Passage 5

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In plain words

The Upaniṣad has been calling that water itself nāra. Nāramulu + nayanamu = Nārāyaṇamu. We must offer the water called nāra to Nārāyaṇa through the eyes. Ordinarily, tears should not come to your eyes. When should they come? Tears should come when you make the offering to Nārāyaṇa.

Bhāratam is the blend of bhāva, rāga and tāla

A divine world lies contained within humanness. That itself is ‘Ahaṃ brahmāsmi’, ‘Tattvamasi’, ‘Prajñānaṃ brahma’, ‘Ayamātma brahma’; that itself is the turīya state. That is, ‘I am Atma, I am Brahma’. Only when we ceaselessly remember such a feeling is it ‘Brahmavit brahmaivabhavati’: he himself turns into Brahman. The body is only the kṣetra. But the kṣetrajña is within. Without the temple there is no God. A wire without current, a crop without water, a school without a teacher, a temple without God: what use are they? In the world we must make our offering to the Paramātma with a sweet feeling. This is true prayer. It is not something made of rāga and tāla. When they sing ‘Rāmā! Rāmā!’, this fellow is checking the pitch for the song that comes next. There are two kinds, ‘kīrtanaṃ and saṅkīrtanaṃ’. In kīrtana there is only self-interest. They sing those kīrtanas for the sake of their own personal name and fame, for the sake of honours. They have no need of feeling at all. It is enough if śruti, laya and rāga come together. But saṅkīrtana is not like that; it gives everyone joy of heart. How? Do not mind your voice. Do not have the feeling that ten people are listening. Sing freely, with full Prema. When you sing with that Prema for God, rāga and tāla come together of themselves and it is all in good tune. The very state of our country is like that. In its very name, Bhārata is joined in that way with śruti, laya and rāga. In the name ‘Bhārata’, bhā is bhāva, ra is rāga, ta is tāla. ‘Bhāratam is the blend of bhāva, rāga and tāla,’ they said. All the doings of the people of Bhārata are joined with bhāva, rāga and tāla.