Coup On Music In Indian Blood - 2 [The Story of Rangadasu]

In fact, the classical music had successfully defeated by the strategy; and hence the cinema music was the only alternative or monopoly of music in those days. Unlike this time i.e. period after 1992, there were no private albums in India, because there was no this type of development in those days. The reason of it you can think and identify. I try my level best to explain it to you in this writings.

There are so many kinds of songs in music, devotional songs, work songs, love songs, solo songs, in classical as well as in modern music including western music. But the music whatever it is, either classical or modern, it should not exited only nerves, it have to excite nerves as well as mind and soul also. “The music beat is enough” means there will be the end of the music.

Actually, music hearing through devices has the advantage of all time availability. Whenever we want to hear it, we can hear that with the help of D.V.D., C.D. players, T.V., F.M. Radio, Radio, net, I-pod etc. But hearing the music directly when the singer is singing is different experience. The singer and the listener can share the art at a time, and when the producer of the art i.e. singer and the receiver of the art i.e. listener are in the same frequency of the feelings of such music. Nobody can describe that fact of resonance i.e. high pitch of joy. By experiencing only we can know it. Our joy gets multiple when we are in-group. This principle is using now in pubs with disc Jackie’s. But this leads the youth in to which peaks, we are experiencing in the society. For such costly hobbies and experiences, how much money they need, and to get money for those luxuries what young people are doing, we are reading in Newspaper very frequently. To get extreme joy in such pubs and mobs, the youth is tempting towards narcotics. Such news also we are receiving frequently.

To experience which extreme joy, now the youth are searching in pubs, our fore fathers when they were young, they enjoyed such extreme joy in healthy ways, with free of cost. That was not liquor. That was not narcotics. That was the nectar of devotion to God, which ever the name of God. In singing, in playing small tools of music or with hands clapping, in Bhajana, in dancing, with devotion to God, they enjoyed the limit less joy, the extreme joy, which can make us to forget our selves? Such divine joy is known as Paramanandam or Bhrahmanandam.

It is welcomable that the youth at present are getting attraction towards yoga, devotion.

In fact, the ‘love’ among young girls and boys is the most attractive topic of youth. The love in youth, which tends ultimately to sex in maximum cases, is not the entire target of life. There are so many other factors in life, to perform to enjoy and to achieve.

In fact, the ‘love’ is not confined to youth i.e. a girl and a boy or a women and a man. Love is universal. Love is the other form of God. One kind of love is the love among young boy and young girl or woman and man. But it is not the entire life. Love among parents and their children, love among friends, love among master and his pets, love among neighbors, love among leaders and their followers, love among teachers and their students, every love is the emitting form of God. Love and affection are the divine feelings. We can notice love among animals and birds with their belongings.

That’s why our elders say that “Don’t take love as the synonym of sex”. Such love is not the entire thing to fill the life. But unfortunately, all of our art forms, movies, music, literature etc. of now days is confined to so-called love among youth of opposite sex.

The great prophet in Hindu culture, Sri Adi Sankaracharya in his Bhaja Govindam, advised the people to achieve the freedom of soul. In those slokas, he told us, “In childhood we are interested in games. In pre youth we are interested in sex. In our post youth, we are interested on carriers. In late age we are interested in our family. When we will be free to achieve freedom of soul.”

In this context, I refer you a historical event about which I read in my student hood. This relates to Sri Ramanujacharya, the Preacher of Visishtadyitha and his disciple Padma pada. Before his hermit life, Padma paada was a rich young man called Ranga dasu. He belonged to the non-Brahmin community by birth. Being a business young man he used to express his deep love towards his lower Ranga Nayaki, who was a very beautiful and talented girl. He didn’t care to the public comments regarding his love and service that he was doing to Ranga Nayaki.

One day, when Sri Ramanujacharya was walking to the temple of Sri Ranga along with his disciples, he had seen this Ranga Dasu. Which scene did he see you know? It was pre noon time. The sun was hot. The street was busy with traffic of walkers and animal riders. Ranga Nayaki was holding a basket with flowers, fruits and other materials which were required to devote God and walking towards the temple. Ranga Dasu was holding an umbrella to her and walking backwards by facing her. His eyes were wide and drinking her beauty with vision. He was with high concentration and not allowing the eye lashes to vibrate. People watching them were laughing at them. Ranga Nayaki was feeling embrossing and at the same time, little bit pride. But RangaDasu was not even hearing the comments and laughing of public. He didn’t notice the presence of people in the surroundings.

Sri Ramanujacharya observed all this. He followed them. After performing pooja in the temple, when they sat in the temple garden, Sri Ramanuja charya approached them and started to talk with Ranga Dasu. He enquired the young man why he was not caring people and their comments while attending and servicing Ranga Nayaki. Ranga Dasu replied with firm voice as “Swami! I like her beauty. I like her beautiful eyes. I don’t like to tire that eyes and I can’t bear if her eyes become tire, and to lose their brightness and beauty due to that hot son. That’s why I had held an umbrella to her. I don’t like to loss my time for even few moments in watching her beautiful eyes. That’s why I walked backwards. I am very clear in my ideas and hence I didn’t care about people whatever they say about me.”

Then the monk i.e. Sri Ramanujacharya told him “Child! Whatever the beauty, you are thinking is not permanent. When your lover becomes old or deseaseful or in satisfied, the beauty of her eyes will decrease or vanish. When she died, you can’t find it anywhere. There is definite death for each and every living being. So the beauty for which you are dedicating your life is temporary only. I’ll show you everlasting beauty. It won’t get decrease by time. It never dies. Do you want to see it?

In beginning, Ranga Dasu didn’t believe this argument. After convince, he agreed to follow Sri Ramanujacharya. In which manner he shown the divine beauty, and beauty of God to Ranga Dasu in the temple of Sri Ranga, we don’t know. As result, Ranga Dasu left his wealth, his business, his love and his lover, became the disciple of Sri Ramanjucharya.As a monk, and was famous as Padmapada.

The story behind this was – the affection of Sri Ramanujacharya a towards Rangadasu, made the other disciples to feel jealousy. They asked their Guru as “Guru Deva! Rangadasu belongs to Shudra, not Brahmin by birth. After taking bath in the river Kaveri, you used to touch him when we go to temple. Is it practicable?” Acharya didn’t give reply to them but smiled.

Next day when he was taking in the river Kaveri, Ranga dasu was on the other bank of the river because the Guru sent him on boat with an order to bring something from the other side village of the river. But, when he reached the other bank, he called on him with a loud voice as “Ranga dasu! Come to me immediately.”

Ranga dasu replied, “Yes Guru deva”. He didn’t wait for the boat to return. He was watching his Guru and putting foot on the water. The river Kaveri raised lot us flowers to bare his every foot until he reached the bank of the river i.e. his Guru dev. The disciples surprised about it and realized the dedication, commitment and concentration power of Rangadasu, by recognizing which Acharya had turned his lifeboat from Ranga Nayaki’s direction to God Sri Ranga direction.

Since this incident, Rangadas was famous as Padma pada. This story might be fantasy or truth. But the spirit of this story, the idealistic view of this story is truth.