We were all set for another repeat of June’s fantastic street kirtan, and assembled as planned in Union Square on a Friday night. The front part of the square was already filled with dancers, grooving away to loud reggaton music.

As the first few began to gather, and instruments arrived, light rain began to patter down – sending the dancers and all the onlookers running for cover. We stood our ground a little ambitiously, as the drizzle turned to a furious downpour. Undeterred, we began to serenade the crowds gathered under the overhang to the subway entrance. When the rain fell still harder, we escaped to the dry subway station, where the acoustics were perfect. Passersby stood for quite some time, and we even picked up some dancers that stayed with us for hours later!

We were blessed to have so many join us for the first time, and were touched by the comments of people that stayed and sang with us until the end. One girl had heard kirtan before when she was at university in Florida, and remarked how she didn’t understand the words, but just listening and trying to sing along made her feel so full and satisfied.

In the days since posting up some videos of our street kirtans, we’ve received so many words of encouragement and inspiration. So many people have loved seeing the exuberance and joy that kirtan out in public brings, and have been excited to see a whole new generation of people getting to taste that for the first time.

We do hope that this inspires you to do some kirtan out on the street where you are. It’s so simple, but it’s the quickest way to start a revolution, within and without. All you need are a few voices, some feet that work, and perhaps a percussion instrument or two. The most important thing is enthusiasm, and the mantra. We chant the Hare Krishna – maha (great) mantra. This mantra is especially meant for the modern age we live in, and was popularised by Shri Chaitanya, who took street kirtan to a whole new level.

If you happen to be in the New York area, please join us for a street kirtan! If you would like to find out when the next one will take place, or would like to join in with the fantastic new Kirtan Camp in the East Village, where you can learn more of the music, history and practice of kirtan from none other than kirtan legend, Acyuta Gopi, please contact Jason.

Acyuta Gopi - 'The Voice'

Ever wondered about the world behind the stories we often tell in kirtan? Or who the gods, godesses and demi-gods are, and how on earth they are all connected to each other? Where do they live? What do they do all day?

A new book from some of our friends aims to answer those questions and much more in a beautifully illustrated and extensively researched new book: The Illustrated Guide To The Vedic Universe. Creators Rasik Fitch and Jagannath Cassidy grew up with stories and characters from the Vedas, and wanted to pass them on in this unique way.

On their Kickstarter page, they explain that the book will be similar to books on the ‘Star Wars universe, the Lord of the Rings universe, the Harry Potter universe, and many other fictional worlds. These types of books contain descriptions of the history and special features of that “world” and many colorful illustrations of the main characters, creatures, animals, places, weapons, magical items, special powers, etc. This is the same type of book, but based in the Vedic universe!’

A sample page from the book, showing Arjuna, the famous warrior and devotee of Krishna.

They are currently raising funds to begin the extensive work on the project, involving many talented artists and researchers. If you would like to help, please click the image below to go to their website.

It’s been a couple of days now since we finished our tour of the north east. It was a wonderful adventure that took us through Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Block Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York – seventeen kirtans in eighteen days! We were blessed by the sweetest hosts and kirtan lovers in each place, and were honoured to share kirtan with many who had never experienced it before.

The gang after our our last kirtan in Boston: L-R Bonnie Argo, John de Kadt, Benjy Wertheimer, Purusartha das, Tulasi devi, Jahnavi Harrison and Warrick Moses.

There were so many great moments on the tour. As with anything that happens rapidly, it takes time to digest each beautiful moment. One of the most special took place in Waterbury, Vermont, where we were invited to do kirtan at the State Psychiatric Hospital. This is the highest level care facility in the state; the last resort for the 50 acutely afflicted patients, cared for by 400 staff.

We were invited there by our fantastic tour organiser, Jennifer Canfield, who has set up a non-profit called the Call and Response Foundation – hoping to bring kirtan to schools, hospitals, prisons and anywhere else it can have a powerful therapeutic effect. Walking into the grim building with her, lugging drums and other instruments, we were a little unsure of what to expect. Long corridors with barred windows eventually led us outside onto grassy lawn where about forty people were gathered. Most sat peacefully but some got up and moved away as we began to play and sing. After our first chant one older man called out ‘Do you know Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat song?’ We obliged with a few lines, then moved into more chanting – Govinda Jaya Jaya!

We sang for about forty five minutes, just saying a few words in between each chant. I realised I had hoped to witness a dramatic external change in the patients – a Hollywood moment. I’d thought maybe they’d all end up dancing, or would miraculously be able to follow along with all the words. It certainly would’ve deepened my own faith in the power of kirtan. But as we received small smiles, a few clapping hands, or deep, heartfelt tears from one lady in the front row who talked to herself continuously, I realised that the effect of kirtan doesn’t always have to be so visible to be real.

Externally, kirtan can be like any other sweet, raucous live music experience. We sing, we dance, we play beautiful instruments, we challenge each other with complex rhythm and melody. But internally there is so much more going on. Kirtan is having an effect on a deeper level than the temporary body – it is awakening the soul. When we listen, it is our soul that is listening; when we sing, it is our soul that is singing; and when we feel profound joy within, it is our soul that is dancing.

Singing from her soul - Acuyta Gopi

Looking at the faces of the patients, even those seemed not to listen, I truly believed that they were experiencing the sound on a deeper level than their minds and medication were permitting. We can all experience this in our own way. Most of us experience mental turbulence to some degree each day, but sitting in kirtan, we often experience a deep relief – an opportunity to dive deep beneath the roiling waves on the surface, where the true colour and beauty of the eternal lie. In some ways, this whole world is a psychiatric hospital, and every mind is diseased – we think we are the cars we drive, the money we earn, and the bodies we live in for a few decades. Kirtan offers a universal medicine.

The staff thanked us profusely afterward and sent a brief report of their previous kirtan, with the Mayapuris.

‘The patients, who are challenged with severe and persistent mental illness, had the experience of being free from the the ill effects of their illnesses during the dynamic interactive performance. The music of the drums, flute, and chanting transported the audience into a peaceful place for that one idyllic hour. More than 80% of the patient population was present for the concert which took place in the common grassy yard that serves as the outside space for the maximum security hospital. Staff were moved to tears, and related that patients who are normally unresponsive to therapeutic attempts responded with emotion to the music.’

Enjoy these MP3s from the 24 Hour Kirtan brought to you by Mantralogy and The 24 HK.

• 00 24 Hour Kirtan 2011 – All MP3s .zip (1.33gb) (2609)
• 01 HH Bhakticharu Swami (634)
• 02 Agnideva (545)
• 03 Amala Kirtan (840)
• 04 Acyuta (426)
• 05 Ramdas (300)
• 06 Subhadra (274)
• 07 Rupanuga and Rina Mahapatra (208)
• 08 Rasa Chaitanya (213)
• 09 Pariksit (200)
• 10 Gauramani and Param (850)
• 11 Vani and Kishori Yatra (287)
• 12 Thakur (242)
• 13 Prema Hara (259)
• 14 Jagannath Kirtan (307)
• 15 Bhakti Lata (674)
• 16 Aksh (198)
• 17 Jahnavi (343)
• 18 Ananta Govinda (270)
• 19 Gauri Priya (238)
• 20 Gopal Trivedi (166)
• 21 Acyuta (287)
• 22 Gaura Vani (2192)
• 23 Ayush (2082)
• 24 Abhay (935)
• 25 Jamuna Jivan (1435)
• 26 Ekendra Tulsi Priya (1476)
• 27 Hari Kirtan (1633)
• 28 HG Mahatma (1584)
• 29 Krishna das (2010)
• 30 Agnidev (1873)

After our kirtan last night, silent lightning flashed for hours after a heavy downpour. This morning is fresh and clear though. Choirs of birds sing from the hedgerow chapels – sometimes bursting out and swooping through the air. The fields are full with wild roses, sweetpeas, and ox eye daisies. Low fruit trees and tangles of grapevines create green tunnels that eventually open out to the ocean. Welcome to Block Island!

Sunset on Block Island

Church by the ocean...

Block Island grapes line the roads.

Queen Anne's Lace attracts the BI honeybees. Seeking the nectar!

Yesterday marked our eleventh kirtan on this tour. In the past few days we’ve been to Harrisburg, PA; a few places in New Jersey; Staten Island and Rhode Island (none of which are actually islands). It’s really been a wonderful experience so far. We’ve been blessed with groups of eager chanters wherever we go, even though many have been very new to the kirtan experience. One girl in Harrisburg came to me at the end, moved to tears as she told how she read the Ramayana in a college literature class and had fallen in love with Rama many years ago. Singing his name for the first time suddenly brought back a flood of recognition as she realized his presence to be non different from the sound of his name. She had never chanted before, but showed me a tattoo of the word ‘Rama’ in Sanskrit on her body.

Block Island is a unique stop on our tour – hosted by the lovely Sue Littlefield, a bee farmer and yoga teacher here. Last night we did kirtan with almost 60 people in the local Catholic church that overlooks the sea.

Sue Littlefield, our host here (in pink) at the church.

It was an atmospheric setting. We introduced the idea of chanting to the mostly unfamiliar group, and were blown away when they sang back with gusto! I have been continually astonished at how willing people are to try new things – especially singing strange words at full volume! The other night in Rhode Island, two couples were blown away by the experience – describing it as ‘euphoric’ and speaking of the depth of feeling that they had been able to access. Those kind of comments are repeated everywhere we go. It’s humbling to be able to help facilitate that in any way.

