Interview with Krishna Das: the star of Kirtan and Mantra Music.
“I am just a kirtan wallah — one who sings.”
The musician Krishna Das told me about himself as a friend, with simple words, never banal, that went straight to the heart. You will discover him in the video interview dedicated to him. Emblematic is one of his statements some time ago: “I am a kirtan wallah: one who sings. That’s all. I don’t know anything. I can’t teach anything. I can’t even teach you to sing. You just sing with your heart. You have to understand what it means to you.”
It was exciting interviewing Krishna Das, in Italian and English for Crono.news magazine. Click on the following link:
Krishna Das is known for his ability to transport his audience into other worlds with his deep and hypnotic voice. Blending traditional kirtan from the East with Western harmony and rhythm, Krishna Das has developed his musical style. He has been called the “Rockstar of yoga” for having fused kirtan music with immediately accessible melodies and modern instrumentation. With an extraordinarily intense voice that strikes the deepest chord even in the most nonchalant listener, Krishna Das, known to friends, family and fans simply as KD, has brought devotional chants out of yoga centres and into concert halls, becoming a world icon.
KD’s album “Live Ananda” (released in January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age category. In February 2013, Krishna Das performed at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and streamed online to millions of viewers. The award-winning film “One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das” was screened in over 100 cities in the United States, and in more than 10 countries around the world and is available on DVD everywhere.
KD spent the late 1960s travelling the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the trip to India that led him to Ram Dass’ guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-Ji. According to Krishna Das, when you start singing all negativity dissolves. That becomes part of the practice. The practice has to be all our life. It can’t be just 15 or 20 minutes or an hour a day. There is no spiritual life and mundane life. Gradually, inevitably, everything in our life leads us to that love. Krishna argues that kirtan is not a Hindu practice and it’s not even a religious practice. It is a spiritual practice. It’s not something you have to adhere to or give up anything for. It’s something you add to your life: “Everyone in the world has the same problems. We all suffer because we don’t know our true nature. All these practices have worked for a thousand years to remove the ignorance that blinds us to who we are.”
Through his soulful kirtan music, Krishna Das has touched countless lives across the globe. Transporting listeners into meditative states, his chants impart teachings on self-realization and living with an open heart. Having studied with renowned gurus like Neem Karoli Baba, Krishna Das shares ancient wisdom in an accessible way for modern audiences. His immense popularity has helped bring kirtan from obscure yoga studios to mainstream concert venues. Yet behind all the fame and success, Krishna Das remains focused on devotion and using music as a vehicle for inner peace. As he says, “I am just a kirtan wallah — one who sings.” With humility and compassion, Krishna Das continues spreading his healing gift of mantra around the world.
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