Bakthi & Peace Live Concert Pt Jasrajji

Attended Bhakti & Peace live concert by Pt Jasrajji, yesterday.

·      Bhakti & Peace is a great idea for the series of events organized by Banyan Tree. All credit to Banyan tree for organizing the program so well. The team was very professional, at the same time sensitive. (Even the snacks at canteen tasted so great)

·      The venue, Shanmukhananda hall was packed. There was traffic chaos outside! Saturday evening, at Kolivada/Sion, near Shanmukhananda hall & for Panditji’s program, it was expected! Thankfully there was no stampede. People were very well behaved.

·      That stuck me actually. People were so very well behaved. Unlike any other program/get-together, people were genuinely classical-bhajan music lovers. Not a single cellphone rang during the program !! Very unusual, I thought. Hats off to the audience. At the end of the program, Panditji made a mention of the discipline of the audience. The ambience was truly spiritually electrifying!

·      Introductions & felicitations were very quick & brief. Thoughtful of the organisers. It was announced that audio/video recordings were not allowed. I did not see anyone using their cell phones at all.

·      Panditji started off with greeting the audience saying we were all embodiments of Divinity.  That set the stage for an enthralling three-hour session.

·      Got to see a Master at his best. What a genius Panditji is. He takes singing to a new level.

·      We saw the master at work – it was ‘serious’ work, but Panditji made it lively with an occasional smile, comment & jokes. He was in total control, as was expected of a great exponent.

·      He was supported by dedicated group of his students, true to the Guru-Shishya parampara.

·      Yesterday’s session was truly Divine.

·      When Pt ji sang, Krishna…. Radhe… Vasudeva… I actually looked around for some signs of Divine Manifestation. It was possible.  That was the energy level at the hall. I am sure Lord would have manifested in His ‘own’ way. Only I was not at a level of consciousness where I could see! (I was reminded of the opening chapter from the book ‘The Music Room’ by Nandita Devidayal)

·      Panditji and his group offered garlands of musical flowers to the Lord that made the evening truly blissful.

·      “True” bhajan or devotional singing can bestow peace on the singer and listener – when we dedicate the song as a humble offering to God, without a trace of ego, with bhava, raga & thala. God does not look at our singing capability (or cacophony!) He looks beyond. That is the realm difficult to reach for any ordinary singer.

·      Om Namo Bhagvathe Vasudevaaya… was a fitting finale. That number went on for almost 30 minutes. Every one in the audience was enthralled. It was pure bliss…

‘JAI HO’… as the Master would say!