Kirtan with Jacob & Suntaya

About Suntaya

I have loved singing in devotion to Great Spirit ever since I was just a wee one going to a Catholic Church at 5 years old. As I found my way to a nondenominational church in 7th grade something shifted. There was an immense palpable light in the air. I could feel something coming alive in me, something beyond words was illuminating my very soul. I knew there was a specific kind of magic that happens when people come together to sing in Devotion to Spirit. 

As I continued along the path of my own spiritual devotion I went deep into the study of yoga. My first yoga teacher training in 2015 ignited my love for Bhakti Yoga, aka the Yoga of Devotion.

Bhakti/Devotion became the basis for why I come to the altar each and everyday, my intention for every ritual. As I continued to deepen into my own devotional singing practices, I eventually discovered the call and response singing alongside others and attended my first Kirtan. 

The practice of Kirtan became my direct path to Spirit and my primary outlet for expressing my deep longing and eternal love for our Creator. When I say my heart sings and cries out for Spirit in these songs I truly mean it.

These ancient names for the Divine are encoded with vibrational superhighways to access profound states of unity with Spirit. Through singing to different aspects of Creator we can connect to and open ourselves up to specific frequencies and energies that we desire to cultivate. 

I have been leading Kirtan offerings since 2021 and completed my first Kirtan training in Spring of 2022 with my teachers Rob & Melissa. 

I am truly humbled and honored to be singing alongside you all and serving the community with this heart medicine. .

www.onehearttemple.com / www.heartofhathor.com / IG: Suntaya.Song

About Jacob

I’ve never been a great singer, but I’ve always loved to sing-- especially with people. Driving home from Jewish summer camp in California, the multi-day ride was permeated with renditions of every song that we sang at camp, multiple times over, and always in my own key.

A new Jewish summer camp opened in the Seattle area, one that didn’t have the same quality of singing culture as my previous summer home. As a camper there, I knew in my bones that music was central to the health and well-being of the Camp, the community, and one’s experience of both. So I learned to sing…and I learned to play guitar…and was one day unexpectedly invited to run the music program as the Head Songleader. What followed was years and years of studying and learning how to create spiritual moments, build community, and be in the service of the divine all through the musical experience. 

I am consistently struck and in awe by the way in which, when approached with an open heart and full spirit, group singing can create a community— how when we truly join together in the musical space, we are serving the collective and ourselves simultaneously by presencing our bodies and soul with the divine right in this one singular moment. All this magic and so much more drives my unyielding desire to continue showing up for and, when appropriate, facilitating group musicking.

I am deeply humbled, honored, and grateful to have been invited into sacred partnership with Suntaya to bring Kirtan to community. While certainly a departure from my heritage and ancestry, I’ve become enchanted by the overall practice of Kirtan and am delighted to be in and of service.

B’shalom v’ahava, 

Jacob

About the Offering

Our hearts long to be in union with the Divine. This practice of devotional singing is the expression of our love for our Creator.

Coming together to sing is profoundly powerful and sacred. This is a common part of rituals and tradition across all cultures, religions and spiritual lineages. Our ancestors knew of the medicine that lives within the essence of a song and the joy and liberation that we can access through our voice. When we sing the names of the Divine in collective devotion we access ecstatic states of Divine Union, Eternal Presence and Unconditional Love. This is truly a beautiful way to share your heart and emotions with the Divine.

Kirtan is an ancient practice of singing mantras that originates from South India. The word ‘Kirtan’ is a Sanskrit word meaning to call, sing, praise, or glorify. It is said in Hindu texts that Kirtan itself is eternal, such that it has always existed. In our current understanding of the timeline it would appear that Kirtan started gaining momentum on the physical plane between the 6th - 15th centuries.

Kirtan is a call and response style of singing such that those in attendance can learn the songs as we go. The songs are fairly simple and you’ll learn them rather quickly!