On a sunny, breezy day by the Arabian Sea, an idea struck Ananda Tirtha Dasa who had been pacing up and down Mumbai’s Juhu Beach. A short distance from the ISKCON temple which has been his home for over twenty years, the devotee who is also the CEO of Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), one of the books wings of the international spiritual organization, was deep in thought as he pondered ways to alleviate the gloom that had descended over the entire globe. It was the year 2020 and the Covid 19 pandemic was raging across the world. “It was a time of utter distress and I was searching for a way to help people, physically, psychologically and spiritually,” he tells me during an interview earlier this month. “March is a spiritual month. 

And then, as though through divine guidance the idea struck him like a flash of lightening. “It occurred to me that I had at my disposal all these books, especially the ancient scriptures, which were full of messages of spiritual solace,” he says. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I try to send these messages to as many people as possible?’”. 

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However how does one deliver these huge tomes, comprising hundreds and thousands of pages to people around the world? And does the average person actually get around to reading all those millions, billions and trillions of words contained in these hundreds and thousands of pages? Especially during these times of depression, disease and death?  

Being tech savvy with a knack for enterprise, Dasa decided to launch an App which, once downloaded, would give readers across the world access to audio versions of all the spiritual books which have ever been published by BBT. He named the Aap Transcend AI for the obvious reason that the readings were meant to transport the listener to a realm….where peace dwells. 

153 vocal artists, most of them professional and skilled voice over and dubbing artists, were engaged for the purpose. “It was divine intervention again….they just came forward and offered their services,” says Dasa. “Though we did offer a nominal honorarium, they were even willing to do the job for the love of it….the the nature of the work so attractive to them.” Apparently the artists and others who were involved in the work were so inspired up by the sessions of spiritual readings and recordings that they and even their families overcame the despondency associated with an ongoing pandemic. “I feel it is the power of the uplifting words contained in the scriptures that was behind the transformation from despondency to delight,” says Dasa. 

Though there are 8000 hours of recorded readings, it took many more hours to complete the process….including editing. “This is because the recordings needed to be perfect. We wanted to ensure that the sound quality was impeccable. The inflections, the intonations, everything had to be checked and our technicians did a marvelous job of it,” says Dasa. 

The idea was to make the audio available to people all over the world. There are over 600 audio and ebooks and they are available in 11 languages. I checked out the charming list of books with their colorful covers available on the Transcend App through the BBT website transcendstore.com and found several of the topics riveting. Other than the iconic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and of course the quintessential spiritual scriptures, Upanishad and Bhagvad Gita, I found books on themes like reincarnation and consciousness fascinating. 

Though the visuals are appealing, I think rendering them in audio versions is a wonderful idea. I would personally delight in hearing them, say, while driving or doing laundry or washing dishes. I really don’t have time to read all the books that I would like to anyway and I would love to hear stories on reincarnation and consciousness. The App is a little costly though. At Rs 7000. I would still like to download it. 

We are nearing April. If April, according to the great poet, T.S. Eliot, is “the cruelest” month, they say, that March is the month of spirituality. And it all began on that sunny, breezy day in March 2020 in Mumbai. Five years on and on this sunny, windy day in March in Kolkata, I am marveling at such sound ideas (puns intended).