This time on the Indie Spiritualist Podcast, Chris speaks with Ambika about the transformative power of chant and kirtan.
Ambika has been a singer and musician for most of her life, playing in various bands in NYC until she discovered chanting with Krishna Das in 1995. The practice of singing Kirtan had a profound effect on her and led her to India where she met her teacher and Spiritual Mother, Shri Siddhi Ma. As Ambika deepened her connection to the practice of chanting, it became her home and refuge. Listen to her first full-length album, “Mother’s Calling”: AmbikaChant.com
Show Notes
Finding Refuge (Opening) – Ambika shares her story and the moments which guided her to the spiritual path that she follows today. She describes the deep resonance and healing she experienced through yoga and kirtan. Ambika talks about her transformative time in India with Siddhi Ma that introduced her to deeper levels of devotion and practice.
“I went to India and I met Siddhi Ma. Just when I walked into the ashram it was like being home, times thousands. I had met other saints and had really beautiful experiences, but meeting her was just something else. It was like the deepest kind of falling in love that I have ever experienced and the most lasting.” – Ambika
The Music that Moves You (19:15) – Chris and Ambika talk about the experience of connecting to transformative music for the first time. Ambika speaks about Chanting and the Bhakti Path, sharing some of the wisdom she has learned about the power of these traditions.
“Traditionally, its the repetition of the name, the divine name. These names are thousands of years old. They are the names of gods and goddesses in India like Ram, Krishna, Sita, Radha or Durga. You can chant to the different deities. They are said to have a power unto themselves, the actual vibration of these names. My direct experience has been that that’s true; that the power in the chanting of the name, that repetition, to really go quite deep and take me to a very different place than I was when I began.” – Ambika
Listen to Chris’s conversation with musician and yoga instructor Raghunath Cappo about the transformative power of music and yoga on Ep. 57 of The Indie Spiritualist Podcast
Mother’s Calling (31:05) – We hear about the making of Ambika’s first full-length album, “Mother’s Calling.” She shares her inspirations for the album and discusses some of the struggles that she has experienced along the way.
