28/10/2023
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The spiritual founding father of Goa Trance known as Goa Gil aka Shri Mahant Managalanand Puri has left his earthly body, in the comfort of his home, surrounded by family and friends.
Born Gilbert Levey in California in 1951, Gil was part of the San Francisco hippy movement in the late 60s before embarking for India. There, he participated in the legendary Full Moon parties as a bass player in the Gilbert Garcia band and then became a DJ of electronic music, which heavily contributed to the rise of Goa Trance and Psytrance. The Hungarian “Goa scene” and the present-day psy community can be directly traced back to him and the cassette tapes that first traveled from the golden beaches of Goa to the Hungarian underground.
Affectionately called Babaji, he was not only a pioneering DJ, but also a pivotal psy-remony master who, through art and life, redefined the ancient tribal ritual for the 21st century. As a visionary, he set out to elevate consciousness through the Dance Trance Experience, spreading rhythmic vibrations of love, unity, and transcendence that he so profoundly embodied. He symbolized the potential to connect with the divine through the medium of music.
It is with deep sorrow that we accept his absence, but our gratitude for the far-reaching legacy he leaves behind remains boundless. His final wish, an extension of love and blessings to all, is an integral part of this legacy, one that we will continually honor, keeping alive his spirit of unity and collective evolution.
We are forever grateful for your presence, Babaji, which we will keep celebrating through dance and trance, as we unite with the cosmic spirit and your eternal essence.
"Dance is active meditation. When we dance, we go beyond thought, beyond mind and beyond our individuality to become one in the divine ecstasy of the union with the cosmic spirit. This is the essence of the trance dance experience." – Goa Gil
