Chapter 14

This chapter was quite short from Bhai Sewa Singh Ji Tarmala’s book Pantha Prem Na Janiye. It explains the title of the book, from Ang 1426:

In this chapter, we review that regardless of which religion we practice, we are all waiting to unite with God. Many people end up being stuck in worship instead of actually following the teachings. I thought it was really powerful of Bhai Sahib to point out that the mind has forgotten God to the point that we don’t look at him (jot Prakash) or speak to him (in Sunn). We don’t listen even to God’s voice, which is Naam/Naad/Sehaj Dhun. Unfortunately many of us are so egotistical about how much we know that we don’t want to be taught, we think we know it all already. We don’t go to Guru Ji or other Gurmukhs for direction. 

This chapter also elaborates on the path of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, as they tried to remind people to get out of maya and into the deeper avasthas that their minds are capable of, for example Sajjan Thug and Kauda Rakshish. This reminds us that every one of us is capable of this merger, even if we are criminals. Guru Ji united into the elements of the river and spent time united into God, then came out and spread this Divine message. 

 

Reflections: There was a line in this chapter that talked about the dangers of religiousness. We have certainly explored topics along these lines before. People get very caught up in the physical actions and make activities ritualistic, rather than actually focusing deeply on self-change. I think often times people who are trying to get back into Sikhi, or aren’t sure and are thinking about reconnecting ask a lot of questions around specific topics. People tend to ask questions about the topics of hair, “is blah activity right or wrong”, eating meat, alcohol, etc. It is valuable to have conversations and questions of all kinds, but I think we are often missing the mark for inspiring people into this path, and into the true journey of the mind. One can be following all these “rules” and still be completely rotten inside… we’ve all seen it. The topics we should talk about are ones that address real life problems today. How to deal with stress, overwhelm, mental health issues like depression, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar, schizophrenia, addictions, and intimate partner violence? How to manage terrible life events and emotions like grief, anger, and betrayal? These questions really get to the crux of what is the mind, why are we in this life, and what is our goal on this journey? If you don’t understand the mind’s journey, and only are ritualistically acting you will not be able to apply your knowledge to your life. It is important that we also have these conversations as a community. We should be redirecting conversations to deeper directions rather than being stuck on superficial arguments. These are the directives that were given for all of humanity in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Bhai Satpal Singh Ji answers who a Sikh is (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJchR8cBdE) in Pauri 6 of Japji Sahib- a Sikh is one who listens to the Sikhiya of the Guru. Just like a medical student studies medicine and a law student studies the law, a Sikh is one who learns from the Guru and follows this wisdom. We must, therefore, follow our Guru Ji's wisdom. We are graced and blessed with this knowledge of our life journey. We are blessed to have our Guru Ji to guide us.