Bonnie Argo

Folding T-shirts. Our eternal activity it seems.

Benjy - Wizard of Melody!

John - drummer, poet and secret lead singer

Playing for Shiva Rea's trance dance at Kripalu, MA.

Purusartha and Steve Gorn, who joined us on bansuri in Stone Ridge, NY.

Jai Sri Rama! Monkey Warriors!

Shani and Adelaide at Flow Together Yoga, PA - modelling Hanumen T-shirts.

Today we have one very welcome day of rest. Driving up to five hours every day and a high energy evening takes its toll after almost two weeks. Everyone on the tour works very hard – Benjy setting up and running sound whilst playing an incredible amount of instruments; John drumming like a madman and lugging equipment up and down and all around town; Purusartha and his wife, Tulasi setting an example for ‘love in action’ and Bonnie doing everything she can to be of service – whether singing or folding T-shirts.

Wiped out - and we haven't even started yet!

If you can join us in at any of our events on the coming evenings, please do. Your presence is a gift that we are always eager to receive.

July 20 7pm Roots and Wings Yoga and Healing, Newburyport MA
www.rootstowings.com
July 21 7:30pm Birthday Bhakti Bash, Montpelier, VT
www.sacredsoundseries.com
July 22 10:00am Seva Concert at Vermont State Psychiatric Hospital Waterbury VT magichousevt@gmail.com
July 22 7pm Awaken, Portland ME
lisabethsilverman@aol.com
www.theawakecollective.com
July 23 7:30 pm Kripalu, Lennox MA
Kirtan Concert
July 24 Yoga Three, Boston MA
Yoga Class with Live Music
Kirtan Concert
www.yogathree.com

Last night was Guru Purnima – the full moon day that honours the presence of our teachers in our lives. We all have them, whether it’s your high school Science teacher that showed you how to look at life from a different perspective, or your kids, that teach you tolerance – the hard way!

One of the most enriching practices is to acknowledge the fact that we have all come into this world and grown into who we are by the grace of our teachers. Just like baby mice, born with their eyes fused shut, we are blind until the torchlight of knowledge from the guru illuminates the dark path ahead.

As a part of the ‘Sita and the Hanumen’ tour, we did kirtan last night at Yogamaya in Manhattan. It was especially meaningful for me to chant in NYC, as it was the place that my grandfather guru, Srila Prabhupada chose to come to from India. Alone, with very little money and few contacts, he sat under a tree in Tompkins Square Park and chanted every day. From that first practice, an entire international movement of bhakti-yogis exploded. I owe my life, my everything to this worldwide family, and to that person who completely inundated the world with his mercy.

This magazine reported on the daily kirtans taking place in the Lower East Side. Srila Prabhupada stands in the centre, at Tompkins Square Park.

Srila Prabhupada's kirtans are otherwordly.

Last night Benjy Wertheimer also acknowledged his music guru – Ali Akbar Khan, who has been an overwhelming force in music education for over forty years, and who passed away not long ago. John de Kadt spoke about Neem Karoli Baba, who has guided him in significant ways, as for so many countless others in the world.

The great sarod maestro, Ali Akbar Khan - also the guru of Jai Uttal.

Neem Karoli Baba - a totally devoted chanter and advanced bhakti yogi.

If we seek truth humbly, the grace of the guru is ever available to us. It is also absolutely vital to access that mercy in our every endeavour. It’s common knowledge that the most successful, loved and happy people are in deep connection with their mentors and those that guide them. Sometimes it’s said that we are like a flower – to grow we need both the fertile, rich soil of the guru’s instruction and inspiration as well as the sunshine and rain from the Divine source – who has many names.

Last night we did kirtan in Mahwah, New Jersey. Only twelve people came, but it was sweet and intimate. Often kirtans like that can be surprisingly transportive. The lack of volume of people is replaced by a more concentrated focus. We were also blessed to be joined by the soulful guitar of Ray Ippolito last night. He often plays with As Kindred Spirits, but we had a happy surprise in discovering he lived just minutes from where we were playing last night. Kirtan definitely manifests magic.

I stumbled on these videos this morning, from our Australian tour in February this year. We were invited to come and do kirtan at the Shiva Ashram just outside of Melbourne and had a fantastic evening with the ashram residents, sharing songs and stories and dancing into the night. Gaura and I both grew up in and around ashrams, so it is always fascinating to meet others who are doing the same. Swami Shankarananda welcomed us so kindly and we were left with increased faith in the power of kirtan to facilitate dialogue and co-operation between all traditions.

For the past three years Gaura Vani and I have toured during the summer in the North East with poet and percussionist John de Kadt, and multi instrumentalist, Benjy Wertheimer. We’ve been blessed to be hosted by an array of wonderful yoga studio owners and kirtan enthusiasts throughout the region, and have made so many friends.

