We are exploring the idea of virtual sangat locally. I will keep everyone updated as we figure out how to continue to have a kirtan program on Sundays. Toronto Raag Kirtan Darbar has a virtual sangat on Zoom every Sunday in collaboration with Buffalo. If anyone needs the link email us and I can put you in contact with them. It would be 10 am -1 pm eastern time. For our program we are looking probably at our usual time of 10 am on Sundays (PST).
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
What is the Mind?
It is interesting that we travel through 8.4 million lifeforms with this mind and we still do not think of what it is. As Bhai Satpal Singh Ji says, the mind is not your best friend. It brings all kinds of thoughts that make us stray away from our path. It carries negativity, cynicism, doubt, and the mehl of many lifetimes with it. It carries old habits from lifetime to lifetime.
I asked a Gurmukh about the mind today. She told me that the physical body here is the asthool. The mind is part of our Sukham body. It is non-physical. The mind does not die with the body but travels onwards if its purpose has not been achieved. One is given a life based on where one's thoughts were spent. The mind plays many tricks on us. We talked about things like the mind telling us there is good and bad, blaming others or ourselves, listening to what others think, etc. She said the way out of this was to spend the maximum time listening to Naam when we are working, then Guru Ji gives us the answers to our questions in the form of a Hukamnama. When someone says good things and praises us, remember it as the praise of God. Don't hide your faults and share them.
Gurbani tells us that the mind is one with God "Man tu jot saroop hai, apna mool pashan." This means "O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light- recognize your own origin." It is separated only by its own thoughts and doubt. It needs to make its realization of who it is, only by destruction of that ego and those thoughts. Once we are able to remove these obstacles, the mind makes the realization that God is everywhere and merges into the Supreme. This is the state of Sehaj.
Gurbani talks extensively about the mind. In 6 Pauri Anand Sahib we read "O my mind, remain always with the Lord. Remain always with the Lord, O my mind, and all sufferings will be forgotten." It is the mind's journey and the mind's play that we live in. The body is a physical body. Waheguru is already within, the mind needs to make this realization. This comes with great practice, in each moment to take time to attempt to disconnect oneself from the thoughts and sensory experiences and simultaneously do one's simran and find Naam. Over time the remembrance becomes intrinsic, but only with the practice and effort upfront.
I asked a Gurmukh about the mind today. She told me that the physical body here is the asthool. The mind is part of our Sukham body. It is non-physical. The mind does not die with the body but travels onwards if its purpose has not been achieved. One is given a life based on where one's thoughts were spent. The mind plays many tricks on us. We talked about things like the mind telling us there is good and bad, blaming others or ourselves, listening to what others think, etc. She said the way out of this was to spend the maximum time listening to Naam when we are working, then Guru Ji gives us the answers to our questions in the form of a Hukamnama. When someone says good things and praises us, remember it as the praise of God. Don't hide your faults and share them.
Gurbani tells us that the mind is one with God "Man tu jot saroop hai, apna mool pashan." This means "O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light- recognize your own origin." It is separated only by its own thoughts and doubt. It needs to make its realization of who it is, only by destruction of that ego and those thoughts. Once we are able to remove these obstacles, the mind makes the realization that God is everywhere and merges into the Supreme. This is the state of Sehaj.
Gurbani talks extensively about the mind. In 6 Pauri Anand Sahib we read "O my mind, remain always with the Lord. Remain always with the Lord, O my mind, and all sufferings will be forgotten." It is the mind's journey and the mind's play that we live in. The body is a physical body. Waheguru is already within, the mind needs to make this realization. This comes with great practice, in each moment to take time to attempt to disconnect oneself from the thoughts and sensory experiences and simultaneously do one's simran and find Naam. Over time the remembrance becomes intrinsic, but only with the practice and effort upfront.
The Bhagats
The Bani of 16 Bhagats (devotees, saints) is in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. I thought it would be helpful to get an idea of each of them. From their stories and lives below, we can see that they came of varying backgrounds and professions. Some lived their lives as holy men, and many as householders with children, and of varying "castes" that they were born into. Some were Hindu, some Sufi, some Muslim. They had a similar theme of spreading the Name of God and the message of meditating on the Oneness. Their sakhis are full of the miraculous powers of God, the ability of God to protect those servants. Over and over it is also obvious that one had to have a Guru to help one reach God. For example Ramanand was a Guru to many but had his own Guru. We have our Guru Ji as well, incorporating the Bani of these Bhagats. The stories of the Bhagats remind us the time of devotion that it takes to be dedicated to one's path, that feeling of longing for God, then living in the world and as a householder at the same time as the meditation.
