Kirtan and the art of real transformation – part II

Do you want to experience changes in your life? And do you want to change?

Usually we wish for change, but we hesitate to change, and therefore things stay the same.

Blocks Of Change

What is it that makes change so hard for us? It is when we have one or more of the following attitudes:

Change isn’t needed, I don’t need anything more in my life.
Change isn’t possible, I’ve tried so many times.
Change happens automatically, I just need to be in Iskcon and everything will happen automatically. This idea that, “I just need to sit in a festival with a nicely shaven head and tilak.” doesn’t work.
Change is too difficult and painful. We often like to take the easy path, and ignore the tougher road.

Ask yourself: which of these blocks are active in you? Which of these blocks are the reason you’re not where you wish to be in your spiritual life?

Change Triggers

What we need for profound change, is a trigger for change. For example, the way sugar cane molasses is transformed into sugar, is by adding a rock candy into the molasses. That triggers a reaction, and the sugar is formed. In spiritual life, we need to know the triggers that will lead to transformation. They are very powerful, they work on you, almost despite of you.

Dhrtarastra’s Story

I’d like to share a story with you of someone who changed, although it was very unlikely for him: Dhrtarastra. Dhrtarastra had two brothers: Pandu and Vidura, who were all different from one another. As you will see, these diametrically opposed brothers also live inside of you. Dhrtarastra was born blind and dealt with his fate by adopting the victim’s mentality. He felt life hadn’t been generous with him: although he was the first-born, he would never be able to rule because of him being blind. Pandu, his younger brother, became the emperor of the vast and wealthy empire.

Now, it so happened, that Pandu died at a young age. So Dhrtarastra thought, “Cruel fate has denied me my empire, but now I can get it back for my sons.” Vidura informed him of Pandu’s powerful sons and told him, “The Pandavas are the rightful heirs. You have to give them at least half of the kingdom, if you can’t give all of it to them.” But Dhrtarastra chose to give the whole kingdom to his own sons, specifically his favorite, Dhuryodhana.

Dhuryodhana felt threatened by the Pandava’s mere existence, so he convinced his father that they needed to be killed. So Dhrtarastra who should have been a loving uncle, became an enemy of the Pandavas and assisted by others tried to kill them in many ways.

During this time, many people came to him and tried to change his mind, but no one was successful. The night before the war of Kuruksetra even Krsna came to talk to him, but Dhrtarastra said,

“Vasudeva, I cannot hold onto the wisdom of your words. When you speak, my darkness is removed, but when your words are gone, I cannot hold onto them and I again act foolishly.”

I think this is so deep. I could cry when I hear this because I am also like this. When I’m at a festival, my dear devotees, I feel so blissful, I feel “There is only Krsna, and He is there for me, we have a relationship, He is not a distant God, removed from humanity. He is a close God, He listens.” But then, as someone else told me, “I know, when I drive home, the old me comes out again and takes over.” If you can relate to this, keep on reading.

After the war, Dhrtarastra was heart-broken. He had lost all of his sons and depended on Yudhisthira to sustain him. Then, Vidura came back from a pilgrimage and thought, “Let me try to change his mind, one last time.” He said, “Dhrtarastra, I’m surprised you’re living in the palace of those who you tried to kill. Don’t you see how kala, time, who is Bhagavan, has approached you, and soon you will have to surrender your life? Look at you: your body is overtaken by invalidity, and you live on the charity of those who you tried to kill. Leave immediately, go north to the Himalaya.” In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.29), we hear how these words of Vidura awakened prajña-caksur , introspective knowledge, in Dhrtarastra, and he set out on the path of self-realization immediately.

We all have a little of Dhrtarastra inside us: sometimes we are ruled by our emotions, desires, fears. We have grudges against others, a victim mentality and we are ruled by our attachments. But we also have some of Vidura’s qualities: gratitude, flexibility, courage, forgiveness, openness. So sometimes these qualities are in conflict with each other inside of us. Do you sometimes feel that fight?

What helps, is when our spiritual nature is awakened, and this happens through the words of a sadhu, like when Vidura spoke to Dhrtarastra. The words of sadhus are change triggers and can help us see things differently. And when we see things differently, the things we see will be different. We will really see and experience new things.

When you open your heart to the forceful words of sadhus your bond to illusion is cut. BUT – this can only happen when prajña-caksur is awakened, introspective knowledge. We have heard almost too much philosophy without changing, perhaps because we are missing introspective knowledge. When you hear from devotees, you have to catch what they are telling you. You have to think about it in an introspective way: “What does this mean for my life?”, and then something can happen.

Ask yourself these three introspective questions:

1) “What will happen, if I don’t change? Where will I be in 20 years?”


2) “What is the benefit of changing?”


3) “What are doable small steps for me?”

Please reflect on this, and if possible, discuss with a trusted friend.

The greatest effect of sadhu-sanga takes place when devotees sit together and sing. In the Bhakti-sandharbha (anuceda 269) Jiva Gosvami says that congregational chanting is even superior to kirtan performed alone because it generates extraordinary feelings that make the heart melt. This means you may spontaneously laugh, tears might come into your eyes, and so on. If possible, one should sing in the company of devotees that are skilled musicians, have a sweet voice and a devotional mood similar to yours, because that makes it easier for feelings to be evoked in the heart. In this association you will see, bit by bit, your old habits will be removed, and you will experience happiness in Krsna consciousness.

Form a lecture by Sacinandana Swami at Simhacalam, May 5th 2023

Srila Prabhupada: immediately

Simply by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by remembering the lotus feet of Krsna, simply by offering prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is immediately freed from material contamination, the material bodily concept, by the blazing fire of ecstasy. This effect takes place immediately, without a second’s delay.

From Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.4.27