Anand Krisna, on Emha Ainun Nadjib

Cak Nun[1] doesn’t just talk about love, he becomes love, he sings love. His soul has been burned by the fire of love. Consequently, he assumes the form of love in Kenduri Cinta.[2] For me he is the shadow of the supreme love of the Almighty.

[1] An affectionate name for Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak = Javanese, older brother)
[2] Kenduri Cinta: literally the feast of love; the name of the monthly gathering (or Maiyah) held since 2000 in Jakarta on the evening of the second Friday of each month at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta, attended and addressed by Anand Krisna in October 2004.

By Anand Krisna, spiritual leader, teacher, writer and philosopher, 2006

Translated by Ian L. Betts

The Warmth of Music, Finland, December 2006

Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng at Espoo City Theatre

Indonesia's gamelan fusion orchestra, Kiai Kanjeng, on stage at various venues in Finland, are like no other musical group. The dynamic is the same - i.e., a performance - those watching and those being watched, but with a KiaiKanjeng performance there is something more for both parties. The themes raised by Kiai Kanjeng during their performance allow the audience to be more than mere passive observers; they are encouraged to think, discuss and participate.

Quite often, members of the audience will spontaneously come up on to the stage. They abandon their roles as audience and take on a role as people engaged in a cultural interaction - humanism - spontaneous singing, a part of a people or a nation, makers of culture, economic actors, political commentators and other roles - freely and openly. Kiai Kanjeng always request the lights on full at venues where they play.

"You are not our audience and we are not your performers. We are brothers in humanity. Among the ties that bind us are all the key themes in global relations" the family, arts and culture, suffering, politics and much more. Our music has always been arranged to reflect that."