A Musical Metaphor for Unity
by Arun Balaraman
Being a Sai Center officer has been the highest honor and the most incredible experience of my life. Swami taught us so much and was constantly guiding the officers. Swami would prompt us with key insights that provided needed clarity. Here is one such example.
Unity of Center officers and center members (using Music metaphor): Swami has always insisted on the importance of unity, whether it be among the officers or among center members. The key to this is alignment with Swami and with the values that He has taught us. When I was asked to share my learnings as a center officer with the new officer team, Swami gave this insight during my morning prayers. It uses the musical notes as a metaphor to explain unity.
In the Indian classical music tradition, the artist chooses the scale or Shruthi for their offering. This can be scales like C, D, G, etc. The artist then aligns with the 3 notes in the scale: Sa, Pa and Sa, to ensure constant and perfect alignment and resonance with that scale.
Lower Sa - Alignment of each officer with Swami: The lower Sa is the equivalent of each of the officers needing to be in constant connection to Swami all the time, and to be aligned with His teachings. This is the equivalent of having Swami as our pilot. It is like the Aadhaara (foundational) note that a musician must be aligned with. We each must be checking and ensuring that we are in sync with Swami and His teachings in every thought, word, and deed throughout the entire day.
Pa - Unity of the Officer team: After having aligned with Swami individually as in the lower Sa note, then all center officers come together to align in perfect unity as a team at the Pa note. Here, the officers come together by following the same principles and guidelines of the organization. More importantly, the officers are now in complete unity and harmony, and are aligned as one in decision making.
Upper Sa - Unity with the Center members: After having aligned with Swami and with the center officer team, like the Lower Sa and Pa notes, the officers can then come together and align with the rest of the members of the center at the Upper Sa note. When this happens, there will be alignment and unity starting at the individual level, then proceeding to the level of the team of officers and continuing out to the center membership.
As we go from the Lower Sa to Pa, and then to Upper Sa, aligning with more and more people, the amplitude of the positive vibrations from the unity grows exponentially, having a larger impact on members of the center, the larger community, and the world. Every activity of the center and its members becomes a divine offering, spreading love, positive vibrations, and Swami's blessings to the world around us.