Contrary to recent reports, a new study finds that in fact, kirtan is NOT good for your brain.

A study just published in the Journal of Alternative Brain Research found that kirtan seems to actually shut down the prefrontal cortex, the “thinking” part of the brain involved in higher cognitive functions such as executive control, planning, and impulse regulation.  Kirtan, a call-and-response form of mantra repetition set to music and performed in group settings, is not to be confused with kirtan kriya, a more meditative and usually solo form of chant recitation that also includes hand movements and visualization, which was the focus of earlier research.

The authors of the new study used functional brain imaging to assess neural activity during a simple task in subjects who had just finished a 12-hour kirtan. Remarkably, they found a complete absence of activity in brain areas involved in logical thinking, emotional control, and reasoning. Instead, they found extremely heightened activity in the pleasure circuitry of the brain, including reward-related structures such as the ventral striatum and nucleus accumbens — the same brain areas activated by illicit drug use.

These results seem to add credence to the vernacular phrase “stoned on the bhava,” which was often repeated by the late great bhakti scholar and kirtan wallah Shyamdas, lead author Vrinda Bhavananda said in an interview with The Bhakti Beat. The findings are also in line with pamphlets distributed by early followers of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Indian monk who brought Krishna Consciousness to the West in the 1960’s, that used the slogan “Stay High Forever: No More Coming Down” to implore LSD-loving hippies from the counterculture movement to chant instead of take drugs.

Dr. Bhavananda, a kirtan practitioner herself who undertook the study to shed light on her observances of people post-kirtan,  also contended that the results help explain the well-documented phenomenon of “bhav brain,” which has seen a startling rise in kirtan hot spots as diverse as Southern California, Brooklyn, N.Y., and the little town of Burlington, Vt. Bhav brain, a condition marked by hugging strangers, tendency to lose things, and an inability to use simple devices like gas pumps, is particularly prevalent after multi-day kirtan festivals, which have become more common as the call-and-response chanting practice has exploded in popularity. In fact, the Bhakti Alliance, a kirtan-accrediting organization that has stirred great controversy in the bhakti world, was established in part to help contain the spread of bhav brain.

The scientists plan to continue their research on the brain effects of kirtan to better understand what it is about chanting the Names that seems to shut down the “monkey mind” and increase feelings of bliss and joy. They are also collaborating with experts in heart research to examine exactly how kirtan causes a “heart-opening” feeling, as many practitioners describe it.

Dr. Bhavananda said her team was particularly impressed by the kindness and resilience of the study subjects. “Despite the grueling nature of the study — undergoing hours of testing and long periods inside the MRI scanner — every single participant came out after and hugged each one of the researchers. My team had never seen anything like it.”

If you are a kirtan lover who would like to participate in this ongoing research, call 1-800-BHAVON2.

Happy April Fool’s Day from The Bhakti Beat!

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The Bhakti Beat needs your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit, a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain. In loving service...

Burning Bhakti Question of the Day: Why do so many kirtan enthusiasts insist on divorcing the practice from its spiritual roots?

The article linked below, “Kirtan: The Easy Meditation That Can Improve Your Brain,” has been making the rounds on social media, and while we applaud the recognition of kirtan as a meditative practice in a mainstream publication (Psychology Today), there are a couple things that are troubling here.

1) Kirtan, like meditation, may indeed be great for your brain, but the scientific studies cited by the author as evidence all refer to Kirtan Kriya, a practice that includes chanting but — very importantly, from a brain-fitness perspective — also integrates finger movements and visualization. The research studies did NOT study kirtan in the group call-and-response format, making the headline a huge leap, scientifically speaking.

2) Aside from one dismissive phrase, there is ZERO deference to the cultural roots of kirtan in India nor the historical tradition as a practice of bhakti yoga nor the contemporary South Asian practitioners who practice it in the West. This contributes to a cycle of cultural appropriation that, like it or not, casts a shadow on “Westernized” kirtan.

3) (and most troubling for us). The author states that “the practice itself has no inherent religious implication.” This is akin to asserting that yoga is nothing more than a fitness work-out. Why are we so afraid to call this practice what it is: a spiritual practice centered on chanting the names of God?

What say you, Bhakti Beaters?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/living-forward/201812/kirtan-the-easy-meditation-can-improve-your-brain?fbclid=IwAR1NgETHD49xftuMi47rZTT9oey5VHsak0ThV7PxNh95xt06zkdStl_t9nI

There’s a revolution going on in the bhakti world. It’s happening in living rooms all across the country. It’s called community kirtan.

