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Kirtan is call-and-response chanting of the divine sounds. It’s the heartbeat of Bhakti Yoga, a devotional practice that brings us closer to our hearts, to one another, and to Spirit. No rules, no dogma, no wrong notes. Open hearts, shared voices, and sacred sound.

According to kirtan artist and bhakti yoga educator David Newman, kirtan means “to praise that which is exalted” aka, the divine. The word “kirtan” also stems from a Sanskrit root that means “to cut through,” he says, so kirtan is also “a practice for cutting through the idea of separation, for connecting to our hearts and connecting to the moment through sound.”

World-renowned mantra music artist Deva Premal puts it this way: “In kirtan, we sing our praises to the divine in the many forms in which it manifests.” Each chant revolves around a particular mantra, what Premal defines as “a sacred sound formula that has a specific focus and energy.” These mantras often feature the names of the myriad gods and goddesses that were identified by the ancient rishis (or seers) in Vedic times.

What is a deity?” says Grammy-nominated kirtan wallah Krishna Das “It's like an older, deeper, bigger being. It's a space, a presence, a feeling. These names are the names of that place inside of us that is love, pure being, pure awareness, pure joy.” Kirtan and other forms of mantra practice, such as seated meditation, help us uncover that place inside of us, he says: “our true nature.”

Original Source from https://kripalu.org/

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