On Music With Bhajan, Self Sacrifice

On Music With Bhajan, Self Sacrifice

July 31, 1977 am

BAPUJI:

And it can be expressed very effectively through music.

I can also say that life has two ends: happiness and suffering.

The happiness is expressed through laughing and joy, and suffering through the crying That is our true language.

Then the expressions are very clear.

There is no need for the language or the words. The music has such power, to create such feelings.

The music can express some of the sharpest and deepest of pains and pathos, and it can also express the love that is emerging in the heart.

Just one cry from the heart: how much it touches our heart.

Similarly, one tune filled with pathos goes straight and pierces through the heart. In the Indian yog, the place of the music is very high.

If I say from point of view of yoga that without music it is impossible to attain to the Lord.

The Lord himself is a music.

In Indian, “nad” means sound itself, [and] is called Brahmin.

Brahma.

That means, “In the beginning was the word.” I think there is some connection. If we live a life, a musical life, we can say that we are living a life of sadhana.

There is one intoxication that supersedes all the intoxications of the world: is music.

One who is intoxicated by music” you can’t get him off it.

One who is totally intoxicated by that, he goes into samadhi.

Bapuji is a great musician.

You know that.

And there is another end of music, and that comes to dancing.The second is dance.

The dance purifies the body.

And music purifies the mind.

And we too have a need for that.

But whatever are the tools that are of a superior nature, we always reduce them to a lower nature and use it.

If we use music in its purest use, it will not fail to bring the highest results.

In India, the two main gods are worshipped.

One is called Lord Shiva.

Another is called Lord Krishna.

They both are great musicians and master dancers.

My experience says that one who does not know how to sing and dance, they cannot attain to the Lord.

God doesn’t look at him.

I’m not doing any injustice to you.

This is the truth, experiential truth of Bapuji.

When the meditation becomes deep, the prana begins to rise gradually upward.

In the beginning, the music is being born.

That dance is born from within, spontaneously.

It is not done intentionally.

That is the result of the action of the prana.

And that dance is being done within meditation.

It does not disturb meditation. I just requested Bapuji to show just a little bit of dance, so Bapuji would show us a little bit.

Just little bit.

There are two parts of that spontaneous dance.

First dance is called moving dance.

Second is still dance.

In the beginning of the meditation, the moving dance is coming.

After that, gradually the movements become lesser and lesser.

Then the dance goes on internally, within the stillness.

In that, there is a kriya: means action of chitta (means consciousness) and prana.

In this, what happens is, in the beginning consciousness goes to some particular area of the body and then the prana comes.

If any one of you have had an opportunity to witness the dance that you loved most, you must have found that it helped you to be very one pointed and concentrated.

Not only that, but the entire audience becomes attracted and becomes one pointed too.

Similarly, music has that kind of attraction, too.

Among all the techniques pertaining to concentration of mind, music and dance are the supreme most.

So, as Amrit just suggested, I will show you the dance of meditation, just for a few seconds.

The upper part of the body.

This won’t be all the way, but just to give us an idea.

Very little.

We are so fortunate.

Very rare, very rare individuals get such a chance to witness this personally.

So, all those who have this chance to see this are greatly fortunate.

BAPUJI:

[humming, then chanting]:

The title of this bhajan is “Self-Sacrifice.” There are many meanings of the word, “Atman”: means self.

One meaning of the word “Atman” is body.

Other meaning is the senses.

Third meaning is prana.

Fourth meaning is mind.

The fifth meaning is intellect.

Sixth meaning is consciousness.

The seventh meaning is ego.

Right meaning is the individual or the Atman.

So these are all the meanings of Atman.

Self.

Soul.

No ordinary person can sacrifice such a profound sacrifice.

Only those who are the saints or the great masters of the highest nature, only they can surrender in this manner.

Then is it not possible for us to have this kind of self-surrender? Yes.

It is for us, also.

So to whatever extent we offer ourselves to the Lord, to that extent it is called the surrender to God.

