Binodini Sings

Some bhajans (devotional songs) which Baba used to love.

Also see: Binodini's page

 

 

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1. Hymn to the Guru

2. Chakore Rakko Ji

3 Hey Nat Narayana

4 Govinda Jaya Jaya

Om Satchitananda Guru

 
 
 

#2 Mane Chakar Rakho Ji (Translation)
bhajan by
Mirabai, 1498-1547
 

Keep me as Thy servant, O Lord,
keep me as Thy servant.

 

I will remain Thy faithful servant,

I will plant Thy garden.

And every morning will rise early

To have Thy sight.

 

In the leafy lanes of Brindaban

I will sing the deeds of Govinda,

If I perform Thy service,

I will have Thy sight for a reward.

 

Thy remembrance will be my wages,

The spirit of devotion my fief,

For which I have longed during many a birth.

 

Beautiful Krishna with His peacock crown,

His yellow waist-cloth

And His necklace of glittering gems.

Mohan, the flute-player

Is grazing the cows in Brindaban.

 

I will make fresh green bowers for Him,

With borders between.

Robed in a scarlet sari,

I shall enjoy the sight of Shyam,

Mira’s Lord is the courtly Giridhara,

Her heart is in much perturbation.

I request to have the sight of the Lord

At midnight by the banks of the Yamuna,
the river of love.

 

Keep me as Thy servant,
O Lord, keep me as Thy servant.

 

(translation by A.J. Alston)

 


Notes: (from wikipedia)
Mirabai (मीराबाई) (1498-1547CE) (alternate orthographies: Meera; Mira; Meera Bai) was a Hindu mystical poetess whose compositions are popular throughout India. Mirabai is held to have been a disciple of Ravidas. Mirabai composed between 200 to 1300 prayerful songs called bhajans. These bhajans are in the bhakti tradition, and most passionately praised Lord Krishna. The extant version of her poems are in a Rajasthani dialect of Hindi and in Gujarati.

A Mirabai poem is traditionally called a pada, a term used by the 14th century preachers for a small spiritual song. This is usually composed in simple rhythms and carries a refrain within itself. Her collection of songs is called the Padavali. The typicality of Indian love poetry of those days was used by Mirabai but as an instrument to express her deepest emotions felt for her ishta-devata. Her typical medium of singing was Vraja-bhasha, a dialect of Hindi spoken in and around Vrindavan (the childhood home of Krishna), sometimes mixed with Rajasthani.

Also:

Mirabai: Mane Chakar Rakho Ji

This famous hymn has another version which was used in the 1947 Hindi film Meerabai. Mirabai operated in Rajasthan and her dialect of Hindi is more properly called a variety of Rajasthani. Because of Rajasthan's proximity to Gujarat, Rajasthani and Gujarati share many similar linguistic features, and Mirabai seemed equally at home in either language. However here is the more popular version, influenced by Gujarati.

माने चाकर राखो जी, गिरधारी लाल, चाकर राखो जी

चाकर रहसुं बाग लगासूं नित उठ दर्शन पासूं
बृंदावन की कुंज-गलिन में गोविंद लीला गासूं

चाकरी में दरसन पाऊं सुमिरन पाऊं बरची
भाव भगति जागीरी पाऊं तीनों बाता सरसी

मोर मुकुट पीतम्बर सोहे गले वैजंती माला
बृंदावनमें धेनु चरावे मोहन मुरलीवाला

ऊँचे-ऊँचे महल बनाऊँ बिच बिच राखूँ बारी
साँवरिया के दरशन पाऊँ पहर कुसुम्बी सारी

जोगी आया जोग करनकूं तप करने संयासी
हरि-भजन कूं साधू आये बृंदाबन के वासी

मीरा के प्रभू गहर गम्भीरा हृदे रहो जी धीरा
आधी रात प्रभू दर्सन दीन्हो जमुनाजी के तीरा

Translation:

Lord Girdhari (Krishna), make me your servant.
As your servant, I will plant a garden, and see you every day.
In the groves and lanes of Vrindavan, I will sing about you.