After last year’s ‘Bhakti Brothers’, we took the name ‘Hanumen’ for this year – hoping to invoke the spirit of selfless service and divine power from one of the greatest kirtaniyas – Hanuman! Unfortunately, and fortunately,  Gaura was called at the last minute by Hollywood to direct a feature film in South Africa. Nevertheless, we’ve continued as planned and have been experiencing such an amazing response so far. Last night we were in Westfield, NJ, where the roof almost lifted off during our last Hare Krishna chant! Here’s a similar moment from our first night in Saratoga at Yoga Mandali.

Internet access is not as easily available on the road, but I’ll keep posting when I can to share some of these beautiful experiences. Better yet, please come and sing with us if we are stopping anywhere near you.

July 8: 7:30pm Yoga Mandali, Saratoga Springs NY www.yogasaratoga.com
July 9/10: Kripalu Trance Dance Saturday evening 7:30
with Shiva Rea
July 10: 6pm dinner/7pm kirtan Tickets include dinner
Enneagram Institute, Stone Ridge NY RSVP necessary
http://www.enneagraminstit​ute.com/schedules.asp
jen@enneagraminstitute.com​ for ticket info and dinner info
July 11: 7pm Universalist Church, 977 Sag Harbor Turnpike BridgeHampton NY, Sponsored by WellNest, Sag Harbor NY
www.wellnest.us studio@wellnest.us
July 12: 7:15pm Satsang Yoga, Westfield NJ
www.satsangyogastudio.com
July 13: 7:30 HOMe Yoga, Mahwah, NJ
www.homeyogaexperience.com
July 14: 5:30 Yoga Class with live music 7:30 Concert
Flow Together Yoga, Harrisburg PA
www.flowtogether.com
July 15, 8:30pm YogaMaya, Manhattan NY
www.yogamayanewyork.com
July 16 7:30 pm Shakti Yoga Staten Island NY
3 Victory Blvd. Staten Island NY
www.shaktiyoga.com
July 17 7:00pm All That Matters, Wakefield RI
www.allthatmatters.com
July 18/19 Block Island Rhode Island
July 20 7pm Roots and Wings Yoga and Healing, Newburyport MA
www.rootstowings.com
July 21 7:30pm Birthday Bhakti Bash, Montpelier, VT
www.sacredsoundseries.com
July 22 10:00am Seva Concert at Vermont State Psychiatric Hospital Waterbury VT magichousevt@gmail.com
July 22 7pm Awaken, Portland ME
lisabethsilverman@aol.com
www.theawakecollective.com
July 23 7:30 pm Kripalu, Lennox MA
Kirtan Concert
July 24 Yoga Three, Boston MA
Yoga Class with Live Music
Kirtan Concert
www.yogathree.com

SRI Kirtan has started their summer touring with an amazing line of shows in the North East. Their sweet, upbeat, soul recharging melodies are experienced more deeply in-person than via their album Live Your Love. This is a tour not to be missed!

Jul 11 & 12
ISKCON
New Vrindavan, WV

A friend recently sent me this quote from Swami Satyananda – perhaps best known for writing one of the world’s most popular manuals on yoga – Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. He was a disciple of Swami Sivananda, and his lineage emphasises integrating different aspects of yoga, like Kundalini, and Kriya yogas. Before he passed away in India in 2009, he spoke about his vision for the future. It’s a startling and beautiful picture, that many of us are seeing manifest.

‘It will be full of sankirtan. The sound of sankirtan soirees will ring in the atmosphere. Renowned singers and musicians will step into kirtan singing, because the joy and ecstasy derived from devotional music cannot be found elsewhere. Two objectives will automatically be served in this way. First, the standard of music will improve. Second, those who find the spiritual path very difficult will find it easy through bhakti. Therefore, those of you who can sing and who have a family must sing kirtan. Dance, music and sankirtan will dominate this century. There will be metropolitan sankirtan, cruise sankirtan, forest sankirtan, mountain sankirtan and, of course, temple sankirtan.

Swami Satyananda

Sing God’s name, hear His name, write His name, draw His picture, talk about Him, live with people who talk about God. This will not only make you free from tension, high blood pressure and so on, it will make you immensely happy, a kind of happiness that you cannot imagine, which cannot come from anything else in this world. The point of singing God’s name is divine intoxication, divine ecstasy.’

Followers of Swami Satyananda have ashrams all over the world. Whilst touring in Australia with As Kindred Spirits last year, we got to meet some incredible female chanters from the ashram at Mangrove Mountain. They chanted with us at beautiful 24 hour kirtan festival organised by our friends at the Krishna temple in Sydney, and have been organising their own too. Check out their website for more on their ‘Akhanda Kirtan’ events.