A friend in need is a friend indeed

A thought just crept up my mind regarding friendships. What is friendship? Whom do we consider as our best friend? Some may consider their childhood friends as best friends. I had heard in my college days that the friendships that you make in college days are there forever. Some consider people from their workplace or "family friends" as their best friends.
But if I were to look at my life, I see that my childhood/school/college friends are no where near me. With the coming of internet, the closest they can get is on my friends list on Orkut or Facebook.
Lets also consider some friends/relationships which are very close to our hearts. Like husband/wife, parents/siblings etc. They are there (mostly) during the time of need. But the problem is that they can also do so much for you. They are limited by their physical bodies. With the best of intention, they cannot give the real comfort that the spirit looks for. I dont mean to lessen their value by any means but just trying to make a point.

Lets look at what the Guru says about friendships and who should be considered a good friend. Guruji says that even I am looking for my friend. The quality that I look in my friend is:

aadh madh jo anth nibaahai | so saajan maeraa man chaahai
My mind longs for that Friend, who shall stand by me in the beginning, in the middle and in the end

To find a friend like this is difficult in this world as there are all kinds of people in this world who can hurt us, betray us, turn their back on us in the time of need. Guruji warns us that if we put too much trust on the worldly friends they have thier limitations and knowingly or unknowingly will not be able to help us:

mithr n puthr kalathr saajan sakh oulattath jaath birakh kee shaarahu
Friends, children, spouses and friends - none of them last forever; they change like the shade of a tree.

jeh maath pithaa suth meeth n bhaaee
Where there is no mother, father, children, friends or siblings
man oohaa naam thaerai sang sehaaee
O my mind, there, only the Naam, the Name of the Lord, shall be with you as your help and support.

Also there is a danger of being too attached to them:

suth banithaa saajan sukh bandhap thaa sio mohu batiou s ghanaa |
You take pleasure in your children, spouse, friends and relatives; your emotional attachment to them is increasing.

So Guruji says finds that the closest being who qualifies to be a true friend is God Himself cause no one has the quality of being by our side from the begining till the end. Once we have formed this relationship of friendship with God its easy to Love Him and worship Him for all that He has done for us:

saajan meeth thoon haa
You are my Friend, my Best Friend.
naam dhrirraae moon haa
Please, implant the Naam, the Name of the Lord, within me.
this bin naahi koe haa
Without Him, there is not any other.
manehi araadh soe haa
Within my mind, I worship Him in adoration.

jaa kaa meeth saajan hai sameeaa |
Those who have the Lord as their Friend and Companion
this jan ko kahu kaa kee kameeaa
- tell me, what else do they need?

oue hamaarae saajanaa ham oun kee raen
He is my friend; I am the dust of His Feet.
jin bhaettath hovath sukhee jeea dhaan dhaen
Meeting with Him, I am at peace; He blesses me with the gift of the soul.

meeth saajan sarab gun naaeik sadhaa salaamath dhaevaa
You are my friend and companion, the Master of all excellences, O eternal and permanent Divine Lord

So now we know that God Himself is our ONLY TRUE FRIEND. But does that mean that we dont need anyone on this earth to share our lives with? No Guruji says that friends, relatives and everything else is a gift of God and we should thank Him for that:


jeeo praan than dhan dheeaa dheenae ras bhog
He gave you your soul, breath of life, body and wealth; He gave you pleasures to enjoy.
grih mandhar rath as dheeeae rach bhalae sanjog
He gave you households, mansions, chariots and horses; He ordained your good destiny.
suth banithaa saajan saevak dheeeae prabh dhaevan jog
He gave you your children, spouse, friends and servants; God is the all-powerful Great Giver.
har simarath than man hariaa lehi jaahi vijog
Meditating in remembrance on the Lord, the body and mind are rejuvenated, and sorrow departs.
saadhasang har gun ramahu binasae sabh rog
In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, chant the Praises of the Lord, and all your sickness shall vanish.

