The Birth of Kirtan: The Life & Teachings of Chaitanya

by Ranchor Prime

Overview

The Birth of Kirtan: The Life and Teachings of Chaitanya is the biography of a mystic saint who pioneered devotional yoga (Bhakti) in sixteenth-century India and started the practice of sacred chanting (kirtan) that has now spread around the world. While Chaitanya’s practice has become a global movement over the last five hundred years, little is generally known about this spiritual reformer, as the two principal texts recounting his life were written in Bengali in the sixteenth century. In The Birth of Kirtan, Bhakti scholar and teacher Ranchor Prime adapts these two narratives into a moving and emotionally charged English-language biography for a modern audience. His poetic retelling is complemented by full-color reproductions of never-before-published nineteenth-century paintings of Chaitanya’s life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608871070
Publisher:	Mandala Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	322,148
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Ranchor Prime is the author of several books on the culture and spirituality of India, speaking to Hindu environmental issues as a Hindu religious scholar. He is an advisor on religion and conservation to the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, and he is co-founder and director of Friends of Vrindavan, an environmental charity aimed at protecting sacred forests in India. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Prologue Jai Uttal xi

Foreword Shiva Rea xiii

Preface Radbhanath Swami xvii

Introduction 1

Book 1 Childhood

Moonrise 13

Protector of the World 15

Divine Footprints 17

Mischievous Child 20

Loss of a Brother and a Father 22

Restless Spirit 25

The Bank of the Ganges 27

Master of Navadvip 29

Youthful Success 32

Travels 35

Remarriage 37

Book 2 The Mission Begins

Spiritual Awakening 43

Nimai Pandit's Transformation 46

How Vishvambhar Met Nityananda 50

Vishvambhar's Mission 55

The Great Revelation 57

Saving the Fallen 61

Conversion of the Kazi 65

Truth from a Child 68

Renouncing the World 71

Book 3 Traveling & Teaching

Leaving Home 81

Journey to Puri 85

Meeting Sarvabhauma 86

Travels in the South 91

Visitors from Bengal 98

The Chariot Festival 101

The King's Wish 104

Return to Bengal 107

Pilgrimage to Vrindavan 114

Teaching Rupa and Sanatan 117

The Monks of Varanasi 125

Book 4 The Ocean of Love

Rupa and Sanatan in Puri 135

Haridas, Teacher of the Name 143

Sharing Love for God 146

The Care of Friends 150

The Engulfing Ocean of Love 154

Day and Night 158

Endnotes 164

Index 166

Acknowledgments 172

Colophon 172