Bestselling Western Chant Master
Krishna Das
Experience how a dedicated devotional chanting practice can help you release negative stories you believe about yourself — and give you a higher perspective on your life and the world.
— J.D. Salinger, A Girl I Knew
Have you experienced the power of Krishna Das’ singing?
Of course, this world-renowned devotional chant master has a remarkably soulful voice that can’t help but touch the deepest chord in even the most casual listener. And it’s always a delight to hear him relay stories about his own journey and the time he spent in India... and to be in his presence as he casually drops nuggets of wisdom that catch you by surprise and ignite a spark of recognition.
Yet, one of the most moving moments was hearing him cite the above J.D. Salinger quote... because it perfectly encapsulates the way he experiences his much-beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba — known to many as Maharaj-ji.
So, what does it mean to “hold the universe together”?
Join us for a meaningful and musical hour with Krishna Das (or, as his friends call him, KD), as he shares what it was (and is) like to be with Maharaj-ji — someone who had, as KD says, become the whole Universe...
… and how the gift of Maharaj-ji’s presence, his teachings, and his mere being has ripened KD, and many others, over the past 50 years.
He’ll also explain the purpose and power of chanting as a path of liberation from the prison of your own negative emotions.
The last couple of years have presented a series of challenges beyond anything we've experienced before. Yet, whether your world is disrupted internally or externally, chanting is always an exquisite path that leads to greater peace.
Chanting can help you train yourself to meet everything that arises in your life with greater ease, resilience, compassion, and even love — and understand that everything you want is completely available and possible.
KD will share how his chanting practice saves his life on a daily basis, and how it can do the same for you. Because when you take on a consistent practice, you start to free yourself from the constant barrage of obsessive self-defeating thoughts and stories you tell yourself about yourself.
Over time, as you learn to focus and then refocus your attention on the music and syllables, again and again, the suffering produced by a rushing river of negative self-talk begins to diminish.
In this heart-opening hour, KD will guide you in a simple and accessible chant, one that was sung in Majaraj-ji’s temple where he lived in India — Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram — so you can experience for yourself how chanting can profoundly ground you, even as it sweeps you into a blissful state.
In this complimentary online event, you’ll:
- Discover the essence of chanting practice — you sing, you notice when you’re not paying attention, you go back to singing — and how it loosens your attachment to negative self-talk
- Be guided in a foundational chant from KD’s lineage
- Recognize how deeply ensconced you may be in self-judgment, and how limiting that state of being is... and get a glimpse into a different possibility of freedom
- Understand that there’s a way to deal with anything that happens in your life — you just have to discover it
- Hear how Krishna Das’ relationship with his guru, Maharaj-ji, transformed and continues to transform everything about his life
We’re so fortunate to have such a dynamic and influential spiritual teacher and global performing artist to help us as we continue to find our way through this complex moment in history.
During this event, you’ll also discover how you can continue your work with KD through his guided chants, intimate reflections, and humanizing insights into saints.
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Join this FREE video event with Krishna Das and experience how a dedicated devotional chanting practice can help you release negative stories you believe about yourself — and give you a higher perspective on your life and the world.
Free Video Event
What People Are Saying About Krishna Das...
— Bestselling Author Anne Lamott: “Krishna Das’ Voice Feeds Me Delicious Holy Food”
— Bestselling Author Andrew Harvey: “I Consider Krishna Das the Very Greatest Living Sacred Singer”
— Bestselling Author Mirabai Starr: “Krishna Das Is Entwined With My Own Heart”
“[Krishna Das’] heartsongs open the channels to God.”
Krishna Das is an example of someone whose heartsongs open the channels to God.
— Ram Dass, bestselling author and spiritual icon
“... chanting for hope when in sorrow, a sense of belonging when feeling adrift...”
I’ve met many people who regularly turn to Krishna Das’ chanting for hope when in sorrow, a sense of belonging when feeling adrift, and for the sheer joy of recalling the power of love. I’m just like that too.”
— Sharon Salzberg, world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author
“... a voice that could move a mountain to dance.”
A fun, yet serious man with a voice that could move a mountain to dance.
— Waylon Lewis, founder of Elephant Journal
“I feel like I’m... home.”
The music begins and, five seconds later, I feel like I’m... home.
