The Eyes With Which You Fall In Love

Sitting curled up reading a book about Sikhi (Se Kinehiya), I realized I am in love. The kind of love that builds into a thirst and longing for more, the kind that’s freshly full of passion but also the kind that is gradually increasing day by day with appreciation and longevity. My love is for Gurbani. It grows deeper as I realize the many layers of knowledge there are. 

Doing a Sehaj Paath of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji has changed my life. I remember many years ago, one of my friends had said that whatever religion a person was from, it was only right if they at minimum read their scriptures. For some reason that point stuck with me. Then I remember a young woman on Sikhnet was telling people to at least understand and read one Ang of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji a day. I had thought that maybe I couldn’t do it. Up until that point I had been reading Punjabi, but struggled with books made for high school Punjabi, unable to really understand what the stories were saying. After my Massi Ji’s encouragement, I picked up a book about Sikhi and was surprised I could read it, realizing I actually just needed some interesting reading material. So I ventured out to follow through with learning from our Guru Ji, the basis of our religion. We were never meant to have to go through other people to have a connection to God and Guru Ji. This also showed me that when we have a desire to learn more on this path, God shows us the way. I started reading along with the translations and listening as a santhiya so I could learn if I made any mistakes along the way. Although my Sehaj Paath is still far from complete, this journey has already been transformative and life altering. If I could pass on one thing to my younger self, it would have been to speak to Guru Ji through Ardas and listen to the Hukamnamas to understand the answer. I don’t think I understood the magnificent power behind Gurbani at a young age, or how reading a Sehaj Paath or Akhand Paath could be transformative. I only really still understand a miniscule portion of the power to heal, change a destiny, forgive, protect, and restore. I smile to myself when I realize that daily “coincidences” are actually Divine arrangements made for me by God. My enjoyment of discussions of Sikh history and spiritual discourse has expanded greatly as I love to learn more about who we are as Sikhs and the deeper spiritual aspects of life that are left unexplored. I can remember a time when I used to think that kathas were boring and our history was terrifying (thanks to movies I saw at the Gurdwara when I was a little kid). I have so much more to learn about the subtle (Sukham) form of life because like most of us, I only really grew up having eyes for the physical (asthool). 

In Se Kinehiya, Sant Sewa Singh Ji writes the life story of Sant Baba Harnam Singh Ji. One of the things that Bhai Sahib, or as he is known in the book, Baba Ji, taught was that one should never rely on other people as their Gurus because our Guru Ji is one. Any individual who connects one only to Guru Ji is a Gurmukh, but someone who is attaching others to himself is not. He discussed how Baba Ji’s own quest led him directly to Guru Granth Sahib Ji and how this transformed his life path. In one of the chapters, Baba Harnam Singh Ji is discussing the existence of God with an atheist doctor. Baba Ji uses an example from Gurbani to explain that God exists everywhere, and it is our eyes that only want to see and understand the physical forms of life that prevent us from appreciating and seeing the existence of God. Guru Ji states “As fire is contained in all timber, and butter in all milk, so in high and low he resides” (Ang 617 Guru Granth Sahib Ji). Thus Baba Ji explained these examples, that “if this milkman tells you how to remove butter from milk but you steadfastly assert your view that there is no butter in milk because you cannot see it, taste it, smell it, or touch it in the milk then, is it not your own ignorance to admit that that butter doesn’t come from milk? However, it is not your fault that you are not convinced by someone else’s explanation of butter coming from milk. If however, you yourself prepare milk, whisk and churn it at the right temperature, you too will demonstrate firsthand that butter indeed can be removed from milk, providing you follow the correct method of preparing the milk” (page 104-5). He furthermore explains how this relates to God: “Alas he cannot be seen with these eyes that we possess. If you yearn to see God and wish to manifest God in reality, then it is clear from Gurbani that you will need to make a special effort to see the Almighty. What effort will you adopt? Namely to sing the Lord’s praises, who is the treasure of all virtues. You will have to adopt that method of singing the praises of the all-pervasive lord” (page 104-106). He furthermore cites from Gurbani “The eyes with which God can be seen are different from the ones that see this world. Nanak! They are some other eyes with which the beloved spouse can be seen” (Ang 1100). Through Gurbani, Baba Harnam Singh Ji explained and transformed the life of this doctor who subsequently changed his views an went on to write many books about Sikhi himself. This example explains how we need to absorb and understand Gurbani, but also share it with others so that they can learn as well. 

Waheguru has blessed you with this ability to connect to your subtle form and to cross the ocean of this lifetime, to achieve your purpose. We all need to cultivate it, so we can develop the eyes with which to see God. Cultivate the love, cultivate the ability to have conversations about spiritual discourse in which you learn from other people. Have deep conversations, not worldly ones and surround yourself with people who allow you to grow in this way. Most importantly, our journey starts when we start exploring Gurbani for ourselves and develop a relationship with Guru Ji. In good times and in bad times, we depend on Gurbani for our guidance. 

Reference:

Se Kinehiya: Biography of Sant Baba Harnam Singh Ji by Sewa Singh (Sant), Gurdwara Rampur Khera