One day Akbar asked Tansen, "You are a magnificent singer, who is your teacher? Who could be this great person to instil such passion and sweetness to your voice? I want to meet your teacher, bring him to me." Tansen said "My Guruji is Swami Haridas, who dwells deep in the forest and lives all by himself". "He will not leave the forest and he obeys no one except Almighty God & I am afraid to say not even you sir, your majesty"

Akbar grew angry "I will have him beheaded if he refuses to come before me"
Tansen replied "He is a man of God and he fears nothing not even death. If your majesty wishes to see him then your Majesty will have to go to him"
Akbar was fascinated. He felt compelled to meet Swami Haridas. Akbar ordered his royal retinue to make ready for the march to the forest. Tansen hurriedly intervened. "Your majesty, if my Guru ji sees so many people he will definitely not meet you."We must go alone and meet him early in the morning at the ambrosial time (about 4 am).

Akbar became more curious & agreed to all of Tansens's suggestions.
The following early morning they went to the forest. Leaving the guards at the forest edge they rode on alone. They dismounted and waited at a small distance from where they could spy and eavesdrop on a small hut. In a short while they heard the most fantastic and melodious songs. The Swamiji had arisen and started his bathing and recitation of his prayers. He sang hymns with such divine devotion that Akbar was captivated.

After a few enthralling hours the hermit felt silent having begun his meditation. Both reluctantly rode back home. On his return the emperor summoned Tansen & said " You are marvellous, but tell me, when you are your Guruji's student, why can your voice not evoke the same feeling within me?"

Tansen bowed his head and said " Your majesty, I sing for your pleasure. I seek rewards and gifts from you. My song and poems are corrupted by the need for your appreciation. My teacher seeks no gain. He is filled with emotion expressed in his singing for his own pleasure and the praise of God. His song is true reflection of the overflowing love and devotion.”

The emperor understood and felt humbled and gifted Tansen handsomely for a valuable ‘lesson’, which is, “The stream gurgles musically, the birds sing and chirp melodiously because they are happy. They all do this because it is their nature & are happy; & without caring for who will listen or appreciate them. We human beings can also be happy if we choose to.

However we often sacrifice our happiness by constantly seeking approval from others for our actions and even our thoughts. If our actions benefit others and make us happy, we should pursue them. We should sing in devotion if it makes us happy, write poetry and blogs because they allow us to reach into the depths of our intellect and soul. We should not pollute our thoughts for receiving appreciation from others, but must always evaluate them if it would have our Guru’s approval. This is True surrender, which should be our New Year Resolution.