in may 1995, mills suggested that the band take the name kula shaker, in honour of one of the twelve alvars (saints of south india), the ninth-century indian emperor and holy man, king kulashekhara. in indian culture, the name kulashekhara is thought to be lucky or auspicious, and this appealed to the struggling band. mills also posited that kula shaker's music should follow a more spiritual and mystical direction in future, in line with his own growing interest in the philosophy of gaudiya vaishnavism. this new emphasis on indian mysticism and instrumentation, dovetailed with the beatlesque, 1960s derived influences already present in the band's music, to create a sound heavily indebted to 1960s psychedelia.