Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Chant Master

“San Diego holds a very special place in my heart,” says Bhakti Yoga devotee Krishna Das, called “the Chant Master of American Yoga” by the New York Times. “I’ve sung at the Seaside Church in Encinitas for the last ten years or so and love the area, especially the enthusiastic local chanters.”

The practice of kirtan — chanting the names of God — is at the heart of Bhakti Yoga, which means “union with God through devotional practice.” “It’s a way of getting in touch with yourself,” says Krishna Das, “of opening the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts. It opens the inner eye residing in the heart and cleans the mirror of the heart, so it may reflect with clarity and purity the truth within.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

After traveling to India in the late ’60s to study with Maharaj-ji, Krishna became an appointed pujari (priest) for the Durga temple in Maharaj-ji’s ashram, in the Himalayan foothills.

“At what would turn out to be my last darshan of Maharaj-ji’s physical body [1973], I was petrified with fear about returning to the U.S. after so many years. I hadn’t worn a pair of jeans or shoes for such a long time that I couldn’t imagine what it would be like. All of a sudden, I blurted out in anguish, ‘Maharaj-ji! How can I serve you in America?’

“The words came to me: ‘I will sing to you in America.’ ” Krishna has released several CDs mixing Far East and Near Western sounds, featuring original songs, invocations, Sanskrit prayers, and Hindi verses. Accompanying himself on harmonium, violin, cello, bansuri flute, organ, trumpet, piano, and guitar, the Western influences are particularly notable on his Breath of the Heart album, coproduced by Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, etc.) and featuring vocal accompaniment from Krishna’s Kosmic Kirtan Posse.

Krishna’s book Chants of a Lifetime was recently released by his own San Diego–based Hay House Publishers, detailing his life as a kirtan leader and packaged with a CD of private chanting sessions. He’ll perform at the I Can Do It! conference and wellness event, taking place May 13 through 16 at the San Diego Convention Center.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween

“San Diego holds a very special place in my heart,” says Bhakti Yoga devotee Krishna Das, called “the Chant Master of American Yoga” by the New York Times. “I’ve sung at the Seaside Church in Encinitas for the last ten years or so and love the area, especially the enthusiastic local chanters.”

The practice of kirtan — chanting the names of God — is at the heart of Bhakti Yoga, which means “union with God through devotional practice.” “It’s a way of getting in touch with yourself,” says Krishna Das, “of opening the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts. It opens the inner eye residing in the heart and cleans the mirror of the heart, so it may reflect with clarity and purity the truth within.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

After traveling to India in the late ’60s to study with Maharaj-ji, Krishna became an appointed pujari (priest) for the Durga temple in Maharaj-ji’s ashram, in the Himalayan foothills.

“At what would turn out to be my last darshan of Maharaj-ji’s physical body [1973], I was petrified with fear about returning to the U.S. after so many years. I hadn’t worn a pair of jeans or shoes for such a long time that I couldn’t imagine what it would be like. All of a sudden, I blurted out in anguish, ‘Maharaj-ji! How can I serve you in America?’

“The words came to me: ‘I will sing to you in America.’ ” Krishna has released several CDs mixing Far East and Near Western sounds, featuring original songs, invocations, Sanskrit prayers, and Hindi verses. Accompanying himself on harmonium, violin, cello, bansuri flute, organ, trumpet, piano, and guitar, the Western influences are particularly notable on his Breath of the Heart album, coproduced by Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, etc.) and featuring vocal accompaniment from Krishna’s Kosmic Kirtan Posse.

Krishna’s book Chants of a Lifetime was recently released by his own San Diego–based Hay House Publishers, detailing his life as a kirtan leader and packaged with a CD of private chanting sessions. He’ll perform at the I Can Do It! conference and wellness event, taking place May 13 through 16 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam band

Fans turn out in force for show at SDSU
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader