Welcome and Thank You -- A Tribute to Jo (Vaani)
Today, the 21st of September 2016, marks the one year anniversary of the passing of a very special soul: my dear friend and fellow singer, Jo Mall Kahn (Vaani). Jo was one half of the acclaimed (and very magical) Kirtan duo, Edo and Jo, and co-founder of the music and yoga charity, A Sound Life. Jo left the earth with hardly any warning, in the midst of a blossoming music career and her launch as the solo artist, Vaani. In doing so, she left a space here in the physical world that so many of us continue to struggle to adjust to. The past twelve months have been interesting times: though life -- in all it's majesty -- continues to march on, there have been many moments when my breath has suddenly caught at a sweet memory and tears uncontrollably welled in my eyes.
Love. Beauty. Laughter. Music. All these wonderful things in the world remind me of my friend's life and mission. Indeed, there is so much joy, beauty and grace to be found in every day, and there is also the constant reminder of just how precious, fleeting and irreplaceable each moment of life is for all of us.
Soon after Jo's passing, I stayed up for hours one night writing down what I wanted to share with the world about her remarkable life, how she touched my heart, and just how privileged I felt to have shared some part of her life journey with her. Living in India and unable to attend the life celebration for Jo in Australia, I had been asked to share my thoughts via email. Alas, there was not enough time for everyone to share their stories that evening -- Jo had touched the lives of hundreds of people profoundly. Because of this, and because I love Jo so, so very much, I promised myself that when I launched my music website, that my first post would be dedicated to Jo, in recognition of all the love and encouragement she had shown me over the years -- musically as well as personally. So now that you all understand this, you may forgive my opening post: while it may seem a little long, it hardly touches on the beauty and magic of Jo's most precious life.
Jo Mall Kahn (Vaani)
The last time I was asked to speak about Jo was on the eve of her marriage to Edo (Kahn). The night still feels like it happened only yesterday: Jo and a group of women who all loved Jo (and loved Edo too!) sat in a circle on the terrace of a house in the village of Thirumalaikodi and shared stories with each other, giving their prayers and blessings for Jo as she began her official married life with the absolute love of her life -- her beloved Edo. Since they first met, we all knew that Edo and Jo belonged together and that they had an amazingly blessed and special destiny together in this world. Two wonderful people individually, but together they are an unstoppable force of love and light. A “Matching Couple” as our Beloved Guru, Sri Sakthi Amma always says.
Though all us women knew Jo from various places and stages of her life, we all spoke continuously of Jo’s inner and outer beauty, her generosity, her kindness, her many talents, and her absolute radiance of being. We had all gathered that night to stop for a moment in the whirlwind of preparations that precede a marriage (and a marriage in India at that!), and honour this most beautiful woman before she became even more lovely as a bride and devoted wife. It was a night of beauty and love, just as Jo’s very essence is: there was puja, music, flowers, and dancing. There were tears of great love and much laughter from all. We all felt honoured to be present with our Jo under the moon and stars, feeling such love and joy and celebrating one of the most happiest times in Jo’s life. And in Edo’s perfect words, it was indeed a life so sweet.
I met Jo for the first time in 2008 when she came to India and ‘stopped by’ at Sri Narayani Peedam where I live and serve. Jo ended up ‘stopping by’ for many months, in which time her whole world turned upside-down in the most beautiful way: she became engaged to Edo and she also blossomed into the very incarnation of Saraswathi Devi herself, as music and the healing vibrations of mantra filled her heart and life. She had received all the Divine blessings and thus Jo began a beautiful new life that would soon reach out into the world, touching new hearts and souls with her voice, words and mesmerising flute.
A singer myself, I was delighted to witness this emergence and connect with the most beautiful music that the musical union of Edo and Jo had now brought into the ashram, drawing people together to sit and enjoy. Some of us were thrilled to join with their music and voices and sing along, others were content to sit and let the music wash over and through them. The music always touched our heart and souls in the most profound way, and personally their music (and their love and support) helped me to find my own singing voice again.
Before I came to live in India, I was pursuing a career in classical music and Musical theatre in Australia… I spent every moment of my life outside my 9-5 job in rehearsals, voice lessons, making costumes, and performing on stage. Yes, the stage always felt like my home and singing was the time when I felt most connected to the Divine. The greatest joy of my life was to be part of performances and music that brought happiness to others, and I knew how great a blessing it is to have the opportunity to do so. However, there came a time in my life when I felt a greater need to go deeper into my soul and share something more through my voice. I dreamed of singing for the Divine and for my voice to be used for an instrument for something greater than just entertainment -- because if you can connect to the Divine for even a few moments, that experience brings such peace and bliss within.
