What is Kirtan? kirtan - What is Kirtan? Learn about the deep tradition of glorifying the holy name of the Lord.













		The Holy Name of Lord Krishna is an attractive feature for many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful reactions and is so powerful that save for the dumb who cannot chant, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of man, the chandala. The Holy Name of Krishna is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Krishna. Simply by touching the Holy Name with one's tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the Holy Name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the purascharya regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The Holy Name does not wait for all these activities. It is self-sufficient. *- Padyavali (29) by Rupa Goswami, quoted in Chaitanya-charitamri ta Madhya 15.110*

Forms of Kirtan - by Vaiyasaki Das ------------------------------------- Back

Kirtan reached its highest form of expression in Bengal, located in northeast India.
There are two classifications of kirtan: 1. Nama Kirtan 2. Lila kirtan

1. Nama Kirtan refers to singing the divine names of one's personal worshipful Deity. In Bengal, specifically, the names of Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, or Gaura-Nitai, are the most popular. The understanding is that the name of God is non-different from God, because spiritual nature is absolute. In this way the devotee can associate with God through the sound representation of the divine name. The Vedic conception of God is both masculine and feminine. There is always a feminine counterpart which is an expression of divine love, or devotion, while the masculine energy expresses divine power.

Akhanda nama kirtan refers to the continuous non-stop singing of kirtan by various groups of singers, usually singing for two hours at a time before the next group takes over. This event, or festival, may last for 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or even for a whole week, without ever stopping. The Sanskrit word Akhanda means non-stop.

Kirtans are sung in two moods or bhavas: Sambhoga bhava - this is the mood of joy that one experiences in association with the beloved. Vipralambha bhava - this is the mood of longing that one experiences during separation from the beloved.
Of the two, the vipralambha bhava is a deeper expression of devotion, because in this mood one can barely tolerate separation from the object of one's love. In the case of Kirtan, the object of love is always God.

2. Lila kirtan refers to singing about the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme, either in this realm, or in the eternal spiritual plane. Again, the main pastimes that are sung are of the Deities which are mentioned above for the nama kirtans. There are different types of lila kirtans of which the most popular are:

a) Pala kirtan - the singing and acting out of a particular pastime of one's chosen Deity. One person will sing, recite, and act out a pastime, while a group of musicians accompany him.

b) Padyavali kirtan - the singing of specific pastimes of divine love between Sri Krishna and His associates, sung by one main singer and accompanied by several musicians.

c) Astakaliya kirtan - is the 24 hour non-stop recitation in song, by one singer, of the entire daily pastimes of Radha & Krishna from 6am through the morning, afternoon, evening, night and then ending at 6am the next morning. In order to perform astakaliya kirtan one has to know the entire day of Krishna's pastimes by heart and be able to sing them for one entire 24 hour session. The audience will usually stay with him through the night to hear the songs and pastimes that they know and love.

d) Dhun - is similar to kirtan but is always expressed in sambhoga bhava and is popular mainly in the Gujarat area of India. The words of the dhuns may not be mantras, but they are glorification of the divine names & pastimes of the Supreme, and thus have a similar effect as kirtan.

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