PIETY AND VARIETY

 

Only the pious would feel drawn towards the spiritual and draw their inspiration and sustenance from there. They would feel comfortable only in the like company and would eagerly look to be under the tutelage of a spiritual master.

The worldly, materialistic men on the other hand relish the association of people having similar interests and like to visit places where their senses can find gratification. They would be repelled by places of true piety.

Men of the first kind are like swans who relish a diet of pearls and gems found in holy lakes. Those of the second variety are comparable to crows and herons who despite their pious postures would still be comfortable on a foul diet.

As Guru Ram Das Saheb has so aptly written in Pauri 26 of Gauri Var, M.4, (p.314):

“ Kooriar kooriari jai rale, sachiar Sikh baithe satiguru paas”——

‘ The false would mix with the false,

The true disciple would sit near the True Guru.’ --- Ashok Gupta

LOVE FOR THE LORD

Guru Arjun Dev

Bilawal M.5, P.838, Steps 6-10

Guru Granth Saheb

“Prabhu tujh bina nahin hor”

O Lord, there is none other than Thou,

My love like that of chakor* for the moon

Or fish’s love for water,

The bumblebee and the lotus ever together,

Like the chakavi* longing for the sun,

For the Lord’s feet, Nanak’s compulsion.

For the young lass, her groom is her life,

Or the greedy keeping his purse closed tight.

Like milk and water mixing with such ease

Or, food valued by a hungry person to eat.

Like a mother’s love for her child,

Nanak remembers the Lord all the time. (7)

Like a moth falling on the flame, in love for the same.

Thief stealing others’ things without shame.

The elephant trapped being mad with lust.

A pleasure seeking person , suffer he must.

A gambler never free from his obsession.

Nanak remembers the Lord daily with passion.

The typical sound keeps the deer spell bound.

The chatrak*s longing for rain is profound.

The devotee, with a saint, is full of zest.

Hearing the praise of God, he feels blessed.

His Name ever chanted by the tongue.

Nanak seeking a glimpse of His as a boon. (9)

Sings His virtues, listens to His songs,

Writes the same for others to read.

Such a one earns all His boons

Also salvages his whole group.

He crosses the world’s ocean

With the Lord’s feet as ship to ferry him on.

With the holy extolling the Lord .

The Lord preserves their honour.

Nanak seeks refuge at the door of the Lord. (10)

* These are legendary birds known for their unwavering love for the moon, the sun and the rain respectively. They are symbols of constant love.

———-Translated by Ashok Gupta.

GOD ALONE CAN HELP

 

Guru Arjun Dev

Bilawal M.5, Choupada 88

P.821, Guru Granth Saheb

“Binu Hari kami na aavat hei”

None but the Lord is of help in distress.

The one with whom you are so involved

She is just a charming enchantress.

Gold,woman, splendid bed

In a moment all these will be shed.

Aroused and ensnared by sensual pleasures,

You become senseless, eating the poisonous.

You embellish your house of straws

Lighting up fire below the same.

In such a castle, stiff with pride

With bloated ego what do you gain?

The five heralds stand close to you,

Drag you round by your hair .

The blind ignoramus can not see

Intoxicated, being asleep.

The net cast wide,

Enticed by the feed scattered,

Like a bird you get ensnared.

Says Nanak, I meditate on the true Master

To get me freed from this disaster.

——-Translated by Ashok Gupta.

THE TRUE DISCIPLE

 

Guru Ram Das

Gauri Var M.4, Pauri 26

P.314, Guru Granth Saheb

“Jin ke chit kathore hain, se bahen na Satguru pas”

They whose hearts are hard

They do not stay with the Satguru for long.

There truth alone prevails

The false ones feel out of place.

They look here and there,

Search for an excuse to disappear

They go and sit with those of the same veneer.

The false can not remain for long

Among the true ones.

On this you may well ponder.

The false go and mix with the false

The true disciples like to be with the true master.

———Translated by Ashok Gupta

DECEPTION OF PERCEPTION

 

We may be deceived by what we perceive. Reality may not bear out our illusions.There is a sea of difference between wakeful state and dream state. To a great extent our life is being governed by our dreams and that may be the reason for ever increasing incidence of frustration among people and fragility of relationships. Reality and Truth belong more in the realm of the Divine than in the mundane world that is under the sway of Mammon (Maya).Maya befuddles the mind, creates its own web of snares and leads man towards irrationality and at times insanity. A closeness with the men of God, the saints, the savants is necessary for redemption from such a situation having sorry consequences.

Guru Arjun Dev gives us a graphic picture of such a world in the following verse drawn from page 50 ofGuruGranth Saheb:

“ Mitha kar ke khaia kaura upajia saad “

Ate, what was thought sweet,

it turned out to be bitter.

Brother, friend, soulmate,

All form a hollow world of pleasures,

Take no time to depart.

All being deception,

Devoid of the Name of God.

Oh me,

Engage thou in the True Guru’s service.

What you see now will soon perish.

Counsel of your own mind,

you better not cherish.

Like a dog gone crazy, running in all directions

Being greedy, caring not

What is and what is not fit to eat.

Born again and again,

Dominated by lust, anger and conceit.

The web of delusion, spread far and wide,

Contains within the tempting feed.

The birds of desire enticed, caught in the net,

Can not now take flight.

Not knowing the One by whom it all is done,

Again and again one goes only to come.

In so many ways the world is ensnared.

He alone is saved for whom the Almighty cares.

Nanak is sacrifice unto those men of God

Who in Him are absorbed, and thus absolved.

——-Translated by Ashok Gupta

KABIR—-THE LAMP LIT IN THE HEART

 

Sufism has of late become popular and saleable in so many forms.Expedience has taken over experience.Frivolous has taken the place of fervour.The word "love",once so precious in Sufi parlance is now a debased coin.It is not derived from Islamic tradition as is generally believed because in essence it is a product of mystic experience and transcends any "ism" or any belief system.Thus Nanak and Kabir may be two persons but are ONE in Essence.

Here I am presenting a verse of Kabir which needs no explanation for those who know,and for those who do not ,no explanation will do.Taken from page

655 of Guru Granth Saheb,its first line is :

"Kia parhiye kia guniye,kia Ved Puranan suniye"-----

What use are didactics or dialectics

Or even tales from scriptures

If the inner Self is not known.

Hey,the ignoramus,

Why not meditate on the Name of the Lord,

In vain are you stuck in repetitive thoughts.

To get to that intangible,inner light is needed.

That Lamp has been lit in my heart

And now that I have got,

Which for so long had been sought.

Says Kabir---now that I have known

I am at peace with myself,

But what of those who do not believe

What I now know.

What can I do if this wisdom they forego !

———-Translated by Ashok Gupta

Let us drink to our heart's content straight from the founts of Love and Sufis and beware of the duplicate stuff that may look similar in words but be farthest in spirit.

DIE AND BECOME ALIVE

 DIE AND BECOME ALIVE

Guru Nanak Saheb in the 20th Pauri Of Manjh ki Var at page 147 of Guru Granth Saheb :

“Jeevadian maru mara na pachhotaiye”

To be saved from regrets later,

Better to die while you still live.

This world is a deception,

Whom to tell, who will believe.

None loves this simple truth.

All so involved in worldly pursuits.

Time, inimical, consumes all.

It keeps all under its thrall.

Death hovers over all.

Strikes one by His command.

He Himself plants love within a being

And then dwells therein.

When the time is up, no delay is brooked,

Contents poured out when the cup is full.

This, one understands by the grace of the guru.

And finally gets absorbed in Truth.

——-Translated by Ashok Gupta