Daniel Tucker:
“As kirtan was becoming a bigger part of my life, I wondered how I could give myself to it more fully. Should I become a kirtan leader and record a CD? Or travel somewhere in India? Or go on retreat and chant mantras in seclusion?
“Finding
The Yoga of Kirtan was a blessing, letting me get to really know a couple dozen kirtan wallahs. These people had already made the journey of deeply integrating kirtan and bhakti into a Western life. They each talked about it differently, but together the collection helped me have confidence to commit to my own relationship with the divine names.
“Each interview is a darshan, with kirtan musicians you might already know and love, such as Jai Uttal, Krishna Das, and Deva Premal, and others you may not have heard of, like Shyamdas, Ragini, or Vaiyasaki Das. On another level, each interview is a darshan of the divine names, through the telling of how each singer fell in love with kirtan and what their practice is like.
“All told, a lovely introduction to kirtan and bhakti yoga, full of intimate heart-to-heart conversations with beloved kirtan leaders. I hope you get a lot out of it too!”
• • • • •
Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa) is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies, a biannual publication exploring Eastern thought. He is also associate editor of Back to Godhead magazine and the author of over twenty books on Indian philosophy. His recent titles include Essential Hinduism (Praeger, 2006), Krishna’s Song: A New Look at the Bhagavad Gita (Praeger, 2007), and Black Lotus: The Spiritual Journey of an Urban Mystic (Harinam Press, 2007). He is an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
