The Song That Opened a Mission
‘Manasā Bhajare’ and the ‘Avatar Declaration’ of 20 October 1940
Centenary Conclusion Series 2026 – Article 2
Avatar Declaration Day – 86 years on, in the year of His Centenary
“He did not begin with a sermon. He began with a song”
Where the Song Still Lives
When devotees gather for bhajans – in a home in Auckland, a hall in Fiji, or the mandir at Prasanthi Nilayam – one song carries a history unlike any other. As its first notes rise, Manasā Bhajare Guru Charaṇam, a hush, settles over the room. Few in the gathering may pause to think about it, but they are singing the very first teaching of the Avatar, given 86 years ago this October.
To understand why this simple bhajan matters so much, we must return to a small town in Andhra Pradesh, and to a remarkable year in the life of a schoolboy.
1940 – A Year of Revelation
The year 1940 unfolded in stages. On 23 May 1940, young Sathyanarayana Raju first announced to His family that He was Sai Baba—a statement that bewildered those who loved Him. Months of questioning, anxiety and wonder followed.
Then, on the morning of 20 October 1940, in Uravakonda, where He was living with His elder brother and attending school, the thirteen-year-old set aside His schoolbooks and spoke with an authority no one could mistake:
“I am no longer your Sathya. I am Sai.My devotees are calling Me.I have My work. I do not belong to you.”
If May had been the ‘Announcement’, October was the ‘Departure’. From that morning, the boy who had belonged to one family began to belong to the world. We remember this day as Avatar Declaration Day.
Not a Sermon, but a Song
What did the Avatar do first, having declared His identity? He did not deliver a discourse or lay down rules. He left the house, and as people gathered around Him, He sang – and taught them to sing with Him:
“Manasā Bhajare Guru Charaṇam,Dustara Bhava Sāgara Taraṇam”
(O mind, worship the feet of the Guru,which carry you across the ocean of worldly existence, so hard to cross.)
In choosing a song over a sermon, Swami revealed something about His whole mission. Truth would be offered not only to the intellect but also to the heart—through melody, through the Name, and through the joy of singing together.
Two Lines, Word by Word
The bhajan is short enough to learn in a minute,
yet deep enough for a lifetime.
Each word carries meaning:
Manasā – “O mind.” The song begins by speaking to the mind itself, the one that wanders, worries and desires.
Bhajo re – “worship,” “sing,” “take refuge.” Bhaja shares its root with bhakti, devotion.
Guru Charaṇam – “the feet of the Guru,” the traditional symbol of humility, surrender and grace.
Dustara – “hard to cross”, that which cannot be crossed by one’s own strength alone.
Bhava Sāgara – “the ocean of becoming,” the endless cycle of birth, desire and sorrow we call samsara.
Taraṇam – “that which ferries across,” the boat that takes us to the farther shore.
Read together, the two lines hold the whole spiritual path: the problem (a restless mind adrift on a vast ocean), the remedy (devotion and surrender), and the means (the grace of the Guru). The first song of the Avatar was, in effect, the entire teaching in miniature.
What the Scriptures Say
Swami’s first bhajan stands in an ancient line. The Upanishads and the Gita repeatedly teach that the highest knowledge is reached through the Guru.
The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) instructs the sincere seeker:
“तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् ॥”
Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
“To know That, let him approach, with humility and offering in hand, a Guru who is learned in the scriptures and established in Brahman.”(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12)
Lord Krishna gives the same counsel to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (4.34):
“तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥”
Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā,upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
“Learn That by humble reverence, by sincere enquiry and by service. The wise, who have seen the Truth, will teach you that knowledge.”(Bhagavad Gita 4.34)
And the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.3.14) sounds a call to wake up, while warning how difficult the path is:
“उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति ॥”
Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata,kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathas tat kavayo vadanti
“Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones and learn. Like the sharp edge of a razor, hard to cross, is that path – so say the wise.”(Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14)
The Kaṭha speaks of a path duratyayā, hard to cross; the bhajan speaks of an ocean dustara, hard to cross. Where the Upanishad warns, the Avatar reassures: hold to the Guru’s feet, and what seems impossible becomes possible.
The Mission He Later Described
Seven years after that October morning, on 25 May 1947, Swami wrote a letter to His elder brother, Seshama Raju, explaining the work He had come to do. Among its lines is this simple statement of purpose: “I have a Task: To foster all mankind and ensure for all of them lives full of Ananda.” (Ref: Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, Part 1)
The declaration of 1940 said, “My devotees are calling Me” The letter of 1947 shows how wide that call was – not one family, not one town, but all mankind.
Keeping 20 October in Our Own Lives
Avatar Declaration Day need not remain only a date in history. Three simple practices can make it a living:
Sing the first song with its meaning. Before singing Manasā Bhajare, read the word-by-word meaning above, and let each word land in the heart.
Sit in silence. Spend a few minutes quietly offering the restless mind at the Guru’s feet – the very practice the bhajan teaches.
Do one act of seva. Swami’s mission was to foster all mankind. One act of selfless service on this day continues that mission in our own small way.
Conclusion – The Path in Two Lines
Eighty-six years ago, in the year He turned fourteen, a schoolboy laid down His books and gave the world a declaration and a song. The declaration told us who had come; the song told us how to reach Him. As we celebrate His Centenary, both remain as fresh as on that morning in Uravakonda.
May every time we sing Manasā Bhajare Guru Charaṇam be a small Avatar Declaration Day of our own – the day the mind turns, at last, towards the Guru’s feet.
A schoolboy laid His books asideAnd opened wide the door of time;No thunder spoke, no trumpet cried –The Lord came singing, soft, sublime.
“O mind,” He sang, “the Guru’s feetWill bear you past the boundless sea.”Two simple lines, the path complete:Hold fast, O mind, and be set free.
— Ravinder Grover
(This pen did not write; it was moved by the Hand that writes destinies.)
Sri Sathya Sai Global Council, New Zealand
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