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Intimacy ... The Way of the Sikh:
Letter & Spirit # 21
YUKTANAND SINGH
Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’
PART XII
Waheguru (God) is our friend. Whatever happens, He alone does it, and everything He does is for our welfare.
This axiom is at the helm of the path of Guru Nanak.
Our progress depends upon accepting this truth.
We
need to establish an intimate relationship, a personal relationship
with Waheguru. We need to be on guard that we do not lose it under the
influence of the ego that is strengthened even by various spiritual
practices.
This relationship with our friend is developed by
remembering (simran of) His presence, and remaining in a state of prayer
and gratitude.
Gurbani says: “Whatever my friend does, I accept.
My friend's deeds are the most appropriate. The only support I have
within my heart is that, whatever anyone does, it is my friend who is
doing it” [GGS:187.17].
Whatever Waheguru does is good. This
conviction needs to be established in us. Then, even when we make
mistakes, He can change the outcome into something good.
Once,
someone was searching for a job. He filled an application and was on his
way to deliver it to the personnel officer. A priest’s house was on his
way. In a hurry, he tried to cut through his yard. The priest’s
gardener mistook him for a thief and caught him. This man was quite
perturbed.
The gardener produced him in front of the priest. The
priest carefully listened to his tale. He felt sorry for him and said,
“I know this officer very well. Let me give you a letter of
introduction. I am certain that with my letter you will get that job.”
Thus he was hired for that job. His mistake happened to be for his
benefit.
First, our master strips us naked and then, the beauty
of our soul melts His heart. He takes us into a tight embrace and never
lets go. Bhai Sahib has said this beautifully in his poem:
“O, the breath of ‘me’ and ‘mine’
Be distant from it sometime
Peel off the borrowed garbs
Shine your own shade sublime
Shining in your own beauty
May allure your beloved someday
And if you are ever embraced
Never let go till the end of time”
From ‘Mere Sa-ee-aa(n) Jio” (To My Beloved)
Karam
(destiny / fruit of our acts) cannot be erased. But the writer of our
destiny can cross them out. We need to kiss the hands that can doodle
over our record. Bhai Sahib has expressed this in a poem:
“It is true that no one can erase destiny
But the pen of its writer can draw over it
Kiss the hands of the writer who holds the pen
Then letters of destiny can turn into doodles”
We
need to love Waheguru by developing an intimate relationship with Him.
This is the real task. Religion, ritual, etc., are secondary. As our
friend Waheguru (God) protects us and bestows us with peace and
fulfillment.
But often, we have to endure the fruits of our past
acts. Sometimes a pain is for our benefit and sometimes it is due to bad
past karam (acts).
A devotee once fell ill. God Himself came
disguised as his caretaker and took care of him during his illness. The
bhagat had to endure sickness due to his past karam, but God took care
of him during his pain.
“My Guru is with me, always near at hand …”
But this is true if … I repeat the simran that “I cherish Him in my heart at all moments” GGS:394.3].
* * * * *
One
day while sitting in the park during a muggy afternoon in New Delhi,
Bhai Sahib spontaneously shared some beautiful thoughts:
Gurbani
must be recited in its own purity and its own simplicity. Its white
light includes all colors. If we read gurbani under the influence of
Vedanta, Yoga, Tolstoy, etc., it will appear to support their teachings.
But is some shabads, Guru Sahib has shared pure gurmat also.
Each
individual is different. Even the individual desires, temperament and
level of thinking are subject to change from day to day. Some days are
better, others are worse. Sometimes one quality dominates while the
opposite quality governs at another time.
For this reason, Guru
Sahib has composed gurbani in various ways, in order to help individuals
with diverse temperaments and in diverse situations.
My message
to everyone is only this: “May I never forget you, O great giver, give
me your naam. My heartfelt desire is to sing your praise day and night”
[GGS:762.3].
This verse stresses on chaa-o (zeal). Without
passion and zeal, a meeting cannot occur. Without this passion,
perfection is not achieved either.
Whatever I have written, each word is based on gurbani.
