About Bhaja Govindam
A popular story describes the circumstances in which this great poem burst forth from the lips of Sankara. It is said that once in Banaras when he, together with his fourteen disciples, was going along on his daily rounds, he overheard a very old Pundit cramming Panini’s grammar rules. Sankara was touched with pity at the ignorance and folly of the man wasting away the most precious ‘dusk hours’ of his life for a mere intellectual accomplishment instead of spending them in contemplation on the Lord, praying for spiritual enlightenment and for release from the bondage of Samsara. He knew that this was not the state of that particular old man alone, but was the general state of most of the men. Men waste and while away their lives in many (or most) futile ways, groveling in the mire of earthly attachments, forgetting God who is the only goal of life. In compassion for man’s plight he burst forth into these stanzas famous as “Moha Mudgara”, now popularly known by the refrain of the song which is “Bhaja Govindam”.
“Oh Mudha! Oh, ignoramus! Grammar rules ( in fact all your secular learning) will not come to your rescue when death knocks to snatch you away. Instead of wasting away the precious span of your life in a futile manner, turn to seek Govinda, who alone can save you from the jaws of life and death”.
Bhaja Govindam is one of the minor compositions of Sankara compared to his monumental works called Bhashyas, Commentaries on Indian Scriptures. Bhaja Govindam along with “Atma Bodha” etc., comes under the category of Prakarana Granthas, introductory manual for spiritual studies. They are like primers, explaining the philosophical terms etc for the spiritual initiates. The elementary spiritual truths are brought to the fore in these booklets and make man think, “Ah this is life! I Must seek escape from this prison-hole and may God guide and help me”. Man is thus drawn out of the miry bylanes of life in which he is stuck up and put onto the royal road of spirituality, on the pathway to God!
During the “Summer Course in Indian Culture and Spirituality” for students in the year 1973 at Brindavan, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba took up the subject of Bhaja Govindam for His divine discourses in the evening. He sang sixteen of the Bhaja Govindam Stanzas rendering them in Telugu in His own unique, mellifluous and sweet way. His discourses explained the subject of Bhaja Govindam in an exquisite manner, as it were Sankara himself elaborating and explaining the verses and giving the depth of their meanings. Therefore it is advisable that the best use is made of the book, “Summer Showers in Brindavan 1973” containing Baba’s discourses, for the study of this subject. Baba explained the purport of the song exhorting ‘Oh, Mudhamati! Become Muktimati and seek Govinda the Lord”
The Sixteen Stanzas selected by Baba for His discourses and elaboration are as under (The Gurus are required to refer to the “Summer Showers in Brindavan – 1973 for detailed explanations)
[SSB- 1973 is available under the References Tab]