New Vrindaban’s 8th Annual 24 Hour Kirtan A Transcendental Success
New Vrindaban’s 8th Annual 24 Hour Kirtan
By Lilasuka dasi
It was only the third hour into the 8th annual summer 24 hour kirtan in N.V., on Saturday June 21, 2014, when the kid kirtaniyers jumped right in. Well “trained up” by their parents, each of the mostly third generation children took their turn expertly leading their few minutes of kirtan, and the crowd eagerly showed their appreciation and amazement with exuberant cheers.
Just a couple of hours after that, some of New Vrindaban’s own finest guitar and harmonium players lead their sweet kirtans, with soft flute accompaniment.
Bhaktilata leads evening kirtan.
The participants had a lot to say about the different moods and tunes of the day and night:
A visitor remarked: “The energy from the different kirtan leaders really drives each special kirtan and makes it all very inspiring.”
With a faraway look in her eye, one young lady said, “Bhakti Caru Swami’s purity shines through in his slow and melodious kirtan, and uplifts me.”
One New Vrindaban resident surprised herself: “Although I absolutely love the 24 hour kirtans, I usually can’t stay up very late, but, for some reason, this time I was able to stay a lot longer. And then, even when I got home, I just turned the radio to 88.0, the local NV channel, and basically listened to the kirtan all night.”
Manu, one of the main organizers of the 24 hour kirtan schedule, commented, “24 hour kirtan – very engaging and inspiring. I’ve been doing administrative, organizational work most of the time this weekend. But at 2 a.m. Saturday morning, I was able to sit and just be in the kirtan. Just at the time when you think you have nothing left to give, the holy name engages you. It’s not about the musicality or the crowd, but the power of the holy name.”
Lakshman prabhu, a cook at the restaurant exclaimed: “The first meal on Saturday, we cooked for 250 but there were more than 500 people who came – quite a bit more than we thought. That’s a good challenge to face!”
One visitor, who sat mostly in one spot for much of the 24 hours, often chanting with closed eyes, and who had a hard time putting his intense kirtan experience into words, did finally comment, “What’s so special about this kirtan is the atmosphere of this big, beautiful Radha Vrindaban Chandra temple.”
Agnideva das gets the crowd dancing.
Ganga das from Florida agreed with that and added, “Any association of devotees is amazing, and this is one of the best occasions for association available. It’s like charging your batteries, especially when you live outside a temple like I do. This association is so important. And everyone chanting together creates a very special energy.”
Gita dasi was there with her husband, Dhruva from Alachua. Gita’s favorite part of the kirtan was letting her baby dance in the kirtan. Also, her favorite singers were singing from midnite to 2 a.m., and although she was tired and couldn’t imagine staying up another minute, the enchanting, soft singing of the early morning kirtaniyers filled her soul with spiritual energy.
A couple from the city of Cincinnati, Ohio offered this comment: “When we come here from our small home town temple, I love taking this wonderful energy home with me, and it stays with me for a long time.”
Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra love to hear Their devotees chanting.
