PUSHTI: July 2024, Kirtan!

ABSTRACT/QUOTE
YS I.28 taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam
By chanting Om one realizes the meaning of Om.

“Kirtan isn’t about how much you know, that’s for sure. Kirtan is about how much you feel.” – Shyamdas
“One can realize God through kirtan alone.” – Sivananda
“Bhakti, devotion, is the essential nature of Satsang.”

The most well-known practice of chanting in the West is Kirtan, call-and-response singing of Mantra. The root of the word “Kirtan” means “to cut.” With each repetition, we are slicing away the barriers of ego and personality that disconnect us from our hearts. The great kirtan singer (also called a “wallah”) Krishna Das provides a metaphor (paraphrasing here) saying that each repetition is like blowing off the dust that is collected on the mirror of our minds, allowing us to get a truer reflection of our Soul that is not distorted by the crud and dust of our egos. Also, given that most of us feel we have little control over our thoughts – that thought is more of something that happens to us than something we do – always having the name of God on our lips is a welcome change and refuge from the usual content of the mind, which creates much suffering and dysfunction. All month we will chant, and on Wednesday, July 31, our month will culminate with a Kirtan, an evening of ecstatic chant with a full band, and the bhav will be illustrious.

Check out these great Kirtan Wallahs: Krishna Das, Shyamdas, Jai Uttal, Donna De Lory, Wah!, Deva Premal & Miten, Snatam Kaur, Bhagavan Das.
Listen to this playlist of essential Kirtan songs:
On Spotify, Jeffrey & Joy Pilots

Somewhere in the Bible it says, “My father’s house has many rooms.” This is to say there are infinite ways to know and name God. There is a room for everybody, and each of us always has a place to stay. Let’s not get caught up in the patriarchal nature nor the word “God” – that way we can avoid not only a few arguments, but also a few wars. Call it whatever you want. Don’t like God? Don’t use it. Names are infinite, and all names point to the Divine, both and beyond female and male.

Moreover, the Sanskrit names or mantras are God, not just a label, but the actual – and really, beyond description. Chanting Sanskrit mantra is more an experience of pure prana and vibration than heady thought and meaning. Sanskrit is the ancient language of yoga. The great Sage Ramakrishna said each utterance and repetition is a powerful seed that will inevitably bring about the fruit of bhavanam – the ecstatic atmosphere of Divine realization. We have a direct line to the Divine. Simply, we call it Bhav. Bhav is the feel-good realm where meaning makes no sense, a peace beyond all understanding. This is the true heart of the matter, literally and figuratively. This is devotion, the Pushti Marg, or the Path of Grace, detailed by the great Acharya Vallabha (teacher of the Upanishads). The most intelligent and popular practice of yoga on our planet is chanting the Sanskrit names of God. It is rare to find an asana-practicing native in India, but greet an elder in Vrindavan with a “Jai! Shri Krishna!” and boy, do their faces light up and you feel like you’ve been given the keys to the kingdom.

As for its effect on the physical practice of asana, know that chanting opens up the pranic channels, called nadis, and practice enters an exalted realm. Each breath, movement, and posture is sanctified by making it an offering and becomes a vehicle of intimacy with your most divine Self.

My lineage is one of great bhaktas – devotional yogis who always have the name of God on their lips. In my experience, I’ve had the humble honor of knowing many great teachers, and it is the bhaktas who turn out to be the most fun to hang out with. They exist only to have Satsang, gatherings of seekers on the path. They are scholars, they are musicians, they are the mystics that keep yoga pure. They are jovial, wise, and don’t mind a good cuss word. Lovers of imperfection, they make no show of themselves and seem to be most skillful at transforming suffering into nectar. Their sadhana is what they teach. They share themselves openly and live simply, close to earth. And we sing and sing and sing (and dance). And when the singing is finished, we feast on prasad, blessed food.

In Yoga we dwell,
Jeffrey
July 2024