SINGING FOR SAI - By Sue Kelly Christie

[Guest guest]

SINGING FOR SAI

Heart unto HEART

- By Sue Kelly Christie

It’s

Western time again at the holy city of Puttaparthi. No folks, not

Country and Western but Western carols for Christmas. That’s right;

it’s the time of the Blessed Birth of the Baby Jesus. That means that

the “Westerners” get a chance to strut their stuff for their Beloved

Bhagawan.

What an amazing

array of humanity has gathered to pay homage to their Master and

spiritual leader Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba! So broad and all

encompassing are His teachings, that He blesses and indeed encourages

all the major faiths and religions to continue with their individual

methods of worship. But, with the love of Bhagawan, their worshipping

seems to achieve even greater fervour after they visit this great

teacher of mankind, even while they are His guests at Prasanthi Nilayam

(the Abode of Highest Peace). Christmas time is no exception.

The Western Choir have in their repertoire for their Christmas 2008 programme 18 hymns – including such stalwarts as How Great Thou Art.

To make sure that they are in harmony with their host country – Blessed

Bharat - the choir also sings a sprinkling of Sanskrit in the form of

Bhajans.

The choristers

have only nine days to familiarize themselves with 18 new musical

pieces – in English – and many of the devotees do not have English as

their first language. In addition, there are 36 musicians and to add a

final twist of complexity to this ambitious undertaking, most of the

people involved are not professional singers or musicians.

Yet,

every year for the past ten years the Western Choir have managed to

present a most enjoyable programme for their Lord. How do they do it,

I hear you cry?

Well,

there happens to be this wonderful American woman called Sylvia Alden,

who, with her innate musicality and huge heart full of love for

Bhagawan, waves her finger-baton and tickles those vocal cords into

producing a beautiful sound.

We met Sylvia to find out more about this little musical maestro (by the way the lady has no formal training). She told me:-

“I

came to Swami for the first time in 1978. At that time we used to sit

on the sands and sleep in the sheds. It was funny, Swami was giving

Darshan and He said to me: ‘Come back here in December, I have very

much work for you to do’. Well of course, I did come back in the

December and instead of being given the Children’s choir to work with

(I was a teacher all of my working life) I was given the Adult choir,

which was a first.

“In

those days we used to write the lyrics out in longhand and all we had

was one light bulb hanging on a cord. In those days I would say:

‘Okay, what should we sing?’ These days Swami has given such beautiful

songs to people. Back then we had just a harmonium and a guitar. The

first programme we presented was in the open air. The Germans wanted

to sing Hallelujah. But, open air dissipates the sound and

we were singing in the driveway, we were asked to stop in the middle of

the song, because the sound simply evaporated in the open air. But, it

was a good lesson to teach one not to panic and to just carry on, which

we did and the adjusted programme was a big success.”

Sylvia

laughs a self deprecating laugh (which one comes to learn is par for

the course with this lovely lady) as her memory takes her on a musical

interlude.

“I

used to have to hold the music down with my foot, in between my toes,

because there wasn’t a music stand. But despite all of that, the

programme worked well. The men had tears. Swami looked so happy. He

apparently said: ‘If you didn’t look at them you wouldn’t know they

were foreign.’”

And what do the participants have to share…

I

managed to winkle out some Westerners visiting Prasanthi Nilayam for

the first time to find out what kind of experience it has been for

them, singing for Sai in the choir for the first time.

Kelly Killion, 57, from Arkansas, USA, told me of his first experience.

“Well,

I guess it was in 2004. It was my first time in the choir, also my

first time in Puttaparthi. Everyone was abuzz with the fact that

Swami was going out every day in His red car. So the one day I got it

in my head to go outside and wait for His car. I bought a mala -- which

is a garland of flowers and five roses. Swami came out of the 2nd gate

at the University and as He drove past me; He looked at me and gave me

a small smile. I then somehow knew I was to wait. Then, He drove past

again. Only this time, He didn’t drive past entirely, His car stopped

and as it did, I took my mala and placed it in front of the windscreen,

and then I took the five roses and placed them on the side near Swami.

