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Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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Gurmat Vichaar
Gurmat Vichar - Discussions
Concept Of Naam
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<blockquote data-quote="Sikh80" data-source="post: 77012" data-attributes="member: 5290"><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/F77FFDA5BD436F2987256BFE0012FB59!OpenDocument</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><a href="http://www.gurbani.org/webart50.htm" target="_blank">SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><u><strong>SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE </strong></u></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Walking on the Eternal Path, all pains are taken away (sggs 201). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Listen, O my companions: let?s join together and make the effort, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">to surrender to our Husband Lord. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Renouncing our pride, let's charm Him with the potion </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">of devotional worship, and the word of the Holy Saints (sggs 249). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you will obtain total peace, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and your pains, troubles, and doubts will depart (sggs 456). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><><><><></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Religion and the theory of Karma is used by the wily to exploit the spiritually ignorant masses. The result is fatalistic belief and behavior. Accordingly, people begin to believe and think that it is the outside agency namely divine dispensation or fate (God) that has determined their present situation, not actions of their own self-effort. Apparently, as evident, the Karma, divine will or fate seems to be much misunderstood. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The very definition of God reveals that He is without enmity towards anybody (Nirvair) and that he is impartial (Sam-Drishtee). Therefore, it is not divine will or fate that makes, for example, one snake and the other a saint. If the God or fate is the ordainer then it would imply that the divine will or fate was friendly and partial to the soul who became a saint, and on the contrary, He was enemy and impartial to the soul who became a cobra. Fate or divine will is merely a convention repeatedly used by the realized souls to teach us the Truth. If the divine will or God is the ordainer of everything in the universe then any action (Karma) has no meaning. For that then there is no need for teachers and teaching, Naam Simran, meditation, Kirtan, self-knowledge, devotion, self-control, Satsang, and so on. But, that's not the case! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam karo badbhaagee ho simrahu Hari Hari rai......: </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you shall obtain total peace, and your pains and troubles and doubts shall depart (sggs 456). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The scriptures thus roar that man is not the creature of his circumstances. He can change his activities if he wants to. Thereby, he can change the results of his actions if he wants to. Choice is in his hands as he is the architect of his own fate. Hs is given this life (opportunity) to rebel against the wrong. Everyone of us in this human form is given the invitation to end the pains, troubles, and doubts arising out of our mental delusion. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. Jehaa beejai so lunai karma sandraa khet: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .As the man sows so does he reap. Such is the field of actions (sggs 134). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Thus, the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) thunders against fatalism. It emphatically rejects fatalistic thinking, belief or behavior, and warns those who use it as just another device to exploit people. One who blames circumstances, divine will or fate for the situation he is in is a fool. The scriptures emphasize the need for self-effort for both one's material needs and spiritual progress. The Gurbani declares that: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Daddai dos na deyoo kisai dos krammaa aapanyaa. Jo mai keeyaa so mai paayaa dos na deejai avar janaa: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Do not blame anyone else; blame instead your own actions. Whatever I did, for that I have suffered; I do not blame anyone else (sggs 433). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Dukh sukh deeyaa jehaa keeyaa so nibahai jeeya naale: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .The Lord bestows pain and pleasure, according to the deeds done; the record of these actions stays with the soul (sggs 581). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The Gurbani takes the ball out of God's court and places it firmly in our own. For our pain and pleasure, we can blame neither God nor a devil, or some other outside agency. Simply put, our past thoughts and actions are responsible for the present life. Similarly, our present thoughts and actions will determine the life that we will live tomorrow. Whether we want to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions or not, that's what we are doing every step of the way. We are the architect of our own fate or destiny: Every thought and action builds our future experience. Accordingly, the scriptures declare that man is the master of his own destiny. In this regard, self-effort called Uddam in the Gurbani is very essential. In fact, our self-effort is the best help we can count on! In the Divine Light of the Gurbani, this article will attempt to reflect on the following in this context: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. The meaning of self-effort, divine will, and fate </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Renouncing fatalism </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Impure self-effort </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Pure self-effort </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The Meaning Of Self-Effort, Divine Will, And Fate Inactivity is death. Only a corpse is inactive; everything else in this universe is active through mind, speech, or body. Such activities yield appropriate results which determine the future of one's soul. Scriptures assert that this life is a field (Khet) of actions, in which whatever we sow so do we reap. To put it otherwise, as is the effort so is the fruit. Therefore, what is called divine dispensation or fate is none other than the fruits of past actions of our self-effort. This is the meaning of self-effort, divine will or fate. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Beej bovas bhog bhogahi keeyaa appnaa pavaye: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .As are the seeds one plants, so are the fruits; he receives the consequences of his own efforts (sggs 705). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The cosmic order (Ilaahee Hukam) people reffer to as divine law or ordain or fate ensures that one's every effort is blessed with appropriate fruition. This cosmic order is maintained by the Infinite Consciousness that revels everything (Inner-Knower). Those who say "Divine dispensation is directing me", or those who say "I am performing so and so act because my fate is impelling me to do so" are unwise (Manmukh or Moorakh). They use such fallacious expressions for mere self-satisfaction. In fact it is the fruits of one's past self-effort that manifest as tendencies. Therefore, self-effort alone is another name for divine will or fate. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Karnee kaagad man masvaan buraa bhalaa dui lekh pae. Jiyu jiyu kirat chalaae tiyu chaleeai tayu gun naahee ant hare: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord (sggs 990). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">In general, there are two types of efforts: that of past births and that of present birth. The fate or destiny we experience in this present life is shaped by the self-effort of our past incarnations; also called Praalabdh. Therefore, fate or destiny is none other than the self-effort of past births. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Karma upper nibrai je lochai sabh koyi: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .According to the Karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky (sggs 157). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The self-effort of present life determines the future destiny of our soul. In other words, the fruits in the form of debits (unrighteous acts) and credits (righteous acts) created by the self-effort of this birth will be reaped in future births. Upon death of this body, only thing that goes with the soul is actions of our self-effort. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Sanjogee aayaa kirt kamaayaa karnee kaar kamayee: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future (sggs 75). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The impressions or tendencies brought forward from the past efforts are also of two types: pure and impure. Pure or good tendencies will lead one towards pure efforts in this present life (mode of goodness / liberation), and the impure or bad tendencies will invite bad efforts and laziness (the mode of passion and ignorance / trouble). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong> Renouncing Fatalism </strong></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Simply put: Renouncing fatalism is applying self-effort (Uddam). The self-effort of present life effectively counteracts the reactions incurred by the self-effort of past births. As a result, there is an on-going battle between these two in our present life; and that which is more powerful wins. Thus, one can overcome fate by present efforts. Or, at least we can make the beginning. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam keeyaa karaayaa arambh rachaayaa. Naam jape jap jeevnaa gu mantar driraayaa: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .I made the effort; I did it, and made a beginning. I live by chanting and meditating on the Naam; the Guru has implanted this Mantra within me (sggs 399). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Evidently, the present efforts are infinitely more potent than the past efforts. Those who are fatalists are simply satisfied with the fruits of their past self-effort; which they regard as Divine will, fate or destiny. Consequently, in this foolish frame of mind, they waste the present life by not engaging in self-effort now. In fact, according to the scriptures, the appropriate self-effort of this life can erase the effects of countless past efforts. How can one claim this to be true? Here is the proof. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Gur ka Shabad kaatai koti karam: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .The Shabad eradicates the Karma of millions of past actions (sggs 1159). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Without self-effort or exertion one cannot even jump over the footprint of an animal. The Uddam alone determines for whatever we attain here. Therefore, the wise seeker (Gurmukh) knows that the fruits of his actions are commensurate with the intensity of his self-effort now. Accordingly, he also knows that neither divine will or fate can ordain it otherwise. For example, if one is hungry, he can appease his hunger by taking food. If he does not make effort to take food, or if he just sits there on account of his fate (fatalism), he is sure to die of starvation! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Grieving over inevitability is fatalism. For example, knowing that the death is inevitable, a fatalist will daily worry and grieve it. The Gurbani emphasizes for persistently applying self-effort that leads to spiritual wisdom. Upon acquiring wisdom one realizes that this self-effort is not without its own end, but an indispensable means to the end ? the direct realization of the eternal good or the truth. Thus, the wise one (Gurmukh) knows what is attainable by self-effort and what is not. As such, he will renounce the fatalism. To the contrary, a spiritually ignorance (Manmukh) will name an outside agency (divine will or fate or God) for his suffering. For example, when someone is in suffering and unhappiness, to console him people will suggest that it is his fate! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam karat hovai man nirmal naachai aap nivaare. Panch janaa le vasgat raakhai man mahi ekkankare: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Making the effort, the mind becomes pure; in this dance, the self is silenced. The five passions are kept under control, and the One Lord dwells in the mind (sggs 381). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Everything is achieved by self-effort, and not by sitting idle. Even the mighty lion has to go out and hunt! No prey falls into its mouth if it stays idle. An ant goes a long distance as it keeps moving. Even mighty eagle can not make any progress if he does not get up and move! Similarly, no one can attain Yoga (union with God) by mere daydreaming! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Galleen Yoga na hoyee: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .The Yoga is not attained by mere words (sggs 730). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Arise, awake, know the Truth from sages (Katha Upanishada: I:iii:14). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uplift yourself by yourself! Do not let yourself down! You are your own best friend. If you do not care properly, you are yourself the worst enemy of your own (Geeta, 6-5). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><u><strong> Impure Self-Effort </strong></u></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Impure efforts increase material attachment to this world. In such bondage, our love is false, our acts are false, and we become fully engrossed in falsehood. As a result, we become a display of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, mental stubbornness, and enviousness. This is what the Gurbani calls collecting of "poison". </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. Bin naavai hor dhan naahee hor bilhiyaa sabh shaaraa: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. Without God?s Name, there is no other wealth. Everything else is just poison and ashes (sggs 141). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam kare suaan kee niyaai chaare kunta ghokhaa.....: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .He makes efforts and runs around like a dog, searching in the four directions. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The lustful, lecherous man desires many women, and he never stops peeking into the homes of others. Day after day, he commits adultery again and again, and then he regrets his actions; he wastes away in misery and greed (sggs 672). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">All demoniac tendencies in a man represent his inauspicious efforts. We are not born to live a corrupt life. But this is exactly what happens if one clings to non-eternal things. When there is clinging to non-essential efforts, their is arrogance (the sense of doership and enjoyership or duality) and corrupt desires or ego. In such mental conditioning, there is no true love for God and His creation. This is the veil that conceals the Truth. Scriptures compare such living with animals. In this context, the Gurbani gracefully teaches us as follows: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam kare anek Hari naam na gaavahi.....: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .He makes all sorts of efforts, but he does not sing the Lord?s Name. He wanders around in countless incarnations; he dies, only to be born again. As beasts, birds and trees </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">. their number cannot be known. As are the seeds he plants, so are the pleasures he enjoys; he receives the consequences of his own actions. He loses the jewel of this human life in the gamble, and God is not pleased with him at all. Prays Nanak, wandering in doubt, he does not find any rest, even for an instant (sggs 705). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam kar laage bahu bhantee.......: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Men are engaged in making efforts many ways. They reflect upon the various aspects of the six Shaastras. Rubbing ashes all over their bodies, they wander around at the various sacred shrines of pilgrimage; they fast until their bodies are emaciated, and braid their hair into tangled messes. Without devotional worship of the Lord, they all suffer in pain, caught in the tangled web of their love. They perform worship ceremonies, draw ritual marks on their bodies, cook their own food fanatically, and make pompous shows of themselves in all sorts of ways (sggs 1389). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">By the rise of spiritual ignorance ? also called foolishness in scriptures ? self-binding actions arise. That is considered impure action which is performed with an attached mind. Such actions are performed only for the attainment of sensual experience. As the scriptures tell us, the delight derived from such sense-pleasures is fleeting at its best, and it binds the soul to sorrows. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Re nar esee karahi iyaanath.....: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .O man, such is the foolishness you practice. Renouncing the Lord, the Support of the earth, you wander, deluded by doubt; you are engrossed in emotional attachment, associating with Maya, the slave-girl.... You do useless deeds, you ignorant person; this is why you are called a blind, mentally deluded Manmukh (sggs 1001). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Dukh vich jamme dukh vich kaar kamaaye.....: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .In pain he is born, in pain he dies, and in pain he does his deeds. He is never released from the womb of reincarnation; he rots away in manure. Cursed, cursed is the mentally deluded Manmukh, who wastes his life away (sggs 1130). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><u><strong> Pure Self-Effort </strong></u></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The pure self-effort is essential for self-development and self-improvement, which, in turn, leads one to reach the Lord's Temple (Supreme Truth) and the acme of self-perfection. Therefore, the scriptures tell us that we must make self-effort to love and serve the creation with divine compassion, choose righteous actions, perform regular introspection, recharge our life with proper understanding of the scriptures, purify ourselves with enthusiasm for noble acts, identify with the Lord, create firm convictions, learn to lift our mind to a divine attitude, make use of the present to become honest servant of Waheguru, become humble, attain competency and efficiency, stop living in the futility of hypocrisy, keep our life God-centered, become true devotee, be contented in all situations, weed out the evil instincts in ourselves, cultivate the divine qualities in ourselves, learn the art of spiritual living, listen and contemplate, end our false ego, rid of our selfishness, develop integrity in ourselves, forgive and forget, become virtuous in thought and pure in word, discard enviousness, detect faults in ourselves, strive for pure bliss, stop worrying, become peaceful, realize our true nature, and so on. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">We constantly accumulate material filth or Mail (mental rubbish) in us. As our hearts are full of such Mail, there is no room for the Lord. Therefore, we must keep on clearing out the mental rubbish accumulating daily in us. This inner "disposing of the garbage" is achieved by the pure self-effort. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .So kish kar jit mail na laagai: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Make only those efforts by which the Mail or filth (mental rubbish) may not attach to you (sggs 199). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam krediyaa jeeyu toon kamaavadiyaa sukh bhunch....: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Make the effort, and you shall live; practicing it, you shall enjoy peace. Meditating, you shall meet God, O Nanak, and your anxiety shall vanish (sggs 522). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The very essence of all scriptures can be summed up in these words: Divert the impure mind to pure endeavor by persistent self-effort. The self-effort which diverts the impure mind to purity is based on the knowledge and teaching of the true scriptures, and one's own Uddam in accordance with these two. Such self-effort brings an inner awakening in the intelligence, which leads mind to make pure decisions, resulting in righteous physical action. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam karo darsan pekhan ko karam prapat hoe: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Make effort to see God's vision; it is obtained only by good action (sggs 1223). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Self-effort consists of mental, verbal or physical action. However, the pure self-effort is that which is in accordance with the teaching of the Shabad. So called God's grace is proportional to the intensity of such pure exertion. Moreover, actions performed in conjunction with scriptures instead of the deluded mind become non-actions, thereby non-binding. As such actions are performed for pleasing the Lord only, they become His actions. The individual soul becomes free from their reactions. That's the state of true Bhagti (devotion) and Bhagta (devotee), also known as complete surrender. By the cessation of foolishness (spiritual ignorance), the self-binding actions cease to be. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .jis kaa kaaraj tin he keeyaa manas kiyaa vechaaraa Ram. Bhagat sohan Hari ke gun gaavahi sadaa karahi jai kaaraa Ram: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .It was His job, and He has done it; what can the mere mortal being do? The devotees are adorned, singing God's Glorious Praises; they proclaim His eternal victory (sggs 784). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Santaa ke kaaraj aap khloyiyaa har kamm kraavan aayaa Ram: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .The Lord Himself has stood up to resolve the affairs of the Saints; He has come to complete their tasks (sggs 783). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Bissariyo man kaa moorakh dheethaa. Prabh kaa bhaanaa laagaa methaa: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .The stubborn foolishness of my mind is gone; God?s Will has become sweet to me (sggs 387). