The Spirit of Kirtan

There is no right or wrong way to sing kirtan. Kirtan can be
breathtakingly beautiful, the music can be stunning and masterful; and
it can be cacophonous, dissonant, and almost painful to the ears.
Aesthetics don't matter. All that matters is the spirit, the
feeling. Don't worry about what you sound like, feel whatever you feel,
have no expectations, no inhibitions. Kirtan is an oil well
digging deeper and deeper into the heart. A power tool of love and
longing. A train carrying us home. Make these kirtans your own prayers
and use their power to set fire to your own soul. We sing together
and each person has a totally unique, individual experience. Yet by
singing together we give strength, safety and passion to each
other, and give ourselves permission to sing and dance freely,
releasing and expressing through our voices and bodies, the emotions
tightly locked in our hearts. The pain of separation is one with the
bliss of Union.

Kirtan is a vessel that can hold love, longing, union, separation,
lust, despair, mourning, anger, hate, sadness, ecstasy, and oneness.
Powered by the fire of these emotions, the chants of Bhakti become
like a ship, singing us to the other shore. In lightness, in
darkness, in despair, in joy we sing the names-- The Name -- and turn
our human hearts toward the One, who is closer to us than our own
breath. Kirtan is food for the spirit, a life raft of song.

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