Swami gave me a big smile. Then to my own amazement, I heard myself

implore Him ‘Christ me!’ Well, Swami looked at me, raised His two hands

and Wham! Brought them both down in a big blessing! Whoosh – well, I

didn’t know what struck me. I felt my whole being immersed in bliss

and I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t do a thing until the next time

we sang. When we got to sing for Swami, I was right up front. It was

the most unforgettable experience of my life. Thank you Swami!”

So

that was a triple first for Kelly! Then I spoke with lovely Lore

Lijen, a 25-year-old first timer from Belgium. She told me:-

“This

is my first time in Puttaparthi and my first time in the choir. My

experiences from the choir are very good. The Bhajans I like --

although I do not understand them! The hymns I like very much, I find

them very uplifting. They make me feel verily at home. It’s like

celebrating Christmas in a traditional Christian way and yet Sai Baba

makes it all feel so fresh!

“What

I also noticed and what really interests me -- I am a fitness

instructor by the way – and which is something that I never thought I

would find so interesting – is the custom of separating the men from

the women. It is really good, I think.

“Because,

now when I see the women all covered up, I actually see the women –

from the inside. I see their beauty and character which emanate from

the inside, whereas at home in my own country, many are very body

conscious. It is always body, body, body. This I have found to be

most fascinating. It’s actually liberating!”

Now

let me introduce you to another Parthi first timer, from the US, Miss

Paula Hendrix. Paula is a feisty American who has spent most of her

life counselling and healing. She has a tremendous love for Lord

Jesus. Here’s her feeling on being in Puttaparthi for the first time:-

“I’m

from Tampa, Cigar City they call it and it’s in Florida and this is my

first time in Puttaparthi. Being in the choir is wonderful. It’s a

spiritual experience where some of the songs make me cry. It also

makes me less homesick. I feel I am closer to home when singing in the

choir. I have pretty much shined in India. Also, for me what is

particularly wonderful is that I have found my love for Jesus again.

You see, because of the fundamentalists I went right off religion...

But being here is like being in a time warp. Being taken back some two

thousand years to the time when Jesus walked the earth. That’s what it

makes me feel like. Being turned back and now I have shone, on Jesus

being here.”

 

Sylvia

reflected on some comments from her choristers: “One lady said ‘I

really don’t mind if we sing in front of Swami or not. These nine days

of rehearsals have been to me, like a darshan’. Another lady told me,

‘For the first time, I saw my man with tears in his eyes, as he

sang.’”

Sylvia added: “I

don’t think that surrender is as easy for men as it is for women.

Women do that instinctively. Men, from a societal aspect, are brought

up not to show any emotion. This choir serves as healing therapy and an

opening of the heart. I have seen men in tears on many occasions.”

And what of Sylvia herself? Has her involvement in the Christmas Choir had a healing effect on her?

She

confessed: “I had never really laughed until I came to Bhagawan. I was

an extremely serious child. I was born into a Baptist family and in my

heart I was always afraid of doing something wrong. I was also very

angry. I didn’t believe it when I was told that if you grew up in a

jungle somewhere you were not worthy of loving God. But then I came to

Swami in 1978 and finally was able to laugh”.

During

the rehearsals there are, quite naturally, a lot of emotions which

generally run high. The means of vocal communication can be a very

delicate matter, particularly when one is singing of and for the glory

of God. There are a lot of little incidents which happen during the

Christmas Choir practice which, on reflection are farcical but at the

time of occurrence, it could be felt that World War Three had broken

out. For instance, the fans; to fan or not to fan. THAT becomes the

question! Lots of ladies want them on, but others want them off!

Then there are the spaces – this is my space, not yours!

And

after quite a few other trivia – the music. Every other one of us

becomes Mrs. Pavarotti Par Excellence! The beautiful ladies take the

Prasanthi Christmas Choir to a whole new level. It’s all part of the

process, the teachings. After all, didn’t someone say – Life is a Game

– Play it!

So what is Sylvia’s philosophy on these musical machinations?

“I

always pray to Swami: Do not let them see me, Sylvia – this body is

nothing. Just let them see Thee through me. Let Thy love and light

shine through me”.