Bhagat Kabir Ji
Born: 1398 in Banaras
Parents: adopted by Muslim named Niru
Married to: Loi, had two children
Profession: weaver
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 227 padas and 237 saloks
Teachings: He rejected casteism, idol worship, superstitions, bathing, asceticism, fasts, pilgrimages, and futile rituals. He was thrown into the Ganges by the Brahmans but escaped unharmed. The Qazis chained him and threw him in front of an elephant, but he was not crushed. He encouraged those to meditate on God.
Bhagat Ravidas Ji
Born: 1376 in Mandoor
Parents: Mandas Raghu, Karma Devi/Ghurbinia
Married: Bhagwanti
Profession: Making shoes (Cobbler) and Tanner
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 40 hymns
Teachings: He learned from Ramanand. He denounced idol worship. Since his parents did not like that he shared his food with holy men, he left home and started working.
Sakhi: Ravidas repaired a shoe for a Brahmin and he gave him a Kasira (1/4 of a paisa). He said to give it to the Ganges, only if she extends her hand to take it, and miraculously when the Brahmin went, a hand emerged from the Ganges. All those who witnessed were surprised and his followers gained.
Bhagat Farid Ji (Sheikh Farid)
Born: 1173 in Kothowal, Pakistan
Parents: Karsum Bibi
Married: four marriages, had 5 sons and three daughters.
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 112 saloks and 4 hymns in the feeling of Vairag
Teachings: Born into a Muslim family, he spent many years studying, first from his grandfather Qazi Suailo, then Maulana Minhaj-ud-din Trimidhi, then higher education in Kandhar. Unsatisfied with his learning, he left home for a search for spiritual knowledge. Khwaja Kutab-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki became his guide and told him to let go of his ego to realize God. He tried many things to find God, and finally left to the forests. One day he realized that God lives in the mind and went back to Delhi and became the successor of Khawaja Bakhtiar Kaki. When the poor people had difficulties meeting him, he switched locations to a small village.
Bhagat Namdev Ji
Born: 1270 Narsi-Bamani in Maharashtra
Parents: father Damashetty, mother Gonabai
Married: Rajabai, had four sons and one daughter
Profession: cloth printer
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 61 hymns
Teachings: He lived near a temple of Vitthal Dev and spent time worshipping God there. He adopted Vishobha Khechar as his spiritual Guru and abandoned idol worship, fasts, and other rituals.
Sakhi: Namdev was in Delhi, and Mohammed-Bin-Tughlak, the king asked him to show him a miracle by bringing a dead cow to life. Namdev told him all happens toward the will of God. The king sent an elephant to crush Namdev, and his mother told him to abandon the name of Ram and accept the name of Khuda (muslim name of God) to save him, but Namdev refused. He sang the praises of God and was saved. God appeared to Namdev to bring the cow to life, and it happened. The king asked for pardon, and Namdev convinced him to do good.
Bhagat Trilochan Ji
Born: 1267 at Barsi, Maharashtra
Married: he was married.
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 4 hymns
Teachings: He was born into a Vaish family. He went to meet Namdev and asked him as he was busy in his worldly affairs. Namdev taught him that one can remember God simultaneously by doing work. He rejected superstitions and false rituals as well.
Bhagat Beni Ji
Born: in Uttar Pradesh
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 3 hmns
Teachings: He was a student of Namdev. Like the other Bhagats, he rejected idol worship, and taught to worship one God. He taught people to cleanse the mind.
Bhagat Bhikhan Ji
Born: 1480 Kaberi, Uttar Pradesh
Married: Sahib Devi, had one child
He was a sufi saint.
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 2 hymns
Teachings: He served some saints at age 12 and it changed him deeply. His parents became worried and married him young. He made Sufi Saint Syed Pir Ibrahim his Guru. He teaches that Divine Name is the medicine.