— Jesse Kornbluth, writer and editor of HeadButler.com
“Krishna Das put sacred Sanskrit mantras on the music map.”
Hailed as yoga’s rock star, Krishna Das put sacred Sanskrit mantras on the music map.
— Alan di Perna, music historian, author, and journalist
“A living treasury of traditional kirtan.”
Krishna Das is immersed in the traditional kirtan lineage. He became a kirtan singer simply because of his devotion to his guru. Plus his voice is extraordinarily rich and full. I recommend potential students to work with him, because he’s the real deal. A living treasury of traditional kirtan.
— Lama Tsultrim Allione, the first Westerner to be ordained as a nun by HH Karmapa 16, and author of Women of Wisdom, Feeding Your Demons, and Wisdom Rising
“... learning with Krishna Das is always a deep, heart-transforming experience.”
Working with and learning with Krishna Das is always a deep, heart-transforming experience. He is a treasure. His tender, loving, and all-too-human stories, his hard-won wisdom, his beautiful music and courageous devotion have continually invited me to open my own heart and live in a greater sense of mystery, grace, and love.
— Jack Kornfield, PhD, Buddhist practitioner, co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and author of several bestselling books
“He’s a real guy with real wisdom to share...”
KD is the perfect mix of insightful and funny, deep and accessible, kind and grumpy. He’s a real guy with real wisdom to share and a beautiful warmth that shines through in his music and his message. If you’re looking for an alternative to woo-woo love-and-lighters in thin, white robes telling you everything is sunshine and lollipops, KD is your man.
— Pete Holmes, comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster
“Any student who is called to work with Krishna Das is most fortunate...”
I’ve taught retreats with Krishna Das for years now; he is one of the most unfailingly generous and quietly talented colleagues and friends I know. He dips freely into a wellspring of steadily reliable spiritual and musical creativity that is rare in this world. Krishna Das also has the gift of being able to communicate that inspiration in his art so that we too can taste it and join him, singing our intense love of God and each other. Drawing on music from East and West, Krishna Das weaves stories from his lived experience of a path of growth in wisdom and understanding. Any student who is called to work with Krishna Das is most fortunate, for they will be learning from an accomplished artist and humble spiritual teacher willing to share the auspicious legacy of a lifetime of devotion.
— Trudy Goodman, Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage, and the founding teacher of InsightLA
“His kirtans... are haunting and hypnotic.”
His kirtans, chanted in the ancient Sanskrit language, are haunting and hypnotic.
— The Washington Post
“[Krishna Das is] the Chant Master of American Yoga.”
— The New York Times
About Krishna Das
Layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Krishna Das has been called “yoga’s rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das — known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD — has taken call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the bestselling Western chant artist of all time. His album Live Ananda (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.
KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass. In August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to devotees as Maharaj-ji. Given the name Krishna Das, KD began to chant as part of following the path of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.
He took solace in music, finding peace and strength in his Bhakti yoga practice, as well as in such heroes as Ray Charles, Van Morrison, Steely Dan, and Bruce Springsteen (whom he laughingly calls “the Bodhisattva of New Jersey”). KD also co-founded Triloka Records, a California-based label specializing in world music, releasing such artists as Jai Uttal, sarod virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan, and legendary jazz musician/composer Jackie McLean.
In 1994, KD started to lead chanting at Jivamukti Yoga Center, NYC with an ever-growing audience of yoga students that has led him to chant with people all around the world. In February 2013, Krishna Das performed at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles, which was streamed online to millions of viewers. The award-winning film One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das, which has been shown in over 100 U.S. cities and in more than 10 countries, is available on DVD everywhere.
KD’s 16th album, Peace of My Heart, released in October 2018 on behalf of the Kirtan Wallah Foundation, offers nearly two hours of deeply moving, meditative, and artfully restrained new recordings born out of a request from a yoga teacher who works with autistic children. Forgoing the ecstatic tempo changes so common to temple-style kirtan, these five new tracks move slowly and deliberately. The song-to-song steadiness is both striking and soothing, and as emotionally impactful as ever.
“The chanting just hits you and you want to be a part of it,” KD promises. “That’s the point of this whole thing. That’s what cuts through all the ‘stuff.’ You get lit up. You don’t have to know what it means.”
