Sing to God

In Chowpatty, one night I was chanting softly on my beads. After some time, my friend and roommate from Spain, Gopi Kumari, remarked, "You seem to sing the maha mantra. It's beautiful,"

"I never thought of it like that," I replied.

"It's interesting. In English you have the word 'chant' and the word 'sing'... but in Spanish, there is no distinction. It is simply 'cantar' for both," she said in a ponderous tone. 

"Very true," I murmured. When I was in Spain and I needed to go chant, I told my friends, "Necesito cantar," which translates as "I need to chant," but it can also be translated as, "I need to sing," 

How beautiful. Oh, how beautiful that as Vaishnavas, we take time out of our day to sing to God.