MY Manly Yoga Blog

An evening of community, joy and inspiration at MY Manly Yoga

By Premjyoti

Listen to one of Sri Prahlada's kirtans recorded live at Manly Yoga on 14th Aug 2010
Hare Krishna
For many of the 100 participants in Manly Yoga’s Kirtan Magic, the feelings invoked by the event are hard to describe. Pure joy, love, inspiration, community and divine connection are some of the words that come to mind. But really, kirtan is beyond the mind. It’s an experience of the heart.

Karma Yogis - volunteers of the MY Manly Yoga community - worked all day preparing for the event. The centre was cleaned from top to bottom, a vegetarian feast was prepared and the stage was set with instruments and a professional sound system. Karma Yogis also worked throughout the evening to welcome guests, serve food and clean up after everyone went home. Thank you to all who helped in the spirit of service to our community!

The upstairs sadhana room was converted into a spiritual melting pot, where musicians, devotees, kirtan enthusiasts and yoga practitioners all joined together to celebrate and sing the names of the divine. The event was opened with a short meditation by Swami Anandakumar, and a Shiva bhajan (devotional song) led by Swami Muktimurti. The kirtan began with Santosha Kirtan Band, a collective of Satyananda Yoga kirtanists. The special qualities and talents of each musician united to create a set of blissful, uplifting kirtan.

For dinner we enjoyed a magical meal cooked with love by Muktakiran and her team of Karma Yogis. Click here for the awesome Kirtan Magic Dhal recipe.

Finally it was time for the international headline act, Sri Prahlada and the Bhakti Band. Sri Prahlada began by reminding us that kirtan is not a spectator sport. What made Kirtan Magic so magical was the heartfelt participation by everyone present. The room was full of people all singing their hearts out, clapping, swaying and dancing in unison. The feeling of connection was palpable - connection to the music, connection with one another, connection within, connection with the divine.

Sri Prahlada is a master of building that feeling of connection. In one kirtan he guided just the men to chant together, then just the women together. We repeated this several times, building the energy, until at last we joined together to sing as one. Pure bliss!! Spiritual stories were artfully woven between the kirtans, keeping the flow going while settling the energy, and allowing us to develop a deeper appreciation of the yoga tradition underpinning the practice of kirtan.

It was an ecstatic experience of oneness, togetherness and openness. Kirtan connected us to an overpowering energy that consumed us heart and soul. It was a high like no other – completely natural, with no nasty side-effects. Afterwards we felt inspired, energised and re-focused on our respective spiritual journeys.

Kirtan Magic was a totally heart-opening experience, that left us with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts. I’m sure many participants are still singing those mantras as they go about their daily tasks, inspired by the magic of kirtan to live every moment with joy and gratitude.