Meditative Mantra Musician
London
Musical and life partner of Deva Premal, Miten began touring in the 1970s as an opening act for so many, including Fleetwood Mac, Hall and Oates, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder and The Velvet Underground, recording albums with The Kinks and legendary Los Angeles producer, Bones Howe. Superficially, a great life for a young man in the heart of the London music scene – and yet it was not enough – nowhere near enough – all he had to show for his ‘success’ was a heartache and a hangover.
Desperate, one morning Miten woke up and with a resolve he didn’t know he possessed, walked out of his world, never to return. Record company, managers, publishers, band members, friends and family… all became history in one single flash of insight. Swept along on a tidal wave, and guided by an unseen hand he entered the wild and tempestuous world of the notorious Indian mystic, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Discarding all his guitars, he entered his new world psychologically raw, naked and with the innocent eyes of a child. Adopting a Gurdjieffian-type outlook, he chopped vegetables for a year in the ashram kitchen, healing his anguished heart, learning how to meditate, and gradually reconnecting with his ‘original face’ as the Zen people say. Slowly but surely the sun rose, the mist cleared and one fateful day our hero stood alone in the light of a brand new morning, re-born, transformed, re-booted and ready to participate in life’s great chaotic extravaganza. He picked up a guitar for the first time in years and began to sing simple songs of redemption, gratitude and devotion. Then in 1990, he met a beautiful 20 year old German girl who had been living in the ashram in India since she was a teenager. That young lady happened to be Deva Premal. Not the Deva Premal of the mesmerising voice and the ancient mantras. This Deva Premal wasn’t even singing when they met. But with Miten’s gentle coaxing and guidance, the young Deva began to find her voice… Together with his beloved Deva, he travels the world sharing what he calls ‘the master’s grace’ through music, mantra and meditation.
