While performing kirtan or singing hymns soulfully, make it your duty to be thankful to God, and pray that you don’t feel tiredness of singing. ‘As I recite Your name let every cell of my body be electrified, every hair should stand at its root’. When you recite God’s name, feel the perfection and purity of God, imagine He is sitting high above you and you are at His Holy feet. Say, ‘I want to come near You, but how will the layers of dirt that cover me be washed away? When will my well-being begin?’ Create an urge, [glory] a burning desire inside you to be close to God. It works like panacea because there is a lot of inherent strength and power in the name of the Lord. Saints and Rishis practice these techniques to attain God-realization. You too can use these two prescriptions handed down to us by ancient sages. They try and test frequently evidence-based techniques. Just as the doctor says that the medicine, he is giving is evidence-based and will help in treating the specific condition. It works, it is a panacea. In the same way meditation and yoga are tried tested prescriptions to reach God. Likewise, if the heart is hurt it goes back to the wound
When you sit down for recital, create that urge, a pang inside your heart as to how you will attain God. When you sit in kirtan, create such a wave of joy that you ask yourself as to how and how much you should recite. How to sing His glory? How to thank Him adequately! His glory is unlimited. Connect both your mind and heart, coach yourself a little and then you will start experiencing the joy. When your heart is not in God it means something more ‘important’ is engaging it. You are attaching less importance to the Lord’s name otherwise your heart should have been here. Heart has a strange habit. If someone hurts or makes wound it will always return to its wound, however best your try to divert it. It is like a loose tooth in your mouth. The tongue is constantly feeling and touching it again and again. Heart harps upon what it likes. That is Why Kabir says: Bhakti ki sudhi yon karo jaise kaami kaam, Kah kabir bisrat nahin nisdin aathon yaam. The whole day and all through eight of its sub-divisions, mind is on one side: Bhakti ki sudh yon karo jaise dam kangaal, Kah Kabir bisrat nahin pal-pal lait sambhaal.
-Shri Sudhanshuji Maharaj
