Kirtana! A passion of mine

Madhava(a great kirtana singer and one of my Mrdanga heroes) and I dancing to the Names of Krsna!

                                                                   Kirtana

In my last post, I talked about surfing as being one of the two most foundational practices that I utilize for both mental health and spiritual well-being. The second practice I am absolutely addicted to (in a healthy way) is kirtana.

Kirtana is an ancient practice of singing devotional songs, the names of the divine, and occasionally philosophically rich allegories. It is a practice widely used in India by both Hindu and Muslim mystics, yogis, and laymen. The purpose is full absorption into and becoming entranced by, the names of God, which are said to contain the seeds of all enlightenment and grant the highest attainment of love (This is called prema by Vaishnavas, and Ishq by their Sufi counterparts)

My history with kirtana is more or less beginningless (at least that, I don't remember the first time because I was born into a family which maintained a close connection to kirtana). I recall watching my father lead kirtans, he sang very sweetly and always knew how to get everyone dancing. He would look down at me and smile, I knew that when he was singing, he was happy. A classic sankirtana man, my dad was one of the legends of book distribution in Iskcon, as well as an avid propounder of the efficacy of the power of the holy name to grant a person genuine ecstasy. He had a lasting impact on me and I love him for that!

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu(The origin of the Hare Krsna movement)
Dancing in kirtana!

When I got a little older and had the strength to beat a drum, I took up playing the Bengali drum called Sri Khol or Mrdanga. It is a clay drum with two ends, one high and one low and full of bass. It is a very intricate percussion instrument that follows the tala system of classical Indian music but also has its own unique tradition of rhythmic patterns and set compositions. I got really really into this drum. In fact, it is probably the mrdanga which kept me coming back to kirtana even when I was a disenchanted angry teenager. It was something we young "Krsna kids" got together and practised, embellishing the simple rhythms into complex, fast, and passionate beats. We were a different bread. Not traditionally or classically trained.  Influenced by western music like hip-hop, rock, and other styles of world music, we created a unique style of playing mrdanga as well as performing kirtana. The competitive spirit manifests most clearly in the inner circle of the Kirtana players who playfully challenge each other to match skill levels and see who can impress the other.
The possibilities are limitless, and ever drummer has their own unique repertoire, making no two sessions alike.

The instruments we use in Kirtana include; Harmonium,
and Karatalas

I also took up singing, but it has taken me a lot longer to develop. In my teens, my voice would crack and I was not good at singing in time. An odd problem for a drummer, but  I have a weakness in multitasking that has taken me a long time to overcome. As I have learned to sing, its opened up new opportunities to experience kirtana from a different perspective. Being the leader is a bit like being the conductor of a symphony, you become the captain, to steer the kirtana through various melodies and rhythmic styles. I can't wait to continue learning and developing my skills perfect my ability to express through singing, the sweetness that is Krsna.

Another big draw for me has been a certain ineffable quality that centres around people coming together, singing together, and enjoying a spiritual flavour of community that seems all too lost in the western world. The "Krsna Kids" get together, sing about higher things like divine love, enlightenment, and the nature of reality and then feast on the free feast that Krsna has always provided us. We don't get bogged down into dogmas or rigid lifestyle rules. To each his own, life is hard and we are all conditioned differently. But, we all share a connection. That connection is kirtana.

To all the Kirtaniyas out there, thank you for always welcoming me, and I pray for your continued efforts to keep singing the love.

#Jainitai