Swami Haridas

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Biography

The details of Haridas's life are not well known. According to one school of thought he was born in 1480 in Rajpur, near Brindavan. His father's name was Gangadhar and his mother's name was Chitra Devi. In this version of his life story Haridas is said to have died in 1575. A second school holds that Haridas's father was a Saraswat Brahmin from Multan and that his mother's name was Ganga Devi. The family migrated to a village called Khairwali Sarak, near Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. Haridas was born there in 1512 and the village is now called Haridaspur in his honor. This school holds that he died in 1607.

Swami Haridasa spent some time at the Gwalior court of Raja Mansingh Tomar, whose patronage of Hindustani classical music, and particularly the dhrupad style, left an indelible mark in the period c. 1485-1510. In Tomar's court were a galaxy of musicians such as Bhanu and Baiju Bawra and he was eulogised by Tansen. Haridas was in his element at the court, and composed a large number of songs in Brij Bhasha and Hindi. He was deeply learned and widely acquainted with the music of his time. Mention is found in his works of stringed instruments such as the kinnari and aghouti, and of drums such as the mridanga and daff. He mentions the "ragas" of Kedara, Gouri, Malhar and Vasant. Swami Haridas is said to have been the teacher of Tansen, one of the 'nine gems` of Akbar's court, and the renowned dhrupad singer and composer Baiju. This, however, is doubtful.

He later shifted his residence to Vrindavan, the playground of the Immortal Cowherd Krishna and his lover Radha. There he built his "ashram" (hermitage) in Nidhivan and sang his songs of the love of Radha-Krishna. Following the example of Swami Shribhatta, Haridas continued to praise the Lord until the Lord himself manifested. Swami Haridas' spiritual disciples included Vitthal and Krishna Das who fostered his tradition of devotional music. Groups ("samaj", like the "sankeertan" of Bengal and the "bhajani gosti" of south India) of devotees came together and sang of the Lord of Vrindavan.

His samadhi (tomb) is still in Seva Kunj, Vrindavan. He is sometimes said to have been the incarnation of Lalita Sakhi, the legendary friend who consoled Radha in her lovelorn state.

ongs of Swami Haridas

Swami Haridas's compositions may be classed as Vishnupadas. Even his "prabhandas" that do not refer to Krishna have come to be known as Vishnupadas, perhaps because of the mystic source of his music but also because they are musically constructed in a manner similar to dhrupads. He is also said to have written "tirvats", "ragamalas" and other forms. There are about 128 songs attributed to him, of which eighteen are philosophical ("siddhanta pada") and a hundred and ten devotional ("keli mala").

He describes Radha and Krishna's sporting beautifully:

"Two beams of light are playing -"
"Unique their dance and music."
"Ragas and raginis of heavenly beauty are born,"
"The two have sunk themselves in the ocean of raga."

Swami Haridas belonged to the tradition of "madhura bhakti" - Adoration expressed in conjugal imagery. Haridas's theology embraces not merely the Love of Krishna and Radha but also the witnessing of the Love, a state of mind called rasa . In an ecstatic condition of trance he sings of the play of Krishna among the bowers of Vrindavan. 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."

References

ee also

* Bhakti movement
* Music of India
* Hindustani classical music
* Achintya Bheda Abheda

External links

* [https://www.bihariji.org Bankey Bhihari Temple Website]
* [http://www.kamat.com/explore/?tag=postal+stamp&PageNo=4 Postage stamp on Swami Haridas]