Bhajan is not merely an activity done for fun. Yes, it is a lot of fun to sing and be involved in bhajans, but at the same time it is a form of sadhana, a spiritual practice and even a form of Seva as the duty of a bhajan singer is to invoke devotion in oneself and others. Therefore, having said that, this means that discipline forms an integral part of the responsibility of a bhajan singer. Furthermore, Swami Himself has emphasised on the importance of discipline in every walk of life be it education, spirituality or service.
Sai bhajans is a group sadhana as it is not only the lead singer who is involved in the sadhana but everyone singing chorus, the instrumentalist and even the technical (audio/video) sevadals.
Swami has a beautiful way of playing with words. Once during a Trayee session with the students, Swami said:
"If you want to be called a boy; you should have behaviour;
If you want to be called a man; you should have manners;
And if you want to be called a devotee; you should have DISCIPLINE."
Interestingly, Swami does not say to be a devotee we need devotion. He said discipline defines a Sai devotee. Swami has said that devotion is like a river. So long it flows between 2 banks referred to as Duty and Devotion, it will reach the ocean. However, the moment this river of devotion breaches these 2 banks, the same river becomes Destruction. The following are some of the points that come to my mind based on the various talks and sharing sessions from Swami’s students who are Prasanthi Mandir Bhajan singers on the aspects of discipline that are important for a Sai Bhajan singer.
-
Sing and participate during every bhajan in a bhajan session.
- A lead singer and every chorus singer should participate (sing and clap) fully in every bhajan during a bhajan session. The lead singer should not only sing their bhajan and then not sing during the other bhajans sung in the session.
-
Punctuality is a key requirement for bhajan singers.
- All bhajans singers, instrumentalist and technical sevadals should be ready in advance for bhajans. There should be 10-15 minutes of silence and absolute peace before the bhajan starts to help us prepare our minds and hearts to imbibe the divine energy.
-
Restriction of movement during bhajans.
- All bhajan singers and instrumentalists should minimize movements during bhajans. There should be no unnecessary movements during bhajans. This is to avoid any sort of distraction to others in the session. Swami wants us to still our mind and body during bhajans. Only when we can still our body, can we expect our mind to be still. In fact, this also applied to all chorus singers and all members that are part of a bhajan session. Everyone should be part of the bhajan session and be still in mind and body, they should not be engaged in other activities during the bhajan session.
-
No talking during bhajans.
- Unless there is a real need to discuss an urgent matter regarding the bhajan session (such as shruthi, mic issues, etc) there should be no talking or chatting during bhajan sessions. This again applies predominantly for the lead bhajan singers and instrumentalists, but it is also applicable to all chorus singers and members of the bhajan session.
-
Involvement in the organisation.
- Every bhajan singer should also take on the duty and responsibility to be involved in various other aspects of service and spiritual practice in the organisation/Sai centre. A bhajan singer should make an effort to engage in other activities such as service, education, ladies and youth activities to set a good example of practicing Swami’s values and principles.
-
Self- study and self-audit about bhajan singing.
- All bhajan singers should spend time and take the effort to read and listen to various materials regarding bhajans. We should listen to discourses from Swami regarding bhajans, listen to talks and satsanghs by the members of the Prasanthi Bhajan Group. This will help in improving the technical and devotional aspect of singing bhajans. Lastly, self-audit is also an extremely important aspect for bhajan singers. All bhajan singers, especially lead bhajan singers should have the humility to reflect on areas of improvement and work on bettering ourselves to ensure we are able to offer our best to Swami through bhajans.
"Devotional singing (bhajan) must become an unbroken stream of bliss on your tongues and in your hearts;
It must confer on you the uninterrupted awareness of soham, of the unity of I and He.
(Sathya Sai Speaks IX, 41-42)."
References
-
Link for points included in the content.
-
Link for the quote cited in the article.