Bhagat Ramanand Ji
Born: 1366 at Prayag (Allahbad)
Parents: Pushp Sadhan Sharma, Sushila (Brahmin family)
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn
Teachings: He studied at the ashram of Raghavanand in Banaras from a young age. He took him on as his Guru, and became Raghavanands successor. He spoke against superstitions.
Bhagat Sain Ji
Born: 1400 Sohal, Amritsar
Parents: Sri Mukand Rai, Jiwan Devi
Married: Sulakhani, had a son
Profession: barber
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn
Teachings: He became a barber then got married. He served the Raja of Bandhavgarh. He heard about Saint Kabir and went to Banaras to adopt Ramanand as his Guru. He advised him to chant the name of God, and serve others. One day he was so busy in service he didn’t return to bathe the Raja, and found someone else in his place doing his work. He realized God came in his place to perform his duty. The Raja then also became his disciple.
Bhagat Sadhana Ji
Born: 1180 in Sindh
Profession: Butcher “I took this profession from my parents. God has given me birth in this profession. Therefore only He knows which profession is good and which is bad.”
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn
Teachings: He spread the word of God across the country.
Bhagat Parmanand Ji
Born: 1483 Maharashtra
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn
Teachings: Lived for 110 years. He was a devotee of Lord Krishna, and his Guru was Sri Vallabh Acharya. He was a famous scholar and devoted shorshipper.
Bhagat Dhanna Ji
Born: 1415 Dhaun, Rajasthan
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 3 hmns
Sakhi: God himself did the work of Dhanna, tilling his fields and irrigating his crops. He spoke against idol worship.
Bhagat Pipa Ji
Born: 1426 Jhala
Married: 12 wives, and one son
Profession: Raja, then became a tailor.
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1 hymn
Teachings: He was a devotee of goddess Durga. He served saints and sadhus and asked them how to meet God. He was told to find a Guru, similar to the stories of the other saints. He left to Kashi to find Ramanand as his Guru. He brought gifts, but Ramanand refused to see him. Finally after many attempts, Ramanand met him and said he has no business with Rajas, as they don’t have time to worship God and live in ego of power and wealth. He rejected his gifts. He handed his throne to his son and handed out of many of his possessions to the poor. He was tested by Ramanand and then started to live a simple life. Ramanand told him to go back to govern his estate and after one year, Ramanand returned to visit. He travelled with him to Dwarka. He lived in a cave with his wife Sita and had an encounter with God that changed him. He travelled with Sita and sang hymns and became tailors. His hymn in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji teaches us to look within for God.
Bhagat Jaidev Ji
Born: 1201 Kenduli, Bengal
Parents: Bhojdev, Rama Devi
Married: Padmavati
Contribution to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 2 hmyns
Teachings: Orphaned at a young age, he became an ascetic and went on pilgrimages. He ran into a Brahmin at Jagan Nath temple. He wished to marry his daughter to Jaidev, who refused to get married. He was forcibly married. He thus became a householder. He wrote three books, and became famous. The king of Bengal Lakshman Sen asked him to come to his court and nominated him in his council of scholars. He was then invited to Jaipur to be part of the court of that Raja. On the way, he was robbed. He tried to convince the robbers that he was a famous scholar, but they thre him into a well. Remembering God, he was saved. Some soldiers saw Jaidev and Raja Karaunch Utkal saved him.
Bhagat Soordas
Born: 1528 at Sihi district Gurgaon
Parents: Father’s name was Ravidas
Profession: Musician
Teachings: He was a scholar and wrote great poetry. He was blind. He became popular with Akbar and opened his treasury to the poor. When the officials opened the treasury, it was empty and he was arrested. Timar Das, the jailor, tortured him. He wrote a letter about this to Akbar, who released him. He contributed 1 line of a hymn to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, not all of the lines are included as they were not all per Sikhi. Guru Arjan Dev Ji explained the line of Soordas in his Bani.
References:
ww.sikhiwiki.org
The Honoured Saints of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji by Pritpal Singh Tuli
Who was Bhai Gurdas Ji?
While currently reading the Vaaran Bhai Gurdas, I thought it was important to learn about the background of Bhai Gurdas Ji.
