New World Kirtan > Calming Chants for a Crazy World

Kirtan, one of the oldest sacred music traditions of the world, helps the mind to become quiet and open to the experience of peace. We bring you a new 60-minute satsang session each week, featuring music by talented new western kirtan artists.

Last refreshed: July 27th, 2025 at 8:23 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Travel Well: A Tribute To David Newman. December 31, 1963 — April 18, 2024

Hello friends, I have sad news. On April 18th of this year our Bhakti world lost one of its brightest lights. David Newman left his body after a short illness, and his death sent waves of sadness & grief through the international Bhakti community. He was so young, and had so much left to give. But it was his time, and no one understood that better than David did. We hosted him for a kirtan & a workshop back in the spring of 2018, and he was a delight — deeply spiritual and also funny wit...

Jul 04, 2024•28 min

The Bhakti Love Reunion!

Hello friends, Happy Autumn! In this edition we’re featuring artists playing at next week’s Bhakti Love Reunion , October 13-15 in Weldon, CA — that’s near Lake Isabella. Three full days of Yoga, kirtan, music, dancing and great food — doesn’t that sound awesome? I am SO excited to be going, I haven’t been to a festival in such a long time, and many of the artists we all love will be there. Jai Uttal & Donna De Lory are headlining. There’s a lot more detail on the website, here’s the link . ...

Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 19 min

Hello Summer!

Hello friends, This set is devoted to the Divine Mother, with the exception of one chant, the title track from Shantala’s remarkable new CD ‘Five’ . The whole CD is great, but I’m kind of obsessed with this track & have been playing it on loop. Heather Wertheiimer composed the chant over the course of the pandemic, and the mantra ‘Namah Shivaya” pulses like a heartbeat behind a five-line English prayer for our planet. The chanting flows in a layered musical tapestry that features the Grammy-...

Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 25 min

A Set For Maha Shivaratri

I’m feeling blessed by a lot these days. Those of you who listen to the New World Kirtan Podcast are one of my biggest blessings — this community has enriched my life in ways too numerous to count. Thank you for being here. And we’ve been here together for quite a long time — the first edition of the podcast was posted in 2018 before anyone really knew what a podcast was. I was always trying to explain it! We’ve been through quite a journey together — my mother’s illness & death, my own surg...

Feb 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min

Kirtan Goes To The Grammy Awards!

Hello friends, I hope this finds you healthy & doing well. If the dark days are getting you down, take heart because on Wednesday we celebrated Imbolc, an ancient Celtic holiday that celebrates the beginning of Spring — it was traditionally celebrated by the lighting of fires to honor the sun goddess Brigid. This holiday traditionally marks the midway point between winter solstice & the spring equinox, so the light is coming back big time now. There’s a set to the Divine Mother to celebr...

Feb 05, 2023•57 min

Thoughts of Peace, Words of Love — More Fresh Tracks From the Auricle Collective

It has been a glorious summer & fall here, one of the most beautiful I can remember. But now the rains have started, and the leaves are falling. The Corvallis kirtan community continues to grow, and we’ll be starting live kirtan concerts again in December. It feels good to be returning to this magical practice. Let’s enter the way back machine for a moment and recall, back in April, me telling you about the Auricle Collective — a community of more than 156 musicians rooted in singing, chanti...

Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 14 min

More Fresh Tracks From The Auricle Collective!

OK, guys — time is running out! Let’s all come together and support the Auricle Collective by clicking on this link . I hope you all enjoy more new music from the talented artists of the Auricle Collective. Be well, enjoy the summer, and until next time — Namaste. THE MUSIC: Sean Johnson & the Wild Lotus Band , Mystery: Turn That Wall Into a Door (Jai Ganesha) Dave Stringer & Sheila Nicholls , Thrum: River Kamini Natarajan , Shiva Mantras: Shiva Dhyana Mantra Jai Uttal: Holy Madman – In ...

Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 11 min

Fresh Tracks From the Auricle Collective!

Hello dear friends, I hope life is good for you as we head into midsummer. If you recall, back in April, I told you about the Auricle Collective. This community of more than 100 musicians is rooted in singing, chanting & music as art and spiritual practice. It includes the musicians that fuel our Bhakti Yoga practice. Remember the olden days when we were all downloading our music? Then, a single song cost 99 cents. Now, in the streaming era, a song has to be downloaded 315 times for an artis...

Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 13 min

A Surprise Package

Happy summer, my dear friends! I hope you’re enjoying life as much as I am. My health is almost back to normal after the accident, and I’m working on regaining fitness now. Our son was married last weekend, and it was a beautiful love-filled & life affirming celebration. And next week we’re starting a big garden renovation, and I’m so excited about that. I’m not a big Instagram person, but I’ll be posting pictures there as things progress if you’d like to follow along. I also wanted to let y...

Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 20 min

For Ukraine

Several weeks ago I was on a Zoom call with over 50 kirtan artists to hear more about something called the Auricle Collective — this is a project spearheaded by Dave Stringer, Seán Johnson and several other Kirtan artists. Singing kirtan connects us by the thread of sacred music as a spiritual path. The goal of the Auricle Collective is to share our resources to promote & support our kirtan artists, who are making music that is participatory , devotional and that has the intention of shiftin...

Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 36 min

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