I have been listening to Jai Uttal's latest CD for almost 2 months now and I never get tired of it. Most kirtans are usually good and I appreciate the intent of the kirtan artists very much. I can't help notice it but some kirtan artists just make you feel different. All kirtan artists are definitely entertaining but very few are uplifting!  Jai Uttal is one of those uplifters. He transports you to a different plane of consciousness.

He is one of the very few western artists who pronounce sanskrit words correctly. I am not surprised by the effect his kirtans have on people. Sanskrit is a very powerful language, it's phonetic importance is undermined by many people in the west.  Every sound that comes out of our mouth creates a vibration in our body. When Sanskrit mantras are chanted the right way, the vibrations they create in our body can start those chakras rolling and kundalini rising sooner than you would expect.

If words are Gold, Music is Diamond and Silence is Platinium. Silence is the true nature of the soul, it is the medium of our spiritual journey.  One of my favorite quotes from the "Brahma Kumaris" about silence goes like this..."Silence is not just absence of sound, it is also stillness of the mind". We are all subconsciously trying to reach this stillness through our āsanas, prānāyama, dhārana and dhyāna. In my view, the 'uplifter' artists take you towards silence through their music. When I chant with Jai (not him personallly but his CD), I experience this silence within me even though I am chanting at the top of my voice! 

I encourage my fellow yogis to listen to Jai Uttal, if they have not done so already.  Deva Premal is another 'uplifter', also one of my favorites. Check our her latest album 'Dakshina'. She'll take you from the concrete jungle of Los Angeles to the Himalays even before the first song in the album plays fully!

I would also urge visitors on this site to look at the Sanskrit dictionary in the "Yoga Wisdom" section of this site. The pronunciation guide and the glossary will help you very much in understanding common sanskrit terms you will come cross in your yoga practice. 

Om Shanti