Kirtan – Evening Meditation

We always integrate yoga with kirtan in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Gurmukhi. They’re even chanting in English. Kirtan out of the temples and the yoga studios and into dance halls, universities, cathedrals, and other unexpected places.

Kirtan means “to praise that which is exalted,” the divine. Similarly, kirtan derives from a Sanskrit root meaning “to cut through,” so it is also “a practice for cutting through the idea of separation and connecting to ourselves through sound.”

World-renowned mantra music artist Deva Premal, OSHO disciple, puts it this way: “In kirtan, we sing our praises to the divine in the many forms in which it manifests.” Each chant revolves around a particular mantra—what Premal defines as “a sacred sound formula that has a specific focus and energy.” These mantras often feature the names of the gods and goddesses identified by the ancient rishis (or seers) in Vedic times, later becoming central to religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.