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bhakti

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

bhak·ti

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(bŭk'tē) pronunciation
n. Hinduism
A path to achieving salvation through loving devotion to a particular deity, open to all persons irrespective of sex or caste.

[Sanskrit bhaktiḥ, devotion, from bhajati, he apportions.]


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

bhakti

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Southern Asian devotional movement, particularly in Hinduism, emphasizing the love of a devotee for his or her personal god. In contrast to Advaita, bhakti assumes a dualistic relationship between devotee and deity. Though Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti (see shakti) all have cults, bhakti characteristically developed around Vishnu's incarnations as Rama and Krishna. Practices include reciting the god's name, singing hymns, wearing his emblem, and making pilgrimages. The fervour of South Indian hymnists in the 7th – 10th centuries spread bhakti and inspired much poetry and art. Poets such as Mirabai conceived of the relationship between the worshiper and the god in familiar human terms (e.g., the lover and beloved), while more abstract poets such as Kabir and his disciple Nanak, the first Sikh Guru and founder of Sikhism, portrayed the divinity as singular and ineffable.

For more information on bhakti, visit Britannica.com.

The Religion Book:

Bhakti

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To follow a Hindu spiritual path is to follow Bhakti, or dedication to a personal deity of love, mercy, and grace who calls for devotion and surrender. This concept is similar in practice, if not in theology, to the Christian concept of salvation. Hindus prefer the word devotion, a personal response to the feeling that one is separated from the ground of one's being. Although the Hindu concept of "God" is far different from the traditional Western understanding, in Bhakti a chosen deity manifests itself to the individual and calls for personal devotion. The deity is only one expression of the divine, which is unknowable and impossible to define.

(See also Brahman/Atman)

Sources: Ellwood, Robert S., and Barbara A. McGraw. Many Peoples, Many Faiths. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. Renard, John. The Handy Religion Answer Book. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2002.

Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy:

bhakti

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(Sanskrit, worship) The devotion due to God, the blessed one (Bhagavat).

Oxford Dictionary of Asian Mythology:

Bhakti

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The Sanskrit word for something approximating “devotion” or “reverence,” bhakti is expressed traditionally through Hindu ritual sacrifices, ascetic practices, and hymns and prayers. Different kinds of bhakti apply to the worship of particular deities. Thus followers of Śiva (see Śaivas) have one kind of bhakti and devotees of Devī as śakti (see śakti, Śāktas), or creative goddess power, have another. Worshippers following a bhaktimarga, a bhakti path, generally believe in only one personal god, the īśvara or IṣṠadevatā. The goal of the bhakta is union of some sort with the deity in question.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

bhakti

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bhakti (bŭk'tē) [Skt.,=devotion], theistic devotion in Hinduism. Bhakti cults seem to have existed from the earliest times, but they gained strength in the first millennium A.D. The first full statement of liberation and spiritual fulfillment through devotion to a personal god is found in the Bhagavad-Gita. The Puranas (from the 1st cent. A.D.) further elaborated theistic ideas. Devotion to Shiva and Vishnu and to the latter's avatara (incarnations), Rama and Krishna, continues to be practiced throughout India. Intense love for God and surrender to Him, reliance on His grace rather than on rituals, learning, or austerities, and the continuous repetition of His name are the means to the goal of His constant presence. The devotee may worship the chosen deity as child, parent, friend, master, or beloved. The bhakti tradition has tended to stress authentic inner feelings as opposed to institutional forms of religion and to disregard caste distinctions. Great devotees and saints such as the Alvars of S India (a Vaishnavite group of wandering singers), Mirabai, Tukaram, Tulsidasa, Kabir, and Chaitanya have continuously inspired the cults, founded their own sects, and produced a great literature of songs and poems in their vernaculars.

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Bhakti

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Shiva, Vishnu, and the conjoined forms of three goddesses representing Shakti: Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswati

In Hinduism Bhakti (Sanskrit: भक्ति[1]) is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine. Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Iṣṭa-devatā (also as Svayam Bhagavan in Gaudiya Vaishnavism).