During the

rehearsal sessions Sylvia generously shares with the choristers some of

her blessed interview experiences with Bhagawan. This gives them an

invaluable insight, which they may otherwise never achieve, into the

teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The rehearsals are peppered with

these magnificent gems.

What

does she lovingly advise her transient musical family to do? Sylvia

smiles that beautiful, radiant arresting smile (one that lingers long

after the lady has left) and ponders. Then, “If you want to hear God,

listen for that soft sweet voice of Love”.

Speaking

of that soft sweet voice of Love, Sri Sathya Sai Baba has assembled so

many of His beloved musicians for His Christmas Choir. There’s Doug

Sanders from New Zealand who Sylvia refers to as her musical rock – and

who is also a naughty angel. Doug is a professional musician with the

soul of a child. You can hear that when he plays his violin. There’s

Peter Bo, who has been playing keyboards for the Christmas choir for

almost ten years. Peter’s composition “Christmas in Prasanthi” is

being sung by the choir this year. Surely this song will become the

anthem for the Choir.

I asked

him how it felt to have a choir of nearly 700 interpret his work. He

told me: “It is truly wonderful, to feel all that love coming through

the song”.

Then there is

Gisela Sebastian, whose glorious voice truly inspires the ladies to

reach even greater heights. Gisela has composed many songs for

Bhagawan. She lovingly goes through the pieces, note by note, chord by

chord and semi-breve by semi-breve. Gisela has been involved with music

in Prasanthi for the past 28 years. From her demeanour alone, one can

see that she honestly lives and breathes for love of God. She has the

voice of a Diva and the soul of a Goddess.

The piquant Krishnaveni lovingly teaches us the correct pronunciation for some of the Sanskrit lyrics.

Meet another first-timer to Puttaparthi and to India, 20-year-old Sue

Ellen Harrison. She comes from the Blue Mountains of Australia where

the famed author Howard Murphet lived and where he penned many of his

best-selling books about Bhagawan. She is having a wonderful time in

the choir. She tells me that she has been experiencing visions of

Jesus all her life. Now she is able to sing in front of the Beloved

Lord Himself.

Other members of the 36-strong orchestra include the gifted Anthea on

cello, Stan Zaides from Germany, Anne from Australia, Eliena from

Russia and Loli Puelles from Spain - to name just a few of this

talented group of musicians who all do a magnificent job of making

music that brings us to The Music Maker Himself – Bhagawan Sri Sathya

Sai Baba. This Christmas Choir is surely another musical interlude

which is part of His unique plan for this period in mankind’s evolution

towards Godhead.

It teaches us yet again, as His magnificent story unfolds, that we are

all Divine instruments in the hands of the all loving, ever caring and

compassionate Creator -- whether we are aware of it or not. So let’s

all give thanks to this most Beatific Lord for opening our hearts to be

able to sing, albeit only one crotchet in the Divine choir of His

magnum opus – His Celestial Song, as it continues to unfold, like the

petals of the lovely lily greeting the Divine Light in all its

spectacular splendour.

It is……

heart unto Heart,

light unto Light,

sound unto Sound.

 

The Most Perfect Master, again, has been teaching. In this instance -- through the Christmas Choir.

HARMONY…. Not only through music. But through co-operation…To fan or not to fan, that was the question!

PITCH…… Not only in tune musically but with fellow choristers. Think Unity.

PACE……… Not only in musical time but seeing God’s timing in everything that happens around us. Rely on the Self.

PAUSE…….. WAIT for the music and listen in the silence to that small sweet voice of Love within.

God is Melody! Live in Harmony. Promote Unity.

So, with the Blessings of Bhagawan Baba we wish you a Holy and Happy Merry Christmas. Thank you our BABA!

From the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Christmas Choir we sing to you…..

For this is Christmas in Prasanthi. Oh! Swami what a gift – Your Love is filling every heart, with Joy and Peace and Bliss!source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/SingingforSai.html

Sai Baba Darshan News &

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Monday, December 22, 2008

"... This evening's bhajan session was for over 100 minutes. Bhagawan arrived after the Bhajans began at 5 pm

....." read more + see photos http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/SingingforSai.html