Prakash Divas Guru Har Rai Ji

This weekend we will have an Akhand Paath to celebrate the Prakash Divas of Guru Har Rai Ji. Guru Har Rai Ji was born in January 1630, to parents Baba Gurditta Ji and Mata Nihal Kaur Ji in Kiratpur Sahib. As his father died when he was young, (Guru) Har Rai Ji was raised by his grandfather, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. He married Mata Krishen Dev at age 11 (young marriages were common during those times) and went on to have children Baba Ram Rai and (Guru) Har Krishan.

There is a sakhi that shows us what Guru Hargobind Ji taught young (Guru) Har Rai. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji used to feed that birds and then eat langar. One day, there was one particular crow who persisted, and was approaching Guru Ji’s thal (plate). One of the sewadars hit it using a slingshot, and the bird flew away. The next day Guru Ji asked where that crow was, and the man admitted what he did. The crow was present, but far from the rest of the birds and was injured. Guru Ji nursed it back to good health and it would come daily then for langar. This taught (Guru) Har Rai Ji great compassion, and teaches us additionally that we need to teach our children by being a role model. 

Another sakhi is that (Guru) Har Rai was walking in the garden one day, and noticed that the flower he had previously been admiring was not there. He discovered that his clothing had caught and the flower had broken off, and he began to cry. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji told him it was important for him to be careful with his clothing. This also teaches us, just like our clothing for our soul is our body, we have responsibility not to hurt others or break anyone from this path. Guru Har Rai is commonly said to have used this quote by Fareed Ji very often: "All men's hearts are jewels; to distress them is not at all good; If thou desire the Beloved, distress no one's heart."

 

Har Rai became Guru at age 14. He started katha along with the tradition of kirtan. He made 52 gardens and started a herbal hospital for the ill. Guru Har Rai Ji was a hunter, however instead of killing the animals, he fed them and protected them in a zoo. He additionally kept a force of 2200 soldiers, however he never had the need to deploy them. Guru Ji also traveled extensively.

One particular Sakhi about Guru Har Rai Ji emphasizes the importance of Gurbani. The Sikhs asked whether we get any gain from reading Gurbani if there is no understanding. When the Guru Ji came across a broken pot with butter in it, the sun was melting the butter onto the pot, he said, "Look my Sikhs, broken pot shards - when they are heated, the butter that adhered to them readily melts. As the grease adheres to the potshards, so to do the Gurus' hymns to the hearts of his Sikhs. At the hour of death the Gurus' instruction shall assuredly bear fruit. Whether understood or not, it has within it the seed of salvation. Perfume still clings to a broken vase." From this sakhi we learn the value of Gurbani, even if we do not yet have an understanding.

Dhir Mal, the older brother of Har Rai, gained support from Shah Jahan, and turned against Guru Hargobind (and thus was not named successor). He went on to corrupt the masand system set up for collecting daswandh, and tried to divide the Sikhs. Guru Har Rai Ji set up a Manji system to try to unite the Sikhs, with Sikh missionaries sent to certain regions. He also appointed new masands who became successful in spreading the messages of Sikhi.

When Emperor Shah Jahan’s son Dara was poisoned by Aurangzeb, there was no one that could help. Upon Shah Jahan’s request, Guru Ji gave the necessary medicines and Dara’s life was saved. Aurganzeb manipulated that Guru Ji was supporter of Dara, and when he became emperor he summoned Guru Ji to his court. Guru Ji sent his son Ram Rai was sent in his place with the instructions to not give up his principles at any cost, and God would protect him. Ram Rai started to show miracles, and changed one of the lines of Gurbani to please Aurganzeb. Aurganzeb, in turn, decided to keep him in Delhi with the idea that he would be able to control him when he succeeded Gur Har Rai. Guru Ji excommunicated him for changing Gurbani and nominated Guru Harkrishan as his successor at the mere age of 5. Guru Ji became Jyoti Jot at the mere age of 31, in October 1661.

