On Friday, Oct. 1st Radhanath Swami spoke at Nia Moves dance and yoga studio in downtown Houston on “Transcendental Ecstatic Dance” from the perspective of Bhakti yoga and the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition.

Radhanath Swami spoke on compassion and the nature of selfless love, expressed through ecstatic dance. Before leading the dance kirtan, Radhanath Swami explained “Saranagati Asana” of call and response, by folding hands in a mood of accepting love, when the lead singer calls and raising arms in a mood of surrender when everyone responds..He ended with a rousing kirtan in which the 100+ attendees danced blissfully. Tyagaraja, an award-winning American musician who is a follower of Amma Karunamayi, performed several songs before the Swami’s talk and recited melodic mantras.

Tyagaraja said about Radhanath Swami, “This is the first time I am meeting Radhanath Swami. When he approached me and gave me a hug it felt like a mother was hugging me. He said that he could tell that I sing from the heart and I could feel his heart too and I thought ‘that was what i was here for, to connect heart to heart’”

Kristie, co-owner of Nia Moves studio said, “Tonight was a wonderful experience with the swami… we felt blessed that we had him here.. I felt very drawn in to what he had to say.. it was such a magical experience… I just feel so full of love at this moment.”