Meditation, Music and Social Vision
In the last two weeks I have been to New Paltz (upstate NY), Ithaca, Asheville, NC, Greensboro, NC, and Atlanta, GA. I am now back in New York City and getting ready for another adventure, but before I tell you about that. Here are some highlights from the last two weeks.
(The photo below is from the workshop-house concert in Atlanta )
Click the link to read about the tour: Continue reading
I am just writing to let everybody know that my North American tour is moving along nicely. On September 28 I visited the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I was invited there to give a yoga workshop, but one of the scheduled bands failed to show up and I was given the opportunity to present a set of music. The event took place in an open amphitheater located in front of a beautiful lake.
Here is a photo from the festival:
I also visited meditators in Washington, Philadelphia and attended a yoga retreat in Plainfield, Massachusetts. This past weekend I presented a lecture on kundalini yoga at the Ananda Marga retreat in Asheville, NC. I am currently in Greensboro, North Carolina and a concert is scheduled for Thursday, October 23 (if you are in the area, please come!)
At the retreat in Massachusetts I held a music program for the children and did the same songs that I sing in Albania with the children of the Albanian Sunrise School.
Here is a review from All Access Magazine:
reviewed by Rob Swick
Recorded in Tirana, Albania, Brighter than the Sun is a set of 13 acoustic songs that should leave the listener uplifted, refreshed, and hopeful for the future.
All tracks were written, sung and played by Dada Veda, an idealistic troubadour who was born in New York in 1946 and grew up through the formative years of rock-‘n’-roll.
He hitchhiked to California during the fluorescent flower-power era of the Sixties, and ended up becoming a dedicated yogic monk in the Ananda Marga Society. Ananda Marga, which means “Path of Bliss,” is a fellowship devoted to peace, health, and harmony among humanity.
Currently residing in Albania, Dada Veda helps to manage kindergarten operations for underprivileged children there, and proceeds from his CD will help to support those educational efforts.
Each song on the album has a positive title and theme, including the title cut, which was inspired by meditation, encouraging people to go deep within themselves.
“Common Home” is an ecological song, while “For Everyone” is, just as implied, for all people, everywhere. “Crimson Dawn” and “In the Stillness of the Morning” speak of bright times to come, and “I Don’t Eat Meat” addresses the goodness of a vegetarian diet.
The songs are all based on folksy chords played by Dada Veda on the acoustic guitar, accompanied by Redi Dashi on bass and additional guitars, plus drums and percussion by Andi Haxhihyseni, and background vocals by Vasudeva.
Yes, there’s sometimes a childlike innocence to Dada Veda’s singing, and his pitch may not be always perfect, but — look at how enduring a singer such as Bob Dylan has proven to be, also without an opera-quality voice, while inspiring a boatload of imitators and tribute-payers along the way!
Like Dylan, Dada Veda gives voice to enduring issues such as social justice, reminding the listener, in “The Wise Ones Say,” that one should do good things immediately, but should delay doing anything that is bad.
The world can use more inspiration and direction such as that found on Brighter than the Sun. Info on kindergarten education in Albania is found at www.albaniansunrise.com; more on yoga and meditation is available at www.anandamarga.org; the singer’s own site is www.dadaveda.com
The mystic poet Rabindranath Tagore said this many years ago, and it is very true. Music plays an important part in all spiritual traditions. In yoga, the chanting of mantras is called “kiirtan” (commonly spelled “kirtan”). And it is the best way to prepare your mind for meditation.
So, if you have been having trouble doing silent meditation. Why don’t you sing before you meditate. Don ‘t worry if you have a good voice or a bad voice. It doesn’t matter. This is something from your heart. Try it with the mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”
Here is a video, with beautiful images and the mantra. Why don’t you watch the video, sing along and then do meditation. Try it you will like it!
Seven of the songs which I performed at last year’s Divine Moon Festival in England are now online as videos at youtube.com . You can see them by going to www.youtube.com and doing a search for Dada Veda or you can go to my page www.youtube.com/dadaved . On that page you will find three videos that I have directly uploaded and down below in the favorites section there are four more songs that were uploaded by the photographer directly.
The videos give an idea of what you can expect in one of my concerts. If you would like to book me for a performance in your locality, then send me an email and let’s see if we can work it out My motto is: “Have Songs, Will Travel.”
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