In this series, we present, each month, a prayer kirtan composed by His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. These kirtans underline the importance of prayers and show us how to pray.
Oh Lord! Kindly bestow me with mental strength
Steadfast faith is very important for any spiritual aspirant. Without steadfastness, one would be inclined to jump from one path to another. One may start by trying dhyana and after a few weeks, he may find it difficult so may change to japa. After sometime, that will also be difficult, so the mind will start looking for something else. With such a wavering mind, it is extremely difficult to make progress in spiritual life.
So, how can one get the mental strength? It is only by praying intensely to the Lord. In the song, ‘Manobalam enaku arulvai’ set in Atana raga and Adi tala, Sri Swamiji shows us how to pray to the Lord and beseech him to bestow inner strength and clarity of mind. The song and its meaning are given here.
Manobalam Enakku Arulvai
Raga: Atana Tala: Adi
manobalam enakku aruLvAi – manoharA
mahattAna manobalam enakku aruLvAi
unai aDaiya ninaitu vAzhndiDum tava vAzhvil
oru kaNam kUDa nAn saliyAdirukka
tApatrayangaLal taLLADa kUDAdu
kAma krodangaLAl kalangavum kUDAdu
nAn nAn nAn enDra ATTamum kUDAdu
nAnAvida perumaiyum kUDavey kUDAdu
Meaning
Oh Manohara!- Kindly bless me with inner strength of mind!
Kindly bless me with Supreme inner strength of mind.
I wish to live a spiritually disciplined life for attaining You
I must not waver from my goal even for a second
I must not be disconcerted by the three types of sufferings(physical, mental and spiritual)
I must not get tempted by desire and anger
I must have my ego in check and
I must not indulge in self-admiration and self-praise
Sowmya Balasubramanian, Fremont CA