Bhai Gurdas was born in Goindwal in 1551, and was the nephew Guru Amardas Ji. At the age of 3 his mother died, and his father died at 12, after which he was adopted by Guru Amardas Ji. He was talented in languages and gained knowledge from the sangat of scholars.
Guru Ramdas Ji assigned him as a Sikh missionary in Agra. This was the capital of the Mughal empire during Akbar’s reign and was therefore a key posting. Bhai Gurdas excavated the sarovar at Harmandir Sahib.
Under the direction of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Bhai Gurdas was the scribe of the Adi Granth. Guru Ji asked him to include his own vars and kabits but Bhai Gurdas was so humble he did not. The above is a picture representing Bhai Gurdas Ji's work in transcribing the Adi Granth. He led the Sikhs to Gwalior fort to try to free Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji when he was imprisoned. He was named the first Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht.
Bhai Gurdas travelled and spread the word of Sikhi, including going to Sri Lanka, Rajasthan, Chamba hills, Jammu, Varanasi, Agra, and Lucknow. He wrote the Vaaran Bhai Gurdas. These explain the principles of Sikhi and are called the “key” to the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. He also wrote 556 poems. After he passed, his antim sanskar was performed by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji.
Bhai Gurdas Ji was never married. He spent his whole life serving the Sikh panth.
References
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Sehaj
Coincidentally after writing my post I saw this Nanak Naam video along the same theme.
Some key points:
-An event leads to an emotion, and every time our mind replays that story, we live in those feelings. We can change this and break this pattern. Remember the majority of our memories are not factual anyways, they are false. (We realized this at my house, when we were arguing as a family about which picture had been up in our hallway for 10 yrs. Was it a waterfall? Niagara Falls? Harmandir Sahib with water in the background? It was one of the photos you plugged in, thats all that was clear. We had to find proof from old photos because no one could remember with enough confidence what the picture we had looked at in passing for that many years was and when we finally looked, it looked nothing like what any of us had remembered it looking like).
-Understand yourself and you will understand God. Stop looking outside and start looking inside.
-To learn from the Guru you must pay the price of your “I am-ness”, your ego. You may not want to pay this price now, but when enough is enough and you want to leave this prison, your Guru will guide you.
-The state of Sehaj means “I don’t mind what happens, If it comes let it come, if it goes, let it go.”
-Like anything in life, meditation must be practiced.
Everything is Yours
The last few weeks have brought loss. I am left remembering that nothing ever belongs to us in the first place “Kabeer, nothing is mine within myself, Whatever is there, is Yours. If I surrender to You what is already Yours, what does it cost me?” We are blessed with the presence of those around us for however long we get to have their company, but no one belongs to us. No plan, no dream, belonged to us. When plan A failed, I was trying to work on plan B, C, but they all got cancelled. Waheguru decided I’m not going anywhere, or doing anything. Patience, the same theme of the entire last five years.
When people talk about chardi kala, we cannot simply just pretend ourselves into positivity. It is easy to be positive when there is nothing going on. It is when we are presented with challenges that we finally get to exercise all the skills we learn from Sikhi and draw upon that spirit. Sikhi is not telling us to pretend and cover up everything with a façade of being happy and positive, and privately one suffers. When we have a wound, we stitch it up, we put medicine on it, we heal. When we are hurt, we need the divine medicine that Gurbani can give us: “Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam Ji, Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam, God’s Name is the destroyer of pain and sufferings. His Name eradicates all sorrows and pains.” We are meant to apply this meaningful medicine to our heart’s wounds. Over time, as one gets Anand from the bani, we get a spirit of Chardi Kala. I remember meeting a Bhai Sahib once that had such a radiant shine I will never forget it. It was all encompassing. Even being around him changed the way we were feeling and thinking. I remember one time I had someone yelling at me just relentlessly. I read the shabad “tatee vao na lagyee” in my mind. The hot wind does not even touch one who is under the protection of the Supreme Lord God.” As I finished the shabad, the man changed his tune suddenly and left. Gurbani has a power to transform us so deeply within ourselves, that those around us change as well. This is the power of sangat. It is also why when we work to change ourselves within a family, it slowly changes the whole nature of the family.
