In the first recording, Shyamdas and a group of friends join Mishra Lalji in singing a Holi poem, “Phalguna masa suhayo rasiya Holi khelana ayo.” Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma, Shyamdas’s friend and pakhavaj teacher, a true master of the art, accompanies on the drum.

In the second, a studio recording Shyamdas helped arrange for the purpose of a CD-ROM on the Pushti Marg, Mishraji is accompanied by his nephew Hemant on pakhavaj as he sings a beautiful rainy season poem, “Kaise aoun? Bundana bhije meri sari,” in which a Gopi lists all the difficulties of going out to meet Krishna in midst of the monsoon rains.

In the third, Mishraji sings a few lines of a Holi poem for two singing students in February 2012.

“The main thing is to establish the devotional experience within the heart, within one’s self and being. That is called being in the bhav, and that’s what these boat rides are about”

“I do a lot of bhajan events. Something about the Hudson River. Doing bhajan on the Hudson River is a sublime experience.”

“This sublime yogic practice called kirtan is the dharma of the Kali Yuga: it is easy, it is fun, and it is effective.”

If that sounds good, join us for this year’s Bhajan Boat on Sunday, October 25th in Hudson, NY!

Prathameshji was a genius at putting devotional poems written in his native Vrajbhasha tongue into astounding classical musical compositions. The songs that emerged from his being took those of us around him to magical spiritual heights. To hear him sing allowed us to taste the divine essence, the bhava and movement of the Lila. He delicately placed each word of the poem so as to bring forth the meaning as well as a perfect balance of melody, rhythm and poetry. To sing like that is not a matter of knowing raga, tala and music, but of understanding God to an intimate degree.

Devotion arises when the bhava of the kirtan describing Shri Krishna’s Lila is entered into. Like mantras that were seen by realized sages, the kirtans of the Path of Grace can only be truly sung when there is a Lila-awareness of their content. His Holiness was a master of this enlightened style of singing.

One winter, I accompanied His Holiness Prathameshji on a pilgrimage by bus throughout South India, visiting the places where Shri Vallabhacharya taught the Shrimad Bhagavatam over five hundred years ago. Most of our traveling was done at night. After everyone had gone to sleep, I would quietly observe His Holiness as he sat up towards the front of the bus. Using the sounds of the rattling vehicle as a tampura drone, he would sing Lila kirtans throughout the night, while the bhava of Radha and Shri Krishna’s divine plays teemed from his being. His singing was never a concert, but rather, his private divine offering. While he sang his heart out, everything became like himself, totally attractive.

Please enjoy this excerpt from Shyamdas’ book Path of Grace (© Sacred Woods, 2009) and below, an audio recording of a Mahaprabhuji Badhai poem from the “Pushti Kirtan Seva” project. We plan to add more sound files in the future!

This is perhaps the most important festival for the lineage and typically occurs in April. Songs in praise of Shri Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya begin two weeks before this day. The very form of Shri Swaminiji, Shri Vallabhacharya manifested upon the earth to uplift divine souls. He taught his disciples to love Shri Krishna in the devotional mood of the gopis of Vrindavan. Shri Acharyaji coupled a pure non-dualist philosophy with divine appreciation and gifted his intimate ones the experience of Shri Krishna’s lila. These are a few of many poems sung during the weeks of celebration leading up to Mahaprabhuji’s appearance day:

Raga Sarang

Shri Vallabhacharya is wearing
a saffron-colored dhoti and shawl.
Tilaks and mudras adorn his body.
He sits at his father, Lakshman’s home; it is his birthday.
From head to toe, his form conveys amazing experience.
His beauty vanquishes a million loves.
He is the zenith of loveliness.
The power of his brilliance is without limit.
Nearby, divine women sing Lila praises.
Padmanabhdas sees Shri Krishna as Vallabh, the Lord of speech.
Those who were there are truly fortunate.

Raga Kanharo

The Lila would become old if Shri Vallabh did not appear;
the earth would become barren.
Everyday, Shri Vallabh’s beauty is new,
like an exceptional jewel set in gold.
Sagunadas sings, “I am a follower of his home.
His glories are sung by the sages.”

Click on the “more information” links below the sound player to view poem lyrics in devanagari, roman transliteration and English translation. (Rough translations by Vallabhdas – any suggestions more than welcome!)

In these sessions, Shyamdas offers creative practical solutions for the modern spiritual seeker. His vast vision and humor bring to life the traditional teachings of Narada’s Bhakti Sutra, a classic spiritual text. Like his musical albums, you can hear the love and devotion in his voice. Shyamdas was a rare gem, a unique soul who showered a divine mood wherever he went.

Click here or on the images below to order the Narada Bhakti Sutras spoken word albums from CD Baby. The Shyamdas Foundation is deeply grateful to Andrea Boyd and Jeffrey Cohen of Jivamukti, SC for organizing and producing these recordings.

The recorder only faintly picks up the gorgeous response vocals of the Vermontians that equally drove Shyamdas, as usual, right over the edge of devotional madness. But it leaves us with an intimate audio experience, as if sitting up close, right next to Shyamdas, Adam and Alan as the three brothers in bhakti playfully feed off each other’s pure improvisation. Radhe Govinda! Around the 26:50″ mark, the last of many peaks of nectar filled recitation, Shyamdas switches entirely to from “Shri” to “Sweet” Radhe, and for good reason.

As the three bhakta-musicians manage to wind their way softly back to earth, Shyamdas speaks a sly, “Good evening,” as if that wasn’t obvious already. “So nice to chant with you all here in the land of bliss, Vermont — a land where the hairs stand on end in ecstasy…We’ve come here to Burlington with the sole intention of just singing kirtan, and celebrating the sacred sounds, names, lilas, and expressions of what is called kirtan. Some people call it nada or sound yoga. You can just call it good fun. You can take it into your heart, and leave it there.”