Japji Sahib
I just returned from the Japji Course in Crestone, Colorado with Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa. Now, EOKK is one of my closest friends here in Espanola; so it was a bit surreal to be in the audience, taking the course, and realizing, not for the first time that she is a teacher with a capital T--Teacher. I was stunned by the depth and breadth of her teaching. I learned so much. If you ever have the opportunity to take this course with her--do not pass go, do not collect $200--just go!It was an intense weekend to say the least. Lots of pain, lots of healing, so many moments of illumination. I need to pray about how much detail to go into within this fairly public forum, but if it becomes clear it's okay to share, I will.
One other piece of the weekend that upped the intensity level was that EOKK had asked me to open the course by singing Japji. I was on fire by the time I finished, literally. My face was bright red and I was schwitzing. It was so intense. But people said it gave them an experience and that's what counts, I guess. I'll have to work on it a bit more before I could ever record it, but it would be interesting to work on.
One of the biggest things I had connected for me this weekend was the idea of Karta Purkh. One of the songs on my new album is called Aisa Nam--it has an English chorus that talks about being held by a hand, which I always assumed was my Christian roots peeking through, but it turns out that Karta Purkh, one of the many names or qualities of God within the Sikh Tradition, was translated by Yogiji as 'the hand that carrys or guides'--so my intuitive relationship to these pauris turns out to have a foundation in the naad.
Crestone Colorado, much like New Mexico, is sort of a spiritual 'hot spot'. There are more than five traditions represented in this tiny valley, which is beautiful and amazing. An almost complete circle of mountains contain this valley--stunning views, great energy. But can I say that Coloradans are really strange? Hard to describe, but strange--like they're all just passing through--transient vagabonds. . . .at least in this tiny valley.
Anyway, highly recommend Crestone if you're looking for a spiritual retreat that also has great bike trails, white water rafting, plus it's only half an hour from the Great Sand Dune national park....got to make another trip soon.
posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 8:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home