Sanskrit rocks Noo Yawk's Upper Westside

[Guest guest]

My friend Carole and I went to hear Krishna Das perform at an upper

Westside church last night. He was originally supposed to perform on

June 7th on the piers near South Street, but he got rained out. K.D. (as

his fans call him) apologised for the change of venue to an

unair-conditioned church, and complained -- "NOW we could use some rain!"

It was hot. It was steamy. There must've been close to 1000 people

squeezed into the church -- not an inch of floor space could be seen.

Swami Ramananda of the Integral Yoga Institute (who coordinated the

event) began a long, meandering introduction, full of praises for K.D.,

who looked embarassed and seemed to wish to just get started. Wincing at

the yellow kleig lights that suddenly bathed the performers in still more

heat, K.D. said, "Escape into the Divine names." And we did.

 

K.D.'s bass-baritone voice is hypnotic and enchanting. He accompanied

himself on a <shruti> box, while alongside him were a tabla player, a

bass violinist, and people tinkling hand-cymbals, triangles, cow-bells,

etc. Some of his "kirtan posse" onstage were truly amusing to watch as

they gesticulated and rocked to the beat of the music. K.D. studied with

the late Neem Karoli Baba in India, and like a good Vaishnava, the

majority of his kirtans are devoted to Krishna, Rama, and occasionally

Hanuman. (Neem Karoli Baba was alledgedly an incarnation of the

monkey-god.) Indeed, instead of opening with the traditional bhajans to

Ganesha as remover of obstacles, K.D. began with a medley of tunes to Sri

Hanuman.

 

As a Shakta, I was interested in a story K.D. told about living with a

Shakta family in India, and getting the head of the family to teach him

Goddess kirtans. The older gentleman started slowly, but soon got caught

up in the <bhava> of the chanting, and K.D. could no longer take notes on

the lyrics. Suddenly, the devotee went silent. K.D. says the man froze

in mid-gesture, tears running down his face, and appeared to have stopped

breathing -- he had entered <samadhi>, a state of blissful

unconsciousness. When the wife came in to clear away the tea dishes,

K.D., full of concern, asked her, "Ma -- when will he come back?" The

woman looked at her bliss-frozen husband, shook her head in

long-suffering acceptance, and said, "Don't know..."

 

K.D. followed this tale with his one Shakta kirtan -- "Jaya Jagadambe"

(Hail the World-Mother) and while he didn't enter <samadhi>, he did

nearly bring down the house! Another chant which had the audience

dancing in place, jumping up and down, and waving their arms heavenwards

was the changes he rings on the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Carole asked

me, "How come Krishna elicits such great demonstrations of excitement and

devotion?" I started to try to explain how Krishna's path was one of

<bhakti> (emotion), while Shiva's path was one of <jnana> (intellect).

But then the music caught us up, and I stopped going "blah-blah-blah."

 

There was only one kirtan to Shiva, but that was K.D.'s best-selling hit

of "Om namah Shivaya" -- the music got so fast and furious that the poor

tabla player had to massage and shake out his aching hands!

 

We hobbled out of the church at the concert's conclusion, and Carole

slipped me into a cab home. Snatches of kirtans are still echoing in my

head. K.D. said he would be staying on the east coast, mostly in Noo

Yawk, for the next six months, and suggested people check his performance

itinerary at his Website, www.krishnadas.com .

 

Jaya Jagadambe, he Ma Durga!

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Actually, I can somewhat relate to this. Some years ago, my parents

literally dragged me from the UK to the Kalighat in Calcutta where we

witnessed the balih puja... we are Kali devotees, but that puja

sickened me & I felt awful!!! I started to question my own faith &

wondered if maybe being born a Shakta was not something I really

wanted to be.

 

My grandmother was furious w/my parents for letting me witness that

rite unprepared (as if anyone can be prepared for it!), so she took

me to the Ramakrishna Maath at Belur. There, it was very peaceful,

but being a Shakta in the UK & witnessing "authentic" rites in India

are very, very different things, so I was wondering what surprises I

might see at the Maath. I was desperately looking for answers, as I

was still disturbed. I started thinking: "What was I born

into?", "What kind of Goddess is Kali?", "What did my parents induct

me into?", "Is this the Divinity I really want to follow all my

life?". I realized that like many Hindus born & raised outside

India, I tended to take my own religion for granted.

 

One of the pujaris there then taught me a mantra, w/c went:

 

"oM kaalee kaalee mahaakaalee kaaleeke paapahaariNee

dharmarthakaamamokshade devi naaraayaNi namo'stute"

 

Because I was still disturbed, we sat outside, beside the steps that

go into the river & I chanted together w/him.

 

The repetition was calming, but about halfway through, I noticed that

I started trembling. All of a sudden, I felt this tightness inside

my head & what felt like an implosion behind my eyes, somewhere

between my eyeballs & the back of my head. W/o conscious control, my

eyes were forced to look up to the roof of my head & I felt this

ripping, outward moving feeling around the upper cranium of my

skull.

 

I felt this vast tide of energy rushing all around me & I suddenly

felt this indescribable feeling of awe, love, joy, etc. A bit

scared, I slowly opened my eyes & saw a cockroach on the steps

nearby, but instead of shrinking back, I felt myself falling in love

w/it (weird, I know). I just couldn't stop crying from joy & love &

the next thing I knew, I became paralysed, then I think I passed out.

