autumn is in the air.

Autumn to me is a special season, an existential lesson in let-go and trust. It reminds one of the ever-changing nature of things, and that sometimes it is good, even necessary, to pull back the lens on one’s life and take a little time to go inside, dig a little deeper, and rediscover that great river within, the one that is always there flowing, on and on — timeless, tireless, eternal.

Chicago Event – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

New York Event – Abode of the Message, New Lebanon

The Goddess Garden Resort, Cahuita, Costa Rica

Giving and Receiving

My insight this summer: Nourishment happens when there is balance between giving and receiving. Giving can be a power trip, a way to avoid, a strategy of the ego, a subtle way to feel superior to others. Giving is beautiful, sharing is beautiful. But I’ve discovered it is important I also be open and receptive at the same time. Because what happens when we share, give, but then are not there to receive when it comes back to us? And it certainly does as I’ve also discovered: a thousand-fold. I understand that when I am not watchful of this dynamic, I have a tendency to miss the many blessings on the rebound. As any basketball player knows, rebounds are important. They are game-changers, and in my experience just as relevlant when it comes to the great game of Love.

I wavered this summer between being really into taking pictures and archiving them, to not being interested at all. Many times I was simply enjoying the events so much and just couldn’t bring myself to pull out the camera and play paparazzi. e cosi. it is like this. So in a sense, this tour collage is more a series of impressions than a thorough documentation. Bottom line anyway, it is always difficult to capture the moment, the real magic, with the snap of a shutter. Sometimes one gets lucky, but for the most part, photos are at the most an echo of the reality. Yet, having said this, photos are fun and give a taste, an impression that can be savored and enjoyed.

The tour comprised a series of solo events I facilitated alone (sometimes joined by friends along the way) and the band events which totaled four weeks altogether. Every event was a delight without exception. I guess if I had to describe the summer in one word it would be: FUN. And nourishing. Immensely nourishing.

When I posted the last update in May, not all the USA photos had come in yet. So I want to start by sharing a taste of the Upstate New York event at Shaker Mill Inn which happened beginning of May, then proceeding to Europe at the end of May for the first band event: the Rainbow Spirit Festival in Baden Baden, Germany. From there, the photos will do the rest of the talking. Enjoy!

Shaker Mill Inn, New York – Meditation and Creativity Workshop

Rainbow Spirit Festival – Baden Baden, Germany

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Essence-Human Space – Athens, Greece

Osho RISK Center, Denmark – midsummer

Lisbon, Portugal – Osho Darshan Zen Center

Osho RISK Summer Festival, Denmark

One Sky Band – Swagato, Pratibha, Palash, Salima, Milarepa, Isa, Chandira, Bindu

WOW! – The Humaniversity, The Netherlands

Osho Tao Center – Munich, Germany

Prem Isa – tablas; Rishi – frame drum; Luna – silver flute

Milano & Varazze – Italy

Summer Festival – Zurich, Switzerland

Sugama Summer Festival – Czech Republic

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Love, Devotion, Surrender with Svarup and Premartha – Lesvos, Greece

Soleluna Festival – Umbria, Italy

 

More Than Words Can Say

It has been quite a month traveling across America with the events. Not all the photos are in as of this writing, but enough to give an impression of the joy, the magic, and the celebration it has been: New York, Boulder, Chicago, San Rafael, Atlanta, and Dallas. What can I say except — Bravo America!

The Europe summer events come into focus. Also, if you peruse the schedule page, you’ll see a new event will be happening the week immediately after the USA tour – Costa Rica! It is is surely to be special.

 

Transitions

I transitioned the end of February like the changing seasons, moving from a period of rest and into the tours which started earlier this year than usual. I made a conscious decision rather than wait around for spring to come (because who knows?), it was far better to manifest it myself.

Like every tour, this one was an adventure, taking me to new places such as Romania. And Turkey, where I enjoyed Istanbul which I had not visited since returning overland from India in 1976. The workshops in Stockholm and Moscow proved two points: One, that I am able to survive winters in even the most-northern latitudes. And two, that when the heart opens and a healthy dose of meditation and celebration is applied, who really cares where one is. Is it not like this?

I passed by Osho RISK in Denmark several times along the way. During my first visit, Rishi and Palash happened to be there and we assembled the band for some high-energy grooving in the therapist training group. The second time through, spring had started to appear and I enjoyed some nice singing with Pratibha for the evening meditation meetings.

On Easter Sunday, just before my return flight to the States, I learned Neera left-her-body. I spoke with Dinraj, her longtime partner, the previous day. Something he said touched me very much: That she requested her friends not mourn her passing, nor dwell on being sad, but rather rejoice and celebrate her life and death. And I felt yes! This is the right way. Of course I will miss her by my side where she stood for so many years in the celebrations. And yes, certainly there is sadness … and tears … but the love and space I know with her – the music, the laughter, her divine voice … so many things … will live on in my heart. This is how it is. I have searched my archive for a few favorite photos of her to share at the end of this update, just a little tribute and way of saying, in all gratitude: Neera, I love you!

The long shadows of winter become shorter in these late-April days as existence reminds with its new flowers and fresh leaves: spring is definitely here! A new season, a precious time of transitions, reflecting inside and out.

Starting in a few weeks on May 1, I will make a one-month tour across America. The schedule of events, plus the summer tour schedule, are posted. Please have a look. Everyone is welcome to join the caravanserai whenever and wherever possible.

USA – February

Virginia

Europe – March and April

Flowering Center   –   Stockholm

Romania

Moscow, Russia

Istanbul, Turkey

Denmark

Neera, Beloved of the Heart