Bhakti can be used of either tradition of Hindu monotheism, Shaivaism or Vaishnavism.[2] While bhakti as designating a religious path is already a central concept in the Bhagavad Gita,[3] it rises to importance in the medieval history of Hinduism, where the Bhakti movement saw a rapid growth of bhakti beginning in Southern India with the Vaisnava Alvars (6th-9th century CE) and Saiva Nayanars (5th-10th century CE), who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th-18th century CE.[4][5] The Bhagavata Purana is text associated with the Bhakti movement which elaborates the concept of bhakti as found in the Bhagavad Gita.[6]

The Bhakti movement reached North India in the Delhi Sultanate and throughout the Mughal era contributed significantly to the characteristics of Hinduism as the religion of the general population under the rule of a Muslim elite. Its influence also spread to other religions during this period,[clarification needed][7][8][9][10] and became an integral aspect of Hindu culture and society in the modern era.[5]

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The Sanskrit noun bhakti is derived from the verb root bhaj, whose meanings include "to share in", "to belong to", and "to worship".[11] It also occurs in compounds where it means "being a part of" and "that which belongs to or is contained in anything else."[12] Bhajan, or devotional singing to God, is also derived from the same root.[13] "Devotion" as an English translation for bhakti doesn't fully convey two important aspects of bhakti—the sense of participation that is central to the relationship between the devotee and God, and the intense feeling that is more typically associated with the word "love".[11] An advaitic interpretation of bhakti goes beyond "devotion" to the realization of union with the essential nature of reality as ananda, or divine bliss.[12] Bhakti is sometimes used in the broader sense of reverence toward a deity or teacher. Bhaktimarga is usually used to describe a bhakti path with complete dedication to one form of God.[11]

A more literal translation of bhakti would be "participation";[14] The sage Narada defines Bhakti as "intense love" for God.[15] Similarly Sage Shandilya defines Bhakti as "intense attraction" for God.[16] One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta,[17] while bhakti as a spiritual path is referred to as bhakti marga, or the bhakti way.[18][19] Bhakti is an important component of many branches of Hinduism, defined differently by various sects and schools.[11]

Bhakti emphasises religious devotion and sentiment above ritual and orthopraxy. In this sense it parallels the early 20th century movement of Pentecostalism in Christian history, where direct personal experience of God was also emphasized over liturgy or ritual.

The Classical Sanskrit term bhakti has a general meaning of "attachment, devotion, fondness for, devotion to" etc. also in terms of human relationships, most often as beloved-lover, friend-friend, parent-child, and master-servant.[6] It may refer to devotion to a spiritual teacher (Guru) as guru-bhakti,[20][21] to a personal form of God,[22] or to divinity without form (nirguna).[23]

History

Main article: Bhakti movement

Scholarly consensus sees bhakti as a post-Vedic movement that developed primarily during the era of Indian epic poetry.[24][25] The Bhagavad Gita is the first text to explicitly use the word "bhakti" to designate a religious path, using it as a term for one of three possible religious approaches.[26] The Bhagavata Purana develops the idea more elaborately,[6] while the Shvetashvatara Upanishad evidences a fully developed Shiva-bhakti (devotion to Shiva)[18] and signs of guru-bhakti.[27] An early sutra by Pāṇini (c. 5th century BCE) is considered by some scholars as the first appearance of the concept of bhakti, where the word "vun" may refer to bhakti toward "Vasudevarjunabhya" (with implied reference to Krishna Vasudeva).[28] Other scholars question this interpretation.[29][30]

The Bhakti Movement was a rapid growth of bhakti beginning in Tamil Nadu in Southern India with the Saiva Nayanars (4th-10th century CE)[5] and the Vaisnava Alvars (3rd-9th century CE) who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th-18th century CE.[4][5] The Alvars ("those immersed in God") were Vaishnava poet-saints who wandered from temple to temple singing the praises of Vishnu. They established temple sites (Srirangam is one) and converted many people to Vaishnavism. Their poems were collected in the 10th century as the Four Thousand Divine Compositions also referred to as Dravida Veda or Alwar Arulicheyalgal or Divya Prabhandham, which became an influential scripture for the Vaishnavas. The Alwars and Nayanmars were instrumental in propagating the Bakti tradition and played probably the most important role of reviving Hinduism from the dying embers. For the first time, Bagwan or God reached the masses and the masses were able to associate themselves with the religion. Another significant thing was that the Alwars and Naynmars came from various background and castes including that of the Sudras (working class). The Bhagavata Purana's references to the South Indian Alvar saints, along with its emphasis on a more emotional bhakti, have led many scholars to give it South Indian origins, though there is no definitive evidence of this.[31][32]

Like the Alvars the Saiva Nayanar poets softened the distinctions of caste and gender. The Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns by sixty-three Nayanar poets, is still of great importance in South India. Hymns by three of the most prominent poets, Appar (7th century CE), Campantar (7th century) and Cuntarar (9th century), were compiled into the Tevaram, the first volumes of the Tirumurai. The poets' itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread devotion to Shiva.[33] Early Tamil-Siva bhakti poets quoted the Black Yajurveda specifically.[34]

