Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Perhaps not as pretty as previous studio releases, Krishna Das's Breath of the Heart nevertheless captures the ecstasy, devotion, and life-affirming qualities of chant. Ably abetted by rap and rock producer Rick Rubin, Das joins with a choir dubbed the Kosmic Kirtan Posse, featuring the East and West Coast Posses, a group of some 50 members including Mike D of the Beastie Boys, while instruments as diverse as harmonium, Hammond B3 organ, violin, guitar, cymbals, and drums play backdrop.

Das and friends, through their gorgeously imperfect music, manage at once to exalt the divine and spotlight the inevitable suffering of the human condition. The core of Breath of the Heart--the lengthy "Kainchi Hare Krishna" and "Ma Durga"--successfully marry the sacred and profane, the temporal and the fixed.

Opinion of Govind Seshadri from San Diego, CA USA

A message of universal love

When I first came across Krishna Das, I did not know what to expect. He was an intriguing enough subject. Here was a western Hindu convert, who had undertaken as his life mission the popularization of Bhakti Yoga - the path to eternal salvation through steadfast devotion, often expressed by the chanting of sacred hymns. I was familiar enough with the material. In fact, I was literally steeped in it, as a Hindu who had grown up in India. Nevertheless, I did approach the album with a mixed sense of curious apprehension (much akin to to the polite skepticism most Westerners would feel at the thought of a prodigy native Tibetan singing the Ave Maria, notwithstanding reputed prowess). And yes, like Latin, Sanskrit pronunciation can be quite difficult - even for many native Indians, let alone the western tongue.

But truth be told. Any doubts vaporized as I listened to Das's renditon of the first line of the first track on the first cd: "Radhe Radhe Radhe Shyam Govinda Radhe Jai Shree Radhe". A connection was made. Simply put, what followed was a three hour excursion to the inner depths of latent spiritual conciousness on the Dharma Spaceship. It would be a hapless exercise to try and further describe in words the deepest feelings of compassion, peace and fellowship that this music evokes. Experience the magic Krishna Das and join the family of universal love.

Opinion of Romy Krishfield from Littleton, MA

Once again...

I am blown away by Krishna Das....I'd just like to say that the whole album is a jewel, but track 3- "Mountain Hare Krishna", which incorporates the song "Amazing Grace" along with harmonies from Sting-ji (yes, Sting) was worth the price of the CD. Thank you, Krishna Das, and Peace.