Work! Every single living entity works. From the ant to the elephant, from the fish to the tiger- all creatures have their own share of daily work. Birds, insects, animals, reptiles, plants and man have to work to eat, survive and be safe. Anyone who claims that they have achieved greatness by cooking, cleaning, washing and doing such work are deceiving themselves. Even a mouse gives birth and takes care of its little ones. All other creatures live and survive by instinct and their nature. Only man is given the right and ability to rise above his human nature to the Divine level. We can use work as a means of attain the grace of Divinity. Let us see the example of the life of Swami Haridas and his disciple Tansen:
Tansen, the singing legend was one of the Navratnas or Nine Gems of the court of Emperor Akbar of Dehli. Tansen was a singer par excellence. He had a mastery over the tones, pitch, beat and the ragas or tunes. The Indian ragas are not just musical pieces. They are connected to the times of the day, the seasons and other natural events. Those who had mastery over the ragas could invoke the feelings and sentiments of the raga. Legends claim that when Tansen sang the Raag Megh Malhar – this raga invokes the rain bearing clouds –it rained! When he sang the raga Deepaka, the candles in the court of Akbar light up by themselves. The beauty of his singing would calm down wild animals and make them sit and listen to him peacefully.
Emperor Akbar admired the singing of Tansen. He gave him the title Miyan. He always thought that Miyan Tansen was the greatest singer of that time till it occurred to him one day that Tansen also had a Guru who would be definitely greater than him. He wished to meet the Guru of Tansen and hear him sing. Tansen replied that his Guru was Swami Haridas. Haridas lived alone in a hut on the banks of the river Yamuna. But no one could order or request him to sing. Haridas sang when he wanted to. So if Akbar wanted to hear Haridas, he would have to go and hide behind his hut and wait for the Guru to sing and listen secretly.
Tansen and Akbar reached the hut of the Haridas at two in the morning. At three, there was a sudden outburst of heavenly notes. Haridas was singing. His song was like the song of the birds, the murmur of the trees and the swaying of the wind. It was incredibly beautiful. He sang in ecstasy and his singing put his listeners into the same state of ecstasy. Akbar was hypnotized by the song of Haridas and was moved to tears. He even forgot that Tansen was there. After the Guru stopped singing, they moved from there back to the Royal Palace. Then Akbar asked Tansen: You are one of the best singers today but your Guru far surpasses you. How is it possible?
Tansen replied: O Great One – I sing for the Emperor of India but my Guru sings for the Emperor of the Universe!
When Tansen sang, a part of his attention was focussed on the appreciation and gifts which Akbar used to shower on him. Singing was his business. When Tansen sang, a part of him was always checking out the outcome or the results of his singing. Haridas was a great devotee of the Lord. When bhakti overwhelmed him and his entire being was shaken by it, grace poured into him and he sang in love and gratitude to the Lord. The overwhelming grace which was the result of bhakti and surrender flowed effortlessly through his singing and soaked his listeners and raised them to greater heights of consciousnesses with ease.
We need to learn this wonderful lesson on karma (action or work) and bhakti from Swami Haridas, the Guru of Tansen. We can sanctify our work and our lives by doing the work in praise of God or working for God. When the inner focus is on God, the work we do attains great heights of perfection and purity.
