Vani Devi sings the hymn from the “Nirvanashatakam” during a satsang at the Yoga Vidya Ashram in Bad Meinberg. You can find the complete text in the Yoga Vidya Kirtan Booklet under number 404.
In the six stanzas on liberation by Jagadguru Shankaracharya, you can discover both what you are not and what your true nature is: namely, Being, Knowledge, and Bliss.
The Nirvanashatakam kirtan consists of six instructive verses on freedom – or Nirvana – written by Shankara (also Sankara or Shri Shankaracharya). In each verse, Shankara explains what we are not. We are not our body, we are not our intellect, we are not our thoughts, and we are not our prana. Instead, we are Sacchidananda (i.e., Satchidananda). Only Brahman, the Absolute, is real; everything else is a temporary dream, an illusion – Maya.
Lyrics:
Mano-buddhy-ahankara-chittani Naham
Na Cha Shrotra-jihve Na Cha Ghrana-netre /
Na Cha Vyoma-bhumir Na Tejo Na Vayuh
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 1 //
Na Cha Prana-sanjno Na Vai Pancha-vayuh
Na Va Sapta-dhatur Na Va Pancha-koshah /
Na Vak Pani-padau Na Chopastha-payu
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 2 //
Na Me Dvesha-ragau Na Me Lobha-mohau
Mado Naiva Me Naiva Matsarya-bhavah /
Na Dharmo Na Chartho Na Kamo Na Mokshaha
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 3 //
Na Punyam Na Papam Na Saukhyam Na Duhkham
Na Mantro Na Tirtham Na Veda Na Yajnah /
Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 4 //
Na Me Nrityu-shanka Na Me Jati-bhedaha
Pita Naiva Me Naiva Mata Cha Janma /
Na Bandhur Na Mitram Gurur Naiva Shishyaha
Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 5 //
Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakara-rupo
Vibhutvach Cha Sarvatra Sarvendriyanam /
Sada Me Samatvam Na Muktir Na Bandhaha
Chidanandarupah Shivoham Shivoham // 6 //
“Jaya Shri Krishna Chaitanya” honors Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his closest disciples and companions. Jaya means “invocation of,” and Shri Krishna Chaitanya is the great founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. The Hare Krishna community is also part of this tradition.
This mantra is also known as the Pancha-Tattwa Mantra, as it invokes the five companions of Shri Krishna Chaitanya. They are considered aspects of Chaitanya. It is recommended to always sing this kirtan first, before reciting the Maha Mantra.
Swami Sivananda had great devotion to Shri Krishna Chaitanya, even though he came from a different tradition.
One can first recite this mantra and then sing the Maha-Mantra—that is, the great mantra, the “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” mantra.
Here you can hear a recording featuring Satyananda and Aziza from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on May 3, 2025.
Lyrics:
Jaya Shri Krishna Chaitanya,
Prabhu Nityananda /
Shri Advaita Gadadhara
Shrivasadi Gaurabhakta Vrinda // 1 //
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /
Hare Rama Hare Rama,
Rama Rama Hare Hare // 2 //
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
“Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize” is a kirtan that succinctly describes the teachings of Swami Sivananda. Swami Sivananda loved to sing this kirtan.
“Serve, love, give, purify, purify” refers to the various yoga practices. By practicing yoga, we purify ourselves. We also do so by working on ourselves. By serving, loving, and giving, we purify ourselves. And then “purify” and “meditate” follow naturally. Therefore, serve, love, give, purify, meditate—and then comes: realize.
The more we serve, love, and give, the deeper our meditation becomes.
Here you are listening to a recording featuring Kamala Devi from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on December 6, 2025.
Shankara Stefan & friends chant “Krishna Krishna Mahayogin” during a saturday evening satsang at Yoga Vidya in Bad Meinberg, Germany.
“Krishna Krishna Mahayogin” is a traditional mantra from the Bhakti tradition and a loving invocation of Krishna, the embodiment of joy, devotion, and divine love. “Mahayogin” means “great yogi” and evokes the all-encompassing, unifying power of consciousness that Krishna embodies.
In many spiritual traditions, Krishna is regarded as a symbol of love, compassion, and the divine play of life. Chanting his name is said to open the heart and strengthen the connection to inner joy. Chanting mantras together can create an atmosphere of connection, peace, and lightness.
Lyrics …
Krishna Krishna Mahayogin
Bhaktanam Abhayankara /
Govinda Paramananda
Sarvam Me Vasham Anaya //
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
“Om Namah Shivaya” is one of the best-known and most powerful mantras in the Indian tradition. It is dedicated to Shiva, the symbol of transformation, consciousness, stillness, and inner freedom. The Sanskrit phrase roughly translates to: “I bow to the highest consciousness within me and in the universe.” Here you can listen to a recording featuring Vallabha from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on March 8th, 2025.
Lyrics:
Om Namah Shivaya
Namah Shivaya
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
Vani Devi chants
Jay Radhe
Jay Radhe
Jay Shri Krishna Bolo
Jay Radhe
during a saturday evening satsang at Yoga Vidya in Bad Meinberg, Germany.
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
Madhuka sings the kirtan “Jay Bajaranga Bali.” You can find this kirtan in the Yoga Vidya Kirtan Booklet under number 212. “Jay Bajaranga Bali” invokes the power, devotion, and strength of Hanuman. It is a powerful, energizing, and joyful kirtan. It awakens the spirit and instills a sense of optimism. Jay Bajaranga Bali is a Hanuman kirtan.
Here are the lyrics to sing along:
Jay Bajaranga Bali
Jay Bajaranga Bali
Jay Hanumana Ki
Jay Mahavira, Jay Hanuman
Jay Gurudeva, Karo Kalyan
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
Group Mudita chants Shri Ram Jaya Ram at Yoga Vidya in Bad Meinberg, Germany. Here is the text to sing along:
Shri Ram Jaya Ram
Shri Ram Jaya Ram,
Jaya Jaya Ram Om
Shri Ram Jaya Ram,
Jaya Jaya Ram
Shri Ram Jaya Ram – this is how various kirtans begin, and many other kirtans include a verse with Shri Ram Jaya Ram. Ram stands for Rama, the highest joy. Jaya means victory, triumph. Shri means happiness, radiance, brilliance. May Rama triumph within us; may the divine blessing shine within us and through us.
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
Tina sings the kirtan “Narayana Hari Om.” “Narayana Hari Om” is both: a Vishnu kirtan and a Krishna kirtan.
In “Narayana Hari Om,” God is invoked as the Preserver, as the one who dwells within all beings, as the one who is full of love and is the highest truth. God is the Good Shepherd.
And even though God’s workings are mysterious, we can still trust in His guidance.
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
Katyayani sings during a saturday evening satsang at Yoga Vidya in Bad Meinberg, Germany, the kirtan “Om Dum Durgayai Namaha”.
“Om Dum Durgayai Namaha” is a powerful, sacred mantra dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga. It is a Dhyana Moksha mantra and is used to seek protection, overcome obstacles, and invoke divine energy for strength and prosperity.
If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.