Chantabridgia, a new double CD/DVD project in the final days of crowdfunding (DONATE HERE!), celebrates the power of community kirtan to soothe the soul, lift the spirit, and heal the heart. Chantabridgia features more than a dozen of Greater Boston’s favorite bhakti bands and solo wallahs — some of whom are well-known artists and some who are recording chants for the first time — on a three-disc set with over two hours of professionally recorded music and a video documenting its making.

It’s the first community kirtan compilation CD we’ve heard of, but we’re really hoping it starts a trend…

The Kickstarter campaign for Chantabridgia ends at midnight on Wednesday, November 15.  To support this project, please visit the campaign page and choose your level of support from among the many perks.

Chantabridgia is the brainchild of kirtan couple Tom Lena (aka Tamal Krishna Das) and Shakti Rowan, whose monthly Kitchari Kirtans in Cambridge, Mass., have become somewhat legendary local gatherings for Eastern Massachusetts bhaktas. (Chantabridgia, the name, is a nod to Cantabrigia, the Medieval Latin name for Cambridge, England.) Now in its 10th year, Kitchari Kirtan started as a few friends sitting around chanting together in Lena’s living room, and has grown into a mainstay event drawing local musicians and kirtan enthusiasts in joyful community to share kirtan and kitchari, a nourishing concoction of beans and spices that is said to be energetically cleansing and grounding.  The sessions often feature a touring or regional kirtan leader joined by local musicians holding the beat. Regular open-mic sessions give everyone — from veteran to newbie — a chance to take a turn at holding the bhava.

The Chantabridgia CDs will capture the spirit of these open-mic sessions of Kitchari Kirtan.  A number of beloved regional chant artists will donate a track, including Adam Bauer, Irene Solea, Shubalananda, Prajna Hollstrom, and guitar maestro Richard Davis. Boston-area favorites who will be featured include the Prema Bhakti Band, Jaya Madhava and Govinda Sky, and The Solar Dynasty Band featuring Ravi and Lisa, among others. Lena and Rowan offer two tracks: a joyful Shambo Shankaraya/Fire on the Mountain mash-up the pair co-wrote, and Lena’s cover of the title track from Girish’s “Diamonds in the Sun” album, a luscious Lokah melody that Lena finishes with the feel-good singalong classic, “This Little Light of Mine.” In all, more than 40 musicians are collaborating to make Chantabridgia a reality.  Mirabai Devi also makes a special appearance.

Lena said he was inspired to launch the Chantabridgia project out of a desire to “mobilize and challenge everybody in these difficult times to come together and share this practice of chanting, to empower other people to live in love, harmony and unity.”

“Looking at the world we live in, I was very troubled by what I was seeing,” Lena told The Bhakti Beat in an interview. “The political discourse has gotten very divisive. Economically, there’s growing inequality. There’s growing fear, and a kind of a resignation that nothing seems to matter anymore. What matters to me and is very near and dear to my heart is this chanting practice, and the community I helped start and have nurtured for almost a decade, Kitchari Kirtan.”

“I see that people are healed by this practice of kirtan; people are transformed right in front of my eyes.  It makes a difference in people’s lives.  They get connected. They don’t have to feel that they’re isolated or alone.”

Once it is released, 100% of the net proceeds will be shared equally by three charities: C.J Maa Music School, Rishikesh, India (http://cjmaamusicschool.org/); Call & Response Foundation, Northfield, VT USA (http://www.callandresponsefoundation.org/); Tunefoolery Music, Inc., Boston, MA USA (http://www.tunefoolery.org/).

Also see:

Visit the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1320771045/chantabridgia-answering-the-call-of-love-cd-dvd-do

Visit Tom Lena’s website: www.tomlenamusic.com

Visit Kitchari Kirtan: www.kitcharikirtan.com

Kitchari Cooking Class:

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The Bhakti Beat needs your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit, a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain. In loving service...

BREAKING NEWS — A consortium of record companies, event producers, harmonium makers, and chai brewers today announced the establishment of a nonprofit organization that will be responsible for accrediting and regulating kirtan artists from this point forward.

The announcement comes amid growing concern that the practice of call-and-response chanting can induce a rare but rapidly increasing brain disorder called kirtananandanitis, named after the wallah-scientist who discovered it three years ago. (Read our story on the discovery.) The condition, commonly known as “bhav brain,” was the subject of an alert by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control last April after cases were discovered in every town and village. Previously, kirtananandanitis was rarely seen outside of chant festivals, Krishna temples, and kirtan retreats, though there have been clusters of cases in Southern California, Burlington, Vt., and parts of Brooklyn.  Officials were alarmed by what they saw as a rapid increase in random cases of bhav brain as the practice of kirtan has spread to living rooms across the country, where people gather in community to chant for free.

