Today I was reminded of a very special incident that changed my life for ever!
I was traveling along with my sir to all the villages in Karnataka as a part of the PURANDARA JYOTI procession. We were to spread the awareness of this great saint and thinker across Karnataka. We were in Shivmogga and a very big crowd was waiting to receive the crowd.
We walked all over the streets singing songs of Purandara daasa in bhajana style. Many old people and youngsters started dancing in devotion. I was watching them. One youngster who was amongst them came to me and said why you don’t also join us? Let us dance to the glory of this great lineage.
I told him I was shy and I was not comfortable dancing! He gave me a look of utter sarcasm and asked “well you are not shy or uncomfortable when you dance in a party to party music?”. I was taken aback! And I had no answer to give! I smiled back with an utterly gutterly expression and joined the dance. I felt so guilty and shameful. I just realize what I have been missing all these days!
We so easily adapt to western culture and are ‘well informed’ about the happenings and etiquettes of a party but donot even have the guts to dance in joy to the cause of something so soulful and divine! That’s the day from which I never went to a party and utilized all my free time to go get some good company (satsang), which will help me evolve as a human . . . . Say a better Indian!
I can now only think of a few lines of purandara dasa
“gejje katti lajja bittu kuniyiri hari naama ke” . . .wear ankle bells and shed all inhibitions and dance to the glory of hari naama!
“tamburi meetidava bhavaabdi daatidava
Taalava tattidava surarolu seridava
Gejjeya kattidava khalaredeya mettidava
Gaayana paadidava hari murty nodidava
Vithalana nodidava vaikunthake odidava”
[one who strums the Tamburi will be freed from material sorrows,
One who plays the cymbals to hari naama will join the heavenly gods
One who wears the ankle bells and dances will remove all inhibitions and egos
Onw who sings will see the lord himself
Nd one who sees the lord will be blesses with the bliss of salvation]
2 comments:
Fantastic kArthik, well true - we sometime cringe to perform in our way but find it easier at times to ape the west - unfortunate indeed.
Well just FYI, not to point out - I want to indicate that your title "Aham Brahmasmi" is completely contradictory to Dwaita way of life which Shri Purandara Daasaru Espoused :-) .
well Dwaita and Dwaita are totally different concepts I agree. Shankara or Madhwa, Brahmendra or Purandara, they are all our philosophies. India is blessed to have such thinkers. I believe in only one mata or siddhanta, that is music. For me music is Brahma and i am one with music.
i respect all schoolsof thought and i understand they all take us towards and betterment. it will suffice to have Bhakti. I am a madhva by birth and i have studied the madhva philosophy in very detail and have very high regards for it. i also have read all other siddhantas an have respect for them too. so the differences donot hamper me so much. .. :)
well thanks for the comment!
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