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 Greetings!
Last
week's Shivaratri chant on Monday evening reaffirmed for me what this
practice is all about. There were four of us gathered and for two hours
we chanted the mantra Om Namah Shivaya together. It was simple, but
powerful. I realized again that devotional singing and chanting can be
a powerful means for self-transformation, freeing the mind for awhile
from the concerns of daily life and allowing one to experience deep
meditative states. Chanting can take us on a journey from wherever we
are into some other state of consciousness and inward towards the
center of our hearts. After chanting for two hours, the silence that
followed was profound.
This Saturday at Yoga Center Amherst
we'll come together again for an evening of chanting and meditation.
I'm often asked by people that have experienced Kirtan before "why do
you chant so slowly in the beginning". All I can say is that every
syllable, every sound is like Nectar to me. To experience the power of
chanting, I stretch it out in the beginning, savoring every moment the
Name can be on the tongue, tasting the sweetness of the sound. In the
beginning we allow ourselves the luxury of discovering the rhythm
slowly, and when found, letting the rhythm carry us along.
I look
forward to joining with you again this Saturday.
For
inspiration this month I offer three verses from Lalleshwari, the
fourteenth century woman saint of north India generally regarded as one
of the most remarkable and influential figures in the Indian mystical
tradition. Her verses are sometimes melancholy but also filled with
hope. I hope you are inspired too!
let it be love,
Rick
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...and musicians
This month I'll be joined by most of the regulars:
Gurucharan........................tabla
Kevin Germain....................yayli tanbur
Dona O'Dou........................tamboura
Divya Shinn........................vocals
did you know...
Kevin Germain (a.k.a. Shaykh Kevin Al Ansari) is a student of Shaykh
Taner Ansari, Pir (Sufi master) of the Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order. Part of
their primary mission is to "seek closeness to the pleasure of God in
this world" and so you can imagine my joy when Kevin showed up at my
house last July with his oud and yayli tanbur! After playing
blissfully together for a couple hours I knew I had met someone with
whom I could share the joy of chanting.
Kevin was born and raised in Springfield, MA and began playing guitar
at age nine. In the late 1980's he moved to Boston to attend the
Berkeley School of Music where he studied traditional composition.
After graduating he spent 3 months traveling around Turkey where he
discovered the oud, a traditional Turkish stringed instrument. After
returning from Turkey he picked up some recordings of Turkish music and
then discovered the yayli tanbur, another traditional Turkish stringed
instrument, but played with a bow. He finally relocated to Easthampton
and for a few years traveled on a regular basis to Boston to study
traditional Turkish music with a teacher.
You can hear Kevin playing the yayli tanbur (and sometimes the oud)
most 1st Saturdays at the Yoga Center Amherst monthly Kirtan.
Currently Kevin works at A M Lithography in Chicopee, MA and lives with
his wife Dianne and daughter Isidora in Easthampton. He's grateful to
be able to share his spiritual practices with his wife, and on
Wednesday, March 4th at the Friends Meeting House at 43 Center Street
in Northampton, Shaykh Kevin Al Ansari will be leading a public zikr.
Zikr is similar in many ways to Kirtan in that both ecstatic traditions
practice chanting the Name of God.
Kevin can be reached at: kdgermain@charter.net
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Inspirational Corner
from Lalleshwari
Spiritual poems by a great Siddha Yogini
Were have I come from?
What road have I traveled?
Which way am I going?
I do not know the way,
yet here I stand
with courage and determination,
hoping to grasp
the knowledge of the Truth.
Although I traveled along a road,
it was not the road
I should have taken.
Now I yearn to cross over the river.
But the boatman is demanding the fare,
and I have earned not a penny.
O Lord! How will I go across?
Are you awake?
Then stride forth.
Walk fast and complete your journey.
You must take great care
to let your understanding grow.
Seek your Friend
and you will see the light.
Let your legs become stronger
and your wings sprout.
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Kirtan
with Rick Roberts and friends
Every 1st and 3rd Saturday
...is a time
for people to come together, open their hearts and sing. For years
chanting has helped people to effortlessly reach a state of quiet and
stillness that easliy leads to meditation. While it's true that we can
chant in our car or in the solitude of our home, there's nothing like
chanting with others and with live musicians. Every kirtan is different
depending on the energy of the group, but as the evening progresses one
becomes saturated with the Name, the mind becomes one-pointed and
dropping into a deep state of meditation becomes effortless.
Suggested donation is $10, a portion of which goes to support the local
chapter of Karma Krew, a non-profit organization whose mission is to
infuse the world with more positive energy by promoting acts of
kindness, service, and community outreach.
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Kirtan