WWW.PRANAVAMAGAZINE.COM SUMMER ISSUE 2014
In Honor of the Divine Mother C.C. White The Queen of Soul Kirtan pg.43
The Cosmic Divine Mother & Her forms of Expression pg.30
The Amma Phenomenon pg.26 Sridhar Silberfein: Visionary & founder of Bhaktifest pg.34 Bhakti is the Shakti pg.13 The Mothers Tongue: The Word is Devi pg.40 Bhakti, Shakti, & the Divine Feminine pg.9 $5.95 Summer Issue 2014 No.3
Blessed by the Goddess Saraswati pg.20
Welcome to
Pranava Magazine: The Art & Culture of Kirtan in the West ~Summer Issue 2014~ In Honor of ! Divine Mo"er “Pranava ‘OM’ is the bow, the Soul is the arrow, & the Supreme Divinity is the target. By means of full attention, the gnostic will cause the arrow to strike the target, whereupon she or he becomes Me.” -The Devi Gita 8:6 FEATURES
THE AMMA PHENOMENON
Pg.26
SRIDHAR SILBERFEIN
Pg.34 C.C. WHITE: THE QUEEN OF SOUL KIRTAN
Pg.43 BHAKTI IS THE SHAKTI
Pg.13
BHAKTI, SHAKTI, & THE DIVINE FEMININE
Pg.9 BLESSED BY GODDESS SARASWATI
Pg.20 THE MOTHERS TONGUE: THE WORD IS DEVI
Pg.40 The Cosmic Divine Mother & Her forms of Expression pg.30
*Pranava Magazine
Editorial Note In loving dedication to my Beloved Mother ~Zandra Juanita Lopez~ Jun.9 1955- Jun.14 2002
Pranava Magazine
Editorial
‘Pranava: The Art & Culture of Kirtan in the West’
www.pranavamagazine.com
Editor in Chief: J.Yochanan Russell It brings me profound joy to present the Summer 2014 Issue of Pranava Magazine, as an offering to You, in honor of the Universal Divine Mother~ Jaya Jagatambe Jai Jai Maa!! The Divine Mother is the source of our life, She is the one who provides the sustenance for our preservation, & ultimately all we need for our liberation. And as strange as this sounds, She is also the cause of our bewilderment, as Her potency veils the True reality from untrained eyes & hearts. There is nothing in this entire universe, seen & unseen, that doesn’t rely on the Divine mother for Life itself. It was Swami Vivekananda who stated: ‘The Divine Mother is the sum total of all the energy in the Universe.” This statement tells us that regardless of the tradition, we cannot escape from this Universal Truth. All of our beloved saviors, avatars, bodhisattvas, mahatmas & mystics are born of women. Whether it be Isis, Tzonatzin, Mary, Maya-Devi, Yasoda-Devi, Tara Ma (the Mother of all Buddhas) etc., whom all represent the Cosmic Virgin Mother, She has forever been the One who gave birth to the highest ideal of humanity. We can trace the steps of the Divine Feminine as the source of all that we long for, as we align our movements in Her direction. We are in an a most exciting era where the Divine Feminine is being empowered & acknowledged on many levels in society, & in particular within the kirtan culture~ Her Holy Names are being chanted with deep devotional longing & ecstatic joy, from coast to coast. Chanting the Divine names of Ma provides comfort to the soul, & direct knowingness of Her love & presence. It is with the heart on fire, which has been sparked by the Nectar of Her Divine Name, that we chant Her Glories! We’ve all faced challenging times in life where our hearts & minds are filled with depression, fear & aggravation, & all we could think about is crawling into the warm embrace of our mother. For some, our mothers are at a distance & all we have is their voice that nurtures us. And for some of us, our dear mothers have already passed, & we are only left with sweet memories & the comforting spirit that lives on in our hearts. Yet no matter the case, it is the mother energy that settles the matter & reminds us of the undying compassion & loving-kindness of the Divine Feminine. This is especially true for all who participate in kirtan dedicated to chanting the divine names of the Mother. It is with penetrating wisdom that Geoffrey Earendil states in his article ‘The Mothers Tongue: The Word is Devi’: “Mantra, sound, vibration is the very body of the Goddess.” Just as life is gestated within the womb of the female sex, so too does universal life resides as pure potential in the form of vibrational-sound, within the very body of the Divine Cosmic Mother, & it is She that gives birth to our words. For this reason, I teach students that we should only repeat mantras in our minds & speak only sincere words from our hearts, for this is how Devi creates our lives, according to what we place in Her womb, which is the ubiquitous Matrix that we all live, move & have our Being in. In the words of my favorite Ecstatic poet, the Shakta Ramprasad: “O Wisdom Goddess, Your Essence alone is present within every life, every event. Your living power flows freely as this universe. You are expressed fully, even by the smallest movement. Wherever I go, wherever I look, I perceive only you, my Blissful Mother, radiant as pure cosmic play. Earth, water, fire, air, space & consciousness are simply your projected forms. There is nothing else! Ma! Maa! Maaa! Your lucid dream of light is the theater of birth & death, the expanse of boundless transparency. This poet can only cry in ecstasy: “Green mountains, fragrant blossoms, countless lives on land & beneath the sea, animate & inanimate objects are composed of Mothers reality, & spontaneously express Her Will.” (Mother of the Universe- Visions of the Goddess & Tantric Hymns of EnlightenmentLex Hixon) May your hearts forever remain ablaze in the bhav of Bhakti, as you draw ever nearer unto the One OM Shakti OM!! Yours in Loving-Compassionate-Wisdom, ~J.Yochanan Russell
pranavamag@gmail.com
Assisting Editor: Shannon Chambers Senior Contributors: Maturanath-ji, Shanti Shivani-ji Contributors: Mirabai Devi, Geoffrey Earendil, Brenda Patoine Art Director: J.Yochanan Russell Advertising, Marketing & Circulation: J.Yochanan Russell Senior Photographer Ankush Vimawala Article Submission Inquiries: pranavamag@gmail.com Request our Media Kit for Ad Submissions: pranavamag@gmail.com Cover Photo Courtesy: Dabling Harward
*The definition of Pranava: Pranava is the name of the Primordial All-pervasive Sound Vibration that culminates as OM/AUM, which is the Word of GOD/ Divinity. Pranava is the voice of the life-force in motion. Pranava is that which impregnates all with Life, & it is that which puts everything into Motion, hence the etymology, Prana= Life-force & Va: the root of Vayu, Vata, Vaccha (voice). This is why Every invocation & prayer to the Divine begins & ends with the Pranava seed syllable OM ~ aum, amen, amin~
MIRABAI DEVI Columnist
contributors
Mirabai Devi is a new paradigm spiritual teacher. Her teachings emphasize the importance of spiritual practice for self-realization, combined with a commitment to personal growth. She recognizes the importance of people working through their patterns and issues by means of self-reflection with the aim of becoming impeccable. As a conduit for the Divine Feminine, Mirabai’s approach is receptive and inclusive, rather than dogmatic. She favors interaction, rather than hierarchy. MIRABAIDEVI.COM
SHANTI SHIVANI Senior Contributor Shanti Shivani is is a singer/nada yogini/sound healer, internationally acclaimed seminar leader and recording artist. She is one of the few Western pioneers bringing the sacred traditions of Nada Yoga and Dhrupad, the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music, to the West. Shanti has been leading kirtan & singing Buddhist, Sufi, Gregorian & Hebrew chants internationally since 1993. She currently lives in Eugene, OR. SHANTISHIVANI.COM
MATTHEW MATURA BENNETT Senior Contributor As a gifted teacher of Bhakti Yoga, Author and a Certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, Matura has conducted hundreds of classes, and lead uplifting kirtans in America, England, Australia & India, inspiring others to seek and serve the Conscious Spiritual Reality that is the basis of all world faiths. A preview of Matura's forthcoming book "Absolute Abundance" can be previewed here: ABUNDANTLIVES.ORG
GEOFFREY EARENDIL Contributor Geoffrey Earendil has been teaching Hatha Yoga for more than 15 years. A student of the common roots of Chi Kung, Hatha Yoga, and Ayurveda he is an initiate of a traditional Kaula Tantra lineage. He teaches physical practices to support the subtle body from Long Beach, CA. With Gratitude to Chogyam Trungpa, Dr.Robert Svoboda, Vamadeva Shastri, and Nisha Bhairavi. Find him at: VAJRADEHA.COM
BRENDA PATOINE Columnist Brenda Patoine is a freelance neuroscience writer by day, who discovered kirtan at Omega Ecstatic Chant one year while living and volunteering there. She hasn’t been the same since. Three years ago she launched The Bhakti Beat, a kirtan and mantra music blog featuring videos, news, reviews, and interviews. Follow The Bhakti Beat on facebook, twitter, YouTube and Google+. BHAKTIBEAT.COM
J. YOCHANAN RUSSELL Editor in Chief- Senior Writer J. Yochanan~ Russell is the founder, Editor in Chief of Pranava Magazine. He is a longtime student & practitioner of Universal Gnostic Dharma, Ayurveda, Vajrayana Tantra, Mahamudra & Dzogchen. As a lover & player of Sacred Music, Yochanan participates in the cultivation of Mantric Music/Kirtan & offers esoteric teachings for the healing, spiritual development, upliftment & empowerment of humanity. KARUNASHALA.COM
Transform your life through the powerful healing energy of Yoga and Ayurveda in the beautiful world-renown Mayan retreat of Maya Tulum, Mexico. Reserve your spot today! www.joannematsonyoga.com
Joanne Matson Joanne embraces Ayurveda in all aspects of her life.  She is a certified Ay u r v e d a We l l n e s s Counselor with the Kerala Ayurveda Academy and the American Institute of Vedic Studies. She is also a certified Raja yoga teacher.
Clara Macy Clara Macy eats, sleeps and drinks Ayurveda & Yo g a . T h e l i f e l o n g obsession began in 1998, when she completed her 200-hour yoga certification. She then continued to study all over the world with top yogis, but uncovered something more.