So let us apply these lessons learned from the life of Guru Har Rai Ji:

-Nature is God’s creation- we should treat plants and animals with respect. Feeding animals, watering plants, and planting a garden is sewa.

-Be fearless but also gentle

-The benefits of Gurbani are there even if we don’t quite understand yet, so we should always do our prayers

-We need to be careful not to hurt others on our path, or break others from this path.

-We should stand by our principles no matter what and maintain our integrity

-We should unite in the face of those dividing us like Guru Ji did with Dhirmal and the corruption of the masands. This is a big message for us today as we are being continually divided, and there is a lot of negativity. It is important for us to come together for solutions if there are problems, and support each other.

References:

http://www.discoversikhism.com/sikh_gurus/sri_guru_har_rai_sahib_ji.html

http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/gurus/nanak7.html

https://www.sikhdharma.org/life-times-guru-har-rai/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijPyPSCvz2Y

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Har_Rai

http://panthic.org/articles/3084

Prakash Purb Bhagat Ravidas Ji

“Thou art me, I am Thou, What is the difference?
The same as between gold and its bracelet and between water and its ripples” (Ang 93)

Today we celebrate the birth of Bhagat Ravidas Ji. He was born in a “low-caste” (Shudra/Untouchable) Hindu family on Jan 30 1399. He was born in Seer Govardhanpur near Banaras (Kashi). Bhagat Ramanand visited the family to bless the child at the age of 5 days. By profession, he was a cobbler (tanned and made shoes). He spent time in the company of saints and would give away his money to those in need. Because of this, he was banished from his home. He made a hut with his wife Lona Devi and continued to work as a cobbler. He had a son, Vijaydas. 

He studied as a disciple of Bhagat Ramanand, along with Bhagat Kabir, Dhanna, Pipa and Sain. He gained many followers, which made the Brahmin priests angry. During those times people spread the messages that low-caste people could not reach God. Ravidas Ji spread the message that rejected caste, and that each individual is a part of God and can merge with Him. He emphasized concentrating on Naam in the 41 compositions which are included in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Here are some sakhis about the life of Ravidas Ji: When Queen Jallbai presented him with expensive clothes and jewels, he said that the Name of God was more precious. This teaches us to put values on Naam and not worldly possessions. It is said that when Maharani Jhally became a follower of Ravidas, her husband became very angry, and decided to test Ravidas. He was invited to the kingdom. The Brahmins refused to eat where he was seated, and Ravidas Ji moved away, however suddenly the Brahmins started to see each person distributing food as Ravidas Ji. The Maharana then became a devout follower of Ravidas.

During his travels to Punjab, he met Guru Nanak Dev Ji who loved his works, and used to use his invested money to purchase langar for Ravidas and his companions.  He met Guru Nanak Dev Ji again in Sultanpur, and again at Guru Ka Bhag. The length of his life is not known, but he is said to have lived well over a hundred years.

Thus, Bhagat Ravidas Ji taught us not to get entangled in caste, or profession. We have achieved the human life after 8.4 million reincarnations, and Bhagat Ravidas Ji reminded us that we can all connect to our creator in this lifetime. For this, we have to let go of maya and meditate on God’s Name.

References:

https://www.sikhnet.com/news/bhagat-ravidas-15th-century-poet-1376-ad-1540-ad-author-gurbani

https://www.searchgurbani.com/bhagats/bhagat-ravidas

http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/bhagatravidass.html

https://www.sikhnet.com/news/bhagat-ravidas-ji-life-and-teachings

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhagat_Ravidas

Moh (Attachment)

In around the last eight or nine months, I had a lot of friends move away. Within that time I also grew to understand the importance of sangat, and what belonging and acceptance really feels like. It became uncomfortable for me to settle for distant friendships, not just physical distance but more spiritually and emotionally where there was no understanding for my journey. Recently, I wondered what gift lied in this period of comparative isolation and solitude. On one hand, I felt I grew to understand that I was not happy spending my time gossiping, lost in the sea of maya. On the other, I felt that I have not yet reached my merger with Waheguru either, to have the bliss of that contentment. I found myself in between, in the space of longing for that merger, knowing that I cannot turn back either, no matter how far I still have to walk. I knew that there must be some gift in this space too, as hard as it is.