A key condition of Bhakti Alliance certification will include how to recognize and address kirtananandanitis.  Kirtan wallahs will need to show proof that they have mastered the induction of bhav brain as a condition of accreditation.

The Bhakti Alliance will collect dues and certification fees to support its administrative personnel and fund a marketing campaign to promote the importance of a kirtan wallah being “BA-certified,” but will not provide guidelines for best practices, offer instruction, or enforce its principles.

“Basically, we just want your money,” said Bhakti Alliance CEO Ima Poser.

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If you like this, you might also like “10 Signs You Might Be a Kirtan Addict”

The Bhakti Beat needs your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain. In loving service...

Mondays have always been a little gentler for me because of Monday Night Kirtan.  The little weekly community kirtan* in my home ‘hood of Burlington, Vt., has been a welcome ritual for several years.  But this past Monday night it was the last place I (Vrinda) wanted to be.

(Wondering who the hell Vrinda is? Read to the end.)

A series of incidents — small and large, local and global, personal and collective — had left me in a funk: discouraged, disillusioned, disgruntled…generally feeling “dis”ed on many levels and definitely not feeling social. The introvert in me wanted to hole up in my woman-cave and try drowning out the dis-es with a very dry vodka martini.

Plus, it was snowing.

Winter had descended on Northern Vermont in the 48 hours since I had been kayaking on the lake in 60 degrees at sunset.  One more reason to sulk inside.

Alas, I had an obligation to be there.  So I forced myself off the laptop and away from the sickening newsfeeds of Standing Rock protestors being blasted with tear gas and water cannons in subfreezing temperatures, of a new tsunami warning at Fukushima, of the latest xenophobic cabinet pick by Trump, and 10,000 other bits and fragments that suck your energy straight through your eyeballs and into the World Wide Web of Propaganda, Manipulation and Fear.  I dragged a comb through my hair (not really), dabbed on some Javadhu powder in a lame attempt to mask the fact that I hadn’t showered all day, packed my to-go altar with extra sage and raced out the door, last-minute as usual.

But, it was snowing.

I spent the next 10 minutes scraping snow-covered ice off my car. Now I was late AND agitated. I got to Sacred Mountain Studio barely in time to throw some blankets and cushions in a semi-circle before the room filled in for the kirtan. I was all business, head down, task-focused, fairly daring anyone to engage me in conversation.

Nonetheless, this being kirtan, I was hugged. More than once.

As the room settled down and the night’s guest wallah, Heidi Champney, started to Om in, I assumed the cross-legged position on my purple cushion, scarf over splayed knees, spine straight, eyes closed, ready for lift-off from this hate-filled mundane material world. Take me away Calgon…I mean, kirtan.

Ha!

It happens during kirtan too…

My mind refused to catch up to the present. It was still racing back and forth from one situation to the next, replaying each interaction like a stuck tape,  re-creating each perceived slight or awkward confrontation, playing its slide show loop of Images One Can’t Forget.  The group was on the third Om by the time I dropped the mental mind-f*ck long enough to tone in to the sound frequency.

The chanting started with praise to Ganesha, remover of obstacles. Immediately, up welled another round of bogus inner chit/chat about this/that followed predictably by self-flagellating loathsomeness for not dropping my over-analzying, self-conscious judgmentalist ego at the door and just sinking into the mantra. And on we went…me and my monkey mind, dancing our silly dance, while the mantras played on.

Then I noticed something.  I noticed myself noticing the mantra.

Hari Ommmmm… Hari Om.

You know how a radio station fades in and out if you’re not quite in full range of the signal? The mantra was coming through in fits and starts amidst the background static in my brain of everything that was not mantra.  It was breaking through the mental orgy. I wasn’t even singing it — that’s how distracted I was — but it was breaking through. This is the power of mantra.

I felt a little inner smile for the observation, for the noticing. Then quickly as it came, I lost myself back into the static.  And I noticed that….with an inner roll of the eyes.

Then came Kali.

Oh boy, I thought with a bit of trepidation, here we go. Kali, with her bloody sword drawn and severed head in hand, poised to cut through the ego’s bottomless pit of judgment and self-conscious blather.  The head-talk flooded in:  Do people even know how powerful Kali is? Do they have any clue what they are invoking when they start calling out to Kali? Are they even remotely prepared for the kind of energy this formidable warrior goddess can whip up?  And then I was chanting it.

