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Eastern Mind
24 February 2011, 04:14 PM
Vannakkam: What do Hindus think of this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0Fl_UiiAE

Aum Namasivaya

c.smith
24 February 2011, 04:51 PM
Personally can't stand it and wouldn't stand for it. I couldn't finish listening to it here nor on Amazon - it recommends it because I buy a lot of Ganesh bajans from them.

Just wonder why someone would try to make money off of this? Duh! Probably because people buy it! (Hopefully non we Hindus!)

Eastern Mind
24 February 2011, 04:54 PM
Vannakkam c. smith:

Yes, they lost me too with the first mispronunciation of His name. But it says something about somebody I guess.

Aum Namasivaya

Sahasranama
24 February 2011, 05:31 PM
I am not into rap/ hip hop music, but I think this is fine.

Jaya Ganesh! :D

Sahasranama
24 February 2011, 05:54 PM
Here is more:

http://mcyogi.com/music/

People have to express their bhakti in their own way. We can't expect them to sing classical Hindustani or Carnatic raaga, so if they can use hip hop music to express bhakti towards Hindu deities, that's a good thing.

MahaHrada
24 February 2011, 06:05 PM
This is classic carnatic metal :Cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYrr8T2W_SA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVvDOTxEb_Q&NR=1

Rationalist
24 February 2011, 06:12 PM
Vannakkam: What do Hindus think of this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0Fl_UiiAE

Aum Namasivaya

Ridiculously unbearable. It sounds horrible and just wrong.

Shanti
24 February 2011, 06:37 PM
I like it. I think it's a cute song and that younger kids especially would enjoy listening to it. I could see my boys dancing around and singing "Jai Ganesha" to the beat of this song. It'd be better than some other songs they might pick up elsewhere.

The only thing I didn't like was the picture of the women's tattooed back.

~S

Rationalist
24 February 2011, 06:44 PM
I like it. I think it's a cute song and that younger kids especially would enjoy listening to it. I could see my boys dancing around and singing "Jai Ganesha" to the beat of this song. It'd be better than some other songs they might pick up elsewhere.

The only thing I didn't like was the picture of the women's tattooed back.

~S

I am a teen and I hate listening to it.

Adhvagat
24 February 2011, 06:54 PM
Ridiculously unbearable. It sounds horrible and just wrong.

Harsh words to say to a Ganesha Bhajan if you ask me.


"This is offering to Lord Sri Ganesha who is a great devotee of Lord Sri Krsna."

The rap itself sounds a little childish, but hey, to each his own (music).

Adhvagat
24 February 2011, 07:22 PM
Good Vedic Rap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW9hYcLL_s4

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyedentity

yajvan
24 February 2011, 07:27 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

It is interesting to read the responses offered above. One's like or dislike is ( IMHO) based upon rāga.
This rāga is rooted in the defintion of coloring or dyeing. That is, one's feeling is colored from the sound that enters the ears and then influences consciousness.
One can be sympathtic to a sound or vehemently oppose it. The sound vibration instills this feeling - are you uplifted, or do you avoid that vibration that is coming to you ?

In classic rāga approaches they are there to invoke some affection ( some color in consciousness). Some call out 6, 7 or even 26 rāga-s.

For me when I listen to the Youtube performance, it invokes disharmony in me. It seems for others this too has occurred.
One can take note that another definition for rāga is inflammation.

praṇām

Adhvagat
24 February 2011, 07:34 PM
Inflamation? As in a bodily reaction to harmful stimuli? Really?

Thanks for the bit of knowledge, Yajvan.

A musician friend of mine was contemplating the idea of going to India to study Indian music and was telling me about ragas and how there are specific types of ragas that are better suited for specifics times of day and what not.

TatTvamAsi
24 February 2011, 08:37 PM
umm.. no....

Ramakrishna
24 February 2011, 11:55 PM
People have to express their bhakti in their own way. We can't expect them to sing classical Hindustani or Carnatic raaga, so if they can use hip hop music to express bhakti towards Hindu deities, that's a good thing.

I agree. Personally, I don't like it and would rather not listen to it. But to each his own, as long as there is real sincere bhakti in it.

Something like this is more to my tastes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg88CknV1zY

Jai Sri Ram

Adhvagat
25 February 2011, 06:58 AM
umm.. no....

I always thought you were a rap/hip-hop kind of guy... :laugh:

Eastern Mind
25 February 2011, 08:19 AM
Vannakkam all: Yajvan summed it up pretty well I think. At least I'm glad some here reinforced my opinion. For me personally devotion is gentle. We offer fresh fruit, not rotten fruit. We offer fresh water, not alcohol.