Others
may convey the same message in a different manner. But in the Darbar
Sahib (The Royal Court) -- the Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar -- only
Shabad Guru (Guru Granth Sahib) was designated as the Guru. This is true
and unmatched even today.
Only someone with spiritual strength
could accomplish such a task. Each religion has three components. First,
the spiritual; second, character or conduct; the third, rituals and
methods of worship, etc.
The ritual is the least important of all
three but now, it appears, only the rituals, rules and recognition
remain amongst us Sikhs.
We need to bring back the spirituality inside our heart.
January 21, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Aryeh Leib (Israel), January 22, 2013, 11:00 AM.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart (and the top of my soul!) for this series, Yuktanand ji. You can't imagine how much it helps me push onward and upward.
2: Jagpal Singh Tiwana (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada), January 23, 2013, 4:54 AM.
I circulate Yuktanand Singh ji's articles to all on my mailing list. The responses are very complimentary.
3: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA..), January 23, 2013, 10:36 AM.
Yuktanand Singh ji: 'Karam', the fruits of our acts not noticeable by us, are 'recorded' by God. Guru Nanak says: "laykh na mit-ee hay sakhee jo likhi-aa kartaar" [GGS:937]. That is, "our deeds cannot be effaced. They are recorded by God". We foolishly try sometimes to find justification for what we do in this world, although we are compelled by our own nature. These recordings are not by any external agency, but are on our record through the mythical Chitar and Gupta. There are several hymns that use this imagery.
4: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 3:57 PM.
Posting the translations of these pious words is what pushes me onward. Poetic expression of complex concepts is generally metaphoric but we notice that some people take them literally. Karam and destiny are complex topics. We need to be careful not to confuse the youth with our comments. We must remember that all 'karam' is not the same (see "karmi karmi hoi vichaar" - GGS:7).
5: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 4:00 PM.
There are at least three forms of karam mentioned in gurbani. One is "dhur karam" (dhur = primal / beginning) or the "lekh" that God "wrote" (see "dhur karam jinna kau tudh paaia" - GGS:469) with one command. "Just as countless rivers emerge from one source, the entire expanse started with one command" - [GGS:3.16]. Another form is the kind that we earn through our acts (see "karmi aapo aapni" - GGS:8). This is the outcome of our own actions even though we act within the framework of "dhur karam" given to us by God. The third kind of karam is His mercy (see "jin kao nadar karam tin kaar" - GGS:8). All three forms are interconnected.
6: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 4:03 PM.
Our acts are recorded by the "chittargupt" (one word). They are not recorded by God. Even though mythology personifies various phenomena - and gurbani does not care to dissect these terms, chittar (picture) gupt (hidden) is just a hidden record. It is said that after we die we are forced to survey all our acts, including even a fleeting thought that ever crossed our mind - in light of the reality that we may have failed to grasp. The authority that governs this process is called 'dharam-rai' or 'haram-raj' (lord of dharam) - (see "dharm rai jab lekha maa-gai baakee niksi bhaari" - GGS:1104). The machine of Karam is blind and dharamraj is relentless. But Waheguru's power is above all of these.
7: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 4:04 PM.
As gurbani says, "dhur karam" or "lekh" from God cannot be erased. But the fruits of our own acts are subject to modification, and forgiveness. In fact, gurbani says, we can be free from the cycle of karam only when we are forgiven (see "le-khai kateh na chhoo-tee-ai" - GGS:261). This can be confusing. It may even appear unfair. This is because we live in a linear world. Our world includes a past, present and a future. Waheguru's world is not linear and time has no meaning in the presence of Waheguru.
8: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 4:06 PM.
Gurbani says that the only abiding reality is God. It is not us or the karam (see "aapay aap niranjan soi" - GGS:2). The karam that we created by our own acts and the "dhur karam" that placed us into the orbit of karam, are all part of God's drama (see "aavan jaan ik khel banaa-yia" - GGS:294). In this strange drama, for example, one individual may be totally mistaken while another in the exact same situation with identical karam may understand the hidden meaning of that situation. Conversely, the one who understands the meaning may regard it as his own wisdom and lose its benefit; while the ignorant one may realize his own ignorance, lean on God and be emancipated.
