Then my heart jumped out of my chest. I liked it!
As previously blogged, we hit up the Seattle Ratha-yatra this past Sunday. Ryan and the family joined us and fun was had by all. I wasn’t sure how his kids, 1.5 and 3.5 years old, would handle it. Kids generally dig all things Krishna, but there are still many things to consider.
Arkaedi, the youngest, didn’t get her nap and appeared rather skeptical of the whole thing. Taviri, however, seemed interested.
Prior to the procession, there was a bhajana band playing a pretty simple maha-mantra. It was nice, but a little loud where we were standing (pretty well right in front of the speaker). They ended and a regular old kirtana was started up in front of the deities, getting Them ready to roll out (rather, be carried out).
The kirtana started softly with a few devotees, but quickly grew in size and volume. Soon a couple mrdangas, some whompers and more kartals than can be counted joined in and it was just as loud as the amplified bhajana.
I thought the whole scene would kind of weird out the kids. Arkaedi was still skeptical, but Taviri started to move closer to the kirtana. I followed him down and we both stood there watching the devotees chant and dance. He had never seen anything like this and was interested, confused and enamored all at the same time.
They had to leave before the procession started and it wasn’t until I read Ryan’s blog the next day that I found out what Taviri had to say about the whole thing.
“Papa, I was surprised when they played music so loud. I was scared. Then my heart jumped out of my chest. I liked it.”
Truer words simply cannot be spoken. This is what kirtana and spiritual life in general is supposed to do! It might be a bit scary at first. But stick around, it’ll make your heart jump out of your chest. You’ll like it.
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08/14/2009 at 5:14 pm
Seems numerous people have that reaction upon their first hearing kirtana. Krishna Prema Das (Paolo Tofani) reported running for his life from the devotees when he happened them performing harinama. I think a similar situation occurred with Jayapataka Swami.
It’s a life changing event, no one remains the same after hearing the holy names.
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eric Reply:
August 14th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I think my first exposure to a kirtana was on the Shelter CD. I was into that and Nurasfat Ali Khan. I really really dug chanting. The first in person exposure was probably at the Philly temple. I lived in the country, so I never even heard of the devotees until late, late high school.
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08/14/2009 at 5:54 pm
His response really intrigued me. Especially since my spiritual path (Nimatullahi Sufism) doesn’t have children around, his exposure is peripheral. I answer questions, but I let him ask. Which is why I was so happy with him bringing the response to me… I can only imagine when he is older than 3. I’m in for a tough one!
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eric Reply:
August 14th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
You’re in for a fun one. I mean, you can just tell. Sure, he probably meant that the concussion from the sound hit him in the chest, but sooner or later, he’s going to tie that to something bigger and the second he grasps that, we’ll all be changed. It’s really exciting!
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