So, as difficult as it was to abandon my existing musical path and jump into the unknown, I did: I followed the call of my soul and my life shifted to one in a small South Indian village. Unexpectedly, I also stopped singing, since the musical landscape in which I had landed was vastly different from the one I had left! At that stage I did not know a word of the local Tamil language and knew only very little Sanskrit, and anyway, at first all the local music sounded alien to my Western ears! The next few years were challenging ones as my direction changed: I focused on full-time seva (service) as a school teacher, whilst also undergoing great inner-healing and deepening my spiritual practice.
Just when I had let go of all attachment to being a singer and of ever singing again, Edo and Jo slowly brought me back into that musical world… I began to sing again — at first somewhat reluctantly, but soon I stepped into a new world of music, bhajans and kirtan and I felt at home again; only this time I was truly connected to something greater than my individual 'self'. More music began to flow through me than ever before, and a new chapter had begun.
How can I explain to anyone how it has felt to sing with Edo and Jo? For me, it has been one of the most treasured things in my whole life. Nothing has been more wonderful than looking over to see Edo and Jo sitting next to me as we chant and sing together… and always completely unrehearsed! Before, I could develop a musical rapport with other musicians and singers, usually over time. But with Edo and Jo it was instantaneous… effortless…
As soon as we would start to sing, we would be connected through the music, and the Divine would guide us internally without any external sign to fall into endless harmonies and sacred spaces. To a place where I don't have to think about anything; I become my voice alone and everything else just merges into that wave of sound. Singing with Edo and Jo has been a transcendent experience for me, a true meditation and bliss. The Call, the Response, the Guitar, the Harmonium, the Flute… it all becomes a Divine Moment in space and time. We are one in the Divine Ocean. We are One in Naada Brahma, the great sound of the Universe.
I have been blessed to sing with Edo and Jo for six years -- mostly on the front porch of a small-but-Divine house in India surrounded by trees, flowers and birds, but at other times in temple, at orphanages or the odd Indian wedding… Apart from that, we have sung together in Malaysia, Singapore and Bali. During these years, we all grew as people, musicians and of course as souls as we have lived our lives serving others in whatever way we can -- and in whatever way the Divine has had planned for us. The path of Surender...
Watching Edo and Jo spread an overwhelming amount of love and light over this planet has been an absolute joy to witness. To see and hear how many lives they have have touched and transformed in these past few years is incredible. Their music and their lives have been blessed by something extraordinary and every single person who has ever met them or heard them sing is unable to ever forget them or their message. Both Jo and Edo leave an indelible mark on our hearts, and even as it breaks my heart open to let go of Beloved Jo’s physical form and voice, I know that she is always with us in the music… She is one with that Divine sound as we all are in reality.
A message for Jo/Vaani that was not possible to share with her in the physical form before she took flight:
Dearest Jo,
Your love, encouragement and support for my music and singing has been one of the most valuable things anyone could have ever given me on my journey so far. You pushed me to sing daily again, you heard the very first bhajan I ever wrote before anyone else, and you continued to encourage me to sing, write and record whenever I had doubts about being 'good enough' over these years. You showed me that by completely surrendering everything to the Divine musically and letting go of the paralysing need to be ‘perfect’, that magical things would and did happen. By honouring your own true voice, you helped me to find mine.
I joyfully watched you take flight into the world of music, and was blessed to be a part of that journey in many ways. So many beautiful moments and miracles, so many things I am connected to and always will be. I remember vividly the night you wrote your ‘Narayani Maa' bhajan on tour and excitedly shared it to myself and a few others: we were in awe of its beauty on that night and even more so when it was recorded and we got to hear it then in that form. ‘Gho Mata’, ‘Saraswathi’, ‘Thank You’, and your beautiful ‘Jyothi’ bhajan… There are so many songs that mark my heart and life forever. However, ‘Om Namo Narayani’ will always speak to me of your very essence: its exquisite purity, beauty and brilliance, it simply flows into ones heart the way your presence always does.
Thank you for being here with us on this earthly ‘tour’ for the blessed time it was. Your soul took flight from its temporary residence a few days ago, but as Vaani, you are now eternally with the Divine and living within us all.
