Bhajana Traditions – Makes Every Indian Proud

by Ram S. Sriram
July 20, 2009

In the article, “Unity in Diversity”, I mentioned that Indian music is an artifact of Hindu

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culture. One of the symbols of this culture is bhakthi or congregational worship. The most visible expression of this devotional and congregational worship is ‘bhajana’ or worship intermingled with music.

Bhakthi traditions differ from other Hindu religious traditions by emphasizing simple devotion over formal rituals and by stressing unselfish dedication over intellectual discourses. Since devotion is the only requirement, an individual’s social standing, education, or knowledge of religious texts do not limit participation; attachment to a personal God is adequate.

We could argue that worship of numerous personal Gods conflicts with some of the Hindu philosophies (e.g. the Upanishads and The Advaitha). But the Upanishads, somewhat averse to rituals and worship of numerous personal Gods, accepts the efficacy of this kind of worship because such worship could eventually lead to unification with a single, all-pervading soul or Brahman. The philosopher, Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan (Outlines of Hinduism, Chetana Publishers, 1966), says, “…through concentration of God’s names and attributes, we can rid ourselves of “our obsession with the name-and-form world.”

Bhajana is bhakthi verbalized through music. A great feature of Indian music is that it provides the flexibility to use music in various contexts - during a concert, when performing religious rituals, or participating in group worship. In bhajana, a congregation expresses its love and devotion to a God through simple musical chants. To participate, the members need not be proficient in music. They only need to repeat the name of a God as a musical chant.

Although, during bhajana, a congregation expresses its devotion through musical chants, it expresses its love to a God also visually – such as celebrating the marriage ceremonies of Seetha and Rama or Rukmini and Krishna. While these pageantries add color to the bhajans, they also have a subtle purpose - expression of philosophical thoughts and values.

For example, when a congregation recites the names of Rama or Seetha or Hanuman, they are not merely expressing their devotion to a personal God. They are also urging the congregation to emulate Seetha, Rama, and Hanuman. Rama seeking to retrieve his beloved Seetha from Lanka is not a story of abduction but a symbol of a Being’s effort to purify his soul and uniting with it.

Seetha is not just a character in the Ramayana but rather, a manifestation of compassion, grace, and forgiveness – the decidedly female attributes that each one of us must cultivate. Hanuman is not merely a powerful animal devoted to Rama, but is the personification of a liberated soul who serves others without expectations or reward. Therefore, bhajana is not mere story telling through a musical medium; like its parent, Indian classical music, it is a value-driven vehicle that reminds us to be a compassionate Seetha, a selfless Hanuman or an ideal Rama.

"These religions welcomed all people with open arms...they did not create barriers to expressing their devotion and faith."

Around the sixth or seventh centuries, the bhakthi-bhajana traditions went beyond their traditional role of congregational worship into a socio-political movement. These periods were characterized by the rise of religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and Jainism. Many Hindus, upset by the caste system and the social inequalities that restricted them from expressing their faith, began to convert to these non-Hindu religions.

These religions welcomed all people with open arms; unlike Hindu religions, they did not create barriers to expressing their devotion and faith. On the contrary, these religions raised doubts about the basic teachings of the Veda such as idol worship, rigid rituals, and belief in a supreme soul.

These affronts to the sacred Hindu texts and their teachings angered prominent Hindus – religious scholars, community leaders, and even poets. Worse, the forced conversions that made Hindus abandon the religion in droves upset them even more.

How should they bring the converted Hindus back into the fold and what should they do to foster the belief that all Hindus are equal and that each has a right to pursue salvation? And, most importantly, how should they achieve these objectives without resorting to confrontation and violence against others’ religious followers? Poet-musicians such as the Nayanmars (worshippers of Shiva) and Alvars (worshippers of Vishnu) thought of a simple but powerful idea – revive the bhajana traditions.

How could bhajana be a response to reviving religious beliefs and resolving social inequalities? The Nayanmars and Alvars believed that music could unite people. These poet-saints believed that archaic languages such as Sanskrit, understood only by a few and rituals performed only by the privileged, divided Hindu communities. They were convinced that if the verses and hymns were written in local vernacular and set to simple tunes, it would bring people together and make them worship as a group.

The revival of the bhajana traditions proved that the Nayanmars and Alvars were correct in their assumptions. The bhajana movement not only brought individuals from every walk of life to worship together but also made the participants to accept each other without reservation.

It would not be an overstatement to say that the bhajana movement was the pioneer of the ahimsa (non-violent) movement. These ordinary musical chants ultimately led to the belief that one’s social or religious status is not an impediment to spiritual emancipation. In due course, this realization united Hindu communities and also helped curtail the onslaught of conversions to other religions. Thus, the musical movement became not only a great socio-political exercise but also a successful cultural experiment. It proved that keeping a culture alive and vibrant need not be confrontational. It only needs devotion and a little creative energy.

Ram S. Sriram serves as Distinguished Professor at College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta. He is also a Mridangis and writes on music philosophy. His articles on music and other topics are available at the website www.vidyarthi.org.

Comments on this Article

ananda vardhana [Albuquerque, NM. Jul 23, 2009 12:34:08 PM]
I never thought of bhajane with this perspective but having read your article it makes sense. Gandhiji used Bhajan as the main vehicle for his peace movement. However I have always thought that Hinduism is not a religion per say like Buddhism or other isms. It is just code of conduct, technically anyone in any part of the world is a Hindu if he/she follows the set code of conduct. However you have used the word to mean religion. I guess it was just a contextual usage only. As usual it is a brilliant article and I enjoyed every sentence of it. Hope to see articles on the origin of Upanishad?s. I know nothing of them and have always been intrigued by it. Best regards, Ananda vardhana