Vaisnavajan : Gandhi' Bhajan collection

 The most abiding memory of my childhood is a visit to the Sabarmati Ashram Light and Sound show on Mahatma Gandhi. In this show there was this lovely Bhajan (devotional song or hymn) which created the backdrop of a life of a saint who has been an indelible childhood memory. While Mahatma Gandhi has been named in India as the Father of the Nation (Bapu), in my childhood he was a history book figure. Our visit to Ahmedabad and Sabarmati Ashram was part of a tour to Rajasthan. My parents were professionals, Dad a lawyer and mum a teacher. However, as children we never realized that to give us a life of comfort they conducted school tours to help increase the family income and create financial stability. These tours were a learning experience. As parents both had instilled in me a sense of pride and respect for our freedom fighters and sense of patriotism. While the Gandhi story was well known the true values of the man and how well they got reflected in the hymn seeped into me when this song was rendered in that night as a teenager. I am not sure who sang the bhajan in that show maybe Lata Mangeshkar or MS Subbalaxmi but the impression remained.

The bhajan was written by poet Narsinh Mehta and describes the true lovers and devotees of God and the conduct of such devotees.

They are the real lovers of God

Who feel others’ sorrow as their own.

When they perform selfless service,

They are humble servants of the Lord.

Respecting all, despising none,

They are pure in thought, word, and deed.

Blessed is the mother of such a child,

And in their eyes the Divine Mother

Shines in every woman they see.

They are always truthful, even-minded,

Never coveting others’ wealth,

Free from all selfish attachments,

Ever in tune with the Holy Name.

Their bodies are like sacred shrines

In which the Lord of Love is seen.

Free from greed, anger, and fear,

These are the real lovers of God.

The melody of this song, the connect with the earth and the atmosphere of the serene yet simple Sabarmati Ashram situated on the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad evokes memories of an age gone and values of a man of true love and compassion. In that village like Ashram in the dark night sitting in the makeshift chairs the cold October night, I almost felt the presence of the Mahatma. This hymn was part of his daily prayer session and the sounds of the Charkha, his voice and words and the buzz of a community came alive in these surroundings. The Vaishnavajan bhajan was like the brand signature tune of Sabarmati Ashram.

The empathy evoked for the poorest of the poor and yet the humility in serving their needs was what makes Mahatma Gandhi an inspiration for me from childhood to this day. Purity of thought, respect for all and a special emphasis on women along with total Selflessness in all one's actions. The beauty of this song and the actual lyrics are on hind sight the basis of a spiritual quest to live a purposeful life. His earthly presence transcended time and space and became an eternal presence.The calming soothing quality of the voices of two great singers of India M S Subbalaxmi and Lata Mangeshkar elevates the lyrics and they penetrate deep into my soul.

Still the memory of Sabarmati Ashram which I revisited recently and that night even though fading was revived last year. Sadly, even though the Ashram remains relatively pure and retains the ethos and feelings of the great soul (Mahatma), the riverfront a modern concrete beautification of the riverfront is sadly not to my liking. The Light and Sound Show has been abandoned as maybe it is not "loud or entertaining enough". Also, in the land of the Mahatma the ruling elite have dumped his ideals as obsolete and not relevant to today's times. Music knows no language barriers and I urge readers to listen to this bhajan on youtube and fell the sentiment behind it.

Vispi Jokhi