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harshada wagner
June 2009 
Kirtan: Musical Yoga for the Heart
Posted on Jun 8th, 2009
by 
Harshada
Harshada
In yoga schools and living rooms around the country, the ancient practice of Kirtan is taking off like never before. Kirtan artists like Krishna Das and Jai Uttal have become household names (in the houses where yoga people live anyway). But what is it? Is it singing? Is it yoga? And where did it come from?
The word Kirtan is shorthand for namasankirtana, a Sanskrit word meaning loosely “coming together to sing the names of God”. Over the millennia countless chants have been created by seekers expressing their love for the Divine in all its myriad forms.
Usually the chants are made up of short Sanskrit phrases or mantras set to music and sung in call-and-response manner. Musicians play Indian instruments like the harmonium, tabla, mrdanga and cymbals to keep time and help everyone stay with the melody of the chant. Sometimes Kirtan sessions are done sitting down- other times people will stand and dance and move their bodies as they chant.
The ancient science of yoga developed by the ancient sages of India as a holistic approach designed to help people open themselves and evolve towards the state of liberation. Kirtan is a form of yoga designed to open the heart the same way that baddhakonasana is designed to open the hips. It comes from the tradition of bhakti yoga- the yoga of devotion. The bhakti practitioner moves towards union with the One by cultivating intense feelings of love, devotion, and longing for the Divine in its many forms. Among bhakti practices, Kirtan is key. By singing out loud, the seeker gives voice to their love and devotion- by gathering with other seekers, the power of devotion is multiplied and a natural and sacred celebration is created.
Origins of Kirtan
The practice of mantra repetition is ancient- much older than recorded history. In the lineage that I come from, kirtan emerged as a popular practice in India in between 800 and 1700 ce during a period known as the “bhakti movement”. Before the bhakti movement, esoteric knowledge in India was reserved for an elite class of male Brahmin priests or cloistered sanyassins (monks). Most of the ancient scriptures of India were composed in Sanskrit and were only accessible to those fortunate enough to be versed in the language. In most societies, common people were expected only to worship God and obey religious law. Understanding was not important and the inner experience of union with God was often thought of as heretical.
The bhakti movement came about when great yogis and saints such as Jnaneshwar, Tukaram and Kabir, Namdev and Mirabai composed devotional songs written in common languages like Hindi, Marathi and Urdu. They wrote poems about their inner experience and the path towards enlightenment -and then set the poems to catchy melodies and rhythms. Because they were set to music they were attractive to anyone.
The saints would then host gatherings and travel to villages and sing their poems for people regardless of their social position or gender. They would teach the songs to people as way of conveying the essence of mystical knowledge. They also freely introduced ancient mantras to the masses and encouraged them with their music to sing the mantras out loud over and over again. As audiences began to taste the inner experience the saints were singing about, they began dancing and singing along with the chorus of the songs- singing the mantras they learned from the saints. This is how the modern tradition of Kirtan was born in India. While the practice of Kirtan began with Hindus, it eventually influenced the Sufi tradition in Islam as well as the devotional practices of the Sikh religion.
The Name Migrates
As yoga and Eastern philosophy came west with yogis such as Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ram Tirth and others, small numbers of western devotees began to practice Kirtan. In the mid 1960’s, the Hare Krishna movement brought the practice of Kirtan front-and-center. Hare Krishna founder and Guru, AC Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada, educated westerners about the practice of chanting and eventually built a worldwide movement based around the chanting the name of Krishna. According to the story, he arrived in New York in 1966 and went to Tomkins Square Park- a central spot in the American hippy scene- and sat down by himself with a small pair of cymbals chanting. Gradually others joined in. Now the organization he founded, International Society of Krishna Consciousness, has a community with over a quarter million devotees in 71 countries. Every Friday in NYC there is still a wonderful chanting session that takes place in Prabupada’s original storefront temple on 2nd Ave.
Since the sixties, many western practitioners have taken up the practice of namasankirtana. Popular yoga teachers like John Friend and others have begun including Kirtan artists in their workshops and retreats. Nowadays, a seeker can find a whole variety of different kirtan styles on tape, CD- even on on-line music sources like ITUNES. The styles vary widely- from the traditional Indian temple style of chanting to chants that include electric guitar and drum sets. My favorite is at Gauravani.com. Gaura is a Washington DC based Vaishnava devotee with hundreds of free downloads of live chants. Some of these are the most ecstatic recordings available anywhere.