Love always, your soul sister Zoë xxx
Om Namo Narayani
Today, the 21st of September 2016, marks the one year anniversary of the passing of a very special soul: my dear friend and fellow singer, Jo Mall Kahn (Vaani). Jo was one half of the acclaimed (and very magical) Kirtan duo, Edo and Jo, and co-founder of the music and yoga charity, A Sound Life. Jo left the earth with hardly any warning, in the midst of a blossoming music career and her launch as the solo artist, Vaani. In doing so, she left a space here in the physical world that so many of us continue to struggle to adjust to. The past twelve months have been interesting times: though life -- in all it's majesty -- continues to march on, there have been many moments when my breath has suddenly caught at a sweet memory and tears uncontrollably welled in my eyes.
Love. Beauty. Laughter. Music. All these wonderful things in the world remind me of my friend's life and mission. Indeed, there is so much joy, beauty and grace to be found in every day, and there is also the constant reminder of just how precious, fleeting and irreplaceable each moment of life is for all of us.
Soon after Jo's passing, I stayed up for hours one night writing down what I wanted to share with the world about her remarkable life, how she touched my heart, and just how privileged I felt to have shared some part of her life journey with her. Living in India and unable to attend the life celebration for Jo in Australia, I had been asked to share my thoughts via email. Alas, there was not enough time for everyone to share their stories that evening -- Jo had touched the lives of hundreds of people profoundly. Because of this, and because I love Jo so, so very much, I promised myself that when I launched my music website, that my first post would be dedicated to Jo, in recognition of all the love and encouragement she had shown me over the years -- musically as well as personally. So now that you all understand this, you may forgive my opening post: while it may seem a little long, it hardly touches on the beauty and magic of Jo's most precious life.
Jo Mall Kahn (Vaani)
The last time I was asked to speak about Jo was on the eve of her marriage to Edo (Kahn). The night still feels like it happened only yesterday: Jo and a group of women who all loved Jo (and loved Edo too!) sat in a circle on the terrace of a house in the village of Thirumalaikodi and shared stories with each other, giving their prayers and blessings for Jo as she began her official married life with the absolute love of her life -- her beloved Edo. Since they first met, we all knew that Edo and Jo belonged together and that they had an amazingly blessed and special destiny together in this world. Two wonderful people individually, but together they are an unstoppable force of love and light. A “Matching Couple” as our Beloved Guru, Sri Sakthi Amma always says.
Though all us women knew Jo from various places and stages of her life, we all spoke continuously of Jo’s inner and outer beauty, her generosity, her kindness, her many talents, and her absolute radiance of being. We had all gathered that night to stop for a moment in the whirlwind of preparations that precede a marriage (and a marriage in India at that!), and honour this most beautiful woman before she became even more lovely as a bride and devoted wife. It was a night of beauty and love, just as Jo’s very essence is: there was puja, music, flowers, and dancing. There were tears of great love and much laughter from all. We all felt honoured to be present with our Jo under the moon and stars, feeling such love and joy and celebrating one of the most happiest times in Jo’s life. And in Edo’s perfect words, it was indeed a life so sweet.
I met Jo for the first time in 2008 when she came to India and ‘stopped by’ at Sri Narayani Peedam where I live and serve. Jo ended up ‘stopping by’ for many months, in which time her whole world turned upside-down in the most beautiful way: she became engaged to Edo and she also blossomed into the very incarnation of Saraswathi Devi herself, as music and the healing vibrations of mantra filled her heart and life. She had received all the Divine blessings and thus Jo began a beautiful new life that would soon reach out into the world, touching new hearts and souls with her voice, words and mesmerising flute.
A singer myself, I was delighted to witness this emergence and connect with the most beautiful music that the musical union of Edo and Jo had now brought into the ashram, drawing people together to sit and enjoy. Some of us were thrilled to join with their music and voices and sing along, others were content to sit and let the music wash over and through them. The music always touched our heart and souls in the most profound way, and personally their music (and their love and support) helped me to find my own singing voice again.
Before I came to live in India, I was pursuing a career in classical music and Musical theatre in Australia… I spent every moment of my life outside my 9-5 job in rehearsals, voice lessons, making costumes, and performing on stage. Yes, the stage always felt like my home and singing was the time when I felt most connected to the Divine. The greatest joy of my life was to be part of performances and music that brought happiness to others, and I knew how great a blessing it is to have the opportunity to do so. However, there came a time in my life when I felt a greater need to go deeper into my soul and share something more through my voice. I dreamed of singing for the Divine and for my voice to be used for an instrument for something greater than just entertainment -- because if you can connect to the Divine for even a few moments, that experience brings such peace and bliss within.