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J. Yochanan Russell Yochanan is a Certified Ayurvedic Life-Style C o u n s e l o r, Ta n t r i c Meditation Instructor & Devotional Soul-Kirtan L e a d e r. T h r o u g h t h e integration of what John offers, you will rise to your full potential.
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BHAKTI, SHAKTI, AND THE DIVINE FEMININE: WITH MIRABAI DEVI
EXTREME January 2009
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Bhakti, Shakti, and The Divine Feminine with Mirabai Devi
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PRANAVA 10
“The restoration of the Divine Feminine on the planet is crucial at this time. It is not a luxury, but an urgent necessity that She is honored, and that Her qualities are developed in both men and women to help bring Adiam condimentum about global peace and balance�. Purus in consectetuer Proin in sapien. Fusce urna magna,neque eget lacus. Maecenas felis nunc aliquam ac consequat vitae.
LOREM IPSUM Mirabai’s Charitable Works The New Jerusalem Home for HIV/AIDS orphans in Johannesburg, South Africa offers outstanding holistic support to children. Aromatherapy, Massage, Chelation Therapy, Kirtan, and Spiritual healing, as well as full medical treatment and educational scholarships are provided to all children at the orphanage. As a result, the New Jerusalem Home is Mirabai’s number one choice. She has personally worked with all the children at the Maecenas aliquam maecenas home. She frequently Sociis maurisfunds in integer, donates and a dolor netus non dui organizes fundraising aliquet, sagittis felis events dolor for the charity sodales, sociis mauris, vel eu libero in the U.S. and in South cras. Interdum at. Eget habitasse Africa. elementum est, ipsum purus pede class. Sodales nulla ante auctor mirabaidevi.com excepturi wisi, dolor eros condimentum dis, sodales lacus nunc, at. In orci ligula suscipit.
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PRANAVA 11
Circle of Children
International Center for Global Transformation Triangle Lake, Oregon
SHAKTI IS THE BHAKTI: BY MATURA MATTHEW BENNETT
The 5 Aspects of Sri Devi A s M a ya - S h a k t i , t h e Divine Mother unfolds Herself into 5 Distinct expressions: 1. Divine Mother Space In this aspect, the Divine Mother expresses & manifests as the EthericAkasha (Space) all around us as the Mula-Prakriti (Primordial Ground of Nature). Space is the expansive womb from which all things take form & crystallize within.
Bhakti Is The Shakti By Matura Matthew Bennett
Throughout the spiritual cultures of the world we often find the rose or lotus used as the symbol of the feminine aspect of divinity and as an archetypal mandala it represents the unfolding of conscious awareness into the unity of wholesome integration and selfactualization. In the Sanskrit language this energy of life is called Shakti or the power of transformation that is actively dynamic in our lives on every level. In every way, you and I, the environment and all forms of life are dynamic expressions of this energy and information. This Shakti or transformative power is the primordial conscious wisdom of the universe dancing in concentric circles as nature unfolds in recurring patterned spirals of natural beauty, manifestation and destruction.
Shakti The word Shakti denotes power and energy and is inherently feminine. As expressions of Divine Reality, we are all the manifest expressions of Shakti. In
Hindu culture the soul is called jivashakti, the world is called Maya-shakti, and the supreme power of divinity is termed as Chit Shakti or Hladhini Shakti. In connection with Kirtan we have become familiar with the appellation "Bhakti" so for convenience we will approach this subject as "bhakti-shakti”. The word Bhakti comes from the Sanskrit root "baj" which means to worship and which also has a similar meaning as "Aradanam" from which the divine name "Radha" is derived. These are linguistic expressions that are rooted in the culture of Yoga which describe a unity or yoking of our souls with the divine, somewhat akin to the western Latin word "religio" to bind, join or unite. We are in fact never separated from the essential conscious and divine source of our being although in our conventional myopia of worldly identification and resulting ignorance we conceive of ourselves as something less than divine, and separate from the totality of existence. According to C.G. Jung, psychologically within every man is the power of the Anima, or image of woman, which for most men remains an unconscious constellation of emotional power largely constructed of his earliest impressions of feminine power in the form of mother.
PRANAVA 14
2. Divine Mother Nature Prakriti itself is the Divine Mother expressing as the fertile Nature that all life flourishes upon & is nourished by. 3. The Elemental Divine Mother The Elemental Divine Mother is the personified Queen of Nature, or Fairy God-Mother, that provides the potency of intelligence that we discover within the elemental kingdom. She gives birth to the innocent buddha-beings, devas & dakinis of nature. 4. Divine Mother Kundalini Sri Devi abides as the base powerforce of the mind, heart & body. As Her name in this particular expression denotes, She lies coiled at the base of the spine of the human being. Upon arousal, She awakens to purify, illuminate & perfect the consciousness in it’s re-evolutionary process of manifesting its full potential. 5. Divine Mother Death Deat h itself is t he mysterious expression of the Divine Mother that manifest in two ways- the outer ‘appearance’ of death- passing away (the disappearance of form), & the inner, as the death of the “I”- the dissolution of the Ahamkara (ego). Death, on the outer level is just the other-side of the coin of Life, which are both governed by the Divine Mother. They go hand-in-hand- death breeds life, while life is the procession that finalizes in death... Divine Mother Death is most concerned with the dissolution of the “I”, as this is what’s necessar y for the the bir th & development of the Buddhic-Christ Being within.
Nava-Durga: The Nine Manifestations of DurgaDevi, worshiped during Navaratri 1. Shailaputri: Shailaputri literally means the daughter (putri) of the mountains (shaila). Variously known as Sati Bhavani, Parvati or Hemavati, the daughter of Hemavana - the king of the Himalayas, she is the first among Navadurgas. Her worship takes place on the first day of Navaratri – the nine divine nights. The embodiment of the power of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, she rides a bull and carries a trident and a lotus in her two hands. 2. Bharmacharini She is worshipped on the second day of Navaratri and is the second form of Mother Goddess. Bharmac harini means one who practices devout austerity. She enlightens us in the magnificent embodiment of Durga with great powers and divine grace. She holds a rosary in her right hand and a water utensil in her left hand. She is blissful and endows happiness, peace, pro spe r i t y an d grace u po n al l devotees who worship her. Filled with bliss and happiness, she is the way to emancipation - Moksha. 3. Chandraghanta The third facet of Goddess Durga is ‘Chandraghanta’, who is worshipped on the third day of Navaratri, for peace, tranquility and prosperity in life. She has a ‘chandra’ or half moon in her forehead in the shape of a ‘ghanta’ or bell. That is why she is called ‘Chandraghanta ’. She is c har ming, has a golden br ight complexion and rides a lion. She has ten hands, three eyes and holds weapons in her hands. She is the apostle of bravery and possesses great strength to fight in the battle against demons. 4. Kushmanda Kushmanda is the fourth form of the mother goddess and is worshipped on the fourth day of Navaratri. The meaning of the name ‘Ku-shm-anda’ is as follows: ‘Ku’ = a little; ‘ushma’ = ‘warmth’; ‘anda’ = ‘the cosmic egg’. So she is considered the creator of the universe. The universe was no more than a void full of darkness, until her light spreads in all directions like rays from the sun. Often she is depicted as having eight or ten hands. She holds weapons, glitter, rosary, etc., in her hands, and she rides a lion.
The emotional temper of these representations will often color the man’s experience of women in general and may affect his life in positive and negative ways depending upon the benign or malevolent nature of this image. Many men have felt trapped by this situation and without the wisdom born of insight and meditative practices all to often these energies and experiences remain hidden in the unconscious mind yet actively influence many aspects of the male personality. Indeed, the feminine governing principle is ubiquitous throughout out all of Nature. As aspiring yogis seeking to elevate and mature our divine awareness, Bhakti-shakti comes to our aid in the form of Sophia, Tara and Saraswati or the personified feminine enlightened wisdom. It is this feminine wisdom goddess that awakens us to the reality of our essential nature and our holistic place in the divine reality that we are inseparable from. Kirtan is the most efficacious spiritual practice in this age of great distraction (kaliyuga) due to its amazing ability to effectively bypass our rationality and lead us straight into the feeling center of our being. In the Bhakti-Vaishnava traditions, the divine function or power that guides all misconceiving souls back to the wholesomeness of their natural state of grace is the function of the guru, and this is fundamentally the nurturing and preserving position of Mother. Just as the rising full moon nourishes the plants and herbs causing their sap to rise, similarly the Divine Feminine inspires us with a unique insight and faith that nourishes and transforms the otherwise banal moments of our lives. In such special moments we glimpse the absolute illumination and inner radiance of creation, and are humbled as the miraculous and deeply meaningful nature of life becomes apparent to us. Yet everyday we live in that same miraculous universe, even when on the surface it may not appear so. It is a matter of perspective only. We can position ourselves for such moments, but ultimately they are a form of divine grace, a gift of the divine feminine, and a blessing that may come in an unexpected hour. To prepare for such greater insights, the feminine qualities of dedication, selfless devotion, compassion and mercy are indispensable. These qualities are integral to all spiritual paths.
PRANAVA 15
Attributes of Shakti Shakti, as the sum total of all of the dynamic energy in the universe, is contracted upon descent. It is stated that when Shakti is in this state, She lies dormant passively at the core of our being, yet even while in this state, Her presence alone provides 3 powers that we can’t live without.
Chit-Shakti
Iccha-Shakti
Kriya-Shakti
Chit= Divine Consciousness
Iccha= Will, Volition
Kriya= Action
Shakti: Generating Force; Power
Shakti: Generating Force; Power
Shakti: Generating Force; Power
Chit-Shakti is the source & power of divine consciousness. Without it, our consciousness would not be able to perceive anything at all.
Iccha-Shakti is the generative force of the will. Will power is a divine force, that when activated through balanced clarity & positive intention, it can produce feats & wonders.
