In some respects, it was a long hard day; a workshop on kirtan standards. It went well though and I was happy with the turnout at our ISKCON Montreal center. The course covers directions or standards on conducting chanting sessions either by those who lead or those who respond to kirtan. As usual, we go through the points of the mood behind chanting, the execution, the collaboration, the inclusiveness, the etiquette, etc.
Kirtan has become popular among our youth around the world and much of that inspiration comes from a trailblazing kirtan master, Aindra, who was quite expert. This late and great soul demonstrated his passion for the art. The unique thing about Aindra is that while he has a kind of “rock star” status, that empowerment of his did not go without a strong backbone of sadhana. Power comes from the practice of sadhana, which in the bhakti tradition involves personal japa chanting, puja worship and a regular reading of the books of bhakti teachings.
Our guru, Prabhupada, set standards and moods for kirtan through his books and his example. In my presentation for the workshop, I failed to mention the point that the popular kirtan leaders today carry excellent devotional practices, enabling them to have power in their delivery of chanting the mantras. I guess I will include it in my next workshop, which will be held in Brampton next week.
Source: http://thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com/2022/10/saturday-october-8-2022.html
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