SARF is deeply honored to welcome The Bhakti Center Kirtan Wallahs for monthly devotional Kirtans.
Once a month, on Tuesday evenings, we will gather to practice the art of devotional chanting. This event is offered by donation. We highly encourage you to make your donation online to reserve your spot.
Kirtan is a form of devotional chanting whose roots go back over 500 years to India. It is a form of Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion) and has the power to open the heart. The singing is accompanied by musical instruments and rhythmic drumming and the audience is encouraged to participate by chanting, clapping and dancing!
Doors open at 7:15
ABOUT THE BHAKTI CENTER KIRTAN WALLAS:
With the intention to bring the practice of Kirtan to more yoga studios and dedicated sacred spaces throughout Brooklyn, The Bhakti Center Kirtan Wallas came to life and light! They act in service as an extension of the beloved Bhakti Center in the East Village of Manhattan.
The group is made up of devotional singers, artists, yogis and musicians who are dedicated to spreading the light, love and teachings of Kirtan as a service to humanity on the path of light consciousness and community healing.
Jaya Jagannath Das
After 13 years of intense study and yoga discipline within the monasteries of the Krishna Bhakti tradition, Jaya Jagannath (Jaya) has recently left the quietism of monasticism to share the timeless wisdom, scholarship, and relevance of the tradition's sacred text (śastra) through song, seminars/webinars, workshops, and regular philosophy classes. Regularly traveling to South America, Russia, and India for promulgating the nimbus of śastra, he has landed in New York City's Bhakti Center as a leader in the educational department, responsible for creating and teaching literature such as Yoga-Sutra, Bhagavad-Gita, and other sacred text part of the Vedic canon. He's also a very familiar face and voice for the Bhakti Centers weekly kirtan extravaganza.
Kevin Tobar Pesántez
Kevin started his spiritual journey 8 years ago in India, where he lived for a year, studying Vedanta and yoga philosophy in various ashrams. There, he became associated with the Krishna Bhakti tradition for the first time. Throughout the years Kevin has become a yoga teacher and social worker and has worked to spread wellness and self-empowerment both in the US and abroad. After many years of travelling he found himself at New York City's Bhakti Center where he has been able to refine his love of Bhakti Yoga and become a leader doing outreach, responsible for co-creating a team of Kirtan Wallahs (kirtan leaders) and engaging with other yoga centers. Kevin works in the Lower East Side doing social work and he teaches yoga around the city with a strong emphasis on sacred text (śastra) and mantra.
Kishor Gopal Das
Kishor grew up in Alachua, Florida, where he was surrounded by kirtan from a very young age. At age 11 he started learning mridanga (clay drum). At age 18 he traveled to Vrindavan, India where he stayed for 4 months and deeply absorbed himself into the practice of kirtan. His experience in India inspired him to later return for a full year and continue his kirtan training. Kishor now lives in NYC and does kirtan for the Bhakti Center and surrounding yoga studios and spiritual centers.