As I mentioned previously, knowing that the mind is separated from God is in itself a gift. So many people wander lost, not knowing the path or the game of the mind. I wondered, though, what else I was supposed to learn from this. The Hukamnama today at the Gurdwara explained: “Does anyone know, who is our friend in this world? He alone understands this, whom the Lord blesses with His mercy. Immaculate and unstained in his way of life (Pause). Mother, father, spouse, children, relatives, lovers, friends and siblings meet, having been associated in previous lives; but none of them will be your companion and support in the end. Pearl necklaces, gold, rubies and diamonds please the mind, but they are only Maya. Possessing them, one passes his life in agony; he obtains no contentment from them. Elephants, chariots, horses, as fast as the wind, wealth, land, and armies of four kinds- none of these will go with him; he must get up and depart naked. The Lord’s Saints are the beloved lovers of God; sing of the Lord, Har, Har, with them. O Nanak, in the Society of the Saints, you shall obtain peace in this world, and in the next world your face shall be radiant and bright” (Ang 700). From this, I recalled another shabad “O dear friend, know this in your mind. The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides. But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained every attached to you, runs away crying, ‘Ghost! Ghost!’ as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. This is the way they act- those whom we love so much. At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord” (Ang 634). It is from these Hukamnamas that I understood that my lesson in solitude is about moh (attachment).

“One who looks upon all with a single eye, and knows them to be one and the same - he alone is known as a Yogi” Ang 730

Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen writes about moh in his book, “Five Vices and Four Eras” (1). He explains that moh can be converted to a virtue. We must first understand what it is. Moh is to call something “mine”; for example, my wealth, my house, my child, my husband/wife, my beauty, or my power. The problem in this is identified using the following example. He explains that if there is an epidemic, and many fall sick, you will not be sad because those that are “yours” are not sick, yet when an object breaks that is “yours” then you become upset. This shows us that attachment results in a vary narrowed mindset. This leads to suffering and pain because we are afraid to lose what is ours, which WILL be lost because the world is transitionary, and everything must leave one day. He explains that in attachment, our kindness is limited because only those who are “mine” are our world. Without attachment a person becomes limitless like God, with unlimited kindness and love because the whole world is equally his own, as God's creation. When we are stuck in ego, in “mine,” in maya, then we forget all belongs to God. Giani Ji gives the example of how Guru Gobind Singh Ji sacrificed his whole family by moving beyond mine, to see that they belong to God. This would not have been possible if he had moh for his family- his parents, or his children. Another example is when Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave Gurgadi to Bhai Lehna Ji (Guru Angad Dev JI) instead of his sons (2). These examples show us how to move beyond attachment into love, just as Bhai Kanhaiya Ji served the Mughal soldiers with water and medicine because he saw God in all. Our love should be the same for each person. Avtar Singh Ji describes, “The ideal stressed by the Gurus in this regard is that one ought to live in the world just as the lotus flower lives in water. The flower is in the water and is yet unaffected by it in the sense that it does not sink in the water. Similarly, man should not renounce the social context but at the same time he ought not to be attached to it” (3).