I’ve been practicing yoga for more than 20 years now and I find that chanting provides a indisposable and beloved part of my spiritual life. When I chant, I’m able to bring myself through a gradual process of opening. When I first begin- it sometimes feels awkward. I feel hyperaware of the quality of music or the environment where I’m chanting. As the chant goes on and I give myself to the process, I gradually let go and begin to feel the subtler vibration of the chant. The rhythm, the mantras and the other voices around me begin to penetrate my mind and bring me more in touch with the feelings in my heart. Sometimes my awareness goes through layers of boredom or emotion. Other times the chanting takes me directly into a deep place of love and joy. Whatever happens, by the end of the chant- something has shifted. Often, I find myself swept into a profound state of ecstasy while I’m chanting. Some of the highest moments in my spiritual journey have happened during kirtan sessions.
There are number of things that make Kirtan a powerful a practice: It’s accessible- anyone can do it. Even if they can’t sing, they can throw themselves into the practice bolstered by the support and voices of the others in the room. The mantras that we sing in kirtans are very special. They are known as chaitanya- alive with energy. The syllables themselves create the sound vibrations that bring the human mind into a sense of its own divinity. Because of this words like ram, shiva, ma, kali, and so on are given as names to the various divinities in the Hindu pantheon. The great Saint Tukaram maharaj used to say that when we chant, god is literally dancing on our tongues.
June is Chanting Season in NYC!
June 12 Gauravani and his amazing band will lead a Kirtan session in Soho.
Details online
June 13 Rathyatra- the Hare Krishna festival of Chariots. At noon a dancing, chanting, ecstatic parade will start dancing their way down 5th Ave. from 59th Street to the Free Public Vegetarian Feast at Washington Square Park. I will be there dancing with a number of students and friends- come join our little contingent!
June 14 Radha Krishna Temple in Brooklyn- Chanting, free food, love from 3pm until late at night.
Also... we will be doing lots of kirtan and visiting some of the birthplaces of the Bhakti Movement during our India retreat this August. Click here for details.
The word Kirtan is shorthand for namasankirtana, a Sanskrit word meaning loosely “coming together to sing the names of God”. Over the millennia countless chants have been created by seekers expressing their love for the Divine in all its myriad forms.
Usually the chants are made up of short Sanskrit phrases or mantras set to music and sung in call-and-response manner. Musicians play Indian instruments like the harmonium, tabla, mrdanga and cymbals to keep time and help everyone stay with the melody of the chant. Sometimes Kirtan sessions are done sitting down- other times people will stand and dance and move their bodies as they chant.
The ancient science of yoga developed by the ancient sages of India as a holistic approach designed to help people open themselves and evolve towards the state of liberation. Kirtan is a form of yoga designed to open the heart the same way that baddhakonasana is designed to open the hips. It comes from the tradition of bhakti yoga- the yoga of devotion. The bhakti practitioner moves towards union with the One by cultivating intense feelings of love, devotion, and longing for the Divine in its many forms. Among bhakti practices, Kirtan is key. By singing out loud, the seeker gives voice to their love and devotion- by gathering with other seekers, the power of devotion is multiplied and a natural and sacred celebration is created.
Origins of Kirtan
The practice of mantra repetition is ancient- much older than recorded history. In the lineage that I come from, kirtan emerged as a popular practice in India in between 800 and 1700 ce during a period known as the “bhakti movement”. Before the bhakti movement, esoteric knowledge in India was reserved for an elite class of male Brahmin priests or cloistered sanyassins (monks). Most of the ancient scriptures of India were composed in Sanskrit and were only accessible to those fortunate enough to be versed in the language. In most societies, common people were expected only to worship God and obey religious law. Understanding was not important and the inner experience of union with God was often thought of as heretical.
