Kirtan Tomorrow

I’ll be giving a Big Yoga Workshop tomorrow at Awake and Aware Studio in Kalamazoo at 1pm.  Afterwards, at 5pm, come join me for some chanting of the Holy names of God.  We’ll be sharing some Sanskrit Slokas, taken from the Integral Yoga Kirtan, and giving the translations as well.  These slokas help to set the mood for the call and response chanting to follow.  Participants are invited to chant with their whole heart, regardless of vocal technique or training.  It’s not about how you sound, but how the sound affects you.

Kirtan is the devotional side of Yoga, known as Bhakti Yoga–the path of love and devotion.  But even if you don’t feel you have that devotional, lovey-dovey nature, the kirtan has the power to change you in a positive way.  Steven Rosen, author of The Yoga of Kirtan says that sound creates structure, and by chanting these powerful, ancient mantras, we can erase negative thought patterns and replace them with the pure vibration of the chants.

Scientists today claim that everything is made up of sound vibrations–a chair, a tree, a fish, even YOU!  The sum total of all that vibrating energy is called Pranava –the “hum”.  In the Bible, St. John says “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.  But contemporary Bibles don’t tell you what the word is!  I think it’s OM.  Translating from the Greek, WORD is LOGOS, which means vibration!  Pretty cool!  The sound itself is God.  By chanting, we make the Divine mystery that is God manifest, right here, right now.

I hope you join us!

Swami Satchidananda leading kirtan at Woodstock