Bhajans, Namasmarana, and Nagarasankeerthana

“Devotional singing (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… Devotional singing 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.” –Baba

When Swami was barely 8 or 9 years old He collected His classmates and a few others and formed the PandariBhajan Group. This ebullient troupe of teenagers danced in devotion and glee in the hamlet of Puttaparthi. Not only were the souls of all who witnessed this overflowed with joy, their bodies were healed too! When the epidemic cholera arrived and caused catastrophe in so many villages around, it just could not enter this sacred settlement. That is how powerful were the vibrations created by Swami’s little group. And devotees witnessed a glorious magnification of this ecstatic feeling whenever in the later years Swami lead a bhajan and the multitude joining Him in superlative joy. And in the process they became oblivious to everything around and lost their body, mind and heart in it completely. It was no more a bhajan, it became a supremely sanctifying sadhana. That is how bhajans should be, Swami has demonstrated it time and again.

Community singing or Bhajans alone can create an opportunity to illuminate the spark of divinity within every heart and also unite people in and around the vicinity through the light of Love .Only internal purity can destroy mountains of sins and bring about real transformation in man. -Baba

Aim of Bhajan …Bhajans sung Soulfully…….

• Elevates Divine Consciousness in everyone
• Enlighten participants appreciate the Beauty and Grandeur of Divinity
• Realize the emptiness and futility of materialism
• Motivate to tread on the path of Love and Selfless Service
• Inspire to commence spiritual journey towards self-realization.

Spiritual Benefits of Bhajan

1. Calming
2. Cleansing
3. Rewarding

1.Calming

• Relieves from sorrow
• Anxiety, fear, hesitation are driven away from one’s heart
• Gives relief in pain and reduces the stress
• Elevates the depressed to happy state

2.Cleansing

• You will shed differences and achieve unity
• Electromagnetic waves generated from the bhajan purify the atmosphere
• Greed for power, name, fame, wealth, knowledge and comforts will vanish
• Removes the veil of illusion
• Elevates the mind to a higher consciousness
• Cleanses the understanding

3.Rewarding

• Inculcates good habits and cultured behavior
• Activates every part of the brain
• Contributes to character building
• Melody, Tempo, Tone and rhythm improve Multitasking abilities
• Ensures social and intellectual growth of students
• Motivates at-risk students
• Has an honorable designation “Healing without Medicine”

Power of Namasmarana

• Namasmarana is the best antidote for overcoming anger & sorrow.
• Namasmarana instills faith that everything is God’s will and teaches you that you have no right to exult or despair
• Namasmarana purifies the mind, senses and we enjoy continuous, un-alloyed peace and bliss
• Nama is packed with infinite potential to purify, sublimate and transform the mind and the heart
• Namasmarana is the best medicine. Only you do not believe that it can cure or save you
• In the Kali age, Namasmarana is the spiritual discipline to attain liberation
• Namasmarana is the best means for correcting and cleansing the mind. This is like a raft which will take us across hate & fear, churned by anxiety & terror
• Namasmarana knows no failure, overcomes all obstacles and leads one to the ultimate goal
• Namasmarana gives strength to bear our sorrows & tears
• Namasmarana makes His majesty, His grace, His potency and His pervasiveness fixed in the conscious of the devotee to achieve humility and surrender.
• Namasmarana is the easiest means to cross the ocean of delusion, bondage and attachment.
• Namasmarana has infinite power and potential to become one with the infinity

Nagarsankeerthana
There is no greater joy than coming together like a flock of birds and taking the melodious name of the Lord in unison. Groups of devotees get together in the wee hours of the morning, every day/week and make their way across the bylanes near the temple and sing bhajans in unison, spreading the sacred name of the Lord.

AkhandaBhajan
As part of the birthday celebrations of Bhagawan Baba, on the second Saturday-Sunday in November and on Shivarathri day Bhajans (devotional singing) are conducted continuously for 24 hours at all Sathya Sai Centres on a global level praying for peace, harmony and bliss to all mankind.

Bhajan Guidelines

‘BHAJAN’ or ‘NAAMSAMARNA’ means group devotional singing of the glory of God. When and wherever His glory is sung, He is always there. Unless you sing bhajans for your own ecstacy, you cannot bring joy to others, thus preventing them from sharing ‘ANANDA’ i.e. bliss. With each bhajan sung the mind must be rendered purer, free from passion and stronger in faith. When the chanting of the Name is done in community singing, it should be in a form in which the entire group can participate easily. The tune, the rhythm, etc. should be such that all can follow the bhajan. If the lead singer takes up a song that is not familiar to others, the response from the group will be poor. There will be no enthusiasm or genuine participation. Their minds will be distracted. When all the devotees participate in the bhajan, the vibrations that are produced will generate joy and harmony.

In this ‘KaliYuga’ the remembrance of the Lord’s name is enough to win His grace and attain liberation from the cycle of life and death.

Many who organize mass singing on special occasions are not aware what kind of bhajans should be sung then. A person who has an individual style of his own may sing as he likes in private, but he is not suitable for community singing. There are some rules to be observed in conducting community bhajans. Alapana (elaboration of a raga) may be done in keerthana (individual singing), but it is wholly out of place in community bhajans. Hence, in such bhajans the accent should be entirely on the Name

• Everybody should be seated a few minutes prior to start of the bhajan.
• Men should sit on one side of the prayer hall and women on the other.
• Bhajan leader and instrumentalists must be seated in the front few rows.
• Devotees arriving late must not disturb those already seated. They must quietly seat themselves behind the already seated devotees.
• Do not look around greeting one another, nor talk during the bhajan.
• Maintain perfect silence and restrict your movements to a minimum while sitting in the prayer hall.
• Sing sweet, familiar and devotional bhajans in any language which can be understood and sung by other devotees.
• Musical instruments used during bhajans should not drown the voices of the singers and those who follow, thus maintaining a balance between the instruments and singing.
• Do not clap out of tune
• Do not monopolise the time in bhajans by singing one bhajan for six or ten minutes repeating the same lines again and again.
• Bhajans should be sung in two speeds: slow and fast. In the slow speed, sing each line twice and, in the fast speed only once except the last line which should be sung twice to signal the conclusion of the bhajan.
• Let those with a good voice and musical talent lead; the devotional singing must be pleasant and it should not jar on the ear. If your voice is not sweet or pleasant, it is best to remain silent; that is the best service you can do.
• Keep devotional songs as simple as you can, without competitive pomp or show. When you sing devotional songs, dwell on the meaning of the songs, and the message of each name and form of God, and roll on your tongue its sweetness.
• Bhajans are best held on Thursday evenings and Sunday evenings – but that is no unbreakable rule, for it is not the day that counts. It is the heart that must be ready and eager to sing the joy and share it.
• 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 … 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.
• After bhajans there should be meditation for five to ten minutes.
• People should return from bhajan carrying the elevated, uplifted and sublime mood created by the atmosphere at the bhajan. Therefore, after the bhajan people should disperse quietly, maintaining silence. Then the joy and peace derived at the bhajan will linger and abide in the heart.

***** Jai Sairam