By the 12th to 18th centuries, the bhakti movement had spread to all regions and languages of India. Bhakti poetry and attitudes began to color many aspects of Hindu culture, religious and secular, and became an integral part of Indian society.[5] Prominent bhakti poets such as Ravidas and Kabir wrote against the hierarchy of caste.[35] It extended its influence to Sufism,[36] Sikhism,[8] Christianity,[9] and Jainism.[10] Bhakti offered the possibility of religious experience by anyone, anywhere, at any time.[37]

Bhakti Yoga

Main article: Bhakti yoga

The Bhagavad Gita introduces bhakti yoga in combination with karma yoga and jnana yoga,[38][39] while the Bhagavata Purana expands on bhakti yoga, offering nine specific activities for the bhakti yogi.[40] Bhakti in the Bhagavad Gita offered an alternative to two dominant practices of religion at the time: the isolation of the sannyasin and the practice of religious ritual.[37] Bhakti Yoga is described by Swami Vivekananda as "the path of systematized devotion for the attainment of union with the Absolute".[41] In the twelfth chapter of the Gita Krishna describes bhakti yoga as a path to the highest spiritual attainments.[42] In the ninth chapter, he says,

Fill thy mind with Me, be My devotee, sacrifice unto Me, bow down to Me; thus having made thy heart steadfast in Me, taking Me as the Supreme Goal, thou shalt come to Me. (B-Gita 9.34)[43]

Shandilya and Narada produced two important Bhakti texts, the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra.[44][45] They define devotion, emphasize its importance and superiority, and classify its forms.[46]

Types and classifications

In Valmiki's Ramayana, Rama describes the path as ninefold (nava-vidha bhakti):

Such pure devotion is expressed in nine ways, . First is satsang or association with love-intoxicated devotees. The second is to develop a taste for hearing my nectar-like stories. The third is service to the guru (...) Fourth is to sing my kirtan (communal chorus) (...) Japa or repetition of my Holy name and chanting my bhajans are the fifth expression (...) To follow scriptural injunctions always, to practice control of the senses, nobility of character and selfless service, these are expressions of the sixth mode of bhakti. Seeing me manifested everywhere in this world and worshipping my saints more than myself is the seventh mode of bhakti. To find no fault with anyone and to be contented with one's lot is the eighth mode of bhakti. Unreserved surrender with total faith in my strength is the ninth and highest stage. Shabari, anyone who practices one of these nine modes of my bhakti pleases me most and reaches me without fail.[47]

The Bhagavata Purana teaches nine similar facets of bhakti, as explained by Prahlada:[48]

(1) śravaṇa ("listening" to the scriptural stories of Kṛṣṇa and his companions), (2) kīrtana ("praising", usually refers to ecstatic group singing), (3) smaraṇa ("remembering" or fixing the mind on Viṣṇu), (4) pāda-sevana (rendering service), (5) arcana (worshiping an image), (6) vandana (paying homage), (7) dāsya (servitude), (8) sākhya (friendship), and (9) ātma-nivedana (self-surrender). (from Bhagata Purana, 7.5.23-24)

Bhavas

Traditional Hinduism speaks of five different bhāvas or "affective essences".[49] In this sense, bhāvas are different attitudes that a devotee takes according to his individual temperament to express his devotion towards God in some form.[50] The different bhāvas are: śānta, placid love for God; dāsya, the attitude of a servant; sakhya, the attitude of a friend; vātsalya, the attitude of a mother towards her child; and madhura, the attitude of a woman towards her lover.[50] Several saints are known to have practiced these bhavas. The nineteenth century mystic, Ramakrishna is said to have practiced these five bhavas.[51] The attitude of Hanuman towards lord Rama is considered to be of dasya bhava.[52] The attitude of Arjuna and the shepherd boys of Vrindavan towards Krishna is regarded as sakhya bhava.[51][53] The attitude of Radha towards Krishna is regarded as madhura bhava.[51] The attitude of Yashoda, who looked after Krishna during his childhood is regarded as vatsalya bhava.[54] Caitanya-caritamrta mentions that Mahaprabhu came to distribute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and sringara. Sringara is the relationship of the intimate love.

