Ahimsa
by U2

Album: Single release only (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Ahimsa" is the Sanskrit word for the absence of desire to indulge in any sort of violence. This meditative peace anthem was released by U2 on November 22, 2019 ahead of playing their first ever show in India.
  • The song is a collaboration with Indian musician and composer AR Rahman, who is best known to Western audiences for 2009's "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)," which won him an Academy Award for best original song.
  • Rahman explained the track's call for peace in an interview with Rolling Stone.

    "The concept of 'ahimsa' or non-violence - it's Indian, it's South Asian, it's Buddhist... and sometimes we have to remind people about love, about ahimsa," he said. "It takes a lot of courage to be nonviolent. It takes a lot of power. It's not a weakness, it's more power than showing might; it's going beyond that, believing in something else which is not present... something that's only in your spirit."
  • U2 played "Ahimsa" live for the first time during their December 15, 2019 gig at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium in India. The Irish rockers were joined on stage for the performance by A.R. Rahman, his daughters, Khatija and Raheema, and singer-songwriter Rianjali Bhowmick.

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