Vāk, Om/Aum, Nāda, কীর্তন, Shabd
Posted on Thursday, April 2, 2015
|
Comments Off
Vāk or Vāc (Sanskrit: वाक्, stem vāc-, nominative vāk) is the Sanskrit word for "speech", from a verbal root vac- "speak, tell, utter".
Personified, Vāk is a goddess; in the Veda she is also represented as created by Prajapati and married to him; in other places she is called the "mother of the Vedas" and associate of Indra.[1][2]In Hinduism, she is identified with Sarasvati.
Contents
[hide]Rigveda[edit]
In the early Rigveda (books 2 to 7), vāc- refers to the voice, in particularly the voice of the priest raised in sacrifice. She is personified only RV 8 and RV 10, in RV 10.125.5 speaking in the first person (trans. Griffith),
The intimate connection of speech, sacrifice and creation in (late) Rigvedic thought is expressed in RV 10.71.1-4:
Vak also speaks, and is described as a goddess, in RV 8.100:
RV 1.164.45 has:
See also[edit]
Śábda is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance.
Contents
[hide]History[edit]
In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayana stated that shabda ("speech") is eternal (nitya), as is artha "meaning", and that they share a mutual co-relation. According to Patanjali, the permanent aspect of shabda is sphoṭa ("meaning"), while dhvani ("sound, acoustics") is ephemeral to shabda.
Om , or Aum, a sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, is considered to be the first resonating vibrational sound within an individual being. It also denotes the non-dualistic universe as a whole. In Buddhism, Om corresponds to the crown chakra and white light.
Bhartrihari, on the other hand, held a shabda-advaita position, identifying shabda as indivisible, and unifying the notions of cognition and linguistic performance, which is ultimately identical to Brahman. Bhartrhari recognised two entities, both of which may be referred to as "shabda". One entity is the underlying cause of the articulated sounds, while the other entity is the functionality that is used to express meaning. Bhartrhari thus rejected the difference posited between the ontological and the linguistic by logicians. His concept of shabda-brahman which identified linguistic performance and creation itself ran parallel to the Greek concept of logos.
Language philosophy in Medieval India was dominated by the dispute of the "naturalists" to the Mimamsa school, notably defended by Kumarila, who held that shabda designates the actual phonetic utterance, and the Sphota school, defended by Mandana Mishra, wicho identifies sphota and shabda as a mystical "indivisible word-whole".
In religion[edit]
Hinduism[edit]
Shabd is a Sanskrit word that was first used as a religio-philosophic term in the context of Hinduism religion. It refers to the verbal testimony (of revealed scriptures: shruti) that is indispensable to gaining knowledge of the ultimate reality, brahman.
Sikhism[edit]
In Sikhism the term Shabad has two primary meanings. The first context of the term is to refer to a hymn or paragraph or sections of the Holy Text that appears in Guru Granth Sahib. The main holy scripture of the Sikhs is Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS.) Guru Granth Sahib Ji is organised by chapters of Ragas, with each chapter containing many shabads of that Raga. The first Shabad in Guru Granth Sahib is the Mool Mantar. The script used for the Shabad is Gurmukhi. Shabad is the term also used to refer to hymns within other Sikh scriptures, like Deh Siva Var Mohe'. The second use of the term Shabad within Sikhism is for the holy name of God, Waheguru.
Other faiths and philosophies[edit]
Esoterically, Shabd is the “Sound Current vibrating in all creation. It can be heard by the inner ears.” [1] Variously referred to as the Audible Life Stream, Inner Sound, Sound Current or Wordin English, the Shabd is the esoteric essence of God which is available to all human beings, according to the Shabd path teachings of Eckankar, the Quan Yin Method, Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga, and M.S.I.A. (Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness).
Adherents believe that a Satguru, or Eck Master, who is a human being, has merged with the Shabd in such a manner that he or she is a living manifestation of it at its highest level (the “Word made flesh”). However, not only can the Satguru attain this, but all human beings are inherently privileged in this way. Indeed, in Sant Mat the raison d’être for the human form is to meditate on the Sound Current, and in so doing merge with it until one’s own divinity is ultimately realized.
