Ac. Sarveshvaránanda on Bábá and Prabháta Saḿgiita



Ac. Sarveshvarananda describes an experience with Bábá on why Prabháta Sam'giita had not been given earlier




Bábá was fond of music, especially devotional songs. Nevertheless Bábá would be lost in a trance of pleasure. He used to say that though the songs bordered upon cacophony there was a spontaneous flow of devotion. It was the devotional feeling that made Bábá happy and applaud the singers.




In the early days some of the songs sung by the devotees in Bihar were, to my ears at least, only a mixture of deafening drums, noisy clapping and ear-splitting tuneless singing. Bábá created a new realm of music.




Actually, I know nothing about music, let alone have any ability to sing, But surprisingly, Bábá included me in the team of note-takers learning Prabháta Sam'giita from Him. It cannot be said that any other members of the team had much knowledge either, but the absence of a trained singer in the group did not stop Him from getting the songs down right. It reminds me of the saying that God can make the dumb speak and the lame walk. Bábá bestowed His grace on us and made the impossible possible.




Once Bábá came to Anandanagar for DMC. It was a beautiful morning. After having made a song to a very sublime raga He was eating breakfast. Suddenly He said to me. "The tune I used today I once used in an Urdu song that I composed in my school days. Would you like to hear it?"




"Oh yes, please," I said, Bábá sang that Urdu song. I was spellbound by the lyrics and the melody. Though the theme of the song was social and lacked spiritual content, I liked it very much.




Bábá added, "I composed many poems in those days"




I said, ""You composed such marvellous songs when You were a student, but it seems You have waited a long time before beginning Prabháta Sam'giita. Why is that?"




Bábá explained smilingly, “I have told you that I always act at the proper time in accordance with the plans I’ve made. Let us say that I have a cow that gives an immense amount of milk. Should I start milking it right away, or should I first see to it that I’ve a pot to put the milk in? If I start milking without a pot, all of it will spill to the ground and be lost. So, I had a plan to create something special in the world of music that would be a unique fusion of devotion and exuberance to bring about a great spiritual vibration all over the world. But until now there was no proper medium to contain that vibration. It was only when I was convinced that the right people were there and the infrastructure existed to sustain and utilize those spiritual vibrations that I was able to start Prabháta Sam'giita with the first song, Bandhu He Niye Calo.”




So on top of all the other work, He could work non-stop through His mealtimes, bath times, on field walks, or lying down. At any moment He would call us in to take down some dictation of a book or a newly-composed song or an organizational directive.