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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00061 Jan 2004

 
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Dear Bhagavatas:
You would have enjoyed the superb writings of Sri M.K.Sudarshan Swami on the 
value of "Satsang" as gleaned from Andal's Tiruppavai. I stumbled upon this 
article in today's issue of "The Plain Dealer" newspaper of Cleveland. I am 
forwarding it to you for your information.This brings out the  efficacy of 
chanting of Bhagava Naamas and that in a group "satsangam", being adopted 
here in the U.S.A.
Hope you will find it interesting.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
============================================================


KIRTAN CALL

>From "Arts & Life" Section of "The Plain Dealer" of Cleveland, Ohio dated 
01/13/04

Margaret Bernstein
Plain Dealer Reporter


Frank Barnett, 48, never sang solo in public until he discovered kirtan.

But a week ago, in a mirrored room full of people, he bravely raised his 
earnest baritone alone to sing a series of Sanskrit words: "Govinda jaya 
jaya. Gopala jaya jaya. Radha ramana hari Govinda jaya jaya."

Those in the room joyfully repeated the phrases back to him, not 
understanding a word.

Comprehension doesn't matter in the least to this group. In fact, the lack 
of it is just what enhances the experience of kirtan, a form of chanting 
that's caught on in California and New York and is gaining popularity here.

Not exactly new, modern-day kirtan is actually borrowed from a ritual that 
dates back to ancient India. Participants chant words of praise to Hindu 
gods, singing them repeatedly at fast and slow speeds. Now even Sting sings 
Sanskrit on a CD recorded by popular kirtan leader Krishna Das, one of a 
growing number of performers who are cutting records and performing live to 
crowds across the nation.

Kirtan is offered by several local yoga studios including Atma Center in 
Cleveland Heights where, on a recent Sunday evening, more than 30 people 
slogged through an icy rain to take part. They shed their coats and shoes at 
the door, and grabbed a space on the floor.

Center director Beverly Singh, who goes by the spiritual name of Atmarupa, 
settled the crowd with some deep breathing exercises. Then it was kirtan 
time: For about 15 minutes, she led a rousing call-and-response singalong in 
Sanskrit while playing a simple melody on a harmonium, an accordionlike 
instrument. Three other attendees then took turns leading the chanting. 
Atma's weekly program is free.

Some participants remained prayerful and reserved; others clapped and 
enthusiastically kept the beat. Among them was a smiling, swaying Melissa 
Clark, a 24-year-old Cleveland State University student from Westlake. 
"Sanskrit is so beautiful," she said. "I'm trying to connect with the 
divinity. I draw a lot of energy from it."

One guy seated on a blanket even brought out a flute to play an ad-lib 
accompaniment.

The flavor of the evening depends on the participants, said Leah 
Santosuosso, 20, a jeans-clad Cleveland State philosophy major. She's been 
coming for a month. "It's a different experience each time I come. I've seen 
people get up and dance. It could be anything."

Attendees say when they are fully engaged in kirtan, they experience an 
exhilarating high. The repetitive words create internal vibrations that 
stimulate the body's organs and contribute to a transcendent state, some 
say. And chanting in a group increases the meditative energy flowing in the 
room, said Atma instructor Martha Loughridge, whose spiritual name is 
Madhuramurti.

Kirtans in Cleveland's east and west suburbs often are led by versatile 
musician Steve Brazier, or Sahadeva, who said he became devoted to kirtan 
after traveling to Bihar in northwest India last year to learn more about 
it. "This is powerful stuff, really. There's no telling what it can do for 
you if you're sincere in your approach and you just let it go."

And although this Westernized, watered-down version of an ancient Hindu form 
of worship has been snickered about, even in Time magazine, Guru Bhandari, 
president of the local Federation of Indian Community Associations, has no 
complaints. "India is like a grandmother. It's an old civilization. It 
belongs to everyone," he said.

"I hope more of this happens. If people can heal from it, then why not? Is 
it better to sing and heal yourself by going into a state of meditativeness 
than to take a Tylenol or some medication? You bet it is."

Bhandari is a yoga instructor himself, although he doesn't do any kirtan. 
But he believes there's no harm in Americans singing mantras they don't 
understand. In fact, the words that are nonsensical to Americans can enhance 
the spiritual experience, he said, because they confound the brain's desire 
to make sense of things.

And at that moment, many kirtan devotees agree, the busy mind takes a break 
and they sing from the heart.

"You don't really need to know the meaning," said Loughridge. "It's more an 
experience just singing, feeling the vibrations. With the whole group it's 
more powerful than with one person alone."

There's some skepticism floating around about the phenomenon, said Barnett, 
a yoga instructor who's noted that even local yoga enthusiasts have shied 
away from kirtan. "They're terrified of coming across as Hare Krishnas," he 
wrote recently in a research paper on kirtan, completed as part of his yoga 
instructor training. "But we can show the world it's not silly cultish 
behavior."

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