The singing of God's names and deeds, in call and response, with drums and cymbals: the devotion of the bhakti movements that remade Hindu practice.
Tagged: Community Praise Prayer Hindu
How It Is Practiced
A lead singer chants a line — a name of the deity, a verse of the poets — and the congregation answers, the tempo rising with the mṛdaṅga drum and hand cymbals until the singing becomes dance. Bhajan is the gentler, seated form: devotional songs by the saint-poets (Mīrābāī, Tulsīdās, the Āḻvārs) sung in homes and temples, often in the evening, often by women who have kept the repertoire for centuries. In the Sikh and Gauḍīya traditions the sung Name is itself the sacrament of the age.
Purpose and Meaning
Bhakti's theologians argued that in this age (Kali Yuga) the Name sung is the accessible God: what sacrifice and meditation were to earlier ages, congregational singing is to this one. The devotion democratized sanctity — no Sanskrit, no initiation, no thread required — and it runs on joy as a discipline: the community sings itself into the love the songs describe.
References
- Kirtan — Wikipedia Free / open access
- Bhajan — Wikipedia Free / open access
Related Practices
- Kīrtan in the Gurdwara — In the gurdwara the scripture is sung: professional and congregational singers (ragis) perform the hymns in their appointed ragas before the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Home Pūjā — The household shrine's daily worship: the deity awakened, bathed, dressed, fed, and offered lamp and flowers as an honored guest in the home.
- The Akathist — An akathist is a long hymn of praise to Christ, the Mother of God, or a saint, sung standing.
Related Across the Site
- Kīrtan in the Gurdwara Devotion — In the gurdwara the scripture is sung: professional and congregational singers (ragis) perform the hymns in their appointed ragas before the Guru Granth Sahib.
- The Akathist Devotion — An akathist is a long hymn of praise to Christ, the Mother of God, or a saint, sung standing.
- Yātrā — Pilgrimage Devotion — The journey to the tīrtha — the ford where heaven and earth cross: to the Ganges' sources, the twelve liṅgas, the four abodes, and above all to the Kumbh Melā.
- Gayatri Mantra Prayer or Creed — The most revered mantra of the Rig Veda, a meditation on the divine light that illumines the mind.
- Glory Be (Gloria Patri) Prayer or Creed — A short doxology praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, used across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship.
- Kaddish Prayer or Creed — An Aramaic prayer sanctifying God's name, best known in its form recited by mourners.
- Te Deum Prayer or Creed — An ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, sung on occasions of solemn thanksgiving in Catholic and Anglican worship.
- Trisagion Prayers Prayer or Creed — The opening prayers of Orthodox services and prayer rules, built around the thrice-holy hymn 'Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.'