ABOUT GEORGE CRAIG MCMILLIAN (KIRANTANA)

     It would be difficult for everyday citizens to understand GC’s life without some knowledge of the “Dharma Bums”, a moniker created by Jack Kerouac in his famous book by the same name.  Though the book was about the beat generation and Kerouac’s searches for higher consciousness, mostly through Buddhism, the name latter came to describe a whole generation of young people coming out of the 60’s hippy movement, that moved past the free love and drugs and into serious spiritual studies.  At that time a whole armada of eastern gurus, from many varied lineages came to the United States.  Thousands of young people feeling betrayed by the orthodox western religion’s politics during the Vietnam War, took to these eastern teachings with gusto.  But one of the highest spiritual ideals coming from the East was the “sahdu”, or wandering monk.  These people lived totally outside society so they could keep their minds and hearts on their search for enlightenment, or God, and for many, Goddess.  The word dharma means ‘spiritual path.’  Though this path was greatly honored in the East, in the West it certainly did not live up to cherished capitalistic ideals, thus the word “bums.”  It was a life of wandering from ashram to ashram, to monastery, to living in the mountains, trips to India, usually studying with a few different teachers, then back to America to either teach or back to the mountains again.  Many of these sincere seekers have now become the teachers of our time.

     GC was a child of these times.  He lived totally outside society for over 3 decades, studying with many of the premiere spiritual, meditation, and martial arts masters of our times, well, that is when he wasn’t breaking out of the ashrams to go play rock music in local pubs; he was also a life long musician with a great love for just about every style on the planet.  Over the years he took his studies to the highest degrees, accumulated an impressive amount of skills and titles, and lived a life that reads like a James A. Michner adventure novel…from body guard to the head of the Sikh religion, to teaching kundalini yoga for stress control to soldiers on the front lines in war zones, helping organize groups of students to overthrow their governments in at least two places where those governments no longer exist, and many other hair-raising assignments that don’t get on the records.…and all the time grabbing any musician he could find to jam with where ever he was… thus his wide variety of styles.

     GC met the Dalai Lama in the early 80’s in India, then finally went through the Kalachakra Tantra initiations in 1989, though he says his real practice and transformation happened years latter in Sarjevo while working as a peacekeeper during the Bosnian War.

     After GC’s mother, father, and elder brother passed away within a year of each other, he created a small retreat center in the swamp lands of Mississippi, and retired again from the world to enter into his second 3-year retreat, which turned to 5 years.  It was out of that silence that GC put his two greatest loves together…music and meditation, and “Salvation” was born.  Though during those 5 years it was rumored that someone who looked very much like him was seen riding with an infamous Mississippi motorcycle club and “getting down” at the honky-tonks along the river.  When asked about these ‘rumors’ GC’s answered with true ‘old school’ dharma bum tradition: “Balance is everything.”