Bhagavan Das lead the first one at a small yoga studio in Towson, MD. We kind of just stumbled upon learning of this one and we braved the ice and snow to attend - it was worth every moment! Many of the kirtans I've attended haven't been quite so full of ritual, but this is the first opportunity I've had to meet someone of this "caliber" in person.
I had a couple major take-aways from this evening, some that I may be able to put into words now. Make no mistake, however, this event touched me deeply, and I will be drawing from that energy for a long time to come.
Towards the end of the concert, Bhagavan Das performed a blessing. At the time, I wasn't sure what was happening, but then we were invited to come up and receive a token. Turns out it was a bowl of flower petals and Hershey kisses. A little about me: I'm a pack-rat. And I rarely eat candy. And so my gut instinct was to hold both of these in reverence and pack them away somewhere safe for as long as possible. But then I realized the scope of the invitation I've been given. This chocolate was specifically blessed for us to "warm our heart" and who was I to deny that? I gave in, and ate the kiss with joy and happiness. I do still have the flower petal and candy wrapper in a baggie, or course ;-)
Through all the high energy and love emanating from that space, it's easy to get lost. In so many ways! Between a couple songs, however, I noticed something. Bhagavan Das was grabbing a drink of water from a bottle and discussing something quickly and quietly with his wife. Through his body motions and hers I suddenly realized... he's just a man. Yes, he has a deep history including nomadic travels in India and meeting many saintly people and receiving training and blessings, and on and on and on. Yet here I caught a glimpse underneath the reverence and ritual of another human being traveling down his path. I'm having troubling communicating this, I think, but the point is that we're all One. All of us. I could be in that body as the holy guru, but he could be me as well - trying to discover the path of enlightenment through all the distractions of modern society. We're all in it together, and this is just the role he's wearing at this time. The feeling of connection was amazing.
At one point I had this external view of the situation - a small warm dimly lit room on a random corner in bustling Towson, surrounded by dark, cold snowy weather outside. Emanating from that little space was so much light and love it's indescribable. I tried to imagine how if everyone in the world would just open themselves up to give and to receive Love, just a little bit, in this way, the amount of suffering out there would drop by orders of magnitude.
About once a month, or as schedules permit, we gather as a group and are lead by John in a cross-cultural spiritual journey through sound (guitar and/or harmonium) and voice (in tune or out), followed up by a vegetarian pot luck. It's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Sometimes the group is as small as 6 of us, but this weekend, even heading into yet another snow storm, there was probably close to 20 there. In fact, there was literally a line outside the door waiting for keys -- someone musingly commented, "you know it's wonderful when people are lined up in the cold for a Kirtan." Indeed!
As usual, this was a beautiful experience. While folks like Bhagavan Das focus strongly on the Hindu traditions of chanting, John brings in a mix of Hindu, Sufi, Sikh, Islam, and God knows what else! The chants flow through the hours like unstoppable ways. Missed words and chords and all, it's all wonderful (I may need to break out the thesaurus!)
And as usual, I was deeply touched several times during the chanting. I'd like to call out one of those little experiences here.
I don't recall the specific piece we were chanting, and it doesn't really matter. Most chants move organically in volume and speed (at least it feels that way, though John may be guiding more than I realize - but it feels like a group energy that we all just follow along). During one cadence, I was completely lost in a chanting meditative state. Again, the specifics aren't key, but this is why I go to Kirtan - for that moment of connected Love or Light or everything. As that energy ran its course through me, I arrived back into my gross mind. My line of thought was something along the lines of "That was great! I wonder if I was even chanting along then, I was so lost. OK, where are we now?" and I'd consciously get myself back in rhythm and tune as the chant continues. I'd re-adjust my legs and my seat, take stock of any aches from my posture, etc. I felt at that moment that I had received what I needed to out of this particular song; I was ready to know which one we'd sing next. I allowed my body to settle back into the chanting in a refreshed posture, and got my groove back on. And then it happened... I was lost again. I wasn't done after all! Again, my words are failing me. I think the take-away here is that when you've opened up your heart to give and receive all you have, never think you're done with anything! There's always more goodness, just waiting its turn to flow through you next.
Alright, this has been a babbling unstructured post. Even if you read this and think "what a bunch of nonsense from some America hippie" I have to recommend exploring Kirtan, holy chanting, and this realm of music. It's easy to get started: just pull up Pandora and find Bhagavan Das, Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Snatam Kaur -- or countless others. Listen to a few songs here and there, and start looking around your community (often at yoga studios) for a chance to experience it first-hand. It could change your life forever in a positive direction - who wouldn't jump at such an opportunity? The next step is yours, my Friend. Open up to Love and Be Love. It really is that easy.
Of all the things that exist,
we breathe and wake and turn it into song.
-- Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening
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