By Shannon Sexton & Anna Dubrovsky — 2011
An American kirtan revolution turns chanting God's name into something hip as well as holy.
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When one hears a chant like Aum Namoh Bhagvate Vasudevaya, it is not a Grammy award ceremony that comes to mind as the setting of such chanting; but that is precisely what Krishna Das has been able to do—take cherished age-old Indian kirtans to a global stage such as the Grammys.
Anjula: For you who don’t know, Krishna Das is known as the rock star of Yoga. He’s a kirtan singer. Could you just break down a little what kirtan is? Krishna Das: Kirtan is a chanting practice. It’s a spiritual practice, a meditational practice, but it involves singing and chanting.
Kirtan master Krishna Das talks about what happens when he chants, what the mantras mean, and why sound is a powerful medium on the spiritual path.
Krishna Das leads kirtan (chants invoking the name of God) all over the world. After meeting Ram Dass in 1968, he went on to the life-altering epiphany of being with their guru, Neem Karoli Baba, Maharaj-ji.
Kirtan master Krishna Das spoke with us about spiritual practice, suffering, and finding love within.
He’s driven a school bus, dabbled in the blues, and meditated in the jungles and ashrams of India, but today Krishna Das is known as the King of Kirtan.
Want to energize your spiritual life? Whether you’re melding your voice with a hundred others in traditional call-and-response or chanting mantras in your bedroom as a devotional prelude to meditation, kirtan can be a powerful and surprisingly effective form of spiritual practice.
Discover how 12 minutes a day can improve how you think and feel.
Yoga is on fire in the West, and so it kirtan, or yogic chanting. Kirtan combines music and mantra — words and sounds that vibrate at the highest level of awareness. It is an effortless and joyful way to meditate.
As yoga has become increasingly popular in the United States, so has the ancient practice of kirtan (KEER-tahn), or yogic chanting. The call-and-response format of chanting is a type of yoga in itself and has many of the mind-calming benefits of a yoga class or sitting meditation.