Forged by the darkness of stumbling in the unknown and enduring the fires of his karma.
Through all life’s journey, music has been a faint voice calling to Harreson in the background.
Unbeknownst to him, music would be his saving grace.
Hi, I’m Harreson. Despite being challenged with my long standing learning disabilities, Spirit guided me to lead kirtan for the community.
A stint of seva (service) in 2016 at the Saltspring Centre of Yoga instilled in my mind the idea of offering community kirtan.
Lacking any formal music education except a brief study and practice of Carnatic music in 2004 in Mysore, India, I followed this idea and began Vancouver Community Kirtan in 2016.
I started from the confines of a small room in my home, to yoga studios, to larger living spaces in private homes during covid, to small festivals, and to public beaches. Vancouver Community Kirtan (VCK) started to grow to encompass more of what God was planning.
From providing a space of upliftment for the community, VCK is also evolving into an educational platform for those spirits who are called to offer kirtan in whatever form that takes.
Utilizing my own learning challenges, Spirit guided me to develop an innovative music teaching methodology for Westerners.
Because music did not come easily to me, my own difficult music learning journey supplied me with motivation to develop an easier way to teach something etheric as music/sound.
Spirit guided me to the creation of an innovative teaching method to help students quickly learn how to play the harmonium, sing on pitch and on time through the use of music scores.
There is zero requirement for students to learn how to read music scores because of the instructional videos which take one through a music score without needing to read one.
Progress, not perfection
Kirtan is not a music performance although it’s wise for us to constantly improve our musicality so that we become more attractive to more souls looking for nourishment.
Kirtan is God/Spirit calling to our hearts and souls to remember our true nature and our intimate connection with a good, compassionate, beneficient and loving Universal Energy.
As such, the standard of perfection has no space in my way of teaching. Instead, I will encourage you to be your best at this current time. And applaud you for making whatever effort you are able.
Progress is more important. Your soul has some plan for you regarding kirtan. If you feel some urge towards kirtan (which I think is one of the most wholesome things we could ever do for ourselves), please, please, please, listen to that gentle urging. Perhaps it is your intuition pointing you to your highest good.
Until Spirit instructs me otherwise, I am providing free mentorship to my graduates who want to do their kirtan debut and subsequent leads at Vancouver Community Kirtan events.
I know from personal experience the struggles of gaining confidence and experience to be able to lead kirtan with any level of competence without a mentor.
My goal is to obey that which I believe that Spirit is guiding me to do: develop more kirtan facilitators who will help glorify the Most Loving and the Most High in all Its names and forms.
If you have any faint urging or calling to lead kirtan, know that there is a direct path with my offerings to do so, and with supportive mentorship for this limited time so that the journey is both quick and relatively easy (hah!).
My own kirtan journey started initially through the beautiful universal kirtans offered by Amir O’Loughlin of the Inayati Order of Vancouver. Their spiritual Head, Hazrat Inayat Khan advocated a multi-faith openness, to which I abide.
Thus in VCK events, there will chants from the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Sufi and Zoroastrian traditions, as well of course, the Hindu tradition.
I offer kirtan trainings in an 8 week format, a 3 day kirtan bootcamp intensive and will be releasing my online kirtan course which will feature 18 chants all taught with great detail in regards to playing, singing and leading. I would be honoured if you decided to join me in one of these teachings.
Your direct path to leading kirtan in public
