| Snatam Kaur | |
|---|---|
September 10, 2007, Snatam Kaur in Hockley, Birmingham, England. |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1972 Trinidad, Colorado |
| Genres | Mantra, Meditation, New Age, Female Vocalists |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Spirit Voyage Records |
| Website | http://www.snatamkaur.com |
Snatam Kaur Khalsa (Punjabi: ਸਨਾਤਮ ਕੌਰ ਖਾਲਸਾ, born 1972 in Trinidad, Colorado), is an American singer and songwriter. She lives in Española in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Kaur performs Indian devotional music, kirtan, and tours the world as a peace activist. The name "Kaur", meaning "princess", is shared by all female Sikhs.
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Her family moved to California when Snatam was two, living in Long Beach and Sacramento. When Snatam was six, the family went to India where her mother studied kirtan. Snatam lived on a ranch near Bolinas, California until 8th grade and then moved to Mill Valley in 1986. During her childhood, she played kirtan with her mother in Sikh temples and at Sikh religious ceremonies. She attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. While at Tam High, she played violin in the school orchestra and began songwriting. Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead coached Kaur and her classmates before they performed her song Saving the Earth at an Earth Day concert in San Francisco on April 22, 1990.
Snatam was also active in social and environmental causes while in high school, serving as president of the social action club known as, "Students for Justice," in her senior year. The club started a campus recycling program and organized environmental 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 1989 and 1990 due to a speech given at the school by Sacheen Littlefeather.
After graduating from Tam, Snatam 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. In 1997, Kaur began a career as a food technologist with Peace Cereals in Eugene, Oregon.[1]
In 2000, Kaur signed with Spirit Voyage Records—the founder of which, Guru Ganesha Singh, became her manager and guitarist. Her professional collaboration also includes New Age music producer Thomas Barquee. Titles of Kaur's CD's include: Prem, Shanti, Grace, Anand, and Liberation's Door.
On her official web site she states, “Music is essential in my personal practice. It’s the core spiritual practice of Sikhs." Many of the words are in Gurumukhi, the sacred language of the Sikhs. “I play the harmonium, guitar and violin, but my main instrument is my voice. It’s the way I communicate with my Creator.” [1]
| Release Date | Album Title | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Prem (Love)
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Spirit Voyage Records |
Snatam spends much of the year on the road, singing and teaching yoga wherever she’s invited. Sometimes the audiences are very large, other times they’re small. “My prayer is that of the 100 or 1000 people who come, every one of them will become a Nelson Mandela or a Mahatma Gandhi, that they—and we—will experience that level of unfolding of consciousness. “The purpose of our concerts is to create a beautiful experience, to offer people a chance to go deep within themselves and be uplifted from the inside out. The music allows them to experience the quietness within, a total sense of contentment and gratitude. “Sacred music can help people find peace inside themselves so they can express it outside themselves. It’s humbling but also empowering that our inner space absolutely does have an effect on the planet around us.”
Why is world peace such an important theme in Snatam’s mission? “Peace is something that requires people of all faiths to come together and understand each other. That became especially apparent after September 11th. It was a very sad time and also a scary time for everyone. People in the Sikh community wear turbans. In my home town, there was a lot of confusion, fear and anger directed toward anyone that looked like they might be of the same culture as those who brought about the 9/11 disaster. I became very active in reaching out to the interfaith community to create dialogue so that people could know who we were, that Sikhs stand for peace. Sikhs believe in peace through strength. Don’t be afraid of anyone and don’t make anyone afraid of you.” “I also do community service to connect with everyone in the communities we visit, not only the people who come to our concerts,” Snatam says.
Her Celebrate Peace world tour includes stops at schools, hospices, juvenile detention centers, and other facilities where her music can help to heal and inspire. “We reach out to children through our free Children’s Peace Hour, which serves many children in underprivileged communities.” Snatam is a Peace Ambassador working through a United Nations NGO (non-governmental organization) called the 3HO Foundation (the three H’s stand for “happy, healthy, holy”). Snatam uses her public programs as an opportunity to educate audiences about the importance of mutual understanding and respect in these troubled times.
On tour, Snatam is joined by her longtime musical partner GuruGanesha Singh who exudes joy and warmth with his guitar and vocals. She also travels with her husband Sopurkh Singh who serves as her manager, and their new baby daughter Jap Preet Kaur. [1]
“A man came up to us after a concert and asked when we were coming back,” Snatam remembers. “I said I’m coming back in a year, and that made him really sad. He didn’t think he could wait that long to feel so good again! “Yoga is the tool you can use on a daily basis so you don’t have to be dependent on our concert our anyone else’s.”
Snatam offers tools for maintaining a balanced and loving internal state with her “Creating Inner Peace through Kundalini Yoga and Meditation” workshops. These classes provide instruction in the technology of Kundalini as taught by Yogi Bhajan. Chanting is an essential part of the Kundalini Yoga practice. “There’s an actual yogic and scientific effect that happens when you sit with a straight spine and chant,” Snatam says. “The energy rises through the spinal cord to the top of the head and there the tenth gate opens, which is the connection with the Infinite. “ By chanting at home, and practicing Kundalini Yoga, anyone can stay tapped into the bliss they experience at Snatam’s concerts all year long.[1]
Sikhism is a world religion that began in India in the mid-fifteenth century with the master Guru Nanak (1469-1539 C.E.). The essence of being a Sikh is that one lives one’s life according to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, devoting time to meditating on God and the scriptures, chanting, and living life in a way that benefits other people and the world.
Snatam’s own teacher, Yogi Bhajan (1929-2004), was influential in helping promote the Sikh tradition in the West.
Sikhism is based on the Shabad Guru. On Kaur's official website she explains, “Shabad is the sacred energy or recitation of sound, and Guru means the living teacher. For Sikhs, our living Guru exists within the sacred words of our tradition. As part of our daily practice we take a sacred divine reading from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, which is a collection of writings from enlightened teachers and sages in India. It includes the Sikh Gurus, but also incorporates saints from other traditions. These sacred poems were originally sung in specific notes, and have been passed down to us exactly as the words were originally recited by our Gurus. The energy of these songs are alive and gives us healing and guidance. The living presence of the Guru through sound is our foundation. We really feel the Shabad Guru has blessed our lives, and when we sing it, it affects our physical body and our environment. The reason we practice it every day is so we can create within us that resonance of peace, and then go out into the world with that resonance still supporting our words, and still in our thoughts, and still creating the light around us.” [1]
Snatam lives in Espanola, New Mexico with her husband Sopurkh Singh Khalsa, whom she married in January 2006, and their daughter Jap Preet Kaur.