Kali Ma, Kali Ma, Kali Maaaaa.

Chant by chant, the layers fell away. I noticed the mind chatter subsiding as my chanting became steadier, less intermittent. The monkey mind was gradually but inevitably losing ground to the mantra. The inner chanter was displacing the inner chatter.

By the time we got to Radhe, I was all in.

It was the trio of Krishna-Radha chants that got me up on my feet and spinning in the corner of the room, inhibitions shed. Not caring about anything or what anyone thinks for at least one blessed moment in time. Letting my freak flag fly. Feeling the world fall away with each repetition of the Name, each spin of the feet. This is the power of mantra.

It was Tara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, who brought me back to Earth, her mantra like warm milk taken before bed. Cradled in the current of Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha, I felt at home, at peace, aware, present, content, unafraid. The monkey mind quiet at last.

This is the power of mantra.

After the kirtan ended, after the goodbye hugs, after re-folding the blankets and repacking the altar and taking out the garbage, I was dropping off a young man who lived near me, Kyle, who was fairly new to the Monday Night crew. Unprompted, he confides to me that when he had arrived at kirtan this evening he was not in a good headspace, that he wasn’t sure he even should have come.  Over the course of the night, he said, he felt his emotional state shift, leading to what he called a “huge release” toward the end.  He said he felt sure that “spirit” was in the room healing people.

I just stared at him. I felt like I was looking in the mirror…except the face looking back was a 20-something hipster dude with old-soul sapphire eyes and a beard twisted into dreadlocks, which stuck out of his chin like little goat horns.

That is the power of mantra.

Here’s a peek at the last chant of the night, a mashup of the Maha-Mantra and an old Gospel hymn called “Sanctuary.” The perfect cap to Thanksgiving week kirtan. Heidi Champney on harmonium and lead vocals; Jesse Taylor on acoustic guitar.

*Monday Night Kirtan in Burlington, Vt., is currently funded by the Call and Response Foundation as part of their initiative to kickstart recurring community-based gatherings that make the practice of kirtan accessible to all.  Contact them if you’d like to start your own community kirtan.

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The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...

Editor’s Note: “I, Vrinda” is an occasional first-person series on TheBhaktiBeat.com in which I, Vrinda (aka Brenda Patoine) say what I’m thinking, whether you want to hear it or not.  Call it op-ed, editorialism, commentary, satire — hell, call it whatever you want.  Vrinda is opinionated but open, largely unfiltered, at times irreverent, and sometimes downright sassy (don’t say I didn’t warn you).  She’s pure Gemini, part wise, part wise-ass; the good the bad and the naughty all rolled up into one messy, messed-up, hopelessly imperfect, doing-the-best-she-can kinda’ gal, er, woman. She — I mean, I — may offer two cents or more on subjects from the ironies of the yoga world to the injustices of the corporatocracy,  the ins and outs of the bhakti community, or the ups and downs of internet dating. She/I may even occasionally try to be funny, undoubtedly with mixed results. Vrinda really just wants everyone to wake the f**k up (I warned you).   For more on Vrinda, including why she uses that name, click here on this link…oops, you’ll have to wait until I get that piece written. *sigh*

Ever dreamed of having Jai Uttal sing the Names in your living room? How about a little kirtan lesson from Uttal himself? Or maybe you’d love to hear him retell — in his inimitable style — some epic scripture, like say…the Ramayana?  Well now’s your chance.

As part of his quest to “share my music, my heart and my experiences with people without being on the road all the time,” Jai Uttal is trying something new (to him anyway): offering an online course for fans and followers, webcast from the comfort of his own home to the comfort of yours.  It’s called “Awakening Bhakti” and you can register for it here.

We asked Uttal why this course, why now, why online? He said that traveling “has taken a bigger and bigger toll on me, physically and emotionally” in recent years, and that this course is part of his effort to create a “sustainable lifestyle” that lets him be at home with his family.

“I LOVE SINGING WITH AND FOR PEOPLE!!!” Uttal told us (in all caps, yes) in an email interview in between recording sessions for his album in-the-works, “Roots, Rock, Rama,” which he is making with long-time collaborator Ben Leinbach plus Jeff Cressman and Peter Apfelbaum, the horn section of the Pagan Love Orchestra, Uttal’s band for the Grammy-nominated 2002 album “Mondo Rama.”   Despite his obvious passion for live, up-close and personal sankirtana, Uttal says he just can’t take the travel. The online course is “a way for me to share with everyone in a deep, meaningful and relaxed way from my own home.”