Every action performed through the mind-body is thanks to the KriyaShakti. Everyone of the organs of action would not have any ability to perform, if it were not for this wondrous attribute of Shakti.
This Bhakti-shakti potency is also known in personified form as Radha who as the internal pleasure potency of the Divine unites the jiva-shakti or souls in material bondage with their Sacred Source in the personification of Sri Krishna (the allattractive-unlimited beauty that alone can satisfy the thirst of our souls for unlimited and unconditional love). Radha in the form of Bhakti-devi is the chitshakti or inner divine consciousness that through the power of faith transacts our devotional love for our divine source. In her form as Saraswati Devi she enlightens us with the wisdom that grants us the clarity to see beyond our obscurations and misconceptions. When we are stubbornly rooted in ignorance and willfully turn our backs to the wholesomeness of the natural dharma of life, Devi then assumes the form of power to guide and educate us in Her aspect of Durga- the Mistress of the prison house of material embodiment. It is through the conditioning of the three modes of nature (sattva, rajas, tamas) that Devi regulates us. Durga Devi educates us through the painful experiences of birth and death until our earnestness for wisdom and unity with truth is again awakened in faith or bhakti. Shakti Devi is always with us either as the shadow (Maya shakti) or light (chit-shakti) and holds us in her womb enabling and nurturing the qualities which we consciously choose to embrace.
This divine feminine figure is to be honored and kept as a high and holy ideal above the degraded consciousness that has led us into a nightmarish world of exploitive destruction. She who is the Mother of all manifestations can never be exploited as the women of the world currently are. She is not an order-carrier for the aggressively ambitious and exploitive male drives that keep us prisoners in a never ending round of unfulfilled lives searching for happiness in the transitory world of the senses. The Divine Mother Energy is a supersubjective-spiritually-all-consciousnourishing-personification of affection, mercy, grace, devotion, creativity and beauty. She is abundance personified, the unlimited matrix, of both matter and consciousness. What we serve, we place above us, and this tends to uplift us towards that higher ideal. What we exploit and enjoy we place below us, and its exploitation degrades us, whether it be sensory objects, people, the environment or the planet as a whole.Let us honor all women as the blessed bloom of creation. The flowering of felicity, for woman embodies the glorious and nurturing qualities of affection, mercy, grace, devotion, creativity and beauty. As the divine feminine, She is the inspirational light of faith and in this regard She is the open door to all forms of delight and auspicious good fortune. PRANAVA 16
“Radha in the form of Bhakti-devi is the chit-shakti or inner divine consciousness that through the power of faith transacts our devotional love for our divine source.”
She is the image of our inherent wisdom nature, our non-material identity in transcendent spiritual consciousness. For our very soul is a feminine potency or Shakti. Shakti is reflected in this world in the figure of all women, the holy Tulasi plant, the cow that gives us milk, the guru and guide, Mother Ganges, the most sacred river of Indian culture that liberates all souls and Bhakti Devi, the personification of faith, and the devotional potency that leads our hearts to unfold in devotional love of Divinity. She is actually inconceivable and unlimited, an inexhaustible subjective Reality of infinite potentiality, also personified as Lakshmi Devi the Goddess of Fortune. Sri Lakshmi Devi is unlimited auspiciousness, abundance and beauty. As the personified creative function she appears as Saraswati Devi, in this form She is also personified wisdom, beauty and sacred sound. In the ancient histories of India she appears in unlimited forms such as Yasoda, Saci, Draupadi, Parvati, and Vishnupriya. In Christianity she is personified in the person of Mary. Wherever we find Mercy, Grace, Compassion, Beauty, Nurturing, Kindness, Faith and Love...Mother will be there in some form. Mother is unlimited. Mother is compassionate. Mother is Mercy. Honor your Mother. She is a sacred Deity. There’s nothing more nurturing than a sincere Mothers love. Everything in life moves in a circle. The seasons, the planets, the cosmos as a whole is born, expands, maintains, dwindles and dies…only to be reborn infinitely in rounds or cycles far beyond human comprehension. Through many successions of lives we evolve our inner consciousness towards its highest and clearest expressions with the aid of these stages of birth, growth, maintenance, production, dwindling and death which leads to rebirth…aided by the experience of suffering in this world we unfold the wisdom of our own infinite nature in spirit that archetypically exists
beyond material manifestation and destruction. All the while it is the Mother Shakti that guides and nourishes us. Through our pain we find our deepest truths and plumb the depths of the collective unconscious until we finally realize we are the authors of our own experience and that the Great Spirit as the Divine Mother has been our friend, guide and shelter all along. Yoga, Kirtan and prayer are the special gifts of the enlightened Mother-mind that lead the suffering souls of this world out of their self created ignorance towards the ecstasy of tasting their own inner shakti of sat-chit-ananda (eternityknowledge-bliss). We are in essence joyful. We are in essence eternal and aware. Yet eternal existence and awareness are not fulfilling in themselves without ananda or bliss. Fortunately, that bliss, joy and happiness is not acquired by external means or acquisition of material objects, but is revealed as our own essential nature when we clear away the clutter of material attachment and ignorant distraction that crowds our lives. Bhakti is the Shakti that awakes our souls to our own inherent ecstasy, and Kirtan is its most sublime expression. Kirtan is as natural as birdsong at dawn for in its essence it is a communion with what is most substantial within us. It is meant to release us from worldly concern as the word "mantra” essentially means that which frees the mind. When kirtan is simple, faithful and genuine it is free of the inebriates of worldly gain, celebrity and ego. Like a window washed bright and clean it becomes an opening for the pure light of spiritual consciousness to paradoxically shine outward upon the environment and inwardly upon our soul which are ultimately not dissimilar as the conditions of one effect the other, though paradoxically appearing so due to our own ignorance.
Lakshmi Devi is the Hindu Goddess of Fortune who is said to govern all forms
PRANAVA 17
of wealth, success and prosperity. She is also known as Lady Luck, and in fact our word “lucky” comes from Her name Lakshmi, which is pronounced as “lucky" in the Hindi language. In India she is casually called Lucky Devi. As the potency or shakti and consort of Lord Vishnu, the divine expression of universal preservation, Lakshmi Devi is also the goddess of health and beauty. Sri Lakshmi embodies sublime beauty, perfections, peace, strength, victory, auspiciousness, opulence and wisdom. Because Lakshmi possesses all of these good and noble qualities, She embodies infinite wealth, indicating that good and noble qualities are the only wealth we can truly keep. Lakshmi Devi is always depicted sitting or standing on a lotus with golden coins flowing in an endless stream from one of her hands, symbolic of when the lotus of wisdom blossoms, the wealth of good and noble qualities appears and Lakshmi’s blessings are present. Lakshmi is also called Shri, which means “the beautiful”, and Her images are found in Jain and Buddhist monuments, as well as Hindu temples. She is analogous to the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus - who in mythology also originated from the oceans – symbolic of the collective unconscious. Lakshmi is generally thought of as the personification of material fortune, beauty and prosperity, however Her true significance resides in Her Shakti of Bhakti, or devotion. Whenever Vishnu appears in this world in one of His many incarnations for the teaching of Dharma, deliverance of the pious and the destruction of evil, Lakshmi also appears with Him, for they are inherently one, just as sun and sunlight are one experience. According to the Vishnu Purana, Lakshmi is the power and potency of Lord Vishnu. This is consonant with the basic philosophy of Sri Vaishnavism, which honors Sri Lakshmi as the iswarim sarva bhootanam, or the supreme goddess of devotion, not merely the goddess of wealth.
When
the individual soul realizes to a
greater extent the inherent radiance of her own spiritual existence, she undergoes a transformation from the karmic experiences of action and reaction to the clear insight of awakened consciousness. This state is conspicuous by its freedom from afflicted emotions and cognitive obscurations. It is often expressed as dedicated service and selfgiving. This conscious transition from exploitation to dedication marks the entrance of the individual into the plane of consciousness known in yogic literature as Vaikuntha, or the plane beyond all anxiety and suffering. Various Sanskrit terms can express similar states that are free from suffering such as nirvana and moksha. Yet, the term Vaikuntha denotes not merely the cessation of suffering but the positive engagement of loving service as well. It is a plane of self-dedication wherein the consciousness unfolds into deeper levels of divine ecstasy with divine diversity in paradoxical unity. In the symbolic mythology of India, Vaikuntha is the divine realm beyond material manifestation where unlimited numbers of joyful liberated souls enjoy the abundantly opulent loving service of the divine couple, Lakshmi-Narayan, who
are the spiritual personifications of divine Godhead in full expression of infinite wealth, beauty, strength, detachment, wisdom, mystic potencies and brilliant glory. The word Vaikuntha literally means “without anxiety”. The Vedas explain it not as a geographic location, but a plane of soul consciousness where there is an infinite expanse of transcendental conscious sky filled with unlimited spiritual planets populated by unlimited perfected souls celebrating ecstatic eternal spiritual existence in joyful loving service to the divine couple in unlimited transcendental forms of variety, color, character and expression. In Vaikuntha there are unlimited spiritual forms, cities, communities and full variegated m a n i fe s t a t i on s , y e t t h e y a r e a l l composed of sat-chit-ananda, which means also means Bhakti-shakti, or conscious existence, full of divine wisdom and awareness, as well as ever increasing spiritual joy. Kirtan, or divine sound vibration awakens this Bhakti Shakti in our hearts in loving devotion to the joyful fulfillment we are always seeking. Kirtan is the door to unlimited inner fulfillment. Kirtan is the mother of all meditative practice, and Kirtan is fun!
