Giridhara Govinda Gopala

Here's a beautiful Sanskrit poem I learnt at school in India, when I was 10 years old. The teacher sang, we repeated and it was taught. But this poem has stayed on with me for many years, and I couldn't help but attempt to reimagine it. So here's this lovely poem, recreated with a blend of a harmonica's levity and an orchestral gravity!

Vocals and Arrangmenet: Ishuwar Seetharam, Stanford, USA.
Mastering: Nishad Mishra, Mumbai, India.

Meaning: 
Let us always remember,
Let us repeatedly speak out,
Our duty is to do good to humanity.

Let us not focus on material pleasures,
Nor lay in the lap of luxury.
Let us be awakened always that,
Our duty is to do good to humanity.

Let us not enumerate our sorrows,
Nor constantly reflect on our happiness.
Let us step up to take action,
Our duty is to do good to humanity.

We must sail over oceans of misery,
We must scale mountains of difficulty.
While roaming through the jungle of adversity,
Our duty is to do good to humanity.

It may be dense forest of extreme darkness,
Or we may be surrounded by kith and kin.
When we traverse these paths,
Our duty remains - to do good to humanity.

Manasa Satatam

Bhuvana Bharana Sadguru Deva

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Bhajans are the prayers of a pleading heart, expressions of exhilaration, gratitude for grace received and the call of the mortal lover to its immortal Beloved. He taught and encouraged us to sing Bhajans, for there is no path easier or more enchanting than singing His glories.

The vedas extol the Almighty as Nada Brahman - the Absolute Divine Sound What better offering can there be to such a Lord than that of Bhakti encapsulated in musical sounds. The Nada Brahmam series is one of our popular offerings. It is a Bhajan CD that brings together the spontaneity and dynamism of live Bhajans, with clarity of a digital studio recording. This is the Tenth volume in that series.

Nadabrahmam 11

A beautiful bhajan in praise of Devi, the Mother of supreme knowledge and strength, composed by Sri TV Hariharan and sung by Gaana Pravina Sai Sisters Kiran and Nivi Saishankar. Jai Sai Ram!

Sharade Sharade Sharade Ma

Śrī Bāla-Mukundāṣṭakam 

karāravindēna padāravindam 
mukhāravindē viniveśayantam ।
vaṭasya patrasya puṭē śayānaṁ 
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥1॥

With His lotus-like hand who holds His lotus-like feet,
And brings it near His lotus-like face,
On a banyan’s leaf, He who reclines,
That Child Mukunda* I think of with all my mind.
*The giver of freedom


samhṛtya lōkān vaṭapatramadhyē 
śayānamādyantavihīnarūpam ।
sarvēśvaram sarvahitāvatāram 
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥2॥

After the dissolution of the Worlds, Who in the middle of a banyan leaf reclines,
Whose form is without a beginning or end,
The Lord of all, the incarnation of all good,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


indīvaraśyāmalakōmalāṅgam
indrādidēvārcitapādapadmam ।
santānakalpadrumamāśritānām 
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥3॥

Like the blue lotus, whose body is cerulean and tender,
Whose lotus feet, Indra and the Gods worship,
The wish-fulfilling tree that blesses with progeny those who pray for it,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


lambālakam lambitahārayaṣṭim
śṛṅgāralīlāṅkitadantapaṅktim ।
bimbādharam cāruviśālanētram 
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥4॥

Who has locks of His hair falling over His face, wears a long hanging chain,
Who has rows of nectar like teeth that shine with love,
Has reddish lips like the Bimba fruit, and who has elegant wide eyes,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


śikyē nidhāyādya payōdadhīni 
bahirgatāyām vrajanāyikāyām ।
bhuktvā yathēṣṭam kapaṭēna suptam
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥5॥

When the lead lady of Vraj (Yashoda) would go out,
After keeping milk, and curd in a pot,
He eats to His heart's content and pretends to be asleep,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


kaḷindajāntasthitakāḷiyasya 
phaṇāgraraṅgē naṭanapriyantam ।
tatpucchahastam śaradinduvaktram
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥6॥

From the rock in Kalindhi (River Yamuna), 
The One who desires of dancing on the hood of the snake Kaliya, 
Holding the tip of the tail of Kaliya in His hand, the One whose face is like the autumn moon,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


ulūkhalē baddhamudāraśauryam 
uttuṅgayugmārjuna bhaṅgalīlam ।
utphullapadmāyata cārunētram
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥7॥

He who is bound to the mortar, generous and heroic,
Who broke the twin Arjuna trees playfully,
Having enchanting eyes like a fully bloomed red lotus,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


ālōkya māturmukhamādareṇa 
stanyam pibantam sarasīruhākṣam ।
saccinmayam dēvamanantarūpam
bālam mukundam manasā smarāmi ॥8॥

Who lovingly looks at His mother’s face,
When drinking milk from her, with eyes like the lotus flower,
Who is the unalloyed form of truth, and who is the God with limitless form,
That Child Mukunda I think of with all my mind.


|| iti śrī bālamukundāṣṭakam‌ sampūrṇam‌ || 

- thus ends the 8-verse hymn called śrī bālamukundāṣṭakam - 

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Allah Tero Naam Sai/Hridayanjali/Sri.T V HARIHARAN sir/SINGER SUMEET TAPPOO ji

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Listen to the Harmonium playing:)! Vare vaaahhh:)!!!

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