‘Srila Prabhupada’s Kirtana Standards: A Handbook’ by Jayadvaita Swami
A review by Krsna-katha das
Whether you are a kirtana leader and / or an Iskcon leader, this is a useful and interesting book to read. As the title suggests, it shows us how Srila Prabhupada wanted us to engage in kirtan. Jayadvaita Swami lets us know what Prabhupada wanted, what he would tolerate and what he didn’t want.
Maharaja points out many kirtana fashions that are now the norm but that Prabhupada never did himself. Did you know, for example, that he didn’t chant the names of the local deities at the end of a kirtana? That he didn’t chant ‘Jaya Radhe’ ? That ‘Nitai Gaura Haribol’ is only to be chanted briefly and in moderation, not repeatedly? All these trends have been imported from various Gaudiya Math institutions. It’s not that chanting in this way is wrong as such and we should certainly not criticize other Vaisnava institutions for doing so. But Srila Prabhupada didn’t do it and didn’t want it done. And as disciples, grand disciples and followers we have to ask ourselves: if he didn’t do it, why are we doing it? Should we not do our best to follow in his footsteps and do what he wanted? Of course, we can apply that principle to all aspects of Krsna consciousness but we should at least know what the standards are, even if we sometimes (or often) fall short of them.
I was in the London Soho Street temple recently for the 4.15 pm kirtana. A young man, armed with his harmonium, was ready and chomping at the bit to lead the kirtana, beginning the second the curtains started opening. He had a great voice, was clearly musically talented and was obviously enthusiastic to chant the holy Names. What he didn’t know was: chant the Panca Tattva mantra before the Hare Krsna mantra (but not more than three times); not to include so many embellishments (twiddly bits) in his melody that only a classically trained singer could follow the kirtana; to not sing a melody – albeit beautiful – that was so subtle that no one could follow; that harmoniums are not to be used in kirtan, only in bhajans. (This young man is no doubt a nice and sincere devotee and I don’t mean to give him a hard time. But his unawareness of these things is quite normal and thus his errors serve as an example). The goal of kirtana is for everyone in the room to be absorbed in the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra; not for musicians to feel great satisfaction in the exquisite complexity of the melodies they sing. All these things and more you can learn from this book.
Maharaja points out that Srila Prabhupada didn’t want us to precede the Panca Tattva mantra by chanting Bhaja,….We can chant Jaya Sri Krsna Caitanya but even that Jaya is not required. Further, that Prabhupada preferred Sri Advaita to Jaya Advaita in this mantra (despite the author’s name).
He informs us of Prabhupada’s dislike of the phrase ‘Jaya Gurudeva’ (“Who is that gurudeva?”) feeling that it was impersonal. Maharaja acknowledges the logic of it in our multi guru society and suggests that we instead chant the ‘Om ajnana timirandhasya’ verse at an appropriate time. Maharaja reminds us that only the well known morning tune should be sung throughout Mangala Aratrika. He even corrects our spelling and I confess that I have been spelling it ‘aratika’ for decades. I’m glad he mentions another of my own little bugbears : that the mrdanga player should follow the kirtana leader, sensing his mood and not speeding up the kirtana against the wishes of the kirtana leader. What to speak of playing louder than the singer thus drowning him out….
However, I do feel sympathetic towards devotees who lead kirtana with a harmonium and who are now faced with a disapproval from Srila Prabhupada that they didn’t previously know about. From the musical point of view a harmonium brings that extra something to the kirtana. But the fact remains that Prabhupada generally only wanted mrdanga and karatels as an accompaniment to kirtana. He was concerned that we should not become too absorbed in the music at the expense of the holy Name. Having said that, when attempting to form a World Sankirtana Party, Prabhupada said that there should be melodic instruments to accompany the kirtana.
A few weeks ago, I was at a downtown kirtana with my daughter, aimed primarily at young people, I recognised one melody and instead of absorbing myself in the maha-mantra, I spent ten minutes trying to remember where I knew it from. Eventually it came to me. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, an old easy listening crooner’s song. Then I spent another ten minutes trying to figure out whether it was Bing Crosby, Perry Como or Dean Martin that popularised it. (It was Frank Sinatra). So I can understand Maharaja’s dislike of such tunes being used in kirtan; it wasn’t helpful for me. On the other hand, everyone joined in and were probably more engaged in the Name than I was.
Last week, I was at the same programme and there was a devotee playing guitar in accompaniment to the kirtana. This fellow was so good. His ‘licks’ (or phrasing), were expert and perfectly judged. He was obviously strongly influenced by Robbie Robertson of The Band in particular and by Americana in general. I relished his brilliance. And at that point I actually understood why Srila Prabhupada didn’t want that in a temple. Instead of listening to the holy Name, I was hearing a guitar…..Having said that, there were 150 young people in the room enthusiastically chanting…..
The book is chatty in tone and even, I might say, something of a page turner. It is a tad caustic in places but nonetheless enthusing, balanced and well referenced; it draws on Srila Prabhupada’s books, letters and archived conversations. Maharaja has had many conversations with contemporary kirtana leaders as part of his research. It is not just a list of ‘Thou shalt nots’. There are handy kirtana standard summary charts at the end of the book and some interesting appendices, including one by Bhaktivinode Thakura.
Maharaja acknowledges that standards appropriate for a temple may be different to those appropriate for so called ‘bridge preaching’ kirtana programmes. Maharaja recognises that kirtana leaders don’t want to be bound by stringent rules. He also points out a number of exceptions that prove (test) those rules.
Maharaja comments on his relief that the Hare Krsna mantra is no longer sung to the tune of La Cucaracha. It is a jolly, upbeat and whimsical tune that inspires you to dance. (Go on then, Google it). I must confess that when my daughter was very young we had a great time doing just that and it had her happily chanting. Now I have a grandson, we dance around the kitchen chanting to this melody complete with a (politically incorrect) Mexican accent. But I fully accept that it is inappropriate for the temple.
There is one incident in the book where Harikesa asks Srila Prabhupada if he should stop the kirtana knowing well that Prabhupada didn’t like that style; he had recently told Harikesa to stop a kirtana for that same reason. Prabhupada said no: ‘At least they’re chanting.’
But where do we draw the line? Is it not natural that each new generation of kirtaneers will do things their way, different from their parents and grandparents, inventing new melodies and styles? Isn’t that the way of the world? Isn’t the spiritual world endlessly variegated and thus isn’t kirtana too? Or do we play it safe and follow the parampara and just do kirtana as Srila Prabhpada did? Will we be accused of being overly conservative and traditional? The answer is that we should follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and mood; there is still scope for new melodies and styles as long as they conform to what Srila Prabhupada wanted.
Let’s finish with my favourite quote in the book, by Krpa-moya Prabhu:
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“When I lead kirtana, I feel I want to serve the devotees that are there. I’m very conscious that there’s a very thin line and you can fall either side of the line. If you can sing in such a way that afterwards devotees come up and say “Nice kirtana”, you’ve got to be very careful that you don’t allow your artistic considerations to take precedence over the devotional. My devotional considerations are to be thinking of two things – Krsna, and allowing the devotees to have space in which to listen to the holy name and reflect. So I try to chant in such a way that I know that everybody can join in. I don’t tend to sing unfamiliar tunes. I sing familiar tunes that I think the devotees will know, just so they can become absorbed. I don’t change the tunes that often. And I just really try to stay this side of the line of modulating the voice too much – that is, not modulating the voice so much that people will treat it as an artistic thing and not a devotional thing.
‘Srila Prabhupada’s Kirtana Standards: A Handbook’ is published by the Krsna Balarama Literary Trust, New York.
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=113398
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