Faculty Information |

OBI Jun Faculty of International Relations Department of International Relations Associate Professor

■ Title
The Acceptance and Development of Indian Devotional songs kirtan in the West: Music, Yoga and Spirituality

■ Outline
In this article, I attempt to describe the history of "kirtan movement" in the West from a religious and musical perspective. Recently, audio and visual commodities related to Indian devotional songs known as kirtan have been increased. Similarly, one of the yoga styles called "Kirtan yoga" or "Bhakti yoga" has been gaining popularity in the West. Previous studies show outlines of the process of this movement, however, some essential facts, such as when it emerged and who played a vital role, are not revealed yet. Idiscuss the subject in three phases. Firstly, I examine a few significant events during the late 60's-70's, such as "The first yoga boom" and the rise of religious organization which emphasizes the importance of chanting. Secondly, while focusing on the phenomenon in the 80's -90's, such as the emergence of Western-born kirtan artists and varied yoga styles, I point out that a music-focused yoga became the predecessor of today's "kirtan yoga." Thirdly, I discuss the popularization of kirtan in the music and yoga scenes after 2000. The results show that two flows were formed in the "kirtan movement": One became established its place in the music market as a genre, and the other is purely the way of spiritual practice. However, these two have been influencing each other thorough the localization process in the West.
Single 2015/03