Maha Kirtan

An awesome poster! Please note the address - it's not at the temple this time, but rather at the Graceville State School Hall.

Maha Kirtan 3 - featuring Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits and the Mayapuris!
Brisbane, Australia

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Sri Harinam Sankirtan yajña ki jay!

First of all, please let me thank you for your contribution and participation in Maha Kirtan 2. It was another ecstatic festival of the Holy Name that built on the foundation established by Yastele prabhu.

After the resounding success of Maha Kirtan 2, it gives me great pleasure to announce Maha Kirtan 3!

Maha Kirtan 3 is on Saturday October 24; it will be held in the Graceville State School Hall; and it will feature the participation of Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits and the Mayapuris!

We are holding the festival in the hall to allow more people to participate in the kirtan - last time many people couldn't get into the temple room; and also to allow devotees to dance throughout the kirtan, as requested!

I think that you are looking forward to participating in this ecstatic kirtan as much as I am right now; and I am writing this to ask you for your active participation and contribution. Now here is the important part:

Back in July, when I first pitched the Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits + Mayapuris tour, I included the following point:

Having these dedicated kirtan artists here will galvanise devotees locally by showing them what is possible. Their personal example is already inspiring kirtans and kirtan groups. Having them here, personally present, and interacting with local kirtan artists will help to spark fires that will blaze across the country over the next few years.

What we want to do with Maha Kirtan 3 with Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits and the Mayapuris, is have *kirtan groups* leading, rather than individual kirtaniyas. We would like devotees to form groups and practice together throughout this next month. This is going to have several benefits:

• we will form and deepen relationships around kirtan
• we will improve our kirtan together
• we will create more momentum around kirtan
• we will be on a "kirtan marathon" in the month leading up the event
• on the day the ecstasy will be even greater!

We will organise the day so that there are 30, 45, and 60 minute slots available for groups. Gaura Vani and the Mayapuris will have two hours at the end of the day for their set.

It is not that only the people in each group will be there doing kirtan during their set. They will be supported by every one else, but we will all be following them. The idea is not to create divisions, but to bring people together even more strongly. In the kirtan it will not simply be one person leading, but a group leading. This will make the kirtan stronger and thicker.

Forming a Kirtan Group

You may already know a bunch of devotees that you can get together with to form a kirtan group. If you do, then great! Get together, come up with a name, and let Krishnapada (email: krishnapada@hotmail.com) know so that he can put you on the schedule.

If you don't, or you don't have enough devotees for a complete group, then get in touch with Krishnapada and he can put you in touch with others who want to join/form a group or put you in touch with an existing group.

You don't have to be a musician. If you can already do something in kirtan - play cartals, play mrdanga, harmonium, any other instrument, sing, or *even just clap*, then all you need to do is more kirtan together with the same people. It's not a band, it's a kirtan party!

Don't get too hung up on who is going to sing if you have multiple singers. Constraints are a great source of creativity. If you have a bunch of capable singers, you can come up with interesting arrangements - changing singers part-way through, having different singers lead the different parts of the melody, having different singers sing together - the possibilities to apply your creativity are endless.

And remember: it's not (just) about you! It's about serving the Holy Name. To a degree we get to express our individuality and ability in the kirtan, but at the end of the day we are simply the setting in the background, and the Holy Name is the shining jewel.

We discover ourselves by losing ourselves in the kirtan. We are the servants of the Holy Name!

Practice makes Perfect

Once you find/form a group, it's time to practice. Repetition is the key to success. The more time you spend doing kirtan together the more your unique sound will start to gel. Give your time to it, because wherever your time is going, that is where your heart is. When it comes to kirtan, more is definitely better! Get together at least once a week, and stay in touch between kirtans. Record things and practice things and come up with new ideas - make the kirtan a focus in your life for the next month.

If you can, organise a small kirtan evening before then, either inviting around some friends for an evening of kirtan, or by leading a Saturday night kirtan at the temple. This will give you confidence and help to iron out potential problems before Maha Kirtan 3.

Dealing with Discouragement

Don't get discouraged if you find forming a kirtan group challenging - that's part of the process! Any group endeavour requires us to become humble and tolerant to make it work. And it's that increase in humility and tolerance that makes the kirtan even more powerful!

Trnad api sunicena, taror iva sahisnuna
amanena manadena kirtaniya sada harih

One should be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerance than a tree. In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name constantly.

- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Just as stones become polished and smooth by rubbing against each other, by sticking together and working through our differences, by having a shared commitment to a higher cause, we become perfected.

This is the wonderful gift given to us by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada. Let us take advantage of it and flood this world with the chanting of:

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

Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam!
Sitapati das

Remember: To register your kirtan group, or to join one, contact Krishnapada (krishnapada@hotmail.com)

Final highlights reel, via Krishnapada.

7 hours, 18 kirtaniyas. Here are the first six.

Props to Sri Goloka for shooting this, and Krishnapada for the editing.

We had a parallel program for children during yesterday's Maha Kirtan.

Organisation and execution was headed by Tulasi devi dasi, Krishnapada's wife.

It started at 1pm with an outdoor picnic for the kids. At this point there were not so many. However, those who were there had something to eat, and their parents could attend the kirtan from the beginning.

In December 2006 I visited my mother back in Auckland, New Zealand. Prahlad and I went to church with her on Sunday morning. After the worship (singing) part of the service, all the kids went to Sunday School. I took Prahlad there, and observed that the first thing they did was give the kids a biscuit and something to drink. It ensures that you don't have to deal with empty stomachs and disturbed minds. If they are not hungry, they won't eat. If they are hungry, you'll be glad they ate...

Mother Tulasi and helpers. Bhakticandrika and Caru Mukhi did face painting for the children through the afternoon.

The children did a different activity every 30 minutes. One of the activities was "cooking" - mixing up the ingredients for muffins (which were then taken away and baked) and decorating some cookies. The baked muffins were then offered and returned for another prasadam slot later in the afternoon.

There was a balance between indoor, sedentary activities, such as this art and craft session; and outdoor activities. Variety stimulates interest.

In this shot local Tae Kwon Do instructor Jaya Vijaya gives a 30 minute self defense lesson to the kids. A former Australian Tae Kwon Do champion, Jaya Vijaya's Hanuman Self Defense school is covered in a feature article in the current issue of "Back to Godhead" magazine (Do or Die with Jaya Vijaya).

The kids also had a singing / music workshop with local pandit Diwakar; a treasure hunt; and races (sack race, three-legged race, potato and spoon race)

At various times the children joined the kirtan party for 20 minutes. Whether you're leading the kirtan, giving a class, or organising a kids program - the principle is the same: "Always leave 'em wanting more". Generally speaking, it's better to give measured small doses that inspire and increase enthusiasm than to put out a flame by pouring a whole bucket on it at once.

Bhakticandrika designed this certificate, and each child was given a certificate for attendance. The blank space is for placing stickers and stamps that they get for each activity. The idea is to make the experience as memorable and engaging as possible.

Just as facilitating the sound experience requires advance planning and preparation, to run an effective engaging kids program requires advance planning and coordinated effort:

Preparation for this program began two weeks beforehand, and many hours (and dollars) were spent in the days leading up to, and on the day itself, to prepare environments and experiences.

The more effort you put into preparation, the better able you are to facilitate an engaging experience transparently.

There are many great photos of the maha kirtan too. I'll do another post later, highlighting the different kirtans that took place on the day.

The photos above (with the blurry exception of the one of Jaya Vijaya, taken with my cellphone camera) were taken by Krishnapada and Ananta Vrndavan, and are hosted in their facebook accounts.

Here are some mp3s from the weekend:

• Surfers Paradise - 12 Sep 09 - Sitapati.mp3
• Surfers Paradise - 12 Sep 09 - Bachhu 1.mp3
• Surfers Paradise - 12 Sep 09 - Bachhu 2.mp3
• Surfers Paradise - 12 Sep 09 - Bacchu 3 Vrajadhama.mp3
• Maha Kirtan 2 Part 1.mp3 (Ruchira; Lila Kirtan; Prema Yogi; Varsana Radhe; Janna; Radha Kanta; Maha-mantra)
• Maha Kirtan 2 Part 2.mp3 (Maha-mantra; Prema Vati; Tina Hirani; Bachhu)
• Maha Kirtan 2 Part 3.mp3(Bachhu; Vrajadhama; Janardana; Rasika Seva; Krishnapada)

These mp3s are all recorded from the live stream that was played on Kirtan Radio.

We're working on making a CD-quality listening experience for you for the 24 hour kirtan in Melbourne on Oct 31 - Nov 1.