"Naam" ("Word") has been described in many traditions through the use of several different terms. the following expressions are interpreted as being identical to "Naam":
- "Naad", "Akash Bani", and "Sruti" in the Vedas
- "Nada" and "Udgit" in the Upanishads
- "Logos", "Word" and "Holy Spirit" in the New Testament
- "Tao" by Lao Zi
- "Music of the Spheres" by Pythagoras
- "Sraosha" by Zoroaster
- "Kalma" and "Kalam-i-Qadim" in the Qur'an
- "Naam", "Akhand Kirtan" and "Sacha ('True') Shabd" by Guru Granth Sahib
Sant Baljit Singh, a contemporary Sant Mat Master, uses the term "Light and Sound Current." He describes it as the connecting link between human beings and God.
See also[edit]
Nāda ("Naad", "Akash Bani", Hamd and Naad for explae = song) yoga (नादयोग) is an ancient Indian metaphysical system. It is both a philosophical system, a medicine, and a form of yoga. The system's theoretical and practical aspects are based on the premise that the entire cosmos and all that exists in the cosmos, including human beings, consists of sound vibrations, called nāda. This concept holds that it is the sound energy in motion rather than of matter and particles which form the building blocks of the cosmos.
Nāda yoga is also a way to approach with reverence and respond to sound. Sound and music is in this context, something more than just the sensory properties and sources of sensuous pleasure, sound and music is considered also to play the role as a potential medium to achieve a deeper unity with both the outer and the inner cosmos.
Nāda yoga's use of sound vibrations and resonances are also used to pursue palliative effects on various problematic psychological and spiritual conditions. It is also employed to raise the level of awareness of the postulated energy centers called chakra.
Music has been used by most Indian saints, prophets as an important and powerful tool in the quest for the achievement of nirvana; notable name to be mentioned here include Thyagaraja, Kabir,Meerabai, Namdeo, Purandaradasa and Tukaram.
Contents
[hide]Description[edit]
The Nāda yoga system divides music into two categories: internal music, anahata, and external music, ahata. While the external music is conveyed to consciousness via sensory organs in the form of the ears, in which mechanical energy is converted to electrochemical energy and then transformed in the brain to sensations of sound, it is the anahata chakra, which is considered responsible for the reception of the internal music, but not in the way of a normal sensory organ.
The anahata concept refers to one's own personal sound vibrations, which is thought to be so closely associated with one's self and the self that a person can not share their anahata with another human being. In other words, this inner sound is sacred and once reached will open the practitioner's chakras, which ultimately will unite the body to the divine/cosmos.
With continued sounds, a focused mind and controlled breath, the individual can, according to Nāda yoga, "listen in on" their own anahata, their own "inner sound", which can take up to nine different forms. Such a process of inner awareness and sensitivity leads to increased self-recollectedness and finally to awakening.
To concentrate on this inner sound as a support for meditation is very helpful to tame the mind, and when it has been clearly recognized, used for self-recollectedness in outer life as well. Eventually, it can be experienced as penetrating all matter and indeed vibrates eternally throughout the Creation.
In Nāda yoga, one of the main breathing sounds is ahaṃ, where each part of the word (a ha ṃ) is focused on and spoken individually. The echoes produced by each of these spoken letters is a time where the yogi should immerse himself and rest. Now, because of imbalances within the human body, Nāda yoga begins by removing the ailments and impurities by "awakening the fire in the body (jāṭhara)" (Timalsina 212) with the use of a sound resembling that of a bee. It is important to note that when the yogin is forming sounds, his/her mind should not wander off to other entities.
One group to incorporate yoga, Nāda yoga specifically, and the practice of sound into the spiritual transformation is the Josmanĩ. The Josmanĩ are identified as a Sant tradition, and they are a blend of Śrī Vaiṣṇava Bhakti tradition with the Nāth Yoga tradition. Yoga is used in "personal and social transformation" (Timalsina 202). The Josmani's spiritual quest interlinks the practice of Kuṇḍali and Nāda Yoga.[1]
In the West, detailed indications and advices have been given by Edward Salim Michael in his book : the Law of attention, Nada Yoga and the way of inner vigilance. Ajahn Sumedho, from theThai Forest Tradition teaches also the practice of this inner sound.
Primary literature[edit]
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, often spelled Shurangama Sutra or Surangama Sutra in English, is a Mahayana sutra and one of the main texts used in the Chán school in Chinese Buddhism. In the Surangama Sutra, Avalokitesvara says that he attained enlightenment through concentration on the subtle inner sound. The Buddha then praises Avalokitesvara and says that this is the supreme way to go.
