Yoga Center AmherstSpecial 2-hr Kirtan
with Rick Roberts and friends


Green River Yoga
Saturday, April 18
7:30pm - 9:30pm
It's early Easter morning as I sit to write, sipping chai and reading Kabir from which I'll share two poems that speak to the secrets of the Bhakti path in the Inspirational Corner. In the musicians section you can learn something interesting about Divya who's been helping me lead these chants since last summer and in the Quick Links section you'll find a link to some of the old Kirtan emails for your reading pleasure.


This Saturday at Green River Yoga we'll offer a special 2-hr chant to celebrate a friend's birthday and also to help support his Pilgrimage to Fiji to visit the home of his Teacher who passed away last November. It's an important Pilgrimage for Scott Belanger to make before the 1-year anniversary of his Teacher's passing and I'm happy to help by offering Kirtan donations from this evening to support him. And, there will be birthday cake prasad to share after the chant to celebrate Scott's 43rd birthday! You can learn more about Scott by visiting his website One True Water.

On Saturday, we'll begin with Shri Maha Lakshmashtakam to aid Scott's Pilgrimage. This 11-verse chant to Lakshmi goddess of wealth, if read with devotion, it is said, will bestow all success. Following this, a short chant to Ganesh, remover of obstacles and then the Maha Mantra Om Namah Shivaya and a fast chant Shivaya Namah Om alternating until 9:30.
 

"Who is invoked by the words Om Namah Shivaya? Who is remembered? Who can be met and spoken with through Om Namah Shivaya? Who is the one to address and praise, about whom numberless poems have been written and numberless hymns composed, from the dawn of creation to the present day? What is the nature of the supreme truth called Shiva?
He to whom we kneel by uttering Om Namah Shivaya is the Guru, the Self of all."

                                                                                                 - Muktananda


I hope you can join us this Saturday as we dive deep into our Self, vibrating with the sound of Om Namah Shivaya for 2 hours.



let it be love,

Rick
Quick Links


Sponsors
...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
Rick Roberts......................harmonium


did you know...
...that Divya Shinn lives on a farm in Gill with her husband Danny, and daughter Leylee called Laughing Dog Farm where they raise goats and grow organic fruits and vegetables and raise bees. Check out their website for a great picture of Divya with a new born goat and to learn more about the great work they're doing up in Gill.

Inspirational Corner
from The Kabir Book
versions by Robert Bly

What is inside me
Why should we two ever want to part?
Just as the leaf of the water rhubarb lives floating on the water,
we live as the great one and the little one.

As the owl opens his eyes all night to the moon,
we live as the great one and little one.

This love between us goes back to the first humans;
it cannot be annihilated.

Here is Kabir's idea: as the river gives itself into the ocean, what is inside me moves inside you.


The Bhakti path
The Bhakti path winds in a delicate way.
On this path there is no asking and no not-asking.
The ego simply disappears the moment you touch Him. And the joy of looking for Him is so immense that you just dive in, and coast around like a fish in the water. If anyone needs a head, the lover leaps up to offer his.

Kabir's poems touch on the secrets of this Bhakti path.

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 but please remember that a donation is not necessary. Anything is appreciated, and all are welcome regardless of their ability to pay.