1008 House & Community Bhajans

Bhajans are one of the flagship activities of the organisation, setup and built by our beloved Bhagwan.

Swami says “People say that when you go Sai Baba, there is nothing but bhajans. Realize that there is nothing greater than bhajan. What bliss is there in bhajans! What a demonstration of oneness is it when myriad throats join in uttering the name of God! The vibrations emanating from them make the heart vibrant. If you sing alone in your shrine, the vibrations return to you as a reaction. But in community singing, what you have is not a reaction, but a wave of vibrations. They enter into the atmosphere and purify the polluted air. The atmosphere today is polluted by bad thoughts and feelings. When you sing the glory of God, the bad germs in the air are destroyed and the air gets purified by a treatment of antibiotics, as it were”.

Some guidelines to follow:
• Everybody should arrive and be seated a few minutes prior to start of the bhajan.
• No elaborate decorations are required. Please only have a simple altar for Swami.
• No elaborate prasadam is required. Vibhuti and fruit would be enough.
• Men should sit on one side of the prayer hall and women on the other.
• Bhajans should be sung in two speeds: slow and fast. In the slow speed, sing each line twice and, in the fast speed only once except the last line which should be sung twice to signal the conclusion of the bhajan.
• Sing familiar bhajans so that most of the congregation can follow and give chorus.
• Overall bhajan session should be for 1 hour:
o 3 AUMs
o Bhajans (45 mins)
o 3 AUMs after the last bhajan
o 2 mins meditation
o Asatoma
o Om Tat Sat
o Aarathi
o Vibhuti Mantra (Paramam Pavithram)
• Musical instruments used during bhajans should not drown the voices of the singers and those who follow, thus maintaining a balance between the instruments and singing.
• PA system is not essential.
• People should return from bhajan carrying the elevated, uplifted, and sublime mood created by the atmosphere at the bhajan. Therefore, after the bhajan people should disperse quietly, maintaining silence. Then the joy and peace derived at the bhajan will linger and abide in the heart.