Kirtan - Kirtan and The Bhakti Movement

Kirtan and The Bhakti Movement

In the Bhagavad-gita (9.13-9.14) Krishna states that great souls worship and glorify him single-mindedly. In Maharashtra state of India Keertan is a unique devotional solo performance and theatrical folk art which accompanies spiritual story telling along with call-and-response chanting or "responsory" that most of the times includes combinations of multiple element of Performing arts. Narada is considered originator of this tradition. The practice of kirtan was popularized as a means to this end in the Hindu devotional revival of the Moghul era.

The Varkari saint Namdev (c. 1270–1350), a Shudra tailor, used the kirtan form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba.

In the early 16th century CE Chaitanya Mahaprabhu traveled throughout India, popularizing Krishna sankirtan.

The Sikh tradition of Kirtan or Gurmat Sangeet was started by Guru Nanak at Kartarpur in the early 16th century and was strengthened by his successors, particularly Guru Arjan, at Amritsar. In spite of several interruptions, kirtan continues to be performed at the Golden Temple and other historical gurdwaras.

Sikhs refer to a hymn or section of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) as a shabad. The first shabad in the SGGS is the Mool Mantar. The hymns are arranged in chapters named after musical ragas. The shabads in any chapter is to be sung to that particular raga with due attention to tala and dhuni (melody) (See also Sikh music).