Importance of Taal and Shruti in Bhajans
Swami says that bhajan is a very important part of devotion. Devotees know how blissful He is during bhajans. The following article offers good advice for bhajan leaders and “repeaters” during the upcoming Akhanda Bhajan.
The most important and popular activity in the Sai Organization is bhajans, the musical recitation of the names of God, abiding by all the rules of taal [rhythm] and shruti [musical notes], to make it pleasant and beneficial.
Rhythm is the subconscious cycle of time-spacing. In music, the spacing of the time is indicated by regular beats of drums or other musical instruments, or by hand claps. Whether beats are loud or inaudible, the musical composition and its recitation do not appeal without rhythm. Rhythm is a gift of nature itself. Everything in nature is rhythmic with short or long intervals. Rhythm indicates the beginning and end of natural movements and the changing and repeating phases of natural things. The longest known rhythms in nature are the rising and settings of the sun, the movement and phases of the moon, the planets, and other astronomical bodies, the changes in seasons, and so on. Irregular seasons cause havoc; so do irregular beats in music. In short, rhythm is God-created, regular time-spacing that activates the world.
Time-sense is a subconscious feeling in all humans. Hence, when we sing bhajans, the “leaders” automatically know where to pause, and the “repeaters” know where to start and stop again. In the absence of this natural gift of time-sense among the leaders and repeaters, the song results in mental disturbance. The smooth concentration in bhajan is lost, the samadhi [concentration] is broken and the mental image of the Lord created in everyone’s mind is warped. Hence, those leaders who have no time-sense must practice in order to gain it, or else sing no bhajans at all. For others, bhajan is a deep devotional sadhana [spiritual struggle], a meditation on the Lord and on His form as described in a particular bhajan. I always visualize Baba as that form whenever I have an opportunity to sing, either as leader or repeater.
Even more important in bhajan, and in all music, is the shruti—the basic note. Shruti is the natural, steady sound produced with the voice. Each individual has his or her own frequency. The seat of our voice is the heart—from where the Om or the pranava [primodial sound] vibrations emanate. In other words, the shruti is the Omkar itself. And as Baba has always told us, the seat of Divinity is also the heart. Thus we can safely infer that each one’s individual shruti emanates right from the creator residing in each heart. So if a bhajan singer knows this and produces the vibrations of his individual shruti, he is in perfect harmony with it and his singing is bound to vibrate the chords of his heart—and the heart of the creator who dwells therein.
Not every singer has the same voice pitch. Depending on the vocal cords, the pitch differs. So does the voice. Hence the basic note or shruti for different singers for the same song may not be the same; this is not often understood. The easiest way to find out one’s shruti is to sing with a harmonium. For convenience, this instrument has in each octave twelve keys or sound-producing reeds resulting in various frequencies. Each one is a shruti by itself. There are three or more such octaves in the base, middle, and higher pitch. Out of these twelve broad, basic shrutis, one reed always equates the pitch of the voice of the singer. That pitch is his shruti.
Many singers have not identified this, so they are not able to direct the person accompanying on the harmonium. The bhajan then becomes out of tune and is embarrassing to the ear. Normally a good singer can cover all the keys of the octave starting with his shruti. Trained voices cover many more, both from lower and higher octaves.
With this shruti as his basic note, an individual can successfully produce the other related vocal notes in a harmonious way. If a singer sings in his own natural shruti, without straining his vocal cords, he can easily produce the various melodious combinations on which they are based. In fact, they are the natural vibrations of his basic note or shruti, which is nothing but his pitch on Omkar. So with the natural vibrations of Omkar in his own heart—the seat of atman [consciousness]—its chords are bound to reverberate and respond in harmony—a divine harmony, indeed. This done, one who sings with devotion, love, and emotion helps not only himself but others who listen to him singing to enjoy a communion with the indweller—the Lord Himself. To achieve this, one must forget everything else except his own shruti so that his own voice merges with it and gives him a thrill of real communion.
A person who cannot do this deprives himself and others of divine joy, the great ecstasy. He deprives them of the very purpose of namasmarana [repetition of the name]. Hence those who cannot sing in tune and rhythm had better keep themselves free from public bhajan singing.
Singing at an unnaturally high pitch disturbs the singer and the listeners. A voice at a high pitch requires a lot of straining, making it emotionless and mechanical. Natural singing on one’s own shruti produces notes that are delicate and graceful, and vibrations which appeal to the singer himself, to the listeners, and above all to the indweller Himself. Quiet singing is easily boosted and made audible through a loudspeaker, carrying it into every corner of the gathering.
As for the speed of singing, fast bhajans go well with naturally high-pitched voices, and those with heavy and broad voices appeal more with slow-moving bhajans. Both are good and need proper selection and placement of order. Slow songs shine more in the beginning and faster ones later. The “repeaters” are very important. Those who sing the chorus must match the shruti of the leader. Participants have to be selected on this basis for different songs with different shrutis. This will make the bhajans pleasing. All these factors help to make the public bhajans an enjoyable tonic for the ears and the heart. The communion with the indweller becomes possible if all sing sincerely and well, with love, devotion, emotion, and in a natural graceful way.
—R. S. Junnerker
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, February 1975