So the next important step is finding good friends. Now lets look at how Guruji teaches us to find friends on this earth. He says that people who inspire me to be close to God are my best friends and relatives.

saajan bandh sumithra so har naam hiradhai dhaee
He is a companion, a relative, and a good friend of mine, who implants the Lord's Name within my heart

oue saajan oue meeth piaarae
They are my companions, and they are my dear friends,
jo ham ko har naam chithaarae
who inspire me to remember the Lord's Name.

so saajan so sakhaa meeth jo har kee math dhaee
He is your friend, your companion, your very best friend, who imparts the Teachings of the Lord.

In todays world it has become very hard to discuss "religion" with our so called "friends". Its considered inappropriate, as we become so hard-lined in our views to discuss "religion" that we feel uneasy to bring up this topic lest we may be considered some sort of fanatics. And thats one of the reasons we find the wrong kind of friends around us. In the olden days people used to share their beleifs and their Love for God openly without really bothering about offending each other. In todays time we need to be more open to each other to share our beleifs. Statements like "Salvation can only be acheived by following XYZ" adds to this differnece. Bottomline is that Salvation cannot be acheived without a Guru. Now it doesnt matter weather your Guru is Krishna, Raam, Jesus, Nanak, Mohammad, Sai Baba, Osho or Ravi Shankar.

kahu naanak gur bin naahee soojhai har saajan sabh kai nikatt kharraa
Says Nanak, without the Guru, he cannot understand the Lord, the Friend who is standing near everyone.

So lets all make God/Guru as our best friend and also seek the company of people who inspire us to do good, help each other out and become satsangis and walk together on the Path to Oneness.

saajan meeth sakhaa kar eaek
Make the One Lord your friend, intimate and companion.
har har akhar man mehi laekh
Write in your mind the Word of the Lord, Har, Har.

HAPPY FRIEND FINDING!!!

Sab Gobind Hai...Gobind bin nahin koi

After a wonderful trip to India, where I really enjoyed with my family, and some laziness after coming back...I am back on the blogsphere. Today I went to Anand Murti's Satsang here in Milpitas California. There were a lot of questions asked to here and one very common question which many people asked is who/what is God and where can I find Him? This gave me the idea that for a starter, this is a very confusing topic which is hard to understand even when the answer is given perfect. So I am not hoping to break all doubts here, but just trying to make a small attempt to make a dent in the readers thought process.

So where do we really think God is? Up in the heavens? In some temple, Gurudwara or church? In Nature? On a mountaintop or deep in the ocean? So where is God?
This is a very profound question. But with a very simple answer according to Gurbani.

This is not the first time someone has asked this question and went searching for God. The great Persian poet Rumi defines his experience as follows:

"I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else."

Gurbani resounds the same idea. Here are a few shabads (verses) to make the idea of God being omni present a very central theme of Gurbani's teachings:

gurehi dhikhaaeiou loeinaa
The Guru has revealed Him to my eyes.
eethehi oothehi ghatt ghatt ghatt ghatt thoonhee thoonhee mohinaa
Here and there, in each and every heart, and each and every being, You, O Fascinating Lord, You exist.
(In the above shabad Guruji says that Guru has given me the eyes to see the truth that God resides in everybody.)

ghatt ghatt mai har joo basai santhan kehiou pukaar
The Dear Lord abides in each and every heart; the Saints proclaim this as true.
(Guruji says that its not just him, but anyone who understands the truth of life, knows well that God is not in any particular place, he is present in all beings)

fareedhaa khaalak khalak mehi khalak vasai rab maahi
Fareed, the Creator is in the Creation, and the Creation abides in God.
mandhaa kis no aakheeai jaa this bin koee naahi
Whom can we call bad? There is none without Him
(Fareed ji takes the concept of God being present in every being a step further. He introduces a very important concept that if God is present in every being, then how can we call someone good or bad? Meaning how can we be judgemental about others. Sometimes )

