And you can hear more of Gopal-hari's kirtans on the Kirtans in Oxford blog. In fact there are many sweet kirtans to be heard there, by various singers. There's a podcast thingy at the side where you can subscribe and get to hear all the latest ones.
vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtana!
We get so many people searching for Gopal-hari, that I'm reposting this YouTube Kirtan, at your service! Also I have tagged all Gopal-hari's kirtans on this blog, so you can find them easily if you click his name in the tag box.
As the evenings draw in and Kartik begins, there is nothing nicer in all the world than gathering together around the altar, to offer lights to Sri Damodara. In our temple we offer little candles, but I wish we could offer ghee lamps like this one. The holder is made of clay and the wick is soaked in clarified butter, so it's both Earth friendly and an offering from the cow; Krishna especially likes that.
But it's the devotion which counts and which makes the daily Kartik ceremony so special. Singing the Damodarastaka song as we offer our lamps, surely can't help but increase our devotion to our divine Lord. When I first heard the Damodarastaka, I mostly liked the lilting three-beats-to-the-bar melody, but over the years of singing and studying the words, I've come to appreciate the deep devotion expressed in Damodarastaka and how, distracted though we may be, this song attracts our minds strongly towards Krishna, fanning our desire to serve Him more purely.
This year, Kartik came upon me unawares! I hadn't really prepared my mind; but fortunately, just singing the Damodarastakam every day, has drawn me into the Kartik mood. It's strong. There's a fine rendition of the first four verses here, by Gopal hari das: Sri Damodarastakam.
Gopal-hari who visited us at Gaura-Purnima sent us this very nice letter. We are embarrassed, as it is we who so much appreciated his visit!
Respected Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you very much for your wonderful association and kind hospitality. I felt like I was at home. Your temple has a very personal and devotional atmosphere. I think this is because beautiful Sri Sri Radha-Madhava are the centre of everyone’s attention. Their beautiful golden forms seem to enchant everyone who lives there, and everyone who visits. They pleasantly and patiently smile, giving blessings with their hands raised high, waiting for the whole of Belfast to come and visit them. Somehow, standing before them feels like standing in a historic temple in Vrindavana.
I was so happy to come to Belfast and I think what made it very special was the friendship I was able to have with the devotees there.
Your humble servant,
Gopal-hari das
I just saw that Gopal Hari's Kirtan from a previous post has mysteriously disappeared, so I'm posting it again here. Sorry to all of you who were looking for it... you should have let me know!
Hoorah for podcasts! Well, maybe "hoorah" is a bit too enthusiastic in this case, as the quality isn't perfect; but they're still very good to listen to. These two are from our recent Gaura-Purnima festival; Gopal hari sings a song by Narottama das Thakura. "Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Sri Gauranga" and comments on it afterwards (there's the tail end of a previous kirtan just before this song begins.) Gopal is a very good kirtaniyah - as I'm sure you will agree!
The second is Gopal's talk "From Bengal to Belfast" - the spreading of Lord Chaitanya's sankirtan movement. Many thanks to Lal-krishna for his technical help with these. And I hope you enjoy listening to them.
