Rock Satsangs…

I remember some months back, a senior Art of Living teacher had visited Atlanta. She told us stories of how AOL had such an amazing following among the youth in Mumbai. A bunch of college-going kids had gone to this pub on a Saturday evening and convinced the owner to let them perform there. They sang bhajans and devotional songs, all remixed with club beats, electric guitars and fast rhythms. They had also requested the pub owner to NOT serve alcohol that evening. This event went down real well with the pub-hopping junta that evening and MTV covered it too.
I found it difficult to fathom… I just couldn’t imagine how on earth is one to feel any kind of bhakti ras while dancing to remixed bhajans. I didn’t think it was sacrilegious or anything, just couldn’t see where it lead to. Till this morning when I heard Avataran. It is an album put together by Sahil Jagtiani, a musician and an Art of Living teacher. This guys has done such an amazing job remixing traditional bhajans with club beats. I could barely keep myself from grooving… and then I realised that there was nothing odd about the remix bhajan idea. The emotions that came up in me were pure bhakti, no less. And joy and happiness… about being alive and present. The spirit was real, not distilled.