Kirtana/Kirtan/Keertan, (कीर्तन) means, "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of a spiritual messages or stories specifically from Bharatiya religious epics or life stories of a great saints/devotees and their divine relation with Supreme Lord. It is a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or divine messages/stories native to the Bharat.

 

The term Kirt means to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify. Kirtan has roots in the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Vedanga, Sutra literature, and the Vedic anukirtana tradition. It follows a call-and-response style song or chant, along with music, wherein multiple singers recite or describe a legend, or express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual messages. Occasionally, it may include dancing or direct expression of bhavas (feelings) by the singer. Many Kirtan performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant, or reply to the call of the singer.

 

A person performing a Kirtan is known as a Kirtanakara/Kirtanakar (कीर्तनकार) and includes an accompaniment of regionally popular musical instruments, such as the Harmonium, the Veena or ektara (a single string instrument), the Tabla (one-sided drums), the Mrdanga or Pakhawaj (two-sided drum), flute, and Karatalas/Talas (cymbals). It is a major practice in Hinduism, Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions, and Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. Kirtan is sometimes accompanied by story-telling, acting, and the narration typically covers religious, mythological or social subjects.

 

What are the types of Kirtans?

Kirtan is locally known as Abhang, Samaj Gayan, Haveli Sangeet, Vishnupad, and Harikatha and perform Kirtan with musical recitation of hymns, mantras, and the praises of deities. A Kirtan singing started as a devotional movement around stories of baby Krishna and his childhood, adult Krishna, Hare Krishna mantra, and other songs wherein the love between Radha and Krishna was symbolized as the love between one's soul and God. Abhangs highlight devotion for Vithal while Carnatic Kirtans include the praises of Lord Venkateswara, the deity of Seven Hills in Tirumala.

 

Varkari Keertan was pioneered by saints of Maharashtra, the sincere devotee of god as "Hari Bhakti Parayan" and goes for 2 or 3 hours whereas Naradiya Kirtan is an age old form of devotional singing admiring gods, godly acts, glorification of the almighty. Kirtan is a teaching tool that consists of prose and musical performance used by the Kirtanakars to keep people updated on the outside world and educate the masses about good values of life and very purpose of human life through a medium of "ONE MAN SHOW - Kirtan." Kirtans are performed at the temples and other holy places.

 

What is the difference between Kirtan and Sankirtan?

Kirtan is singing God's name with feeling (Bhava), love (Prem) and faith (Sraddha) by one or few people for a group of people while Sankirtan (collective performance) is singing God's names loudly and collectively by a group of people in a common place with an accompaniment of musical instruments such as Harmonium, Violin, Cymbals, Mridanga or Kole etc. Sankirtan varies regionally in using musical instruments, dance, oration, theatre, audience participation, and mode of narration. A Sankirtan is a call-and-response style performance, ranging from devotional dancing and singing by a lead singer and audience, to an sophisticated scholarly discourse, a social commentary or a philosophical/dialectal explanation that includes narration, story, humor, education and entertainment. Sankirtan helps to associate with God through the chanting of His sacred names in order to realize our eternal relationship with Him.

 

What is the difference between Bhajan and Kirtan?

A Kirtan and a Bhajan are closely related and share common themes/subjects, music and devotional songs. A Bhajan is more free form, can be singular melody that is performed by a single singer with or without one and more musical instruments. Kirtan, in contrast, is more structured team performance of spiritual chant for more audiences, typically with a call and response musical structure includes two or more musical instruments.

 

What is the difference between chanting and Kirtan?

In Kirtan Satsang/a gathering for singing, a wallah or someone who leads the chant, which is then echoed in the call-and-response format by the collective Sangam. Chanting is often accompanied by clapping and playing of musical instruments such as the Harmonium, Tanbura, Drums or Cymbals.

 

What is the difference between mantra and Kirtan/Ssnkirtan?

Mantras are often intended for personal use, whereas Kirtan is all about community. A coming together of people for Sankirtana chants are usually sung in call-and-response style and derive from religious ceremonies or celebrations.

 

What is the structure of Kirtan?

The Kirtan has five parts: 1) Naman or prayer, 2) Purvaranga (First part) of Katha Chanting the holy name of God, in between, 3) Uttarranga (Second part), Final prayer for universal welfare and well-being of people. The Kirtan goes on for an hour to 3 hours at a stretch.

 

What are the psychological and spiritual benefits of Kirtan?

Chanting Kirtan as a ceremonial devotional practice helps to uplift the mind, opens the heart and brings inner peace. Kirtans generally use holy chants written in the universal language of divinity have the ability to quiet the mind when listened to them with attention. As you sing Bhajans/chants with each other, you experience a deep connection with the singer, musicians, audience members, yourself, and then the magic of Bhajans/Chants begins when the meaning of each words of the Bhajans/chants enters your soul.

Kirtan is a joyful singing with the melody and rhythm along with mellow music, and chants that contain the powerful renewing and transformative energy that helps us reconnect with the divinity that resides within all of us. At a Kirtan or Sankirtan all voices merge to become ‘One Voice’ and provides a way to connect to the core of our soul, heart, to our connection with each other and ultimately with the Supreme Lord.

Thus, Kirtan’s ultimate purpose is to facilitate the awakening and nurturing of one's devotion and love for the Divine which purifies the heart. Music bypasses the thinking mind, the worried mind, and goes straight to that part of the brain where the emotions reside. The Mantras and music used in Kirtans being imbued with powerful spiritual energies has the power to subdue all kinds of mental disturbance and especially effective at evoking feelings of love for others. The musical meditation of Kirtan soothes the nervous system, just like a yoga class, as both are easy and fun. Kirtan calms the mind without struggling to concentrate. It is the fastest, easiest and most joyful way to achieve peace of mind. The mantras are mystical universal sounds that resonate with our chakras and remove negative energies. It is said that Kirtan does what Vedantic Nididhyasana and Yogic Samyama can do. It removes at once impurities of the heart, tossing of mind, and the veil of ignorance without much prolonged effort. That is the loveliness and the marvelous benefit of Kirtan.

An ancient practice of chanting of mantra has powerful spiritual energies to calm the agitated minds by the waves of material desires and make it just as a reservoir of water that is transparent, and in turn our mental perceptions become clear and pure. Chanting has been found to releases the positive energy, focused attention, social cohesion, and induce mystical experiences that decrease the negative thoughts, stress, and depressive symptoms. Scientific studies have found that chanting mantras like om for 10 minutes can decrease anxiety and depressive symptoms in the human body. Kirtan is a natural medicine for our mind and soul.