As a gifted teacher of Bhakti Yoga, Author and a Certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, Matura has conducted hundreds of classes, and lead uplifting kirtans in America, England, Australia & India, inspiring others to seek and serve the Conscious Spiritual Reality that is the basis of all world faiths. A preview of Matura's forthcoming book "Absolute Abundance" can be previewed at: ABUNDANTLIVES.ORG
Nava-Durga: The Nine Avatars of Durga-Devi, worshiped during Navaratri Continued: 5. Skanda Mata The fifth aspect of the Mother Durga is known as ‘Skanda Mata’ - the mother of Skanda or Lord Kartikeya, who was chosen by gods as their commander in chief in the war against the demons. She is worshipped on the fifth day of Navaratri. She is accompanied by the Lord Skanda in his infant form. 6. Katyayani The sixth form of Mother Durga is k n ow n a s ‘ Ka t y a y a n i ’, w h o i s wo r s h i p p e d o n t h e s i x d a y o f Navaratri. The legend behind her name goes thus: Once upon a time, there was a great sage called Kata, who had a son named Katya. Kata was very famous and renowned in the lineage of saints. He underwent long austerities and penance in order to receive the grace of the Mother Goddess. He wished to have a daughter in the form of a goddess. According to his wish and desire the Mother Goddess granted his request. Katyayani was born to Kata as an avatar of Durga. 7. Kalaratri This is the seventh form of Mother Durga and is worshipped on the seventh day of Navaratri. She has a dark complexion, disheveled hair and a fearlessness posture. A necklace flashing lightning adorns her neck. She has three eyes that shine bright and terrible flames emanate from her breath. Her vehicle is the donkey. Her raised right hand always seems to grant boons to all worshippers and all her right lower hand is in the pose of allaying fears. 8. Maha Gauri She is worshipped on the eighth day of Navaratri. Her power is unfailing and instantly fruitful. As a result of her worship, all sins of past, present and future get washed away and devotees get purified in all aspects of life. Maha Gauri is intelligent, peaceful and calm. 9. Siddhidatri Siddhidatri is the ninth form of Goddess. She is worshipped on the ninth day of Navaratri. Siddhidatri has supernatural healing powers. She has four arms and she is always in a blissful happy enchanting pose. She rides on the lion as her vehicle. She blesses all Gods, saints, yogis, tantrikas and all devotees as a manifestation of the Mother Goddess. All additional inserts by J.Yochanan
PRANAVA 18
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Blessed by the Goddess Saraswati
By Shanti Shivani-ji
PRANAVA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014
Om Saraswati Deviyai Namaha!
Blessed by the Goddess Saraswati By Shanti Shivani-ji
I
am sitting at the bank of the Willamette River south of Eugene listening to the joyful, gurgling song of the river and tuning into the Goddess Saraswati who was a river goddess in vedic times before she was associated with intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music and the arts. She is worshiped by Hindus for divine knowledge or wisdom that is essential for attaining liberation. Her wisdom flows like a river and she is either depicted sitting on a lotus symbolizing absolute truth - or riding a swan - symbolizing sattwa guna or purity and discrimination. She is part of the trinity of the Hindu Goddesses Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati and the consort of Lord Brahma. She is also revered by devotees of the Jain
r e l i g i o n a n d Ti b e t a n B u d d h i s t practitioners. As a parampara student of Dhrupad, the most ancient style of North Indian Classical music, and therefore a practitioner of nada yoga since 1980, Goddess Saraswati is the deity that I invoke as my muse or ally. The Gods and Goddesses are archetypes that are a part of our psyche, a part of who we are. Just as great artists in the West often have an outer muse to inspire them, Hindus invoke and worship Gods and Goddesses and Buddhists invoke Buddhas, Guardians, Gods and Goddesses to tap into that part of their psychological makeup that they want to heighten. As a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism I was not only given the Tibetan name for White Saraswati, i.e. Yangchen Lhamo, as my dharma name, but also the Saraswati practice that came
PRANAVA 21
from a Hindu sage by the name of Brihaspati. I never considered myself a musician but was always a great lover of music with a good ear. Having only started my musical training in Hindustani music when I was 30 yr. old, I am certain that doing this complex visualization and mantra practice diligently every day for 8 years next to my Dhrupad training was very helpful in developing my intuitive wisdom, my musical skills and my connection with the anahata nada, the unstruck inner sound. I mention this to emphasize that no matter which spiritual path you are following the qualities that you wish to develop will be enhanced regardless of the tradition that you are following. What is important is that you find the most potent vehicle for yourself.
Blessed by the Goddess Saraswati
PRANAVA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014
An enlightened teacher or guru has the ability to see what
your innate nature is and what your main qualities are and will give you a personal practice that supports your spiritual growth towards the ultimate goal, i.e awakening or selfrealization. At this point I would like to share the first verse of one of my favorite Dhrupad compositions that invokes and praises the qualities of the Mother of the Universe, Jagata Janani. Jagata janani Mother of the World jwala mukhi Mata Saraswati Mother Saraswati with the radiant face vidyadheni dayani Sharada Sharada (another name for Saraswati), compassionate giver of knowledge dukha harani Dispeller of suffering This composition is in the seven-beat Dhrupad rhythm called tivra taal and in the Hindustani mode or Raga Bhairavi. Bhairavi is the consort of Bhairav, Lord Shiva, and she is therefore the Adishakti, the primal power. She is one of the Das Mahavidya, the ten Wisdom Goddesses, and is a fierce aspect of the Shakti that rules the muladhara chakra (root chakra). The rasa - essence, flavor - or mood of Raga Bhairavi is karuna - compassion. Just hearing the scale which is the most basic foundation of the raga already transmits the compassion that is the essence of motherly love. Pure Bhairavi is a minor scale, but often a shuddha Re or natural 2nd and a tivra Ma or sharp 4th might slip in to shift the energy. Worshiping the Mother of the Universe who manifests the jagat or the world through music is in itself very powerful but the beauty of Raga Bhairavi also lies in the fact that the artist is very free to allow his or her own unique relationship with the Mother to flow through him or her. It is one of the sweetest and most-loved ragas of Hindustani music and even though it is a morning raga, artists often conclude their concerts with this raga. A truly divinely inspired musician will be sung or played by the Goddess Saraswati. The musical movements arise from deep within and are spontaneous. A true artist is a welltuned vehicle for the Goddess Saraswati to manifest herself in all her glory. In this lies the power of Indian Classical music. The inspired musician moves beyond the underlying structure of a specific scale, dominant, subdominant and dissonant notes as well as typical phrases by fully surrendering to being played or sung by Saraswati. When this happens the listeners are touched to the core of their being and the performer is in a state of Grace. The field of consciousness that is created by the raga - using the musician as its vehicle - raises the vibration of all beings within the field. The very first time that I performed a raga in front of a large audience I chose Raga Bhairavi because this is the raga
that I felt the most in tune with, that touched me the deepest. Every musician has a particular raga that he/she resonates with the most. This has to do with their personal disposition, their inherent qualities, maybe even their karma. My first public raga performance which took place after having been exposed to Dhrupad for 12 years - with a big break of 4 years as I had become a single mother - was lifechanging. I always knew deep down inside - even though no one had ever told me - that I needed to be an empty vessel for Goddess Saraswati to sing through and that was the only way I wanted to "perform". Of course, I never really felt ready either, as the Western and I stress Western - disciple of the greatest exponents of the Dhrupad tradition, the illustrious Dagar family. But the occasion was Sai Baba's birthday, Nov. 23rd, and also my own father's birthday, and my friend Felix Woschek, one of Germany's first kirtan musicians, invited me to not only lead kirtan with him but also to offer a raga, even though Vemu Mukunda, a master of South Indian music on the veena, was also performing that evening. I wasn't too nervous about singing kirtan with Felix but giving a solo performance of a raga in front of 500 people with a South Indian master musician listening was so scary that I actually "caught" the flu and was in bed with a fever for 3 days. I had every excuse to bail out, but the morning of the program I woke up to a little voice inside of me saying: "You cannot cop out. You have to do this." I was terrified but I had to heed that little voice, so I got out of bed, took a shower, put on my Indian outfit and drove over to the venue. We opened the program with the kirtan and that was very powerful with 500 devotees singing the response. Next up were the children who were going to offer a short play out of the life of Krishna. I was scheduled to perform after the play, so - with shaking knees - I made my way down to the green room with my tambura to tune into Raga Bhairavi. I knew that the only way to bypass my fear of not being good enough was to make myself empty and call upon the Goddess Saraswati to sing through me. When I was in a state of total surrender the unthinkable happened: a huge hand of pure, white light descended from the heavens, touched the top of my head and blessed me. A higher power took over and I walked on stage, sat down and sang like I had never sung a raga before. I experienced being sung while being suspended in the void. That is the best way I can describe this state beyond time and space. I knew what it felt like to be swept away by the power of a mantra and to improvise on the mantra but I hadn't experienced anything like it while singing a raga because I was usually too caught up in focusing on the rules and the correct rendition of the raga. The mind had been in the way. At the end of my performance my whole body was vibrating, I was vibration and I was in a state of elation, in a state of bliss. I can still feel it in my body 21 years later and a part of me knows how to connect with that place that nourishes my music and my soul. I draw my strength and inspiration, joy and light from this place. The South Indian musician, Vemu Mukunda, congratulated me and said: "Shanti, if I hadn't known it was you, I would have sworn it was an Indian woman singing." And it was. it was Goddess Saraswati singing through me."
PRANAVA 22
Shanti Shivani is is a singer/nada yogini/sound healer, internationally acclaimed seminar leader and recording artist. She is one of the few Western pioneers bringing the sacred traditions of Nada Yoga and Dhrupad, the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music, to the West. Shanti has been leading kirtan & singing Buddhist, Sufi, Gregorian & Hebrew chants internationally since 1993. She brings a wealth of vocal, meditative, and movement experience to her classes. She has several albums to her credit and has been recording as a solo artist and in collaboration with many World Music artists since 1993. She currently lives in Eugene, OR . SHANTISHIVANI.COM
Artwork by Pan Trinity Das www.panntrinitydas.net
The Amma Phenomenon By Brenda Patoine, TheBhaktiBeat.com
PRANAVA 26
PRANAVA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014
THE AMMA PHENOMENON
"There is no difference between the Creator and creation, just as there is no difference between the ocean and its waves." ~Amma
Amma, the “Hugging Saint” is in the midst of her North American Yatra as Pranava goes to press. TheBhaktiBeat.com founder Brenda Patoine wrote a 4-part series about her experience covering Amma two years ago. This is Part 1. There
is something surreal about driving into "AMMA Central" at the Best Western Royal Plaza and Trade Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. I was there to see Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the spiritual leader and global humanitarian known simply as Amma (aka the "Hugging Saint"). It was the first Public Program in the last stop of her annual North American tour.
lighting and stark white-tile walls reminiscent of a train-station bathroom. It felt a bit incongruous with the spirit of satsang (spiritual discourse) and darshan (blessing) from a woman revered as an avatar of the Divine Mother herself.
