|
Sri Sathya Sai Baba Bhajans |
|
Guidelines for conducting Bhajans
'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.
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.
-
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 monopolies 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.
-
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.
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 grating or out of tune, repeat the words
in your mind.
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.
Share aloud the glory of God and charge the atmosphere with
divine adoration. Think of it as a part of spiritual training to
be taken seriously for reducing the attachments to fleeting
objects, for purifying, and for liberating you from the circle
of birth, death, and consequent misery.
- Sathya Sai Baba
|
|