Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold

The great Hatha Yogi and teacher, TKV Desikachar, once said, "If you tell a person who cannot find their own house that there is a pot of gold inside, they would be happier had they not had this information. What use is the gold if it cannot be found? It only causes pain. First, they must find the house and enter it. Then there are many possibilities." His message outlines the dilemma peculiar to our age and culture for those of us embarking on a spiritual path today. We long for the promised gold of love that (we are told) lies at the heart of our true nature, but our history--in the West particularly--has been to seek our treasure on the outside. We have not been taught how to love ourselves. It is dark in this place, and we have lost our way home. In his new book, Chants of A Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold, Krishna Das gives us the story of his own path and, in the offering, provides us with a light to help guide us on our return journey home. With the characteristic informality, warmth and humor that we have come to know as his signature style at his kirtans, KD chronicles the story of a spiritual journey that is American at its roots. He is no yogi who might seem to be talking to us from a world set on high and apart. We know him; his trials are familiar to us. He is our son, our brother, our father, our friend. His unflinching honesty regarding his setbacks along the way is all the more assurance for us that what he has to say about grace and developing a practice is real and accessible to us right now--just as we are. His journey--setting out as a young man from New York, to India and receiving the grace of his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, and back again--is more than a story of redemption passed down from a saint, nor are his spiritual lessons restricted to the singing of Hindu chants. When Maharaj-ji (his guru) died, KD's work was to re-integrate the lessons that he learned at his feet, to find "home" within himself. His life travels led him to explore beyond any one set of spiritual practices, to discover those that, followed over time--"gradually, but inevitably"--began to dissolve the veil of the false self. He offers his map--the practices of Lovingkindness meditation, chanting the names of God--as the means through which we, too, may develop faith based in a personal understanding that the gold that we are looking for exists, and can be found. Enclosed for our use with the book, we are given a cd of chants; we can begin our journey immediately.

In May of 1973, when I first met Ram Dass in Tampa, Florida, a young fellow named "Krishna Das" was traveling with him. "K.D.," as we came to refer to him, was a quiet, gentle soul who - in those days - spoke softly and infrequently. But when he sang, his songs to God opened up the Heavens . . . and pure Love and Light poured from his heart, and from the hearts of those who had the opportunity to be in the "Presence" his songs invoked. It was May 22, 1973. We were sitting on "Crescent Hill" on the campus of the University of South Florida as the sun was setting in the West. Krishna Das was leading nearly 3000 people in the Indian form of devotional singing known as "kirtan." Celestial music began to flow in, and out, and around, and through the gathering . . . floating on the warm, majestic, tropical evening breeze . . . holy sounds magically lifting our hearts into the realms of the Spirit. Now, some 37 years later, Krishna Das has become known as the foremost "kirtan-walla" in America . . . an accolade that is well deserved because he is simply the best. And it is my pleasure and honor to be able to highly recommend his new auto-biography . . . a beautiful journey of the heart . . . Chants of a Lifetime . . . It is the story of a profound journey from confusion and emptiness into the Heart of Love. Anyone who lived through the Sixties and Seventies, or who seeks a greater understanding of the spiritual transformations those years engendered will find this book both fascinating and insightful. And anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the many dimensions of yoga will find much to savor and reflect on in this delightful, inspirational story of one man's sincere search for the path to Truth . . . and his exuberant gratitude about finding it.

What I love about KD is that he is a guy that uses the chanting and the droning tone of the Harmonium to survive depression and the vagaries of life. I love that he is a reluctant teacher that has become a spiritual leader despite himself. This makes him so real. The lack of ego, or his struggle with ego, draws people to him. I enjoy his youtube chai n chat's as well. So, what is the wisdom he is imparting? Well that is where his unusual guru comes in. Neem Karoli Baba also does not appear greatly interested in being a teacher, at least in the formal sense. I sort of interpret that Neem Karoli Baba is one manifestation of Baba Hanuman...or I guess we can say a manifestation of God on earth that pops up, ie incarnates, fairly constantly. There are indications in the book that perhaps there is another version of this reincarnation in the woods somewhere. Maybe I have that wrong but that is what I got out of it. I remember him saying in one of his Chai n Chats, when asked a question about hindu beliefs, KD says 'he (Neem Karoli Baba) was not that type of guru.' Neem Karoli Baba basically teaches by being. He does not spend a whole lot of time expounding on any teachings. Another story I liked was that when he got to India to hear all this profound wisdom - Neem Karoli Baba basically said to 'follow Jesus.'I laughed out loud at that. I can see myself traveling thousands of miles and climbing a mountain only to hear that Jesus is the answer. I really love these two unexpected and rather reluctant teachers that teach by doing what is natural to the them, or for their basic survival, versus the edification and elevation of their own ego.

As I listened to this book I noted all the teachings the author imparted to the reader by walking us through their life. It was good to hear about many spiritual leaders like Ram Das from a different perspective. It was good to learn about Neem Karoli Baba from other people who followed him during his life. More teachings for those of us who weren’t there to have these teachings were imparted on us directly. The chants are great to listen to which anyone can find. I listened to this book once and will listen to it again in a few months to get the most out of it.

