Whe Swami Haridas, right, with Tansen, center, and Akbar, left, at Vrindavana (1700 AD - 17 60 CE) Artist unknown
Akbar and Tansen reached Swami Haridas’s home, they found him sitting
outside, silent, with his musical instruments beside him. Tansen
requested Akbar to wait while he himself started singing. After a while,
he deliberately made a mistake, at which Swami Haridas said benignly,
“Don’t sing like this, Tansen.” Then Swami Haridas began to sing,
casting a magic spell all around. Akbar was in a trance, transported to a
state of spiritual bliss, broken only by the cessation of the melody.
The emperor left for his palace but the song haunted him throughout the
journey.
Akbar
asked Tansen: “Why don’t you sing as well as Haridas does?” Tansen
folded his hands and said, “Your Lordship! Between Guru Haridas and me
there is a vast difference. I sing for my king while he sings for the
Lord of the universe. He is a musician of a much higher court.” On
hearing this profound truth, Akbar fell silent.
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