Kiirtan in the Light of Modern Physics By Acarya Cidananda Avadhuta

Kiirtan in the Light of Modern Physics
By Acarya Cidananda Avadhuta

According to physics, the world around us is made of vibrating molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles. These consist of particles that interact with one another by creating and destroying other particles . This cosmic dance of rhythmic energy, of birth, life and death, is' the fundamental stuff of the universe.

This concept is the science of quantum physics. It was developed by Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in the first half of the twentieth century. It recognizes that the world is not a collection of separate objects but is a web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole. This reality is now called the theory of wave mechanics.

According to this theory, the whole universe is an ocean of waves and every physical being is but a ripple of waves or a bundle of waves. Though modern physics only accepted this recently, the ancient tantric yogis of India discovered this truth thousands of years ago and understood it in more detail.

It is not well known that quantum physics owes some debt to Tantric spirituality. In 1929, Heisenberg spent some time in India as the guest of the famous poet, Rabindranath Tagore. Together they had long conversations about science and Indian philosophy. Heisenberg later told Fritjof Capra, "This introduction to Indian spirituality brought me great comfort. It had previously been so difficult for me and my fellow physicists to accept that relativity, interconnectedness, and impermanence could be fundamental aspects of physical reality. There I learned that these were the very basis of the Indian spiritual traditions. After these conversations with Tagore, some of the ideas that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense. That was a great help for me."

Science and spirituality are not contradictory, rather they enhance each other. As physics develops, it will discover that the theories of tantra yoga are in harmony with science and eventually they can be verified by laboratory tests.

There are 64 ancient texts of India called the Tantra Shastra. In those scriptures is a clear explanation of six dimensional sadhana (spiritual practice). It includes instructions how a spiritual aspirant who is adept in this six-dimensional sadhana can disintegrate his body at will and reintegrate-his body at another place. This extraordinary phenomenon has a logical basis in the wave mechanics of quantum physics.

Everything is composed of waves, and every object also emanates waves. Your hand, your face and every part of your body emanate both physical and psychic waves. Every being is a bundle of vibrations with greater or lesser intensity and density. The subtle momenta or motive force behind all these waves is being acquired and stored in your mind.

Everything in this universe is in motion. Every subatomic particle is constantly moving. In a similar way, an ant moves on the back of an elephant, which also moves. The elephant is on the earth that moves in the solar system, and our solar system moves in our galaxy which is moving through the universe.

Every wave is in motion. Every wave acts and reacts with other waves, with subatomic particles constantly being destroyed and created as a result. So the resultant overall vibration of a person depends on the extroversial or introversial flow of his or her individual waves. In the unit mind there are three forces at work: the sentient, the mutative and the static. The extroversial or introversial flow of the waves of a person imbibes him or her with a predominance of one of these three qualitative forces. From this one can recognize a person as noble or selfish.

In a more lucid way, both the smell of delicious food and the sight of an elephant will affect you. Their effects will vary according to their vibration and according to the state of your mind . But whether you like them or not, the waves will affect you. Today's world is full of a multitude of vibrations coming from multifarious momenta. The action and reaction of these waves on you make your mind restless. These waves make it difficult to think properly or to concentrate.

Every human being has a physical body, a mind and spiritual potential. Singing and dancing kiirtan with the universal mantra, Baba Nam Kevalam is a physico-psycho-spiritual practice, because it benefits all three of these aspects within you.

Kiirtan (chanting mantras) transmutes mental flow to spiritual flow. It supercharges the environment around you, entering all the poles of your body. When one sings kiirtan, a divine vibration is produced that prepares the mind and the body for meditation. Different impressions of the mind are gradually transmuted towards Supreme Subtlety.

