This week we had a beautiful conversation about connection and trust. Nina Rao, who is a beautiful Kirtan musician, had a very interesting path. She was first introduced to chanting in south India by her chanter-musician grandfather at the age of 9 years old. Nina and her family moved abroad and actually her early work life began in the banking world in NY and then organizing and leading photographic wildlife safaris in Africa and India. It was only when Nina met Krishna Das in NY that her path returned to chanting. Nina spoke with our host Yael Ginzburg about the simplicity of singing together to bringing people together, trusting the pull towards connection, allowing the benefit of the practice to motivate us to continue, not having to ask permission to trust ourselves and more. We had a bird in the studio with us so when you listen, it will be a beautiful reminder of how it is to be in the studio with us on our grounds in Baja.
Blog
The Vocal Sanctuary Podcast (Nina Rao Ep 7)
Show Notes:
Today, I’m joined by the graceful and world recognized bhajan traditional singer Nina Rao.
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in south India when she was nine years old. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. For many years Nina has been Krishna Das' business manager and accompanies him musically as well. In 2007, she recorded the track 'Nina Chalisa' on Krishna Das' CD "Flow of Grace " ; January 2013 she released her debut album, "Antarayaami - Knower of All Hearts"; August 2017 her second album “Anubhav” was released. Nina regularly leads kirtan workshops, and retreats in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York and beyond.
Podcast Recap:
The power of chanting and how anyone can do it.
Beautiful mantra practice of Jai Ram Sita Ram by Nina Rao
Her story of recording with Krishna Das for the first time.
Nina Rao – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 95 – Sita’s Fire w/ Vrinda Sheth & Keli Lalita Reddy
Nina Rao and Keli Reddy interview author Vrinda Sheth about Sita’s Fire, a retelling of the Ramayana that brings Sita and the other female characters from the story to center stage.
Vrinda Sheth was raised in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition in Sweden. She is an alumnus of the reputed Kalakshetra institute, holding a First Class Diploma in Bharata Natyam, Indian classical dance. She remains devoted to tradition while exploring ways to bridge the gap between the modern and the ancient. Vrinda is passionate about bringing women’s voices and stories center stage and is the author of the award-winning Sita’s Fire Trilogy. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Florida and is pursuing a Masters in Literature. She lives in Florida with her husband and three children.
Check out the Sita’s Fire Trilogy at sitasfire.com
Nina Rao on the Love and Liberation Podcast with Olivia Clementine
Nina Rao: Helpless Before Love, Chanting the Divine Names
Recorded March 8 2021
A Message from Vasant Lad on Hanuman Jayanti
Enjoy this short video of Dr. Vasant Lad talking about Ram and Hanuman
More about Dr. Lad and this video HERE
Women's Satsang Stories of Siddhi Ma (Feb 2021)
From Love Serve Remember Women's Virtual Satsang Feb 2021: Dharma Talk portion includes a short intro about Sri Siddhi Ma and some of us who feel very close to Her: Nina, Ambika, Shyama, and Mirabai Starr. To learn more about the Womens Satsang on Love Serve Remember's affinity groups see here: https://www.ramdass.org/fellowship
An invitation: Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices to Find Your Way Home to Your Heart
Come join me and satsang!
April 19-May 17, 2022
5-module weekly online course
Sacred Traditional Mantra & Chant Practices to Find Your Way Home to Your Heart
We will talk about chanting as a personal practice and actually practice together, kirtan, japa, prayers to the goddess, the vedic form of Gāyatrī mantra, chants to Mother Earth.
Details and registration for the course directly here:
https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/mcpNR/a18602/
Click here to receive a recording of my free hour-long online event, "Open Your Inner Sanctuary With the Power of Devotional Chanting: Find Empowerment & Inspiration Inside a Daily Practice of Kirtan & Mantra.” https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/iscNR/a18602/
Sri Rudram, I took the plunge!
This simple certificate means the world to me. Staying home during COVID times allowed me to pursue studies into the roots of chanting and when I found my teacher Shantala Sriramaiah of VedaStudies.com, I took the plunge. I started by taking courses on shorter prayers and she convinced me that I would be able to dive into the one-year course to start learning Rudrapraśnah, so this past Shivaratri I was able to celebrate my course completion by chanting along with priest Prakash at Eddie Stern’s newly-reopened Broome Street Temple.
Showing up weekly at the crack of dawn and endeavoring to practice regularly gave me such a sense of purpose and continues to feed me in ways I hadn’t foreseen as I continue to learn by repetition. I loved hanging out virtually with students from all around the world - beginners and more seasoned practitioners.
Now, I’m hooked and knowing there’s a universe of Vedic chants, I’m happily continuing on this journey of study in this practice.
Kirtan at Home with Nina Rao
This is an experiential program in chanting the names of the Divine from the Indian tradition. Chanting of these Names creates a devotional space for your hearts to open into. As we follow the simple practice of listening to the call, and singing the response we allow for the waves on the surface of our mind to calm so that we might immerse into the depths of the stillness within that is unperturbed by the winds and waves. This equanimous space of unconditional Love that is not received or given, but just IS, exists within each one of us. Spiritual practice using mantra is the instrument for clearing the mind and opening the heart. Like any practice it must be done with some amount of discipline and regularity for the beneficial effects. In each episode, Nina will talk a little about the practice but most of the time is spent in the chanting practice where she leads the chant and the viewer can sing along with the music. In this season we will practice repetition of mantra with melody and music with Nina on harmonium, accompanied by Arjun Bruggeman on tabla.
With your EPTV membership through Embodied Philosophy you can begin or continue to deepen your chant practice virtually at home in eight half-hour episodes. In each episode we’ll talk a bit about the chant and spend most of the session in practice together with musical accompaniment. In this episode 1, we discuss and chant the mantra “Sita Ram”.
See this link for full inclusions and details of offerings of the series and the membership:
https://www.embodiedphilosophy.com/eptv/series/kirtan-at-home-with-nina-rao/
Omega | Dropping In Podcast - Bringing Chant to Life with Nina Rao
Nina Rao has her grandfather to thank for setting her on the path to sacred chant. It took many years and several professional pit stops—including commercial banking—before she found her way to kirtan and to becoming the musical assistant and business manager for Krishna Das (KD).
In this bonus episode of Dropping In, Nina walks her students through the ancient verses of her favorite chant, Hanuman Chalisa, during her Heart Practice of Chanting workshop with KD at Omega. The episode also features a performance with Nina, as well as a visit from KD, who muses about his early days in pursuit of enlightenment.
Join longtime public radio journalist Karen Michel for this and other episodes of Dropping In as she sits down with the great thinkers, creative talent, and social visionaries who teach at Omega Institute, to explore the many ways to awaken the best in the human spirit.
Originally published July 27, 2020