Because our mind is engaged in innumerable activities, that whatever little time we get from that, we can only offer that much to God. God is very wise.

He is happy even if you offer him little bit of yourself.

The saints are very sharp, alert.

They give their entire mind to the Lord.

And how can an ordinary householder or a worldly man compete with the saints? So whatever self-sacrifice is possible, offer that to God.

It is worth understanding, this self-surrender.

After I get up from my seat and I take my seat in the car, then you can understand that I surrender myself to the car.

So then I will not have to walk myself, and when the car will travel that will be considered my travel.

So similarly, when we offer, and totally surrender, our mind, our consciousness, our intellect, our ego, our body, everything to God, then there remains nothing else for us to do.

Then we don’t have to do anything? Just sit like this? No, no.

You have to do everything that you need to do.

Then all the things that you do, you do it by the direct inspiration from God or direct from his command and do it for him.

Then there should be no more the existence of our life, ego’s life.

It should be the existence of energy of God.

Wherever people believe in God, this is the first principle that is accepted.

This journey is not possible without surrender to God.

If we want to travel through the land, we can walk.

But if we want to fly upward but if we don’t have wings, then what? Then we have to depend on the grace of God.

So if Lord’s grace becomes the plane, then only we can go up.

So in this bhajan, one experienced says that one should perform the actions that would please the Lord.

Can God be unhappy, also? Then that poor God would be very unhappy.

And because this whole world is his family.

If he becomes unhappy because unhappy people do not look at him, then if someone who is going to be the most unhappy, that would be God.

Guruji:

Because we do such fantastic things here.

He would be miserable.

BAPUJI:

But God is pleased or displeased is our belief.

Some of the works of the individuals are carried out

by the instruments or vehicles, machines.

When I first landed in New York, when we started walking, we saw the steps.

I saw the escalator walking, or moving.

This is done by the science.

Man doesn’t have to go up.

The ladder goes up.

The steps go up.

Man doesn’t have to climb.

Simply the steps themselves climb.

I got onto the step and then I just stood.

And the steps started escalating. Just as the steps walk up or move upward and the man doesn’t have to move, this is the cleverness of man.

Don’t you think the Father of man would have this intelligence? He is full.

He has a lot of intellect.

He does not become happy or unhappy.

He is beyond both happiness and unhappiness and yet, to us, he appears to be that way.

We do have many such illusions like that.

When we sit in the train, it feels like the trees are running.

The train is running, but it appears like the trees are running.

And the God is pleased or displeased is our illusion but that is a beautiful illusion.

That is the ignorance that leads us upward.

This saint says that, “Act in such a manner that the Lord will be pleased.” Then the devotee will have to know how we can please God.

God is the father of all and he desires that, “In my family, all of you live with unity and harmony and happiness.” Whenever you create a conflict in the family, know that you are going to displease God.

The Lord is love itself, and so wherever there is conflict or jealousy the Lord will be displeased.

We cannot love this entire world but whoever we are in contact with, can’t we love them? There are some places that love is not possible? How could that be? There cannot be love? There must be love.

When the cat sees the mouse, she gets very pleased.

But when the mouse sees the cat, he is afraid.

If we say to mouse that, “Love that cat,” can he do that? Why is cat so pleased? Because that is her food.

So when she feels that she would get her food, then she becomes happy.

And the mouse is afraid, that “She will eat me.” That is why he is afraid.

So he runs away.

Is there a possibility of love in this situation? Really, God is really smart.

And there is no possibility of love in certain places.

Certain situations.

So under such circumstances, if we keep the options separate, it will work out ok.

But you can’t believe that in family the father is a cat, mother is a cat, sister is a cat and you are a rat.

If they are the cat, then you are the kittens.

There is no fear.

She eats the mouse but not her own kittens.

Can’t we trust that much? So if we want to please God we must serve everyone, we must love everyone and we should act in such a manner that it brings happiness and peace to all.

Consider His happiness.

Means, God’s happiness, to be your greatest happiness.

And in offering him the happiness, if we are suffering, pay no attention to that.

