In a country like ours, where every festival is celebrated in grandeur, where every other lane has a holy praying ground, where we love our country also because we get so many public holidays, one often is faced with this question : Do you believe in God?
There are so many views, so many ideas, so many beliefs, so much tradition that paint a picture before us when we ponder over that question. So much is at stake, when it comes to God. People even fight to prove that their God is better than all others'!
Personally? I'm a student who comes from a family background of people who've dealt with hard core facts in their life. So, it's a little difficult for me to accept, that there is some person sitting on a throne somewhere in the Heavens, waiting to pass judgement. So I do I believe God as we know Him? No.
However, I am a spiritual person. I believe, that as many talents we humans have been blessed with, perhaps there are some that are still beyond our control? Maybe these could be felt by beings we have never heard of, or incapable of even feeling, so let alone understanding.
Let's take this example. A fish, who has live it's entire life in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has never heard of humans. One day, it's caught in a net. Being a rare species, someone decides to put it in an aquarium and put it on display. What's the life of one fish to us, right?
The fish, though, is shocked beyond comprehension. Could it ever understand how it can feel so safe and secure in such a small area, breathe clearly and get food so regularly? It would feel like it's touched something, perhaps by its own definition, divine?
I feel like that fish, because I feel like I have been touched by something so pure, so inexplicable, but that thought which only brings me joy!
Last evening, I went for a concert, to see Pandit Jasraj-ji live on stage. He sat there, so humbly, surrounded by his students, who could only gaze at him with love and respect. He then started singing. And singing. And singing.
His voice covered three and a half octaves (in the same song, yes!). It flowed like a playful river, sometimes here, sometimes there, doing things I could have never imagined one could do simply with his voice! He sang five beautiful pieces, all equally mesmerising, equally enchanting.
To top it all, I just found out he turned 82 last week.
He ended the concert with a bhajan, such in praise of Lord Krishna. As he sang, I could only helplessly be lost in the beauty of his voice, and the passion with which he sang. I was surprised that Lord Krishna did not make an appearance to bless him. Or perhaps he already has, in so many ways.
Only I know, I felt like something beyond my minds comprehension had touched me. It's a feeling I'll treasure forever!
What is it, that makes these people so dedicated to their work? So much love, so much passion for what they do? I wish I could find something that I would love so much, to practise for more than seventy-eight years of my existence! And I thank everybody responsible, for making me witness something so miraculous.
If ever you are ever so fortunate, do not miss the opportunity to see Pandit-ji sing. His soul, his voice, that friendly banter with his accompanying artists, who seem so accomplished themselves. There is no pressure to concentrate, to keep up. Only let yourself relax, and let that voice take over your mind and soul.
There is something more I would like to say about Pandit-ji. Once when he was singing, and later after he ended the songs, Pandit-ji spoke on the microphone simply to thanks us for being an audience. Everybody does that, yes. But what he said, was incredible, something that hadn't even occurred to me. He said there are a lot of talented people even in Mumbai, which was why we were such good audience. But those little things, throughout, that touched his heart were those places where the audience perfectly applauded.
I'm so proud to be a part of that!
I only hope someday, I, too, can touch something divine and be blessed by it all my life. Or maybe I already have. I may just need to appreciate things more.
I suppose, my father said it the best.
"He looked like an old man when he began singing. But as the evening progressed, I could only see him getting younger and younger."
I guess that's passion.
That's music in its most truthful form. :)