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Any other self-effort that is not in accordance with the scriptures is motivated by delusion (i.e., impure), hence self-binding. Accordingly, the scriptures tell us that right from the childhood one should make Uddam to promote one's true good by duly reflecting over the Truth or Shabad, by keeping the holy company (Saadh Sangat), by singing God's praises, by meditating on the Naam, by retaining self-discipline, and so on. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam kar Hari jaapnaa badbhaagee dhan khaat: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Saadhu sang bhayiaa man uddam naam ratan jas gaayee: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, self-effort welled up in my mind, and I sang the Praises of the jewel of the Naam (sggs 619). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam karat anand bhayiaa simrat sukh saar. Jap jap naam govind kaa pooran beechaar: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Make effort to meditate, and contemplate the source of peace, and bliss will come to you. Chanting, and meditating on the Name of the Lord of the Universe, perfect understanding is achieved (sggs 815). </span></span></p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Sagal uddam mahi uddam bhalaa. Hari ka naam japhu jeeyaa sadaa: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Of all efforts, the best effort is to persistently chant the Name of the Lord in the heart (sggs 266). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Man's true self-effort and God's Grace are interdependent. Without one, the other is impossible. The Divine is unattainable by ceremonies, rituals, pilgrimage or material wealth; He is attained only by the self-control or conquest of the mind, by the cultivation of divine wisdom. Hence, by persistently treading this path, one can attain the Eternal Good. Fate or divine dispensation does not enter here. Self-effort alone is another name for Divine Will. Accordingly, scriptures roar to renounce fatalism and apply to self-effort. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Uddam karat seetal man bhaye...: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> .Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. Walking on the Lord's path, all pains are taken away. The mind becomes blissful by chanting the Naam. Singing the glorious praises of God, supreme bliss is obtained (sggs 201). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px">--T. Singh</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><a href="http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/F77FFDA5BD436F2987256BFE0012FB59!OpenDocument" target="_blank">Self Effort, Divine Will and Fate</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sikh80, post: 77012, member: 5290"] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/F77FFDA5BD436F2987256BFE0012FB59!OpenDocument [URL="http://www.gurbani.org/webart50.htm"]SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE[/URL] [U][B]SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE [/B][/U] Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48). Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. Walking on the Eternal Path, all pains are taken away (sggs 201). Listen, O my companions: let?s join together and make the effort, to surrender to our Husband Lord. Renouncing our pride, let's charm Him with the potion of devotional worship, and the word of the Holy Saints (sggs 249). Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you will obtain total peace, and your pains, troubles, and doubts will depart (sggs 456). <><><><> Religion and the theory of Karma is used by the wily to exploit the spiritually ignorant masses. The result is fatalistic belief and behavior. Accordingly, people begin to believe and think that it is the outside agency namely divine dispensation or fate (God) that has determined their present situation, not actions of their own self-effort. Apparently, as evident, the Karma, divine will or fate seems to be much misunderstood. The very definition of God reveals that He is without enmity towards anybody (Nirvair) and that he is impartial (Sam-Drishtee). Therefore, it is not divine will or fate that makes, for example, one snake and the other a saint. If the God or fate is the ordainer then it would imply that the divine will or fate was friendly and partial to the soul who became a saint, and on the contrary, He was enemy and impartial to the soul who became a cobra. Fate or divine will is merely a convention repeatedly used by the realized souls to teach us the Truth. If the divine will or God is the ordainer of everything in the universe then any action (Karma) has no meaning. For that then there is no need for teachers and teaching, Naam Simran, meditation, Kirtan, self-knowledge, devotion, self-control, Satsang, and so on. But, that's not the case! .Uddam karo badbhaagee ho simrahu Hari Hari rai......: . Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you shall obtain total peace, and your pains and troubles and doubts shall depart (sggs 456). The scriptures thus roar that man is not the creature of his circumstances. He can change his activities if he wants to. Thereby, he can change the results of his actions if he wants to. Choice is in his hands as he is the architect of his own fate. Hs is given this life (opportunity) to rebel against the wrong. Everyone of us in this human form is given the invitation to end the pains, troubles, and doubts arising out of our mental delusion. . Jehaa beejai so lunai karma sandraa khet: .As the man sows so does he reap. Such is the field of actions (sggs 134). Thus, the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) thunders against fatalism. It emphatically rejects fatalistic thinking, belief or behavior, and warns those who use it as just another device to exploit people. One who blames circumstances, divine will or fate for the situation he is in is a fool. The scriptures emphasize the