Songs to Krishna

The chant "Hare Krishna" has gotten a bad rap. Since the 1960s the chant has become well known outside of India, mostly due to the efforts of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as the Hare Krishnas. In the late '60s the chant became associated with the hippie subculture, but this was an incorrect association as the goals of these two groups are very different. A member of the Hare Krishnas...

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

“Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” is the Adi Mantra. Translated "I bow to the Creative Wisdom, I bow to the Divine Teacher, it is chanted at the beginning of a Kundalini Yoga session to help us tune into the Divine flow & self knowledge we all carry within. I've found many ways to use this mantra in my practice, for instance to ground before I meditate or do Japa, or even to warm up before a voiceover session. It brings me...

Nighty Night

This week's set is the first podcast I've done for children, or it could be for the child in all of us! The set is structured so it can be used to encourage a child to settle down for the evening. It starts with a story about Ganesha (read by Jai Uttal), then a few bouncy bouncies, and it starts to quiet down with Deva Premal & Miten. The chant by Jai Jagdeesh is a lovely prayer for protection while we sleep, you can see...

Fresh Tracks X

This week we have a Fresh Tracks set, which means the artists are either new to the podcast or they've been featured before & now have a new CD. The music mix turned out to be very laid back, so it's a mellowed-out offering for you this week. The set features some established artists and also some surprises. Enjoy and Namaste, dear hearts. SONG ARTIST CD Om Mercury Max The Eternal Om Opening: Tibetan...

120 Kirtan

Lately I've been seized by a strong desire to get fit. Maybe it's the impending spring, but the desire to get out and move around is really strong. So, true to my geeky nature, this week I downloaded an app that gave me the beats per minute of all the songs in my ITunes library. I thought 120 BPMs would be a pretty good pace for a walk, so I put that into the program with my chant song list and out I went. It was phenomenal,...

The Faces Of Ganesh

Ganesh pops up a lot on the podcast. We have shows dedicated to him here, and here. Ganesh is the guy you want ahead of you on the path, clearing the way with his trunk -- that's why he's often invoked at the beginning of a trip or business venture. He is the most popular deity in India, and devotees believe that when he is worshiped "he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.[119]" Have fun with him!...