As for having any true bhakti, I do not know. I cannot go into the minds of the singer and feel what he is feeling. You can't tell if one actually believed in Ganesha as a divine reality or not.

Aum Namasivaya

NayaSurya
25 February 2011, 11:10 AM
They sampled...Jai Uttal:(

I love rap music...raised in a ghetto...a minority amongst people of color. But, instead of shutting myself off from the other cultures, I adopted them and was welcomed inside. So rap is goodly for me...but this was not good rap.

Pietro! I love Eyedentity! They are very awesome!

I usually listen to Justin Timberlake...cry me a river. Love that song. Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg...Pharell (Snoop's nephew) I love their song Beautiful. Lupe Fiasco, Day Dream...Such wonderful emotion behind these songs...you can really feel their lives and their experiences.

I think this sort of music really lets an observer know about a life they could never live. I can feel their anger, or joy...and see the world through their eyes.

Adhvagat
25 February 2011, 11:56 AM
Vannakkam all: Yajvan summed it up pretty well I think. At least I'm glad some here reinforced my opinion. For me personally devotion is gentle. We offer fresh fruit, not rotten fruit. We offer fresh water, not alcohol.

As for having any true bhakti, I do not know. I cannot go into the minds of the singer and feel what he is feeling. You can't tell if one actually believed in Ganesha as a divine reality or not.

Aum Namasivaya

Advocatus Diaboli:

So you're basically saying the tantric sects are invalid and its followers feel no real devotion?


They sampled...Jai Uttal:(

Pietro! I love Eyedentity! They are very awesome!

I think this sort of music really lets an observer know about a life they could never live. I can feel their anger, or joy...and see the world through their eyes.

Sampling is an homage in rap culture, isn't it? :)

It's nice that you like them, I got to know them by brazilian devotees promoting them on Facebook IIRC.

It's amazing the power music (and all sorts of sounds) have to transmit emotion!

Eastern Mind
25 February 2011, 12:13 PM
Advocatus Diaboli:

So you're basically saying the tantric sects are invalid and its followers feel no real devotion?



Vannakkam Pietro: When I know nothing, I have no comment. I was just expressing a personal opinion. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. I probably should have said I instead of 'we'.
:)

sunyata07
25 February 2011, 02:09 PM
Namaste all,

I guess it's true when they say that there really is no accounting for taste! Personally, I didn't find it too bad. Ok, so it's cheesy and the rap number is hardly musical ambrosia, but I agree with the other poster in that it seems geared towards younger people, and seems a rather harmless way to encourage bhakti. Reminds me of that "Ganesha is my Om boy" slogan you find on those t-shirts around the internet. As for rap, it's either your thing or it's not. Simple as that. :Cool:

Regarding western portrayal of the Devas, there is certainly much worse out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcElswvuYUc

I do believe this song is sung by Satanists who have grossly misinterpreted Maa Kali. (Not that I could understand a word they were saying anyway).

Om namah Shivaya.

c.smith
25 February 2011, 02:17 PM
Hari Om Sunyata,

My ears need a vacation! Ouch!!

yajvan
25 February 2011, 04:57 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


For me and my ears it seems a delight to listen to Vivlaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner,
Haydn, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi and the like.

Yet to not listen to ravi shankar and his daughter anoushka shankar would be to miss out on excellence.


http://www.liveisbetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/event.jpg

praṇām

Shanti
25 February 2011, 05:42 PM
This is classic carnatic metal :Cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYrr8T2W_SA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVvDOTxEb_Q&NR=1

I can see how this would be appealing to those that really get into rock. It's not my taste, but if it helps one focus on God I think it's great.


Good Vedic Rap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW9hYcLL_s4

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eyedentity


I love this! See, this is something more that I could enjoy, but while my kids would enjoy the beats, the lyrics would go over there head.


I agree. Personally, I don't like it and would rather not listen to it. But to each his own, as long as there is real sincere bhakti in it.

Something like this is more to my tastes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg88CknV1zY

Jai Sri Ram

I love this bhajan too. My kids enjoy it, but it's not stimulating enough to capture there attention for too long. Little boys=short attention span :D


hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


For me and my ears it seems a delight to listen to Vivlaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner,
Haydn, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi and the like.

Yet to not listen to ravi shankar and his daughter anoushka shankar would be to miss out on excellence.


http://www.liveisbetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/event.jpg

praṇām

I really started getting into Ravi Shankar when I was around 14yrs old. He and his daughter toured through my town a couple years ago and I still kick myself for not finding a way to go.

I think the "Ganesha rap" is great for kids maybe 12 and under. I know it's not great music, but the lyrics are easy and the tune is catchy. It's a fun way for youngters to chant Lord Ganesha's name. Thanks EM for posting.

~S

Divine Kala
01 March 2011, 02:06 AM
I really like it. It's quite catchy and brings a smile to my face to listen to it. Shouldn't any song in worship make the singer, listener and worshipper feel the devotion?

BryonMorrigan
01 March 2011, 08:24 AM
I tried to listen to that MC Yogi one day and thought it sounded pretty awful.

Then another day, I forgot how bad it was...and tried again...and thought to myself, "Why do I keep torturing myself like this?"

Then this thread was posted, and I thought, "Maybe I'll give him another chance..."

Sorry. It just doesn't do anything for me. It doesn't "upset" me or anything, because it appears to have been done "in good faith," and I didn't notice anything "offensive" in the lyrics.

However, I do appreciate "non-traditional" bhakti, if well executed.

For example, there is this couple of Westerners who have a band called "Lokah," where they basically sing Shakta Bhajans...in a serious manner...but with a kind of "Industrial/EBM" feel. They were recommended by a priest at the Washington Kali Temple...so I took a listen.

Personally, I like it. I don't feel that there is anything "non-serious" about the songs, and the endorsement by a Shakta priest gives them a little more "merit" to me as well. Here's a couple songs:

Lokah - "Kali Durga" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwD-Wh2XeHQ)
Lokah - "Kali Maheshwari" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asErcdWWk2U)

Eastern Mind
01 March 2011, 08:39 AM
Vannakkam Bryon:

I'm such an absolute traditionalist, I guess. :) I do find this one somewhat more peaceful than the other one, but it doesn't get the tears of bhakti flowing.

My eyes actually do well up when I hear certain songs sung well, but mostly when its live at our temple, and you can feel the singer's bhakti in it. I was at a temple called Kundrakudi (Murugan temple) once and this little old lady was singing not very well, but sheesh, her stare into the sanctum, and body language just gave it all away. That moment in time felt more like an hour than the minute.

Thanks everyone for expressing your points of view without bashing others. I do think in some way this is all correlated to age or the music we grew up with.

Aum Namasivaya

charitra
01 March 2011, 10:01 AM
.....My eyes actually do well up when I hear certain songs sung well, ......
Aum Namasivaya

Namaste EMji and all,
this is one such tune sung by a German Hindu, srimati Deva Premal, please listen to it ,thank you. shanti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLvbmpmKylM&feature=related

Eastern Mind
01 March 2011, 05:15 PM
Vannakkam: Its all just taste. there's something about these 2 instruments that strike my soul. I can't describe it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7VFufliIY

And inside a temple in Toronto, Canada:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekqC_xbtXME

Aum Namasivaya

NayaSurya
01 March 2011, 07:39 PM
Here is a link to my favorite MP3 for Ganesha.

This is performed by Shanti Shanti.

http://www.shantishanti.com/images/01_Ganesha_Prayer.mp3

truthseeker96
14 April 2011, 12:56 PM
i'm sort of mad :(

as a fan of jon nodtveidt, i want to say that he was very devoted to the divine mother, but just extremely misled by a cult. it's my opiion that ma gave him a fortunate rebirth to give him another shot at bhakti :)

thank you for the interesting read :)

nitinsharma
16 April 2011, 02:54 AM
i'm sort of mad :(

as a fan of jon nodtveidt, i want to say that he was very devoted to the divine mother, but just extremely misled by a cult. it's my opiion that ma gave him a fortunate rebirth to give him another shot at bhakti :)

thank you for the interesting read :)


jon nodtveidt????Of the bm band Dissection??You're kidding me.I least expected another black-metaller on this place.But you're pretty much spot on about him.For those who don't know him his band had an album called Maha-Kali.Nice to see a Hindu metaller.Very nice.*/tears streaming down*/.


On topic,this rap thing makes me sick.

truthseeker96
19 April 2011, 02:03 PM
i love black metal! i'm hoping to form a band to worship shiva that'll be sorta following in jon's footsteps

peace

sunyata07
19 April 2011, 03:36 PM
i'm sort of mad :(

as a fan of jon nodtveidt, i want to say that he was very devoted to the divine mother, but just extremely misled by a cult. it's my opiion that ma gave him a fortunate rebirth to give him another shot at bhakti :)



Namaste Truthseeker,

I had no idea that Jon Nodtveidt was a real bhaktar of Maa Kali. If this is true, I hope it did some good in his life and will make his rebirth a good one. My only protest at the MahaKali album is presenting one of Hinduism's most powerful and beloved Goddesses in such a skewed light. The way they illustrate Her makes Her out to be some Satanic black-magic type pagan goddess with nothing more to Her name than chaos. It then encourages ignorant or uneducated Christians and westerners in general to believe She is a demonic force opposed to goodness. Incidentally, I read that Jon took his life a few years back and had been charged for murder at one point in his short life. Very sad stuff.

