I Am the Sky has a special place among the Cosmic Chants. Cosmic Chants (p. 21) tells us: “Paramahansa Yogananda and Rajarsi Janakananda, a great American disciple, often spent hours together in samadhi on the Encinitas seashore, facing the ocean and sky, in divine oneness with the Infinite. Yoganandaji dedicated this chant to his beloved Rajarsi.”

It is a relatively simple song, but it takes some skill to choose an ideal tempo and keep it steady, and to handle the wide vocal range. Many notes are held for a long time, so holding them on pitch takes vocal skill as well.

Song Form

A I am the sky, Mother, I am the sky, x2

B I am the vast blue ocean of sky.

B′ I am a little drop of the sky—

C frozen sky.

The form is 22 bars in 3/4, but it has an asymmetric feel: A is 4 bars sung x2, B and B′ are 4 bars each, and C stretches “frozen sky” over 6 bars.

Notes

• B and B′ begin and end with the same melody; B′ differs only in the middle, on “little drop.” Since the two lines sound so alike, be clear about which words come next.

• In B′, be alert to the rhythm on “little.” “Lit-” is a quick eighth note, and “-tle” comes in just before beat 2 and is held, with a short breath before “drop.” It’s easy to smooth this into even beats, which makes it sound like B.

• In C, “sky” is held across four bars as the melody moves through four long notes. Keep counting through these held notes so everyone comes back to A together.

• After the standard form has been sung several times, extra repeats in groups of two can build devotion and yearning. This works on B, and on C, which is sung only once in the standard form. A loop between B and C is also lovely.

• Ending: the most natural ending is to repeat A as you fade out, keeping the intensity of the chant.

Listen to SRF Recordings

Videos on YouTube

• I Am the Sky (YSS monastics)

• 2026 Convocation Monks' Kirtan (3-hour)

Audio Recordings

• I Am the Sky (Sr. Ishwari), from the album Light the Lamp of Thy Love
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal

• I Am the Sky (instrumental), from the album The Divine Gypsy
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal

• I Am the Sky (instrumental), from the album I Am the Sky
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal