Spirit in the Cave of the Heart

Fr. Cyprian Consiglio’s Interfaith Blessings

Introduction

Dharma Radio welcomes the music of Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, a Benedictine monk and a brother on the Path. Out of deep kindness, Fr. Cyprian has offered up these songs as a gift and a blessing. He demonstrates his understanding of the role of music in service to the sacred.
When you listen to Fr. Cyprian’s singing voice you hear the heart of a seeker of wisdom, a heart that loves Jesus as a spiritual guide. That love, expands, rather than narrows the search for truth, and allows the sacred to sing with many voices. You will hear in his music not only profound spiritual devotion but also a commitment to harmony and universal well-being beyond the boundaries of superficial “otherness.”

There is a timeless quality of joy in surrender that suffuses all of his music, surrender to the Holy, to sacred truth, in its many disguises and appearances.
I offer as proof, these three recordings, all of which have Asian roots. Two of them are even sung in Hindi. Their spirit, however, is universal, uplifting, and pure. Please enjoy them freely, in the light, as they were offered.
We hope that you will share these songs with your circle of friends, that you will play them for your colleagues, your classmates, and your parents. Ask them to pass the songs on, and if you can invite everyone to do one act of kindness in the spirit of sharing, then Fr. Cyprian’s generosity in sharing these songs with Dharma Radio will be repaid, in part.

Download Music

Spirit in the Cave of the Heart music album is available for free through Good Karma Music by sharing a story of your act of kindness.

30 seconds demo clips

Dharma Radio · Spirit in the Cave of the Heart 30 sec demo

Notes and Lyrics of the Songs

1 Cave of the Heart

“Cave of the Heart” is based on a Bhajan, a Hindu devotional song, that is simple, devotional and expresses love for the Divine. This bhajan is quite singable for Interfaith gatherings.

The late Fr. Bede Griffith, a Benedictine monk whose ministry to the spirit took place most importantly in India, loved the image of God as a Holy Spirit in the cave of the heart.

2 Vedahametam

“Vedahametam” is a lyrical Hindi song well known in India. The first verse is from the Upanishads, and is sung by the novice seeker during his initiation ceremony into the monastic life. The first verse speaks of the Divine Within: “I know that great person of the sunlight splendor.”

This song was dear to Swami Abhishiktananda, the French Benedictine monk whose religious experience in India led him to become a bridge between Hindu and Christian spirituality.

The second verse is from the Sri Guru Gita, a song sung in honor of the guru. “You are my father, my mother, my brother, my friend.”

3 Sab Bole

“Sab Bole,” another Hindi Bhajan from Northern India that translates as “May all say the name of Jesus, the most holy name of Jesus.”

About the artist Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam

Cyprian Consiglio is a Camaldolese Benedictine monk, musician, composer, author and teacher, from the community of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, CA. After his initial formative years, he spent ten years living in a cabin near Santa Cruz, California.

During that period he also traveled extensively performing and teaching, seeking to serve as a presence of light and hope.
Much of both his music and his teaching revolve around the Universal Call to Contemplation through spirituality and the arts. He has six collections of original music recorded and published through OCP Publications, three others released through the Equilibrium label with his long time collaborator, percussionist John Pennington, and several independent releases. He is also a member of the Collegeville Composers Group, the ensemble responsible for the Psallite: Songs for Liturgy and Life project for Liturgical Press.

A student of the writings of Bede Griffiths and Abhishiktananda, Cyprian has a great love for comparative religion, and besides several articles, he has published a book “Prayer in the Cave of the Heart” also for Liturgical Press, based on wisdom culled from his experience and studies, and is currently working on a second volume, “Spirit, Soul and Body: Toward an Integral Christian Spirituality.” His book “Hermit, Preacher, Wanderer” is available at OCP. He has traveled to India numerous times as well as other countries in Europe, Asia, and the Mideast, performing as well as studying and teaching.

Besides concerts and recording, Cyprian regularly leads retreats and conferences on prayer and meditation, and has also completed Yoga Teacher Training at Mount Madonna Center near Santa Cruz, CA. He has done extensive work in inter-faith dialogue and serves on the board of the Bede Griffiths Trust and the US branch of MID Monastic Inter-religious Dialogue, and was the founder of Sangha Shantivanam in Santa Cruz. He currently lives back with the community in Big Sur where he has served as liturgist, choir director and currently, as Prior.

Production

Cover Art: “Big Sur Spring” by Fr. Arthur Poulin
Album Design: Laura Tan