I realized that my lesson here was that instead of being attached to people or even outcomes, it is important to remember that there is balance in this also. I spent so much time attached it was hard for me to see it without this time and space on my own. It is hard to escape the pull of moh, but the Guru Jis did not ask us to be detached either. We don’t have to go out and live in the jungles or mountains away from families. Rather we live our life and relationships in such a way as to remember that the body has temporary associations that leave when it dies, and that our best friend sits in our mind: “If the True Guru abides within my mind, then I see the Lord, my best friend there" (Ang 1087). Realizing that sometimes no one else will be there by you is a very painful lesson, but it teaches us to get closer to God. When we realize God in each person, and there is no other to be served and no limit to the love, like Bhai Kanhaiya Ji showed us. 

“By serving the True Guru, worldly attachment is completely burnt down and man remains detached in his home (Pause).” (Ang 29)

References

1 http://sikhbookclub.com/Book/Five-Vices-and-Four-Eras

2 https://www.sikhphilosophy.net/threads/moh-attachment.26801/

3 https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-principles/moh-attachment-and-delusion

40 Mukhte Program

We are having a program on Saturday in memory of the Chali Mukhte. It will be upstairs (Akhand Paath will be happening in the main hall) from 5:30 pm onwards. Be sure to attend, and bring your family!

Studying Gurbani

I'm sharing great set of videos by Professor Maninderpal Singh Ji teaching a study course of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. He teaches about common mistakes we make in reading Bani, including daily Nitnem. This one is more advanced so if you don't know how to read Gurmukhi you won't be able to follow along, but below I also shared the link from Gyani Thakur Singh Ji's santhiya and that one starts right from the beginning when you are learning how to draw the letters. 

I learned a lot about the depth of Gurbani from these videos. Each onkarh and each syaree has a purpose, even when they are silent. For example, there is a reason there is an onkarh at the end of “Satnam.” I learned about the way that Gurbani is written as poetry, and the way that these individual symbols on the letters are vital to distinguishing the meanings in the translations and avoiding errors in understanding. When we understand how to speak and read the Gurbani in the proper form, we also realize how to translate the meanings.

I think one of the best things I learned from these videos is that he teaches that there are three types of conversations we have when we read Gurbani. We have conversations with Guru Ji, we have conversations with God, and we have conversations with our own mind. Many shabads for example start "O my mind." In order to have these conversations, our mind needs to be present! Sometimes we are reading with our mouth but our minds are elsewhere. Sometimes we read quickly, without pausing at the appropriate places (the app “Sundar Gutka” is really great because it has green/orange highlights over the pauses). When we do not read with attention, we don’t get the full benefit of cleansing the mind and having a conversation with God, Guru Ji, and our own mind. Professor sahib really highlighted the importance of reading Gurbani with love. 

To be a Sikh is to be a life-long, reflective learner. It is important to challenge ourselves to grow. We will always have more to learn, and even when we are teaching others we are continuing to learn. Whether you are reading English translations, learning the letters of Gurmukhi, or figuring out the deeper complexities of Gurbani, it's important to just have a passion to keep growing and learning. In order to read the Gurbani with love, as a conversation, and with understanding; it takes time, practice, patience, and guidance. We will get there. Waheguru Ji blesses us with that knowledge when we are passionate. 

Advanced Video by Prof. Maninderpal Singh Ji:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-yR7lUV7eo&list=PL4B25C0C09033E236&index=1 (This is the part 1 link, you can forward the first couple of minutes of intro. The first set is four parts. There is another set of videos below that repeats the information, and re-starts with new information on part 8). 

Starting from the Basics Video by Giani Thakur Singh Ji: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pmYRBkP98A&index=1&list=PLE6E0404E5D3CF3DC

Above pictures from: 

http://www.ancientscripts.com/gurmukhi.html 

http://www.manninghaminterfaithnetwork.org.au/event/sri-guru-granth-sahib-ji-proclamation-as-eternal-guru-s-2/ 

Pay It Forward: Dasvandh

I was incredibly inspired recently when one of the Gurmukhs I had a chance to meet from India shared his story of paying it forward. He took the dasvandh (1/10) of the money that he earned from his work in Canada and he used it to pay for the jaw surgery of a young girl who had been in a car accident. One of the most inspiring parts of this story for me was I knew that he is poor himself, and only has a house made of mud brick (a kutcha house), yet he continues to give generously to others. 