‘Hang Out’ With Jai

There’s a full description of the course at www.whereismyguru.com, which is hosting it.  Uttal told The Bhakti Beat that it’s a chance “to learn about bhakti and how it can became the central core of our lives and how some of my life experiences have deepened my own relationship to this path; to hear where some of the songs come from, and stories about my Guru, Neem Karoli Baba; to receive never-before-seen videos of my live performances; to hear the entire Ramayana in five chapters; to receive audio recordings of many live kirtans, and to just hang out with me and get to know me a bit better…”

“Awakening Bhakti” takes place over three weeks beginning March 1.  At the core are four live, interactive web-conferences with Uttal that can be downloaded and viewed at any time.

The $99 price includes everything.  Seems like a reasonable investment to bring Jai Uttal into your living room, no?  Sign up here.

Call & Response Scholarship Available

Still, not everyone has an extra 100 bucks lying around waiting and available to awaken their bhakti, we get that.  That’s why we were so happy to hear that the Call and Response Foundation is offering a scholarship to one lucky bhakta in need of some financial support.  All you have to do is write to jen@callandresponsefoundation.org before March 1 and tell her why you need the scholarship. One winner will be randomly chosen from the entries and announced on the Call and Response Foundation’s facebook page.

Do check out all the good work of the Call and Response Foundation — under the expert leadership of Jen Canfield, this non-profit organization is taking the healing power of chanting into places you wouldn’t expect, like prisons and psychiatric centers and recovery services.  Plus, they’ve just launched a new program to support and maintain community kirtans across the country. In short, they’ve got your bhakti back.

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The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...

Is it just us, or does it seem like everyone is doing a “chant fest” these days? Or maybe it’s a “kirtan retreat.” By any name, big, little or in between, in your back yard or Bali, at the local yoga studio or a luxury spa, bhaktified music fests and mantra marathons are popping up everywhere.  Which is a good thing. Well, at least we think so…

When is a bhakti festival NOT a good thing, you ask? For starters, if it’s so expensive that only the wealthy can afford it, that’s a problem.  The mantra revolution that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (most famously) popularized in the 1500’s was about bringing yoga — which at the time was a means for spiritual salvation reserved only for the highest castes of society — back to the people. Bhakti yoga was the way. Its hallmark was that it was accessible to ALL.

That’s still the case of course.  Bhakti IS accessible to all.  Love and devotion can have no price tag, and all one has to do to reap the benefits of kirtan is open one’s mouth and chant.  But it’s a rare retreat that is offered up free, with good reason of course. These things cost money to run, after all. We get that. But a retreat that is only accessible to the wealthiest yogis has no business calling itself bhakti. There, we said it.

The point is, there’s a right way, and there’s a wrong way to run a festie.  And lots of ways in between.  We’ve seen ’em all. So, even though no one asked us, here are our unsolicited tips for how to do a chant fest right. (See disclaimer at end.)*

1. Make it affordable. This is No. 1 for the reasons already stated. It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to get to a chant fest! Build work exchange and scholarships into the business plan. Line up sponsors to defray the costs. Set up systems so people can contribute toward “Kindness Passes” for those with limited financial means. Get creative and make it accessible to ALL, in the spirit of the bhakti tradition.  (ISKCON, by the way, has perfected the affordable kirtan retreat, largely by collecting donations to subsidize the costs; the rest of the bhakti world could take a lesson from the Hare Krishnas in this regard.)
2. Give back. Work in a charity component.  Collect donations or have a silent auction, and offer the proceeds to organizations that are making a difference in your community or field of interest, or put them toward scholarships for people with limited financial means.
3. Pay the artists. Not just the rock stars either. If it’s a local community event or a charity benefit and the artists have offered their services for free, at least cover their expenses.  Take care of their housing and transportation. And please feed them. Well.
4. Give them time.  Resist stacking a schedule with one band an hour. Two-hour sets should be the norm. (Three if it’s Jai or KD.) This goes for festivals of any size, local community to national multi-stagers.
5. Sound matters.  Get it right, whatever it takes.  And please amplify the musicians.  All of them.
6. Aesthetics count. Light the artists, not the room. And please don’t make them pink or blue. Give them a nice backdrop and a place to store their equipment cases so there’s not a bunch of stuff littering up the “stage.”
7. Build in breaks.  Have a short guided asana practice or meditation in between sets. Set aside an hour for meals if it’s an all-day or multi-day event.
8. Don’t make us choose.  Until we all have the siddhis to bilocate, could you please not have two or six things going on simultaneously?  Festivals of thousands may need options, but still…the best fests we’ve been to do things sequentially.
9. Feed people.  Bring in local vendors to offer organic, farm-to-table, ahimsa-principled real food and drink.
10. Consumerism Lite. Please sell kirtan CD’s.  And go ahead and showcase local artists, crafters and conscious merchants who sell things of interest to your audience.  Just don’t let the materialism interfere with the spiritualism.  Give it its own space and keep it separate.  No one wants to hear people hawking Lululemons in that silent space after a chant.
11. Don’t be a douchebag. Any event that calls itself yoga or bhakti has an obligation to rise above the business-as-usual model of event production and promotion.  Treat people right. Keep your promises. Set a new standard for conscious business and marketing practices. Cultivate community.  Be nice.

