Piety without pity - showcasing Shubha pantuvarali - Tyagaraja's Ne pogadakunte

I am happy to share another delightful excerpt from a live concert of Dr.M Balamuralikrishna, held in New Hampshire, USA on 18th November 1979.

The concert has been recorded on Dolby stereo system and if I may suggest you, please use your headphones to enjoy the quality of sound and to experience the emotion that oozes through and through the rendition.

The rendition (Shubha-pantuvarali) is about an hour long. BMK together with his team (Annavarapu Ramaswamy on the violin and Tanjore Upendran on the mrudangam) gracefully present rAga-elaboration, bhava-laden kriti, innovative and creative svara-vinyAsam and a very engaging laya-vinyAsam.

On listening to this immortal piece of music, I could only relate my experience and thoughts that enveloped me by the following passage of Swami Ramadas.

“The inspiring songs composed by saints, when heard or sung, sink into the heart and relieve it of its burdens.

They verily prove to be a soothing balm to the heart agitated with doubt, fear and sorrow.

The sweet music combined with the healing message they convey, create harmony and peace.

Mere reflection, or an attempt to understand and adjust our thoughts and feelings, do not help. We need a tonic for the soul and this tonic is provided by the sweet strains, imbued with spiritual light, coming from the ecstatic utterances of great souls when they were under the divine intoxication.

The whirling mind is now bathed in a flood of divine joy leading it to the haven of the indwelling peace and equanimity. Life must be turned to the eternal symphony of divine music that is always going on within us. The words of saints strung together in a harmonious rhythm dispel all darkness and bring in a state of divine illumination. The ecstasy resulting from this experience raises us to the level of consciousness in which we realize our absolute identity with all that exists resolving the diversity with which the soul is obsessed, into a unity which is, in itself, the Reality.”

Now, grab your headphones to enjoy the Shubha-pantuvarali which is full of piety sans pity.