Learn How To Play The Vaja

[Guru_Da_Chella]

Lack of flow? Tell that to:

http://www.sikhroots.com/audio/Keertani%20...%2027-03-04.mp3

that vaja doesn't come close to the string instruments and it was flattering to her voice, not like a string instrument would have been.

[Singhstah]

kirtan isnt like any other music, kirtan is about the bani and the tune is just something to push it into your soul. Its Mahraj's bani which affects you, not the music.

I remember bhai jeevan singh ji said something like the bani is the medicine, the music is just the sugar coating. So lets not get too caught up on the tune and instrument. Any kirtan which we can all sing along to and be immersed in is the best kirtan.

[Guru_Da_Chella]

hmm ok, lets do kirtan to bagpipes ))))

[V]

kirtan isnt like any other music, kirtan is about the bani and the tune is just something to push it into your soul. Its Mahraj's bani which affects you, not the music.

I remember bhai jeevan singh ji said something like the bani is the medicine, the music is just the sugar coating. So lets not get too caught up on the tune and instrument. Any kirtan which we can all sing along to and be immersed in is the best kirtan.

Singhstah, that is true. Kirtan done in anyway is great.

However lets make sure we do not forget that there is, after all, the name of a raag before each shabad. It was put there for a reason, not because the Gurus had some spare time so they though "naah, you know what, I can't be bothered to compose any more, lets put some raags and make ourselves look smart."

There was a reason for putting the name of the raag there. There was a point behind it. It has to do with the theme of the shabad. The EMOTION of the shabad. The FEELING you're meant to get. You won't get the feeling of bairag when singin the shabad from Guari Bairagan in freestyle kirtan. Which is, really, your loss. The Guru gave us music as a tool, just like he gave us kes as a tool to prosper in our spirituality, he gave us sangeet, saaj, raag, taal (and partaal) for a reason. There was an important reason for doing that. Today the Khalsa has lost his discipline in doing the hard stuff, and only chooses to do the simple things. Simple things are important, but are we the kind of Sikhs who can't be bothered to make an effort to sing it the way they intended it to?

In Gurmat Sangeet, where Shabads are sung in the appropreate raag, the main focus is on the bani. The raag is an "extra." It's the masala in the subji :D Guru Sahib told us that it's "shabad Pardan" where the word controls the singing, not the raag itself. The focus is always on the shabad. However, the raag cannot be forgotten, since our Gurus choose to put it there. It must thus be of great importance...

If we ignore his hukams, because we think it's "nicer" and easier to do it in some other way, then where did our discipline go? We did our nyarapan go? Is the Khalsa one who takes the easy way out?

[Princess]

kirtan isnt like any other music, kirtan is about the bani and the tune is just something to push it into your soul. Its Mahraj's bani which affects you, not the music.

I remember bhai jeevan singh ji said something like the bani is the medicine, the music is just the sugar coating. So lets not get too caught up on the tune and instrument. Any kirtan which we can all sing along to and be immersed in is the best kirtan.

well said

[japmans]

you simply can't ignore gurmat sangeet and the fact that raags are used in the composition of Ilaahi Gurbaani.

But if you don't know raag and such, you're left to the choices of "don't do keertan at all" or "do it without the blessing of the raag in which it was originally composed"... certainly you should choose the latter

that doesn't mean it's a free pass to ignore what the original method was. It means for now... start trying to learn it, but in the interim, do what you need to do.

[Laadli Fauj]

^awesome post japman

[Princess]

If you don't know how to read, then I guess you'll miss out on the message unless you learn the story a different through a different method. Then after you've learnt the lesson of the story you can strive to learn how to read to deeper your understanding ...

So yeh ... what you said makes sense

[Harsimrat Singh]

I like singhstah bhaji's idea of it, but then again, we shouldn't forget the way our Gurus did kirtan. Vaja is good as well but I don't think we should forget the way our Gurus performed kirtan........

[Khaalis]

Vajaa is a 2ndry issue.

The core issue is Maryada. Kirtan maryada is black and white, unlike many other maryada which vary from jathaa to jathaa, because kirtan maryada is clearly stated in Gurbanis Sirlek.

Raag is not the 'sugar coating' it is the utensil used to deliver the shabd. We can deliver the shabd with a stoneage tool or we can use that utensil which has been perfectly designed and gifted to us from our Satguru.

Its clear here, that most people do not know the 1st thing about raag, yet feel compelled to share their expert opinions. Raag is not a 'tune', its a sentiment driven scientific framework which the Guru Arjun Dev Ji incorporated and used to structure the whole of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The casual passing mention ro raag is positvely offensive to the gigantic effort our 5th Master made to provide the most beautiful and complimentary platform for delivering Gurshabd - luckily the educated Sikh masses are making an excellent effort to do away with the devolved kirtan which has been prevalent in the last 4 decades and are paying top raagis and academics like Dr Gurnaam Singh ji to come and teach them - the Boston Sikh community of US is an excellent example of a progressive, educated and tradition valuing Sikh community. There are many more like them appearing all over the world thanks to the great educative efforts of many real Raagis.

The most important aspect of kirtan is shabd, goes without saying, because with Shabd being pardhaan it is not kirtan - be it in a Sufi Pirs Kabar, Vaishnaav Mandhir or Gurdvaara. Without Shabd it is simply Shaastri or Lok Sangeet.

The Raag is a hukum, the saaj is a rvaaj, which is why saaj is not as important as hukum. Using Guru Jis saaj is simply a matter of prem between a son (Sikh) and his father (Guru) whereby the son wants to preserve his fathers wisdom and customs.

The shame is that it has taken until know for the Sikhs to recognise the horrible noise of and limited ability of the harmonium. The western elites, even though they invented it, nipped it in the bud - leaving only the Eastern European begger Gypsies to adopt it due to its cheap availability as a failed invention.

Now the amazing thing is that these people, being the clever strategists they are - somehow persuaded the North Indians to give up their highly advanced saaj and down grade them to a primitive sounding vaaja. Given, it is easy to maintain and play, but since when has 'ease' and shortcut culture been the norm in Sikhi? The funny thing is that saaj and raag are not actually difficult to learn, this is simply a myth that has been propogated for filmi/bhangra/vaaja kirtan apologists.

The South Indians fared better than us, they snubbed the Vaaja, but adopted the 'Indian' influenced and excellent violin. They even turned it upside down and played it like a sarangi, taking on manufacturing and building it to Shaastri Saptak/Shruti design - therefore not sacrificing any element of their beautifully preserved ancient Indian kirtan culture (unlike North India). This is an example of real and constructuve evolution, the same as our Gurus incorporation of Islamic saaj and raags in kirtan i.e. Rabaab and Raag Suhi etc).