Community Kirtan

What is Kirtan?

Kirtan, or devotional chanting of mantra, is one of the primary practices of Bhakti Yoga. There a many slokas (Sanskrit verses) from many spiritual traditions including Hinduism and Yoga, Buddhism and Sikhism, as well as various spiritual texts in which these slokas and mantras were first documented, including the Vedas, Yoga Sutras, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Bhagavad Gita. With roots in the Vedic tradition in India, Kirtan is a particular style of devotional chanting involving repetitious chanting of Vedic mantra - which are some of the oldest sacred texts in the world (around 1500 BC). Kirtan is practiced in a large group, typically using a "call and response" method, in which one person is calling and the group repeats the mantra back together, sometimes in various shared harmonies. An accompaniment of musical instruments, especially Indian instruments like the harmonium, are often used to support the rhythm and changes in pace…