INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

mind and affects the audience’s perception of gurbani. A ragi whose inner self is fully
devoted has the capacity to bring out the essence of gurbani and make listeners more
perceptible for the sacred words. The musical conveyance should touch their souls
and not just the ears. Mangalcharan is a means to mentally and spiritually prepare the
performer in his duty to enhance the religious experience of the audience.
Each ragi is free to choose an individual mangalcharan as long as it is a verse or
line derived from Guru Granth Sahib. Aspiring ragis normally learn how to select
mangalcharan during their musical education at Sikh institutes or under guidance of a
senior tutor. Some of the musicians I spoke with had chosen mulmantra for this purpose
or used verses which contained nouns and verbs that would identify the rendition
as a respectful greeting, such as the following example:
I make obeisance [namaskar] and prostration [bandna] to Thee and many
a time am a sacrifice unto Thee. 517
To sing a verse in which Gurus speak of their act of submission to God the ragis said
they surrendered themselves to the divine before the actual performance. Some presented
other hymns by which they asked for forgiveness in advance for mistakes they
would make unintentionally. A younger ragi leader, for instance, used a particular
mangalcharan in which he pleaded for divine grace to perform kirtan correctly:
O Merciful to the meek I have entered Thy sanctuary. Thou, O great
cherisher of the universe, art an ocean of happiness. Show mercy that
Nanak may sing Thine praises and thus preserve my honour. 518
After completing the introductory invocation the performer will use different
methods to measure the mood of the audience and create a religious and alert atmosphere
for the musical session. The leader of the ragi jatha may lead the congregation in
an antiphonal melodious simran, or chanting of the divine name, in which he will sing
the gurmantra “Vahiguru” and the audience respond by repeating it. When kirtan is
performed for a special ceremony or social gathering he may attempt to evoke suitable
moods in the audience by singing a few gurbani hymns with propositional meanings
that touch upon the theme of the event. In case the performers are to do kirtan
within the framework of a death ceremony, for instance, they will pick out one or
several lines from a hymn that semantically relates to the topic of loss or separation.
An elderly ragi leader in Varanasi used to sing the following lines of Kabir when he
performed kirtan in connection with a death ceremony:
Kabir, death, of which the world is terrified, is pleasing unto my mind;
it is in death alone, that one is blessed with the perfect supreme bliss. 519
517
GGS: 820.
518
GGS: 105.
297
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008