Carnegie Hall to present concert celebrating Hindu devotional singing in the West

The article from Religion News Service describes a 2026 concert at Carnegie Hall that commemorated the 100th anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda’s introduction of kirtan, or Hindu devotional chanting, to the West. The event honored the specific milestone of April 18, 1926, when Yogananda led a capacity crowd of 3,000 people in an 85-minute chant of “O God Beautiful,” a moment credited with bridging Eastern spiritual traditions and Western audiences. The modern tribute featured monks from the Self-Realization Fellowship performing traditional chants, illustrating how this “sonic theology” has evolved from a novel introduction into a widely practiced tool for meditation and inner peace. Participants and scholars interviewed for the piece emphasized that the practice remains a vital “science of the soul” that helps practitioners move beyond intellectual thought into a deeper state of spiritual consciousness.

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