So if we become absorbed in the other’s happiness, we will naturally forget our unhappiness.

So when doctors are operating, whenever they are going to have the surgery they anesthetize that part.

So even though the cutting and operating is going on there, the person does not experience any pain.

So similarly, when we’ll give our heart or mind to others fully, then we will not have the experience of pain.

If Lord likes the night, then take away your attachment or love for the morning.

Whatever Lord likes, that is what we must like.

Because mind is not with us, we have surrendered everything to Him, so God’s mind is our mind.

His wish is our wish.

So he likes the night, then we should also like that night.

If he likes to live in the woods then our eyes, our attention, should not go towards the city at all.

Such a devotee does not look for the city, nor for the woods.

He simply fixes his gaze upon his beloved God.

So the devotee should follow the path that Lord Himself is on.

We should say that when the swami, means the beloved Lord, when he tries to get up we should also stand up.

We should follow him wherever he goes.

Do not follow anybody else.

There should be only the sentence that, “I love you,” should be only for God.

Then we cannot say anyone that, “I love you.” Otherwise, that will create a big confusion.

You cannot say that.

Once we have offered our mind to the Lord, how could others have their control over it? And whatever direction the feet of the Lord are going, our feet should follow them, too.

There should be no one else within our sight.

In our eyes, there should be no one else except God.

In your America, there is no idol worship.

But here you will have to begin idol worship.

The whole America would become an idol worshipper.

Because through that the mind receives great inspiration and strength.

Yesterday I received one picture book.

In that I saw the picture of Christ.

Seeing that picture, I had to close the book.

There was a big nail in his foot.

There was a big nail in his chest.

He had nails in his hands.

That created a big change, most profound change in my…

I had simply seen the picture.

And this present had carried me into the past.

That picture of that saint had come alive to me.

The psychologists will have to accept this path.

In India, on idol worship they have thought and studied it for many, many years.

And today the secret meaning of the idol worship would have to be revealed by the physical sciences and psychology today.

Our life is lived among the idols.

Whatever the eyes sees, each and every one of those things is an idol.

Whatever the ear hears, that is also an idol.

Whatever the fragrance, the nose smells, that is also an idol.

Whatever the tongue speaks is also an idol.

To whatever does the skin touch that is also an idol.

Then why to exclude God and the saint? Today the young girls keep the beautiful pictures of the young men, and beautiful men keep the beautiful pictures of the girls.

Then isn’t there a beauty in God and in the saint? That America will have to learn.

That is the true path.

The statue or an idol is not God.

But the feelings of love that are in our heart: that creates life in the stone, in the statue.

There is a preparation to print the dollar notes.

The papers are being cut for thousand dollar notes.

They are all simply papers.

But after that printing press prints thousand-dollar stamp on it, is there a paper anymore? You will have to think on this.

There is no value of thousand dollars, but there is the value of feeling that is introduced in it.

If the paper can become thousand dollars, couldn’t saint or God be on the paper? So one should practice or perform all those actions that are loved by God Himself.

Lord loves the work of service.

The entire world is of God and He is the One Who is the guide for this world and then we must also join in His work.

Whatever work He likes, that should become our religion in the form of our duty.

Whatever the Beloved likes, that becomes our duty and this is the essence of love.

And whatever is done contrary to that is irreligious Just as the wick burns in the lamp, so also we must become the

and if He wants us to be cold we should become the ice and be what He wants.

So if Lord is becoming the wind and flowing everywhere, then we should become the fragrance and flow with the wind.

If Lord is the river, then we should become the boat and float with it.

And we should willingly flow according to the currents of the river.

That Almighty God, we must offer Him our body and mind.

We should surrender to Him.

By keeping all our actions pure, we must offer our pranams, our respect to the God.

So become the flute of that merciful Lord.

And whatever tunes He brings into that flute, we should engage our mind into those tunes, or harmonize our mind with those tunes.

This is for the highest of saints, but we must practice whatever we can.

Now this completes the explanation of this bhajan.