eaek anaek biaapak poorak jath dhaekho thath soee
In the one and in the many, He is pervading and permeating; wherever I look, there He is.
maaeiaa chithr bachithr bimohith biralaa boojhai koee
The marvellous image of Maya is so fascinating; how few understand this.
sabh gobindh hai sabh gobindh hai gobindh bin nehee koee
God is everything, God is everything. Without God, there is nothing at all.
sooth eaek man sath sehans jaisae outh poth prabh soee
As one thread holds hundreds and thousands of beads, He is woven into His creation.
jal tharang ar faen budhabudhaa jal thae bhinn n hoee
The waves of the water, the foam and bubbles, are not distinct from the water.
eihu parapanch paarabreham kee leelaa bicharath aan n hoee
This manifested world is the playful game of the Supreme Lord God; reflecting upon it, we find that it is not different from Him.
mithiaa bharam ar supan manorath sath padhaarath jaaniaa
False doubts and dream objects - man believes them to be true.
sukirath manasaa gur oupadhaesee jaagath hee man maaniaa
The Guru has instructed me to try to do good deeds, and my awakened mind has accepted this.
kehath naamadhaeo har kee rachanaa dhaekhahu ridhai beechaaree
Says Naam Dayv, see the Creation of the Lord, and reflect upon it in your heart.
ghatt ghatt anthar sarab niranthar kaeval eaek muraaree
In each and every heart, and deep within the very nucleus of all, is the One Lord.

This last shabad really says that God is everywhere and in every being....what we see is the outer differences and that is created by Maya (read second line of the last shabad again). Further this shabad explains that God is permeating in its creation just like a thread is inter-woven with the beads....meaning, God is within each of its creation. The waves which seperate from the ocean go back again into the ocean and then there is no difference between the ocean and the waves. Same way soul/spirit/energy is seperated from its main source God/Supereme Spirit in this human birth, but it again merges back into this Supreme spirit. So how are the two seperate from each other? Not really. So the creation is not seperate from the creator. Our egos(maya) leads us into beleving that it is seperate. But all it is a play of the Lord. Meaning its Gods playful nature (Krishna like) where he has made this system that spirit is momentariy (thourgh birth and death) separated from the the Supereme Spirit. But that does not make it any different from God. So once we have realized this that God is in every heart, all we can do is to love, respect, serve and pray for each other. That is part about the good deeds. In the end of the shabad, Naam Dev says that God is in every cell of every being.

Start your day right with... Amrit Vela

It has been a hectic week at work with a lot of issues and project work to be done. Sometimes makes you feel to just drop everything and run away. But thats how life is, we are never in a position to do the things that our heart wants to do. Anyways, enough philosphy, lets talk Gurbani. I know said in my last post that I want talk further about different types of death...but oh well, there is more to life than just death (hmmmm...very insightfull!!).

Today I will take up another topic which sends chills down my spine (as it is so cold in the morning) ...Amrit Vela. The other reason it sends chills is because this is one thing that I want to get back to doing more consistently, but is not always possible. Now there has been a lot of discussion on this topic on various forums and everyone seems to have their own interpretation of what exactly is Amrit Vela. Starting with our true source of knowledge in this internet age - Google, here is an intresting definition I found for amrit vela:
"It is this time of each day when the "veil" of the ego (limited self) is thinnest and so we can mindfully observe all the negative habits that lead you away from health, physical stamina, wholeness and higher consciousness and neutralize the desires underlying those habits one by one". In another place in the same article it describes the exact time as 2.5 hours before sunrise.
Now lets see my interpretation of it in 3 phases of my life:
1) When I had never been to satsang: Amrit Vela...Whats that???
2) When I had started doing satsang and was very enthusiastic about doing things the right way: The same as above i.e. I used to beleive that Amrit Vela starts at about 2.5 hours before sunrise and that one has to sacrifice their sleep and listen to keertan, recite banis, read and understand whats written in Guru Granth Sahib
3) Now when things are going well and when everything is done only if it is practical: One hour before you normally wake up. So if you wake up normally at 8am...it would mean 7am.

