Aurangabad, January 2016: The song started with a meditative Tibetan bowl
sounds. Mandra sthayi (low pitch) aalap by male singers in the background.. Soothing
yet powerful female voice was singing Appo Deepo Bhava!! Appo Deepo Bhava!! The
whole mood was so enchanting. Deep. Metaphysical. By the end of the dance
rehearsal, we all were into tears out of Brahmananda (Ecstasy). Then I asked Parwati Didi[1]
for the meaning of Appo Deepo Bhava. She said that it was said by Buddha to his
disciple as “Be the light unto yourself”.
How thoughtful?
You should be your own light. Often we wait for somebody else to come and mend our
lives. We want somebody else to help, somebody else as moral and financial
support, somebody to show pity on us and somebody to complete our lives. In this process of urge to validate ourselves
by somebody else, we forget our worth. We think we are successful if the
society approves our success. We are happy at our achievements if somebody
praises us. We are not self content, self reliant and self made. We import our
feelings and prestige from others’ views and opinions. The more we become aware of ourselves, the
lesser we are concerned about others’ speculations and the happier we would become.
Buddha says – “Go within. There is
nowhere else to go.” Let us go within, explore and purify our hearts so as to
see a beautiful world with our beautiful hearts. After all, world is the exact
reflection of our own thoughts. Let us become our own light. APPO DEEPO BHAVA!!
[1]
Parwati Datta is a well renowned Kathak and Odissi Dancer and the founder of
Mahagami Gurukul in Aurangabad. I am glad to be part of her production “Panchatattva”
and Appo deepo Bhava is the concluding piece in the production.
Nice message..
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