Thursday, September 22, 2022

He Echi Yela / हे चि येळ देवा नका मागें घेऊं ।

हे चि येळ देवा नका मागें घेऊं । A Beautiful Abhang by Sant Tukaram Maharaj.



हे चि येळ देवा नका मागें घेऊं ।

तुह्मांविण जाऊं शरण कोणा ॥१॥

नारायणा ये रे पाहुं विचारून ।
तुजविण कोण आहे मज ॥२॥

रात्रंदिन तुज आठवूनि आहें ।
पाहातोसी काये सत्‍व माझें ॥३॥

तुका ह्मणे किती येऊं काकुलती ।
काही माया चित्तीं येऊं द्यावी ॥४॥

गीतकार : संत तुकाराम महाराज

गायक : अवधूत गांधी आणि कोरस
संगीत संयोजक : देवदत्त मनीषा बाजी

English Lyrics

He chi yeḷa devā nakā māge gheūṁ
Tuhmāṁviṇa jāūṁ śaraṇa koṇā ॥1॥

Nārāyaṇā ye re pāhūṁ vicārūn
Tujaviṇa koṇ āhe maj ॥2॥

Rātrandin tuja āṭhavūni āhe
Pāhātosī kāye satva mājhe ॥3॥

Tukā mhaṇe kitī yeūṁ kākulatī
Kāhī māyā cittiṁ yeūṁ dyāvī ॥4॥


English Meaning

O Lord, do not take away this moment from me.
Without You, where else can I seek refuge? ॥1॥

O Narayana, come and look upon me with grace.
Who else do I have besides You? ॥2॥

Day and night, I remember You.
Are You testing my patience and endurance? ॥3॥

Tuka says, how long must I plead with You?
Let at least a little compassion enter Your heart. ॥4॥


Lyrics : Santa Tukaram Maharaj

Singers : Avadhoot Gandhi and Chorus Music Composer : Devdutta Manisha Baji

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtYuyn4-hkE



Saturday, September 3, 2022

Art of Bhajans












The word bhajan is far more than a musical category — it is a sacred doorway. The root bhaj means to share, to participate, to belong. In a bhajan, we share the presence of the Divine, we share our own inner longing, and in that sharing we discover a quiet completeness. One does not need mastery of music or understanding of every word. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar beautifully expresses, singing itself is an act of serenity — a way to melt into sound, to float upon a wave of devotion, and to rest effortlessly in the present moment. In satsang, the scattered mind gathers, the heart becomes light, and both hemispheres of the brain fall into harmony.

A bhajan is truly “direct communication with God.” It is a conversation of the soul that needs no introduction, no qualifications, no classical training, and no scholarly grasp of scriptures. It asks only for sincerity — the simple willingness to pour one’s love, longing, confusion, gratitude, and hope into the Divine lap. Through bhajans, we begin to experience the sacred not as something distant, but as a tender presence within and around us.

Indian saints understood this profoundly. A beautiful Marathi abhang tells us that when Sant Namdev began his kirtan soaked in love, Panduranga Himself rose and danced. Such is the power of devotion-filled words — they vibrate with the blessings of the saints who first uttered them. When we listen to these songs, the mind’s anxieties loosen their grip; when we sing them, the heart becomes purified, lighter, and more open to grace.

In our fast-paced, overwhelming modern life, bhajans are not just spiritual practices — they are lifelines. They remind us to breathe, to soften, to return to ourselves. Every bhajan is a gentle refuge, a moment where the divine becomes intimate, accessible, and deeply personal. To sing is to heal; to listen is to remember who we truly are.

In the same spirit, the image of Hanumanji immersed in devotion, as seen above, reminds us of what pure bhakti truly looks like. Hanuman is the embodiment of strength offered as surrender, power offered as service, and knowledge offered as humility. When he sings the Lord’s name, his entire being radiates courage and sweetness together — a rare combination only devotion can create. His bhajans are not mere songs; they are sparks that ignite unwavering faith, dissolve fear, and awaken a warrior-like stillness inside the heart.

Just as Hanuman’s lifted gaze and ringing cymbals reflect a soul lost in divine remembrance, our own singing becomes powerful when we approach it with the same childlike love and wholehearted surrender.