need for self-effort for both one's material needs and spiritual progress. The Gurbani declares that: .Daddai dos na deyoo kisai dos krammaa aapanyaa. Jo mai keeyaa so mai paayaa dos na deejai avar janaa: .Do not blame anyone else; blame instead your own actions. Whatever I did, for that I have suffered; I do not blame anyone else (sggs 433). .Dukh sukh deeyaa jehaa keeyaa so nibahai jeeya naale: .The Lord bestows pain and pleasure, according to the deeds done; the record of these actions stays with the soul (sggs 581). The Gurbani takes the ball out of God's court and places it firmly in our own. For our pain and pleasure, we can blame neither God nor a devil, or some other outside agency. Simply put, our past thoughts and actions are responsible for the present life. Similarly, our present thoughts and actions will determine the life that we will live tomorrow. Whether we want to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions or not, that's what we are doing every step of the way. We are the architect of our own fate or destiny: Every thought and action builds our future experience. Accordingly, the scriptures declare that man is the master of his own destiny. In this regard, self-effort called Uddam in the Gurbani is very essential. In fact, our self-effort is the best help we can count on! In the Divine Light of the Gurbani, this article will attempt to reflect on the following in this context: . The meaning of self-effort, divine will, and fate .Renouncing fatalism .Impure self-effort .Pure self-effort The Meaning Of Self-Effort, Divine Will, And Fate Inactivity is death. Only a corpse is inactive; everything else in this universe is active through mind, speech, or body. Such activities yield appropriate results which determine the future of one's soul. Scriptures assert that this life is a field (Khet) of actions, in which whatever we sow so do we reap. To put it otherwise, as is the effort so is the fruit. Therefore, what is called divine dispensation or fate is none other than the fruits of past actions of our self-effort. This is the meaning of self-effort, divine will or fate. .Beej bovas bhog bhogahi keeyaa appnaa pavaye: .As are the seeds one plants, so are the fruits; he receives the consequences of his own efforts (sggs 705). The cosmic order (Ilaahee Hukam) people reffer to as divine law or ordain or fate ensures that one's every effort is blessed with appropriate fruition. This cosmic order is maintained by the Infinite Consciousness that revels everything (Inner-Knower). Those who say "Divine dispensation is directing me", or those who say "I am performing so and so act because my fate is impelling me to do so" are unwise (Manmukh or Moorakh). They use such fallacious expressions for mere self-satisfaction. In fact it is the fruits of one's past self-effort that manifest as tendencies. Therefore, self-effort alone is another name for divine will or fate. .Karnee kaagad man masvaan buraa bhalaa dui lekh pae. Jiyu jiyu kirat chalaae tiyu chaleeai tayu gun naahee ant hare: .Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord (sggs 990). In general, there are two types of efforts: that of past births and that of present birth. The fate or destiny we experience in this present life is shaped by the self-effort of our past incarnations; also called Praalabdh. Therefore, fate or destiny is none other than the self-effort of past births. .Karma upper nibrai je lochai sabh koyi: .According to the Karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky (sggs 157). The self-effort of present life determines the future destiny of our soul. In other words, the fruits in the form of debits (unrighteous acts) and credits (righteous acts) created by the self-effort of this birth will be reaped in future births. Upon death of this body, only thing that goes with the soul is actions of our self-effort. .Sanjogee aayaa kirt kamaayaa karnee kaar kamayee: .By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future (sggs 75). The impressions or tendencies brought forward from the past efforts are also of two types: pure and impure. Pure or good tendencies will lead one towards pure efforts in this present life (mode of goodness / liberation), and the impure or bad tendencies will invite bad efforts and laziness (the mode of passion and ignorance / trouble). [B] Renouncing Fatalism [/B] Simply put: Renouncing fatalism is applying self-effort (Uddam). The self-effort of present life effectively counteracts the reactions incurred by the self-effort of past births. As a result, there is an on-going battle between these two in our present life; and that which is more powerful wins. Thus, one can overcome fate by present efforts. Or, at least we can make the beginning. .Uddam keeyaa karaayaa arambh rachaayaa. Naam jape jap jeevnaa gu mantar driraayaa: .I made the effort; I did it, and made a beginning. I live by chanting and meditating on the Naam; the Guru has implanted this Mantra within me (sggs 399). Evidently, the present efforts are infinitely more potent than the past efforts. Those who are fatalists are simply satisfied with the fruits of their past self-effort; which they regard as Divine will, fate or destiny. Consequently, in this foolish frame of mind, they waste the present life by not engaging in self-effort now. In fact, according to the scriptures, the appropriate self-effort of this life can erase the effects of countless past efforts. How can one claim this to be true? Here is the proof. .Gur ka Shabad kaatai koti karam: .The Shabad eradicates the Karma of millions of past actions (sggs 1159). Without self-effort or exertion one cannot even jump over the footprint of an animal. The Uddam alone determines for whatever we attain here. Therefore, the wise seeker (Gurmukh) knows that the fruits of his actions are commensurate with the