At 90, Dalai Lama Earns First Grammy For Meditative Spoken-Word Album

Dalai Lama Takes Home First Grammy For Meditative Album Blending Words And Indian Classical Music

At 90, Dalai Lama, the iconic Tibetan leader, wins his first Grammy at the 68th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He was honoured not for a sermon or a political statement, but for a spoken word album, ‘Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’.

Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording

In a ceremony known for spectacle, the award went to a work that asks listeners to slow down and sit with ideas of compassion, responsibility, and inner calm. 

For many admirers, this win felt less like a personal accolade and more like recognition of a life spent urging humanity to be kinder. 

How Did Music Shape This Spiritual Collaboration?

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash collaborated for the album’s emotional texture. They composed and performed music alongside the Dalai Lama’s voice. 

The sarod does not decorate the narration. It breathes with it. At times, the music fills the silences between sentences; at others, it retreats, allowing the words to linger. The result feels less like an audiobook and more like a shared meditation.

The reflections avoid religious instruction. Instead, they speak about everyday moral choices, how people treat one another, how anger is handled, and how compassion can be practiced without ceremony. The music grounds these ideas in something felt rather than explained.

What Did the Win Mean Beyond the Stage?

Dalai Lama did not attend the Grammy ceremony. Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on his behalf. In a statement later released, Dalai Lama thanked the listeners, saying the recognition belonged to the message of compassion, not to him as an individual.

In Dharamshala, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile, the news spread quickly. Community leaders described the win as a reminder that the Dalai Lama’s voice still travels far. 

At a time of too much noise and urgency, the Grammy honoured something rare: the power of stillness and shared humanity.