- Americans Liking Hindu BajansHindu Bajans are devotional songs about Hindu Gods.
- They are greatly appreciated and listened to by Hindus.
- They are sung by great artists and heard by many Indians.
- But, recently Bajans are becoming popular among Americans.
- The Americans are going and paying a good amount of money to listen to American bands sing Bajans.
- This is a new phenomena.
- I had a Sivananda Yoga Center in Delaware and every Sunday we used to sing Bajans. Mostly Americans used to come to my center for Satsang.
- I was recently talking to one of our regular attending American men and he has recently formed a band to sing Bajans. Many Americans come to hear his Bajans.
- Many Bajans are in Sanskrit and Hindi. I hear there are many bands that have developed in America that sing Bajans.
- Richard Alpert, the professor of Harvard University, went to India and became Hindu and he changed his name to Ram Dass.
- He has written many books on Hindu philosophy. One is a very popular book, "Be Here and Now." He is very popular among young Americans. He started singing Bajans.
- One of his disciples is a great singer of Bajans. His name is Bhagavan Das. "He brought traditional Indian chants together with contemporary beats and loops," says his official website. He goes around the world to sing his Bajans and people pay money to listen to him. He has many recordings and they are very popular.
- Even my wife bought his Bajan records and I remember she enjoyed listening to them. He has made Hindu Bajans very popular in America. If you are interested, you should look into his music and songs.The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) not only spreads Hinduism around the world but singing Bajans.
- They are also contributing to this new trend in America for sure, but I don't know about overseas.God is always there and when you sing his glory, it brings love and peace in peoples heart. It does not matter if you sing in English, Sanskrit, Hindi or any other language.Bharat J. Gajjar
Saturday, January 19, 2008
WhY american Like our Bajans
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There's a few other western singers who've embraced Bajans and Kirtans and have done much to bring this ecstatic practice to American audiences. Krishna Das and Jai Uttal are two primary male singers, and a leading female artist is the delightful Jaya Lakshmi.
Jaya Lakshmi began leading kirtan with harmonium and 12 string guitar and writing her own devotional songs over 13 years ago on the island of Hawaii, shortly after receiving harinam initiation from Srila Govinda Maharaj, a great Vaisnava saint from West Bengal, India, who graciously bestowed on her the name "Jaya Lakshmi".
Her ecstatic singing and kirtan leading, often accompanied by master musician Deva Priyo on sarod and Spanish guitar, and other talented artists, has had a powerful effect amongst various communities in the islands of Hawaii, the West Coast, and Europe, always creating a deep sense of intimacy with the divine. She has a unique style that blends beauty, power and purity to create a truly transcendental sound driven by her fiery devotion and love for God. Singing mostly original and traditional Vaisnava chants and songs in Sanskrit in the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition of ‘harinam sankirtan’ (call and response congregational chanting of the Holy Names), she often includes chants from other Vedic traditions in her kirtans as well. She also performs many original songs in which Sanskrit is magically woven in with English lyrics. Because of her pure mood, deep sincerity, passion for God and great musical talent, Jaya Lakshmi is rapidly becoming well known and loved as one of the few touring female kirtan leaders in the West.
Lakshmi took to music at a young age. Through piano lessons she found the guitar, an instrument that led her to form her own folk band in high school at the age of 15. In 1985 she earned a degree in anthropology from the University of New Hampshire, eventually moving western Oregon to pursue singing and songwriting. Five years later she and her two-year-old daughter relocated to Hawaii, a move that introduced the artist to the West Bengalese spiritual leader Srila Govinda Maharaj. Lakshmi found Hawaii to be the perfect conduit for her faith-based explorations, a journey that led her to the island of Maui, where she met Deva Priyo and Om and formed the band Lost at Last. After relocating to northern California, Lost at Last released their self-titled debut in August 2001. Lakshmi found herself to be a much sought-after collaborator, co-writing two songs for William Ackerman's Grammy-nominated Hearing Voices record, as well as contributing vocals to Steve Gordon's Drum Prayer release. In 2002, Lakshmi unleashed her debut, Ocean of Mercy, on Sequoia Records, followed by Jewel of Hari in 2004.
Her website is:
http://www.jayalakshmi.net
and there's samples of her music at:
http://www.myspace.com/jlakshmi
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