Om namah Shivaya

truthseeker96
19 April 2011, 08:24 PM
he wasn't a hindu at all, he was a hardcore satanist. i'm just saying that he had bhakti in his heart and it got perverted by a cult

anatman
20 April 2011, 01:00 AM
Namaste all,


Regarding western portrayal of the Devas, there is certainly much worse out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcElswvuYUc

I do believe this song is sung by Satanists who have grossly misinterpreted Maa Kali. (Not that I could understand a word they were saying anyway).

Om namah Shivaya.

I loved it!! :D..

There is no satanic elements in this song.
--------------------------------------------------------
Lyrics:

Maha Kali, dark mother dance for me
Let the purity of your nakedness awaken me
Yours are the fires of deliverance which shall bring me bliss
Yours is the cruel sword which shall set my spirit free

Devourer of life and death who rule beyond time
In thy name I shall fullfil my destiny divine
Maha Kali, formless one, destroyer of illusion
Your songs forever sung, the tunes of dissolution

Kalika, black tongue of fire, embrace me
Make me one with your power for all eternity
Awaken within me the reflection of your flame
Kiss me with your bloody lips and drive me insane

Jai Kalika! Jai Kali!
Make me one with your power for all eternity
Maha Kali come to me

Smashana Kali, I burn myself for thee
I cut my own throat in obscene ecstasy
I make love to abominations, embrace pain and misery
Until my heart becomes the burning ground and Kali comes to me

O dark mother, hear me calling thee
Mahapralaya, bring to me
Through all illusions I shall see
I shall cremate this world and set my essence free

Jai Kalika! Jai Kali!
Without fear I will dance with death and misery
Maha Kali, come to me

"O Kali, thou art fond of cremation grounds
So I have turned my heart into one, that thou
may dance there unceasingly.
O mother, I have no other fond desire in my
heart. Fire of a funeral pyre is burning there."

Jai Maha Kali, Jai Ma Kalika
Jai Maha Kali, Jai Ma Kalika
Kali Mata, namo nama
Kali Mata, namo nama

Jai Kalika! Jai Kali!
At your left hand for endless victory
Maha Kali, come to me

Jai Kalika! Jai Kali!
Mahapralaya will set our spirits free
Maha Kali, come to me

nitinsharma
20 April 2011, 01:29 AM
i love black metal! i'm hoping to form a band to worship shiva that'll be sorta following in jon's footsteps

peace

Too bad you're in the U.S.Because I share more or less the same dream with lets say more NS leanings......but of course the hindu references are most important.Any chance of you migrating to Bharat in the near future?????:p
@Sunyata:Trust me the less you know of these maniacs the better:D.......what you know is just the tip of the iceberg......they're the worst misanthropes you can think of.

nitinsharma
20 April 2011, 01:54 AM
I loved it!! :D..

There is no satanic elements in this song.



The female chants of 'Jai Maha Kali.....Kali Mata Namo Nama' just made my day.....and should do so for any hindu.

anatman
20 April 2011, 07:48 AM
The female chants of 'Jai Maha Kali.....Kali Mata Namo Nama' just made my day.....and should do so for any hindu.


:)Bang ON! You are Right!:)

truthseeker96
20 April 2011, 09:41 PM
nope, just me chanting away here in greenville for the next couple of years :(

Harinama
02 May 2011, 09:53 PM
Since Gaudiya Vaishnavas are taught that since the conception of God is hidden or embedded in the kirtaniya, it is preferable to listen to a devotee who sings the Holy Name.

I actually liked the rap! I thought it was kind of cute!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3SB21uZEVU - This is an example of the so-called Krishnacore rock scene which brought about the Straight Edge movement... if you skip to 00:50 you can hear the song. Krishnacore is contentious because although the Holy Names are purifying, the way it is sung is debatable of whether there is bhakti in it or not. This music has been used at the Woodstock festival as a form of preaching in Eastern Europe, and it is extremely popular.

Here is an example of Krishna conscious rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOmeO1tp_I8).

This is one song from my matha, in which the only allowable instruments are karatalas and mrdangas, called 'Jiv Jago (http://www.vaisnava.com/audio/SCSMath-Daily_Program-06_JivaJagoHQ.mp3)' in the Bengali.