Secondary literature[edit]
Mantrayana[edit]
1. Jamgon Kongtrul (1813–1899) provides an important paradigm of salience for the esoteric Dzogchen doctrine of "sound, light and rays" (Wylie: sgra 'od zer gsum) and the 'mantra' of theMantrayana tradition in particular, Kongtrul, et al. (2005: p. 431) identifies the “primordial sound” (nāda) and its semantic field:
This quotation comes from the famed Sheja Dzö or 'The Treasury of Knowledge' (Tibetan: ཤེས་བྱ་མཛོད, Wylie: shes bya mdzod)[3] a voluminous work, encyclopedic in breadth, by Jamgon Kongtrul.
2. The Mahasiddha Vinapa (The Musician) achieved mahamudra through contemplation of the unborn, unstruck sound:
These quotes are from p. 91 and p. 93 respectively of "Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-four Buddhist Siddhas" by Keith Dowman, Publisher: State University of New York Press (ISBN 978-0-88706-160-8)
See also[edit]
Om/Aum (ॐ; in Devanagari as ओं oṁ [õː], औं auṃ [ə̃ũ], or ओ३म् om [õːːm]) is a mantra and mystical sound of Hindu origin (geographically India and Nepal), sacred and important in various Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The syllable is also referred to as omkara (ओंकारoṃkāra) or aumkara (औंकार auṃkāra), literally "om syllable", and in Sanskrit it is sometimes referred to as praṇava, literally "that which is sounded out loudly".
Om or Aum is also written ओ३म् (o̿m [õːːm]), where ३ is pluta ("three times as long"), indicating a length of three morae (that is, the time it takes to say three syllables) — an overlong nasalised close-mid back rounded vowel —, though there are other enunciations adhered to in received traditions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or prior to any prayer ormantra. It is used at the end of the invocation to the god being sacrificed to (anuvakya) as an invitation to and for the latter to partake of.
Contents
[hide]Name, phonology and written representation[edit]
The Sanskrit name for the syllable is praṇava, from a root nu "to shout, sound", verbal pra-nu- being attested as "to make a humming or droning sound" in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of "to utter the syllable om" in the Chāndogya Upanishad and the Shrauta Sutras. More rarely used terms are akṣara (lit. symbol, character) or ekākṣara (lit. one symbol, character), and in later times omkāra becomes prevalent.
Phonologically, the syllable is /aum/, which is regularly monophthongised to [õː] in Sanskrit. It is sometimes also written with pluti, as o3m (ओ३म्), notably by Arya Samaj. When occurring within a Sanskrit utterance, the syllable is subject to the normal rules of sandhi in Sanskrit grammar, however with the additional peculiarity that after preceding a or ā, the au of aum does not form vriddhi (au) but guna (o) per Pāṇini 6.1.95 (i.e. 'om').
The om symbol 
is a ligature of Devanagari ओ (U+0913) + ँ (U+0901) (oṃ, encoded in Unicode at U+0950 ॐ, the Tibetan script variant ༀ at U+0F00, the Tamil variant ௐ at U+0BD0, and the Chinese version 唵 at U+5535).
is a ligature of Devanagari ओ (U+0913) + ँ (U+0901) (oṃ, encoded in Unicode at U+0950 ॐ, the Tibetan script variant ༀ at U+0F00, the Tamil variant ௐ at U+0BD0, and the Chinese version 唵 at U+5535).| Om in various scripts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hinduism[edit]
| Part of a series on |
| Hinduism |
|---|
 |
The syllable "om" is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over Nepal and India, 'om' can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and theology. Hindus believe that as creation began, the divine, all-encompassing consciousness took the form of the first and original vibration manifesting as sound "OM".[1] Before creation began it was "Shunyākāsha", the emptiness or the void. Shunyākāsha, meaning literally "no sky", is more than nothingness, because everything then existed in a latent state of potentiality. The vibration of "OM" symbolises the manifestation of God in form ("sāguna brahman"). "OM" is the reflection of the absolute reality, it is said to be "Adi Anadi", without beginning or the end and embracing all that exists.[1] The mantra "OM" is the name of God, the vibration of the Supreme. When taken letter by letter, A-U-M represents the divine energy (Shakti) united in its three elementary aspects: Bhrahma Shakti (creation), Vishnu Shakti (preservation) and Shiva Shakti (liberation, and/or destruction).[1]
Early Vedantic literature[edit]
Further information: Mandukya Upanishad
The syllable is mentioned in all the Upanishads, specially elaborated upon in the Taittiriya, Chāndogya and Māndukya Upanishad set forth as the object of profound religious meditation, the highest spiritual efficacy being attributed not only to the whole word but also to the three sounds a (a-kāra), u (u-kāra), m (ma-kāra), of which it consists. A-kara means form or shape like earth, trees, or any other object. U-kāra means formless or shapeless like water, air or fire. Ma-kāra means neither shape nor shapeless (but still exists) like the dark energy content of the Universe. When we combine all three syllables we get AUM which is a combination of A-kāra, U-kāra, and Ma-kāra.[2] According to Yajurveda, Swastika is the symbolic representation of Om in Hinduism.