intensity of his self-effort now. Accordingly, he also knows that neither divine will or fate can ordain it otherwise. For example, if one is hungry, he can appease his hunger by taking food. If he does not make effort to take food, or if he just sits there on account of his fate (fatalism), he is sure to die of starvation! Grieving over inevitability is fatalism. For example, knowing that the death is inevitable, a fatalist will daily worry and grieve it. The Gurbani emphasizes for persistently applying self-effort that leads to spiritual wisdom. Upon acquiring wisdom one realizes that this self-effort is not without its own end, but an indispensable means to the end ? the direct realization of the eternal good or the truth. Thus, the wise one (Gurmukh) knows what is attainable by self-effort and what is not. As such, he will renounce the fatalism. To the contrary, a spiritually ignorance (Manmukh) will name an outside agency (divine will or fate or God) for his suffering. For example, when someone is in suffering and unhappiness, to console him people will suggest that it is his fate! .Uddam karat hovai man nirmal naachai aap nivaare. Panch janaa le vasgat raakhai man mahi ekkankare: .Making the effort, the mind becomes pure; in this dance, the self is silenced. The five passions are kept under control, and the One Lord dwells in the mind (sggs 381). Everything is achieved by self-effort, and not by sitting idle. Even the mighty lion has to go out and hunt! No prey falls into its mouth if it stays idle. An ant goes a long distance as it keeps moving. Even mighty eagle can not make any progress if he does not get up and move! Similarly, no one can attain Yoga (union with God) by mere daydreaming! .Galleen Yoga na hoyee: .The Yoga is not attained by mere words (sggs 730). .Arise, awake, know the Truth from sages (Katha Upanishada: I:iii:14). .Uplift yourself by yourself! Do not let yourself down! You are your own best friend. If you do not care properly, you are yourself the worst enemy of your own (Geeta, 6-5). [U][B] Impure Self-Effort [/B][/U] Impure efforts increase material attachment to this world. In such bondage, our love is false, our acts are false, and we become fully engrossed in falsehood. As a result, we become a display of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, mental stubbornness, and enviousness. This is what the Gurbani calls collecting of "poison". . Bin naavai hor dhan naahee hor bilhiyaa sabh shaaraa: . Without God?s Name, there is no other wealth. Everything else is just poison and ashes (sggs 141). .Uddam kare suaan kee niyaai chaare kunta ghokhaa.....: .He makes efforts and runs around like a dog, searching in the four directions. The lustful, lecherous man desires many women, and he never stops peeking into the homes of others. Day after day, he commits adultery again and again, and then he regrets his actions; he wastes away in misery and greed (sggs 672). All demoniac tendencies in a man represent his inauspicious efforts. We are not born to live a corrupt life. But this is exactly what happens if one clings to non-eternal things. When there is clinging to non-essential efforts, their is arrogance (the sense of doership and enjoyership or duality) and corrupt desires or ego. In such mental conditioning, there is no true love for God and His creation. This is the veil that conceals the Truth. Scriptures compare such living with animals. In this context, the Gurbani gracefully teaches us as follows: .Uddam kare anek Hari naam na gaavahi.....: .He makes all sorts of efforts, but he does not sing the Lord?s Name. He wanders around in countless incarnations; he dies, only to be born again. As beasts, birds and trees . their number cannot be known. As are the seeds he plants, so are the pleasures he enjoys; he receives the consequences of his own actions. He loses the jewel of this human life in the gamble, and God is not pleased with him at all. Prays Nanak, wandering in doubt, he does not find any rest, even for an instant (sggs 705). .Uddam kar laage bahu bhantee.......: .Men are engaged in making efforts many ways. They reflect upon the various aspects of the six Shaastras. Rubbing ashes all over their bodies, they wander around at the various sacred shrines of pilgrimage; they fast until their bodies are emaciated, and braid their hair into tangled messes. Without devotional worship of the Lord, they all suffer in pain, caught in the tangled web of their love. They perform worship ceremonies, draw ritual marks on their bodies, cook their own food fanatically, and make pompous shows of themselves in all sorts of ways (sggs 1389). By the rise of spiritual ignorance ? also called foolishness in scriptures ? self-binding actions arise. That is considered impure action which is performed with an attached mind. Such actions are performed only for the attainment of sensual experience. As the scriptures tell us, the delight derived from such sense-pleasures is fleeting at its best, and it binds the soul to sorrows. .Re nar esee karahi iyaanath.....: .O man, such is the foolishness you practice. Renouncing the Lord, the Support of the earth, you wander, deluded by doubt; you are engrossed in emotional attachment, associating with Maya, the slave-girl.... You do useless deeds, you ignorant person; this is why you are called a blind, mentally deluded Manmukh (sggs 1001). .Dukh vich jamme dukh vich kaar kamaaye.....: .In pain he is born, in pain he dies, and in pain he does his deeds. He is never released from the womb of reincarnation; he rots away in manure. Cursed, cursed is the mentally deluded Manmukh, who wastes his life away (sggs 1130). [U][B] Pure Self-Effort [/B][/U] The pure self-effort is essential for self-development and self-improvement, which, in turn, leads one to reach the Lord's Temple (Supreme Truth) and the acme of