14th Feb., Mandi Gobindgarh: On the occasion of Maharaj Ji’s visit to Mandi Gobindgarh, various souls tuned to music got some more tuning to better tune their tunes to the melody of the spiritual path. The gathering enthralled by the singing of dexterous musicians here, was further enthralled by what Maharaj Ji had to say. Maharaj Ji affirmed that indeed in the present age ‘keertan’ (devotional chanting) is the best of ways to go within, but added that one should know how to do it. Keertan should be sung and played for oneself and not to influence others. Further, after keertan, the participants should also remember their guru-mantra and meditate. It is through such a complete practice that keertan becomes the means of taking the consciousness into the realm of meditation otherwise, devoid of this it is like making all the preparation to cook a delicious meal but then giving up on it out of laziness and saying we shall do it tomorrow; well tomorrow then one would not only have to start afresh but also first cleanse the last day’s mess. Maharaj Ji also commented on the perennial issue of aspirants seeking a shortcut to Divine. The shortcut if there is one is intense yearning for the Divine; but to attain that one has to be prepared to give up one’s all, even the ‘lazy’ desire for a shortcut.
