Kirtana is ‘singing aloud the Glory of God’. Sankirtan is the process of singing that originates in the heart, not from the lips or tongue. It is the expression of the joyous thrill that wells up from the heart when the Glory of God is remembered. It is the spontaneous manifestation of inner ecstasy. No attention is paid to the blame or praise that others may give. It does not seek the admiration or the appreciation of the listeners. It is sung for one’s own joy; one’s own satisfaction; one’s own delight. Kirtana of this supreme type alone deserves the name sankirtan.

Singing this intense yearning for God, for enjoying the experience that adoring Him brings, helps to purify the atmosphere. Man is today forced to breathe the air polluted by sounds that denote violence, hatred, cruelty and wickedness; therefore he is fast losing the high attainments that are in store for him. The vibrations of the Namasankirtans can cleanse the atmosphere and render it pure, calm and ennobling. It is with this high purpose in view that this programme of global sankirtan was designed.

Sankirtan, or Bhajan can be of four types: guna sankirtan, leela sankirtan, bhava sankirtan and nama-sankirtan. By guna is meant the ‘attributes’ of God. So guna sankirtan is the adoration, in song, of the manifold attributes of God - Omnipresence, Omniscience, Compassion, Majesty etc.

Leela means ‘sport’, therefore leela sankirtan means the adoration in song of the various expressions of these attributes, as evidenced by the accounts of sages and seers of all faiths.

Bhava means the attitude of the mind, its aptitude. So Bhava sankirtan means the adoration in song of God, pictured and contacted under various relationships. Some may prefer to adore Him as the Giver of Equanimity (Shantam), others as a best friend, guide and guardian (Sakhya), still others as the child one loves and tends (Vatsalya) and yet others as the Lover whom one loves with sovereign Love (Madhura).

Nama means the Name of God, and so nama sankirtan means the adoration of God, calling upon Him by various Names, each describing His Glory, His achievements, His relationship with the individual. (SSS Vol. 10, pp. 68-70)