BT Song 1215
For the past two days, there has been heavy rain. The rainy season is my favorite. In India, every season has its own mood. Particularly in music, each season has its own raga. In Tamil cultural tradition, the rainy season is the time for viraha-bhakti songs. As I began to think about this while the rain was pouring down outside, I wanted to bring a new twist to this song. Instead of longing for fellowship with the Lord, this time the bhakta (a lady) tells the Lord that since waiting for Him also gives some excitement, she prefers to wait a little longer and wants to enjoy even the ‘love in separation’. It is like waiting for the marriage after the engagement. After the engagement, as the countdown begins, there is definitely some excitement and lots of imagination and dreams about married life. The romance during this period, imagining so many things about their future life, can be more wonderful than the actual experience after marriage. Pre-marital romance is different from post-marital romance; in fact, several couples cherish the countdown period as the most romantic period in their life, as after marriage, a feeling comes that ‘after all, is this all there is?’ (பூ இவ்வளவுதானா, बस इतना ही है). Similarly, in bhakti too, more than the fellowship with the Lord, the waiting period, expecting His arrival, is more precious and cherishable. However, the bhakta also wants the Lord to have a similar experience, so she sends her heart as a messenger with this message. But as the Lord cannot wait long, deprived of fellowship with the bhakta, and as the heart refuses to go as the emissary, she sends the rain clouds as her messenger. But the rain cloud, instead of conveying her original message, as per its nature, induces the Lord to give up other work and rush to have fellowship with the bhakta. Then, as the Lord comes, the love in separation ends, and the bhakta receives her fellowship back and enjoys it.
Revised 10-7-2024
Gurukulam
BT Song 1215
For the past two days, there has been heavy rain. The rainy season is my favorite. In India, every season has its own mood. Particularly in music, each season has its own raga. In Tamil cultural tradition, the rainy season is the time for viraha-bhakti songs. As I began to think about this while the rain was pouring down outside, I wanted to bring a new twist to this song. Instead of longing for fellowship with the Lord, this time the bhakta (a lady) tells the Lord that since waiting for Him also gives some excitement, she prefers to wait a little longer and wants to enjoy even the ‘love in separation’. It is like waiting for the marriage after the engagement. After the engagement, as the countdown begins, there is definitely some excitement and lots of imagination and dreams about married life. The romance during this period, imagining so many things about their future life, can be more wonderful than the actual experience after marriage. Pre-marital romance is different from post-marital romance; in fact, several couples cherish the countdown period as the most romantic period in their life, as after marriage, a feeling comes that ‘after all, is this all there is?’ (பூ இவ்வளவுதானா, बस इतना ही है). Similarly, in bhakti too, more than the fellowship with the Lord, the waiting period, expecting His arrival, is more precious and cherishable. However, the bhakta also wants the Lord to have a similar experience, so she sends her heart as a messenger with this message. But as the Lord cannot wait long, deprived of fellowship with the bhakta, and as the heart refuses to go as the emissary, she sends the rain clouds as her messenger. But the rain cloud, instead of conveying her original message, as per its nature, induces the Lord to give up other work and rush to have fellowship with the bhakta. Then, as the Lord comes, the love in separation ends, and the bhakta receives her fellowship back and enjoys it.
Revised 10-7-2024
Gurukulam
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