The Katha Upanishad states:
- "The goal, which all Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when they live a life of conscience, I will tell you briefly it is aum"
- "The one syllable [evākṣara, viz. aum] is indeed Brahman. This one syllable is the highest. Whosoever knows this one syllable obtains all that he desires.
- "This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma." (1.2.15–17)[3]
The Chāndogya Upanishad (1.1.1-1) states:
- om ity-etad akṣaram udgītham upāsīta / aum iti hy udgāyati / tasyopavyākhyānam
- "The udgi:tā ["the chanting", that is, the syllable om] is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth."
The Bhagavad Gi:tā (8.13) states that:
- Uttering the monosyllable Aum, the eternal word of Brahman, one who departs leaving the body (at death), he attains the Supreme Goal (i.e., he reaches God).
In Bhagavad Gi:tā (9.17): Lord Krishna says to Arjuna – "I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable oṃ. I am also the Ṛig, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas."
The Bhagvad Gi:tā (17.23) has:
- om tatsatiti nirdesho brahmanstrividhah samratah
- "OM, tat and sat has been declared as the triple appellation of Brahman, who is Truth, Consciousness and Bliss."
In the following sūtra it emphasises, "The repetition of Om should be made with an understanding of its meaning".[4]
Puranic Hinduism[edit]
In Purānic Hinduism, as per Vayu Purana, om is the representation of the Hindu Trimurti, and represents the union of the three gods, viz. a for Brahma, u for Vishnu and m for Shiva. The three sounds also symbolise the three Vedas, namely (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda).
The Padma Purāṇa states, a-kāreṇocyate viṣṇuḥ śrīr u-kāreṇa kathyate ma-kāras tu tayor dāsaḥ pañca-viṁśaḥ prakīrtitaḥ
“[In the mantra om] the letter a signifies Lord Viṣṇu, the letter u signifies the goddess Śrī, and the letter m refers to their servant, who is the twenty-fifth element ([jīva]).” [5]
According to Hindu philosophy (see Māndukya Upanishad), the letter A represents creation, when all existence issued forth from Brahma's golden nucleus; the letter U refers to Vishnu the God of the middle who preserves this world by balancingBrahma on a lotus above himself, and the letter M symbolises the final part of the cycle of existence, when Brahma falls asleep and Shiva has to breathe in so that all existing things have to disintegrate and are reduced to their essence to him. More broadly, om is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe. It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.
The Māndukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable. The syllable consists of three phonemes, a (Vaishvanara),[6] u (Hiranyagarbha), andm (Ishvara), which symbolise the beginning, duration, and dissolution of the universe and the associated gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively. Apart from all this, Bindu of OM representsAdi Parashakti's original nirgun form.[7]
Advaita[edit]
 | This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2013) |
In Advaita philosophy it is frequently used to represent three subsumed into one, a triune, a common theme in Hinduism. It implies that our current existence ismithyā and maya, "falsehood", that in order to know the full truth we must comprehend beyond the body and intellect the true nature of infinity. Essentially, uponmoksha (mukti, samādhi) one is able not only to see or know existence for what it is, but to become it. When one gains true knowledge, there is no split between knower and known: one becomes knowledge/consciousness itself. In essence, Om is the signifier of the ultimate truth that all is one.