9: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 24, 2013, 4:08 PM.
Power of karam is insignificant in the presence of God's love. So, instead of engaging in the futility of analyzing the destiny and karam, a gurmukh stays in awe (vismaad) of God's acts and leans on God's mercy for a continued inner progress within His love. A rope mistaken for a snake in the dark terrifies us. Daylight removes the terror without having to remove the rope. Similarly, Waheguru's love converts the unfavorable fruits of our acts into favorable ones without having to erase them. Guru Nanak concludes The Japji with only one prayer: "Nanak nadree nadar nihaal," meaning: Nanak prays that You emancipate us with your mercy and with Your grace."
10: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA..), January 25, 2013, 10:55 PM.
On what basis do we assert that, contrary to Christian belief, Sikhism does not accept the view that life is sinful in its origin? Sikh belief is that human beings emanated from a pure source! But in accordance with God's Will, our souls are subject to past karam. Please refer to the shabad by Bhagat Kabir ji (GGS:870), which clearly tells us that the soul is subject to karam: "karam badh tumjee-o kahat hou".
11: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 26, 2013, 5:12 PM.
I think that we suffer from oversimplification. Then we start to see contradictions. But it is also important to understand gurmat. I did not mention Christianity, but tried to clarify the meaning of 'chittargupt' who keeps a record all our acts. God does not do so. "Sins and virtues are not mere figures-of-speech. A record of all our acts is kept with us. We eat what we sow. Nanak says, within His Hukam we come and we go" - [GGS:4.13-14]. God's Hukam is ultimately responsible for everything that we do. Gurbani supports neither the concept of the 'original sin' nor the idea of 'absolution' as in Christianity, simply because there can be no absolution before we are jeevan-mukt (see GGS:275.4-6).
12: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 26, 2013, 5:14 PM.
By the way, we also know that gurbani does not support washing our sins away by dipping in some holy water or a holy river, etc., either. The words 'Ramdas sarovar' in the shabads that were composed during the inauguration of Darbar Sahib have a dual meaning. They are often regarded as praise of the holy pool around the Darbar Sahib. But their true meaning, dipping in the holy pool of sadh sangat, is given within the very same shabads, i.e., "sant sarovar naavai" [GGS:623.6] and "sadh sang mal laathi" [GGS: 625.18].
13: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 26, 2013, 5:17 PM.
Gurbani asserts that only naam has the power to redeem us from our sins [GGS:93.16]. Why is this so? Sant Naranjan Singh ji used to explain that there are two paths: one is the path of karam, or action and reaction. The entire world is revolving in the circle of karam. The other is the path of mercy or gurparsad. When we take sanctuary in the circle of God's mercy, then: "dharam rai dar kaagad faaray jan nanak lekha samjha" [GGS:698.1] - meaning: "My papers were torn in the court of dharamraj and my account is now settled."
14: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 26, 2013, 5:20 PM.
People ask: Suppose a mass murderer takes sanctuary in naam; will he not face the consequence of those murders? According to gurmat, no one is free from the millstones of past karam. But Waheguru's mercy shines the light to show us the way out. This accompanies a change in the outcome of our past acts, perhaps by changing us and by changing our own reaction towards the outcomes. Gurbani says that no living being, not even a bhagat, can escape from the past karam (see GGS:695.8). God's forgiveness does not absolve us, but it enables us to jump off the merry-go-round of karam that we continue to create.
15: Yuktanand Singh (USA), January 26, 2013, 5:22 PM.
"True destination is that where there is no record (lekh); our only destination is that One where the sky and earth do not exist" [GGS:64.10-11]. Thus, the state of being 'jeevan-mukt' or being liberated while still living, is an inner state. Total freedom from karam can be found only in 'sach-khand' or in the realm of truth that is above 'karam-khand'. Only in God's presence are our papers torn and our account is settled (see GGS:291.5-8), not in the physical world or in some spirit world after death. Reaching this place is a process. Depending on our karam, this process could take an instant, or several lifetimes. I hope that I am not creating further confusion here.