Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam.
As you receive this mail the Global Akhanda Bhajan (24-hour continuous community singing of His name) is going on with great devotional fervour in Prasanthi Nilayam, as in every Sai centre all over the world. Swami graciously lit the ceremonial lamp on Saturday evening at 6 PM, and immediately the Bhajan Hall reverberated with “Aum” to mark the beginning of this year’s continuous day-night bhajan. This is a very significant event held every year before the birthday celebrations of Bhagavan. And often Swami has highlighted the importance of doing bhajans as a collective spiritual activity. Today we have for you a few of these precious gems, culled out from His Divine Discourses, to ruminate upon as you participate enthusiastically in this glorious event.
".. .You do bhajans and think that you are doing it in order to please God. But God does not need anything. You do bhajans for your own happiness. Share your happiness with others. God is the embodiment of bliss. Hence, He does not require anything from you. When He is the embodiment of eternal happiness, what else is required for Him? He is not interested in worldly and ephemeral happiness. When you do bhajans, your heart becomes purified. The worship and the bhajans that you sing, are meant for your own happiness and not for the happiness of God..."
- Divine Discourse, 16 March 2003.
"...Bhajans are highly sacred. Bhajan singing makes the heart sacred. What is important is that it should come from the heart. Bhajan is not just rhythm, tune and beat. You should sing God's Name with love. You will see the manifestation of Divinity with your physical eyes when you sing His glory with all love..."
- Divine Discourse, 14 March 1999.
" ... Any mighty task can be achieved by chanting the Divine Name. For spiritual practices like meditation and penance, a specific time and place are required. But for chanting the Divine Name, no such restriction needs to be followed. Wherever you are, whatever you may be doing, you can chant the Divine Name."
- Divine Discourse, 25 December 2001.
''... Sing the glory of God wholeheartedly without any inhibition. Only then can you experience divine bliss. Begin this sacred Namasmarana (chanting of His name) right from this moment… You don't need musical instruments for this. It is enough if it originates from the core of your heart..."
- Divine Discourse, 14 April 2002.
"...If you sing alone in your shrine, the vibrations what you have is not a reaction but a wave of vibrations. They enter into the atmosphere and purify the polluted air. The atmosphere today is polluted by bad thoughts and feelings. When you sing the glory of God, the bad germs in the air are destroyed and the air gets purified by a treatment with antibiotics as it were. Bhajans are therefore supremely valuable..."
- Divine Discourse, 23 October 1994.
"...You should sing whole-heartedly with the desire to please God. God makes no distinction between a proficient musician and a beggar in the street. It is the devotion and sincerity that matter. Merge your soul in the bhajans you sing. Spiritualise your bhajan-singing. Then you will experience real bliss..."
- Divine Discourse, 8 March 1997.
"...During community singing, divine vibrations emerge sanctifying the whole atmosphere. The same result cannot be expected when one sings alone. Community singing promotes unity, which leads to purity and divinity. Today there is no unity, purity or divinity. What mankind needs today is unity based on the spiritual oneness of humanity..."
- Divine Discourse, 18 December 1994.
"... Singing this intense yearning for God and enjoying the experience of adoring Him helps to purify the atmosphere. Man is today forced to breathe air that is polluted by sounds that denote violence, hatred, cruelty and wickedness. When the environment is clean and free from evil vibrations, the food too is pure and the person develops a tendency to be loving and simple. It is to ensure such an atmosphere that this sadhana of global bhajan is initiated world over..."
- Divine Discourse, 14November 1976.
"...The waving of the camphor flame at the end of the bhajan sessions is to remind you that your sensual cravings must be burnt away without leaving any trace behind, and you must offer yourself to God for being merged with His Glory..... "
- Divine Discourse, 8 September 1966.
"...When you chant the Divine Name with love at least once, you will experience inexplicable and overwhelming bliss in your heart. Divine Name melts even a stone-hearted person. Even ice takes some time to melt, but God's heart melts instantaneously when you chant His Name with love. Even while you are traveling, you can chant His Name silently without attracting others attention. There is no greater sadhana than this. The essence of all sadhanas is contained in this. In the Kali Yuga, chanting of God's Name is the royal path to liberation..."
- Divine Discourse, 14 April 2003.
Wishing you a bliss-filled week.
See you again next Sunday. Jai Sai Ram.
