I will make a small introduction on the nature of our singing and how to sing the Names of God. Our singing life can be very easy but can be very hard too. There are different levels of singing and different aspects of singing. Every devotee really has to find the way to sing for which he has a taste.
Since each one has a different constitution and different levels, then how to find the taste in singing will depend on each individual, its nature, its constitution to find it, this is very personal. We are all individual beings with our individualities, that’s why I say that everyone must really find the way to sing that brings it joy, and if sincerely we seek to really find that taste, then by the grace of God, we will be able to find the way of singing which brings us joy.
At the same time that there are individual ways of singing, there are also common ways that are universal to everyone and that are very beneficial to everyone. A very basic way is to have faith in what we sing. I repeat, something very fundamental is to have faith in what we sing, in the Holy Names of God. When we have faith, when we firmly believe a few things, then we dedicate ourselves to that activity and that way we can really move towards that goal.
If we do not really have faith or believe in what we are doing, then we are not going to dedicate ourselves fully to this activity since we do not have faith in it. Without a firm faith, we will not really be able to focus on singing, it will not come. We will never really be serious about finding concentration in singing because we do not have faith, we do not really believe in it. As in yoga, before entering the world of meditation, we must all empty our mind which means freeing it from all thoughts that are not needed and then the true feeling, the true experience of meditation can come into us.
And as long as we have all kinds of thoughts in the mind, we can not really find the place for our meditation. Similarly, for sung meditation, we must first free our mind from all thoughts that are not necessary and at the same time pray intensely for the mercy of God, this is essential. It is really necessary to ask the help of God so that we can be absorbed in the song and the divine thoughts.
At the beginning of our spiritual life, we will insist, try every day to feel a taste for singing. When we sincerely insist, day after day, trying to find that taste, that way of singing that gives us, while praying for the grace of God, the taste will begin to manifest itself. When the taste comes then we know what we have to do to get it and singing becomes an activity we like to do, we can taste it. I describe and explain things only at very basic levels, I do not describe anything very high but very basic, the background, the foundations. I really describe the basics of singing, it’s a little bit the foundation for us to find some taste in our singing. What can help us is this temperament to positively insist on singing.
A simple example, we can see a child, sometimes he can have fun and take so much pleasure in a small thing that seems insignificant, we have lost our ability to have fun doing simple activities. If we value pleasure, happiness in our life then we must not underestimate the ability of children to find pleasure and happiness in very simple activities.
A child, because he has a completely open mind and heart, will start to take an interest in a small thing and find a lot of joy in this activity and from our point of view ”Oh ! It’s just a child’s play !” We do not find it important. I took this example of children because we really need to be inspired by them. When we are just going to sing the Holy Name, to have the innocent and open heart of a child in the Holy Name and to affirm positively by saying to oneself, “By the grace of God, I will find a great pleasure in the song of the Holy Names”, just like the child who finds a lot of joy and pleasure playing games that seem insignificant.
I’ve seen children playing like that by doing ” Mmmmmmhhhhhh ” with different intonations, and playing like that for a very long time, we know that a child will never do a few things if he does not immediately find pleasure in what he does, he would do nothing if there was no joy in these things. Similarly, if we can as a child with his innocence, go into this song then, we can really find that joy and taste for the name and insisting with the greed of a child. When a child wants a few things then he will go without putting barriers and without any prejudice, he will go for that taste.
He finds in these simple activities so much joy very easily and that we lost him when we grew up, we are not able to do that anymore. I’m not saying that we have to become just childish, we need to be inspired by the openness, the simplicity of heart of children and use these qualities in the field of meditation. That’s why at the beginning we can all sing together and simply find pleasure in our singing and that of others and realize that they have been part of a spiritual sound.
At the same time, on a higher level, to understand what we sing, what does our song mean? When we sing ”Hare Krsna”, ”Hare” means Srimati Radharani and ”Krsna”, the Supreme God Krsna, when we sing, we turn to the Supreme Goddess and the Supreme God. We must try while we sing to keep in awareness that we are calling the Supreme Goddess and the Supreme Lord who is the Personification of love, beauty, truth.
And when we sing the Holy Names, we must remember Their beauty, Their glories, Their affections that They have for us, our love for Them as we sing Their names. Like two people in love, simply they take so much pleasure in seeing each other, talking to each other or even thinking about each other because there is that love relationship that is there. Our Guru-Varga often takes this example of lovers to show us that we must insist to try to discover this love, this relationship with God, with the Divine Couple and if really insisting, praying, Krsna sees our sincerity so He will give us His mercy and that will manifest this self-love, it will become as simple as two lovers.
We must have this example in mind that two people, if they do not know each other, they will not taste especially, nothing will happen. But if two people fall in love with each other, a boy and a girl, just to talk to each other and hear each other speak, just the other’s name awakens so much joy in them. Do you see the difference? Similarly, try to cultivate some feelings of love attraction, love attractions in connection with our Beloved Supreme.
If we have this devotional insistence on wanting to establish a relationship with Krsna, a bit like the waves of the ocean, constantly insist, insist, the Supreme Lord will see that ” He sincerely tries to have a relationship with Me, to connect with Me with love, I will help him or her, give him a special grace to have success.” A day of good fortune, we can really enter the world of taste, feel it, so much taste by singing the Holy Name of their Lordships. We can become members of this world for singing and everything will be open, we can access it. This is called Sadhana, which must be continuous.
Let us continue our efforts sincerely in relation to the Lord whose names are sung and understanding that what we sing are divine sound vibrations, divine sounds and not ordinary sounds and continue to sing, and just that will happen, stay relaxed, free, open minded and that will come. When I say insist, make efforts, spontaneously, naturally, that does not mean to be very strict and hard with ourselves, it is an effort without efforts, an effort that comes naturally, it’s not a few things rigid. We will sing with a loving and open mind, invoking the mercy of the Panca-Tattva.