So, as difficult as it was to abandon my existing musical path and jump into the unknown, I did: I followed the call of my soul and my life shifted to one in a small South Indian village. Unexpectedly, I also stopped singing, since the musical landscape in which I had landed was vastly different from the one I had left! At that stage I did not know a word of the local Tamil language and knew only very little Sanskrit, and anyway, at first all the local music sounded alien to my Western ears! The next few years were challenging ones as my direction changed: I focused on full-time seva (service) as a school teacher, whilst also undergoing great inner-healing and deepening my spiritual practice.
Just when I had let go of all attachment to being a singer and of ever singing again, Edo and Jo slowly brought me back into that musical world… I began to sing again — at first somewhat reluctantly, but soon I stepped into a new world of music, bhajans and kirtan and I felt at home again; only this time I was truly connected to something greater than my individual 'self'. More music began to flow through me than ever before, and a new chapter had begun.
How can I explain to anyone how it has felt to sing with Edo and Jo? For me, it has been one of the most treasured things in my whole life. Nothing has been more wonderful than looking over to see Edo and Jo sitting next to me as we chant and sing together… and always completely unrehearsed! Before, I could develop a musical rapport with other musicians and singers, usually over time. But with Edo and Jo it was instantaneous… effortless…
As soon as we would start to sing, we would be connected through the music, and the Divine would guide us internally without any external sign to fall into endless harmonies and sacred spaces. To a place where I don't have to think about anything; I become my voice alone and everything else just merges into that wave of sound. Singing with Edo and Jo has been a transcendent experience for me, a true meditation and bliss. The Call, the Response, the Guitar, the Harmonium, the Flute… it all becomes a Divine Moment in space and time. We are one in the Divine Ocean. We are One in Naada Brahma, the great sound of the Universe.
I have been blessed to sing with Edo and Jo for six years -- mostly on the front porch of a small-but-Divine house in India surrounded by trees, flowers and birds, but at other times in temple, at orphanages or the odd Indian wedding… Apart from that, we have sung together in Malaysia, Singapore and Bali. During these years, we all grew as people, musicians and of course as souls as we have lived our lives serving others in whatever way we can -- and in whatever way the Divine has had planned for us. The path of Surender...
Watching Edo and Jo spread an overwhelming amount of love and light over this planet has been an absolute joy to witness. To see and hear how many lives they have have touched and transformed in these past few years is incredible. Their music and their lives have been blessed by something extraordinary and every single person who has ever met them or heard them sing is unable to ever forget them or their message. Both Jo and Edo leave an indelible mark on our hearts, and even as it breaks my heart open to let go of Beloved Jo’s physical form and voice, I know that she is always with us in the music… She is one with that Divine sound as we all are in reality.
A message for Jo/Vaani that was not possible to share with her in the physical form before she took flight:
Your love, encouragement and support for my music and singing has been one of the most valuable things anyone could have ever given me on my journey so far. You pushed me to sing daily again, you heard the very first bhajan I ever wrote before anyone else, and you continued to encourage me to sing, write and record whenever I had doubts about being 'good enough' over these years. You showed me that by completely surrendering everything to the Divine musically and letting go of the paralysing need to be ‘perfect’, that magical things would and did happen. By honouring your own true voice, you helped me to find mine.
I joyfully watched you take flight into the world of music, and was blessed to be a part of that journey in many ways. So many beautiful moments and miracles, so many things I am connected to and always will be. I remember vividly the night you wrote your ‘Narayani Maa' bhajan on tour and excitedly shared it to myself and a few others: we were in awe of its beauty on that night and even more so when it was recorded and we got to hear it then in that form. ‘Gho Mata’, ‘Saraswathi’, ‘Thank You’, and your beautiful ‘Jyothi’ bhajan… There are so many songs that mark my heart and life forever. However, ‘Om Namo Narayani’ will always speak to me of your very essence: its exquisite purity, beauty and brilliance, it simply flows into ones heart the way your presence always does.
Thank you for being here with us on this earthly ‘tour’ for the blessed time it was. Your soul took flight from its temporary residence a few days ago, but as Vaani, you are now eternally with the Divine and living within us all.
Love always, your soul sister Zoë xxx
Om Namo Narayani