Music is Sadhana

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and devotees,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

All will be immersed in divine music; but less knows exactly what it is.

 

Please go through the following discourse from Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba on divine

music.

 

With love and regards,

 

Sastry

 

Swami Speaks About Divine Music

 

" What is the essence of Sankeerthana? Its essential purpose is to earn the love

of God. Combining one's voice, tune, feeling and rhythm to the appropriate beat

of the song, the devotee should immerse himself in the singing. Harmonizing the

feeling with devotion and Love, the sacred words of the song should be an

outpouring of love towards God. That alone is devotional singing. "

 

" When the song is rendered without understanding the meaning of the words and

without any inner feeling or genuine love for God, it is a mechanical

performance. Bhaava (feeling), Raaga (melody) and Thaala (rhythm) are the

essentials for proper singing. "

 

" Even the name Bhaarath signifies the combination of these three elements.

(Bha-Ra-Tha). In every action in daily life, the combination of these three

elements should be observed. This rule can be applied even to one's studies.

Bhaava, in relation to study of a subject, means understanding the subject

thoroughly. Raaga implies cultivating a love for the subject and Thaala means

expressing one's knowledge coherently and clearly. "

 

The wealth derived from singing God's name, and meditation, is the influence of

the higher energies in nature on one's life. These not only cleanse the external

body but also purify the inner tendencies.

 

Bhajan is one of the processes by which you can train the mind to expand into

eternal values. Teach the mind to revel in the glory and majesty of God; wean it

away from petty horizons of pleasure. Bhajan induces in you a desire for

experiencing the Truth, to glimpse the Beauty that is God, to taste the Bliss

that is the Self. It encourages man to dive into himself and be genuinely his

Real Self. Once that search is desired, the path is easy. One has only to be

reminded that he is divine. The malady is: it is being thrust out of

recognition. Man has come for a great destiny, on a sacred mission, endowed with

special skills and tendencies to help him on; but, he fritters these precious

gifts and crawls on earth from birth to death, worse than any animal. Exercises

like Bhajan elevate the mind and exhort the individual to seek and find the

source of eternal joy that lies within him.

 

People may say that when you go to Sai Baba, there is nothing but bhajan.

Realize that there is nothing “Your heart grows when you are hearing bhajans

with a full mind. On the other hand, if you do not sing melodiously, then you

will not be getting joy. Community singing must be developed if you want to give

to all people the thrill and joy of singing of prayers.

 

Bhajans should be sung with complete obliviousness of the body. Devotional

fervour is more important than musical skill. The ladies who took part in the

bhajans in the morning sang the bhajans whole-heartedly. Their hearts were full

of sweetness. Hence sweet music flowed from their hearts.

 

" The word of a song can be expressed in prosaic manner which has no appeal to

the listener. But when they are sung melodiously as in the song: " Raama! Nannu

Kaapaadu " -- " Raama! save me, " they tug at the heart-strings. (Svaami sang the

song to demonstrate its appeal). Such sweetness is contained in the song when it

is rendered melodiously. "

 

" Everyone, whether he is well versed in music or not, should listen attentively

to the singer and try to repeat the words of the song with feeling. "

 

" Some persons attending bhajans do not move their lips at all. They may say that

they are singing the songs mentally within themselves. This is not proper. If

you have devotional feeling, it should be expressed by the tongue joining in the

bhajan. Only then it can be called Sankeerthana--singing in unison with others.

You must sing the names aloud, full-throated, as far as the voice can reach.

Only then the Divine will respond in full measure and shower His grace. No one

will go to the rescue of a drowning man if his cries are feeble. Only when he

cries aloud at the top of his voice will the cries be heard and people will rush

to save him. Sankeerthana means singing with abandon and fervour. "

 

" Everyone should realize that every limb and organ in the body has been given to

man to be used for a sacred purpose: The tongue to utter the Lord's name, the

hands to offer worship, the feet to go the temple and so on. These organs should

not be used for frivolous and unholy purposes. Sanctifying every one of the

sense organs, man should purify the mind and contemplate on God. "

 

(Article Source- Internet)