Experience a historic musical homecoming, marking 100 years since Paramahansa Yogananda introduced America to the power of Indian devotional chanting at one of the world’s most iconic venues, Carnegie Hall.
On April 18, 1926, thousands gathered at Carnegie Hall to hear Yogananda introduce the Indian tradition of devotional chanting to the audience, a sound — and an experience — unfamiliar to the America of the day. One hundred years later, we invite you to be part of another transformational evening of music and meditation led by the Self-Realization Fellowship monks' kirtan group.
Self-Realization Fellowship monks' kirtan group on Harmonium, Tabla, Ghatam, and Cymbals
Joey Dee Cirillo, Tanpura
Bethany Grace Folsum, Violin
Darren Motise, Piano
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Song of India”
Fritz Kreisler, “Liebesleid (Love’s Sorrow)”
Welcome by Jennifer Jones, MC
Opening prayer
Inspirational talk
Periods of chanting and meditation
This April Self-Realization Fellowship honors the centennial of Paramahansa Yogananda’s introducing the power of India’s ancient tradition of devotional chanting tradition to audiences at Carnegie Hall. Join us at the historic venue that Yogananda called “the music temple of America, and the scene of the triumphs of many great singers and musicians,” for the return of this sacred experience of chanting.
Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi, is widely regarded as one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time. He came from India in 1920 to the United States, where for more than thirty years he taught the science of meditation and the art of balanced living. A prolific writer and poet, Yogananda also composed many original devotional songs (collected in his book Cosmic Chants) and adapted Indian songs for Western notation.
Immerse yourself in guided chanting led by Self-Realization Fellowship monastics, accompanied by traditional kirtan instrumentation. Whether you’re drawn to music, meditation, cultural history, or simply unique experiences, you are welcome to take part — to wholeheartedly sing along or simply listen and feel the uplifting resonance of voices united in the spirit of divine love.
The evening will open with a talk by Brother Devananda on the science and philosophy of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Brother Devananda, a long-time monk of Self-Realization Fellowship, will share how soul-saturated music supports spiritual life, and how chanting has long helped people quiet the mind and experience deeper peace and connection with the Divine.
Paramahansa Yogananda’s 1926 appearance at Carnegie Hall was an important East-West cultural exchange through music. A century later, this evening will again bring to life the expansive and embracing power of India’s devotional chanting as a spiritual practice. Today, kirtan and devotional chanting have gained widespread popularity, inspiring new generations across the world to seek peace, unity, and divine love through music.
On April 18, 1926, Paramahansa Yogananda opened a series of free lectures at Carnegie Hall, where the 2,800-seat venue filled beyond capacity, and more than a thousand people were turned away at the door. He invited the audience — many hearing the chant for the first time — to join him in singing Guru Nanak’s “O God Beautiful.” For one hour and twenty-five minutes, thousands of voices rose together in an ethereal unity. Even after Yogananda left the stage, the audience continued chanting, moved by the deep spiritual transformation they had experienced.
Music that is saturated with soul force is the real universal music, understandable by all hearts.
A timeless Eastern practice that can unite people of all backgrounds and beliefs — Paramahansa Yogananda described devotional chanting as “an effective form of yoga or spiritual discipline.”
Kirtan is a group music tradition rooted in melody, rhythm, and expressive vocal performance. Instead of a divide between performers and audience, kirtan is a shared experience. Voices merge into an uplifting collective energy. Melody and repetition of spiritualized lyrics gently open the heart to joy.
Chanting invites everyone — trained or not — to experience inspiration with their whole being, revealing that “music is the universal language of the soul’s devotion” to the Divine and needs no translation between East and West.
Yogananda said: “Songs are like seeds. You have to grow them in the soil of devotion. SRF/Yogoda songs are spiritualized and are living seeds, for hidden behind the words of all of them is the vibratory power of my prayers. You will feel what I felt when composing them if you sing them with real devotion in your heart.”
Join the Self-Realization Fellowship monks’ kirtan group this April — to celebrate the centennial of Paramahansa Yogananda’s bringing the uplifting power of devotional chanting to the stage of Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
