Nimbarka Sampradaya Samaj Gaayan - Sahaja Sukha Ranga Rangeeli Jor

This impromptu recording was made at the Samaaj Gaayan held in Shri Golok Dham Ashram, Vrindavan, in July 2010, on the 6th Tirobhava anniversary of Parama Gurudeva Swami Shri Lalita Sharan Devacharya Ji Maharaj, who is the Gurudeva of our Sadgurudeva Swami Shri Gopal Sharan Devacharya Ji Maharaj.

Samaaj Gaayan is the traditional music of Vraja based Vaishnava traditions which spans back thousands of years to the founder of this style of devotional singing, Shri Narada Muni, the Guru of Shri Nimbarka Bhagavan.

In this recording, the Sakhis are singing of the innate bliss they feel by simply having a vision of the most beautiful Lord Almighty, Bhagavan Shri Radha Krishna. It comes from Sahaja Sukha of the Mahavani compiled by the 15th Century Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya, Swami Shri Harivyasa Devacharya Ji Maharaj.

Samaaj Gaayan consists of a Leader (Mukhiya Ji) who will sing a line of the text, and the Samaajis who will repeat it. This singing is in the Dhrupada genre of Indian Classical Music and is extremely technical. Typically, they will sing the opening line in the vilambit (slow) tempo, before increasing to madhyama (medium) and sometimes drut (fast) by the end of the Pada. The Samaajis are all renounced Nimbarka Vaishnava Babajis, whose lives are devoted to the preservation of this devotional art form for the pleasure of God and Their devotees. This singing is accompanied by a Pakhawaj (Mridangam in Sanskrit), Jhaanjh (hand cymbals) and nowadays the Harmonium in place of the traditional Taanpura.

The textual hymns (Padas) that are sung come from the Yugala Shataka of Swami Shri Shribhatta and the Mahavani of Swami Shri Harivyasa Devacharya Ji Maharaj - 14-15th Century successive Jagadgurus (leaders) of the entire tradition. These God-Realised saints would repeat whatever they heard the Ashtasakhis singing to God in the Nityalila, and this was written down and became the books in question. Swami Shri Shribhatta is praised especially amongst all Vaishnavas, as he was the first Acharya to sing of the Highest Philosophy of Gopi Bhava or Maadhurya Bhakti in a language that the common folk could understand - Braj Bhasha.

Other famous saints to popularise this style of singing include Shri Jayadeva Kavi, the author of the Gita Govinda who in the 13th Century, used the genre to sing the Gita Govinda to the Lord. He sang to Shri Radha Madhava Bhagavan, his own personal deity, who is still worshipped today in the headquarters of the Nimbarka Sampradaya at Salemabad, Rajasthan. He indeed is a Nimbarka Sampradaya follower of great renown. Also, there is Swami Shri Haridas Ji Maharaj, who was the Sangeet Guru of Tansen & Baiju Bawra, but more importantly, he caused the Lord to incarnate in a physical form which is still worshipped today in Vrindavan as Shri Banke Bihari Ji.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mangalacharan
• Radhe
• Krishna
• Shyam
• Nimbark
• Nimbarka
• Sampradaya
• Vaishnava
• Vaisnava
• Vaishnav
• Vrindavan
• Samaj
• Gaayan
• Golok
• Dham
• Ashram
• Swami
• Shri
• Gopal
• Sharan
• Devacharya
• Shribhatta
• Harivyasa
• Haridasa
• Dhrupad
• Dhrupada
• Pakhawaj
• Jhaanjh