(Story from LA Yoga Magazine by Sam Slovick)
"Man...tra; Man- means 'mind'; -tra means 'to free'," Vijay Krsna tells me. The young Hare Krishna devotee from the UK who was born to the sound of his father singing Om Namah Shivaya on his guitar wants to share a kirtan experience with one and all. "To call out and have someone open their heart and call back;" Vijay says, "It's an expression of love.
Initiated into Bhakti Yoga at the age twelve, Vijay is the driving force behind the Kirtaniyas -- a transcontinental kirtan collective comprised of four enlightened, gifted twenty-somethings; they are undeniably part of the epicenter of LA's neo-bhatki set.
Kirtan, from the Sanskrit, is an ancient call-and-response traditional, devotional mantra chanting practice that originated in the Indian subcontinent. In its most recent incarnation as realized by the Kirtaniyas, it is a decidedly more Western groove accessible form of the traditional Vedic practice.
The members are all skilled performers, including classically trained violinist Sarasvati and husband Vijay, who have been traveling Europe and India sharing this passion for kirtan. Now united stateside with native Angelino Rasika and Hawaii-born Nitai (a DJ/musician/producer) the Kirtaniyas are divinely guided by the primordial force of mantra, joined in cosmic synergy, liberated in sound and vibration.
"Kirtan is nectar for your ears," Nitai says. "You open your ears and your heart and let it in. It's simple. It works with repetition, any time of the day any time of the night...anywhere." Like his message, Nitai is simple. Marked for life, the devotee's neck and shoulders are tattooed with Sanskrit letters (Devanagari script/the language of the demigods) spelling out the names of god and depth of his commitment. "We just sing it," he says, "and after that the continuous chanting, it starts to enter your heart. We're hoping for that, not only for ourselves, but also for the people around us...to get a little taste of what we're getting. We've both been chanting all our lives. Even in the wombs of our mothers, because they were chanting."
Auspiciously funky, currently resonating from ground zero at the Radha Govinda Mandir on Rose Avenue in Venice (aka the Rose Temple) the decidedly ecstatic, shamelessly sensual, discernibly devotional Kirtaniyas have graced the stage with the likes of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja (their guru), Shyamdas, Wah!, MC Yogi, Dave Stringer, Jai Uttal, Saul David Raye and Arjun Baba, to name a few notables.
Just around the corner, on September 9 through 12, the Kirtaniyas will formally emerge as part of the next generation of kirtan superstars as they join Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Deva Premal and Miten on the bill at Bhakti Fest.
"It's a Kirtan immersion," Vijay says. "Bhakti Fest is one of the most amazing conscious gatherings I've ever been to or know about on the planet. It's a four-day, nonstop kirtan. It's like being in another world for a weekend." He describes the upcoming music festival celebrating devotion through chanting, Yoga, meditation and community on 450 acres in Joshua Tree Retreat Center.
"You've got to do it to feel the effect," Vijay offers. "To sing with an open heart is to experience what the systematically designed words mean and feel upon being chanted. It's like a genie in a bottle. You can get whatever you want from them. You can sing from so many attitudes or moods. In physics, if you focus your mind in repetition on a particular goal you will eventually attract that into your life. Mantra is a very amazing tool for that. You can think money, money, money, money. You'll attract that." He admits: "That's a pretty crude example."
Vijay and the Kirtaniyas are on the crest of the latest wave of Krishna Consciousness. "He has tattoos," Vijay refers to Nitai. "I sing Kirtan in shorts and drink kombucha [tea] and we hang out with hot Yogis and Yoginis. I mean [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami] Prabhupada came and did his thing with the hippies in the '60s. That's what's going on with the Kirtanyiers. I'm asking how can we be most effective in sharing this amazing process?" Vijay says as Nitai nods his head and adds, "How can I ever describe the taste of sugar to someone who has never tasted sugar? You need to experience for yourself. It's nectar for your ears." Nitai repeats his simple truth: "You open your ears and your heart and let it in."
www.kirtaniyas.com
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Mahamantra Kirtan - The Kirtaniyas (Nitai Prem)by kirtaniyas4,513 views
Hare Krishna !!!
NitaiGaurHariBol108 8 months ago