Kirtan

[18] According to Louis Renou, in this text, "the Vedic sacrifice (yajna) is presented as a kind of drama, with its actors, its dialogues, its portion to be set to music, its interludes, and its climaxes.

[13] In Maharashtra for example, Novetzke says, a kirtan is a call-and-response style performance, ranging from devotional dancing and singing by a lead singer and audience to an "intricate scholarly treatise, a social commentary or a philosophical/linguistic exposition" that includes narration, allegory, humor, erudition and entertainment—all an aesthetic part of ranga (beauty, color) of the kirtan.

[21] Vaishnava temples in Assam and northeastern Indian have large worship halls called kirtan ghar—a name derived from their being used for congregational singing and performance arts.

In regional languages, kirtan is scripted as Bengali: কীর্তন; Nepali and Hindi: कीर्तन; Kannada: ಕೀರ್ತನೆ; Marathi: कीर्तन; Punjabi: ਕੀਰਤਨ / کیرتن; Sindhi: ڪِيرَتَنُ / कीरतनु; Tamil: கீர்த்தனை; Telugu: కీర్తన.

Kirtans and bhajans are closely related, sharing common aims (devotion, faith, spiritual uplift and liberation), subjects, and musical themes.

Kirtan, in contrast, is generally a group performance, typically with a call and response or antiphonal musical structure, similar to an intimate conversation or gentle sharing of ideas.

[8][7] Musical recitation of hymns, mantras and the praise of deities has ancient roots in Hinduism, and may be found in the Vedic literature.

[26] Hindu kirtan is influenced by the practices and teachings of the various devotional Bhakti movements, who emphasized emotional loving relationship with a personal God, and also by the figures of the Sant tradition (like Kabir, Ravidas, and Namdev).

[28][29] The foundations of the kirtan traditions are also found in works like the Bhagavad-gita which describes the bhakti marga (path of loving devotion to god) as a means to moksha.

[32] Chandidas was instrumental in the Bengali Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā tradition, a form of tantric Vaishnavism focused on Radha and Krishna which flourished in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam.

[32] About the same time, Shankaradeva (1449–1568) in Assam inspired the Ekasarana Dharma bhakti movement that emphasized Advaita Vedanta philosophy within the Vaishnava framework of the Bhagavata Purana.

[41] Shankaradeva helped establish Sattras (Hindu temples and monasteries) with kirtan-ghar (also called Namghar), for Krishnaite singing and dramatic performance.

[42] Meanwhile, in the Braj region, Vallabha acharya launched a devotional movement which focused on kirtan songs about baby Krishna and his early childhood.

[40] One ofshoot of this tradition is the Radha-centered Radha-vallabha Sampradaya, whose singing style known as Haveli Sangeet is based on Hindustani classical forms like "dhrupad" and "dhamar".

[43] Another kirtan style shared by the Braj traditions like the Vallabha, Haridasi, and Nimbarka is samaj gayan, which is a kind of collective singing.

[36] In Andhra Pradesh, the compositions of the Tallapaka Annamacharya, a 14th-century Vaishnava mystic, represent the earliest known southern music called "sankirtana".

[47] During his long and prolific career, he reputedly composed and sang 32,000 Sankirtanas and 12 Shatakas (sets of hundred verses) in both Telugu and Sanskrit.

This form was effectively performed for years by personalities like Hari Bhakti Parayan (sincere devotee of god) Sonopant (mama) Dandekar, Dhunda maharaj Deglurkar, Babamaharaj Satarkar, Dekhanebuwa, and many others in modern times.

Performance requires skill in music, dance, comedy, oratory, debate, memory, general knowledge and Sanskrit literature.

[55][56] A Shabad Kirtan refers to the musical recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary scripture in the Sikhism tradition which is arranged according to raga.

[53] This congregational setting is called a Sangat or Satsang, a word that in ancient Indian texts means "like minded individuals, or fellow travelers on a spiritual journey".

Early Buddhist sources often have a negative attitude towards music, possibly because it was considered sensual and inconsistent with its core monastic teachings.

[66][67] Buddhist songs and chants make use of the following genres: sutras, mantras, dharani, parittas, or verse compositions (such as gathas, stotras, and caryagitis).

[68] The Bene Israel, a Jewish community in the Indian subcontinent, adopted the devotional singing style Kirtan from their Marathi Hindu neighbors.

[77] For some Western practitioners, kirtan is seen as a way of socializing, relaxing, achieving meditative states, expressing oneself, attaining inner peace and positive emotions, getting to know one's inner self, and cultivating love for a deity and for others.

The court ruled that while ISKCON has a constitutional rights of protected speech, the Los Angeles airport also has a right to forbid any form of solicitation, out of "a legitimate interest in controlling pedestrian congestion and reducing the risk of fraud and duress attendant to repetitive, in-person solicitation of funds" by all groups including ISKCON.

[80] The male given name Kirtan or Kirtana is used in South India for females as well, particularly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.