Echoes of the Heart Volume 1
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Words: Hazrat Inayat Khan
Words: “Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls, Who form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.”
Words: Traditional Islamic
Arrangement: Pir Shabda Khan
Melody: Allaudin Ottinger
Words: “Bismillah, Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim”
Translation: “We begin in the name of Allah, of God, whose essential nature is mercy and compassion.”
This Arabic phrase opens each chapter but one of the Koran and reminds the listener to begin any and all activity in the name of the Divine, whose primary essence is forgiveness and compassion.
Mod. from Zsuzasanna Budapest, 1971
Words: “We all come from the Spirit and to God we shall return, like a drop of rain falling to the ocean.”
We learned long after the release of this CD that this piece was originally written as “We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.” We are very drawn to the original and we apologize for our previous misperception.
Words: Isaiah 56:7*
Composers: Parvati and Jaffar Baugh
Chorus: “My House shall be a House of Prayer for all people.”
Verses:
Hindu “Om Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram. Om Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Om”
Zoroastrian “Ahura Mazda, Ahura Mazda”
Buddhist “Namo Amida Butsu”
Jewish “Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai Echad”
Christian “God our Maker, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”
Islamic “El Allah Hu, El Allah Hu”
This piece takes these holy phrases from the Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions and joins them in harmony and beauty. It celebrates the essential nature of the Divine that permeates the depth of each of these traditions.
*see appendix for individual verse translations
Words: Traditional Islamic
Composer: Allaudin Mathieu
This holy phrase of Islam can be translated many ways: “There is no power or majesty greater than the power and majesty of God”…. or, “Peace is Power.” The literal translation is “God is Greater”…Greater than whatever you can imagine.
Words and Music: Michael Stillwater
“I am one with the heart of the Mother,
I am one with the heart of Love.
I am one with the heart of the Father,
I am one with God.
Ave Maria, Kyrie Eleison.”
Taken from a contemporary Sufi Dance, one of the hundreds of the Dances of Universal Peace, this song celebrates the craving of the heart to encompass both the yin and the yang aspects of life. Mother Mary is invoked directly through the Ave Maria while the Kyrie invokes the mercy of the Lord.
Words: Hazrat Inayat Khan
Music: Unknown
Words:
“O Thou Sustainer of our Bodies, Hearts and Souls,
Bless all that we receive in Thankfulness. Amen.”
The prayer Nazar is often sung as a Grace before meals. This version sets the words to the music of the Universal Peace Dance “Mir Miru Mir.”
Words: Traditional Islamic
Composer: Allaudin Mathieu
Words: “Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord”
The Arabic “Alhamdulillah” may be translated as “Praise God,” or “Praise the Lord.” This round cycles from the Arabic to the English. Compelled by the rhythm and the score, it magically, precisely invokes the energy of this mantric holy phrase.
Words: Traditional Latin Prayer
Music: Taizé
Words: Da Pacem Domine, da Pacem Domine in Diebus Nostris”
Translation: “Give Peace, Lord….Give Peace now, in our time!” Somehow the choral beauty of this composition manages to take one to that very place toward which it aspires.
Traditional
Words: “I am opening up in sweet surrender
to the luminous love light of the Lord.
I am opening, I am opening.”
This song reminds us that at any time we may choose to open our minds and hearts and invite the Masters, Saints and Prophets to become part of our lives.
Composer: Paula Markham
Arrangement: Scott Sattler
Words: “There is nothing, nothing, nothing,
Only God. Only God.
There is nothing, nothing, nothing,
Only God.
Remember. Remember. Remember.
While the Arabic world uses the phrase “La illaha il’ Allah” and the Persians use the phrase “La ellaha el Allahu” to remind themselves that there is nothing that isn’t of God, this piece allows us to hold the concentration in English, German, Spanish and Russian as well.
Traditional Latin Prayer
Music: Taizé
Words: “Bonum est confidere in Domino, bonum sperare in Domino”
Translation: “It is good to trust and hope in the Lord.”
Words: Biblical, New Testament
Music: Taizé
Words: “Jesus, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Also taken from the Taizé, this beautiful, simple chant opens the heart through attunement to the Master Jesus.
Words: Hazrat Inayat Khan
Music: Traditional
Words: “Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit
Unite us all in thy perfect Being,
Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah.”
The words of this round come from the prayer Khatum, given to the world by the Sufi master who brought the Sufi Message from the East to the West in the early 1900s.
