Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – morning – June 4, 2016 – Mysore
Compiled by Smt Hira Duvvuri
The children have sung well. It is good. But there are many areas where improvements are required. In vimeo.com there is a channel called Bhajan Arpan. We do not use youtube for this bhajans feature because if there are too many ‘unlike’ messages, the singers will get discouraged. Vimeo is similar to youtube and is famous also. If you view the recordings on Bhajan Arpan, you will hear hundreds of children singing bhajans. Not that they have all sung wonderfully. You will wonder why they are singing like that. When those singers hear your rendering, they will also wonder why you are singing like that. That way, by listening to others, you can correct your own mistakes. The different language presentation also sometimes sounds queer if imperfectly pronounced. Some children are doubtful in their singing, not confident. They are taking up the following line too quickly, instead of staying with the beat or rhythm. Repetitions of lines are also not synchronized. You must make a habit of practicing well. Do not become overconfident that you have come to this great place, you have sung, and got a certificate. Do not become egotistical that your bhajan singing is excellent and you have mastered the technique. Do not boast that you are a big bhajan group. The keyboard and Tabla support were excellent. But the singers have not done them justice. They are lagging behind. Because of that, the lyrics are getting messed up. When that happens, you get doubts, and you lose confidence. You are afraid of making mistakes. Then you do make mistakes. When you sing without confidence, because of insufficient practice, you make mistakes. You must never say that you have worked hard or struggled to learn to sing bhajans. You may use those words concerning academic studies which you pursue to get a job, you studied hard and passed with difficulty. But singing bhajans should be a joyful effort and a joyful experience.
Only then, the listeners also will enjoy listening to you. If you say that you have worked hard and struggled to learn the bhajans, the listeners will not want to share your struggle and misery. They will say, no thanks. Never say we learned with difficulty, or traveled all the way with difficulty, as if you have walked all the way here from Hyderabad. If you show enjoyment in singing, the program will be well received.
It is a great fortune to sing at Mysuru ashrama in the presence of Sadguru. Do not say that you have become a devotee with difficulty. Coming here and singing here, no matter how small a chance you get, you should feel grateful and appreciate the wonderful opportunity.
One must never demand anything from God. You cannot force God to stay and listen to your entire prayer. You cannot tell God, if you do not listen to me, or if you do not grant my wish, I will not consider you as God. It is not good. One’s prayers must always be humble, reverential, and offered with a pleading tone, and not a demanding tone. One must prostrate and beg. You should not say, we came from so far to sing, and you have not listened to us. It is up to your luck. What can you do? Swamiji has listened to one song of yours. At least he has heard one song. Be grateful and happy. You have to learn these virtues in life. Especially with Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda, only if you plead and pray, He grants wishes. He will not entertain any demands. Never. He will not even see you or speak with you, or smile at you, or look at you unless you plead humbly in your mind. Do not boast about your devotion and effort. Never be overconfident about your bhajan singing. There were mistakes in the Malayalam bhajans and the Gujarati bhajans. Take guidance from Mani. There are some misprints in the Bhajana Yogam books also. Please correct those mistakes. Hundreds of thousands of copies got printed with errors, where entire lines are wrong. You must correct those mistakes in your copies, by consulting with Mani. To post your program on youtube, we would have to edit your recording. It should not be so. Recently a young girl came, Surya Gayathri. She has learned so many of Appaji’s bhajans. She sings like M. S. Subbulakshmi. She is only ten years old. She does very well at school studies also. It was her strong wish to learn Swamiji’s bhajans and to sing in His presence. She learnt, and she sang here. She sang before Swamiji in Kerala also. Come and witness in the evenings here, how nicely even very small children sing Swamiji’s bhajans. Swamiji sits with them and teaches them. You should also learn properly. Maintain the pitch, rhythm, and proper enunciation of lyrics. As a group you must sing with synchronization, without missing the beat. If you are in doubt, do not sing. Skip the line and join later for the next stanza. That is not a problem. Sing well. You have a bright future. There are many new bhajans. Swamiji’s bhajans are now world famous. In Japan also they sing Swamiji’s Telugu, Tamil, and Sanskrit bhajans. Also in the West Indies. Even non-Hindus are singing these songs well. Whereas for us, it is in our blood. You have sung well, children. Let us take a group photo. I will come downstairs. Evening dance program should commence early at 6:30 itself. Since you are using Swamiji’s recorded music, it will be fine.
Sri Guru Datta