Trinity Cathedral borrowed from http://www.trinitymiami.org/
Valentine’s Day in Miami was a pretty busy day. The boat show was in town. Flamenco dancing opened this weekend at the Arsht center.
But the place to be was the Trinity Cathedral. Trinity played host to Krishna Das, arguably the most popular chanter ever.
This beautiful chapel was full to overflowing with an amazingly diverse group. We filled up the pews, the aisles, the floor, the choir space. Ages ranged from young babies to people in their 60s, 70s, even 80s. People were dressed in T-shirts and jeans, indian clothing, formal dresses, workout clothes. While there were a few Krishna devotees, I would guess that the rest of the crowd, like myself, were yoga practitioners looking for a spiritual outlet. I highly doubt that many of them regularly practice any eastern religion. Even the priest at Trinity participated in the Kirtan. It isn’t about the gods whose names are chanted so much as it about spirituality.
I sat on the floor right in front of KD. Me and about 100 other people crammed into the front of the church. It was really close, although not as close to him as I had been sitting earlier in the day.
For those of you not familiar with Krishna Das, he is extremely well-known in the yoga community for yoga chant, or Kirtan. Traditionally, Kirtan is a devotional calling of the names of the Hindu gods. KD sings his chants (most of them) in Sanskrit, usually a call and response format. He plays the harmonium, a traditional Indian instrument. His accompanying musicians play drums, the tablas, the cymbals, and the violin. But there is no mistaking that KD is American. As he said, “I was Jewish on my parents’ side.” He brings his own American sensibility and rock and roll nature to the Sanskrit chants, thus making it more accessible to people of many different backgrounds.
Kirtan has become hot these days. KD played last night to a crowd of over 900 people. He himself said that the first time he came to Miami, he played in someone’s living room. Last night, people were turned away.
Earlier in the day, he came to the yoga workshop I was attending at FIU. John Friend of Anusara yoga was in town, and they’re friends. KD came to our afternoon class and chanted the invocation with us. He came back today and led us in meditation. With his deep voice, he soothed us right into Savasana. Up close and personal, he is extremely humble and approachable. You would never know he is the same guy who played with Sting on his album Pilgrim Heart.
Last night was my second Kirtan of the week, and only my second Kirtan ever. Miami runs a little behind New York and LA on the spiritual front. But I can clearly see that things are looking up. The next time KD comes, it will probably have to be at the Arsht Center to accommodate the crowd!
Postscript: I apologize for the bad pictures. All I had was my cell phone.