Whether or not you buy into that belief, to sit with Amma in satsang, to sing age-old bhajans (devotional songs) along with her and to witness her darshan -- hugging The first thing you see upon arrival 1,000+ people of all ages, colors, i s a h u g e f l a s h i n g m a r q u e e and religious backgrounds for hours d e c l a r i n g " N E W E N G L A N D on end and straight through the WELCOMES AMMA." This somehow n i g h t - - i s t o w i t n e s s a reminded me of the signs you see c o n t e m p o r a r y S p i r i t u a l in convention towns, like "San Phenomenon, unfolding before your eyes. It's hard not to be spellbound Diego Welcomes CPAs." by it all. This was only my second The trade center itself is a time being hugged by Amma, a cavernous industrial space with plump brown-skinned South Indian concrete floors, bright fluorescent woman with smiling eyes and the PRANAVA 27
compassionate, nurturing nature of everyone's favorite aunt. I have to admit, the first time I went to see her -- last year in Marlborough, for Devi Bhava, the extravagant ritual that caps off each of her multiday tour stops -- I went mostly out of an innate fascination with this kind of "spiritual spectacle" (no disrespect meant). It's the same curiosity that has drawn me to events like John of God at Omega or even Deepak Chopra conferences; the sense that something's happening here -- the seeds of societal transformation perhaps? -- that seems really important yet is unknown to the vast majority of society. I had gone to Devi Bhava with my reporter's cap on, determined to objectively review this "Amma Phenomenon" and see for myself what all the fuss was about.
PRANAVA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014
This time around, I went with a lens cap as well as my reporter's cap, packing a press pass from the Amma organization and my new Nikon D3100 SLR with a 300 mm zoom. My goal: immerse in the bhav of Amma's blessings, and come out with a few good photos, maybe even a little video. I was particularly excited to experience Amma singing bhajans, something she didn't do at the Devi Bhava I attended. Graced by the Goddess
Clear
on what I could and could not shoot (press operate under specific restrictions), I headed outside to try to catch Amma's arrival to the center. With no time to spare, I situated myself at the far end of the red carpet that had been stretched between the parking lot and the side door to the hall, and proceeded to set up my shot through the viewfinder. Instantly, a staff person approached me. He greeted me cordially ("Om Namah Shivaya"), inspected my (way-toosmall) press-pass/name-tag, and politely asked who had "authorized" me. (Anyone holding a camera at an Amma event gets scrutinized -- I was approached two dozen more
times over the next couple hours). The staffer scurried back to the orange-robed swamis -- Amma's senior disciples -- and a discreet conversation ensued as I watched, somewhat trepidatiously, from the other end of the carpet. After some consultation among the group, I was given a decidedly unenthusiastic thumbs-up, but with a smile that assured me all was okay. Whew. A moment later, Amma pulled up in a white sedan.
The
planets aligned and the crowd parted just long enough for me to snap a few clear shots of her coming down the red carpet, radiant in a gown of pure white, arms outstretched to touch the hands of the devotees who reached for her from both sides. She looked straight at me and smiled, gracing me with The Perfect Shot -- and taking my objective reporter's breath away. I put my camera down as she neared and reached my hand out to meet hers. An indefinable warmth settled over me, a feeling that all really was okay... But I didn't have time to bask in it for long. Inside, the padapuja was underway...
"If we focus on the eternal, we will remain unaffected by the changing experiences of life." ~Amma
Brenda Patoine is a freelance neuroscience writer by day, who discovered kirtan at Omega Ecstatic Chant one year while living and volunteering there. She hasn’t been the same since. Three years ago she launched The Bhakti Beat, a kirtan and mantra music blog featuring videos, news, reviews, and interviews. Please see www.TheBhaktiBeat.com for the rest of the Amma Phenomenon series. (Search AMMA or click on AMMA in the Tags Cloud.) And follow The Bhakti Beat on facebook, twitter, YouTube and Google+. For the full schedule of Amma’s North American Yatra 2014, see: www.amma.org www.amritapuri.org www.embracingtheworld.org
PRANAVA 28
The Cosmic Divine Mother & Her forms of Expression By  J.Yochanan
Swami Sivananda wisely stated, “There is no polytheism in Hinduism.� Upon first glance, one would think that the many faces & forms of the divine that we see in eastern spirituality are all independent & separate; hence the term “polytheism� which means ‘many gods’. Yet as we implore deeper, we find the statement of Swami Sivananda to be insightfully true. In fact the term ‘monotheistic-polytheism’ is far better fitting, as the etymology reveals a much deeper
meaning. The word ‘Monistic’ comes from ‘Monas’, which means unity. So Monotheistic-Polytheism truly means that God-dess is the One (Unity) who unfolds as Many (Diversity). The One always unfolds Herself into m a n y, i n o r d e r t o l o v i n g l y s e r v e t h e m a n y temperaments of Her children. There is a Hindu scripture from the Brahmanda Purana called "Lalita Sahasranamam" that describes many aspects of The Cosmic Mother. Sahasranamam means 1,000 names. Unto the mystics, all names are truly Her own, as She is known as the ubiquitous one.
PRANAVA 30
The
Divine Cosmic Mother speaks of Her own ubiquity in the Rig-Veda:
Deity-Yoga: The Tantric Science of Incarnating the Archetype
"I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship. Thus Gods have established me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in. Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them,-each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken. They know it not, but yet they dwell beside me. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it. I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that Gods and men alike shall welcome. I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him a sage, a Rishi, and a Brahman. I bend the bow for Rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion. I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated Earth and Heaven. On the world's summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean. Thence I extend o'er all existing creatures, and touch even yonder heaven with my forehead. I breathe a strong breath like the wind and tempest, while I hold together all existence. Beyond this wide earth and beyond the heavens I have become mighty in my grandeur." - Sri Devi, from Rig Veda 10
It is very important to comprehend that all of the divinities that we hear & learn about in kirtan, are all particular aspects of the Universal Consciousness. Just as every wave that crashes upon the shore are only expressions of one vast sea, all of the many expression of the divine are the many aspects of Consciousness itself.
In the Gnostic (direct-realization) tradition, we study all religions, as well as every aspect of Divinity; its symbolism, its representations, whether in a tradition that represents God in a formless way, like Islam, or in a tradition like Hinduism that represents God in many visible forms, with millions of names. Moreover, we realize that these representations of divinity are the archetypal-blueprints that abide deep within the consciousness. It can be said that we are the prototype of the archetype, & when we initiate & employ the tantric science of deityyoga, we actualize & become the embodiment of these internal potencies.
It is through the Bhakti of the Tantric Yogi that allows him or her to incarnate the Deity. It should be understood that Deity-Yoga is Bhakti-Yoga in it’s most refined expression.
Deity-Yoga is one of the most advanced Yogic Sciences/Technologies known to humanity. It is the Secret Yogictechnology taught by Buddha Shakyamuni. Deity-Yoga is also known as Yidam-Yoga. ‘Yidam’ is Tibetan Sanskrit for IshtaDevata, which means 'Chosen Deity'. It is the primary science of Tantrayana ( a l s o k n o w n a s Va j r a y a n a o r Mantrayana), that is employed to transform the Mind of the practitioner in the most swift manner possible. It is considered the most precious & rarest of Buddha’s Teachings. It is the most practical Tantric modality that this current humanity desperately needs.
In Bhakti-Yoga, there is always the acknowledgement & worship of Goddess; the Adi-Purusha united as the Lover & the Beloved. In Vaishnava Sahajiya & Gaudiya Vaishnava, we find Radha-Krishna as the central Deity. In Shaivism, it’s Shiva-Shakti, Bhairava & Bhairavi. In Tantric Buddhism, its Heruka & Vajrayogini, or Chenrezig-GyalwaGyaltso, etc.
PRANAVA 31
It is taught that the tantrikas of these particular traditions actually become the embodiment/incarnation of the Yidam, & all this is possible through Deity-Yoga. To incarnate the Deity is to become the living manifestation & expression of the divine on earth. This is the sole aim of spirituality. One needs to receive the Empowerment in order to authentically practice DeityYo g a . O n c e o n e i s g i v e n t h e Empowerment (which is the permission of the lineage holder) into a particular Yidam, then one maintains the Samaya through performing daily sadhana. Such a sadhana consist of having a form of the Deity (a thangka or a murthi/ sculpted image), the Mantra associated with the Deity, the pecha, which contains the Puja practices (prayers & acknowledgements of qualities), that are associated with the Deity, the mandala, offerings of incense, lights, feast items, & holy water for bathing the Deity. All of these items are physical/ material, & when not available, one can use the power of visualization to perform each aspect of the Puja. It has been said that this practice bears the best results. So, a Tantrika is one who has been given the Empowerment to practice the Sadhana of a particular Yidam/Deity, in order to Unite their Mind-Stream with the Yidam; which is called Incarnating/ Embodying the Deity. The Archetypal aspects of Sri-Devi: In kirtan, we often chant the the many names of the Sri Devi like, Radha, Sita, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi & Saraswati. A heartfelt kirtan is a celebration of the attributes & qualities of the divine that abide within, in order to make them manifest, for the benefit of all.
