ABOUT KIRTAN

HEARTLIGHT KIRTAN

Eclectic devotional singing to open your heart and change your life.

 

A gathering to sing and chant traditional and non-traditional chants and mantras, ancient and modern from both east and west. Multi-faith.

Dedicated to promoting wholeness and harmony for all.

 

DEVOTIONAL SINGING:-

*energises your prana (energy)

*opens your heart

*expands your awareness

*focuses your consciousness in a way that stimulates THE LAW OF ATTRACTION in positive ways

*supports healing on all levels

*releases your joy

*brings harmonious conditions

*relaxes your body and mind

*clears out inner clutter

*flushes out blocks and stuck energy

*opens your throat chakra (creativity, self-expression) and helps balance all your chakras

*aligns you with your Highest Good

*connects you with others of like mind

*helps lift the energy of your community and environment

 

MANTRAS AND CHANTS

Many mantras and chants, ancient and modern, are connected to pools of energy built up over time.

Some are further empowered by the being who initially released an enlightened energy which remained attatched to the chant.

Chants and mantras in ‘energy’ based languages such as Sanskrit and Hebrew (English is a ‘meaning’ based language) have quite extraordinary power.

The letters of the Sanskrit alphabet are connected to the ‘petals’ (as they seem to appear) in our chakras. Each sound has a distinct effect on our energy systems.

This enables healing and balance to be achieved on many levels.

English chants are powerful due to regular use, and because they stimulate the understanding and deep mind, as in certain well-known affirmations like ‘every

day in every way I am getting better and better’. This can  be very effective in reprogramming old negative beliefs.

 

 

We are very fortunate that many of the great Masters, Gurus and Teachers have released a huge number of chants and mantras which were once only available to students who underwent years of training. This is due to the new awakenings along the leading edge of consciousness in our times. That is, we are ready to receive them. Also, it has been stated in Yoga texts that the age we are in, the Kali Yuga, is most easily dealt with by using mantra and chant to carry us through  any darkness. That being a very kind gesture on the part of the Powers That Be  because chanting and Divine singing is such an enjoyable and easy path!  Do not let that hide the fact that it is still very effective and powerful.  Of course there are still many hidden mantra formulas which are not released due to their  power. Probably none of us have any need for those as yet. We already have so much at our disposal  that we can experiment to our heart’s content and be sure of finding something which works for us.

 

UNDERTAKING A DISCIPLINE

It does not take much practice to discover just how effective mantra and chant are. You can begin easily by taking on a daily practice for 40 days.  Forty days is a traditional period. You may prefer to practice for a cycle of the moon, full moon to full moon.  What is important is that you set aside a half to one hour a day to chant & sing a chosen mantra, usually for a chosen purpose, or just for devotion. You may use a mala (rosary) of 108 beads, or have 108 pebbles,, crystals or chosen counters which you can place one by one into a bowl as you count. The number of repetitions is based around 108 because that is the number of ‘nadis’, or energy channels which radiate throughout the body from the heart. The mantra repetitions work to clear these channels.

During the rest of the day,  repeat your chant aloud or silently as appropriate, in any spare time, or gaps of thought. At the traffic lights, waiting in line or anytime your mind begins to worry or duck off into the future or past for no good reason. Be gentle with yourself, but stick to the plan. You will be amazed after the practice time is completed at the events. It is a good idea to keep a notebook  and record each days practice and any events, new understandings, books that have fallen into your lap and even people that you have met.

 

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KIRTAN

Kirtan (pronounced ‘keertan) is basically ‘devotional singing’, or singing the names of the Divine in some form. Kirtan  is usually a group activity with one or more musicians who lead the the chanting, sometimes in the form of call and response.  These days Kirtan has become quite ‘westernised’ and less formal. The use of western instruments and styles of music has been successfully introduced as have western affirmation chants and songs.

 

The joy of group singing, especially with like-minded people is a truly nourishing experience. Each mantra or chant is sung for between a few minutes up to as long as thirty minutes, or more in ‘intensive’ kirtans. Often there is a short silence between chants to allow the energy to settle, and to enjoy the silence. This silence can be a deeply meditative state, or a wave of  bliss.

Singing with a group also amplifies the power and effectiveness of the mantras by way of the group energy which is always far greater than the sum of its parts, and wonderfully beneficial to all.