Read this book just to get a feeling of how chanting can change your life. I've been to some of the places in India that he talks about and he describes them well. (Some of them have changed drastically as India has become richer. He tells a good story that have helped me understand more of his guru, Neem Kurli Baba, and the people that his guru inspired. I just wish that he would have told us a bit more of his ups and downs on the path.

I just received a most spectacular book and CD. It is Chants of A Lifetime by Krishna Das, and is an account of his life in search of the heart of Love...Gold as he calls it. The book is compelling in so many ways, and for those of us who lived through the incredible 60s and 70s, it is a true reminder of the opening in those years to our spiritual longing. Things changed after that, but in those years, there was a heartfelt innocence to our yearning for connection to God, Source, Presence, Universe...whatever you want to call it. Krishna Das chronicles his journey through meeting Ram Das in New Hampshire, and then on to India where he found his heart in teacher, Maharaj-ji. He explains the process, the true meaning of a guru, and brings in exquisite poems of Rumi and Kagore as well as others that point us to the heart of the great mystery - Oneness and the ways in which we each find our path to the source of our heart's true desire...reunion. This is a biographical journey, but also a spiritual teaching for the reader. In addition, for those of you familiar with his moving chants, the CD provides a wonderful backdrop of his musical prayers. I am so moved by this book that I'm taking the rest of the day to read it, and I haven't done that with a book in a long, long time. If you feel the need for imagery that stills the mind and opens the heart, give yourself the gift of this incredible book!

Krishna Das does a fine job of interweaving thoughtful reflections on his experiences of love, life and the impact his guru, Neem Karoli Baba had on him over the course of his life and spiritual development. He touches on levels both subtle and relational and on how love manifests through the practice of chanting the divine name, with the consequent increase in heartfelt devotion & spiritual self-realization. Much of the biographical details were full of warmth, honesty and humility. His account of being on a spiritual journey reminded me how much many of us, including myself, are sharing in his journey, and can readily identify with it. There is a profound message in this story that is best understood when read. Simply put it is about a divine love manifestly expressed in human form by a saintly being, hence being "graced". Krishna Das has the gift of voicing this love devotionally by way of musically chanting the divine name in a manner consistent with the love he received from his guru. When I hear it I feel it. It is a powerful feeling, and a wonderful feeling. Check it out.

I play Harmonium and lead chants myself and always have had a tremendous respect for Krishna Das. I found Chants of a Lifetime to be a deeply personal autobiographical account of a young man named Jeffery who went to India in his early 20s and came back to America as Krishna Das after a life transforming 2 1/2 years with legendary guru Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji). Krishna Das shares in fascinating detail and great candor both his struggles and setbacks as well as the moments of grace and ecstasy. His accounts of Maharaji are mesmerizing and serve as a springboard for conveying many profound truths of the path to God-Realization. A word of warning to those just looking for a book about chanting by a chant master: this work is more about the spiritual journey and context of one of America's greatest Chantmasters than just a book about chanting. Having said that, Krishna Das exquisitely conveys what went into making him what he is today, which is a result of a life-long pursuit of the path of Bhakti, or Divine Love. As a wonderful bonus, the book comes with a CD filled with some wonderful chants. Personally, I could hardly put the book down and consider it a great read for anyone open to Eastern Spirituality and Devotional Chanting!

I’ve been wanting this book for so long. This is the second time i order it, first didn’t come and i don’t know if they refund me. Now i have it. Jumping of joy went to the fence to get it, very excited i opened the package. It’s beautiful and i’m gonna read it right now. I wish the cd had arrived too but i’m so happy to have it now like it is; beautiful and with so many pages mistreated. I think is a book already read, but i’ve waited so long that i don’t care. Love KD very much!

Écrit avec beaucoup d’humilité cette autobiographie est inspirante et riche d’informations et d’expériences. A lire si vous cherchez une source d’inspiration et un chemin vers votre cœur. Jay Hanuman !

Definetely, it's one of the most (if not the most) beautiful and inspiring books that I've ever read. It's full of unconditional and pure Love. Wow, I could not and did not want to stop reading, I wanted to be and feel full of all this great love. This book is life changing, it's highly recommended if you want to find the true love that lives inside of you. No words I can say would describe the amazing experience. And the CD is really beautiful. Wow Wow Wow!!!

I loved this book. For many years I've been a fan of KD listening to his music daily during yoga and meditative practice. It was great getting to know a bit more about him and his Guru. the book is very honest, it's as if he's speaking directly to you. in fact, the only negative point I had was that he seems to lose 'the thread' on a few occasions - where he starts on a topic, divulges, but never returns to the original topic - but hey! I'm guilty of that in real life - so makes the book a bit more human. I finished the book a few days before seeing the screening of his film. To be honest, I preferred the book :)

O autor, de maneira direta e clara, relata em primeira voz, sua jornada de busca espiritual, desde as montanhas norte-americanas até a Índia. KD tem coragem de expor suas inseguranças e incertezas a cada passo do caminho, bem como de desnudar suas questões interiores mais difíceis para podermos acompanhar como, ao seus olhos, a "graça" vinda através de seu guru, transformou sua vida pela prática do kirtan. Uma jornada onde conseguimos quase que sentir o que KD sentiu em seus momentos mais iluminados e nos mais tomados pela escuridão, melancolia e depressão. Um belíssimo livro.