6. Ammachi – Old is Gold
She’s a spiritual leader – kind of like Mother Theresa – and she has tons of charities, but she goes around the world on tour. People line up and go to her and she hugs them. And another thing she does is sing every day, so she’s got tons of music, and this is a CD of loads of her songs. They’re like devotional songs, but they’re not like chants.
I’ve made albums for her before [such as 2005’s J and Friends Sing And Chant For Amma] before. Music’s really important in her sort of thing, and other people perform too while she’s hugging people, so I wanted to do that somehow. At first I was trying to figure out what I could do that would be palatable in that scene, so I ended up writing some songs just to play at her gatherings. And I know if you donate money to her, there’s no waste, because most people are volunteering for her anyway. She builds houses and gives them to poor people and stuff, so you can see the product. Does it have a personal spiritual importance to me? Yeah, just a basic one: selfless-service, and that helping other people is the best way to help yourself.
