ਪੰਚਪਹਰੂਆਦਰਮਹਿਰਹਤੇਤਿਨਕਾਨਹੀਪਤੀਆਰਾ॥
panch peharooaa dhar mehi rehathae thin kaa nehee patheeaaraa ||
The five senses stand as guards at the gate, but now can they be trusted?
ਚੇਤਿਸੁਚੇਤਚਿਤਹੋਇਰਹੁਤਉਲੈਪਰਗਾਸੁਉਜਾਰਾ॥੨॥
chaeth suchaeth chith hoe rahu tho lai paragaas oujaaraa ||2||
When you are conscious in your consciousness, you shall be enlightened and illuminated. ||2||
ਨਉਘਰਦੇਖਿਜੁਕਾਮਨਿਭੂਲੀਬਸਤੁਅਨੂਪਨਪਾਈ॥
no ghar dhaekh j kaaman bhoolee basath anoop n paaee ||
Seeing the nine openings of the body, the soul-bride is led astray; she does not obtain that incomparable thing.
ਕਹਤੁਕਬੀਰਨਵੈਘਰਮੂਸੇਦਸਵੈਂਤਤੁਸਮਾਈ॥੩॥੨੨॥੭੩॥
kehath kabeer navai ghar moosae dhasavain thath samaaee ||3||22||73||
Says Kabeer, the nine openings of the body are being plundered; rise up to the Tenth Gate, and discover the true essence. ||3||22||73||
~Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji p. 339
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I realise that some Sikhs will feel offended that this email is challenging what they hold most dear. But this is not meant to offend. Guru Gobind Singh ji gave us all these external things in 1699, but he also told us that Guru Granth Sahib ji is now our Guru.
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A spiritual discipline isn't an easy path or everyone could walk it as manmati. The point of a spiritual discipline is to walk against your inner manmat and put a noose around your 5 inner demons. This is how we change, not by wearing kakkars. All the world and Maya is pulling against you. Sadhana is a daily dying to self. If keeping kakkars was such a point of egotism, why isn't the whole world rushing to wear them and struggle to live up to what they mean? Why are kakkars a point of discrimination worldwide? Because it's not easy to keep this identity. No matter how inflated you may think of yourself, if you keep faithful spiritual practice meditation is like a mirror...and what is there isn't a pretty picture. No matter how high you may think yourself, so low will you feel when you look in that mirror. And if you practice sincerely looking in that mirror of Guruji's truth everyday, it helps to keep you humble and in touch with your inner reality. You see, that high flying egotism is all delusion. And like a bubble, it has to burst. So don't worry too much if you see a lot of high flying people. It's really hard to look in that mirror. And flying high like that is just an escape. You can't avoid looking in that mirror sometime... when you close your eyes at night... when you have to die... the reality of who we are will tumble us off our pedestal.
So this whole thing is a game of love. And everyone approaches this path from a different level, depending on our past karams and our present understanding. Everything that comes to us is Guruji's grace. We can't jump to a higher level. We just come as we are. And Guruji takes us as we are and shows us a way to be better. When you're searching Gurbani, remember you're looking at the sant part of the sant-sipahi. Dasam Pita Ji included also the sipahi part of the equation. A description of kakkars can never be out of context. Gurbani doesn't contradict. Only our minds think contradiction.
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| So why dont we put the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib ji - our Guru right now, HIGHER THAN ANYTHING that has gone before? And stop judging others who dont have the same Sikh appearance? If we put the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib Ji higher than even our Sikh religious practices, we would be the greatest, open minded, loving hearts, full of naam that the world had ever seen. |
Veer Ji, with all the best intentions you will go the way of every other well intentioned path... into failure. Because Sikh religious practices aren't open-minded... their strict and demanding. Open-mindedness is a quality of heart not of method. Being open-minded alone won't give you what it takes to face hardship, bullets, hatred of the world. If you are so "open-minded" that your spiritual practice is singing a bit of kirtan, reading some Gurbani but has no real discipline... you won't be prepared.
The teachings of Shabadguru Ji cannot contradict the hukam of Guruji. Our Sikh religious practices are our dharam, given to us by Guruji. We have opportunity to put into practice our love for Guruji. It's meaningless to say you love Guru in all the conveniences of the way YOU want to. To love Guru you have to surrender all that you are. That's the discipline. That's why Guru loves the rehit but not the Sikh. He loves what you are becoming, not the egotism on the way.
Everyday should be a small sacrifice, a bowing down of egotism, like practice of shaheedi while you're still alive. Because idealism alone doesn't transform consciousness. It's real hard work, sacrifice, inner honesty, loyalty to a path. These are the things that show love for Guru. Dressing a part doesn't please Guru. There's a reason we dress in Guruji's bana. Because when we do something good, when we look in the mirror with pride, it's not our darshan. And when we do something bad, we know how badly we failed to live up to that precious and wonderful darshan. So even Guruji's bana is like a mirror.
No one is judging non-amritdharis. People are simply using Gurmat definitions of what a Sikh is, what an amritdhari is. No one is stopping anyone from living life however they want. The key is, don't live against Gurmat and say that it's Gurmat. That's all. If you want to cut hairs, do it! But don't say that's Gurmat. If people want to drink and smoke fine. Who can stop them? But if you want to follow a Gurmat path, you can't contradict Gurbani, Akal Takht, the Panj Piares, the Rehit Maryada you received amrit from because you made a commitment.
It isn't "closed-minded" or "judging" to distinguish one thing from another. That is bibek, discrimination. We have the right to discriminate for ourselves between things, and make best determination if its in line with Gurmat Gursikhi. Problems happen when people want to change the traditional definitions of what is Gurmat, and do a lot of things that aren't accepted and try to force the acceptance. That is what they call "judging." And naturally what happens is they get a strict definition, and they don't like it. And sometimes people try to find a way around that strict definition. But you would only be cheating yourself. Remember, pleasure is the poison, suffering is the cure.
We are living in open societies. I have freedom to do what I want. I choose to put my life under strict discipline. Not because I think I'm better than somebody. Because I want to tame my own beasts. And I'm a much happier person. I have the freedom for, as well as freedom from. Discipline is a way to live that gives you great peace. If I didn't have my Guru, my rehit, my Naam abiyaas... I wouldn't have a reason for living. Everything else is fake and fades away... even my very life.
I don't know how anyone can judge the spiritual development of the Singhs/Singhnia since no one can see whats happening on the inside, or where people have come from to be here now sharing in their best way a darshan of Guruji. Maybe if you look at someone's life over time, you can better judge success from failure. But most of all, don't worry too much about them. Worry about you.
~bhul chak maaf karni ji