Aisi Lagi Lagan — Meera Bhajan

Aisi Lagi Lagan is the spiritual autobiography of Meera Bai — the warrior-princess of Mewar who renounced palace, throne, and husband for the love of Giridhar Gopal (Krishna, the lifter of Mount Govardhan). Born around 1498 in the royal Rathore family of Merta, married into the Sisodia dynasty of Mewar, Meera became the most celebrated woman saint of the North Indian Bhakti movement.

This bhajan compresses Meera's entire spiritual journey into a few stanzas. The first verse establishes her madness (magan) — she has caught the divine 'lagan' (longing) and now wanders gali to gali (street to street) singing Hari's praises. The second contrasts her royal upbringing (mahalon mein pali) with her renunciate life (jogan chali). The third declares her freedom — no one can stop or restrain her — she chants Govind Gopal openly. The fourth recalls the famous historical legend: when her brother-in-law Rana Vikramaditya sent her a cup of poison, she drank it as nectar (amrit) — and survived, transformed, by Krishna's grace. The fifth describes her ultimate state: distance from the world, nearness to Hari, surrender at His lotus feet.

Meera's poetry — composed in a mixture of Rajasthani, Braj, and old Hindi — set the template for women's bhakti expression in India. Her unwavering devotion in the face of family persecution, social ostracism, and attempted poisoning made her a permanent symbol of the soul that chooses divine love over every worldly attachment.

This bhajan is sung at Krishna temples (especially in Vrindavan, Dwarka, and her birthplace Merta), during Meera Jayanti, Janmashtami, and Sharad Purnima celebrations. It speaks especially to anyone who has felt called by something larger than worldly success — and has been willing to walk away from it all to follow that call.