"Ksraum", or "Narasimha lullaby" is a contemporary devotional single by Sanskrit Strings, featuring the beautiful South Indian poem Narasimha astakam, sung with melodious accompaniment of grand piano and electric guitar.

Every verse of the poem unveils before us Lord Narasimha, in most exquisite, sweet- sounding, and alluring Sanskrit poetry format. The intense devotional fervor of its author, Paramahamsa Yati Jiyar, can be felt in every word, every phrase of the prayer.

In one verse Hiranyakasipu's blood on Narasimha's chest is compared to kunkum powder decorating it, in another the words extol the Lord as a forest fire that burns the sins of His devotees to ashes, and in another captivating verse, there is a compelling call for Narasimha to appear in the last moment of the author's life, riding on Garuda along with His consort Rama.

So, immerse yourself in this nectarean meditation on Lord Narasimha with this lyrical video (with meaning in captions) where on the piano you can savour an amazing form of Lord Yoga Narasimha, who self-manifested in Mulbagal, Karnataka, to Aksobhya Tirtha, a sannyasi of the Madhva sampradaya.

Jaya Sri Nasimhadeva, Jaya Prahlada Maharaja, Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

~ Nityananda Dasa (Latvia / Gujarat)

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No words can express how grateful we are to HH Lokanath Maharaja for joining our small gathering of kirtaniyas online from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

At the end of the 7-day Kirtan Fest, from the 18 to 24 May, we had reached over 11,000 people with the kirtans. On 25th May alone, the Zoom session with Lokanath Maharaja had reached over 1,000 people.

We received many responses from devotees on how this was the best Nrsimha Caturdasi day they have ever celebrated because we were all blessed. The class Lokanath that Maharaja gave us on Sankirtana Yajna was especially motivational to all the committees and especially the kirtaniyas.

The majority of our kirtaniyas are between the young adult age 15 to 30 years and were deeply inspired by the lecture. We will take up any excuse to perform Kirtan. We hope to overcome the constriction of individualism and to unite souls all over the planet through Krishna Consciousness.

Since the most successful online session on the 25 May, we have started to plan ahead for a mega-kirtan for Janmastami as well. This time we are planning for a whole Southeast Asia Sankirtana Yajna ensemble, which promises to be grand in every respect,

In the meantime, we will be continuing with our kirtan activities, by performing Kirtan Lounges every Saturday. We are also planning to perform kirtans on every Ekadasi with our Malaysian Kirtaniyas.

~ The Kirtan Johor Committee,
Devapriya Devi Dasi, Tulasi Maharani Devi Dasi, Bhaktas Vignishvar,
Tejaashvini, Nivashnie Nair, Roshinie Naaidu, and Phuspitaa Naaidu

https://www.instagram.com/kirtanjohor/

Varuthini Ekadasi began with a talk by Lokanath Swami, narrating a sublime pastime of the meeting, and dialogue between Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya, who is Visakha Sakhi as per the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. Towards the end of his talk Maharaja sang a moving Vaisnava bhajan “je anilo prema dhana” in Pankajanghri Prabhu’s blessed memory. This was followed by 30 minutes of melodious Hare Krsna kirtan sung by Rai Radhika Mataji from Delhi in truly ecstatic tunes.

Bhakti Vinod Swami next shared his heartfelt personal realisations on the glories of the holy names, and encouraged us to allow the holy name to permeate our existence, in sharing powerful references from sastraa. The last talk for the day was given by Mahadevi Mataji, who spoke eloquently on the glories of Ekadasi, the do’s and don’ts, and the enormous spiritual benefits as instructed by Lord Krsna to Maharaja Yudhistira.

The second 3-hour session started the next day with Sri Vallabha Prabhu rekindling the mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada, by singing and explaining a special 1965 Vaisnava bhajan composed by Srila Prabhupada aboard the Jaladuta. Prana Govinda Prabhu’s second session on Harinama-Tattva, exemplified the importance of chanting Hare Krsna, which must also be accompanied by hearing the glories of the holy name and Hari-Katha. This is to ensure a complete and perfect outcome, as mentioned by our previous Acaryas. The session closed with melodious Gaudiya Vaisnava bhajans by Agnideva Prabhu in traditional Bengali style.

On 23rd May, Mohini Ekadasi coincided with Dvadasi and Trayodasi, known as Trsprsa Vyanjula Mahadvadasi. This constitutes a rare and special combination, which when properly observed by fasting, bestows the result of keeping a thousand Ekadasis.

Sharing realisations from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s life, found in his books, the Harinama Cintamani and Bhakti Rahasya, the first day’s session of the Ekadasi Sravan and Kirtan Festival started with Amogha Lila Prabhu’s elaborate talk on the different stages of chanting the holy names that ultimately grant one Krsna-Prema. This was followed by Prana Govinda Prabhu’s third invaluable session on the topic of Nama Tattva expounding on Lord Caitanya’s teachings from Caitanya Caritamrta, on how the holy names are complete and non-different from Krishna. The next speaker was Bhakti Dhira Damodar Swami, whose impressive exposition on the glories of the Holy Name enlightened us on its effects when chanted. Maharaja performed beautiful kirtan enticing devotees to dance in absolute ecstasy.

The second day’s session began with lively kirtan by Bhakti Purushottama Swami who spoke on the mercy of the holy name, which can be chanted wherever, whenever and by whoever, with no qualifications required. He shared that the Hare Krsna Mahamantra has the special potency to give us the topmost perfection - Love of Krsna. With such power packed talks saturated with the glories and potency of the holy name, we next heard Mahaprabhu Caitanya Prabhu’s beautiful Hare Krsna bhajans for about 30 minutes. Nityananda Prabhu made a special performance explaining in detail the meanings of Nrsimha Astakam, playing a traditional Indian musical instrument called ‘ektara’ or ‘tumbi’ and sang Hare Krsna using a harmonium, concluding his session for the day.

Lastly, Mahadevi Mataji’s read about the immeasurable merits of Mohini Ekadasi, citing from Sastra, on how just by hearing and observing this Ekadasi, the once-sinful Dhrstabuddhi, the prodigal son of the merchant Dhanapala, became sinless, ultimately achieving a beautiful transcendental form, flying upon Garuda, the carrier of Vishnu, to the Lord's supreme abode.

Such amazing lessons and kirtan must surely inspire us to follow Ekadasi impeccably, to please the Lord and perfect our lives.The Ekadasi Sravana- Kirtana Festival is purposefully customised for our utmost spiritual benefit, packed with inspirational messages of Hari-Katha and chanting of the holy names to help fulfil the real purpose of Ekadasi.

~ Gauranga Dasa (UK)

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