*DISCLAIMER: Not intended to be used in place of a professional event organizer’s advice. We actually have no experience in running a chant festival.  We just know what works from the participant’s point of view.

Okay, that’s our two-cents worth on how to build a bhakti festival we can all love.  What would you add or change? Tell us in the comments please.

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The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...

And the winner is….Mantra!

Grammys season is officially underway, and once again, mantra music represents — more than ever before. Nearly two dozen bhakti-flavored releases are among the list of contenders in early voting for the 2016 Grammys Best Album Nominees in the New Age and World categories, for which first-round voting by members of the National Academy of Arts & Sciences (NARAS) ends Nov. 4.

Judging by the breadth and diversity of the bhaktified music releases on the first-round ballots, the “non-genre” of kirtan/mantra/sacred chant is alive and well — from the vantage point of the commercial recording industry, at least. The albums that we would place under a broad umbrella of bhakti or bhakti-related mostly fall into the New Age category in Grammy world, though a few of the bhakti titles are found in the World Music category. (More on the odd categorization of kirtan here.)

I know what some of you are thinking…”Who cares about the Grammys?! This is BHAKTI. It’s not about commercialism, or winning awards, or being “the best” of anything; it’s about devotion and service!” I hear you. Really I do. The way I see it, if the Grammys help bring attention to the sacred practice of chanting and unlatch the gates for even one person, is that a bad thing? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Who Made the List?

First things first. One of the biggest surprises on the list — and perhaps the best news for bhakti purists — is second-generation Krishna kid Madi Das, whose charity album “Bhakti Without Borders,” produced by Dave Stringer, features duets with a host of female Vaisnava vocalists singing traditional Krishna bhajans. If we had to pick a favorite among all of these contenders, “Bhakti Without Borders” would be it.  We love everything about this album, and P.S., ALL of the profits benefit a school for girls in India (which is most of the proceeds, because ALL of the musicians on this record offered their time as seva). Now THAT is bhakti.

Also up for consideration are widely known artists like Deva Premal & Miten with Manose (“Songs for the Sangha“) and Russill Paul (“Mantra Magic“) alongside up-and-comers like vocalist Tina Malia (“Bridge to Vallabha“) and folkish singer/songwriter Brenda McMorrow (“My Heart Bows Down to You“). The many flavors of Sufism are nicely represented with “Sufi Kirtan,” from newlywed folk/world/rocker duo HuDost — marked by the otherworldly vocal magic of Moksha Sommer — and a new-to-us band called Rocqawali for “Sufi Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which seamlessly blends powerful Pakistani qawali music with 70’s-style rock. Representing the Jewish tradition of sacred chant is the Kirtan Rabbi Andrew Hahn’s “Nondual,” where ancient Hebrew prayers meet modern rock and reggae. Bhaktified dance music — yet another subcategory in the chant world (is that a sub-non-genre?) — is there too, with Marti Nikko and Dj Drez’s chant-dance fantasy “Dreaming in Sanskrit” and Desert Dwellers’ electronicized house mix, “The Great Mystery.”

In the Kundalini corner, Simrit’s “From the Ancient Storm,” White Sun‘s self-titled debut album, and Sirgun Kaur’s “Dayaal” are in the running along with the ever-popular duo Mirabai Ceiba (for “Sevati“). On the instrumental end, Bansuri flute master Manose, who has played for a decade with Deva Premal & Miten, is on the ballot for “Call Within,” and Hans Christian, master of too many instruments to name here, made the list for “Nanda Devi.” An Indian classical flutist known simply as Flute Raman is found on the World ballot for an album of traditional bhajans called “Krishna Lila.”

But wait there’s more. While we can’t in any stretch of the word consider them “kirtan,” a few others on the ballots are worth noting for their inclusion of mantras in some tracks or their ties to the bhakti world, including: Peter Kater, who has three — yes three! — albums in the running for the nomination in New Age (“Heart of Silence,” “Etheria,” and “Love;” Daniela De Mari & Breath of Life for “Awakening;” David Vito Gregoli for the ambient “Om Land,” and a Classical Indian instrumental disc featuring Saraswathi Ranganathan on veena called “Refreshing Raga Blues.”