 

When I came to, I found myself surrounded by my family & some of the

other pujaris who were worried about me. Apparently, they thought I

was having seizures & tried to lift me so they could carry off, but

couldn't lift me, nor could they get me into a prone position, as my

body had become so rigid.

 

I've been taught mantras all my life & have sung bhajans since I

could learn to talk, but I must say, I've never been affected like

that before. Truth be told, I did them because I was told to do

them, period.

 

Needless to say, I have a different regard toward Kali & chant that

mantra everyday. I still think that what they do at the Kalighat (&

other devi mandirs) is disgusting, but I now separate that practice

from the Deity.

 

The funny thing is that when I first learned & chanted that mantra, I

did not do it out of love or devotion or any real feeling. I believe

that I received whatever it was I did because She could sense my fear

& anxiety & wanted to show me that such was NOT what She was about.

 

I used to believe the stories of people entering other states of

perception during bhajans, kirtans, etc. were just exaggerations, but

I must say, I obviously have a different attitude now.

 

I'm planning to travel around the US in a couple of months & so I'd

also like to meet (or at least attend a performance by) Krishna Das

(whoever he is). Can you post a schedule of his performances from

Sept to Nov, if you know of them, or at least give me an email

address or site so I can inquire?

 

Thanks.

 

Shahan

 

 

 

, kalipadma@j... wrote:

>

>

> My friend Carole and I went to hear Krishna Das perform at an upper

> Westside church last night. He was originally supposed to perform

on

> June 7th on the piers near South Street, but he got rained out.

K.D. (as

> his fans call him) apologised for the change of venue to an

> unair-conditioned church, and complained -- "NOW we could use some

rain!"

> It was hot. It was steamy. There must've been close to 1000

people

> squeezed into the church -- not an inch of floor space could be

seen.

> Swami Ramananda of the Integral Yoga Institute (who coordinated the

> event) began a long, meandering introduction, full of praises for

K.D.,

> who looked embarassed and seemed to wish to just get started.

Wincing at

> the yellow kleig lights that suddenly bathed the performers in

still more

> heat, K.D. said, "Escape into the Divine names." And we did.

>

> K.D.'s bass-baritone voice is hypnotic and enchanting. He

accompanied

> himself on a <shruti> box, while alongside him were a tabla player,

a

> bass violinist, and people tinkling hand-cymbals, triangles, cow-

bells,

> etc. Some of his "kirtan posse" onstage were truly amusing to

watch as

> they gesticulated and rocked to the beat of the music. K.D.

studied with

> the late Neem Karoli Baba in India, and like a good Vaishnava, the

> majority of his kirtans are devoted to Krishna, Rama, and

occasionally

> Hanuman. (Neem Karoli Baba was alledgedly an incarnation of the

> monkey-god.) Indeed, instead of opening with the traditional

bhajans to

> Ganesha as remover of obstacles, K.D. began with a medley of tunes

to Sri

> Hanuman.

>

> As a Shakta, I was interested in a story K.D. told about living

with a

> Shakta family in India, and getting the head of the family to teach

him

> Goddess kirtans. The older gentleman started slowly, but soon got

caught

> up in the <bhava> of the chanting, and K.D. could no longer take

notes on

> the lyrics. Suddenly, the devotee went silent. K.D. says the man

froze

> in mid-gesture, tears running down his face, and appeared to have

stopped

> breathing -- he had entered <samadhi>, a state of blissful

> unconsciousness. When the wife came in to clear away the tea

dishes,

> K.D., full of concern, asked her, "Ma -- when will he come back?"

The

> woman looked at her bliss-frozen husband, shook her head in

> long-suffering acceptance, and said, "Don't know..."

>

> K.D. followed this tale with his one Shakta kirtan -- "Jaya

Jagadambe"

> (Hail the World-Mother) and while he didn't enter <samadhi>, he did

> nearly bring down the house! Another chant which had the audience

> dancing in place, jumping up and down, and waving their arms

heavenwards

> was the changes he rings on the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Carole

asked

> me, "How come Krishna elicits such great demonstrations of

excitement and

> devotion?" I started to try to explain how Krishna's path was one

of

> <bhakti> (emotion), while Shiva's path was one of <jnana>

(intellect).

> But then the music caught us up, and I stopped going "blah-blah-

blah."

>

> There was only one kirtan to Shiva, but that was K.D.'s best-

selling hit

> of "Om namah Shivaya" -- the music got so fast and furious that the

poor

> tabla player had to massage and shake out his aching hands!

>

> We hobbled out of the church at the concert's conclusion, and Carole

> slipped me into a cab home. Snatches of kirtans are still echoing

in my

> head. K.D. said he would be staying on the east coast, mostly in

Noo

> Yawk, for the next six months, and suggested people check his

performance

> itinerary at his Website, www.krishnadas.com .

>

> Jaya Jagadambe, he Ma Durga!

>

> -- Len/ Kalipadma

>

>

> ______________

> The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!

> Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!

> Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!

[Guest guest]

I can't open this, btw. Is the link still working?

 

Shahan

 

 

people check his

> performance

> > itinerary at his Website, www.krishnadas.com .

> >

> > Jaya Jagadambe, he Ma Durga!

> >

> > -- Len/ Kalipadma

> >

> >

> > ______________

> > The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!

> > Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!

> > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!