The importance of Kirtans and Bhajans

  “Humans should not worry about the burning fire of past sins; the shower of rain from the clouds of God’s Holy Name will extinguish it easily.” 

- Skand Puran

Singing bhajans and kirtans is a powerful way of thinking of God.  If someone was to ask you to sit and contemplate on Radha Krishna, you would probably be at a loss regarding what to think.  But the sweet bhajans and kirtans written by the Saints describe the Divine Names, Forms, Virtues, Pastimes and Abodes of God.  When we sing them, the mind naturally dwells upon their meaning.  

The bhajans and kirtans become aids to contemplation and meditation. If you would like to bring divine thoughts to your mind, Kīrtan is the greatest way of doing that.  It involves three activities:  

(1) Chanting the names, and descriptions of the forms, virtues, pastimes, and prayers to the Lord in melodious tunes. 

(2) Hearing the chanting with your ears.

(3) Thinking deeply about what you are chanting, and feeling the presence of God in his Holy Name. 

Kirtan is the combination of all three of these activities, and hence it is also called Tridha bhakti, or three-fold devotion. This kirtan is called the yuga dharma, or the most powerful spiritual practice of this age. Kirtan is also so simple, that anyone can do it. 

The Scriptures state:

     kalerdoshanidhe rajannasti hyeko mahan gunah

     kirtanad eva krishnasya muktasangah param vrajet

    (Shreemad Bhagavatam 12.3.51)

This verse from the Shreemad Bhagavatam states that Kaliyug, the present era, is an ocean of faults – people have disturbed minds, unsound health, they live in polluted environment, and face disturbing situations.  However, there is one very great virtue in Kaliyug.  By lovingly chanting the melodious kīrtans of the Lord, one can easily get liberated from material bondage. 

Chanting, Hearing and Remembering

Chanting, hearing and remembering the Names, Forms, Virtues and Leelas of God is the simplest and most powerful form of devotion in Kaliyug. Engaging in this threefold devotion cleanses the mirror of the heart and extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence.  This threefold devotion is also called ‘tridha bhakti’ and it is because of its power that people engage in devotion day and night and experience the bliss of God.  This form of devotion is extremely sweet because it helps us to easily attach our mind to God.  We can chant the names of God, sing His glories, contemplate on His beautiful form for hours and hours.  On the other hand if we are asked to sit in a yajna, we get distracted in no time as we are unable to understand the mantras that the pundit recites.  But if we have to sing the beautiful kirtans of God or listen to a spiritual lecture by a God-realized Saint we will feel the inspiration to engage in it much longer.

As one engages in this threefold devotion, there is however an important point to keep in mind.  The heart and soul of tridha bhakti lies in the involvement of the mind in devotion. 

Unfortunately in today’s world, external behaviour takes precedence.  We say many things, but we hardly feel them from within.  For example, we often say “thank you” and “sorry” to each other, but we rarely feel gratitude or regret from within.  This may be a trend in the material world, but God says that such craftiness and deception is of no importance in the spiritual realm.  God says, “I will only consider the feelings in your mind”.  Hence, you may think you are engaging in chanting and hearing really well, but actually you may be practising devotion merely with your material senses.  You may be hearing the Guru’s lectures with your ears and reciting prayers with your lips, but your mind could be wandering elsewhere.   There is no benefit of engaging in such devotion.

Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj teaches us to meditate upon God, which means we have to meditate upon the form of God.  Along with this we can also chant His Divine Names and Pastimes and sing kirtans that will be helpful in the remembrance of God.  Thus, foremost we have to engage the mind in remembrance of God and then involve the material senses in devotion. 

Swami Mukundananda’s Audio Blog offers a profuse collection of spiritual lectures, bhajans, interviews and meditations saturated in the essence of spirituality and love for God.  Make the best use of these priceless audios to progress on your path of God-realization.  Engage in the beautiful process of threefold devotion by remembering God, hearing the lectures and chanting the kirtans.