self-perfection. Therefore, the scriptures tell us that we must make self-effort to love and serve the creation with divine compassion, choose righteous actions, perform regular introspection, recharge our life with proper understanding of the scriptures, purify ourselves with enthusiasm for noble acts, identify with the Lord, create firm convictions, learn to lift our mind to a divine attitude, make use of the present to become honest servant of Waheguru, become humble, attain competency and efficiency, stop living in the futility of hypocrisy, keep our life God-centered, become true devotee, be contented in all situations, weed out the evil instincts in ourselves, cultivate the divine qualities in ourselves, learn the art of spiritual living, listen and contemplate, end our false ego, rid of our selfishness, develop integrity in ourselves, forgive and forget, become virtuous in thought and pure in word, discard enviousness, detect faults in ourselves, strive for pure bliss, stop worrying, become peaceful, realize our true nature, and so on. We constantly accumulate material filth or Mail (mental rubbish) in us. As our hearts are full of such Mail, there is no room for the Lord. Therefore, we must keep on clearing out the mental rubbish accumulating daily in us. This inner "disposing of the garbage" is achieved by the pure self-effort. .So kish kar jit mail na laagai: .Make only those efforts by which the Mail or filth (mental rubbish) may not attach to you (sggs 199). .Uddam krediyaa jeeyu toon kamaavadiyaa sukh bhunch....: .Make the effort, and you shall live; practicing it, you shall enjoy peace. Meditating, you shall meet God, O Nanak, and your anxiety shall vanish (sggs 522). The very essence of all scriptures can be summed up in these words: Divert the impure mind to pure endeavor by persistent self-effort. The self-effort which diverts the impure mind to purity is based on the knowledge and teaching of the true scriptures, and one's own Uddam in accordance with these two. Such self-effort brings an inner awakening in the intelligence, which leads mind to make pure decisions, resulting in righteous physical action. .Uddam karo darsan pekhan ko karam prapat hoe: .Make effort to see God's vision; it is obtained only by good action (sggs 1223). Self-effort consists of mental, verbal or physical action. However, the pure self-effort is that which is in accordance with the teaching of the Shabad. So called God's grace is proportional to the intensity of such pure exertion. Moreover, actions performed in conjunction with scriptures instead of the deluded mind become non-actions, thereby non-binding. As such actions are performed for pleasing the Lord only, they become His actions. The individual soul becomes free from their reactions. That's the state of true Bhagti (devotion) and Bhagta (devotee), also known as complete surrender. By the cessation of foolishness (spiritual ignorance), the self-binding actions cease to be. .jis kaa kaaraj tin he keeyaa manas kiyaa vechaaraa Ram. Bhagat sohan Hari ke gun gaavahi sadaa karahi jai kaaraa Ram: .It was His job, and He has done it; what can the mere mortal being do? The devotees are adorned, singing God's Glorious Praises; they proclaim His eternal victory (sggs 784). .Santaa ke kaaraj aap khloyiyaa har kamm kraavan aayaa Ram: .The Lord Himself has stood up to resolve the affairs of the Saints; He has come to complete their tasks (sggs 783). .Bissariyo man kaa moorakh dheethaa. Prabh kaa bhaanaa laagaa methaa: .The stubborn foolishness of my mind is gone; God?s Will has become sweet to me (sggs 387). Any other self-effort that is not in accordance with the scriptures is motivated by delusion (i.e., impure), hence self-binding. Accordingly, the scriptures tell us that right from the childhood one should make Uddam to promote one's true good by duly reflecting over the Truth or Shabad, by keeping the holy company (Saadh Sangat), by singing God's praises, by meditating on the Naam, by retaining self-discipline, and so on. .Uddam kar Hari jaapnaa badbhaagee dhan khaat: .Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48). .Saadhu sang bhayiaa man uddam naam ratan jas gaayee: .In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, self-effort welled up in my mind, and I sang the Praises of the jewel of the Naam (sggs 619). .Uddam karat anand bhayiaa simrat sukh saar. Jap jap naam govind kaa pooran beechaar: .Make effort to meditate, and contemplate the source of peace, and bliss will come to you. Chanting, and meditating on the Name of the Lord of the Universe, perfect understanding is achieved (sggs 815). .Sagal uddam mahi uddam bhalaa. Hari ka naam japhu jeeyaa sadaa: .Of all efforts, the best effort is to persistently chant the Name of the Lord in the heart (sggs 266). Man's true self-effort and God's Grace are interdependent. Without one, the other is impossible. The Divine is unattainable by ceremonies, rituals, pilgrimage or material wealth; He is attained only by the self-control or conquest of the mind, by the cultivation of divine wisdom. Hence, by persistently treading this path, one can attain the Eternal Good. Fate or divine dispensation does not enter here. Self-effort alone is another name for Divine Will. Accordingly, scriptures roar to renounce fatalism and apply to self-effort. .Uddam karat seetal man bhaye...: .Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. Walking on the Lord's path, all pains are taken away. The mind becomes blissful by chanting the Naam. Singing the glorious praises of God, supreme bliss is obtained (sggs 201). --T. Singh [url=http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/F77FFDA5BD436F2987256BFE0012FB59!OpenDocument]Self Effort, Divine Will and Fate[/url] [/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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