Krishna Das - Flow of Grace (2017)

Krishna Das has been singing the Hanuman Chalisa for over thirty years, and on Flow of Grace he takes us deep into the heart of this powerful prayer to Hanuman, the embodiment of devotion, service, strength, and compassion. Krishna Das' deep, hypnotic voice is steeped in love as he sings five entrancing melodies of the Chalisa, accompanied by Arjun Alan Bruggeman, John McDowell, David Nichtern, Genevieve Walker, and Nina Rao, who also leads a beautiful version of the prayer. On the final track, the Ring Song, KD and the posse break out into a celebratory Indian folk song, which playfully asks Hanuman how he accomplished one of his many divine exploits.

A bonus in the package is a "learning" CD, on which all the words to the Chalisa are pronounced slowly and are transliterated and translated in the extensive liner notes. The 28-page B&W booklet include photographs and stories about Hanuman, Neem Karoli Baba, and transliteration and translation of the prayer. Krishna Das describes his experience learning the prayer, the power of Hanuman, and the practice of singing the Chalisa. Following are two excerpts:

In the Chalisa, we bow to the great beauty, strength, and devotion that Hanuman embodies; we also begin to bow to that place in ourselves. The Chalisa inspires us to try to become like him, to make the mirror of our heart as clean as Hanuman's so that we can become aware of the great beauty and love that lives within us as our own true nature.

...We keep calling with all our heart and then, finally, just when we think we can't take any more, the first rays of the dawn's light reach our hungry eyes. Amazing Grace! Hanuman's light is brighter than a million suns; his face is colored with all the beauty in this world. When he arrives, all our suffering is destroyed; we have reached the path and our way is open before us, bathed in the light of Love.