Following is an introductory look at the expressions of the Cosmic Mother, as viewed through the esoteric light & lens of gnosis. Radha-Devi: Radha-Devi is the beloved shakti of Sri-Krishna. She’s the perfect representation of pure Bhakti (devotion). We hear of Her glories & pastimes with the Gopis & Sri krishna, within the fragrant blossoming forests of Vrindavan in the Mahabharata. Radha is the most adored of the Gopis (cowgirls) whose story is narrated in the twelfth-century poem, Gita Govinda. Having once experienced the ecstasy of divine love with Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), Radha is separated from Krishna and yearns with single-minded intensity for reunion. In the Gita Govinda Radha is human and Krishna divine, and the poem is interpreted metaphorically in terms of the longing of the human soul for the divine. The final reunion symbolizes the bliss of union & liberation. On the inner level, Radha-Devi is that particular aspect of the Cosmic Mother that represents the Divine Feminine-Principle, whom is the eternal beloved of the Masculine-Principle of GOD. Radha represents that aspect of the soul-consciousness that is in constant devotional-longing to be in union with GOD. The lila of Radha-Krishna playing hide-n-seek clearly reflects what happens with the individual soul (jivatman) & the Universal Soul (paratman), as they appear to separate upon the descent of soul into matter.
Sita-Devi: In the famous Ramayana, Sita-Devi is the Divine Beloved Queen of Lord Rama, who was kidnapped & taken hostage by the demon-king Ravana, & rescued by Hanuman & his monkey army. This allegory represents the Divine Feminine Soul that wanders out into the wilderness (of samsara), only to be tricked & captured by the king of demons, the malignant “I”, the ego itself. Sita-Devi represents the conscious principles of royalty, harmony, perfect peace, faith & purity.
Durga-Devi: One of the manifestations of the Cosmic Mother is Durga-Devi, ruler of the universe, & the famous slayer of the buffalo demon Mahisa. Within the Devimahatmya, Sri Devi is invoked by the Gods, who in turn emanate out of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva & all the other Gods as the radiant & fiery Durga-Devi. She engages the asuras in a mahabharata (great battle) & slays them all with effortless grace. Where the Mother unfolds Herself into the vulnerable feminine soul that could get lost & distracted by Her own Maya, here we have the Cosmic Mother manifesting as the AllPowerful, fierce Goddess who slays & destroys any & all aspects of ego & delusion. As the embodied representation of Devi-Kundalini, Durga-Devi forces us to see our samskaras (untransformed & unresolved negative impressions), so that we may deal with them consciously through Her aid & assistance. Kali-Devi: Once we see our samskaric impressions for what they are & realize that they need to be eradicated, then we invoke the presence & power of Kali-Devi. Kali-Devi is the ferocious, blood-thirsty unfoldment of Durga-Devi, the Shakti of Shiva, who beheads & slays the ego once & for all. In order for us to incarnate the archetype Shiva (the Auspicious Pure Consciousness), we must offer our head & chest unto Kali Ma. She is that particular aspect of the consciousness that we call upon in order to initiate in-depth psychological transformation.
Lakshmi-Devi: As the wife of Lord Vishnu, Sri Lakshmi-Devi represents the very essence of the allpervasive creative & sustaining energy that is abundant throughout all of the universe. Lakshmi is that archetypal aspect of the consciousness that is magnetism itself- always luminous, clear & full of bliss; this is what ‘Sri’ means. Many misperceive these attributes as serving only material needs, but the wealth that Lakshmi generates & attracts is of the spiritual variety, for the development & preservation of Dharma. PRANAVA 32
Saraswati-Devi: Saraswati-Devi, Shakti of Brahma, is the essence of Gnosis (direct experiential knowledge). Gnosis is greek for Jnana. People hear the word jnana or knowledge & mistake it to be only intellectual knowledge. Jnana/Gnosis implies intuitive-insightful-knowledge, an attribute that flows from the inner archetype of Saraswati-Devi. This is what Her name means: flowing. When we are in the “flow” without planning, we spontaneously perform actions intuitively & there is much wisdom that could be gained about life through such flowing. When it’s stated that Saraswati is the Goddess of the Arts, Music & Learning, let us not misinterpret this to mean some kind of “heady” process of gathering information to establish mere concepts, beliefs & theories. Such a process must take place when the head is put under the service of the heart. This is the true gift & manifestation of Saraswati-Devi, as our inner archetype.
J. Yochanan~ Russell is the founder, Editor in Chief & Head Columnist of Pranava Magazine. He is a longtime student & practitioner of Universal Gnostic Dharma, Ayurveda, Vajrayana Tantra, Mahamudra & Dzogchen. As a lover & player of Sacred Music, Yochanan participates in the cultivation of Mantric Music/Kirtan, & offers esoteric teachings for the healing, spiritual development, upliftment & empowerment of humanity. pranavamagazine.com
Please join me for these exciting upcoming events: Pranava Presents: ~A Celebration of Conscious Media Kirtan~ Sat. July 12, 2014 at Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, CA. Yoga in Paradise: ~Maya Tulum Yoga Retreat~ Feb 28-Mar 7, 2015 in Tulum, Mexico Reserve your spot today! www.joannematsonyoga.com ~The Yoga of Healing Elementals: Working with the Divine Intelligence of Plant Spirits~ September 25-28, 2014 San Juan Islands Pacific NorthWest lifeforceproject.com PRANAVA 33
Pranava Magazine Interview
With Visionary & founder of Bhaktifest:
~Sridhar Silberfein~
!e Blossoming of aV#ion~40yrs in $ making
Pranava: Thank you for taking the time for this exclusive interview! It’s a true honor to have the founder of Bhakti fest on the line! Sridhar: Thank you for sharing this time with me! This is actually my first interview for 2014!
our big festival?’ & I said, ‘Well you have all the great or to be great musicians & I think it’s missing the spiritual element. We need to bring a Swami to give the invocation’. They turned around & said, ‘You handle that & produce that segment.’ So I went back to Swami Satchidananda who was my yoga teacher at the time, & I said, ‘Swamiji let’s go!’ They flew him in on a helicopter and as I walked him onstage. In the film, you can see the very moment that I’m describing to you. He looks out to 500,000 people & says, ‘This is truly India coming to America!’. He said the people of India
Wonderful! Makes even more auspicious for us in our humble beginnings of a new magazine! I’m certain our readers will definite appreciate hearing that! Tell me, what was your inspiration for starting the Bhakti Fest, the first ever Kirtan fest in the west?
teachers came through our Center for Spiritual Studies to get started in America. Did you ever see the footage of the Woodstock Festival? Of course! There was a famous spiritual teacher there named Swami Satchidananda. I was blessed to be responsible for being the one to bring him to Woodstock. We’ve been involved with spiritual endeavors for many years; we’ve brought some of the major spiritual teachers (from India) to America, like Muktananda, Ammachi, & after that many other
The story goes: In 1969 I was spending time with Michael Lang & Artie Kornfeld, the producers of Woodstock, and three or four months before the show, they asked me -‘What do you think is missing from PRANAVA 35
should absolutely see this, see the youth of America & see how important this kind of work is. He gave a most beautiful talk & it has remained one of the highlights of Woodstock over the years.
What an amazing story! Yes, on the stage I said to Swami-ji ‘One day were going to have a crowd out like this for a Bhakti-Kirtan Festival!’ And he said, ‘It would be great if you could do that’ 40 years later, in 2009 the first Bhakti Fest was born! Wonderful! Great story & fulfillment! It’s been brewing for a longtime. I’ve just wanted to get the family together in a very conducive atmosphere, a safe atmosphere for family & kids where there’s no alcohol, no drugs, no animal products. It’s a pure vegetarian space. Yes, where the medicine is the Bhav, the mood of Bhakti, chanting the divine names! That’s all you need when coming to the Bhakti Fest, we’ve established a safe environment, so people know when they come to BF they can bring their kids & they don’t have to lock their doors. They’re safe.
Exactly! We are not a money motivated festival: you know people get into other festival business now-a-days strictly because they think they can make a buck, but as quick as they get in they go right out, because the idea was not coming from a pure place. We’re not coming from that place; we have charities that we support, this year we spread $20,000 out, & we’d like to do more. As more money comes in, we’ll be able to do that. How noble! And I’m glad you made that point about money & materialism within this particular genre/culture... Yes. Another point that I’d like to make is a lot of people ask ‘Why do you pay the kirtan performers? Why aren’t they doing it for free? Because when you chant within the temples, you’re not doing it for money...’ & I always say, ‘There are two types of people doing kirtan: one that is chanting to God, & the other one is chanting to the ego.’ We are here to support the hardworking kirtan wallahs. are internal.
