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Always in Chardi Kalaa ... The Way of the Sikh:
Letter & Spirit # 24

YUKTANAND SINGH

 

 

 

Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’

 

Part XIV

Naam simran creates a special spot within us that keeps our mind cheerful and always blossoming (in chardi kalaa).

A Punjabi poet, Bulleh Shah, has also hinted at this spot when he wrote that “the entire puzzle is solved with just one dot”.

But this special point is not developed through any knowledge of philosophy, vedanta, etc.

Faith has great power. Faith is positive state of mind. A faqir or a mendicant guards his mind and whenever, for any reason, his mind slips into negativity he makes an effort to keep it positive.

Having doubt is a negative state. One benefit of naam simran is that it makes our mind positive. The other benefit is that one receives God’s mercy and grace. Then, one can also help deliver others.

Naam turns one into an ocean of virtues. Such a man is free of any wants. Various spiritual powers chase him but he does not care, because God already knows and fulfills all his needs.

Such a person’s company relieves the worldly fevers and diseases. Guru Arjan, with this positive inner state, eliminated disease from an entire town. Similarly, Guru Harkrishan saved the sangat of Delhi from cholera.

Without naam, life of negativity is described as: “O man, without naam everything is false. Those men who, bereft of Lord’s praise, are imbued with other things - all are plundered by Maya” [GGS:890.6].

If you see any success in my life, it is only due to naam. Waheguru is our wishing tree, but Waheguru is more than that, he is also merciful. He gives simply out of mercy, and he is also protector of the meek or those who take his sanctuary.

*   *   *   *   *

In our ardaas (our daily prayer) we say, “remember those Sikh men and women who sacrificed their head for dharam, who were dismembered joint by joint, who had their scalps scraped off, who were torn apart on racks …”

The sevadar today, perhaps inadvertently, omitted reciting: ‘… who were torn apart on racks …‘ Upon this, bhai sahib remarked that it is not appropriate to omit any words from the ardaas. Having one’s body torn thus was an extreme torture. It made people lose their mind. Not accepting conversion (to Islam) even when faced with such torture, was an act of great bravery.

All the words in our ardaas have been chosen for a special purpose and we must be careful not to omit something.

*   *   *   *   *

We also say, “Nanak naam chardi kalaa / tere bhaanay sarbatt da bhalaa” – ‘Nanak says that life in naam is always blossoming; in Your Will is everyone’s welfare.’

After we take birth, we have three major relationships: with our creator, with oneself, and with the world.

We develop relationship with our creator by nurturing unbroken love through naam simran that results in inner peace. By remembering him, when our heart is connected with Waheguru, we stay cheerful, fresh, and spiritually awake.

The soul is God’s offspring. When we are connected to the source of our life then we are connected to the divine light, and it continues to illuminate our life, just as a light bulb that shines light when it is connected to the source of power.

Waheguru is the source of all powers, is our creator and is embodiment of bliss. His loving remembrance is the electric current that keeps our spiritual light turned on. This is why Guru Granth Sahib commands us to “connect with the one from whom you have been separated” [GGS:1371.8].

The second relationship is with our own mind. Mind is fickle and restless. Forgetting its original nature, it runs after various sweet objects of the world. They take it away from its source. Then it suffers, gets injured, stumbles and falls under their influence.

We need to instruct our mind and train it to avoid wanderings outside, to find its rest inside by attaching itself to simran: “O my mind, stay stable and do not wander anywhere. Searching outside, you suffer great pain when the nectar was within your home, in your own being” [GGS: 598.5].

Loving remembrance of our creator is the nectar that is found within our own home. It is a sweet treasure. This state is what we mean by ‘chardi kalaa’ or perpetual prime.

Our third relationship is with the world. The entire world is Waheguru’s creation. We desire welfare of everyone and we work towards it.

The phrase that we repeat in our ardaas everyday, ‘Nanak naam chardie kalaa / tere bhaanay sarbatt da bhalaa,’ reminds us of these three relationships: Our life in naam, a positive and blooming state of mind and, everyone’s welfare in His will.

Woven into this short phrase that we keep in our sight everywhere, these three superior principles remind us, several times a day, the unifying force of our path.