Kiirtan also transforms. It changes the shape, size, mass and the properties of the objects that it encounters. Kiirtan creates an electromagnetic field. Like a powerful magnet, it changes the property of the brain cells, so crude energy is transformed into subtle energy. Wherever the eyes look during kiirtan, one sees only God. The Baba Nam Kevalam mantra supercharges the air that we smell and the earth that our toes touch. The rhythm of kiirtan is the divine rhythm of the universe. Those who practice kiirtan internalize this universal rhythm through all their sense organs. This universal rhythm does not erase crude ideas, but it diverts their flow. If done sincerely, kiirtan is a strong diversion of crude thoughts. It purifies the mind and aids meditation.

Do not suppress negative thoughts that come in the mind. Instead, try to channelize them towards God by singing kiirtan. If you find that your mind is fighting these negative thoughts and your meditation is not to your satisfaction, think: "Everything happens for the best. Whatever good or bad is in me, it is Yours."

There is an incident that took place in Bengal a few hundred years ago that shows the power of devotional kiirtan to transmute crude mental waves into subtle, sentient waves. Caetanya Mahaprabhu introduced kiirtan as a popular spiritual movement to overcome religious dogmas. He encountered jealous opposition from both fanatic Muslim leaders and fanatic Hindus. Haridas was a devoted follower of this movement. Then he was living alone in a small ashram in Nadia district. To discredit him, some religious leaders plotted to destroy his character and reputation. They paid a prostitute to go to his ashram every day and try to seduce him.

As Haridas was a devotee, he received divine intuition of some approaching danger, so he decided to sing kiirtan continuously (Akhanda Kiirtan) from when he awoke for 21 days until he slept.

Most yogis have a weakness for food, so each morning the prostitute prepared very delicious food and left it for him at the entrance of his ashram. Then she waited patiently for him to eat it and speak to her. But for three weeks he never touched any of the food she brought and he never spoke. He only sang kiirtan.

Finally after the 21 days were over, Haridas greeted the woman with Namaskar and asked if be could do anything for her. Then she confessed everything that she had done and planned. But she said that while she waited each day with her evil purpose, the sound of the kiirtan totally changed her mind. Now she only wanted to repent and to become a devotee of God. So Haridas encouraged her to reform her life and invited her to take charge of that ashram and sing kiirtan everyday. Then he left that place to continue his work inspiring the masses to sing kiirtan. She became a saint and became well-known for her devotion and humility.

For all the scientific reasons mentioned above, kiirtan is a panacea for all kinds of physical and mental diseases. One additional reason that it acts as a universal remedy is that it attracts the grace of the Supreme Consciousness because it is an expression of devotional love. Divine grace can accomplish miracles and overcome every obstacle.

Acarya Cidananda Avadhuta is a senior teacher of Ananda Marga Yoga. The quotation of Werner Heisenberg is taken from the book: Capra, Fritjof. Uncommon Wisdom: Conversations with Remarkable People. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1988, p. 43.