B e a u t i f u l . Yo u m e n t i o n e d “!e benefits bringing Swami Muktananda to Yes…It’s similar to my Chanting enhances ce&ain a'ects of America & it was observation; some through the Siddha chant in order that y(r development. To be able to sit Yoga lineage that I you remember their got introduced & name, instead of quietly, only chanting $ names of involved in chanting to lose their chanting over 17 name & identity in the God, repeating )em, )ey are $ years ago on the many Names of the coast of Oregon. One. The concern then mantras )at become very in tune wi) How did he becomes on ‘Who’s’ influence you in chanting & not y(r psych*” terms of kirtan? ‘What’s’ chanted... I was with Exactly, yet we filter Muktananda from through that. This works 1970-1982 when he left for these people. If they’re his body, & it was very important during not doing this, they’re cleaning houses, or that time, because he was very supportive painting or something. I remember in the of chanting. Every night during his old days, in the 70’s when we had our lectures he would always end in very ashram in Topanga Canyon, Krishna Das rousing chanting. We would have these came to my house & help me put on a weekend intensives where he would just roof. (laughter) Wish I had pics of that dance & chant around the fire, the today! women would go first then the men, & he would be right in the middle of it chanting Seva & Karma Yoga in action! at the top his lungs! I remember one thing Most kirtan wallahs work very, very hard, he said to me in the early days. He said they’re out on the road 300 some odd “Sridhar, I know you’re a very advanced days a year, traveling, working, chanting, yogi & you can stand on your head for a singing, why not be rewarded? Most of half hour & meditate & you do all this & them don’t even own houses! that, but you don’t need to do anything, just come into the room, close your eyes Wow! I always say when wealth is & chant the names of God, that’s all you generated in dharma for the dharma need.” And that was a very profound then any & all forms of it are welcome message he gave me. I’ve always had that for the benefit of beings! as my credo... it’s been a part of my life. So with all that said; where do you think kirtan is going in the west? Do you think And what a blessing it is that you’ve it will penetrate into the mainstream? brought it all to fruition with the Do you see other “celebrity” star founding of Bhakti Fest for every one to singers getting on board with this, now share such an experience. well-established sub-genre? PRANAVA 36
It was 20yrs ago when I said that yoga is going to be on every street corner in the country, & sure enough it is one of the biggest, fastest growing industries in the country! Somebody takes a teacher training course & the next day they’re opening up a studio! We see the same thing happening with kirtan wallahs you know. Somebody has a good voice, they learn a couple notes on the harmonious & then they submit something to Bhakti Fest. Now we ask people, are you touring & do you have a cd? If you’ve not done either one, then we are not the right festival for you yet. We still get 20-30 submissions every week, from kirtan wallahs to yoga instructors. It used to be when you asked someone ‘What do you do?’ they’d say ‘Massage therapist.’ Now you ask & they say, ‘Kirtan singer.’ [Laughing]. Then I ask them what restaurant they work at. I tell people ‘Don’t leave your day job!’. What kind of benefits have you received from chanting & from those you’ve witnessed coming to Bhakti Fest? The benefits are internal. Chanting enhances certain aspects of your development. To be able to sit quietly, only chanting the names of God, repeating them, they are the mantras that become very in tune with your psyche. You go to those places where, when
you’re having a stressful day, you just calm yourself down by just chanting the names of God, doing a mantra. Through doing yoga postures, through eating right through chanting kirtan your life changes. You know everything comes together. Your bhav changes, you become more likable & people can deal with you better. You can deal with situations better. You see, we can’t change anybody, I can’t change you. You can’t change me. But I can see you & say, ‘Wow look at that beautiful light shining from you.’ And be inspired by that. So without you even having to try to change me or want to change me, I’m going to change myself because it looks so beautiful. Sounds like this has been a personal thing that you’ve witnessed as a first hand account for yourself. Yeah, & I’m growing constantly! For the first 3-4yrs it’s been me, but now I have a wonderful staff & they just take over. And I really enjoy hanging out listening to kirtan with all of my old friends. What’s the long term vision for Bhakti Fest? You know we started out with just one a year. Now we’re spread across the country, doing one in spring, one in the summer, one in the fall, & we have plans to make
it over to the East Coast. Something in New York, something in the South East, then eventually in the South West & the North West. Once the financial backing comes into play, we have the situation to pick it up & do it anywhere! We own our own equipment, shade cloth, carpeting, tents; we have everything. We have different divisions of Bhakti Fest. We have what’s called the Bhakti Yatra, we take two groups to India every year. One in the spring & one in the fall. We’re doing Bhakti retreats, where we do a Bhakti weekend & invite people from all over the world. This year we had Saul David Raye do yoga & kirtan retreat on Maui. Ram Dass gave a talk with meditation. We create a safe atmosphere for people to leave their worldly life behind. They can come & immerse themselves deeper into the program. It’s a much more deeper & concentrated experience, a part from the festival. Beautiful! So nice to chat with you & thank you for your precious time for this interview... truly an honor! Thanks for cultivating the seeds for the vision of Bhakti Fest & making it manifest! Hari Om!!
Bhakti Fest # a +ared ,eam )at promotes real chan- )r(gh chanting, yoga, loving, dancing, ta.ing, learning & opening up (r hea& to so much mor* And while y(’re )ere y(’re embracing $ Bhakti Fest Family. !r(gh (r website, newsle/er, Facebook pa-, upcoming books, Bhakti Yatras, retreat and local satsangs we take )at expe0ence of 4-6 days of bl#s & live like )at all year long!
Be in the Bhav! Stay in tune & come to Bhaktifest West in Sept. 4-7 2014: BHAKTIFEST.COM
PRANAVA 37
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THE MOTHERS TONGUE: THE WORD IS DEVI By Geoffrey Earendil
MATRIKA YANTRA The letters of the Devanagari alphabet are associated with Matrikas, various forms of Devi, the Great Mother, in their sound form. This yantra below contains all 51 letters or matrikas and is used in the rite of purification of samskaras.
THE MOTHERS TONGUE: THE WORD IS DEVI By Geoffrey Earendil
Mantra, sound, vibration is the very body of the Goddess. The names of Divinity we might chant in our namaKirtan are not simply markers or labels, neither brands or tags that stand for, or represent the Deity. Each syllable carries the frequency of the resonant body of the Mother herself.
Without his Shakti, Shiva Paramesvara is powerless to act, absorbed in introspection, lost in meditation. It is by her Grace that the Spaciousness of Shiva is brought forth into Creation. Our Material Existence is the effect of their eternal Love-Play.
For the delight of her Beloved Shiva, the primordial Witness, Cosmic Contemplative, the Absolute Perfect Consciousness, Devi dances in the display of forms, dances in differences, plays Devi, or Shakti as she is called in the Tantric traditions, is at limitation. The sheer enjoyment, the bliss of her Energy, Power, or Force. Energy is witnessed through Desire for him, draws the full undifferentiated of his its movement, through its display. In the West we Our english Omnipresence into differentiated Manifestation. have only recently come to understand through the word “matter” has deep inquiry of Quantum Physics what the ancient its roots in the We might imagine a ray of white light refracted riishis intuited thousands and thousands of years of Sanskrit cognate through a prism to create the dazzling display of ago; Matter is the result of the interaction, mata, “Mother”. rainbow colors, from the lower frequency of red to attractive and resistant, of Forces of Energy. Every the higher frequency of violet. The same pure ray of form, every movement, every vibration is a display of energy remains, but separated, distinguished, limited. In Energy. Energy is the Mother of All Forms. She is both a similar way every single, distinct and differentiated form the Cause, as motivating force, and the Effect. Our english in this World of Forms, remains the pure and perfect Expression word “matter” has its roots in the Sanskrit cognate mata, of the Mother, refined or tuned to a precise resonance; a Little “Mother”. Mother, we might say. In fact, the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet are called matrikas, Little Mothers, each sound indicating a It is Shakti, Devi, the Goddess who comes forth. While Shiva sits specific movement of Shakti from Transcendence, absorbed in in quiescent stillness, the Eternal Subject, it is Shakti who love embrace with her Beloved, towards Immanence, and back moves, Shakti who acts. She is called Mother because it is She again. Like the scattered colors of the rainbow, these movements who responds to the tears and the cries of us, her children. She or energies, might appear as separate and distinct Shaktis, is the active capacity of Shiva who is Pure Undifferentiated individual Goddesses unto themselves, but remain emanations of Consciousness, the fullness of possibility latent in Supreme the primordial, ParaShakti. Potential.
PRANAVA 41
The fierce, dark Mother, MahaKali, wears
these matrikas around her neck as a rosary of severed heads. Kali embodies the emptiness of Space, the voraciousness of Time. She reminds us of the imminent dissolution of all our distinction-making, all of our identification with difference and separateness. Her body, black as the Void, is adorned with these vibrations, like beads on a rosary. Each pulsation a unit of consciousness; a seed potent with the full possibility of existence; a cell, a dynamic building block of organized trembling space, from which the entirety of Creation is composed. She is the pregnant primordial silence from which every pulsation arises, and into which it again inevitably dissolves. The emergence of the matrikas, like the reverberating “dama-dama-dama” of Shiva’s drum, unfurls the matrix of Space, a virtual web of interaction and interference, resonance and dissonance. “Matrix” is also derived from that ancient cognate referring to the Mother, and is best represented in Sanskrit by the word yoni (Mirko Fryba, The Art of Happiness: Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. 1987 Shambhala), commonly used to denote the vagina. All delineated Space, defined by distance and duration, all forms and variations arise from the womb of the Cosmic Mother, which is itself beyond all limitation, beyond even the beyond. The vowels themselves are identified with the yoni; they embody all the vibrancy, the energy, the potency of Shakti, the potential of Creation. The consonants, identified with the linga of Lord Shiva, are powerless to convey meaning, or describe form without the life giving breath of the vowels. In this way the Word itself is identified with the miracle of Creation; the Mother and Father in Union, vowel and consonant making love. Words in Sanskrit, considered the Language of the Gods, represent a direct energetic correlation to the object or thought form expressed. That is to say, the word itself carries the exact vibratory signature of the thing named. The word or name is identical with the object, the Sound-Form of the thing itself. This is the ultimate wisdom of mantra. As organized units of cosmic consciousness each varna,
each sound or letter strung upon the grisly garland of Kali’s necklace, contains the fullness of Shiva Consciousness and the potency of Shakti’s Power, the undiminished Potentiality of ShivaShakti in Union, and the capacity to fully awaken the limited consciousness of the individual jivatman. In contrast to conventional languages like English and other modern languages, which tend to reinforce our experiences of separation, difference and distinction, every syllable of Sanskrit, as a pulsating, living Shakti offers a doorway to moksha, Liberation. The Mother’s necklace of grinning skulls, each a single utterance, each embodying a mouth and a tongue and a resonating sound chamber reminds that the infinite body of Space has been ornamented with units of Cosmic Consciousness, trembling and pulsing with Desire, organizing the infinite field into finite arrangements of form.