All told, the bhakti-ish contenders represent roughly 15 percent of the total New Age list of 116 titles and only a few of the 122 entries on the World ballot. The full lists cover a lot of musical ground, everything from spoken-word meditations to ethereal shamanic ritual music to ambient instrumentalism to synthesized electronica. Among the broadly defined kirtan-related releases are some real gems that deserve a closer look, and The Bhakti Beat will be doing that on a weekly basis between now and Dec. 7, when the Grammy nominations are announced.

We’ll also give one Grammy-contending CD away each week, so stay tuned to our facebook and other social media pages to enter the contests. (Links below.)

With so many bhaktified releases in the running for a nomination, this year marks a new high for mantra music in Grammy world. But it’s certainly not the first time the chant community has gotten Grammy fever. Krishna Das quite famously snagged one of the coveted Grammy nominations in 2012 for “Live Ananda,” and made history by being the first kirtan artist to perform at the Grammys (aired on the webcast). You saw that, right? A decade earlier, Jai Uttal was the first in the kirtan “non-genre” to be nominated for a Grammy, for his pioneering record, “Mondo Rama.”

Last year, more than a dozen bhakti albums made the first ballot, and a record called “Bhakti” by Paul Avgerinos — a new-agey fusion of Christianized chants and ambient electronica that was about as far from traditional kirtan as you can get — made the cut to be nominated but did not win the Grammy.

What It Means

What does it mean to be on the first-round ballot? Essentially, it means that you met the eligibility qualifications and got your entry in on time. Ballots were sent out Oct. 14 to NARAS members, who have until Nov. 4 to cast their ballot for the album they’d like to see nominated for the Grammy in each category. There are about 30 Grammy categories altogether, including the biggies, Album of the Year and Best New Artist. In the New Age and World categories, only one Grammy is given: Best Album.

Let’s state that again so there is no confusion: the first-round ballot voting is to decide who among the contenders will be NOMINATED for a Grammy in their respective categories. It’s the first step. The nominations will be announced Dec. 7, then NARAS members vote for one nominee in each category to receive the Grammy — the music industry’s highest award. The Grammys telecast this year will be on Feb. 15.

So tell us Bhakti Beaters: Who would be YOUR pick for a Kirtan Grammy?

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The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...

The First Annual Shyamdas Foundation Retreat kicks off this weekend (September 25-27) at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, N.Y. for three days of intimate song and satsang with Shyamdas’ closest friends and followers.  You should come.

Why? Well, because it’s the FIRST ANNUAL SHYAMDAS FOUNDATION RETREAT.  Do we need to say more? Okay, fine. This is THE retreat in honor of Shyamdas, the beloved bhakti scholar, author, kirtan wallah, respected teacher and friend to all, who left his body — along with a huge hole in the heart of the bhakti world — in January of 2013.  His inimitable spirit and legacy endure thanks in part to the Shyamdas Foundation, which is hosting this intimate retreat at the Bhajan Belt ashram that was so dear to Shyamdas’ heart.  In fact, Ananda was often the first place Shyamdas would go to share kirtan and satsang when he returned to the States after winters in India.

“One of the most important things Shyamdas imparted to us was to keep good association. Part of that is in the kirtan, but part of it is hearing the teachings.  This is an opportunity for a more intimate setting to get fully immersed in not just kirtan, but in the teachings.  There is a particular vibe at Ananda because it is an Ashram, so this has that energy with all of these people coming together to really get drenched in the nectar.” 

~ Ishwari of SRI Kirtan

Need more?  Did I mention there will be kirtan — lots of kirtan — with Shyamdas’ tribe of musician-gopis.  We’re talking Gaura Vani, Adam Bauer, Prema Hara, Steve Gorn, Nina Rao, SRI Kirtan, Devadas, Karnamrita Dasi, David Newman, Vrajdevi from Vraj, India, Arundhati and Prema from Woodstock, Yogi P from Vermont for starters…and we imagine there might be a surprise or two in store.

