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Swami Haridas has a highly significant place in the music of North
India, for the era in which he lived was an extremely active and
productive one. Therefore, Haridas found a fecund environment to give
of his best to society. He, perhaps, may not be considered a pioneer
in creating new forms of music, but was certainly a strong force in
the spread of dhrupad, particularly.
Near the brija land of Mathura and Brindavan , at Gwalior, Rajan Man Singh Tomar, one of the most respected and generous patrons of
dhrupad, reigned for nearly three decades from 1486 A.D. Under his
enlightened support, Haridas found a creative atmosphere for growth
and his efforts were the cause of the production of many songs in
the brij dialect, modelled on those of Vidyapati. In his court were
a galaxy of musicians such as Bakshu, Bhanu and Baiju and he was
eulogised by Tansen as one of his patrons.
The details of Haridas's life are not well known. There are two schools
of thought. According to one, he was born in 1480 A.D. in Rajpur,
near Brindavan. His father's name was Gangadhar and his mother's
Chitra Devi. At the age of twenty-five the youth was initiated into
sanyasa by one Asudhir, belonging to the Nimbarka tradition. Haridasis said to have died in 1575 A.D. The second school holds that
Haridas' father was a Saraswat brahmin from Multan. Ganga Devi was
his mother. The family migrated to a village called Khairwali Sarak,
near Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Haridas was born there in 1512 A.D. and in his memory the place is now called Haridaspur. At the age of twenty-
five the young man became a sanyasi and left his mortal coil in 1607 A.D.
In any case, the significant fact was that from a very young age
Haridas was drawn to a life of a recluse and became a sanyasi. He
shifted his residence to Brindavan, the playground of the Immortal
Cowherd and his love Radha. There he built his asram (hermitage)
in Nidhuvan and sang his songs of the love of Radha-Krishna.
Swami Haridas' compositions may strictly be classed as Vishnupadas,
that is, songs in praise of Lord Vishnu (Lord Krishna). But even his
prabhandas which do not refer to Krishna have come to be known as
Vishnupadas, perhaps because of the mystic source of his music; but
they are musically constructed like dhrupads. He is also said to have
comstructed tirvats, ragamalas and such other forms. There are about128 songs attributed to him, of which eighteen are philosophical and a hundred and ten devotional. The former are known as Siddhanta pada and the latter as Keli mala.
Haridas was deeply learned and widely acquainted with the music of his
days. He describes how Radha and Krishna are sporting, "Two beams of
light are playing. Unique are their dance and music. Ragas and raginis of heavenly beauty are born. The two have sunk themselves in the oceanof raga". Besides such descriptions, mention is found in his works
of stringed instruments like kinnari, aghouti, of drums such as mridanga, daff. He also talks of ragas like Kedara, Gouri, Malhar and Vasant.
The swami was not only a great musician but also a great teacher. The
best known of his pupils was Tansen, one of the 'nine gems` of Akbar's
court. Tansen's tutelage with Swami Haridas is still a matter of
tradition and popular belief; there is no incontrovertible proof that
this was a fact. Also, neither Tansen's life nor his style of language
show the religious depth of his master, if he did learn with Haridas
at all. There is also a popular account that the renowned dhrupad singer
and composer, Baiju, was a contemporary of Tansen and a student of the
swami. This, however, is doubtful.
The respect that Swami Haridas has received is not merely because
of his musical genius, but also due to the literary beauty and
simplicity of his dhrupads. More than anything else his music and
language were inspired by the mystic experience of bhakti and he is
considered as one of the leading figures in the bhakti movement and
music.
Swami Haridas belonged to the tradition of madhura bhakti - Adoration
expressed in erotic terms. It is said that he was deeply affected
by the teachings of the Andhra philosopher and bhakta, Nimbarka (13th century), who sojourned in the North, spreading the gospel of Radha-Krishna love. He propounded the philosophy of bheda-abheda: "the simultaneous difference and non-difference". But Haridas' theology goes furtherand embraces not merely the Love of Krishna and Radha but also the
witnessing of the Love, a state of mind called rasa . This aspect of
rasa, is the theme of all his songs and teachings. In such an ecstatic
condition of trance he sings of the play of Krishna among the bowers
of Brindavan; that is why his Lord is known as Kunj bihari (kunj =
bower, bihari = one who wanders). More than Krishna, Radha was the
central personality of all his poems. He says, "Who knows of the
quality of things more than Radha; if anyone has any knowledge at all,
it is by her grace. None knows the beauty of raga, tala and dance, as
Radha does".
Swami Haridas began the Haridasi school of mysticism and had many
spiritual disciples. The better known ones were Vitthal, Vipul, Viharin Deva, Krishna Das who fostered his tradition of devotional music. Themain feature of this was that it was congregational. Groups of devoteescame together and sang of the Lord of Brindavan. In the brij district this congregation is called samaj and is like the sankeertan of Bengal and the bhajani gosti of South India.
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