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Panchatunda Nararundamaladhar / पंचतुंड नररुंडमालधर

पंचतुंड नररुंडमालधर









Original Text

कालिदासकविराजरचित हें गानीं शाकुंतल रचितों ।

जाणुनियां अवसान नसोनि हें महत्कृत्यभर शिरीं घेतों ॥

पंचतुंड नररुंडमालधर पार्वतीश आधीं नमितों ।

विघ्‍नवर्गनग भग्‍न कराया विघ्‍नेश्वर गणपति मग तो ॥

ईशवराचा लेश मिळे तरि मूढयत्‍न शेवटिं जातो ।

या न्यायें बलवत्कवि निजवाक्पुष्पीं रसिकार्चन करितो ॥

गीत - अण्णासाहेब किर्लोस्कर


English Lyrics

Kālidāsa-kavirāja-rachita heṁ gānīṁ Śākuntala rachitoṁ ।
Jāṇuniyāṁ avasāna nasoni heṁ mahatkṛtyabhara shirīṁ ghetoṁ ॥

Panchaṭuṇḍa nararuṇḍa-māladhara Pārvatīśa ādhīṁ namito ।
Vighnāvarganaga bhagna karāyā Vighneśvara Gaṇapati maga to ॥

Īśvarācā leśa miḷe tari mūḍhyatna śevāṭiṁ jāto ।
Yā nyāyēṁ balavat-kavi nijavāk-puṣpīṁ rasikārcana karito ॥

Lyrics  – Aṇṇāsāheb Kirloskar

English Meaning

These songs, composed by the great poet Kalidasa in his epic Shakuntala,
I undertake to present, knowing fully that I must not let this great endeavor end unfinished.

O the five-faced, garlanded-with-human-skulls Lord of Parvati I bow down first.
He who shattered the mountain-like group of obstacles — Lord Vighneshwar (Ganesha) — I now invoke.

Even a little grace of the Divine can remove the ignorance at its root.

By the same principle, the devoted poet offers his garland of words in worship for the delight of connoisseurs.

Reflection

The song carries the gentle luminosity of Aṇṇāsāheb Kirloskar’s poetic world—a world where classical Sanskrit literature, Marathi bhakti, and deep humility meet without friction. Kirloskar, the pioneer of Marathi musical theatre, wrote with a devotion that made scholarship feel human and heartfelt. When he bows to Kālidāsa and invokes Ganapati, he is really honouring the entire river of Indian aesthetic tradition. Anand Bhate’s voice adds a fine polish to that emotion—trained in the lineage of Kumar Gandharva yet rooted in old-school bhakti, his rendering turns the verses into a living, breathing meditation.

The message is simple: even a little divine grace can dissolve mental heaviness, and creativity becomes an offering rather than an achievement. How does this idea echo in your own daily efforts? What clarity arises when you see your work as worship? The reflection settles into a soft inner space, nudging the mind toward gratitude and quiet devotion.

This is a beautifully reverent invocation, often placed at the beginning of a grand literary or musical work, paying homage to Ganesha, the divine, and to the literary tradition (Kalidasa), while also humbly expressing the poet’s devotion and duty to carry forward great creative responsibility.

Youtube

Author: Annasaheb Kirloskar

Singer : Anand Bhate

Music Director: Annasaheb Kirloskar, Kaushal S. Inamdar



Padmanabha Narayana / पद्मनाभा नारायणा

A Beautiful Takaram Marathi Abhang 

 पद्मनाभा नारायणा

श्रीअनंता मधुसूदना । पद्मनाभा नारायणा ॥१॥


सकळदेवा आदिदेवा । कृपाळुवा जी केशवा ।

महानंदा महानुभावा । सदाशिवा सहजरूपा ॥२॥


अगा ये सगुणा निर्गुणा । जगज्जनित्या जगज्जीवना ।

वसुदेवदेवकीनंदना । बाळरांगणा बाळकृष्णा ॥३॥


तुका आला लोटांगणी । मज ठाव द्यावा जी चरणीं ।

हे चि करीतसें विनवणी । भवबंधनीं सोडवावें ॥४॥


गीत - संत तुकाराम

He Shivanandana | ಹೇ ಶಿವನಂದನ ಹೇ ಶಿವನಂದನ

📜 Original Kannada Lyrics: ಹೇ ಶಿವನಂದನ ಹೇ ಶಿವನಂದನ ಹೇ ಗಿರಿಜಾಸುತೆ ಹೇ ಗಿರಿಜಾಸುತೆ ವಿಘ್ನವಿನಾಶಕ ಪಾಲಯಮಾಂ ಪಾರ್ವತೀಚ ನಂದನ ಮೋರಯಾ ಗಜಾನನ ಗಜವದನ ವಿಘ್ನವಿನಾಶ...