India should have a Cultural Embassy in Every Country?

The devotees during the Ganga Aarati at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh on September 15, 2018 witnessed a unique and fascinating musical presentation by an Israeli band. The band presented a prayer in Hebrew language in which the melody and tune resembled with the daily prayer of Shri Satyanarayana (Om Jai Jagdish hare….) recited by the Hindus everyday globally. The man behind this composition is Gil Ron Shama who has been propagating the musical similarities between Israel and Bharat by travelling around the world, studying drum rhythms and stories from tribes and local people. Organiser Chief News Coordinator Dr Pramod Kumar spoke to him in Rishikesh to know his idea behind such presentations. Excerpts: nHow did the idea of presenting common music sound of Hindus and Jews prayer click in your mind?

I was in Omkareshwar about 20 years ago. When the temples started afternoon prayer, I heard the words that suited the melody in our Hebrew prayer, which talks about the rivers going to the ocean. Hindu and Israeli cultures have deep connections. This singing of Hindu music in Hebrew words is very powerful in Israel. Many Israeli people, after serving in the army and fighting the wars, come to India to heal themselves. Out of eight million, about a lakh Israelis visit Bharat.

The first objective is to educate people about tolerance, peace and to share love. We want to connect to the people beyond religion through music. In the band, we have musicians from Iran, Turkey and Israel. The second objective is to generate awareness about the importance of water. We have organised tours from Jordan River to the Ganga, because we have the same problem of water in Israel. We have deserts, rivers are polluted and people do not pay attention to the cleanliness of rivers. In fact, all rivers are one and the planet is extension of the human body. But this truth is not practised today. We are trying to awaken the people through music. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati has played a key role in changing my thinking in this regard.

Since 1994, I have performed all over the world including Africa, Europe, Asia and the US combining the modern and ancient instruments. For me the whole world is a family.

Yes, Bharat has taught me a lot about humanity. All my spiritual waking up and my education about the human soul have been in Bharat only. The diversity in Bharat is celebrated everyday with happiness. I have travelled six years in Bharat from North to South, sometimes walking with Sadhus, singing with Babas, listening to the qawallis at Ajmer Sharief Dargah, visiting temples and Ashrams to hear the sacred music. I sing in my Hebrew language. I feel music has values like tuning, listening to each other, giving respect for the space, knowledge and talent that the society may adopt.

After Army service in Israel, I came to Bharat in search of peace. Then I found music in my life. I was a part of the first Palestinian-Israeli band ‘Sheva’. I have been manager of many big music festivals in Israel. During my travel to Bharat, I met the people associated with the Sufi traditions and also the Dalai Lama. I have translated some poems into Hebrew. I have played in movies also. My wife also lived in Bharat for four years and speaks better Hindi than I. We love Indian way of life. Compare to India, Israel is very tensed. We have wars and terror everyday. When one comes to Bharat, one gets inspired by the nature and the values of life. I am looking for sponsorship from any company in Bharat, which shares the same values that my band propagates.

I have been in so many wars. That battle was important, but we still face the wars everyday. Israel is our homeland. We are waiting and praying that our neighbour accept the truth. Bharat and Israel have very deep historical connections and both the countries have helped each other.

Hindu is a flexible culture. No Bharatiya goes to other lands to tell not to perform puja like this or in that way. But it is not with the other cultures. Bharat can be a good teacher of humanity, tolerance, accepting each other, flexibility for the entire world. This message has changed my DNA of thinking.

The first experience was the mess that I saw on the airport. When one comes out of the airport, one gets scared because it looks dirty. But day-by-day as the heart opens, one sees beyond the eyes. Eyes see banana peels, dirt and poor men but after a few days one realises the cultural beauty and richness.

Music. The Bharatiya raga system is the most developed system in the world. I was taking part in the war at Ghaza witnessing blood and people hunting each other. I just wanted to go to a peaceful place. I came here and this country swallowed me. It changed my DNA of thinking and stopped me to think about God. In the West, we think of God, but here people live God. Here, I feel at home. I take many meaningful messages to Israel like healthy life, yoga. Everyone in the world should learn and practise yoga. Not Maths or Science, yoga is the first thing that a child should learn. We should also learn how to breathe, eat, live a bhakti and satvic life and also disease-free life. Bharat should have a cultural embassy in every country. She should sell her culture all over the world. The disturbance in Kashmir is not a war. In Israel, people cannot sleep because of war and terrorist attacks.

You have mobilised a group of people from different cultures and regions to propagate an idea of co-existence.

It is a conflict. I do not want that the people must accept what I say. If they take it, welcome, if they don’t, no problem. I am on the move like a sadhu.

Because I love India, many things disturb me—tension between religions, wide gap in rich and poor and the hypocrisy of some political leaders towards Israel, etc. Bharatiya politicians are afraid of Iran. Fact is that if we Israelis lose the war, the next target is Bharat. We are eight millions, you are one and a half billion. Those radicals want to swallow Bharat. Bharat and Israel should be one.

It is for the first time he has broken that hypocrisy. Although many people do not like him, they say he is a nationalist. This is the age of crazy people. I feel the people with out of the box vision will change the world. If the hypocrites have their way, the world will get destroyed. Modiji has taken some courageous decisions. Relations between Bharat and Israel are in an important phase. I know it sounds crazy. But Bharat and Israel connections are important for the future of the humanity. Both the nations are ancient. In fact, we are grandmother of humanity. Every Bharatiya prays for peace everywhere — Om Shanti…. Instead of weapons, we should sell this to the world. Bharat is a very wise place. The West doesn’t know. They are still baby. Bharat is the mother of the world. Jews are also very tolerant. We don’t want war, but we are powerful to resist any onslaught on our women and children. We have to fight for our defence. But we wish and pray for peace in the entire world. Hope, this day will come when people will practice their faith peacefully!