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 the praises of Shri Radha Ju on the anniversary of Her appearance on earth. This pada comes from Utsaaha 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. The Mukhiya in this Pada is Shri Chainbihari Pithadhishwar, SwamI Shri Roopkishor Das Ji Maharaj, a renowned Sadhu of the Nimbarka Sampradaya in Vrindavan, with Ashram on Vamshivata, the place where Shri Shribhatta used to do is austerities in the 14th Century. This place became the seat of Swami Shri Uddhavaghamanda Devacharya Ji Maharaj in the 15th Century, and he was the founding Acharya of the 'Rasa Lila' tradition of performed Devotion. All the Vaisnava traditions subsequently adopted this devotional art form. It is in his line that Swami Shri Roopkishor Das Ji comes, and his Ashram trains young brahmacharis in Shrimad Bhagavatam and Samaaj Gaayan.
The 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.
This Pada is in the Radhashtami section of the Utsaaha Sukha, and is sung always to praise Shri Radha Ju at the time of Her incarnation anniversary. However, it was the favorite Pada of our Parama Gurudeva, so we sang it for the pleasure of the Lord and his as well, on the occasion of his Tirobhava anniversary.
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.
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Yugala Kishora Hamare Thakur - Nimbarka Vaishnava Sampradaya Pada Keertanby nimbarkadasa1,222 views
i meant where is it situated in vrindavana?
spiritulafritterer 1 month ago
@spiritulafritterer This is in Shri Golok Dham Ashram, in Gaushalla Nagar, behind the Krishna Pranami Mandir/Shri Raam Mandir near Atalla Chungi
nimbarkadasa 1 month ago