"While causing such an ecstatic disturbance, the holy name showers liquid nectar on my heart and drowns me in the ocean of divine love of Godhead. He does not allow me to understand anything; For He has made me truly mad and has stolen away my heart and all my wealth.” written by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura from Saranagati

Hearts n Beats Mahamantra

For American born lead singer Gaura Mani, the love affair with kirtan began at a very young age.

“When I was two years old, living at the Detroit Devasadan Mandir, my mother would play tapes of Srila Prabhupada’s kirtan while she cooked,” Gaura Mani recalls.

From the early 1980s to mid 1990s, while she went to gurukula schools in Detroit, Los Angeles, and North Carolina, Gaura Mani would start singing kirtan at 4:00am every day, with the traditional mangala arati prayers. And from the age of six, she and her sister would play mridanga and harmonium at Krishna conscious home programs their parents held on weekends.

All this kirtan, coupled with visits every few years to Vrindavana, the land of Lord Krishna’s birth, left Gaura Mani deeply attached to the mischievous cowherd boy.
During one later visit to Vrindavana, Gaura Mani met her husband-to-be Param Dasa, who had moved there from Punjab with his family, and had joined ISKCON at seventeen.

“The first time I met him, he was singing kirtan in the temple, as he did every evening,” she says. “I just couldn’t get enough of his kirtan. Every time he sang it just melted my heart. We were formally introduced in front of my parents, and began to spend time with each other by doing kirtan together!” India, when we perform, audiences are attracted because we have a slightly Western style of kirtan,” she says. “They come for the Western feel, and then realize that they’re chanting Hare Krishna, calling out the Lord! The crowd goes completely wild, and their energy bounces back to me. It’s very real, very uplifting. I go into another dimension, like I’m not even in this world anymore.”

Developing their devotion and working on their craft through live performances, The Vrajavadhus finally released their first album “Take Me Home” An incredible 35,000 people, including members of the press, attended to chant and dance along as The Vrajavadhus played their album in full. “I feel like there’s nothing greater than to sing for Krishna,” Gaura Mani says. “Being united with Him in that way gives me the highest feeling of ecstasy. I pray to be constantly engaged in this service, and I never want it to end. Kirtan forever!”


Dedication
The Vrajavadhus Kirtanwali dedicate their humble service to the Founder Acarya of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. We pray for his blessings in spreading the movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu throughout the world.

 


Hearts n Beats Mahamantra

Gaura Mani Devi