Saturday Night Kirtan

What is Kirtan?

Kirtan opens the heart and stills the mind. It is the yoga practice of ecstatic chanting. Through repeating the divine names in Sanskrit, the mind is cleared of worry, doubt, fear and all limiting concepts. The joy of peace and infinite love is given to the practitioner, and transmitted through the world by chanting.

One of the paths of yoga is called Bhakti Yoga. It is the path of the Heart. The Spiritual Heart. It is one of these places inside that we can’t necessarily see, but we surely can feel. Bhakti Yoga is working with the heart channel. Love. Acceptance. Surrender. Bhakti yoga is the eternal science of loving service to Krishna, or God. One of the practices that amplifies the Heart channel is Kirtan. Singing the names of the Divine. Our voices connect our Hearts. All praising the One. We become an orchestra together. We feel that connection to each other. We know we are connected to something greater. In the feeling of gratitude, we celebrate the beauty of love.

The Sanskrit words that we sing in these Kirtans are mantras, or divine names. A mantra can be thought of as a sonic embodiment of the supreme being who, through grace, takes infinite recognizable forms. When touched by the blessings of an enlightened master or the longing of a pure heart, these mantras become fully alive and have the power to carry us back to the One, the universal heart. These ancient words hold within them the very presence of the deity; they are prayers, they are vessels for our prayers, and they are that One to whom we are praying.

The chants don’t tell stories and aren’t actual sentences. Rather, they are like simple roadmaps to help the mind leap from mental remembrance into the deepest heart essence, where we actually meet and commune with that being who is the source of all. Through these simple Kirtans, we can communicate with our hearts, with our souls; we can cry, we can laugh, we can dance.

What is the Maha Mantra?

The Hare Krishna devotees are known throughout the world for their melodious chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, which the Vedas declare as the most sublime and effective means for spiritual enlightenment in the current age:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Krishna is a name of God meaning “the all-attractive one,” and Rama is another name meaning “the reservoir of pleasure.” Hare invokes His presence in our lives. This Maha (great) Mantra is chanted either congregationally (sankirtan), or individually (japa), as a meditation. Since each of us is constitutionally a part and parcel of God, the chanting of His holy names brings one innate satisfaction and the highest pleasure.

The chant is called a mantra, a vibration of sound that cleanses the mind, freeing it from anxiety and illusion. And this is a mantra anyone can chant. It’s for people of all religions, all nations, all colors, and both sexes. No need to pay any fees, join any group, or turn your life upside down. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can try the chanting for yourself and experience its result.