African Kiirtans, 11/02/06

A few weeks back, I had a most wonderful house guest from Congo, Africa: Dada Gunamaya, an acharya (spiritual teacher) of Ananda Marga. Dadaji spent one week with our family. We gave a presentation of African kiirtans at The Harvest School, and performed at the Te' House in downtown Houston.

During our week together, I heard the most intriguing stories of his life in Africa. It seems he was born with the desire to meditate, thus he told his father as a small boy. He also had some intuitive knowledge of India, to his father's great surprise, and wanted to visit there. As a teenager, he was led to a Hatha Yoga teacher, and practiced for several hours a day, until it began to interfere with his studies. His teacher had told him to be on the lookout for a meditation guru, thus he was quite alert when introduced to the path of Ananda Marga as a young man. Dadaji soon became an acharya and was most successful working with the people on his continent.

Dadaji told me of the Baba Nam Kevalam kiirtans in Africa. While working in Africa, he asked the devotees of different countries to develop their own kiirtans (spiritual chant). He then created annual competitions to see whose were more lively and melodic. The African kiirtans are sung without any other instrument than drums. They are call and response, with beautiful harmonies. I recorded Dada's kiirtans in my home studio and was transported back to the days of singing for Brazilian Carnaval. I could feel the roots of Brazilian music in these African kiirtans - the pulse coming from Mother Africa. What joy to sing and dance kiirtans from a different continent!

Dada Gunamaya is a most sincere practitioner of yoga and meditation. He arises bright and early, singing devotional songs and kiirtan before beginning meditation. He practices meditation 4 times a day, and takes only two meals a day. Dadaji has a sweet smiling disposition and seems to be immersed in a deeper state of consciousness. This subtle vibration emerging from a human being can only bring joy to others around him.