Toronto Kirtan Community: June 2011

~ Connecting & Creating Community for Kirtan Lovers in Toronto and Beyond ~

Kirtan opens the heart and stills the mind. It is the yoga practice of ecstatic chanting. Through repeating the Divine Names in Sanskrit, the mind is cleared of worry, doubt, fear and all limiting concepts. The joy of peace and infinite love is given to the practitioner, and transmitted through the world by chanting. This is the practice of bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. - contributed by Pat Sandford

To receive a weekly list of kirtan events or to have your kirtan posted, please email torontokirtancommunity@gmail.com

FaceBook's 'TorontoKirtanCommunity' group: the upcoming week's kirtans are posted onto the group wall, as well as interesting articles, videos, photos about events and artists.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/torontokirtancommunity/

Facebook's 'TorontoKirtanCommunity' page lists links/info.

https://www.facebook.com/torontokirtancommunity

ALL known kirtans are posted below, on the left side, on this website's Kirtan Calendar.

“Music that is saturated with soul force is the real universal music, understandable by all hearts.” — Paramahansa Yogananda

“Kirtan is for all people. There are no experts, no beginners. The practice itself is the teacher, guiding us to ourselves. Kirtan allows us to enter into a mystery world—a world where all the logic of our minds, all the condition and learning are left outside. And in this mystery, we create a temple inside of our hearts, a place of refuge, a place of love, a place of just being.” —Jai Uttal

"Chanting is a way of getting in touch with yourself. It's an opening of the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts. It deepens the channel of grace, and it's a way of being present in the moment." -- Krishna Das

"You start doing chanting as technique. You start to sing ‘Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram.’ You start thinking it means, Honorable Ram, Hail Ram, Hail Hail Ram. Then after an hour you stop thinking about all of that and you are just singing it. You are realizing the aesthetic of the music and how beautiful it is. Then after a while it starts to go deeper until your heart is just singing, it’s singing from inside you. Then there’s a point where true bhakti starts- where dualism ends and you become like the chant. You are in a space where it’s not emotional anymore. It’s moved into the deeper, intuitive quality of love. Touching that love leaves you with trust in the method and trust in where the method takes you—trust in the Beloved and trust in how you get there." –Ram Dass

"If we know anything about a path at all, it's only because of the Great ones that have gone before us. Out of their love and kindness, they have left some footprints for us to follow. So, in the same way that they wish for us, we wish that all beings everywhere, including ourselves, be safe, be happy, have good health, and enough to eat. And may we all live at ease of heart with whatever comes to us in life."

- Kirtan closing prayer by Krishna Das

Friday, June 24, 2011

Bhakti Yoga at Evergreen Brick Works

Bhakti Yoga at Evergreen Brick Works

Date: Sunday. July 3, 2011

UPDATE!! Time EXTENDED FROM 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Location: Evergreen Brick Works (outdoor class, meet in the Young Welcome Centre) - 550 Bayview Avenue

RSVP/Registration Details: Register at www.yogameltdown.com

What to Bring: Yoga Mat, Water, Towel

Link: http://www.yogameltdown.com/

The Fourth Annual Yoga Meltdown takes place on Centre Island on Sunday, July 17th, 2011. A free outdoor spiritual yoga festival, Yoga Meltdown offers a distinctive and dynamic approach to the practice of spiritual yoga. With free outdoor yoga classes, vegan cooking classes, a free vegetarian feast, and much more, the festival celebrates yoga in a grand way.

As a warm-up to the big event, Evergreen Brick Works together with Yoga Meltdown, have teamed up to hold a special pre-festival event. On Sunday, July 3rd, 2011, aspiring yogis and yoga enthusiasts are invited to settle down amidst the lush greenery of Evergreen Brick Works and embark upon a voyage into the vivifying practice and processes of bhakti. The event includes an outdoor yoga class, followed by a live kirtan experience featuring Gaura-Shakti, a Toronto-based kirtan band.

http://ebw.evergreen.ca/whats-on/yoga-movement-meditation/#bhakti

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Breaking News!!

Fri June 24 @ 7:30 PM to about 10pm Listen to KRISHNA DAS online from Cleveland State University Student Center Ballroom. This event will be simulcast on:

http://tunein.com/radio/WCSB-893-s28036/

(KD's site for upcoming kirtans: http://www.krishnadas.com/ )

and

David Newman aka Durga Das will be coming to Toronto April 27 - 29 2012 for Kirtan and KIRTAN COLLEGE!!

details now available:
http://www.balancedlifeyoga.ca/home-pages/retreats/david-newman-kirtan-college/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPq0Pztiy_Q&feature=share

http://www.davidnewmanmusic.com/index1.html

Listen to an interview with David by Ramdesh Kaur:

http://www.unity.fm/showdownload/SpiritVoyage_040711/spiritvoyage_040711.mp3

Stay Strong video (at BhaktiFest 2010):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNFGKfBhtUk

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

upcoming........

The Anandafest 2011 website is up, and there has been two hours space reserved on both Saturday & Sunday the 30th-31st of July @ 2-4:30 for the TKC, PKC & friends to perform.

Thank you all for being a part of Anandafest's inaugural year, and all your support!!

www.anandafest.com