Conversation "Three"

                         ABBREVIATED VERSION OF CONVERSATIONS ON SINGING “RAGHOOPATI RAAGHAVA”

CONVERSATION 3:  J.B. & Kristin Rao – Gandhi Memorial Center on April 14, 2009

KR:  What is it like to sing “Raghoopati Raaghava” at Gandhi Jayanti?

JB:  I would say it’s a very fulfilling experience being up there with people from different cultures, different socio-economic backgrounds but singing about the one God worshipped by all people of all times. . . . There’s people from India up there, . . . an engineer, . . . somebody who puts together sports equipment for people, teachers, just a variety of people drawn together for this occasion and to sing this one particular song…I think it’s more the idea of singing that song which was one of Gandhi’s favorite bhajans on his birthday and especially with the audience joining in and everybody just singing from their heart. . . .  

. . . I don’t know the exact translation of the text but it goes through various names of God and I think that’s why it was one of Gandhi’s favorites, that it talked about the one God worshipped by all people. One of my favorite quotes from Gandhi is —I’m kind of paraphrasing—but he said he wanted all of the religions of the world to blow freely through his house, but he refused to be blown off his feet by any particular one. I think that was probably why Gandhi was drawn to that song, just the central idea of one God called by various names but the same God. It’s also  particularly nice for me to be singing it in the church. I’ve  been attending this church in the Sunday school for all of my life which is 53 years now. I think it would have a different feeling for me if I was singing it at an auditorium somewhere but being here in this church where I’m also the organist and have just been attending for years identifying with the philosophy which is the Advaita Vedanta from India.

KR:  What is that philosophy exactly?

JB:  Advaita Vedanta . . . Advaita is non-dualist and Vedanta is just really a name for truth.  Swami Premananda who founded the church translated that as absolute monism. And I think the song kind of captures the essence of that. One of the principles of the church comes from one of the Upanishads and translated into English it’s “Truth is One; men call it by various names.” So in the church we talk about Allaah and Brahma, and God and Yahweh all as being the same, just worshipped in various ways.

KR:  How does it feel to sing with the other people as opposed to just singing by yourself?

JB:  . . .It’s more being with those people and you know the people out in the audience singing along that kind of experience of all singing together a song that . . . meant a lot to Gandhi.