Now lets see what the Guru has to say about it (Warning: Some of the things said by Guru may not be to our liking...but that doesnt stop the Guru from sayig the truth):

fareedhaa pishal raath n jaagiouhi jeevadharro mueiouhi
Fareed, if you do not awaken in the early hours before dawn, you are dead while yet alive.
jae thai rab visaariaa th rab n visariouhi
Although you have forgotten God, God has not forgotten you.

jhaalaaghae outh naam jap nis baasur aaraadh
Rise early in the morning, and chant the Naam; worship and adore the Lord, night and day.
kaaraa thujhai n biaapee naanak mittai oupaadh
Anxiety shall not afflict you, O Nanak, and your misfortune shall vanish.

outh fareedhaa oujoo saaj subeh nivaaj gujaar
Rise up, Fareed, and cleanse yourself; chant your morning prayer.
jo sir saaee naa nivai so sir kap outhaar
The head which does not bow to the Lord - chop off and remove that head.
jo sir saaee naa nivai so sir keejai kaae
That head which does not bow to the Lord - what is to be done with that head?
kunnae haeth jalaaeeai baalan sandhai thaae
Put it in the fireplace, instead of firewood.

chirree chuhakee pahu futtee vagan bahuth tharang
The sparrows are chirping, and dawn has come; the wind stirs up the waves.
acharaj roop santhan rachae naanak naamehi rang
Such a wondrous thing the Saints have fashioned, O Nanak, in the Love of the Naam.

Intrestingly Bhagat Fareed ji has given an alternative use for the head (after cutting it off) of someone who does not get up and remember God...as an alternative source of energy (beat this Obama). Now this may sound pretty raw and might even offend some. But what needs to be understood is the Love and the sense of urgency that Fareed ji is trying to potray by shocking the listener. Fareed ji is saying that if we are not spending time with God, we are wasting our life and its as good as being dead. There is tremendous Love in his sayings and he beleives in shock therapy (cures the hiccups in our life).

So now that we have established that Amrit Vela is an important part of ones spiritual, physical and mental progress (read second quote again)...so whats the reason that we dont do it, even after listenening to stern warnings and loving chide from the Guru? Its gotta be my laziness:

maeraa man aalaseeaa oughalaanaa
My mind is lazy and sleepy.

bikhai naadh karan sun bheenaa
He listens to the sounds of sin and the music of corruption, and he is pleased.
har jas sunath aalas man keenaa
His mind is too lazy to listen to the Praises of the Lord.

this saevath man aalas karai
My mind is reluctant to serve Him;

manamukh ko aalas ghano faathae oujaarree
The self-willed manmukh is very lazy; he is trapped in the wilderness.

So it has been established that I am basically very lazy when it comes to doing anything related to singing Gods Praises and serving Him. What really was expected out of me was "vannj maerae aalasaa har paas baenanthee " (Be gone, O my laziness, that I may pray to the Lord). Part of this is inherit laziness and part of it is the lack of realization of the urgency of the situation. I was wondering how come I never feel lazy if I have a flight or train to catch even at 4am? So the real issue is not priortizing God in my life. Sometimes I feel that God is a priority in my life but still Amrit Vela is something that is not feasable with the current workload in my office, home (cooking, taking care of kids, family). I guess God/Guru understands all that, the question is what is our priority in life? If we align our priorities, then even a small attempt to do Amrit Vela will greatly enhance our closeness to God.

In conclusion, I would like to share this experience with whoever is reading...for the past few days, I tried getting up at Amrit Vela and seeing the effects. Since its not easy to focus your mind completely on listening to keertan, I was playing chess on my laptop at around 4am while listening to keertan. To my suprise, the whole day I was either playing chess or thinking about it. The next day, I was in a different act and again the whole day was spent doing that act or thinking about it. Then I thought to myself, that the effect of doing something at amrit vela is that it stays with you the whole day, and you do/think about it the whole day. So the third day I really focussed on listening to keertan and doing reading and understanding Japji Sahib, and LO..the whole day I spend with awareness, having that loving feeling and a positive attitude towards life....no problem at office or at home could disturb the peace that I felt within. And my friends that is what I beleive is the power and importance of Amrit Vela. Its a kickstart to the day in the right direction.
This is my take on it...let me hear your views.


