8 min
Music
Shiva Shiva Shankara
A call-and-response chant to Shiva, recorded for the Chants of Ecstasy series.
About the artist
SuryāChandra
SuryāChandra — the Sun and the Moon — was founded in Montreal in 1998 by Maryz and Vidhu, and takes yogic chant as its way into the healing power of sound. Between them the members have over forty years of experience leading kirtan, and dozens of musicians have played with the group over the years.
The instruments are the unusual part. Maryz sings and plays Paraguayan and Celtic harps, percussion, harmonium and Navajo drone flute; Vidhu sings and plays acoustic and classical guitars, Italian mandola, oud and Celtic bouzouki. Regular collaborators bring sitar, israj, bansuri, clarinet, tabla and darbouka. The result sits some way from the harmonium-and-voice kirtan most people know.
Four albums have come out of it: Mystic Tongue in 2010, Sundaram in 2014, Namaskar in 2017 and Ānandam in 2020.
They are now based between Nova Scotia in eastern Canada, Thailand and India, and host kirtan evenings internationally alongside yoga and sound healing offerings accompanied by live music.
Upcoming events
Where SuryāChandra has taught.
No dates are listed at the moment. These are the gatherings Paths Are Many has on record.
Talks & videos
Watch before you attend.
Short introductions and longer conversations, to hear this artist in their own words.
Path
The wider context.
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Love as the direct path
Bhakti
The path of loving devotion: surrender, chanting and remembrance as ways to dissolve the sense of separation from the divine.
Explore the path →