The bhakti movement came about when great yogis and saints such as Jnaneshwar, Tukaram and Kabir, Namdev and Mirabai composed devotional songs written in common languages like Hindi, Marathi and Urdu. They wrote poems about their inner experience and the path towards enlightenment -and then set the poems to catchy melodies and rhythms. Because they were set to music they were attractive to anyone.
The saints would then host gatherings and travel to villages and sing their poems for people regardless of their social position or gender. They would teach the songs to people as way of conveying the essence of mystical knowledge. They also freely introduced ancient mantras to the masses and encouraged them with their music to sing the mantras out loud over and over again. As audiences began to taste the inner experience the saints were singing about, they began dancing and singing along with the chorus of the songs- singing the mantras they learned from the saints. This is how the modern tradition of Kirtan was born in India. While the practice of Kirtan began with Hindus, it eventually influenced the Sufi tradition in Islam as well as the devotional practices of the Sikh religion.
The Name Migrates
As yoga and Eastern philosophy came west with yogis such as Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ram Tirth and others, small numbers of western devotees began to practice Kirtan. In the mid 1960’s, the Hare Krishna movement brought the practice of Kirtan front-and-center. Hare Krishna founder and Guru, AC Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada, educated westerners about the practice of chanting and eventually built a worldwide movement based around the chanting the name of Krishna. According to the story, he arrived in New York in 1966 and went to Tomkins Square Park- a central spot in the American hippy scene- and sat down by himself with a small pair of cymbals chanting. Gradually others joined in. Now the organization he founded, International Society of Krishna Consciousness, has a community with over a quarter million devotees in 71 countries. Every Friday in NYC there is still a wonderful chanting session that takes place in Prabupada’s original storefront temple on 2nd Ave.
Since the sixties, many western practitioners have taken up the practice of namasankirtana. Popular yoga teachers like John Friend and others have begun including Kirtan artists in their workshops and retreats. Nowadays, a seeker can find a whole variety of different kirtan styles on tape, CD- even on on-line music sources like ITUNES. The styles vary widely- from the traditional Indian temple style of chanting to chants that include electric guitar and drum sets. My favorite is at Gauravani.com. Gaura is a Washington DC based Vaishnava devotee with hundreds of free downloads of live chants. Some of these are the most ecstatic recordings available anywhere.
I’ve been practicing yoga for more than 20 years now and I find that chanting provides a indisposable and beloved part of my spiritual life. When I chant, I’m able to bring myself through a gradual process of opening. When I first begin- it sometimes feels awkward. I feel hyperaware of the quality of music or the environment where I’m chanting. As the chant goes on and I give myself to the process, I gradually let go and begin to feel the subtler vibration of the chant. The rhythm, the mantras and the other voices around me begin to penetrate my mind and bring me more in touch with the feelings in my heart. Sometimes my awareness goes through layers of boredom or emotion. Other times the chanting takes me directly into a deep place of love and joy. Whatever happens, by the end of the chant- something has shifted. Often, I find myself swept into a profound state of ecstasy while I’m chanting. Some of the highest moments in my spiritual journey have happened during kirtan sessions.
There are number of things that make Kirtan a powerful a practice: It’s accessible- anyone can do it. Even if they can’t sing, they can throw themselves into the practice bolstered by the support and voices of the others in the room. The mantras that we sing in kirtans are very special. They are known as chaitanya- alive with energy. The syllables themselves create the sound vibrations that bring the human mind into a sense of its own divinity. Because of this words like ram, shiva, ma, kali, and so on are given as names to the various divinities in the Hindu pantheon. The great Saint Tukaram maharaj used to say that when we chant, god is literally dancing on our tongues.
June is Chanting Season in NYC!
June 12 Gauravani and his amazing band will lead a Kirtan session in Soho.
Details online
June 13 Rathyatra- the Hare Krishna festival of Chariots. At noon a dancing, chanting, ecstatic parade will start dancing their way down 5th Ave. from 59th Street to the Free Public Vegetarian Feast at Washington Square Park. I will be there dancing with a number of students and friends- come join our little contingent!
June 14 Radha Krishna Temple in Brooklyn- Chanting, free food, love from 3pm until late at night.
Also... we will be doing lots of kirtan and visiting some of the birthplaces of the Bhakti Movement during our India retreat this August. Click here for details.
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