New Delhi: An unprecedented win happened at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles when Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, won a Grammy for his audiobook Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I do not see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility,” the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama posted on X accepting the award.
The 90-year-old Dalai Lama won his first Grammy in the Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording category. The category honours excellence in audiobooks and narration, where storytelling and vocal depth are key criteria.
His audiobook is a spoken-word album in which he shares reflections on meditation, peace, compassion, and life lessons in his own voice. The album also incorporates Indian melodies and music.
“I truly believe that peace, compassion, and care are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I am grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely,” the office added.
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the world’s most respected and leading spiritual figures. For decades, he has lived in exile in India, advocating for peace, nonviolence, human rights, and understanding across religious and cultural divides.
He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his efforts toward global peace.
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Message through music
The album presents the Dalai Lama’s ten meditative insights paired with music, weaving spoken word and sound into a sonorous message. It celebrates humanity’s shared values — peace, kindness, compassion, mindfulness, human unity, hope, and harmony.
Other nominees in the category included actor Kathy Garver for the 2025 memoir Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story, comedian Trevor Noah for his children’s book Into the Uncut Grass, lawyer Ketanji Brown Jackson for her memoir Lovely One, and French singer Fab Morvan for You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli.
To create this album, the Dalai Lama collaborated with Indian sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash.
“Our album, Meditation: Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is a project close to our hearts. It brings together the spoken wisdom of His Holiness with original music that invites reflection, stillness, and compassion. Throughout our lives, we have been inspired by his teachings, and this collaboration allowed us to create something that carries his message of peace and hope in a new way,” Amjad Ali Khan posted on social media at the time of the nomination announcement.
The album features 10 tracks on major music platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and iHeart. Track titles include Heart, Oneness, Harmony, Kindness, Water, Mind, Health, Peace, Essence, and Journey. Other platforms also feature Dalai Lama tracks under titles such as “Meditation with the Dalai Lama”.
The opening track, Heart, reflects the essence of compassion and love — the heart is the source of connection, empathy, and human warmth. The second track, Oneness, reflects the interconnectedness of people and life, despite differences in culture, faith, and background. While Harmony promotes peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, Water serves as a metaphor for clarity, flow, and essential sustenance.
After Health, Peace, and Essence, the album concludes with Journey, which ties all the themes together as a spiritual journey of life.
“Working with His Holiness was a profound privilege. We are grateful to every artist who contributed their voice, creativity, and spirit to this vision,” Khan added.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)