Notable proponents of bhakti

Notes

  1. ^ This is the technical sense in Hinduism of a noun with the literal meaning of "portion, share", from a root bhaj "to partake in, to receive one's share". See e.g. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit Dictionary, 1899.
  2. ^ Rinehart, Robin (2004). Contemporary Hinduism: ritual, culture, and practice. ABC-CLIO. pp. 45. ISBN 9781576079058. http://books.google.com/?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA45. 
  3. ^ Prentiss, p. 5,
  4. ^ a b Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 131. ISBN 9780521438780. http://books.google.com/?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C&pg=PA131. 
  5. ^ a b c d e Embree, Ainslie Thomas; Stephen N. Hay, William Theodore De Bary (1988). Sources of Indian Tradition. Columbia University Press. pp. 342. ISBN 9780231066518. http://books.google.com/?id=An5mD6KMiSIC&pg=PA342. 
  6. ^ a b c Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of Experience. Indiana University Press. pp. 1. ISBN 9780253353344. http://books.google.com/?id=veSItWingx8C&pg=PA1. 
  7. ^ Flood, Gavin D. (2003). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 185. ISBN 9780631215356. http://books.google.com/?id=qSfneQ0YYY8C&pg=PA185. 
  8. ^ a b Neusner, p. 135.
  9. ^ a b Neill, Stephen (2002). A history of Christianity in India, 1707-1858. Cambridge University Press. pp. 412. ISBN 9780521893329. http://books.google.com/?id=Xi-tvrYbYxMC&pg=PA412. 
  10. ^ a b Kelting, Mary Whitney (2001). Singing to the Jinas: Jain laywomen, Maṇḍaḷ singing, and the negotiations of Jain devotion. Oxford University Press. pp. 87. ISBN 9780195140118. http://books.google.com/?id=elcn1IEJ3CEC&pg=PA87. 
  11. ^ a b c d Lindsay Jones, ed (2005). Gale Encyclopedia of Religion. Volume 2. Thompson Gale. pp. 856–857. ISBN 0-02-865735-7. 
  12. ^ a b Werner, Karel (1993). Love Divine: studies in bhakti and devotional mysticism. Routledge. pp. 168. ISBN 9780700702350. http://books.google.com/?id=pYahlaJCLnYC&pg=PA168. 
  13. ^ McLean, George; Vensus A. George (2008). Paths to the Divine: Ancient and Indian. CRVP. pp. 210. ISBN 9781565182486. http://books.google.com/?id=VYaRePV92YwC&pg=PA210. 
  14. ^ Pechilis Prentiss, Karen (1999). The Embodiement of Bhakti. US: Oxford University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780195128130. http://books.google.com/?id=Vu95WgeUBfEC&pg=PA24. 
  15. ^ Narada Bhakti Sutra translated by Swami Bhuteshwananda, Udbodhan publication, year 2000, page 15
  16. ^ Shandilya Bhakti Sutra, Gita Press publication, 2010,
  17. ^ Prentiss, p. 3.
  18. ^ a b Klostermaier, Klaus (1989). A survey of Hinduism. SUNY Press. pp. 210–212. ISBN 9780887068072. http://books.google.com/?id=ltn3OuF_i4sC&pg=PA210. 
  19. ^ Prentiss, p. 23.
  20. ^ Sivananda, Swami (2004). Guru Bhakti Yoga. Divine Life Society. ISBN 8170521688. 
  21. ^ Vivekananda, Swami (1970). The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama. pp. 62. 
  22. ^ Neusner, Jacob (2003). World religions in America: an introduction. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 128. ISBN 0-664-22475-X. 
  23. ^ Prentiss, p. 21.
  24. ^ "Scholarly consensus today tends to view bhakti as a post-Vedic development that took place primarily in the watershed years of the epics and Puranas." Prentiss, p. 17.
  25. ^ Monier Monier-Williams; Ernst Leumann (1899). A Sanskrit-English dictionary, etymologically and philologically arranged : with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages (new ed.). Oxford: Clarendon. OCLC 152275976. 
  26. ^ Prentiss, p. 5.
  27. ^ Singh, R. Raj (2006) (– Scholar search). Bhakti and philosophy. Lexington Books. pp. 28. ISBN 0739114247. http://books.google.com/?id=-Als5jyAf24 [dead link]
  28. ^ Bryant, Edwin Francis (2007). Krishna: A Sourcebook. Oxford University Press US. p. 17 fn. ISBN 9780195148916. http://books.google.com/?id=HVDqCkW1WpUC&pg=PA17. 
  29. ^ Singh, Nagendra Kr (1997). "Vasudeva Worship: Pāṇini's Evidence". Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. Anmol Publications. pp. 2462. ISBN 9788174881687. http://books.google.com/?id=dbXDocmylYgC&pg=PA2462. 
