Ageless Devotion and the Song of the Little Devotees
It was a beautiful balmy night and the air was filled with the musical prayers of the Gurus echoing across the large pool of water.  Called the "Nectar Tank of Guru Ram Das," it is known to contain water that heals the human mind and body. The tank is the size of 4 athletic playing fields. The intricately designed marble tile around it measures a mile walking. Inside the pool of water sits the architectural jewel of shining gold & marble called the "Golden Temple of Amritsar."
For us it was a very special night. We were American & Canadian Ladies, both Sikhs and Kundalini Yoga students and teachers. We were the Khalsa Womens Camp Yatra led by Guru Raj Kaur of Vancouver*, Guru Kirin Kaur of New Mexico, and myself. This was the night we were invited to play kirtan in front of the Golden Temple on the majestic marble walkway (Perkarma). This was the night!
The setting sun was displaying a most perfect after-glow of dusk as a few stars sparkled in the sky. We have played music together over the decades at our many camps and Solstices. With gratitude and joy, this was our special chance to offer our devotion in this most sublime Court of Guru Ram Das and add our female voices to the mix of the predominently male voices at the Golden Temple.
There was quite a crowd of people gathering. Sat Purkh Kaur (CD artist "NECTAR OF THE NAME") was with us. Each of us took a turn and sang a few Shabds. The full moon came to rule the night sky. There were many families gathering: 3 and 4 generations were singing and enjoying at this spiritual picnic for the soul. They were fascinated to see white Sikhs singing in Gurmukhi, playing guitars & singing their language with such love and devotion.
Just as I had finished singing, a small girl tugged on Guru Raj Kaur's arm and said: "Auntie, please one Shabd? One Shabd please to play?" Bowing to that moment and the great Unknown, Guru Raj Kaur smiled in her 150 watt classic way and motioned to invite the girl to our instruments. This girl looked about 11 -12 years old 'tops'.  Yet she sat in front of the harmonium with confidence accompanied by 2 sisters that each looked smaller than the next. They had a little brother playing the Tabla (drums) who looked possibly 7 years old! What could we expect? Guru Raj Kaur looked at me with an expression that said "I hope they are good!"
Sikh Kirtan as I mentioned before is dominated by male singers. These small children sang and used their young voices with the most unexpected finesse. Their Shabd was in Raag and they sang many alaaps and taans which are creative embellishment of the Raag scale and take many many years to master. Their little bodies resonated with very large voices. They sang so expertly and we were smiling with joy and surprise! A few people actually came up to these beautiful singing children and placed 100 rupee notes on the Harmonium to show their appreciation. These young sisters and their brother were deeply focused and inspiring us all. Wow! Wahe Guru! We were blessed with this amazing experience. The parents of these small children said they were self taught. We shared in the grace of that night and we shared in the beauty of our experience of human devotion that is ageless. As we retired to our respective resting places and homes, the bliss of this night lingered on. I wrote in my journal to remind me to start teaching my 6 year old grandson, Narayan Singh, to sing kirtan.
*Biographical note: If you do not know Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa of Vancouver, know that she is a very powerful singer of Kirtan, a trainer, she edits and produces all the Aquarian Teachers' Manuals and her daughter, Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa, recorded a lovely Aquarian Sadhana CD last summer that took Solstice by storm.
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