Dasvandh is part of Vand Shakna (sharing what you earn), one of the pillars of Sikhism. Going back to Guru Amar Das Ji’s time, he asked Sikhs to bring a part of their crops and earnings for langar. During Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s time, Prithi Chand’s dishonesty resulted in a shortage of money for the langar. Guru Arjan Dev Ji then formalized and started Dasvandh. Each Sikh would donate 1/10 of their earnings towards the common pool which would then by distributed by Guru Ji towards projects like the langar, constructing buildings, providing medicine and clothing to the poor, etc. At that time Masands collected the offerings and presented them to the Sikhs. They kept the accounts in writings and explained them to Guru Ji. Unfortunately the Masands system became corrupt and this was discontinued by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Instead, Sikhs would deposit the funds to the Guru’s house themselves. Today, our dasvandh can go towards giving to charity, directly serving those in need such as buying clothes, paying for someone’s education/tuition, projects inside or outside the Gurdwara, etc. Dasvandh is not just practiced in money- for example 1/10 in time is 2.5 hours out of the day, which are practiced towards prayer. Dasvandh is important in that we recognize that our income comes from God, and therefore, we are giving that back to the community. It is important that it is not done in ego, and also that we try to make sure that there is accountability as to where our dasvandh is going. 

I think more broadly in terms of Vand Shakna, paying it forward is not just about money. My dad often talks about the individuals and families that helped him get to where he is because of the support they provided when he came to Canada. Similarly, I can look back at my life and identify many individuals who were vital and key in my story and who I am today. This is why I think it is so important to pay it forward. “Paying it forward” means passing on that kindness we receive to another person. It can be, for example, passing on the values that we were raised with to our children. 

In success, I think sometimes people forget how they got there. There is pride and ego that gets in the way. I think that it is important for us to remember the roots from which we grew. We received guidance and help from someone, and we should do the same for someone else. Often times parents don’t know how to guide children for college, university or career paths and it is helpful if you can provide as much help as possible.  The success of others means success for our whole community. Recently I heard Giani Guljar Singh Ji saying in one of his kathas that one of the greatest things that you can give is to at least be a role model and live a life that inspires others. That is a huge act. To live by Gurbani, to try to be the best version of yourself and to allow others to be a part of your growth and learning is to be a role model. We can all do it. 

We have a lot of opportunities, daily, we just have to keep our eyes open. They are moments to extend compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and to give generously with all our hearts. Volunteer. Say a prayer for someone. Hold space for them in the hard moments. Pay it forward.

References:

https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-principles/daswandh

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Dasvandh

Foundation Stone of Harmandir Sahib

Sian Mian Mir was a Sufi Muslim saint. He was close friends with Guru Arjan Dev Ji and went on to lay the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib. The foundation stone was laid on January 13, 1588. This was key to the uniqueness of Harmandir Sahib as a space for all castes, creeds, and religions to be invited. Manvir Singh Ji describes on his blog "This was a symbolic act which demonstrated that a Sikh shouldn't look at a non-Sikh in terms of his/her laws but instead consider their values and value system. Baba Sai Mir Ji and other Sufi mystics close to the Guru Sahibs had the values and value system of Gurmat and Naam." 

References:

https://barusahib.org/general/today-history-foundation-stone-sri-harmandir-sahib-amritsar-laid-sai-mian-mir/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mian_Mir

http://manvirsingh.blogspot.ca/2006/05/dhan-guru-arjan-dev-sahib-ji-happy.html 

https://www.facebook.com/notes/ੴ-gurdwara-sikh-cultural-society-inc-sangat/foundation-stone-of-sri-harmandir-sahib-laid-down-by-saint-mia-mir-on-january-13/761109963917413/