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Rick

Kirtan Chanting with Rick Colella
plus happy to have Michael Wachs on percussion again! :)
Sunday November 14th, 7:30 - 10:00pm



Sanskrit Chanting concentrates the mind and opens the heart - Our little chanting group has been going strong for 3 years now and it is a great opportunity to practice together and be part of a community of like-minded people. Don't worry if you can't sing or if you don't know any chants or mantras- Just come and express yourself and have fun. We're non-judgmental, non-sectarian, and we love to have first-time chanters come to the group. If you know any chants and want to lead one, feel free to jump in and lead.

"Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is a supreme creative act." - Ram Dass

"It always comes back to just letting go with love. Just put the love in it. Whatever it is, and if you can't put love in it, don't do it!"
— Bhagavan Das

7:30pm Tea and Snacks (feel free to bring something to share!)
8:00pm Kirtan with Rick!

It's okay to come late, just come in quietly.

Location: Private residence in Pasadena. PLEASE RSVP --- For address, phone number, and directions, please email or contact Rick - rickycolella@gmail.com or call him at 323-273-2850

Two great Kirtan Podcasts



http://fulllotuskirtan.wordpress.com/



http://newworldkirtan.com

Kirtan Live from Pasadena

Streamed on UStream

Kirtan Chanting with Rick Colella
and Special Guest percussionist Michael Wachs
Sunday August 22, 7:30pm

Sanskrit Chanting concentrates the mind and opens the heart - Our little chanting group has been going strong for 3 years now and it is a great opportunity to practice together and be part of a community of like-minded people. Don't worry if you can't sing or if you don't know any chants or mantras - Just come and express yourself and have fun. We're non-judgemental, non-sectarian, and we love to have first-time chanters come to the group. If you know any chants and want to lead one, feel free to jump in and lead.



We will host a short silent meditation at 7:15pm. This is completely optional, but if you want to join, please arrive a few minutes early to settle in.

7:30pm Tea and Snacks (feel free to bring something to share!)
8:00pm Kirtan with Rick & Michael!

Location: Christina's home in Pasadena. For address, phone number, and directions, please email Rick - rickycolella@gmail.com or call 323-273-2850

Kirtan Tonight!! Mindful Music at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Center

For More info about Upcoming Kirtans -

Get on our email list -
Contact Rick at rickycolella@gmail.com
www.kirtanwallah.blogspot.com


Add Rick Chant as your friend on Facebook

Chanting Transliterations/Translations/Lyrics for Tonight's Kirtan at
Against The Stream

http://againstthestream.org/

Date:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time:
7:30pm - 10:00pm
Against The Stream Meditation Society

1001a Colorado Ave.

Santa Monica, CA


Jaya Ganesha
Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha
Om Gum Ganapati Namo Om Gum Ganapti Om
Ganesha Sharanam Sharanam Ganesha




Bhaja Govinda Bhaja Gopala
Kesava Madhava Dina Dayal




Devakinandana Gopala


Rama Raghava
Rama Raghava
Rama Raghava Rakshamam


Krishna Keshava
Krishna Keshava
Krishna Keshava Pahimam







Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Next Kirtan is Friday May 21 in Atwater Village -
Contact Rick for address
rickycolella@gmail.com
323-273-2850

Kirtan Tonight! Mindful Music at Against the Stream in Santa Monica

For More info about Upcoming Kirtans -

Get on our email list -
Contact Rick at rickycolella@gmail.com
www.kirtanwallah.blogspot.com


Add Rick Chant as your friend on Facebook

Chanting Transliterations/Translations/Lyrics for Tonight's Kirtan at
Against The Stream

http://againstthestream.org/

Date:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time:
7:30pm - 10:00pm
Against The Stream Meditation Society

1001a Colorado Ave.

Santa Monica, CA


Jaya Ganesha
Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha
Om Gum Ganapati Namo Om Gum Ganapti Om
Ganesha Sharanam Sharanam Ganesha




Bhaja Govinda Bhaja Gopala
Kesava Madhava Dina Dayal




Devakinandana Gopala


Rama Raghava
Rama Raghava
Rama Raghava Rakshamam


Krishna Keshava
Krishna Keshava
Krishna Keshava Pahimam







Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Next Kirtan is Friday May 21 in Atwater Village -
Contact Rick for address
323-273-2850 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              323-273-2850      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Interviewer: Do you identify with a particular religion?
Obviously Hinduism, but you’ve also studied Ti b e t a n
Buddhism and you were a born-again Christian.

Bhagavan Das: I identify with love, I identify with attention, with consciousness,
with awareness. There’s only one religion, and that’s compassion. I love
Hinduism, I love Buddhism, I love Jesus, I have a lot of connections.
Buddhism is probably the best bet for most people because it’s not a
religion, it’s a science. Science is good, because people don’t have to
believe anything.

Interviewer: Yet you say that the nature of the true self is bliss.

