“The way I sing, I try to let the mantra do the work…
I simply pay attention to the prayer and repeat it with as much of my being as I can. I don’t try to manipulate emotions, I don’t try to manufacture any kind of feeling at all, it naturally arises. My understanding is that these mantras, these names, come from within us, they come from that place within that is deeper than the mind, deeper than thoughts, deeper than emotions. So, by turning our attention in that direction toward our soul, we move deeply into our true nature.” – Krishna Das
In Trust in the Heart, Krishna Das, who produced this album along with longtime friend Jay Messina, has woven together what is perhaps his most stripped-down, elegantly uncompromising collection of recordings. The carefully crafted simplicity of its delivery is powerful. On this album, all music was recorded in a live studio setting with KD’s leading vocals accompanied by all musicians at once.
It is a return to the roots of kirtan, a collection of prayers and chants that would feel equally at home being sung in a temple as being cranked up on a car stereo on a cross-country sojourn, with melodies that recall both American rock as well as traditional Indian influences.
Why do we chant?
Chanting (Kirtan) is a part of the path of Devotional Yoga.
When we see the beauty of our own being we are seeing the beauty of the Being that is the One of which we are all a part. And when we turn towards that One, love is the natural reaction of the heart.
God or Guru is an endless ocean of love truth and presence. First we may hear the distant roar of the crashing waves of the ocean and we’re drawn to that sound. As we get closer, we can smell the ocean air and taste the sweet moisture. When we reach the beach and see the ocean for the first time, we’re transfixed by the vastness and Beauty. We run and we dive in and enjoy the freedom that comes from this ecstasy. Finally we merge with that ocean of love and somehow find ourselves back on the shore, returning to ourselves so that we can share the experience with others.
Those that have returned have given us these Names of God. These Names are the sound of the surf of that Ocean of Love. They hold the power to help us find our way back to that ocean. We don’t have to create anything; we don’t have to manufacture any emotions or feelings. We can’t make it happen. It already is. All we have to do is Remember. Everyone has their own path to this beach, to the Ocean, but we all wind up in the same place. There is only one…One.
“The words of these chants are called the divine names and they come from a place that’s deeper than our hearts and our thoughts, deeper than the mind. And so as we sing them they turn us towards ourselves, into ourselves. They bring us in, and as we offer ourselves into the experience, the experience changes us. These chants have no meaning other than the experience that we have by doing them. They come from the Hindu tradition, but it’s not about being a Hindu, or believing anything in advance. It’s just about doing it, and experiencing. Nothing to join, you just sit down and sing.”
– Krishna Das
