Monday, September 10, 2007

page 441

The outgoing, wandering soul, upon meeting the True Guru, opens the Tenth Gate. There, Ambrosial Nectar is food and the celestial music resounds; the world is held spell-bound by the music of the Word. The many strains of the unstruck melody resound there, as one merges in Truth. Thus says Nanak: by meeting the True Guru, the wandering soul becomes steady, and comes to dwell in the home of its own self. O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light - recognize your own origin. O my mind, the Dear Lord is with you; through the Guru's Teachings, enjoy His Love. Acknowledge your origin, and then you shall know your Husband Lord, and so understand death and birth. By Guru's Grace, know the One; then, you shall not love any other. Peace comes to the mind, and gladness resounds; then, you shall be acclaimed. Thus says Nanak: O my mind, you are the very image of the Luminous Lord; recognize the true origin of your self. O mind, you are so full of pride; loaded with pride, you shall depart. The fascinating Maya has fascinated you, over and over again, and lured you into reincarnation. Clinging to pride, you shall depart, O foolish mind, and in the end, you shall regret and repent. You are afflicted with the diseases of ego and desire, and you are wasting your life away in vain. The foolish self-willed manmukh does not remember the Lord, and shall regret and repent hereafter. Thus says Nanak: O mind, you are full of pride; loaded with pride, you shall depart. O mind, don't be so proud of yourself, as if you know it all; the Gurmukh is humble and modest. Within the intellect are ignorance and ego; through the True Word of the Shabad, this filth is washed off. So be humble, and surrender to the True Guru; do not attach your identity to your ego. The world is consumed by ego and self-identity; see this, lest you lose your own self as well. Make yourself follow the Sweet Will of the True Guru; remain attached to His Sweet Will. Thus says Nanak: renounce your ego and self-conceit, and obtain peace; let your mind abide in humility. Blessed is that time, when I met the True Guru, and my Husband Lord came into my consciousness. I became so very blissful, and my mind and body found such a natural peace. My Husband Lord came into my consciousness; I enshrined Him within my mind, and I renounced all vice. When it pleased Him, virtues appeared in me, and the True Guru Himself adorned me. Those humble beings become acceptable, who cling to the One Name and renounce the love of duality. Thus says Nanak: blessed is the time when I met the True Guru, and my Husband Lord came into my consciousness. Some people wander around, deluded by doubt; their Husband Lord Himself has misled them. They wander around in the love of duality, and they do their deeds in ego. Their Husband Lord Himself has misled them, and put them on the path of evil. Nothing lies in their power. You alone know their ups and downs, You, who created the creation. The Command of Your Will is very strict; how rare is the Gurmukh who understands. Thus says Nanak: what can the poor creatures do, when You mislead them into doubt?

~ sri guru granth sahib ji, page 441 ~


Friday, August 31, 2007

pagal singh, the wise fool

A man who took his little girls to the amusement park noticed that Pagal Singh kept riding the merry-go-round all afternoon. Once when the merry-go-round stopped, Pagal rushed off, took a drink of water and headed back again. As he passed near the girls, their father said to him, "Pagal Singh, you certainly do like to ride on the merry-go-round, don't you?" "No, I don't. Rather I hate it absolutely and am feeling very sick because of it," said Pagal. "but the fellow who owns this thing owes me $80 and taking it out in trade is the only way I will ever collect from him."

"I will bet anyone here that I can fire thirty shots at 200 yards and call each shot correctly without waiting for the marker. Who will wager a ten spot on this?" challenged Pagal Singh in the teahouse. "I will take you," cried a stranger. They went immediately to the target range, and Pagal fired his first shot. "Miss," he calmly and promptly announced. A second shot, "Missed," repeated Pagal. A third shot. "Missed," snapped Pagal. "Hold on there!" said the stranger. "What are you trying to do? You are not even aiming at the target. And, you have missed three targets already." "Sir," said the wise fool, "I am shooting for that ten spot of yours, and I am calling my shot as promised."

"Did you know I am a hero?" said Pagal Singh to his friends in the bar. "How come you're a hero?" asked someone. "Well, it was my wife's birthday," said Pagal, "and she said if I ever brought her a gift she would just drop dead in sheer joy. So, I didn't buy her any and saved her life."

Thursday, August 30, 2007

mirrors

without a mirror, how would one know what one looks like?

if all were blind, how would one see the beauty of others?

Friday, August 24, 2007

the grace of our lord (gurprasad)


"The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings. Take refuge in Him with all thy heart, by His grace shalt thou attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.

Thus has wisdom more profound than all profundities been declared to thee by Me. Reflecting over it fully, act as thou likest."


- Bhagavad Gita,the Divine Song of God. 18:61-63

what did the sikh gurus look like?

how would you recognize them?

if you were alive during guru arjan dev ji's physical life,

how would you have known he was the guru?

if guru nanak ji took human form today and passed you
on the street while you were on your way to do the shopping, would you see him?

if guru gobind singh ji was serving langar to you in the gurdwara next week,
would you understand what he was doing, asking and serving?

how would you know?

just so, only gursikhs can recognize other gursikhs
they do not always show a dastaar and kirpan

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

dhikr...remembrance of god


"Almighty Allah says, 'I treat my slave (man) according to his expectations from Me, and I am with him when he remembers me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better and nobler gathering (i.e. of angels) if he comes closer to Me by one span, I go towards him a cubit's length, if he comes toward Me by a cubit's length, I go towards him an arm's length, and if he walks towards Me, I run unto him."

and if our hearts desire is to run unto allah, what then?

salaam and fateh