As I read paath in the morning, I realize that death could come today. We have talked about this theme in the past. Gurbani talks a lot about death, not in a sad way, but in a way of truth and of how to live without fear of death. There is a different way of living when you realize that each day could be your last. When you stop taking the people around you for granted. When you consider where you are spending your time and when you align yourself to your purpose. It is easy to say you are ok with dying when it is a vague concept. Yet actually having to think about it more imminently made me realize that I am actually afraid. We might worry about leaving people behind- Gurbani tells us that God provides for all of us. We might have unresolved problems to fix and relationships to mend. We might realize that we haven’t really lived and done the things we wanted to do in our life. We might realize that we didn’t achieve our purpose and now its too late. This is why we must really live our days accepting this is borrowed time, in a borrowed body vessel, and those around us are all in the same situation. We will have to leave by Hukam just like they will all leave as well. Live to achieve your purpose because death is not sad when one is already Jeevan Mukht, it is rather a marriage of merger into Waheguru eternally and a moment of joy.
I hope that we can all remember daily what we came here for, and that it is the power of Gurbani that will bring us to achieving our purpose, overcoming challenges, and to being in bliss. Guru Ji says "No one lives long enough to accomplish all he wishes. Only the spiritually wise live forever; they are honored for their intuitive awareness" Ang 1412.
Here is a great meditation:
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Going Green
Global Warming/Climate Change is affecting us in many ways. In fact due to covid restrictions they are surprisingly seeing all causes of death have reduced in India right now. India usually has a lot of deaths from pollution-related health problems, car accidents, etc. I know locally we have been deeply affected in the summers by the wildfires. Other parts of the world have been affected by floods, droughts or heat waves. This can affect the food and water supply. As Sikhs we have responsibilities towards making efforts to preserve the environment that we live in. We know Guru Har Rai Ji grew herbs in his gardens and respected nature greatly.
There are many things we can do to be eco friendly, starting off with use of our cars (car pooling, biking, walking). I worked on part of the planning for making the city bike friendly although that never really came to fruition and it continues to be a safety issue. We can still try to bike in the areas where it is safe to do so. Selection of vehicles of course depends on where you live. A “smart car” certainly isn’t safe to drive in Northern BC in the winter, but we can make choices that are more eco-friendly rather than less. The same is true when we select our appliances. We re-bought our appliances a couple of yrs ago and they are all a lot more green. We can shut off our lights when we leave the room, and make sure we are using our energy efficiently. We can change our lightbulbs to more energy efficient ones. In the summer we like to hang our clothes outside to dry, it is a great way to save energy. One of the things we like to do at my house when changing the summer to winter wardrobe, or putting the winter clothes away and bringing the summer ones out, is to pack up some of the clothes to donate them. Of course the mainstay of being eco-friendly is reusing and recycling.
Another interesting thing is how we can make our Gurdwaras more green. I think one of the obvious ways in langar is to make sure we are using reusable plates, and not running the whole dishwasher for just one plate. I saw some great suggestions online such as planting lots of flowers. It would be lovely if the Gurdwara could have a garden for growing our own Sabjis. There have been huge tree-planting projects from EcoSikh and other organizations. Having an air-drier for hands is also better than having towels and paper towels. Another way is travelling to the Gurdwara together or walking. We should not have big fireworks celebrations as you can see the polluting effects of these on Diwali in India. I'm sure there are many more ways we can save energy at the Gurdwara Sahib, similar to how we do in our homes with appliances, lights, and general measures like ensuring there is enough insulation.
I think one of the things we have learned from covid is that we are using too much. We travel to the grocery store too often. We were wasting too much food. We were shopping too much. We were driving around unnecessarily. Now that we are stuck inside our homes we are realizing perhaps how much we could do without, or with less. Think about what changes you could be making.
References:
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
The Power Within
Resilience is like the survival of a plant in the cracks of concrete. It is overcoming the improbable, the so-called impossible. It is what our people have been doing since the very beginnings of Sikhi. Within all of the destruction in the world right now, it is important for us to realize the absolute enormous potential for strength within us. A couple of years ago I did CPR on a family friend at the Gurdwara when I was just a few weeks post-op. In the moment I forgot about myself entirely and no one else even knew anyways. Despite surgery, my body had no limitation and it did what it needed to do. It is these types of events that have shown me that the power, the strength, and the resilience that is built within us.
