Prayers of a Kirtan Singer

“Mehra mujh mei kuch nahee,

Jo kichh hai so Tera,

Tera tujh ko sauptai kia laagai metra” —Kabir Ji

O Waheguru, I thank you for the wonderful gift of this voice, the urge that You have placed in my heart to sing Your Kirtan and for those who yearn to hear Your kirtan.

Grant me such humility, that I ever live in awe of Your greatness and remain mindful of my own helplessness and insignificance.

Let this Kirtan connect me directly to You as I sing from the depths of my Soul. My Beloved, let “me” not become a hindrance between this Soul and You.

O Waheguru, let “me” not make this Kirtan a ’performance’; for it is the personal

and sacred manifestation of the soul’s love for You.

Waheguru, let me not draw time and attention to this ego, but draw Souls to You, through my example.

Grant me the humility to gladly give up my allotted Kirtan time to others if the need arises. Teach me the virtue of silence. Let me find You in the faces and the voices of the sangat. Let me seek pleasure in listening to others. May I never think of myself as superior to others. May I never compete with my fellow Kirtan singers for time and recognition. Let me not hoard any favorite sargams for my own ‘performance’- for what I hold back from others will also be held back from me. May I gladly share with all what You have freely gifted me.

May I sing Your Kirtan with such reverence that 'my voice and I’ fade out of the picture and all that remains is a sense of Your Presence.

O Guru, make me fit to be called a true Sikh. May every word and action that issues forth from me be aligned to Your Divine Will.

0 Waheguru, grant me the wisdom to understand the true meaning of Kirtan and how I can serve You through this sacred act. Let me always remain mindful of this special privilege that You have bestowed upon me through Your Grace.

Authored by the real singer who dwells in your heart