, PLEASE LET OUR FRIENDS GO - SRI PRAHLAD -1986 - CLOSED CAPTIONED

(grown up Sri Prahlad) This song was inspired by the letter Sri Prahlada and Raman wrote to Mr. Gorbachev. The lyrics were then penned by the Late Yasomatinandana dasa and Hari Bandhu wrote the music from a tune he had heard Gauragopala humming. How this all happed was written down as a day to day diary and will eventually be published Dec 25, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — Prahlad & the Krishna Kids Prahlad - “Through the Eyes of a Child“ Label: EMI, Australia Released 1986 Mr. Gorbachev, Please Let Our Friends Go Mr. Gorbachev you may say You want peace and that’s okay But try to see our point of view The Hare Krishnas want peace too Please! Please! Let our friends go Please.......! Please......! Let them go Peace begins at home, they say So let our friends go home and pray They don’t mean harm in any way Why do you want to lock them away Please! Please! Let our friends go Please.......! Please......! Let them go Mr. Gorbachev, hear our plea All our friends please set them free In the worldwide ’Year of Peace’ Human kindness should increase Please! Please! Let our friends go Please.......! Please......! Let them go Please! Please! Let our friends go Please.......! Please......! Let them go Mr. Gorbachev, let the world see Mr. Gorbachev, set them free Sri Prahlad was a teenage lad from the Krishna community in Northern NSW. The album is a collection of inspirational pop songs, with a focus on world peace and social harmony. One track pleads for the release of Krishna detainees being held in Russia. Actually Australia is the historical nation for the great song, “Mr. Gorbachev Please Let Our Friends Go“. Listen to the beginning of the Soviet freedom campaign and how the plea of a group of 12 year old children led to the freedom of Russian Hare Krishnas in the Soviet Union. Even Gorbechev himself personally was moved by this song. And yes, a child helped lead to the collapse of the Soviet empire! Also the kids were way, way ahead of their time in 1985, when they first sang about child sexual, emotional, psychological and physical abuse in the song ’It’s up to you’ -- way before the problems in ISKCON and the Catholic church were exposed. Apparently Dryn Hynch was also impressed with what that song exposed, which was the secret abuses in society. It was also played in the states, and some even gave the song credit for helping to begin the worldwide campaign against child human rights violations, sexual, physical and emotional Sri Prahlada was practically born into kirtan and has been singing and playing kirtan across the globe since childhood. He developed his initial fascination with kirtan attending school at ashrams in Australia and India. A natural musical talent, at age 12 he won a recording contract with record giant EMI, releasing two singles and an album entitled “Through the Eyes of a Child“. Sri Prahlada has performed kirtan in traditional, as well as rock and reggae styles before audiences of tens of thousands. Sri Prahlada’s heart and soul permeates every moment of every kirtan he sings, transporting his audience to the realm of spiritual consciousness. Sri Prahlada has performed kirtan in traditional, as well as rock and reggae styles before audiences of tens of thousands. Along with the likes of Krishna Das and Jai Uttal, he features in Steven Rosen’s book ’The Yoga of Kirtan’ which contains in-depth interviews with 20 western kirtan artists. A musical hit in Australia and a number of countries, ’Prahlad and the Krishna Kids’ were all devotees at ISKCON New Govardhan. This LP was bought via Ebay in 2005. Hare Krishna! Kirtan is mantra meditation as song. The Sanskrit word ’man’ means mind, while ’tra’ means to free. Mantra meditation calms your mind of fear and anxiety, and opens your heart to reveal your spiritual nature of eternity and bliss. The process of kirtan involves singing sacred mantras to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Generally, the mantras are sung a repetitive call-and-response style, where the leader sings a mantra and the audience chants in response. Thus, kirtan includes the audience in the performance. Kirtan is a culture where people can share spiritual meditation in a joint spiritual experience. This practice of repetitive prayer is present in varied forms within most spiritual traditions in the world, although the yoga tradition of India generally gives more emphasis to it as a specific discipline. Often kirtan begins with all the participants sitting meditatively, but ends with joyous dancing as kirtan awakens the natural joy of the soul.