But wait, there’s more. Jivamukti yoga co-founder Padma Sharon Gannon herself will be leading asana practice, along with her nephew and protegé Jules Febre.  There will be stories and teachings and satsangs with Shyamdas’ dearest scholar-friends, including Radhanath Swami and David Haberman, and Vallabhdas, Shyamdas’ student/co-author and the founding director of the Shyamdas Foundation. There will be readings from Shyamdas’ books.  There will even be an “enchanted forest walk” with Gaura Vani and Vallabhdas that is sure to be…well, enchanted. We’re hoping Gaura brings his flute…

“I see this gathering at Ananda Ashram—a place Shyam loved and where I remember countless great moments shared—as a chance to continue deepening and nourishing what I love best about my experience with Shyamdas and indeed the broader Bhakti lila: meaningful time with friends and family, practicing the Bhakti yogic arts, joining hearts and voices together in the Divine Names, and enjoying the inspiring company of other seekers of love and truth. Plus, a bunch of good prasad! What’s not to love?”

~ Adam Bauer

But wait, you haven’t heard the best part of all. What makes this weekend realllllly special is the rare opportunity for satsang with one of Shyamdas’ own gurus, Shri Milan Goswami, grandson of his original Pushti Marg guru, Shri Prathameshji. These teachers are direct descendants of the 15th century bhakti philosopher Shri Vallabhacharya, the founder of the Path of Grace, who is considered by Pushti devotees to be a manifestation of Krishna and Radha, as well as a witness to the divine couple’s loving plays. Shyamdas was the first western initiate into the Pushti Marg and devoted his life to translating and sharing Vallabhacharya’s teachings.

Did you catch that?  That’s satsang with a living, breathing soul who is believed to be a direct descendent of Krishna & Radhe incarnate.

Go ahead, take a moment to wrap your brain around that concept.  We are.

 
Then check out this YouTube playlist of Shyamdas kirtans and teachings.

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Here’s the latest schedule of what’s happening (subject to change of course).  Learn more and get tickets at www.shyamdasfoundation.com

COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

FRIDAY:
4pm Check in
5:30 pm dinner
6:30 pm  Welcome/Shyamdas video
7 pm Pushti Kirtan: Vrajdevi, Ishwari & Vallabhdas
8 pm Bhakti Satsang: Radhanath Swami w/ Gaura Vani
9:30 pm Kirtan: Prema Hara

SATURDAY:
9 am Kirtan: Nina Rao
10 am Kirtan:  Devadas
11-12:45 Jivamukti Yoga w/ Sharon Gannon and Jules Febre
11 am Kirtan Workshop: “Singing for the Beloved” w/ Karnamrita Dasi, Vallabhdas, Martin Brading
12 pm Shyamdas Foundation Roundtable w/ Vallabhdas and Board members
1:30 pm Bhakti Lecture “Life Lessons & Vedantic Love” by Prof. David Haberman
3 pm En-chanting forest walk w/ Vallabhdas, Gaura Vani et al.
3:45 pm Bhakti Satsang: Shri Milan Goswami w/ Vallabhdas
5:15 pm Dinner
6:15 pm Kirtan: Arundhati w/ Prema
7:15 pm Shyamdas Archive audio clip
7:30 pm Kirtan: SRI Kirtan
8:30 pm Kirtan: Gaura Vani
9:30 pm Kirtan: Karnamrita Dasi

SUNDAY:
9 am Indian Classical Music: Steve Gorn
10 am Kirtan: Yogi P
11-12:45 Jivamukti Yoga w/ Sharon Gannon and Jules Febre
11 am Satsang Workshop: “Find the Beloved” w/ Ishwari, Vallabhdas, Premdas
12 pm Shyamdas Foundation Roundtable w/ Vallabhdas and Board members
1:30 pm Yamunashtakam Dance: Aarati Spadea w/ Vallabhdas, Ishwari, John McDowell
1:45 pm Pushti Bhakti Satsang: Shyamdas book readings w/ Padma Sharon Gannon, Vallabhdas, Ishwari
2:45 pm Kirtan: Adam Bauer
3:45 pm Kirtan: David Newman (Durga Das) w/ Mira
5 pm Multi-musician Finale

BONUS FOR READING ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM! USE CODE “BHAKTI” AND TAKE 15% OFF YOUR WEEKEND PASS OR DAY TICKETS!

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The Bhakti Beat welcomes your support!  We are non-commercial and not-for-profit,  a free service to the bhakti community that is completely self-funded save for the loving contributions of Bhakti Beaters like you.  Your support is critical — please share the Beat with your bhakti peeps, connect with us on social media (links below), and consider a one-time or recurring donation (DONATE HERE) to help us keep this bhav boat afloat.  All contributions are used exclusively to cover the direct expenses of bringing you News, Reviews, Interviews and Videos from the kirtan and mantra-music world.  Thank you from the bottom of our bhav brain, heart and soul. In loving service...