Thus, we connect with Waheguru through simran and through naam; we keep our mind always positive in the ‘chardi kalaa’ state; we live in the world without being trapped in it and without letting our mind go into negativity; we see that every living being is an offspring of Waheguru; we desire welfare of all beings and make everyone love one another by promoting brotherhood.

When we forge our relationship with Waheguru by repeating his naam and by making others also do the same, then our heart stays in ‘chardi kalaa’. We can see our true identity. We then do not see any as the “other” in the world, and we naturally desire what is best for everyone.

“The same sweet renunciate resides in all places, wherever I go"    [Jaap Sahib: 79]

“Everywhere and in all directions, He radiates himself as pure love”    [Jaap Sahib: 80]

 

February 18, 2013

Conversation about this article

1: Harminder Singh (Jalandhar, Punjab), February 18, 2013, 8:25 AM.

I will highly recommend all to read "Gurmukh Jeewan" by Bhai Vir Singh ... it will change your lives.

2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), February 18, 2013, 10:08 AM.

If a true follower of Guru Nanak wants to stay in "Ascending Force," all he or she has to do is earn an honest living, worship the Name of the One, and share his/her earnings with the community. And if they fall in love with the ecstasy of the Shabad, then there's going to be fireworks for sure!

3: Mohan Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), February 18, 2013, 11:49 AM.

The phrase that we repeat in our ardaas everyday, "Nanak naam chardi kalaa / tere bhaanay sarbatt da bhalaa," is not from gurbani. When and how this phrase was introduced is still unknown, but certainly it is not known to be the exact words of Guru Nanak or any of His successors. Dr Jaswant Singh Neki feels that it was introduced around mid 18th century but has no hard evidence. Dr. H. S Dilgeer says that there is no evidence of anything like that in the pre-1849 Sikh rule era. He has seen the records in the British Museum. He avers that it was the work of the English after 1850, but before the start of the Singh Sabha movement in 1873. The English were known to have played havoc with the Sikh shrines, considered a fulcrum of Sikh spirit which they wanted to crush. The purpose of its introduction by the English through Nirmalas, Pujaris and others in the Sikh litany in the post-1849 era was to introduce the word bhana, God's Will or Command, and that too in the name of Guru Nanak, to dissimulate the Sikhs/Khalsa to reconcile them to the bitter, unpalatable and unrelenting hostility administered to them. The Khalsa, under the surreptitiously introduced new doctrine of bhana, was induced to overcome the feelings of grief and high treason administered by Brahmins, Dogras and the English, which had resulted in the disintegration of Sikh political sovereignty. There is need to replace this line with "sooraa so pehichaanee-ai!"

4: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA..), February 20, 2013, 10:56 AM.

The line in question was aptly coined by the Guru Panth or Guru Sangat after Guru Gobind Singh Ji. No one knows at what point in time. However, the Guru Granth cultivates the highest ideals of humankind in the sangat which built up history with traditions and conventions during the years. This concluding line in the ardaas should never be replaced with another line, even a scriptural hymn. We should keep in mind that our source of personal guidance is the Guru Granth (for gurbani) and the Guru Panth (in worldly matters.)

5: Manjit Singh Bara Pindia (Canada), February 20, 2013, 11:24 AM.

The Audio Book recording (in Punjabi) of "Gurmukh Sikhia" by Bhai Vir Singh can be downloaded free from the external link provided by the website, sikhaudiobooks.com/audiobooks/index.htm This website is managed as seva by the European Sikh Council. If you happen to log on the home page of that site you can access the page mentioned above by clicking on the 'audio books' button.

6: Yuktanand Singh (USA), February 21, 2013, 7:10 PM.

Mohan Singh ji, I agree that those who are unfamiliar with gurbani may think that these were Guru Nanak's words when in fact, we say 'Nanak' here to remember Guru Nanak at the end, just as we do at the beginning of the ardaas. Bhaana (God's Will) is a major theme in gurbani and there are numerous verses regarding the role of bhaana. I agree with Ajit Singh ji that ardaas does not need any modification. Attempting to change the ardaas, etc., unless a change was absolutely necessary, can be a slippery slope.

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Letter & Spirit # 24"









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