To celebrate his108th Mantra Choir Jayadev with the help of music producer Gareth Rhys Jones has put together this wonderful VIRTUAL Mantra Choir with vocal and instrumental offerings from people from all around the globe, many of whom have no previous musical experience. The video includes special guest appearances from Boy George, Tim Wheater, Gaurangi Dasi (Pia Richarson) and Mark Haley performing "Giri Govardhan" a mantra piece written especially for this project by Jayadev John Richardson. Stay tuned, a new mantra choir project is coming up soon. Read the ISKCON News report about the topic: http://iskconnews.org/virtual-mantra-choir-to-feature-hundreds-of-webcam-singers,4590/
"Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense. Then advancement will be swift and you will gradually come to see everything clearly so that you may act for the pleasure of the Lord without uncertainty."
A chilly morning turned into a beautiful, sunny day. We couldn’t have asked for a better weather on our field trip to the Dallas Arboretum. We arrived early on Monday to explore the Pumpkin Village. The face painting and petting zoo were an extra treat. After a short snack break, we explored the elaborate new “12 Days of Christmas” exhibition. Such a lovely day!
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 28 September 2014, Durban, South Africa, Sunday Feast Lecture)
Srila Gaura Kisora Das Babaji did not want to sleep. Sleeping is such a waste of time. But sleep is such a thing that happens on its own, whether you want it to or not, as some drivers have found out! Sleeping does not always come when you want it. So Gaura Kisora Das Babaji, what did he do? He took an old cloth and packed it up with mud and put it on top of his head – kilos and kilos of mud on his head, tied in a cloth. In this way, somehow or other, he managed not to sleep and just chant and chant.
Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji, twice a month for ekadasi, he would just chant for seventy-two hours; twenty-four hours the day before, on ekadasi day itself, and the day after; non-stop chanting for seventy-two hours!
Srivasa Acharya, when having a Bhakta Program, they had their sikas tied with strings to the ceiling, in case anybody would nod off. In that way, they also chanted and chanted. Was this fanaticism? No, it was love for Krsna! It showed tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ (CC Madhya, 8.70), it showed the root, the root for love of Krsna, with so much eagerness, eagerness to attain it. It is the most desirable thing, to attain such eagerness. Now where can you get such eagerness? Such eagerness it comes from mercy. We need mercy, somehow or other!
HG Vaisesika Prabhu and HG Nirakula Mataji are in town and we have several events lined up to keep you busy this weekend, starting with a seminar on Practical Krishna Conscious Living - Down-to-earth Tips for Personal and Spiritual Growththis Friday, December 12, 2014.
Here is a little description for this seminar:
The practice of bhakti yoga encourages a lifestyle based on the application of yoga philosophy as described in the Bhagavad Gita. Please join us for this interactive seminar to learn practical tips and tools to enhance your personal life and spiritual practices.
Seminar Details:
Practical Krishna Conscious Living - Down-to-earth Tips for Personal and Spiritual Growth Interactive Seminar by Vaisesika Dasa
Friday, December 12, 2014 6:30-8:30pm Free seminar (donations welcome)
Please join us for what will be a fun-filled evening!
Preaching program at Iskcon Guyana; Crane- Sri Sri Gaura Nitai Ashirvad Dham Mandir (Album 36 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Our relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternal. Nitya-siddha Krishna-prema. The pure souls are eternally in love with Krishna. Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one revives his original relationship with God and thus becomes so happy that he does not want anything material. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.7.39 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/VXc4YB
On the auspicious occasion of the disappearance anniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur (10 December 2014), Kadamba Kanana Swami gave this morning’s class in Mayapur, in glorification of him. The recording is available below for download.
"Uninvited Visitors" at New Govardhana Farm, Australia!
At the women’s ashrama, now known as the ‘Giri Guesthouse’, the brahmacharinis have recently been receiving some uninvited visitors. Right on tie with the seasonal changes, several carpet pythons have taken up residence in the vicinity.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/LArWE1
1968 December 10: "Our followers are neither Hindus nor belong to any Vedic sect but they are accepting this Sankirtana Movement very nicely. And some are very advanced as you might have seen from their characteristics." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1971 December 10: "Your three-day festival in Central Park will be especially triumphant for me because only five years back I was sitting alone under a tree in your park thinking that perhaps no one will join me, but let me try." Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1971 December 10: "Caitanya Mahaprabhu said this Krishna Consciousness Movement will spread to every nook and corner of the world - so there is no doubt it will happen. He is God, how can He be wrong? So if we are intelligent we will assist and get the credit. Otherwise, someone else will." Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1972 December 10: "I remember well that Hall and how nicely they listened to our discourse. It is one of the best places in the world for our preaching work. Develop this field very carefully, take hold and convince the population." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1972 December 10: "I am so much pleased that you are doing the real work of a sannyasi - traveling, preaching and training the devotees how to preach. Instruct them well for making spiritual advancement, that will be the best service." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1973 December 10: "Vaisnava means that when others see him, they will also chant Hare Krsna. You are not paramahamsa that you can do whatever you like. Remain ideal Vaisnava internally and externally, and everyone will respect you." Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1973 December 10: "It is not a hopeless situation. Tell them that Prabhupada is coming soon and they should not give up the chanting, never mind they can do whatever they like. They are all good boys, they cannot go away." Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
Unboxing deluxe limited edition Bhagavad Gita As It Is (4 min video)
This video is about fundraising efforts to help ISKCON Amsterdam get their own property.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/PYZ0Px
US famous actor Alec Baldwin and his family visit the New York Harinama devotees and gets a Krishna book from their table.