Bachhu Krishna Shrestha

Tina Hirani

Maha Kirtan ki jay!

The photos above were taken by Ananta Vrndavan. There are a bunch of good photos from both events. I'll post a selection later.

Maha Kirtan 2

This Sunday 13th September from 1 pm the second Maha Kirtan festival is being held at the Brisbane Temple, 95 Bank Rd Graceville. This program marks the end of World Holy Name Week, celebrated by devotees gathering to chant the Holy Names in cities all around the world. There will be kirtan all afternoon until Gaura Arati, with a roster of kirtaniyas including special guests from Byron Bay and as far away as Sydney.

There will also be a presentation about Kulimela 2010, which will be held in Australia in December of next year.

The feast afterwards will be cooked by Murari Caitanya Prabhu.

Please come as early as you can and stay as long as you can, to lend support to the singers, and to immerse yourself in the ocean of the nectar of chanting of the Holy Name.

If you live outside of Brisbane or can't make it to the temple on this day, you will be able to listen to the kirtan live at http://www.worldsankirtan.net:8000/kirtanradio.m3u

Maha Kirtan for Kids

For children, we have prepared a parallel program, to give the children positive supervised engagement and to allow parents to participate in the kirtan knowing that their child is happily and safely engaged.

The day begins with a picnic lunch for the children at 1pm, and continues until 7pm with craft activities, story telling, games, a cooking class, a singing workshop with Diwakar, martial arts with Jaya Vijaya and many other wonderful pastimes and experiences for the kids.

We have a team of devotees organising and staffing this program, headed by Tulasi devi dasi, who want to make the Maha Kirtan festivals memorable, pleasurable, and Krishna Conscious for the children of the community.

The cost for the day, including prasadam, craft supplies and a certificate with a sticker for each activity is $10 for one child. To help us with planning we need you to RSVP your child's attendance to Tulasi at tulasidevidasi108@hotmail.com. If you have more than one child or cannot afford $10, please contact her. We would like all children present on the day to take part in the program, so that no-one feels left out.

Please come to the festival and take part in an ecstatic day for all!

The final schedule should be available tomorrow. The event runs from 1pm - 8pm, and includes all the local favorites, as well as special guests kirtan brothers Bikram and Bacchu Srestha and Tina Hirani from Sydney, and Lila Kirtan from Byron Bay. Kalindi from the Gold Coast will also be there to talk about Kuli Mela Australia 2010.

The next Maha Kirtan at the Brisbane temple will be accompanied by a parallel program for kids, called "Maha Kirtan for kids".

I was telling Param Satya about the Maha Kirtan schedule and she said to me that she would be better off staying at home doing something, because otherwise Prahlad will just be running around the whole day, and she will have to keep an eye on him, so either way there will be no Maha Kirtan for her.

So I started thinking about the situation. Here is the program that we are doing:

• A parallel program to the Maha Kirtan specifically for the kids.
• It is run in shifts by different people, who engage the kids in different activities.
• There is always a rostered supervisor making sure that the program runs properly, as well as the helpers who are doing different things (so we need someone with the overall vision there the whole time).
• There is enough variety in the program to keep the kids engaged for the whole day.
• There are snack times so the kids don't get hungry.
• There is a certificate for each kid for attendance on the day
• There are different stickers that are awarded for different activities. By completing the activities the kids are awarded stickers, which go on their certificate.
• At different times the activity can be to participate in the kirtan for 10 - 20 minutes. Stickers can be awarded for singing in one kirtan, for clapping and singing in another kirtan, and for dancing in a third one.
• There is be a story time.
• There is a kids' kirtan.
• There is some sloka memorization.
• There are running around activities outside periodically (treasure hunt, etc).

Having the stickers adds achievement and competition to the whole thing, which will help to keep them engaged. If we make optional streams, for example by having several periods where the kids can choose from a variety craft activities to complete from a pool of different ones, then it won't be possible to rank them according to the stickers, because each one will be unique.

Basically we make it an awesome, memorable event for the kids, and treat it like a highly organized birthday party / play center.

Parents who put their children in the program can then participate in the kirtan when they are not rostered on for the program. So in other words, for rostering on and helping out for an hour or two with the kids program you get to have your child engaged in a Krishna Consciousness way the whole day, and you can participate in the kirtan for the rest of the time.

People who come with children but were not contacted to be rostered on can put their kids in anyway, because we don't want any kids roaming about - they will distract the others.