In the Gurdwara Sahibs of India, I screamed from the scorching heat of the bricks on my feet. It made me think of Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s shaheedi, sitting on a hot plate, placed in a boiling cauldron, having hot sand poured over the body. Our Guru Ji was in such a state of Anand that what this body’s pains go through wasn’t able to touch that. The way that the mind, soul and physical elements of the body interact are playing by rules that we cannot fathom. We are taught that this state of bliss is achievable in our lifetime.
We were meant to fully enjoy our lives and live in contentment, not the “normal” that we have come to accept. The normal that we accept is a narrow image of the type of life that Gurbani tells us that we could live. It goes back to this analogy we saw when we were exploring Anand Karaj and they talked about the frog in the well. It’s world is only as small as the well and it has no idea what else is out there. We shouldn’t be restricting ourselves to living through the ups and downs of life as it comes. Instead Gurbani gives us this amazing capacity for us to survive and thrive despite our environment. Remembering that there is just You, the creator that made the stars and the universe, the One that operates everything from the microbes to the oceans, is the One within. I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around the vast extent of what we are a part of and have the chance to merge into. All of that universe energy, Waheguru, is already here, we are already a piece of it, it is just our doubt that prevents us from our final merger. We need to stop limiting ourselves, and when I say "we" I always mean me as well because I am also just trying my best to travel this journey. I don't have anything figured out, I'm just sharing as I learn as well. Today I am in awe of this universal power that is already within.
In Rehras Sahib the following shabad appears and reminds us that there are no limits:
Raag Goojaree, Fifth Mehl:
Why, O mind, do you plot and plan, when the Dear Lord Himself provides for your care?
From rocks and stones He created living beings; He places their nourishment before them.||1||
O my Dear Lord of souls, one who joins the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, is saved.
By Guru's Grace, the supreme status is obtained, and the dry wood blossoms forth again in lush greenery. ||1||Pause||
Mothers, fathers, friends, children and spouses-no one is the support of anyone else.
For each and every person, our Lord and Master provides sustenance. Why are you so afraid, O mind? ||2||
The flamingoes fly hundreds of miles, leaving their young ones behind.
Who feeds them, and who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind? ||3||
All the nine treasures, and the eighteen supernatural powers are held by our Lord and Master in the Palm of His Hand.
Servant Nanak is devoted, dedicated, forever a sacrifice to You, Lord. Your Expanse has no limit, no boundary. ||4||5||
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Teaching Methods
I grew up as a punjabi kid in a largely caucasian elementary school. Other kids, being curious, would ask me so many questions. Sometimes I felt to answer these questions would require so much time and background I was overwhelmed on where to even begin. I would just make up something simple and brush it off. Most of the time I probably didn’t even know the answers. The questions often came from a comparative standpoint, and I wouldn’t know enough about Sikhi or the other religion to be able to make the comparison or know what was being compared. In fact it has only been the last few years where I have felt comfortable answering these types of detailed questions about Sikhi.
When we think about the way that we generally teach children, we teach the names of the Gurus, the 5 K’s, basic history, and ooda ada, but we don’t actually teach any depth. Most of what we teach is basic facts. Even the history that we pass on is a pretty basic understanding of a few key events. Many people might not even know what Vaisakhi is about, Diwali, or the meaning of Ik Onkaar. Of course people have to have an interest, but at the same time we also have to be aware to impart such knowledge in a way that makes sense to the next generation.
I think unfortunately when we build a base knowledge of Sikhi, sometimes people don’t know where to start and they start with rules and visible differences, etc. rather than starting with the way of living. The focus should be on the application of the knowledge we get from Gurbani into our lives and how it relates to our lives right now. It should be on basic principles, like what is our purpose and which tools does Sikhi give us to achieve them and to live a fruitful life. Sikhi is meant to be helpful to us through our challenges in life. Unfortunately, I think the way of teaching that has been engrained for years in India was of rote memorization. This has carried over for how we teach Sikhi. A person could know the names of all the Guru Jis but not understand the significance of even having a Guru. The other cultural thing that carries over is not to question and do what your elders tell you. Again this prevents people from learning to some extent as well.
