An Ode to the Gandharva......

Mani bhaiya..!

So blessed he is.. the devotion , the enchanting singing , the un-mistakable style ... how blessed we are - to be present in those blissful satsangs with the Lord in front of us and he singing "hey Nataraja...hey nataraja ... hey nataraja om.. "
or the most beautiful "deva manohara ... " or the touching emotional "tumse ho jodi... " .. where he has merged with HIM and the advaita is all-encompassing...

this is not the 1st time i am writing about Mani bhaiya.. every single time i have sat in his satsangs, i have left , purer and healed.. there are far too many fav instances.. i still remember.. in the beginning.. in 2003.. i had experienced through mani bhaiya, wat it means to be in a blissful satsang.. and i had written.. how his music is healing.. like 'Yanni' , his satsangs would transport me to no-where.. i was a novice in the world of spirituality (ofcourse, i still am) but his devotional singing had shown me what bliss meant.. i would just sit there, eyes closed n lost to the world.. the most beautiful rendition of "jai jai radha ramana hari bol" .. and "Gurudeva Guru om" , in old amphi theatre... the engaging sundaranana and high-energy narayana narayana jai jai Govinda hare in city satsangs.. the high octave malayalam "kanna kanna ", during padayatras before SJC .. and ofcourse... the satsangs in VM ..
i remember the satsang in sahakarnagar , when mani bhaiu sang 'narayana narayan jai jai govinda hare' .. maam had gone n asked mani bhaiya "what is this? what is this?" ..cuz she had gone into a trance.. and so had i ..!

the no of times i have cried in his satsangs, i have lost count.. it was Mani bhaiya who told me that a satsang should bring a tear to the eye.. and mani bhaiya's satsangs have the distinction of opening up flood gates ..! the time when he sang 'parameshwaraya shashishekaraya gangadharaya namah om' in 2007 , after Rudra pooja in Yagya shaala and i had never seen G go into such a trance ever.. Gurudeva literally showed us truth is contradictory in HIS trance , with pain,joy, the navras merging in the outflow of energy..leaving all the devotees in an incredible state of bewilderment and 'awe-struckness'..there i sat taking in such a rare sight..in a daze..amazed at the duality of this shishya and the Guru, yet both coming together in that musical trance.. all i cud feel were the goose-bumps and of how blessed i was, to be part of that (no more words to capture that day)...

Mani bhaiya.. when Muthuswami Dikshitar sang , it rained water.. when u sing, it rains devotion! with devotion oozing out of every pore of ur being , we cant be left behind.. u take us along with u and we are left speechless..only our tears do the talking...
i have experienced the trance-like state .. in the bestest ever 'Hari Narayana' and "Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu" ... capturing the latter on video is the best use that we have put technology to (see it below).. listening to it [again n again - its an exception to Marshall's law of 'Diminishing Marginal Utility' !], we are lost.. to the world , to the senses, the creation, to the elements (!).. eyes closed , we stop breathing, enchanted , encaptured in his Devotion.. to my Lord.. the Lord of the Creation..

i have tried to capture in words, a joy which is inexpressible .. a devotion which cant be measured or described .. and the voice which is most blessed..
an ode to the Gandharva ..