What is it to always remember God’s name? || Acharya Prashant, on Guru Kabir (2018)

First comes the fire of separation, then comes the thirst for love. Says Kabir—understand: only then will you have the desire to meet Him.

~ Kabir

Questioner (Q): As far as I remember, I have been longing for God in various forms and ways. Now nothing known is attractive to me, but the One who is attracting me is still unknown. I have been alright in doing my work. Only when I read these songs does the longing become more and more severe; it intensifies. Does this mean that I missed That?

What does Kabir Sahib mean by remembering God’s name? What is remembrance? In the domain of the mind, we often relate remembrance with some object, but you have always said that it is not about remembering something as an object, it is more of a concern of the subject and maybe something beyond that. Can you clarify this for me?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The mind will want something to hold. The mind will want something to think of and remember. So, if you are a usual person, common man or woman, then remembrance for you means, firstly, remembering that all that which has filled up the mind and attracted you has not been of much avail. That is the first step of remembrance. It is for the common man.

But before this first step, I should have talked of the zeroth step where most of humanity stands. Most people do not remember anything. Most people do not even remember their experiences. They fall into the same hole again and again. They do not remember that they have been through the same thing before and its painful consequences. So, that’s the zeroth step—not remembering anything.