About the author

Padmashri Dr. Prahlad Singh Tipanya

Padmashri Dr Prahlad Singh Tipanya is an acclaimed exponent of Kabir, who tirelessly shares the teachings of Kabir, in India and abroad. Through the stringed instrument of the tamboura, Prahlad Ji encountered the world of Kabir, whose poetry has been kept alive by folk singers in an unbroken oral tradition for over 600 years.

Just like the 13th century poet, Rumi in Turkey, the 15th century mystic-poet, Kabir, in India, seeks to shake us out of complacency, and inspire us to self-awareness, engagement, and resilience. Kabir challenges us to step into our power to transform and to heal. The couplets (sakhis) and poems (padas) of Kabir are still recited by ordinary people and are a part of Indian popular culture in today.

Prahlad Ji himself is a household name. His music can be heard in home after home, and most will acknowledge him as the man who has deeply impacted and contributed to the innovative resurgence of oral traditions of Kabir singing in India. Coming from humble origins, he rose to become a teacher and school principal. As a man of the soil, he continues to have a working farm in Malwa, MP. He is admired as a “Man for all Seasons”. A soulful singer, he spreads with great personal engagement, intensity and integrity, the spiritual message of Kabir. His concerts and workshops stress the need to rise above sectarianism, and to adopt tolerance and inclusion as the ultimate spiritual practice.

In recognition of his great contribution, he has been given the highest civilian award, the Padmashri, by the Govt. of India and is also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskar, and many other prestigious awards.

Prahladj Ji’s knowledge of Kabir, and the Sant Vani tradition, in general, is exceptionally broad and deep. The arc of Prahlad Ji’s own personal life has made him a role model to thousands. He has inspired a new generation of singers and listeners.

Prahlad Singh Tipanya, in his life and in his music, is a powerful, authentic “Voice of Kabir”!

About the translator

Dr. Uma Bhatnagar, DAOM, LAc., MS

Uma Bhatnagar is a doctor of Chinese medicine, board-certified and licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco. She did a doctoral residency at Shanghai University Hospital. She is a student of Ayurvedic physicians, Dr. Vasant Lad, and Dr. Vivek Shanbag; a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner (CAP) and trained in Tibetan medicine with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang.

Dr. Bhatnagar is an Indologist, who did her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Oriental Studies, where she studied Hindi and Sanskrit, and received a Master of Arts degree. In addition, Dr. Bhatnagar was a PhD candidate in Indian Philosophy under Drs. Ludo Rocher and Wilhelm Halbfass. In her private life, she has had a life-long association with Indian culture. She was married in India, and her two children were born in India.

As a San Francisco State University faculty member since 2003, Dr. Bhatnagar has taught upper-division students and developed significant original course content. She offers an integrative model of healthcare, highlighting the traditional medical systems of China, India, and Tibet as valuable tools in developing, maintaining and recovering physical and emotional wellness.

She was extremely blessed to have been able to closely serve Pujya Swami Chinmayananda Ji (1916-1993), the founder of the Chinmaya Mission, for the last ten years until his passing (mahasamadhi) in 1993. Since 2005, she has been attending Pujya Morari Bapu Ji’s Ram katha teachings in Hindi on the Ramacharitamanas of Tulsi Das. She met Padmashri Prahlad Singh Tipanya in 2017. She recognized the same vision of tolerance and resilience in the poems of Kabir, as sung by Prahlad Ji, and offered to spread the message beyond the boundaries of countries and cultures.