body of the sadhak, or practitioner. With time and dedication, the sadhak can produce the Mantra Purusha, a vibrant Body of Mantra with the ultimate intention that the Goddess herself takes up residence within the body and mind of the practitioner. A profound and natural compliment to the devotional practice of Kirtan, mantra
Our own bodies, as Pure Consciousness limited Mantra, as and narrowed into the Sound-Body living, breathing form, of the Goddess, is an Original Art by Geoffrey Earendil are of course founded essential aspect of upon this same sadhana can be an extremely traditional tantric vibratory matrix. Each powerful practice, potentially practices. chakra, each vibrant harmful and should not be entered locus of wisdom along into lightly. With consistent, dedicated the central channel, from practice a mantra can ‘wake up’ within a muladhara to ajna, bears the practitioner and literally take on a life of stamp of these syllables, every trembling its own. Embodying the full, undiminished petal resonant with one bead of the Great force of Divine Energy, the use of Shakti Mother’s mala. Mantra, like the unbuffered voltage that enters a house from the power company, Mantra, as the Sound-Body of the Goddess, requires proper preparation of all circuits is an essential aspect of traditional tantric and channels. practices. Seed syllables, or bija mantras, Only enter mantra sadhana under the are used with scientific precision to tune guidance of a qualified and lineaged the resonant centers of the body to the teacher. For further information please pure, refined frequencies of the Divine. refer to the works of Dr. David Frawley The tattwa shuddhi practice, utilizes the (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) to whom I am elemental bijas of the chakras, in indebted as invaluable resource for this combination with mudra, to clarify and article. I must also graciously acknowledge tonify the five great elements in the gross the guidance of my own Beloved, Nisha body as foundational preparation for deep Bhairavi, and the teachings of Parvathi Ma. sadhana. The practice of nyasa invokes the Shakti of each varna and establishes them in precise locations in the subtle
Geoffrey Earendil has been teaching Hatha Yoga for more than 15 years. A student of the common roots of Chi Kung, Hatha Yoga, and Ayurveda he is an initiate of a traditional Kaula Tantra lineage. He teaches physical practices to support the subtle body from Long Beach, CA. Find him at VAJRADEHA.COM
PRANAVA 42
E T I H W C.C.
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& th in w chant fest n in the ce of birth to my pla the weekend of the re of kirta e had e u iv lt r u r c a & t to r s w a a t ed e w a is h it pr zine: T view th santly sur l sunny skies above! ava maga the exclusive inter nt, full of n a pr I was plea f fu o ti ch r dia r & beau r the laun .C. White fo er nature ~ so ra we met, found a with clea ! r to premie to catch up with C oth te ed m el et e b ll in y a r n iv a d pa of been y excited force of t are un a maa!! ll a i ia th ly c Ja u ! ts pe y n tr es jo s ith! En t. C.C. is ts & tale w if en g d west. I wa ev h te e it if g w th , e akti e ar prior arranged iration, palpable sh llowing is what w fo sp e in th l & u d lf r u so eco ner, i hit r quite cor
C.C. White ~ !e Queen of S(l Ki&an~
Photo Courtesy: Demitri Velisarius
Pranava Magazine: What an honor it is & a blessing, oh ‘Queen of Soul Kirtan’, to have your grace!
Photo Courtesy: Elana Kundell
C.C. Thank you for reaching out to me, and congrats, the magazine is amazing. You’re such a beautiful soul. Thank you! Its great that you have arisen to hold the torch within the subculture of kirtan in the west. It’s a blessing that there’s room for us all in kirtan. I’m in good company, and am so grateful for that. For my contribution, I blend kirtan with my roots, where I come
from, and the music I grew up with, Gospel, Southern Blues, Old School Soul, R&B, and Jazz. It’s truly a part of who I am. So how did kirtan come into your life? Ahhh the night my life changed forever. Well, I’ve been chanting kirtan for 15 years now, and I honor each and every moment. It started with the amazing Dave Stringer, he called me in for a session while recording the CD Japa at the time. Donna Delory recommended me, and I’ve known her for a while now, because we’ve toured together in the past. Two other people were also at this recording session, and we all tried our best to get through that session in 2 hours, but ended up taking 7 ½ hours to finish. Chanting empties you out in a good way, fills you with bliss and light, and cleanses your soul. We lost all sense of time and space, and it felt amazing. We eventually finished the session, but I never forgot that feeling, and was struck by it. I just had to come back the next day, and Dave and I sat down for hours to discuss the meaning and origin of Kirtan, and many more things. After that I did a lot of studying on my own, and began to speak
PRANAVA 44
to a lot of spiritual leaders, other kirtan wallahs, etc and started my journey towards understanding what this feeling
Photo Courtesy: Elana Kundell
was that had never left me when I was chanting, a feeling of divine peace, fulfillment, and immense joy. After that Dave invited me to chant with him at Exhale in Venice, there were about 150 people from all walks of life, dancing, chanting, singing, and it was like Yoga Church to me. There was so much freedom and happiness in that room, instantly and forever after, I can truly say, I was hooked.
Yeah that’s what hit me when I first got involved in kirtan, it was basically the same type of energy I experienced in the gospel church coming up. It’s a feeling like no other. You know in some descriptions of kirtan’s divine stirring and heartfelt call and response, gospel music is also often a comparison.
Photo Courtesy: Elana Kundell (top Three) & J.Yochanan
Father was a preacher when he passed away a year and a half ago. I have a never ending faith, and a strong belief in hope, peace and divine love. So, where were you born & raised? Washington, D.C.
And how was your experience coming up Exactly, it is gospel~ singing praises to in D.C.? the divine, uplifting the names of god- I loved it there. It holds a special place in dess, call & response... the ecstatic my heart, and I experienced many life dancing! lessons. I started singing lessons when I When I chant kirtan I dance and sing so was 2 yrs old, and studied at Sewell Music much, my feet are killing me the next Conservatory, and Peabody Institute. I morning, and I can hardly speak from also majored in musical studies. My chanting to the top of my lungs and heart, beautiful mother sang when I was in her but that’s what giving everything you have womb so I was literally born singing. means. Complete and total surrender to She’s a gospel operatic singer, with the the divine. Eventually voice of an Angel, and everything recovers has the sweetest heart and heals, and I’m you’ll ever meet. All forever and always of her sisters sing, so “Ki!an " limitless, and $ ready to chant, you can literally say, dance ecstatically, music was in my soul and celebrate all from the beginning of skies are forever open.To see over again. my life. I started piano lessons at 6 how people resonate and Ye s , y o u r k i r t a n years old, and while offering last night growing up, I listened connect wi% it, " $ very was beautiful! to so many styles of Thank you! And you music, it was an reason why y& fall in love see how beautiful it amazing education, is when every body and foundation for joins in? Do you me. wi% it.”~C.C. White notice how much sweeter it is? People It’s amazing to see t e a se m e a li t t le the explosion of saying, “you lead the kirtan here in the west kirtan for a while, but are so anxious to & the great inspiration that people blend that leader and response aspect, receive from it. Where do you think it wanting everyone to join in with you, heading from this point? celebrate, and free themselves.” If that C.C. To the heavens & beyond! I think means they lead sometimes then they do, that it’s a form of divine grace to honor ad lib, improve, whatever their hearts and respect those that came before us, feel. I say I can’t help but let go and our beloved kirtan wallahs. Kirtan is become a vessel, carry the message, and limitless, and the skies are forever open. let the spirit move through me. If anyone To see how people resonate and connect else feels inspired to join, it’s so much with it, is the very reason why you fall in more beautiful if we all do it together. love with it. Chanting the names of the When we’re collectively in that place deities and the saints, the sweet filled with the bright light of ecstatic devotion, the ascension, coming closer to bliss, it’s like heaven on earth and nothing the light, the further discovery of your gets in the way of that kind of happiness, inner self, it all ties together to create a and it stays with you! I don’t ever want harmonic, and balanced chord within you. to stop. B eau t i fu l wo r ds. Do yo u hav e a What is your relationship with the particular favorite mantra, one that Divine? takes you into that deep state of being? My relationship with the divine is very All of them have different meanings, and sweet, beautiful and strong. I’m all of them resonate deeply within my extremely grateful for it. I was raised in heart. the church, my Mother and all her sisters, my father and all his family as well. My
PRANAVA 45
PRANAVA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014
“I love ! community of us Ki"an Wallahs, $e way we come to%$er, collaborating, creating
a su&o"ive family, as we meet in unity at all of
$ese festivals, and ! love and respect we have for
one
ano$er,
it’s
so
(ecial. “ ~C.C. White
Photo Courtesy: Elana Kundell
sweet
and
extremely
C.C. White with the Editor in Chief - at the Denver Chant Fest 2014
Any closing message for our readers? Thank you for letting me share my heart with you. Creating this CD, “This IS Soul Kirtan!” cracked open my soul, and renewed my spirit and connection with the divine. Every, single beautiful being, that worked on it with me, the community that contributed and participated on it, touched me deeper than I’ll ever be able to explain. I traveled down many paths of devotion, surrender, grace, and so much faith. This CD is not just a piece of cardboard and plastic, there’s a part of my heart in every single one. To put it out there, travel the world, have it embraced, understood and respected, has all been through the grace of the Divine. For what I’ve been through in my lifetime, and survived, it’s nothing short of a miracle that I travel this journey today. st That’s why I wrote the 1 cut on the CD, “Kirtan Feels Good”, because quite simply put, it really does. I love the community of us Kirtan Wallahs, the way we come together, collaborating, creating a supportive family, as we meet in unity at all of these festivals, and the love and respect we have for one another, it’s so sweet and extremely special.
Same for me, I can truly relate! I love hearing “it’s my first time chanting.” First time chanters, stay in my heart! To all those new and curious about kirtan, those who are inspired, and aspire to chant, my message is come on in, the door is open, there’s sweetness, consciousness, divinity, ascension, joy, bliss, bhav, foot stomping, light coming out of your chest, it’s all here and there’s no demand, no condition, just come on in, enjoy yourselves, and know that it’s all goodness, unity and love. “One Chant, One Heart at a Time, I Believe in Love”
C.C. White’s CD: This IS Soul Kirtan!, is available on iTunes at this link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/this-is-soulkirtan!/id462995551?ls=1 Website: SOULKIRTAN.COM Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/ SoulKirtan Twitter: CCsoulkirtan
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