Srila Prabhupada: Many people come and inquire whether they have to give up family life to join the Society, but that is not our mission. One can remaincomfortably in his residence. We simply request everyone to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 7.128 Purport).
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/ufAwLM
Kīrtan rhythm is a little different from the modern idea of rhythm. Arguably the Indian concept of rhythm is more complex and sophisticated than the western, globalized concept, but the biggest and most relevant difference is that our modern concept of rhythm is very rigid while kīrtan rhythm done right should be very elastic.
Classical western music has some sense of elasticity in the tempo and rhythmic pattern, but over the last few decades especially machines have defined the tempo of almost all the music we hear almost all the time – with an unyieldingly rigid uniformity. So we have to make some effort to become fully aware of how rhythm should flex to serve and augment the all-important emotional content of the kīrtan.
Speeding up and Slowing Down
The archetypical kīrtan pattern is to begin very slow, gradually enter normal speed, eventually shift to high-speed, and then dramatically bring it back to a very slow tempo and repeat the cycle indefinitely. So there is a pattern of speeding up and slowing down that takes place gradually over the course of many repetitions of the mahā-mantra.
But there is another “speed-up/slow-down” pattern that is at least equally important, and far less understood by most contemporary people doing kīrtan. It is a pattern which spans only a single mantra, and is particularly exaggerated when the kīrtan overall is in one of it’s very-slow phases. The pattern is that the mantra begins slowly and gradually speeds up after coming to the second half (“Hare Rāma…”), increasing the intensity of acceleration as it comes near the end (“Rāma Rāma”), and then suddenly and dramatically slowing back down at the end (the last “Hare Hare”) so that the next repetition of the mantra again starts slowly.
The Beats
You’ve heard how the tempo of beats has to flex and bend with the emotion of the kīrtan, speeding up and slowing down. Now let’s talk about the beats themselves. I will show you the two beats used in at least 90% of all Gauḍiya Kīrtan. Each one has three “speeds.”
Here is the abstract theory on beats. They are made of any number of “particles” (mātra), where only specific mātra are not silent.
I should mention that the idea of accentuating the “1” (the first mātra of a beat) is valid and important in Indian rhythm as well as in western. So, when you hit the “1” you would clap a little louder than the other claps in the beat. (or hit the cymbal or drum with more emphasis than for the other parts of the beat).
Here is a video to explain what all the rest of the scribbles actually sound like:
8-Mātra “Three Beat”
This is the most common beat used in nāma-kīrtan, usually referred to as a “three beat” (“tīn-tāl”). It has 8 mantra, three of which are not silent. Count out the mātra, and clap where you come to a mātra that isn’t silent (indicated below with a “+”). Of course, when you get to 8, immediately start over with 1.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
+
+
+
That’s the “normal speed” version. You should also use a “half-“ and “double-“ speed version to make your kīrtan more rich and enjoyable to Krishna’s ear, listening from within your heart and from all around as well, from all ears.
The best way to note a double and half version of the above is just to speed up or slow down the rate at which you could the mātra out. But to make it more clear on paper I’ll violate the rules a bit and write it out as if the different speeds change the number of mātra in the beat. A “half-speed” version of the 8-matra 3 beat would stretch it’s three beats out over twice as many mātra. So it would look like this on paper:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
+
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
+
+
And a “double-speed” version of the 8-mātra three beat would squeeze it’s three beats into half as many mātra:
1
2
3
4
+
+
+
So, start a kīrtan off with the slow half-speed “three beat”, gradually let it accelerate a little bit, then, when it feels right, shift it to the normal-speed “three beat.” Let that accelerate gradually, building enthusiasm. Then, when there is enough gusto, shift into double-speed “three beat.” Let that accelerate for a while and when it gets tiring, or when it otherwise feels right, drop it back down one or two notches to normal or half-speed. That is a nice, expressive structure for a simple nāma-kīrtan.
6-Mātra “Two Beat”
This is the second most important and prevalent beat for gauḍiya-nāma-kīrtan. You will commonly hear it referred to as “two-beat” (“du-tāl”). This one has 6 mātra, with only two not silent.
