What is Kirtan? History of Kirtan by Vaiyasaki Das- Learn about the deep tradition of glorifying the divine name.

History of Kirtan by Vaiyasaki Das ------------------------------------------------- ----- Back

Kirtan, or Sankirtan, was popularized circa 1506 by the great Bengali saint, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Sanskrit word, Kirtan, means to glorify, and sanga kirtan, shortened to sankirtan, means glorification in the association of others, or the congregational singing of divine mantras with devotion.

The Sanskrit word, mantra, can be broken etymologically into two root words, mana which means the mind, and tra which means to deliver. Thus, a mantra has the power to deliver the mind from material consciousness or perception, to spiritual consciousness or enlightenment.

Previous to the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the mantras were chanted, but not sung with melodies and instruments. Chaitanya introduced the singing in order to keep the restless mind peaceful. The mantra has to be heard with a calm and peaceful mind. Then it can enter through the ear and into the heart where the purification process takes place. God is within the heart of every living being, and the heart is also the abode of divine love. So the kirtan will open up the heart chakra and revive the divine love that is already present.

If one's mind is restless, with scattered thoughts always coming and going, then the hearing process is disrupted, and the mantra cannot enter into our minds and hearts, and therefore the process becomes restricted.

It was for this reason that Mahaprabhu introduced the singing, and later the dancing, because when we are singing and/or dancing then we are not thinking; we get caught up in the music and/or dance. When the thought process becomes tranquil, the mantra can be properly heard and the sound vibration enters our consciousness to purify the heart. The Sanskrit word sravanam refers to focusing our hearing, and then the kirtanam will produce its powerful purificatory effect.

The reason the mantras have this potency is because these sound vibrations are not spoken by man, apauruseya. They are not of this world, or even the material universe. Rather, they have descended directly from the spiritual plane and thus have spiritual potencies because the mantras are the sound representations of the Divine Names of God. The scriptures of every major religion in the world recommend we glorify God by music and song in order to establish a loving connection with the Supreme. This can be experienced by anyone personally by engaging in the kirtan process.

If one sings a mundane sound vibration, for example coca cola coca cola, that material sound will not produce a spiritual result. What is of the spirit is spiritual and what is of matter is material. The Vedic scriptures of ancient India describe the natures of both the material and the spiritual planes of existence in great detail. Because we tend to absorb ourselves in material energies, our perceptions and our entire consciousness becomes adulterated to material conceptions. Thus we need the purification that comes from singing Kirtan to re-spiritualize our consciousness.

When we speak of purifying the heart we refer to those unwanted things in our heart, like bigotry, resentment, anger, prejudice, jealousy, lust, greed, etc. that cover and obstruct divine love from expressing itself at every moment. So the goal of kirtan is to purify the heart in order to revive the dormant divine love that remains deep in the core of our heart.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu devoted his life to spreading Kirtan and traveled throughout India bringing it to every community. That's why everyone in India knows about kirtan. Wherever he went he attracted thousands of followers and was received with great affection be people of every caste and creed. Due to his efforts everyone in India chants kirtan in one form or another.

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