Text: Psalm 66: 1-2
Music: Unknown
Words: “Make a Joyful Noise unto God all ye lands.
Sing forth the honor of His Name.
Make His praise glorious!”
This piece reminds us how important it is to sing with joy in praise of all that is holy.
Text: Traditional Islamic
Music: Noor-un-Nisa Joan Walsh
Ya Shakur, one of the Ninety-Nine names of God in the Islamic tradition, addresses that aspect of the Divine that is worthy of all praise and gratitude. It is natural for those on the spiritual path to want to express gratitude toward The One for all that we have been given. This composition satisfies the craving of the heart to do just that.
Source: The Holy Order of M.A.N.S.
Words: “Spirit, I love You.
O how I adore You…
Lay my life before You”
This simple three part round invites one to dive deeply into the practice of surrendering oneself to the will and guidance of the Divine.
Composer: Allaudin Mathieu
Words: “As-Salaam-Alaikum, Shanti
Dona nobis pachem, Shanti
Shalom Aleichem, Shanti
Om, Shanti Om, Shanti Om”
“Peace be with you,” sung first in Arabic, then in Latin, Hebrew and Sanskrit, calls us to allow transcendent peace to come through us and be shared with others.
Words: Theresa of Avila
Music: Taizé
Words: “Nada te turbe, nada te espante;
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta.
Nada te turbe, nada te espante:
Sólo Dios basta.”
Translation: “Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you. Whoever holds God lacks nothing. Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you: God alone suffices.”
This phrase from the Christian mystic St. Theresa of Avila (1515-1582), reminds us in her native Spanish that those who have attunement to God shall never go wanting. Profound relationship with the Divine completes us.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
Words: “Return again, return again,
Return to the land of your soul.
Return to who you are,
Return to what you are,
Return to where you are born and reborn again.
Return again, return again,
Return to the land of your soul.
This haunting piece from the Jewish mystical tradition reaches deeply into the core of our being and reminds us of our true nature, that we are not simply human beings on a spiritual journey, but rather we are spiritual beings on a human journey.
Words: Traditional Islamic
Music: Michael Harrison
Arrangement: Scott Sattler
Islamic Zikr is the practice of repetition of a holy phrase in remembrance of God. We often refer to this piece as the “Caravan Zikr,” as its haunting melody brings to mind the movement of a caravan crossing the desert sands at night. The phrase “Allah Ho Akbar” translates as “There is no power or majesty greater than the power and majesty of God”…. or, “Peace is Power,” and is often used as a practice of protection.
Original: Gregory Norbet
Arrangement: Traditional Sufi
Words: “All I ask of You is forever to remember me as loving You.
Ishq Allah Mahbood Lillah. Ishq Allah Mahbood Lillah”
This is a love song of the soul, sung in gratitude and remembrance. The words “Ishq Allah Mahbood Lillah” are often translated as “God is Love, Lover and Beloved.”
Original: From the Taizé
Words: “Bleibet hier und wachet mit mir.
Wachet und betet, wachet und betet.”
Translation: “Stay with me, remain here with me,
Watch and pray, watch and pray.”
Sung in German, this song takes the words of the Master Jesus spoken to his disciples as he went into Gethsemane to pray on the night of the Last Supper.
Composer: Taizé
Arrangement: Scott Sattler
Words: “O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
When I call, answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Come and listen to me.”
Again from the night of the Last Supper, this piece speaks to the prayer of Jesus on Mount Gethsemane. Preceding the prayer (from the Taizé), we hear the calling of Jesus’ heart to God as it beats forth “Allaha,” the name for God in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Shortly after his prayer begins the angelic host replies to his request with the chant “Ruh Allah.” This is one of the names given to Jesus in the Koran, and it means “Breath of God.” Thus Jesus is reminded that the essence of his Being is the Breath of God and that he need not be afraid.
Traditional Sufi
Words: “La Illaha il Allahu”
Translation: There is no god but God.
This haunting piece comes to us from the Shadhili Sufis. It resonates with the awakened heart’s intense longing for reabsorption in The One. It echoes with our soul’s craving, our deep internal yearning for reunion with God.
Composer: Natalie Sleeth
Words: “Go now in peace. Go now in peace.
May the love of God surround you,
Everywhere, everywhere
You may go.”
This simple round serves as benediction for this offering. May you go in peace, your hearts filled with the love of God and the awareness of the universal nature of God’s presence and compassion.