Bhajan and Kirtan, what should be our attitude?

Devotee: When performing bhajan and kirtan, what should be our attitude?

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Meditation of a formal nature does not have much effect here. We shall try saranagati -surrender. Our whole attention should be concentrated on surrender. Once, a gentleman, a zamindar, took Harinama initiation from our Guru Maharaj and asked,

“While I count on the beads, what should I think of in my mind? Is there any portrait of Krsna or Sri Murti? How can I engage and utilize my mind at that time while counting the Beard?”

Our Guru Maharaj answered: „The mind has nothing to do in the supra-mental area. The mind is like a vulture. As a vulture goes to the cremation ground, so mind and other senses will try to fall there and make it mundane – a cremation ground. This is all mortal. They have got all mortal experience. The mind, the eye, the ear, etc. – everything has got mortal experience.“

So, whenever you take the Holy Name, the other senses, including the mind, will try to make it a mortal field with their prejudices and experiences of this relative world. They fall on it and make it a cremation ground. Do not allow it. Instead, we must try to understand.

„I have got some spiritual sound which is completely different from this mortal world, and that sound will gradually evolve a spiritual figure or color.“

Srila Jiva Goswami says, after receiving the spiritual sound from Gurudeva, and concentrating on the Holy Name, then, there is a stage of transcendental waiting. How the effects of the spiritual sound will come down to us? We shall go on counting the beads with such expectant attitude. We shall never feel ourselves down in this mundane world, but rather expecting some new transcendental experience at every moment. Then the color will completely come, the rupa – the form will come – from rupa will come guna, the quality. These will come down from above, from the plane of Paramatma. The ordinary plane of experience, the mental plane, the plane of reason, the plane of soul, the plane of Supersoul – in this way the planes from gross to subtle are there. So, it will come down: it will have to come with my expectant attention.

For example, a particular kind of bird always expects rain – the Cataka. They do not take any water from the ground – neither river nor lake – nothing of the kind. Only rainwater will they take. Similarly, our attitude should be like that. Always in expectation for some transcendental experience, we shall go on searching. First, the sound, from the sound comes from, from the form comes quality; from that relativity, the paraphernalia will come. Then the pastimes will come and we shall find ourselves as a unit in that plane. It is not this mundane self, but my soul has got a serving position in there – in that plane. In this way, we are to be reinstated in our original spiritual position. So, the mind cannot be allowed to engage in its own speculative line in this case.

The line of service is always given in this way: do your service direction from the higher agents and you will be benefited. It is said that raw materials in the hand of an expert can produce miracles. Otherwise, raw materials are useless. So, you have got raw materials – spiritually unrefined – and you want spiritual growth. The higher and proper utilization of those assets is necessary and that guidance can come from the transcendental arena. As much as higher direction will come, we shall be prepared to surrender at their disposal. We shall be more benefited in this super-scientific line. Whatever is done under the direction of the devotees that has got transcendental value – that will be progressive within me. I am leading myself by following the order of a Vaisnava…

Divine Words of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev Goswami

SARANAGATI

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