In this series, we present, each month, a prayer kirtan composed by His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. The Kirtans in this series shall underline the importance of prayers.
En Asaigalai Ketpayo Kanna
The purpose of human birth is to attain the Lord. And the compassionate Lord has given infinite ways to reach Him. But of all the paths, the easiest and the most blissful one is that of Bhakti or devotion to the Lord. 
This is also the Lord’s favorite. In fact, in Bhagavad Gita, when the Lord expounds on the various paths, he refers to spiritual aspirants using various terms like yogis, sadhaks, etc. But when he refers to bhaktas – people following the path of Bhakti, he refers to them as “Mama Bhaktas”(My devotees). He also promises Arjuna that in all the other paths, the aspirants have to struggle to attain Him and even then, there is no guarantee that they can reach Him (because they rely on their own efforts). But in the path of Bhakti, He ensures that his devotees reach Him in no time (because they rely on the Lord).
So how do does one practice the path of Bhakti? Once again, Mahans come to our rescue. Numerous devotees like Purandaradasa, Tyagaraja, Tukaram, Meera and others have shown us how to show our love to the Lord. Sri Swamiji too has composed a song, in which he shows how a life of devotee following a path of Bhakti looks like. The song is set in the melodious ‘Sahana’ Raga.
Ragam: Sahana Talam: Adi
Language: Tamil
en Asaigalai kEtpAyo kaNNA
kETTu adai pUrti seivAyo nIyE
un tiruvaDi nizhalil vAsam vENDum
uttama bhaktargaLuDan kUDiDa vENDum
uLLam muzhudum un eNNangaLE niraya vENDum
unnada thoNDu unake nAn puriya vENDum
brindAvanam nAn eppozhudum sella vENDum
bhAgavatam gitai sadA nAn padikka veNDum
bAvatudan nAma kIrtanam seiyya vENDum
pAdiyum Adiyum konDAda vENDum
mElum mElum nAma nidi serka vENDum
mElum mElum dyAnatil layikka vENDum
mElum mElum bhakti vaLAra vENDum
muraLidharA un pugazh lokam ella sUzha vENDum
Meaning
Oh Krishna! Will you listen to my desires?
And will you fulfill them after lending your ears to them?
I desire to reside in the shadow of your feet
And spend time in the company of your devotees.
I must be consumed by your thoughts
And be engaged in your divine service.
I wish to travel always to Brindavan
And read (Srimad) Bhagavatam and (Bhagavad) Gita always.
I yearn to sing your Names with devotion
And celebrate you with song and dance
May I chant your names incessantly and accumulate the wealth of Your Name
May my mind ever meditate on You
May my devotion increase multifold
O Muralidhara! May your fame spread to all corners of the world!
Sowmya Balasubramanian, Fremont, CA
