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Kirtan Chanting
Born from one of the oldest sacred sound traditions of the world, kirtan
call-and-response chanting, comes to us from India. Kirtan involves Satsang,
a Sanskrit term meaning where people gather together as a community to
remember to turn inward and to help each other find our own inner path.
Kirtan is called yogic chanting and yoga means union.
Kirtan uses a combination of sound, vibration, melody, harmony, and Sanskrit
mantras to lead us into meditation: a state of unity and inner connection
with ourselves, our community, and more expanded states of consciousness.
The chanting can be moving and exhilarating, and at the same time, quieting
and meditative.
Kirtan may be performed in any language because all sound comes from
the Divine source and because kirtan is sung with devotion the vibrations
that are created have a universal inpact. Kirtan is part mantra yoga (repetition
of Divine Names), nada yoga (the yoga of vibratory frequency and sound),
and bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion and the heart).
Chaitanya Mahaprabu (1486-1533) began spreading congregational call and
response chanting of the holy names of universal consciousness throughout
India, and started the sankirtana movement that continues worldwide
today.
The next Ann Arbor Kirtan is August 20, 2010.
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