-Swami Satyananda Saraswati
The Yoga practice of chanting mantras is known as kirtan. It is a powerful method for quieting the mind and uplifting the spirit. It is a means of bypassing the intellect to open and purify our hearts. Kirtan is an integral part of yoga practice. While hatha yoga focuses on the body and raja yoga focuses on the mind, kirtan is a practice of bhakti yoga which helps transform emotions. Through this practice we can learn to channel emotional energy in a very pure and positive direction: towards the Divine.
Mantra, melody and rhythm are three important aspects of this practice. It can be practiced inwardly on an individual level but is very powerful when practiced by a group. Mantras are the “words” of the songs combined with simple melodies. The use of drums for rhythm helps to create a shamanic aspect helping participants to enter deeper levels of consciousness. The drum beat has an immediate effect on brainwaves and becomes a “sonic massage for body and mind” in the words of Swami Satyananda. Participants may choose to dance as well.
People often ask about the meaning of the mantras sung in kirtan. Any “meaning,” though is actually secondary and somewhat artificial. The importance of mantras is in the sound vibrations themselves which connect us to the superconscious mind. As Swami Niranjan explains, “Mantra is the unspoken language of the heart. The proper use of mantra can evoke a particular sentiment and sensitize the mind to be receptive to many experiences, both internal and external. Although it is said that Rama and Krishna are the names of Indian gods, or that Devi is the name of a goddess, this is only a religious interpretation. The word Rama is also the sound of a chakra, and yogis had knowledge of the word Rama in its different capacities long before Rama was born. Mantras predate religion; they represent the link between the individual nature and the divine.” The true meaning of the mantra has to be realized through practice. It has to be experienced within one’s consciousness.
My own experiences with kirtan began in 1981 when I visited the small office/apartment that constituted Swami Niranjan’s ashram in San Jose, California. I was attending some classes in hatha yoga and meditation throughout the week and he invited me to come on the weekend for kirtan. I could hear the music as I came up the stairs and it sounded a little strange to my ears but very intriguing. Swamiji encouraged me to learn the mantras and melodies and before too long I could sing some of them on my own. We would sing for 30 minutes or so and then sit silently for meditation. I found it very easy to enter into meditation following kirtan.
With Swamiji’s encouragement I also sang kirtan on my own throughout the days as a way to keep from ruminating on anxious thoughts and to remember my connection with that higher consciousness. A couple of years later I travelled to India and experienced the powerful kirtan energy at the main ashram in Munger. It was incredible! I experienced visions and powerful feelings of ecstatic joy like coming home to a forgotten place of love and acceptance. There is nothing like it.
Kirtan has been catching on and growing within the yoga community throughout the world. Performers such as Krishna Das
, Jai Uttal 
and Deva Premal have introduced many to devotional song. You don’t have to be a good singer to participate however. Kirtan should become an important regular aspect of any yoga center, studio etc. Yoga is a means of harmonizing mind, body and emotions so that we can experience a transcendent state of consciousness. Kirtan is one of the most effective ways of doing this.I will be leading kirtan groups in Riverside, Redlands and Yucaipa, California throughout the upcoming months. The first will be in Riverside on April 20 at 7 PM. Please contact (909) 373-6060 or turiyasaraswati@gmail.com for information and to reserve space.
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