LALITA MÁRMIKA was invented by Párvatii, the spouse of Sadashiva. Like Tandava it is 7000 years old.
But LALITA MÁRMIKA is totally different from the other two dances. It is purely a devotional dance. Its gentle swaying movements produce soft, sweet feelings in the mind. It helps very much in expanding the mind and freeing it from all negative feelings such as depression, hopelessness, pride, stress and worry. The dance of LALITA MÁRMIKA expresses happiness, joy and surrender. It is the best aid for spiritual meditation.
The Dance Step:
In LALITA MÁRMIKA the arms are raised 90( from the shoulders, palms turned upwards. The stepping is a gentle swaying motion from side to side. The right big toe is placed behind the left heel as the left knee is slightly bent forward. Repeat the motion on the other side.
As in the other two dances, the Lalita Marmika is accompanied by the universal mantra, BA´BA´ NA´M KEVALAM.
The combination of LALITA MÁRMIKA with the chanting of BA´BA´ NA´M KEVALAM is called, “Kiirtan”. Kiirtan means, “to sing and hear the name of the Supreme”. It is recommended to perform LALITA MÁRMIKA for at least ten minutes before meditation.
Benefits of LALITA MÁRMIKA:
* Loosens the joints of the knees and ankles preparing one for meditation posture.
* Excellent panacea for heart trouble, hypertension and high blood pressure.
* Stimulates the pineal gland to awaken higher consciousness.
* Arouses latent feelings of devotion and love for all the Creation.
* Induces feelings of surrender to the Supreme Will.
* Produces soft feelings of compassion, tenderness and kindness in the mind.
* Awakens all higher and subtler mental faculties.
* Prepares the mind for deep, concentrated meditation.
* Removes negative vibrations in the local environment.
The Different Types of Kiirtan:
There are several other types of Kiirtan that can be done along with the LALITA MÁRMIKA dance. They can be done according to the circumstances.
1. Akhanda Kiirtan: is a Kiirtan performed for a minimum of three hours. It is performed on special occasions but it may be done at any time. Akhanda means “endless”, hence this Kiirtan is a long dance that must be done in any multiple of three: 3 hours, 6 hours, 9 hours, etc. It is of course easier to do Akhanda Kiirtan when there are many people divided into different groups. It is not uncommon to hold a 24 hour Kiirtan on some special event.
2. Avarta Kiirtan: is Kiirtan that is done facing 6 different directions. Each time that we change direction we change the melody of the Kiirtan. The 6 directions are: North, East, South, West, Up, Down. By singing Kiirtan in 6 directions we vibrate all the directions with the blissful sound of BA´BA´ NA´M KEVALAM.
3. Nagar Kiirtan: Nagar means “city”. This is a public display of Kiirtan performed through the streets of a city or town. Again this is done on rare occasions either to introduce the idea of Kiirtan to the public or to celebrate some special occasion.

Inner eMotions - What is kiirtan?

Another uplifting spiritual practice is kiirtan.

Kiirtan is chanting or singing mantras, and can be done before meditation. Not essential but certainly makes the mind easier attuned for meditation. There is a universal mantra that has a deep spiritual meaning: Baba Nam Kevalam. Baba in Sanskrit means " my most beloved one", nam means "name" and kevalam means "only" - "Only the name of my most Beloved One". The idea being that you feel for yourself the inner significance. So, the ideation of this mantra is: "Everywhere I look, in everything I feel, hear, taste, smell and see, I perceive that one Supreme Consciousness which pervades all things". In general, we can say that Baba Nam Kevalam means "Infinite Love is all there is".

Kiirtan has many benefits. It prepares the mind for meditation by focusing body and mind in cosmic thought. Disturbing thoughts disperse, and peaceful feelings arise from within. Because the mind clears, one can find solutions to problems easily after finishing kiirtan. And when many people sing and dance kiirtan together, a strong spiritual force is created which can prevent and remove afflictions, calamities and miseries.

Kiirtan is usually accompanied by Lalita Marmika, a simple and ancient dance done with upraised arms and a gently swaying motion of the body. The movements of the dance open the heart and create a feeling of surrender and joy.

The kiirtan dance is easy to perform. Important points to note as follows.

Arms are held out above the horizontal level of the heart, with palms upward. This represents surrender to the Cosmic Consciousness. The hands should not go below the level of the elbows. If the hands are not up in the air, then they are kept clasped or cupped at chest level or may be used for clapping or playing instruments, particularly percussion instruments such as small drums, cymbals, triangles, bells, maracas and the like.

The feet should move alternately, placing the ball of one foot near or behind the heel of the other foot. The step is 1-2-3. That is, begin to raise the toes on the first foot (1) to start, move that foot behind the heel of the other foot (2), and bend the supporting knees (3) of both feet slightly; then as you move the first foot back to its original position (1 or 4), start 1-2-3-etc on the other side of the body.

Everyone should keep step together. When done in akhanda kiirtan (ie kiirtan in a circular movement) this creates a nice swaying flow as the dancers mover counter clockwise in a circle. When done in straight lines it creates a sense of harmony of movement.

When danced in circular fashion, mostly on special occasions, festivals or retreats, the movement will be counter clockwise. See attached photos.

Kiirtan can be done solo, and is particularly beneficial before meditation. 5 minutes kiirtan will be sufficient to lighten the mind and to create a calm, cool effect ideal for meditation.

Dharmadeva