Bhajan styles compared/KDas' show

[Guest guest]

Enjoyed Krishna Das's show, though disappointed he didn't have at

least one female back-up singer/lead responder (like on his CD's), or

that his band didn't lead the responses (to set an example). Maybe

having the bandmates sing back-up would have sounded too heavy with

all the male voices, something I experienced during a Shree

Maa/Swamiji visit. A few people left during K. Das' concert, and

myself along with others left early just before the last song, as 3

hours of chant seems plenty. I particularly liked it when he

sang "Jesus is on the Main Line". Other than that, the mostly slow-

style bhajans of repeating 1-3 mantras, tends to put me to sleep. I

had planned on seeing alot of local spiritual folk I have known

through the years, but the place was filled with what I call "hatha-

yoga-hippies" from the look of it.

 

For those who can benefit from this information, I've presented

my "discrimination" of the 3 main styles of bhajans, aside from

the "type" of bhajan (namavali, singing praises, etc.) To the

uninitiated, all 3 appear the same on the surface, so I go into

details at the bottom.

 

All 3 styles have Karmic Benefit, chanting the names of God, but this

compares the Fun Potential versus the Sadhana Benefit Potential,

after describing each:

 

 

LEFT-SIDE, LOOSE FORMAT: Style of bhajans sung by Hare Krishnas

(ISCKON), Krishna Das, probably Bhagavan Das from what I've heard of

him; also at some unofficial Sai or Amma centers. Occasional fast

paced song, or change in tempo, but mostly songs that repeat a few

mantras in slow ballad-like format, and each song can last a long

time.

 

CENTER, MIXED FORMAT: Ammachi bhajans are a mix of Loose Format

songs, traditional namavali's (string of names) like those commonly

found at Sai Baba bhajans, and songs with a more contemporary feel.

I especially like the verse/chorus format with the verses being ABB

(2nd and 3rd verse share a melody, different from the first).

Although many songs are in Sanskrit or Malayalam, there's plenty of

good-quality English and other language songs to choose from.

 

RIGHT-SIDE, STRICT FORMAT: While there are Loose Format bhajans

composed by Western Sai Devotees, attending an official center will

find mostly traditional bhajans of namavalis and Sanskrit songs about

God. There's a strict format for the majority of songs, that is

sing each line 2 twice slowly, then faster 1 time each line, and then

first line in unison very slowly to end. No or little breaks

between songs for the Akhanda (unbroken) effect.

 

 

LOOSE FORMAT (i.e., Krishna Das, Hare Krishna's)

WESTERNER ENJOYMENT POTENTIAL: HIGH, due to the less-religious

atmosphere, and mello approach. Many people first experience the joy

of bhajans through this type of format. Maybe they'd be even better

after a few tokes... (now that's a cheap shot)

 

POTENTIAL SADHANA BENEFIT: LOW, due to the lack of discipline. The

songs tend to have very long phrases (musical sentences) and also

lots of breaks/rests, making it more difficult to follow than shorter

songs and killing any unbroken chain of concentration. Highest risk

of experiencing self-centered Emotionalism, rather than selfless

Devotion in this format. High risk of this type of group degrading

into what I call a "spiritual glee club", that is, the fun

experienced is mostly from the joy of music, not the joy of

devotion. Too many slow songs wears out the crowd if sung too long,

and can make the group sleepy. Bhajan singing is supposed to be a

Rajasic sadhana.

 

 

MIXED FORMAT (i.e., Ammachi Bhajans)

WESTERNER ENJOYMENT POTENTIAL: VARIABLE, if too many Sanskrit or God-

forbid "malayalam" songs are sung, it can turn off some Westerners

who are not familiar or comfortable with the foreign language. Too

laid back an atmosphere can turn-off serious sadhaks.

 

POTENTIAL SADHANA BENEFIT: VARIABLE, depending on whether there's

lots of talking and discussion between songs, or if enough songs are

sung. Depends on the group being Dharmic in singing.

 

 

STRICT FORMAT (i.e., Sathya Sai Bhajans)

WESTERNER ENJOYMENT POTENTIAL: LOW, due to the same format (boring)

for most of the songs. The little to no break between songs can

create anxiety for folks struggling to find the page before the song

ends; difficult to stand an hour of a foreign language.

 

POTENTIAL SADHANA BENEFIT: HIGH, the format described above, of 2x

slow, 1x fast, then first line slow again is specifically designed to

act like Hypnotic Induction, to focus your waking consciousness to a

single point, leading to deeper consciousness. Doing this

repeatedly is like teaching someone to drive stick, having them do

the starting forward /cluth release action over and over again. The

little to no breaks in between songs is helpful for concentration,

which is why using a sruti box (for drones) is better than acapella.

 

Shorter songs is also the dharma of "satsang bhajans",

versus "concert bhajans" (by a guest or group) which is up to the

performer.

 

The 2 songs on my Krishna Das CD I like best are "traditional" style

bhajans. I was definitely surprised to see Sting having played and

sang on it. Sometimes on K.Das' songs, he tends to over-embellish

the melody, and even start at weird times of the beat, appearing to

be off-beat (difficult for people to follow, even experienced

musicians-adharmic). During his live show, he even tended to cut

off the word "Hare", making it sound like "Re" at times, or

just "Har". During his talks, Krishna Das confirmed what I had

suspected: Neem Karoli Baba spent alot of time talking about

mundane things, causing devotees like K.Das to always try to get him

to give teachings, which seemed rare the way K.Das recalled it.

Definitely "more Avaduta than not".

 

tom