Join in the World Akhanda Bhajans
(12.11.11 (6.00pm) - 13.11.11 (6.00pm))
Swami's Divine Discourse on Akhanda Bhajan
"Today we are having non-stop twenty-four-hour global devotional singing (akhanda bhajan) by Sai devotees all over the world. This is being done not for the sake of one individual, one nation, or one community. It is for the welfare of humanity as a whole.
The bhajans that are sung permeate the ether in the form of sound waves and fill the entire atmosphere. Thereby, the whole environment gets purified. Breathing in this purified atmosphere, our hearts get purified. Reciting the Lord's name is a process of give and take. Singing the Lord's name should become an exercise in mutual sharing of joy and holiness. It should be remembered that the sounds we produce reverberate in the atmosphere. They remain permanently in the ether as waves and outlast the individual uttering the sounds.
Community bhajans should not be treated as a past time. When thousands of persons join in singing bhajans, they should be fully absorbed in the devotional process and the ecstasy of that experience. The singing should be vibrant and soulful, and not mechanical or drawling and uninspiring. It should combine feeling (bhava), melody (raga) and rhythm (tala). What delight can be experienced when all sing in chorus, with the same feeling, in the same tune, and to the same timing! When there is such unity, the Divine can be experienced.
Not all realize the potency and efficacy of reciting the Lord's name. The first requisite is purity of thought, word, and deed. The name that is uttered by the tongue should be meditated upon by the mind. What is uttered and dwelt upon should be hailed by clapping the hands. This threefold concentration on the Divine name --unity of mind, speech, and action-- purifies the heart and nourishes the feeling of devotion.
When chanting the Name is done in community singing, it should be in a form in which the entire group can participate easily. The tune, the rhythm, etc. should be such that all can follow the bhajan. If the lead singer takes up a song that is not familiar to others, the response from the group will be poor. There will be no enthusiasm or genuine participation. Their minds will be distracted. When all the devotees participate in the bhajan, the vibrations that are produced will generate joy and harmony.
Many who organize mass singing on special occasions are not aware what kind of bhajans that should be sung then. A person who has an individual style of his own may sing as he likes in private, but he is not suitable for community singing.
Some rules are to be observed in conducting community bhajans. Elaboration of a melody (alapana) may be done in individual singing (keerthana), but it is wholly out of place in community bhajans. Hence, in such bhajans, the accent should be entirely on the Name."
Source : http://www.sathyasai.org/calendar/akhand.html
