On the road again (with Amala Kirtan)

Mercifully I was sitting in the 24 hour kirtan in Canberra when news of Aindra Acarya's death reached me. Two of my godsisters in South America sent me the news via internets, which I was monitoring for feedback on the live stream of the kirtan.

The first question I asked when I heard, was: "What is the pramana (evidence)?" Carana Renu, my godsister in Brazil, forwarded me an email from a PAMHO mailing list.

I told Krishnapada after the first report that this news was out there, but that I was awaiting confirmation, and when Sati devi from Peru sent me an email announcement from ISKCON Desire Tree I informed Amala Kirtan. Then devotees passed my iPhone with the news around while the kirtan continued.

After 15 minutes Amala Kirtan's turn came on the roster, and we took a brief break to announce the news of the end of Aindra's manifest pastimes. Amala then lead a tribute to Aindra kirtan, which became our meditation for the remaining 20 or so hours of the kirtan.

I had planned to go home and sleep during the night, as we have a week or traveling and late nights doing kirtan ahead of us, and I just got back from an intense world trip, but after this news I couldn't go. I slept for a few hours in the temple lobby, where I could still hear the kirtan. Our time is limited, and we should never leave the kirtan of the devotees.

We are now traveling on the tour with the above picture of this modern-day incarnation of the sakti of Haridas Thakur.

Amala Kirtan sings after the news of Aindra's death reaches us

Kirtan is ever blissful, renders eternal benefit, and is our only shelter in this world

Once again, devotees from all the major centres of Australia gathered in Canberra to do kirtan together

Aindra has influenced an entire generation of kirtaniyas and contributed not only a distinctive style of kirtan, but also a culture of kirtan, inspired by his quarter century-long non-stop 24 hour kirtan

Kirtan means the glorification of the Supreme. Sankirtan means the congregational glorification of the Supreme. Kirtan is the great unifier

Let this glorification go on eternally in this world and may we always be part of it, wherever we may be