when Swamiji Says ...listen

[Guest guest]

When singing or chanting prayers, it helps if everyone chants in harmony.  Too

often, people chant at different speeds, different volumes, different rhythms,

different tunes.  Why should we sing bhajans at all?  At a very basic level it

is to develop harmony,  to develop emotional and mental sensitivity to those

around us.  By chanting out of tune or out of synch, this defeats the purpose of

a group function.  The goal of chanting, prayers, and singing is not to outshine

everyone around you and to gain some kind of special recognition for your

singing ability (or non-ability), it is to be in unison ~with~ everyone around

you.  When there is harmony among voices, the emergent effect is quite beautiful

to listen to, and one can become absorbed and lost and transported by it. 

 

Learn to be observant of your environment and be aware of yourself and your

relationship to that environment.  How can one successfully go within, if one is

completely unaware of what is around them to begin with?  All too often these

activities become some kind of competition, as if there is a race to become

greatest devotee, best devotee, most wonderful devotee, or some thing.  It is

that hurried rush to be first and noticed that makes one last in this game. 

Surrender and you will automatically be first - this is the Ganapati tattvam.

 

Why does Ganapati have big fan like ears?  So he can be in tune with the

sounds all around Him.  He himself IS nada. Nada is itself the physical

manifestation of God.  Rhythm, tune, harmony, etc. all matter.  These affect the

psyche and drive the consciousness down into hell or up to heaven.

 

Why did Swamiji cry as a baby?  He heard an out of tune sound that created

great disturbance in His mind. 

 

To be in tune with other people will help you not only in spirituality, but also

in life.  Be aware of those around you.  One does not need words for certain

types of communication.  Awareness itself will tell you a lot about your

environment and others mental state and their reactions to you.  Observe not

only with the eyes, but with the ears, with the touch, with the smell.  Do not

judge the information, just receive it, and harmonize with it so that wherever

you go, you transform your environment from one of disturbance and disharmony to

one of harmony.  The harmony begins within.  Harmony requires cooperative

efforts of many acting as one.  It is not something you force on the

environment, but it is obtained when you surrender to your environment,

harmonize with your environment, and use a bit of gentle harmonized coaxing to

let the environment harmonize with you.  In this manner, one can turn disharmony

into harmony and also ensure that it

is harmonizing in the right direction (tune).

 

When speaking, singing, chanting, praying, together be aware of your own voice

and how it is projecting.  Don't just throw it out.  ~Guide~ it out smoothly

with a purpose.  When listening to bhajans, listen for each and every inflection

of Swamiji's voice.  Nothing there is trivial.  By ignoring His voice, you are

actually missing out.  Not only the words and the meanings, but the subtle

gestures and textures of His voice are important.  Some things have an

incredible wetness and liquid texture, while other things have a more direct and

immediate presence.  Try to feel the vibrations of sound as it travels into your

body.  We are not talking about any mystical vibrations - we are talking about

simple sound vibrations.  First hear those, then worry about the mystical

vibrations.  Those subtleties of sound in His voice and His music penetrate the

deepest levels of one's consciousness (Shiva spandana), and should not be

treated as 'just

talking' or 'just singing' or 'just anything'.  It is a unison (concert) of

words, meanings, emotions, and purpose.  So be fully present when listening, and

you will be fully present when speaking, singing, chanting, or praying.  If you

don't know the meaning, try to slowly find out, first through intuition, then

through identifying words and lyrics here and there, and then by piecing things

together, for yourself.  This is a sadhana, that trains one to be receptive to

Swamiji's words, actions, and thoughts.  In this sadhana, one must learn to be

mostly self-sufficient.  At some point you have to let go of the need to ask

someone else, and to find out for yourself.  Then you develop sva-tantriyam

(self-initiative, self-motivation) to direct your own life intelligently with

the blessings of SatGuru.  When listening to a Swamiji CD or tape, you should

listen with the bhavana that He is there physically singing.  The richness of

His voice echoes

in every single utterance and musical note of His songs.  That is why the songs

are so unique and so enjoyable.  That is why when you listen to a particular

song it transports you into the energy of the deity invoked by the song.  Even

listening to SatGuru's breathing will cause one to lose one's self in His

consciousness.  His breath (spirit) is His consciousness.  Have you ever had a

baby lie on your chest and have it breathe?  Have you ever found yourself

mesmerized by its tiny breathing pattern?  You are tuning yourself to the

innocent consciousness of the baby in that moment.  It is the same with anyone -

by tuning yourself to their breath, you tune yourself to their mind.  Breath is

(prana) life.  Listen to the life breath (prana vayu).

 

Listen with rapt attention.  Everything else follows.

 

Jaya Guru Datta!

---

Gurorangripadme ManaScenna Lagnam tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim!?

Sarva Kartha, Sarva Dhartha, Sarva Hartha, Mangalam!

Satchidananda, Satchidananda, Satchidananda Mangalam!

Tasmai Sri Guru-murthaye Nama Idam Sri Dakshinamurtaye!

 

 

Ata Nityo Narayanaha, Brahma Narayanaha, Sivascha Narayanaha, Kalascha

Narayanaha. Disascha Narayanaha, Vidisascha Narayanaha, Urdwamscha Narayanaha,

Adhascha Narayanaha, Antar-bahischa-Narayana.Narayana Eh Vedam Sarvam, Yat

BhootamYacchha Bhavyam.Nish-kalango Niranjano Nirvikalpo Nirakyadhas,suddhho

Deva Eko Narayanaha, Na dwiteeyosthi kaschit,ya evam Vedas Vishnu reva Bhavati,

Sa Vishnureva Bhavathi, Etat yajur veda sirodeeyathe.

 

 

Nagendra haraya trilochanaya bhasmanga ragaaya maheshwaraya nityaya shudhaya

digambaraya tasmai nakaraya na-ma-si-va-ya.

 

 

~*Om * Ayim * Hreem * Sreem * Siva * Rama * Anagha * Dattaya * Namaha*~