A Global Musical Tribute to Gandhi: Mantras of Compassion

The project was conceived during a four-city tour through India in 2024, where three-time GRAMMY-winning composer Ricky Kej and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi reflected on the enduring legacy of Gandhi’s teachings. Inspired by his commitment to peace, nonviolence, and compassion, they set out to create an album that would carry his timeless message across cultures and generations.

Kej partnered with lyricist and producer Sumathy Ram, GRAMMY-nominated cellist Tina Guo, and GRAMMY-winning shamisen master Masa Takumi, forming the creative core of the project. To amplify Gandhi’s universal message, Kej invited musicians from around the world, recording across 31 studios over a year-long process.

The album’s contributors read like a “who’s who” of the global music scene:

• Stewart Copeland (The Police)

• The GRAMMY-winning choir Tonality

• Philip Lawrence (Bruno Mars collaborator)

• The Le Boeuf Brothers

• Folk legend Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary)

• New York Youth Symphony

• Gospel powerhouse Ricky Dillard

• And many more across genres and continents.

Satyarthi’s spoken word passages throughout the album add profound reflections on Gandhi’s immortality, religion, oneness, and personal meaning, grounding the music in its spiritual essence.

Each track is rooted in Gandhi’s values:

• “Compassion (Karuna)” opens the album with orchestral grandeur and choral beauty.

• “Coexist (Ekam)” unites voices from 40 countries in harmony, symbolizing global peace.

• “We Are One (Raghupati Raghava)”, Gandhi’s favorite hymn, blends Indian choirs with Hollywood strings.

• “Empathy (Vaishnava Janato)” invokes love and tolerance through a mix of East-West instrumentation.

• “The Lord’s Prayer (Sarvesa)”, uniquely sung in Sanskrit, was blessed by Pope Francis before his passing.

• “Where Are My Rainbows”, featuring the late Peter Yarrow, ties Gandhi’s vision to environmental and social justice.

• The closing track, “Abide With Me”, resonates as both a Christian hymn and a Gandhi favorite, reimagined with gospel and Indian choirs.

For Kej, this is not his first tribute to Gandhi—songs from his GRAMMY-winning Winds of Samsara and Divine Tides also honored the Mahatma. But Mantras of Compassion is his most ambitious effort yet, with accompanying videos for every track and a planned promotional tour beginning September 20 at the Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston.

“This is more than just a tribute,” says Ram. “It is a call to live with compassion, to embrace oneness (Ekam), truth (Satya), nonviolence (Ahimsa), and love (Karuna). Gandhi’s message remains as urgent today as ever.”

Through this global collaboration, Gandhi’s voice continues to echo—not just as history, but as a living force of peace.