Bhajan

The Sanskrit word bhajan or bhajana is derived from the root , which means "divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to". The word also connotes "attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation". ==Hinduism==

Historical roots In Hinduism, Bhajan and its Bhakti term, Kirtan, have roots in the ancient metrical and musical traditions of the Vedic era, particularly the Samaveda. The Samaveda Samhita is not meant to be read as a text, but sung as it is like a musical score sheet that must be heard. Other late Vedic texts mention the two scholars Shilalin (IAST: Śilālin) and Krishashva (IAST: Kṛśaśva), credited to be pioneers in the studies of ancient drama, singing and dance. The art schools of Shilalin and Krishashva may have been associated with the performance of Vedic rituals, which involved storytelling with embedded ethical values. {{Quote box | bgcolor=#FFE0BB |align=right |salign = right This body is but a guest of four days, a house made of dirt. On this earth your mark is made, a symbol of your good work. The Vedas and Upanishads celebrate Nada-Brahman, where certain sounds are considered elemental, triggering emotional feelings without necessarily having a literal meaning, and this is deemed a sacred, liminal experience of the primeval ultimate reality and supreme truth. This supreme truth is considered as full of bliss and rasa (emotional taste) in the Hindu thought, and melodic sound is considered a part of human spiritual experience. They are found all over India and Nepal, but are particularly popular among the Vaishnav traditions such as those driven by devotion to avatars of Vishnu such as Krishna, Rama, Vitthal and Narayana (often with their consorts). A Bhajan may be sung individually, but more commonly together as a choral event wherein the lyrics include religious or spiritual themes in the local language. The Bhajans in many Hindu traditions are a form of congregational singing and bonding, that gives the individual an opportunity to share in the music-driven spiritual and liturgical experience as well as the community a shared sense of identity, wherein people share food, meet and reconnect. Some Bhajans are centuries old, popular on a pan-regional basis, passed down as a community tradition, while others are newly composed. Everyone in the Hindu tradition are free to compose a Bhajan with whatever ideas or in praise of any deity of their wish. But since they are sung, they typically follow meters of classical Indian music, the raga and the tala to go with the musical instruments. They are sung in open air, inside temples such as those of Swaminarayan movement, in Vaishnava monasteries, during festivals or special events, and at pilgrimage sites. Bhajan versus Kirtan in the Hindu traditions A Bhajan is closely related to Kirtan, with both sharing common aims, subjects, musical themes and being devotional performance arts. A Bhajan is more free in form, and can be singular melody that is performed by a single singer with or without one and more musical instruments. Kirtan, in contrast, differs in being a more structured team performance, typically with a call and response musical structure, similar to an intimate conversation or gentle sharing of ideas, and it includes two or more musical instruments, with roots in the prosody principles of the Vedic era. Many Kirtan are structured for more audience participation, where the singer calls a spiritual chant, a hymn, a mantra or a theme, the audience then responds back by repeating the chant or by chanting back a reply of their shared beliefs. A Bhajan, in contrast, is either experienced in silence or a "sing along". ==Jainism==

Stavan is a form of popular and historically pervasive genre of devotional music in Jainism. Jainism rejects any Creator god, but accepts protector deities and rebirth of souls as heavenly beings, and its devotional singing traditions integrate these beliefs. Stavan may include dancing and worship rituals. Known as Bhajan in north and west Indian regional languages, a Stavan is typically sung as folk melodies by groups of Jain women, and are a formal part of ceremonies and celebrations within Jainism. == Buddhism ==

singing hymns at Asan, Kathmandu. Numerous Buddhist traditions use vocal music with instrumental accompaniment as part of their rituals and devotional practices. Buddhist vocal music and chanting is often part of Buddhist rituals and festivals in which they may be seen as offerings to the Buddha. In South Asia, there are still several traditions of Buddhist bhajan singing. One is the Newari Buddhist Gunlā Bājan tradition, which has a long history. Bengali Barua Buddhists also have a tradition of singing songs in the vernacular, which they call Buddha-samkirtan or Buddha kirtan. ==Sikhism==

The Sikh tradition places major emphasis on devotional worship to one formless God, and Bhajans are a part of this worship. A more common form of community singing is called Shabad Kirtan in Sikhism. ==Modern composers and singers of Bhajans==

, Guwahati, Assam, India A modern Bhajan has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad, thumri or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. V. D. Paluskar and V. N. Bhatkhande have combined Indian classical music with bhajan. Pandit Kumar Gandharva made famous the Nirguni Bhajans of Sant Kabir and Malwa Region. The dancer Mallika Sarabhai has produced performances based on bhajans. Abhinaya Chakravathi Sri JS Eswara Prasad Rao of Hyderabad, who is the disciple of AL Krishnamurthy Bhagavathar, Pudukkottai system, has produced performances based on Sampradaya bhajans under the title "Nitrya Sankeerthnam". Bhajans of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism traditions, Vedic mantras and Yoga chants have been composed, published in Western musical sheet format or recorded by western singers such as Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Miten, and by various West Indies singers influenced by East Indian heritage. The Stavan compositions and literature of the Jainism tradition are extensive, with a historic overview provided by Sri Sudhara Stavan Sangrah, traditionally preserved in "puja box" by Jain families. Kripalu Maharaj is one of the modern era bhakti leaders and bhajan-kirtan composers. He has composed eleven thousand one hundred and eleven doha (couplets) on the leela of Radha and Krishna, and the devotional philosophy called Radha Govind Geet; 1008 pad (songs) called Prem Ras Madira; hundreds of kirtan in the form of Yugal Shatak and Yugal Ras and twelve pad which fully describe the beauty and the decorations of Krishna, and thirteen pad which describe the beauty and the decorations of Radha called Shree Krishn Dwadashi and Shree Radha Trayodashi. Renditions of Shree Maharaji's bhajans and kirtans have been recorded by well-known singers in India such as Manna Dey, Ajnish, Anuradha Paudwal and Anup Jalota. In the olden days, Sants such as Mirabai, Surdas, and Narsinh Mehta composed several bhajans that are universally sung even today. ==See also==