Jainism[edit]
In Jainism, om is regarded to be a condensed form of reference to the Pañca-Parameṣṭhi, by their initials A+A+A+U+M (o3m). The Dravyasamgraha quotes aPrakrit line:
- ओम एकाक्षर पञ्चपरमेष्ठिनामादिपम् तत्कथमिति चेत "अरिहंता असरीरा आयरिया तह उवज्झाया मुणियां"
- oma ekākṣara pañca-parameṣṭhi-nāmā-dipam tatkathamiti cheta "arihatā asarīrā āyariyā taha uvajjhāyā muṇiyā"
- "Om" is one syllable made from the initials of the five parameshthis. It has been said: "Arihant, Ashiri, Acharya, Upajjhaya, Muni".
Buddhism[edit]
Esoteric Buddhists place om at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari ("om mani padme hum") as well in as most other mantras and dharanis. Moreover, as a seed syllable (a bija mantra) aum is considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism.
In Buddhist texts of East Asian provenance, om is often written as the Chinese character 唵 (pinyin ǎn) or 嗡 (pinyin wēng).
A key distinction should be made here between Buddhism as it arose in India, and Buddhism after the migration of the teachings to Tibet under the guidance ofPadmasambhava. In its original form, Buddhism in India was characterised mainly by types of mindfulness meditation and did not involve the chanting of om or of mantras. The chanting of om is not mentioned even a single time in the Pali Canon (oldest known teachings attributed to The Buddha) or Visuddhimagga (ancient commentary on The Pali Canon).
Sikhism[edit]
Main article: Ik Onkar
Ik Onkar, iconically represented as ੴ in the Guru Granth Sahib (although sometimes spelt out in full as ਏਕੰਕਾਰੁ) is the statement of the uniqueness of God in Sikhism,[8] and is commonly translated simply as "one God".[9] Within the phrase, "ik" is the Punjabi word for "one", and "onkar" figuratively means "God" but literally means "creator of Om";[10]the suffix "-kar" derived from the verb "create", "work", or "action".[11] Thus, although "Om" is referenced, Sikhism uses it only to starkly emphasize its monotheism without subscribing to its philosophy in and of itself.[10]
Modern reception[edit]
The Brahmic script om-ligature has become widely recognised in western counterculture since the 1960s. As to its precise graphic form, the Vedic or Indian om is what most Westerners are used to, and the Tibetan alphabet om is less widespread in popular culture.[12] Even Tibetan handicrafts made in India tend to use the Devanagari script om for recognisability.
kirtana (Kannada: ಕೀರ್ತನೆ; Marathi: कीर्तन; Bengali: কীর্তন; Punjabi: ਕੀਰਤਨ; Hindi: कीर्तन; Telugu: కీర్తన; Tamil: கீர்த்தனை; Sanskrit (IAST): kīrtana;Sanskrit for "praise; eulogy";[1][2] also sankirtana[3]) is call-and-response chanting performed in India's bhakti devotional traditions.[4] A person performing kirtana is known as a kirtankara or, colloquially, a "kirtaneera". Kirtana practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed mrdanga or pakhawaj drum and hand cymbals (karatalas). It is a major practice in Vaisnavadevotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions and some forms of Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. Kirtana is sometimes accompanied by story-telling and acting. Texts typically cover religious, mythological or social subjects.[5]
Contents
[hide]The bhakti movement[edit]
In the Bhagavad-gita (9.13-9.14) Lord Krishna states that great souls worship and glorify him single-mindedly, but the practice of kirtana was popularized as a means to this end in the bhakti movement of the Moghul era.[citation needed] It is often suggested as the form of religious activity best suited to the present age. Kirtana is often practiced as a kind of theatrical folk song with call-and-response chanting or antiphon. Narada, the ancient sage said to have composed the Narada Bhakti Sutra, is often spoken of as the originator of this tradition.[6][7] The famous story of Prahlada in the Avatara Katha mentions kirtana as one of nine forms of worship, called the nava vidha bhakti[8] along with shravanam (listening),smaranam (remembrance), pada sevanam (service), archanam (offering), vandanam, (obeisance), dasyam (servitude), sakhyam (friendship) and atmanivedanam(surrender). The so-called Naradiya Kirtana divides kirtana into five parts;[9] naman (prayers),purvaranga (spiritual lesson based on old epics), chanting, katha orakhyan (exegesis) and a final prayer for universal welfare. All in all this may last from half an hour to three hours.
