We are excited to announce the release of Naren’s (our Kamalakanta) beautiful first CD of Shyama Sangeet.

The land of Bengal in eastern India can truly be called “Motherland.” It is here that for millennium, and unbroken tradition of worshiping God as the Divine Mother Kali has given strength and solace to its people. Over the centuries many great mystics took birth in Bengal, leaving a timeless legacy of wisdom-teachings, tear-soaked poetry, and ecstatic communion with the Mother. From this legacy a new form of sacred music was born, called Shyama Sangeet, “Music to the Dark Mother”, The most famous of these poet-saints were Ramprashad Sen and Kamalakanta Bhattacharya of the 18^th -19^th centuries. They cried directly to the Mother, often reprimanding their own restless minds or revealing esoteric experiences of yogic awakening. Soaring in unparalleled joy or crashing to earth in great despair, these songs reveal the often-winding road traveled by the devotee.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa often sang Shyama Sangeet, weaving this sacred music into his teachings that sparked India’s spiritual renaissance. When his heart overflowed in a ecstatic moond at he Dakshineswar Kali temple, his songs enthralled those seated nearby. When his disciples, such as Swami Vivekananda, would sing, Ramakrishna often danced or wept before entering blissful Samadhi. Decades later, Paramahamsa Yogananda was born into this spiritual revival. He sang Shyama Sangeet as a child and continued to do so throughout his life in America where he adapted much of it into his English poems and songs for the West.

Eso Ma is the first recording by a westerner of India’s most enthralling love songs to Mother Kali. Naren K. Schreiner sings vocals and plays harmonium and is accompanied by Pankaj Mishra on sarangi and Adikeshava on khol mridanga. Proceeds from the sale of this CD go to support the worship of the Divine Mother at Kali Mandir.

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