November 10th and 11th 2007
Global Akhanda Bhajans

"Bhajan is done not only to make yourself Divinely Pure, but also to make your Surroundings and everyone around you become Spiritually Uplifting."


 "Do Bhajans everyday, Everybody should sing Bhajans loudly and with a full throated Voice, Why should anyone feel shy in singing God's name, Why should you feel shy or afraid of chanting God's name. In the olden Days, the Rishis in the Forest even during Meditation used to chant The Lord's name very loudly so that everything around gets purified."

Talking about "Akhanda Bhajan" in June'1965, Swami answering a Question on the Importance of "Akanda Bhajan " said in Sweet Telugu (Translated in English):

"When you do Bhajans for an "Akanda(Long)Period, it means that you are calling all the Divine Souls and All the Gods to Purify the Entire world, When one sings Bhajans throughout the day and night with great Vigour and Devotion, the whole world is benefited and everyone becomes Divinely Charged, When you sing during Akanda Bhajan, you sing for the whole world and for everyone's well being, that is why each and every person should sing during Akanda Bhajan with great devotion."

" Sing aloud the glory of God and charge the atmosphere with Divine Adoration . . . This is why I insist on group singing of the names of the Lord."

Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, VI, 239

You may get some thoughts which are like clouds. Do not be carried away by them. Do not pay heed to all and sundry and ruin yourself. You should rise to the level of Divine and not degenerate to the level of demon. In order to rise to the level of divine, Satsang is very essential. "One thought, one vision and one action." These three must be unified. When you do Bhajans you will have only one thought. You will experience the bliss of Bhajan. It is the non-dual bliss.

Why is it prescribed that you should do Bhajans ? Bhajan is done to control the mind and focus it on Divinity. Some people keep discussing about worldly matters even while they are doing Bhajan. Do not go anywhere near such people.

- From Bhagawan's Shivarathri Discourse'2003

"The scriptures lay down Bhajans, Naamasmaran and Sankeerthan as the Saadhanas of this age. Bhajan is the process of singing your prayers to God, praising His glory and compassion, and pleading that He may fill you with His grace. Bhajan should never be done as a painful necessity; it has to be a thrilling experience, which must leave the participants
full of pure energy and elevated enthusiasm.

- From Swami's Divine Discourse on 15th January'1972

The Two greatest and most Powerful Enemies of every Human are Desire and Anger. Singing the name of the Lord Constantly is the Best and easiest way by which these two can be kept away. Also In this age of Fear and anxiety, the Repetition of the Name of the Lord is the easiest way to attain the Lord's Sannidhi.


After bhajans there should be meditation for five to ten minutes. People should return from bhajan carrying the elevated and uplifted atmosphere Created after at the bhajan. So after the bhajan people should disperse quietly, maintaining
silence. The Joy of singing the Lord's name will linger Long in everyone then.

- From Swami's Discourse in Brindavan - April'10th'1983

Bhajans is the process of singing that originates in the heart, not from the lips or the tongue. It is the expression of the joyous thrill that wells up from the heart when the Glory of God is remembered. It is the spontaneous manifestation of inner ecstasy. No attention is paid to the blame or praise that others may give. It does not seek the admiration or the appreciation of the listeners.

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks X, 84

Prema Muditha Manase Kaho

To pray is to express a heart-felt need and request for its fulfilment by the grace of God. As more and more of our prayers are answered, our gratitude mellows into love; and, as our love grows, it is reciprocated by the increasing manifestation of God’s love for us: a virtuous circle.

 
A Sai Bhajan often is the repetition of the name or names of our beloved Lord Sai and the dwelling on His wonderful qualities. One of the Bhajans most frequently sung by Bhagawan Baba Himself at the conclusion of His discourses begins: Prema Mudhitha Man Se Kaho Rama Rama Ram. To enjoy its sweetness fully, let us understand the meanings of Hindi and Sanskrit words in it.

 
The word Rama in Sanskrit means ‘one who gives happiness (in all circumstances)’. God is always happy, unconditionally. His Ananda (ever-blissful state) is one of His prime attributes. In Rama Avatar, for example, He is happy when he is with his parents as well as when He is taken away from them by the sage Viswamitra on a mission. He is happy when asked by His father to shoulder the responsibility of governing his kingdom and He is happy on the next day too just when, before His coronation, He is exiled to the forest for fourteen years. He is happy with the citizens of his country as well as with a boatman who helps Him to cross the river in the forest; with the sages, as well as with monkey-hordes in the forest. He is also happy with Vibheeshana, a brother of the demon-king Ravana, who abducted His wife. He happily partakes of dinners in His palace as well as the partly bitten fruit given by his tribal devotee Sabari (who first tastes the fruit to ensure that only the sweetest are offered to Rama.). He is Joy personified. Joy spreads around Him in ever-widening circles.

 
How should His name be uttered and repeated? Not so much with honour and awe but with love and affection; not so much with fear but with cheer, because, as Baba has pointed out, what is needed is ‘Daiva Preethi and Papa Bheethi’ (Love of God and fear of sin). Thus, ‘take the name of the Rama with a mind filled with love’ is the meaning of the first line of the bhajan. God is a great and most merciful judge and an impartial dispenser of justice of Divine laws, but definitely not a tyrannical despot.

 
In the next stanza it is asserted that the Divine name of Rama (if repeated with genuine devotion and faith), will remove our sins and sorrows, and carry us comfortably across the ocean of material life. This is very well corroborated by the lives of saints like Valmiki of yore (who in the beginning made a living by robbing travellers in the forest); Kabir of the 15th century (who was a humble weaver); Tulasidas of the 16th century (whose desire for the company of his wife was so overwhelming that once he swam across a river dangerously in spate and then walked getting bruised amidst thorny bushes in the dark night, on his way to her parents’ house where she had gone for a short stay.);

 
Bhadrachala Ramadas of the 17th century (who spent the taxes he collected on behalf of his king for building a temple), Tyagaraja of the 18th century (whose musical outpourings of his love for Rama are still being sung in concerts in South India); Swami Ramadas and Punith Maharaj of the 20th century (in whose lives numerous miracles took place due to the constant remembrance and repetition of Rama’s Name), and so on.

 
The third stanza of this bhajan says that the devoted remembrance of the name of Rama will bestow on us supreme inner peace and happiness and provide unfailing support even when our kith and kin desert us. This is validated in the life of Mahatma Gandhi who remained without rancour against the British, in spite of their brutalities against the non-violent Indian freedom fighters of whom he was the leader. He was ever in peace, patient enough to talk to a child or attend on a goat even in the midst of serious political discussions. How wonderfully successful was that single man army for peace. That was due to the power of the Name of Rama.

 
In the fourth stanza, it is claimed that the name of God, if remembered with deep devotion and used as a guide for all our actions, will protect us like true parents do. It would also help us like good relatives and friends, providing us with the wherewithal for life. This is also proved in the lives of many saints, notably Swami Ramadas and mother Krishna Bai of Anandashram in Western India. (For a full account of their lives, the two volumes of In the vision of God by Swami Ramadas are heartily recommended). Also proclaimed in this stanza is the fact that the Name of Rama is the wealth of true devotees. A number of other devotees of God have also gained what they needed by this kind of devotion but their names are not recorded.

 
The bhajan concludes with the faster and faster repetition of the Name of Rama the name that is “equal in value to the thousand names of Vishnu” according to Lord Shiva. He recommended its devoted repetition as a potent source of Divine help for all mankind.

Sent by brother Kumar Mahadevan to Sai Yahoo groups

mahadevan12@yahoo.co.in