The Varkari saint Namdev (c. 1270–1350), a Shudra tailor, used the kirtana form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba.[6] In the early 16th century CEChaitanya Mahaprabhu traveled throughout India popularizing Krishna sankirtana. In the second half of 16th century[10] Kalachand Vidyalankar, a disciple of Mahaprabhu, made it popular in Bengal, where several schools (sampradaya) have been practicing it for hundreds of years, including the Kartavaja (which originated at Ghoshpara near Kalyani), the Baul minstrels and the Kalachandi (disciples of Kalachand Vidyalankar). Geetashree Chabi Bandyopadhyay and Radharani Devi are among many who achieved fame by singing kirtana.
Marathi kirtana is typically performed by one or two main performers, called Kirtankar, accompanied by harmonium and tabla. It involves singing, acting, dancing, and story-telling.[11] [12] It is usually based on poetry of the seven famous saints of Maharashtra; Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar, Sopandev, Muktabai, Eknath, Namdev and Tukaram.[13] Jugalbandi Kirtan is performed by two persons, allowing question-answer, dialogue and debate. Performance requires skill in music, dance, comedy, oratory, debate, memory, general knowledge and Sanskrit literature. Training takes place at the Kirtan Kul in Sangli, the Akhil Bharatiya Kirtan Sanstha[14] in Dadar, Mumbai, the Narad Mandir at Sadashiv Peth, Pune and the Kalidas Mahavidyalay in Ramtek, Nagpur as well as at smaller schools in Goa, Beed and Ujjain.
Rashtriya Kirtan is a special form originated by Dattopant Patwardhan, who used the format to raise awareness of the struggle for freedom against the British regime using mythological stories. In modern times stories of great scientists, warriors, freedom fighters and social reformers entertain and educate the masses. Another form is named after Samarth Ramdas and based on his poetry.
In Sikhism[edit]
Main article: Shabad kirtan
The Sikh tradition of kirtana or Gurmat Sangeet was started by Guru Nanak at Kartarpur in the early 16th century[citation needed] and was strengthened by his successors, particularly Guru Arjan, atAmritsar.[citation needed] In spite of several interruptions, kirtana continues to be performed at the Golden Temple and other historical gurdwaras.
Sikhs refer to a hymn or section of the Guru Granth Sahib (GGS) as a shabad. The first shabad in the GGS is the Mool Mantar. The hymns are arranged in chapters named after musical ragas. The shabads in any chapter is to be sung to that particular raga with due attention to tala and dhuni (melody) (See also Sikh music).
The following texts show the importance the Sikh gurus gave to kirtana;
- Let your mind remain awake and aware, singing the kirtana of the Lord's praises.
- Singing the kirtana of the Lord's praises, the Name abides within the mind.
- Singing the kirtana of His praises, my mind has become peaceful. The sins of countless incarnations have been washed away. I have seen all treasures within my own mind; why should I now go out searching for them?
- One is saved from hell, suffering is destroyed, countless pains depart, death is overcome, and one escapes the Messenger of Death, by absorption in the kirtana of the Lord's praises.
Carnatic traditions[edit]
In Andhra Pradesh,the compositions of Tallapaka Annamacharya, a 14th-century mystic, represent the earliest known music called sankirtana. He wrote in praise ofLord Venkateswara, the deity of Seven Hills in Tirumala, where unbroken worship has been offered for over twelve centuries at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple.
Annamcharya is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara's sword.[15] During his long and prolific career, he reputedly composed and sang 32,000 Sankirtanas and 12 Shatakas (sets of hundred verses). His works were in Telugu and Sanskrit.
In the west[edit]
Paramhansa Yogananda was an early proponent of kirtan in the west, chanting Guru Nanak Dev's Hey Hari Sundara ("Oh God Beautiful") with 3,000 people at Carnegie Hall in 1923.[17]
Kirtana became more common with the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnavism by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness's (ISKCON) founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the 1960s.[18] Yoga centers report an increase in attendance at kirtana; according to Pure Music’s Frank Goodman in conversation with Krishna Das in 2006, kirtana has taken on a wider popularity.[19][20] Kirtana singers have appeared in the West, such as Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das, Wah! and Jai Uttal as well asSnatam Kaur, Lokah Music, Deva Premal, Jim Gelcer, Jyoshna, Aindra Prabhu, Gina Sala', and Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits.
In ISKCON ("Hare Krishnas"), the term sankirtana is also used to refer to preaching activities, such as distribution of religious literature to the public.[21]
Given name[edit]
The male given name Kirtana or Keerthana is used in South India for females, particularly Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It means "hymn sung in the praise of God".
