Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has won his first-ever Grammy Award at the age of 90, earning global recognition for his spoken-word album “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama”.
The album received the award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles, today. Other nominees in the category included Kathy Garver, Trevor Noah, US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Fab Morvan.
The project is a collaboration with renowned sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, blending spoken reflections with music to highlight universal themes such as peace, compassion, kindness, hope, and environmental responsibility.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama in the spiritual lineage, joined a list of first-time Grammy winners this year that also included filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Musician Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the Dalai Lama’s behalf during the ceremony.
Reacting to the honour, the Dalai Lama said he accepted the award with “gratitude and humility,” emphasising that he did not view it as a personal achievement. Instead, he described it as recognition of shared global responsibility, underscoring the importance of peace, compassion, environmental care, and the oneness of humanity for the well-being of all people worldwide.
An official from the Dalai Lama’s office said the album draws from his teachings delivered across various talks, focusing on compassion, peace, human unity, and environmental awareness. Produced with the involvement of Glassnote Records, the album weaves the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s meditative reflections with Indian classical music and contributions from artists across diverse global traditions.
Amjad Ali Khan, reacting to the nomination earlier, described the album as a deeply personal project inspired by the Dalai Lama’s teachings. He said the collaboration aimed to create a reflective and contemplative musical experience that carries a message of peace and hope in a new form, calling the opportunity to work with the spiritual leader a profound privilege.
