Most anyone who has stepped into a yoga class recently will have heard the beautiful, rhythmic chanting music playing in the background as we stretch and bend on our mats.  In many of those chants, or kirtans, artists such as Krishna Das, or Deva Premal, or Wah! sing the many names of God — Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Saraswati — with sweetness and devotion.  And most of us go about our physical practices without a thought as to the origin or meaning of that beautiful music.

I have attended a few kirtan events, and found myself swept into the beauty and purity of the music, without knowing much about the content or context of the practice. Like most Westerners, I know very little about kirtans, or the larger tradition of bhakti yoga, of which they are a part.  Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, is a very ancient practice, and has not yet taken root among Westerners as strongly as hatha yoga (the physical practice of the yoga asanas).  The idea of devotion — to a god or gods — does not necessarily come easily to us.

The Bhakti Collective website provides a wonderful resource for anyone interested in learning more about the history, practice and philosophy of bhakti yoga.  My attention was drawn to the site the other day, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in bhakti, or delving deeper into yoga philosophy in general.  There are some wonderful articles, including a critique of Yoga Journal’s recent article on bhakti, as well as information about kirtan books and CD’s, and photography of devotional sites in India.  It is definitely a site worth exploring.