Album Notes

KIRTAN RASA - During my European tour of 1995, I was fortunate to visit many diverse temples of Lord Krishna. I was especially eager to chant with the devotees in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as I had heard that they were extremely enthusiastic. These songs were recorded live at the Sunday Feast program in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The musicians were local devotees and the "choir" chanting in response was comprised mainly of the guests attending the temple that Sunday. There was no rehearsal beforehand, and I was unaware that I was being recorded! So I was impressed to hear how attentively and accurately the crowd sang along as if we had been together for years. The recording was so expertly done by Tat Purusa Das, that the ecstatic mood of that Sunday afternoon has been completely captured. I hope all the listeners will also experience the blissful mood we all shared that day!

All songs produced & arranged by Vaiyasaki Das.


ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Internationally recognized for his musical abilities to perform the ancient art form of Kirtan & Bhajan, Vaiyasaki Das provides a rare opportunity to experience a taste of authentic devotional music from the Vedic tradition.

Though born in London, England, Vaiyasaki Das came of age in Winnipeg, Canada. After many years in the music business - and a personal search for the divine -- he is now one of the premier singers on the kirtan circuit. Starting out as a rock and blues guitarist with a penchant for singing, his taste for Indian culture came at an early age.

By 1970, he found himself back in London and enamored by Krishna devotion. Soon, in 1973, he was committed to the path of devotion, or bhakti-yoga, and, just two years later, he received formal initiation from His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

On his Guru’s request he journeyed to India in 1975, both for personal purification and to proclaim the renaissance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's bhakti movement. He traveled the entire subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, serving the mission of bhakti-yoga.

By 1978, he arrived in Bangladesh, where he imbibed the culture through his pores, becoming fluent in Bengali and learning the ways of the local people. On a boat trip down the Meghna River, he chanced upon a local kirtan band on their way to a festival. Deciding to follow these happy minstrels and their soulful kirtan music, he would also attend that same festival, changing his life forever. It was there that he discovered the ancient Bengali art of raga-kirtan, which touched his soul in the deepest possible way. Never before had he heard such angelic singing, and he resolved to use his own considerable vocal talents to spread this technique around the world. He returned to London with his own style of kirtan, a blend of ancient Bengali and modern contemporary music.

His first album was released in 1982 followed by numerous CDs, which are now considered seminal in the yoga/kirtan/world music universe. Today Vaiyasaki Das is a much sought-after performer, conducting workshops and leading yoga festivals and retreats worldwide. Sharing his heart through music and chanting is the basis of his life. He has been a practitioner of bhakti yoga for 34 years and performs his music with a mission to uplift the consciousness of the planet.

His considerable knowledge of the vast repertoire of Indian bhajans and kirtans has provided the foundation for a new generation of artists, in the flourishing genre of music for yoga and mantra meditation.

His CDs include: Way of Love, Charana Kamal, Kirtan Rasa, Hari-Nam-Ananda, Transcendence, Vrindavan Chandra, Chaitanya Chandra, Ratha-Yatra USA, The Turning Point, Best of Vaiyasaki, Kirtan Explosion-High Energy Kirtans, & Sri Krishna Divya Nam.