The Birth of Kirtan: The Life & Teachings of Chaitanya

A+++!!!

Love it. Couldn't put it down. Author's love for the subject matter transfers to us through his writing.

This is a condensed biography of the bhakti saint/mystic Shri Chaitanya. In Journey to Gorakhpur: An Encounter with Christ Beyond Christianity,about Shri Chaitanya, Christian theologian John Moffitt writes,"Of all the saints in recorded history, East or West, he [Sri Chaitanya] seems to me the supreme example of a soul carried away on a tide of ecstatic love of God. . . . His life in the holy town of Puri is the story of a man in a state of almost continuous spiritual intoxication. Illuminating discourses, deep contemplation, moods of loving communion with God, were daily occurrences."The biographies of Shri Chaitanya have largely been obscure from Western audiences until the full biography Shri Chaitanya-caritamrita by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was translated into English by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1974 in seventeen large volumes. The bhakti tradition deems this biography authoritative. Few have the stamina to read seventeen books, so this addition by Ranchor Prime's, which appears to be based on the original biography, is an important offering to the west.While kirtan was not completely unknown prior to Shri Chaitanya, it was this astounding personality who took kirtan to the streets as an act of civil disobedience with thousands following him. And his Krishna kirtan revealed the mood practitioners are to adopt if they wish to experience the transcendent realm.Through extensive references to sruti and smriti and harmonizing the complex teachings therein, his followers established that krishna-kirtan is(A) an efficacious, easy way of realizing the self and the Supreme(B) the primary method for self realization in Kali Yuga (the current cosmic season) mentioned by all Vedanta(C) and that the practice of kirtan is a core limb of the bhakti path.Other yogas have their specific limbs for achieving their goal: not all processes are the same or offer the same potentialities. For instance, Jnana Yoga's limbs are renunciation, celibacy, and study of scripture. Ashtanga Yoga's limbs are yama, niyama, asana, etc. Neither Jnana, Karma, or Ashtanga mention kirtan or employ it in their practice.We're becoming more familiar with the word kirtan, the call and response signing that has become popular in yoga circles. For those unaware of kirtan's origins, the kirtan of Shri Chaitanya, or the ideal of bhakti [yoga] this is a must read.This volume has reproduced forty color paintings of Shri Chaitanya's life recently discovered in Bengal. This makes the book especially attractive. Notably lacking though, is an index and a glossary. This is an unfortunate oversight to an otherwise important book.

There is something disturbing about a book that in its very title seems to suggest kirtan was started by Lord Chaitanya, completely ignoring the countless saints who were famed for kirtan and came hundreds of years before him like Namdev and likely sankirtan founder Taḷḷapāka Annamācārya. Not a huge surprise to see Radhanath Swami and Ranchor Prime pushing a sectarian storyline masquerading as Hindu fact. While both are very talented and uplifting authors, it should be warned that A: both are followers and influencial figures in the Hare Krishna movement and devotees of Sri Prabhupada B: the Hare Krishna movement (aka: Gaudiya Math) does not officially consider itself Hindu (see Hinduism Today about that). It also uses highly altered timelines and often repeated misinformation to play up the importance of its own Parampara (lineage). There should be no harm in reading this book, but I wish the Krishna movement was upfront about its involvement in these kinds of things. Again, KIRTAN WAS NOT STARTED BY CHAITANYA. Tradition says it was founded by Narada, and there is a slew of famous kirtan singers born before Chaitanya. If you're a Bengali Vaishnav you will probably love this book and its stories of Chaitanya, but if you want even handed academic information about the amazing sankirtana movement (including its majority history outside of a small devotional group of Krishna worshippers), then beware of these gopis and their tales.

Excellent book! I read it because it was highly recommended by a friend, and I didn't expect to fall in love with it as I did. The book tells the wonderful life story of Caitanya who established kirtan as the most practical spiritual practice for this modern age about 5 centuries ago. It is a very joyful and inspiring read.I highly recommend this book!