Last Saturday, July 21st, our friends Stephen Law and Mountain Wind hosted a beautiful Kirtan at the Mystic Yoga Shala. Perhaps you were one of the fortunate people to attend; but, if like most students you did not attend because you have no idea how a Kirtan is co-created or what to expect, the passage below written by Bonnie Pezzolesi, could encourage you to come in and join us for the next one scheduled on August 18th at 7:30pm. Enjoy!
Like so
many other Westerners, my first experience with the practice of Kirtan was at a
local yoga studio. I really had no idea what to expect, other than I was
certain the evening would be something I could check off as another life
experience that had yet taken its place of distinction on my personal bucket
list. I had some trepidation about participating in a religious ceremony that
was foreign to my family’s faith; but as a whole I was very curious about what
the evening had in store for me. Upon sheepishly entering the studio, my senses
were stimulated and engaged. The sound of bare feet scampering across the
bamboo floor as participants took their seats was pleasing to my ears and
somehow soothing to my “being”. The sound was authentic and natural in pitch
and tone - earthy in essence. Even the vividly painted walls of deep purple and
sunset orange adorned with statues of Hindu deities – Ganesha, Shiva, and Parvati
-- were a welcome sight for my inquisitive eyes.
The
musical group, Stephen Law and Mountain Wind, were settling in for their electric tamboura; which
replicates the pitch of the “stringed drone instrument from the Middle East” (Law). Behind her
was a drummer perched on top of a wooden box drum surrounded by chimes,
cymbals, and multiple handheld drums and tambourines; varying in size and ethnic
origin. The leader of the trio wore a free flowing white cotton tunic with
matching loose fitting drawstring pants. He had two upright stands holding different
stringed instruments; one was a traditional acoustic guitar and the other was a
mandolin.
The
audience of approximately thirty multicultural devotees was a mix of young and
old participants, predominately Caucasian. There was one nursing mother with an
infant, a few children, a group of soon-to-be yoga instructors in training, and
a handful of wide-eyed novices like myself. I followed everyone’s lead; grabbed
a cushion and a blanket then made my way to a spot directly in front of the
musicians. I wanted a front row seat to the spiritual action. The venue owner
placed two bowls of nuts, seeds and dehydrated fruit at the center of the
performers’ make shift stage and explained that everyone could partake in the
sharing of her prasad after it had been blessed with our communal energy.
Prasad is “food offered to a deity or to a spiritual teacher; this same food
[can be] distributed to devotees as a blessing” (The
Integral Yoga Web Site ).
The leader, Stephen Lloyd Law, welcomed us
by stating that this was our safe place and expressed his gratitude for being
able to share his love of Kirtan and the Bhakti yoga practice. The musicians
started with a few very simple call and response mantras and encouraged us to
join, observe, or dance if the spirit so moved us. I was thankful that they had
provided a chant sheet to assist with the pronunciation of the ancient Sanskrit
words and the vocalist gave a brief explanation of each mantra before she began.
The chants started off softly, sweetly and slowly. Then the volume would grow and
the tempo would quickened as participants became more comfortable with the
words and the melody. I felt very much at ease after only the second chant. The
call and response format really lends itself well to outsiders who are
unfamiliar with the ritual.
Just
when I thought I knew what to expect from Kirtan, Mountain Wind introduced the
purpose of calling out to the Hindu deity, Shiva. Shiva is the God of
Destruction, but not necessarily the destruction that we are accustomed to as
Westerners. The vocalist paused to provide more background for us and asked
that we each try to focus on letting go of something personal that no longer
served us. She further explained that Shiva’s powers of destruction are more
aligned with clearing out any negative thoughts, actions, or painful memories
in our lives and allowing room for more positive things to take their place. A metaphysical
spring cleaning was the mental image I instantly conjured up in my mind.
