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 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 he 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,
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 June 13, 2008.
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