  30. ^ Dahlaquist, Allan (1996). Megasthenes and Indian Religion. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 23. ISBN 9788120813236. http://books.google.com/?id=xp35-8gTRDkC&pg=PA23. 
  31. ^ Sheridan, Daniel (1986). The Advaitic Theism of the Bhagavata Purana. Columbia, Mo: South Asia Books. ISBN 81-208-0179-2. http://books.google.com/?id=qrtYYTjYFY8C. 
  32. ^ van Buitenen, J. A. B (1996). "The Archaism of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa". In S.S Shashi. Encyclopedia Indica. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD.. pp. 28–45. ISBN 9788170418597. http://books.google.com/?id=U-sC1GkwH7sC&pg=PA28. 
  33. ^ Olson, Carl (2007). The many colors of Hinduism: a thematic-historical introduction. Rutgers University Press. pp. 231. ISBN 9780813540689. http://books.google.com/?id=RVWKClYq4TUC&pg=PA231. 
  34. ^ Prentiss, pp. 17-18.
  35. ^ Rinehart, p. 257.
  36. ^ Flood, Gavin D. (2003). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 185. ISBN 9780631215356. http://books.google.com/?id=qSfneQ0YYY8C&pg=PA185. 
  37. ^ a b Prentiss, p. 19.
  38. ^ Minor, Robert Neil (1986). Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavadgita. SUNY Press. pp. 3. ISBN 9780887062971. http://books.google.com/?id=Ku2DGm20WWUC&pg=PA3. 
  39. ^ Glucklich, Ariel (2008). The Strides of Vishnu. Oxford University Press. pp. 104. ISBN 9780195314052. http://books.google.com/?id=KtLScrjrWiAC&pg=PA104. 
  40. ^ Bryant, p. 117.
  41. ^ Sundararajan, K. R.; Bithika Mukerji (2003). Hindu Spirituality. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 306. ISBN 9788120819375. http://books.google.com/?id=LO0DpWElIRIC&pg=PA306. 
  42. ^ Jacobsen, Knut A. (Editor); Larson, Gerald James (Editor) (2005). Theory And Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 351. ISBN 9004147578. 
  43. ^ Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita
  44. ^ Georg Feuerstein; Ken Wilber (2002). The Yoga Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 55. ISBN 9788120819238. http://books.google.com/?id=Yy5s2EHXFwAC&pg=PA55. 
  45. ^ Swami Vivekananda (2006). "Bhakti Yoga". In Amiya P Sen. The indispensable Vivekananda. Orient Blackswan. p. 212. ISBN 9788178241302. http://books.google.com/?id=usBhrZcnJ78C&pg=PA212. 
  46. ^ Bary, William Theodore De; Stephen N Hay (1988). "Hinduism". Sources of Indian Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 330. ISBN 9788120804678. http://books.google.com/?id=PqzFZNF2RxgC&pg=PA330. 
  47. ^ Keshavadas, Sadguru Sant (1988). "Aranya Kanda". Ramayana at a Glance. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 124. ISBN 9788120805453. http://books.google.com/?id=3XIatVGyjmQC&printsec=frontcover#PPA124. 
  48. ^ Haberman, David L. (2001). Acting as a Way of Salvation. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9788120817944. http://books.google.com/?id=Ua-E20uyH9IC&pg=RA1-PA133. 
  49. ^ Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (December 28, 2007). Other Asias. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 197. 
  50. ^ a b Allport, Gordon W.; Swami Akhilananda (1999). "Its meaning for the West". Hindu Psychology. Routledge. p. 180. 
  51. ^ a b c Isherwood, Christopher (1980). Ramakrishna and his disciples. Vedanta Press. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9780874810370. 
  52. ^ Sarma, Subrahmanya (1971). Essence of Hinduism. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 68. 
  53. ^ Sharma, Hari Dutt (1999). Glory of Spiritual India. Pustak Mahal. pp. 95–96. ISBN 9788122304398. 
  54. ^ Devanand, G.K.. Teaching of Yoga. APH Publishing. p. 74. 

Further reading

  • Swami Chinmayananda, Love Divine – Narada Bhakti Sutra, Chinmaya Publications Trust, Madras, 1970
  • Swami Tapasyananda, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1990
  • A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam (12 Cantos), The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust,2004
  • Steven J. Rosen, The Yoga of Kirtan: conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (New York: FOLK Books, 2008)

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