Bhagavan Das: But you see, you have to discover that. It’s not a concept. It’s
like, back off from the drama and just be still. Get up early in the
morning and sit for 15 minutes; just look at what we think is real.
Where is our self? Who is our self? My self changes all the time; I
don’t know who I am. We just flow into whatever the thing is. I
mean, what do you identify with? The yoga thing is good, we all
need something to keep us in a satsang, an association of like-minded
souls. So we go to the center and do yoga and hang out with people
who are working on themselves.

COME TOMORROW AND KEEP YOURSELF IN A SATSANG ----

Mindful Music and Sangha Social at
AGAINST The Stream Buddhist Society

Mindful Music and Sangha Social


Date:
Friday, February 19, 2010
Time:
7:30pm - 10:00pm
Location:
Against The Stream Buddhist Society
Street:
4300 Melrose Ave.
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA




Description:
An evening of sitting meditation to various kinds of music and chanting. Followed by fun food and a sangha social!

Om Mane Padme Hum Chanting with George Haas

Kirtan with Rick Colella (Harmonium and Vocals)

Large Gongs with Andy Sykora

Sommerset Waters - Solo Cello performance

Krishna's description of Bhaktas from the Bhagavatam:


"They do not care for anything. Their hearts are fixed on Me. They are without 'mine-ness'. They have no egoism. They make no distinction between sorrow and happiness. They do not take anything from others. They can bear heat, cold, and pain. They have love for all living beings. They have no enemy. They are serious and possess exemplary character."

Thank You!

Wanted to thank everyone for their participation tonight. What a beautiful group of people!!! Big love to all of you . . .

Here's a little excerpt on KIRTAN from Ram Dass' classic book Be Here Now.

Song, dance, chanting and prayer have been throughout the ages traditional forms of bhakti yoga. At first such rituals are a matter of curiosity, and you are the observer. Then you arrive at the stage of peripheral participation---a "sing along." Then in time you become familiar with the routines and you start to identify with the process. As your identification deepens, other thoughts and evaluations fall away until finally you and the ritual become one. At that point the ritual has become the living process and can take you through the door into perfect unity. To know that these stages exist does not mean you can jump ahead of where you are. Whatever stage you are in, accept it. When you have fully accepted your present degree of participation, only then will you experience the next level.

Singing and music: Most familiar to us is the use of a song to open the heart. Hymns such as Holy, Holy, Holy . . .Amazing Grace---have touched the hearts of millions with the spirit. In India, bhajan (the singing of holy songs) has been until recent times practically the only social function in the villages. Evenings, the men gather, squatting or sitting on the ground in a circle with their chillums (pipes) and a harmonium, a set of tabla (drums), perhaps a serangi or violin (stringed instruments) and cymbals . . . and they take turns singing the stories of the holy beings such as Krishna and Ram. Night after night they participate in this simple pastime, keeping themselves close to the Spirit.

It is often startling to the Westerner to realize that it is not the beauty of the voice but the purity of spirit of the singer that is revered by these people. It was only when music was profaned that it became a vehicle for gratification of the senses. Prior to that, it was a method of communion with the Spirit.

A special form of bhajan is called kirtan . . .which is the repetition in song of the Holy Names of God. Perhaps the most familiar of these in the West at present is:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The melody of kirtan is usually basically simple and it is only after many repetitions that the process of coming into the spirit starts to happen. Singing the same phrases over for two to five hours is not unusual for the true seeker. And you will find as you let yourself into the repetitive rhythm and melody that you experience level after level of opening.

New Chant for Tonight's Kirtan

Rama Raghava

Rama Raghava

Rama Raghava Rakshamam

Krishna Keshava

Krishna Keshava

Krishna Keshava Pahimam

Rama and Krishna are names of Vishnu, the preserver of the entire Universe.

Raghava is another name of Rama. Keshava is another name of Krishna. Rakshamam means: you are my protection. Pahimam means: I offer myself to you.

Quote of the day:

"When Allopathy, Chromopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurvedopathy fail to cure a disease, the Divine Namopathy alone can save you; This medicine of Nama Japa can be taken to cure any disease and administered to all patients."

Swami Sivananda

New Chant from Tonight's Kirtan

Just wanted to post the transliteration from the new chant tonight so those who were interested could have it. Great session. Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Michael for the beautiful percussion.


Shiva Shiva Mahadeva Namah Shivaya Sada Shiva


Durga Durga Maha Maya Namah Durgayei Namoh Namah





Kali Kali Maha Mata Namah Kaliike Namoh Namah

Quotes for Today

"Om is the dawn of Being in the Father, SAT. Om is the Being's Self-Awareness, its awakening to itself in the Son, CHIT. Om in the Third Person is the tremor at the ultimate threshold of sound which is the Spirit in God and in the Universe, ANANDA." Swami Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux, O.S.B.)


". .it's really a process of actually having a realization of God, which all becomes clear with the expanded state of consciousness that develops when you chant. " George Harrison
"The Divine Name is your greatest treasure. It will fill your life with truth, purity, compassion, selflessness, nobility, and tolerance. It will awaken God-Consciousness in you. You will know that this world is permeated with the Divine Presence. This is the easy way to a life in God. Come, friend, waste not your precious time. Repeat the name . . .Live in God. Attain Supreme Blessedness." - Swami Chidananda