Kirtan

WHAT IS KIRTAN?
Simply stated, kirtan is the chanting of mantras often accompanied by music.

The word Kirtan comes from Sanskrit. It means "to glorify." It comes from the Hindu practice of chanting the name of the divine in all its forms. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a text said to have been written in the 2nd century BC, Patanjali speaks of the importance of chanting "Om" and doing "japa"--repetition of the names of God. Many religions and spiritual traditions celebrate the divine through chanting, for example, Sufi orders chant as well as Sikhs and Buddhists.

"Mantra" is another sanskrit word that can be divided into two words: "mana," meaning the mind, and "tra" which means "to deliver." Mantra delivers the mind from mundane thoughts to a state of deeper more instinctive or spiritual consciousness. Chanting mantras is a powerful meditation technique not tied to one religious or spiritual belief.

Because chanting is a great way to clear the mind of thoughts, the practice of Kirtan continues to gain popularity in the West.

HOW I GOT INTERESTED IN KIRTAN

Before I knew what kirtan was, I learned to play middle eastern percussion to deepen my understanding of the rhythms for my belly dancing. I played dumbek, or "darbukah" as it is called outside of the USA, finger cymbals and later I became interested in the frame drum. A master of the frame drum, Layne Redmond , introduced me to Kirtan at a percussion retreat. She is also the author of When the Drummers were Women.
Layne was inspired to add rhythm to the mantras by her experience as a yoga teacher. Studying with her inspired me to learn more about kirtan and mantra music.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH KIRTAN

For years now, I've been playing percussion and chanting with friends at the Integral Yoga Center in St. Pere de Ribes during our Friday evening kirtan. I find playing the frame drum to be incredibly soothing because its vibration moves from outside in and chanting vibrates from inside back out.

I was drawn to Kundalini yoga because of its connection to mantra music and being a dancer, moving to music in a yoga class felt natural to me. When I eventually became a yoga instructor, two very accomplished Sikh kirtan musicians, Gurudass Singh and Gurudass Kaur administered my Kundalini yoga teacher training.

For the past 8 years I've had the honor of playing percussion with many of my favorite mantra artists at the annual 3HO Kundalini Yoga Festival in France. In these photos, I'm playing with Gurudass Kaur for the "whole camp mantra" and also with Sada Sat Kaur who was premiering mantras from her latest CD, Mantra Masala.

I've attended concerts arranged by people I know in the local yoga community of the most well known Western kirtan artists, Snatam Kaur and Krishna Das. I'm looking forward to a workshop and concert with Krishna Das here in Spain. His last concerts and workshop here were tremendously inspiring.

To watch some of these artists in action, visit my youtube channel.

In closing, I wanted to share a related quote I found on my friend Girish's website by Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji--a Hindu guru who left his body in 1973. Many contemporary Mantra musicians like Krishna Das, Jai Uttal and Girish studied with or have been influenced by him:

"Constant repetition of God's name, with or without pious feelings, even in anger or lethargy, brings out his grace in the form of bliss all around."