Focus of the Month: Kirtan

Our willingness to sing out and put our insecurities aside is a spiritual barometer for our willingness to let go and join our hearts with the bhav or divine mood. I was reminded of this by Jivamukti teacher, Jules during his class entitled Spiritual Alchemy. In his characteristic humorous manner, he invited all to sing along with the playlist as we practiced asana. All was going well with many voices enthusiastically coming together rejoicing in the mantras we knew so well. This continued until the Hari Krishna track from Sharon Gannon’s Sharanam played on.  As the operatic upper octave rang out, once enthusiastic voices dropped out. Jules questioned (something to the effect), Does your devotion  stop during the high notes? He continued on, requesting that we sing out and make Sharon proud.

I hesitated, then I asked myself, Is my devotion to God so shallow, that I will allow a my insecurity to get in the way? An internal voice shouted “No!” Tentatively at first, and then with more confidence, inspired by Jules’s instruction, I sang out “krishna.aaaaaahhhh, krishnaaaa.aaaaahhh. krishnaaaaaaahhhh” ( If you’ve heard the track, then you know the part). Feeling ridiculous and simultaneously happy about the silliness of it all, I continued to sing out as did those around me. As a group, we decided to drop our individual egos and submit ourself to the mantra, allowing it to work its magic. In this way the mantra protected the group from insecurities about their voices and allowed us to do the real work of connecting with God through the divine name of Krishna.

Reflecting on this experience provides the opportunity to acknowledge when our inhibition too often prevents us from uplifting our own lives and most importantly, the lives of those beings around us. By literally singing out, loud and proud, we give others the confidence to do the same. This brings to mind a translation of the word kirtan; literally meaning “to cut”. Through chanting we cut through discursive thoughts, including feeling less then perfect. In doing so, the ties the keep us bound to the mundane are also cut and we are able to continue on our ultimate path to God.