It’s always a fun tradition to do YouTube searches after our annual New Year’s Eve Harinama (jubilant outdoor chanting). Every year, as tens of thousands of people ring in the new year at City Hall, we bring our drums, cymbals and portable speakers to help usher in the new year with mantras beautiful bhakti-beats!
This time around was no different and over 100 devotees joined in the harinama! A quick search on YouTube provides a few highlights as captured by the public! Check it out.
This first video was captured by someone just as we arrived at our spot and began to chant (about 15 minutes before midnight). This YouTube user commented on their video, “See what we found in downtown Toronto on New Years eve !! 🙂 … everyone WAS grooving with this ONE !!!”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nloqljes3cs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&w=500&h=339]
This second video certainly captures the craziness and fun of the kirtan!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrjBYjbSZj8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1&w=500&h=254]
A few amazing things happen in this third video. First of all, at the beginning of the video, you hear a man speaking into a microphone with his own portable speaker (similar to the one we use). As the kirtan group passes by him, this gentleman in a black jacket feels inspired and proceeds to hand his microphone to Bhaktimarga Swami (at around the 25 second mark). He even sings into the mic a little later on. Then, at the 1:47 mark of the video – an amazing swarm of bats began to dance and fly through the air above Yonge and Dundas! We thought they were birds, but the astute YouTuber indicates that it was a swarm of bats! Check it out!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJjn16jowwk?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1&w=500&h=284]