When we come into a family, we all come from different loks (patal lok, bhoom lok, etc). This means in our past lives we may have been on land, water, sky, etc. and thus at varying levels of spirituality before we got this life. Not everyone is at the same stage. There are members of the family that are meant to uplift the rest. Children may be young in age in this world but we all go through so many millions of life forms to get here and they may bring a spiritual elevated mind to the family unit. When we look at the Sahibzaade, or Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji, we realize what the potential of a child could be. The faith of the younger Sahibzaade was so strong that they didn’t give into bribes, or fear based tactics. When they faced the Mughals and were able to distinguish and tell them what it meant to be a true Muslim, one who followed the Quran. They lived by compassion, truth, love, humility and contentment. We should focus shaping the mind so our youth combat every pressure they face in today’s world and tomorrows. Rather than getting caught up in arguments about how we should look and what we should be eating, I think its important to be digging deep into our own paths. The more we do that, the more we have to offer our own children as they are growing up and we teach them about Sikhi. I'm not sure we have achieved this yet in most Gurdwaras, but it should be an effort we make to do a new way of teaching and learning. It can be incorporated into our families and khalsa schools as well.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Self-blame and Regret
These feelings are common ones to deal with at some point in our lives. We simply cannot live our life without making at least some mistakes. They’ll be made in our jobs, our relationships, our behaviours or even our ways of living. If we don’t learn to let go, we deal with a perpetual cycle of thinking about our mistakes. I personally have always found it easier to let go of what others have done, than letting go of what I have. The idea of making a mistakes that hurts someone else is so painful that it is hard sometimes to forgive oneself. We have touched on these topics here and there but I thought I would dedicate a post to it now.
In Nanak Naam’s Mool Mantar series, they talk about how the ego is ultimately responsible for us not being able to forgive ourselves. When we are blaming ourselves for what we did, we are saying “I am the karta purakh” yet we know that the doer is actually Waheguru and everything is Hukam. This comes in our mool mantar daily. It is the removal of self that is the solution. We must accept that our past was also a part of Hukam; Waheguru didn’t allow us to know at that point in time what we know now, and allowed it to happen. He explains that the reason we can’t get past this is because of our duality. This means we like to see things as good and bad, right and wrong and we label these based on our own perception. We see God as doing all good and we are the sinners doing all bad, when this is not true. God does everything, regardless of how we label it. He gives a great example, that I have thought about just about everyday since I originally watched this video in November. He describes that the lion kills a gazelle, is that good or bad? It is neutral because it doesn’t affect us. If the lion kills your child, is it good or bad? After all the lion is doing it otherwise his children will go hungry. Once it affects ME, then we start to perceive something as good or bad. In reality, it simply just is. Whatever happened was the Hukam at the time, the understanding that God gave us at the time. We are all a part of the universe, a very piece of Waheguru, and therefore there is only One. Bhai Sahib describes if we have the tools to change something, there is a reason we are in the situation, to act. If we don’t have the tools, God has made it so that we simply observe and cannot act. Waheguru does not need to forgive us because that forgiveness is already there and grace exists in each breath we receive. We were never taught to hang on to everything we ever did and never let it go.
In his videos, Bhai Satpal Singh Ji asks, why are there not shabads about forgiving people or ourselves in Gurbani? Because YOU have to exist to forgive people, and ultimately Gurbani is about removing YOU, it does not want you to exist. The cure to this problem is ultimately the removal of ego. Gurbani tells us also how to remove ego through simran. We can learn how to live in the present moment through simran. These are the types of topics that come to catch us in life if we do not address them by their roots. I encourage you to watch the Mool Mantar series, especially the two parts below. I found that on this topic in particular there will be lots of advice that you will get that will simply pump YOU up and say no but YOU are so great, and YOU this or YOU that. Friends will tell you God is doing all for your good, and all is good. That's simply building ego. Moving out of regret is all about removing the “you” and “them” from the equation. It is about removing blame, stopping the labelling of things in duality and the acceptance of Hukam. It is about seeing a bigger perspective of the way that the universe operates. With practice we learn to live more and more in the present.
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU6S0g8ewPI Nanak Naam Mool Mantar Part 2 ** EXCELLENT VIDEO, a must watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag_KvfXUKEk Nanak Naam Mool Mantar Part 4** EXCELLENT VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9qKgZ1rI0M&t=16s Nanak Naam video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYOaUh-zH9A Another Nanak Naam Video
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