Differences and Types of Kirtana and Japa by Nitai Das (Neal Delmonico Phd)

Differences and Types of Kīrtana and Japa 

by Nitāi Dās (Neal Delmonico Phd)

 
Japa: Muttering, whispering, repeating. Japa is from the root √jap which means “to utter in a low voice.” It is one of the ways in which the holy name and the usual way in which other mantras are recited. It is said to be of three types: silent or mental (mānasika), whispered (upāṃśu), and vocal (vācika). In actuality, however, only the second one is really japa. The first falls under the scope of “remembering” (smaraṇa) and the third is a part of kīrtana. See Sanātana Gosvāmin’s commentary on the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (Play of Devotion to Hari) 11.472.  

Kīrtana: “Mentioning, repeating, saying, telling, praising.” It comes from the root √kīrt, “to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify,” and is related to the word kīrti, which means “fame”. Thus, it means to make famous or spread the fame of someone. Mentioning, repeating, saying, telling, etc. are all ways of doing this. In the context of Vaiṣṇava practice it means to mention, repeat, say, tell of, or praise Kṛṣṇa’s names, qualities, forms, and activities. As saṅkīrtana, or “complete telling,” it means to sing of those things to musical accompaniment and according to the Gosvāmins, in groups. Śrī Jīva says that among all the forms of kīrtana, loud kīrtana of Kṛṣṇa’s names is the best. (Śrī Jīva Gosvāmin, Bhakti-sandarbha, paragraph 265) About saṅkīrtana he says: “kīrtana performed by many people gathered together is called saṅkīrtana. And because it leads to a special, astonishing delight it is better than the former (ie. kīrtana).” (ibid., paragraph 269) The musical connection is made by Sanātana Gosvāmin when he says that saṅkīrtana means the complete or sweet-sounding, loud singing of the names of the enjoyer of the Rāsa dance (Kṛṣṇa) with melody, rhythm, and so forth. (Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmin, commentary on Bb, 2.1.21) Thus, for the purposes of this text kīrtana is the loud repeating or telling of Kṛṣṇa’s names, qualities or telling of Kṛṣṇa’s names, qualities, forms, and activities as part of a group.

Source: Nitāi Dās (Neal Delmonico, Phd)’s Glossary, pages 178-180, in Sādhu Sādhu: a life of Tinkaḍi Bābā, by Binode Bihari Dās Bābājī, Blazing Sapphire Press 2008, Kirksville, MO.

Transcription by David Britto, 14 set 2012
See translation to portuguese here