As I
methodically and without mindful thought repeated the Sanskrit words over and
over again: “Om Namah Shivaya, Shivaya Namah Om Namah Shivaya”, something
unexpected happened. I began to openly weep. At first I couldn’t stop singing
or crying; then as if I became “aware” of my involuntary emotion, I consciously
resisted the tears and wiped my face dry. Clearly something had moved me, but I
was too hesitant to let Shiva finish what he had started. In the past, I’ve
often cried while singing religious hymns during Christmas mass and I had always
thought it was some manifestation of guilt or shame for my self-perceived shortcomings
as a Christian. Now it appears that my first analysis was flawed and it was more
likely that the spirit of something, someone, or some divine universal energy had
been trying to make its existence known to me on a personal level.
Each
chant ended with a collective silence rather than an applause; allowing the
individuals to absorb the newly honed frequency still reverberating in the
studio or a chance to completely digest the room’s positive energy in a moment of
self reflection. During the last chant some devotees got up and danced
together, while others watched from their floor cushions and continued to chant
at a fevered pitch. At the closing of the Kirtan, our host doled out a spoonful
of the now blessed prasad to each participant who offered up their cupped hands
to receive the organic raw food mixture. This struck me as the equivalent of
the religious practice of Catholic communion, without the ordained piety or the
sacred confessional requirement. All that was required was the acceptance of
unity and gratitude for the Kirtan ritual that had just taken place.
A
Baptiste certified yoga instructor described her first Kirtan experience in
this way, “I was at first kind of feeling like a 5th grader, self
conscious, then I found myself swept up and wanting to sing as loud as I could” (Thomas). After
attending a Kirtan in New York, another yoga enthusiast’s depicted it as, “…a definite scene — a mix of a religious
revival meeting, a Grateful Dead concert, and summer camp. And it could
certainly challenge many comfort zones” (Eckel). Unfortunately
many Americans “associate the chant
‘Hare Krishna’ with people who begged on the streets and danced in airports in
the 1970s” (Eckel). The
practice of mantra chanting is now shared by multiple religions across the
globe and has gained popularity and exposure in America through the 70s music
scene, yoga studios, and expanding world tourism.
Unlike other
major world religions where members have many sanctioned duties to perform, Skanda
Purana states that: “By once chanting the holy name of the Lord, which consists
of the two syllables ha-ri, one guarantees his path to liberation” (www.srigranth.org).
Meditation through chanting can be challenging to the beginner, but the joyous supportive
setting of a group Kirtan can be a rewarding and cleansing experience for even
the greenest student. The Brhad-vishnu Purana affirms that “simply
by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to
more sins than he is able to commit” (www.srigranth.org). This belief of instant penance alone
could launch thousands of interfaith Kirtan Centers across the United States
faster than every citizen successfully singing our national anthem on key.
To say that there is only one absolute path to
God is like saying there is only one road to travel between New York and
California. If an individual can remain open minded to the many paths trekked on
the journey towards spirituality and enlightenment, that same individual can
then make an informed assessment of the road paved by the rhythmic and melodic
mantras of Kirtan. For me, the sound of divinity and salvation was
music to my ears; as echoed in the classic lyrics by George Harrison (Harrison).
If you open up your heart
You know what I mean
You’ve been polluted so long
But here’s a way for you to get clean
By chanting the names of the Lord and you’ll be
free
The Lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and
see...
You don’t need no church house
And you don’t need no temple
You don’t need no rosary beads or them books to
read
To see that you have fallen
If you open up your heart
You will know what I mean…
After attending only one local event,
I can attest that the practice of religious meditation has a living and
breathing soundtrack called Kirtan and its heavenly theme song, “God dwells within
me, as me” (Gilbert), now resonates
in my soul.
Special
thanks to Stephen Lloyd Law and the Mountain Wind for making this project so personally
enjoyable and kindly answering all my research questions.
I’d
like to also express my gratitude to Amy Dechen Zezulka, owner of Mystic Yoga
Shala, for providing so many spiritual and culturally diverse events in our
community. May her studio continue
to thrive and prosper. ~ Namaste ~
