I share with many folks a deep relationship to rivers, and even to the river-like qualities of life.
Once I was doing puja on the banks of the American River in California. During the puja, I waded out into the water and made offerings.
I had the realization then that every river is the Ganga. This changed my relationship to rivers forever.
What I understood was that all rivers are aspects of the same River. There is only one river in all the world, and all rivers are beings of compassionate intelligence that love to host our expressions of devotion.
Down to the River
The origins of the spiritual Down to the River to Pray are uncertain. But most of the evidence points to it having originated among communities of enslaved people in the Antebellum South. It may have originally been called The Good Old Way and then Down to the Valley to Pray.
The song is a plea for spiritual liberation. There is some speculation that it may have been encoded with messages about the underground railroad for people escaping slavery.
I’ve always loved this spiritual, but maybe not all of the Christian themes. So I wrote some new words and got together with Gina, Vidhra, and Charandas, three students of Jaya Kula.
I hope you enjoy our small effort! I’ve included a PDF with the lyrics.
with infinite love,
Shambhavi
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Please join Shambhavi and the Jaya Kula community for satsang & kirtan every Sunday at 3:00pm Pacific. Come in person to 1215 SE 8th Ave, Portland, OR, or join Jaya Kula’s newsletter to get the Zoom link for satsang. You can also listen to my podcast—Satsang with Shambhavi—wherever podcasts are found.
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