Thats my take on it..your thoughts are welcome.

Death and dying - Part 2

The last couple of days have been really busy at work and I have been just feeling a little lazy. But now that I am back, I wanted to continue about the Shabad on Death ( Click Here )that I was talking.
Continuing the discussion of the shabad.....
supan bhaeiaa bhakhalaaeae andh
When life becomes a dream, the blind man babbles and grieves in vain.
Here Guru Sahiba says that when we do not understand the reality of this life, our body, our true purpose and our true origin (of being light beings) then we lead our lives in a state of dream. In this dream someone dies, someone is born and we live in the circle of joy and sorrow. Guru Sahib wants to lift us above the circle of joy and sorrow....he wants us to lead a life of sehaj (equanimity). It doesnt mean being in an emotionless state but having a mastery on our emotions, thoughts and behaviour. So what is this babbling that Guruji is talking about?
Whenever someone dies, we say things like "bhana vartaya hai" (Gods Will has taken place), as if Bhana was something to be afraid of and avoided. We also say things like the person has gone.... aavath ko jaathaa kehai jaathae ko aaeiaa (One who is coming is said to be going, and one who is gone is said to have come). Here Guru refers to birth as leaving home and death as coming back home. So we say things which we dont understand truly and therefore "babble".
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eihu tho rachan rachiaa karathaar
The Creator Lord created this creation.
Meaning God has created this system in which beings transition. Our job is to understand the system.
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aavath jaavath hukam apaar
It comes and goes, subject to the Will of the Infinite Lord.
This transition takes place as a result of the Divine Law (Hukum, Dhamma, Will). We cannot fight the Hukam. It would be like banging our heads against the wall. It will cause us hurt and nothing else. Instead we need to understand this Law and work with it.
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neh ko mooaa n maranai jog
No one dies; no one is capable of dying.
Finally Guru has given His verdict on how the system works. No one dies!!! Infact no one is capable of dying. So what happens when a bullet passes through the body or someone has a major heart attack? Is that person not dead? Not really if you ask the Guru. The soul has moved on while the body has merged with its elements. Death, as we understand it, does not exist in Guru's dictionary.
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neh binasai abinaasee hog
The soul does not perish; it is imperishable.
This is the characteristics of our being. In the true sense we do not perish (die).
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jo eihu jaanahu so eihu naahi
That which is known, does not exist.
Guru is saying that things are not the way we understand them to be. Death in reality does not exist. There is transition only. Thats why we never really seperate from our relatives. maath pithaa banithaa suth bandhap eisatt meeth ar bhaaee poorab janam kae milae sanjogee anthehi ko n sehaaee (Mother, father, spouse, children, relatives, lovers, friends and siblings meet, having been associated in previous lives; but none of them will be your companion and support in the end.)
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jaananehaarae ko bal jaao
I am a sacrifice to the one who knows this.
Guru is saying that I revere the person who understands that things are not the way it seems and understands the reality as shown by Guru's shabad.
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kahu naanak gur bharam chukaaeiaa
Says Nanak, the Guru has dispelled my doubt.

naa koee marai n aavai jaaeiaa
No one dies; no one comes or goes.

At last the Guru says that my doubt has been cleared. He proclaims that NO ONE DIES, NO ONE COMES OR GOES, NO ONE IS CAPABALE OF DYING, TRANSITIONING IS THE WAY OF THIS WORLD, IT HAPPENS AS PER THE UNIVERSAL LAW (Hukum, Dhamma, Will). Last but not the least Guru wants us to understand this basic phenomena. Guru is not against missing people who are dead and maybe even shedding tears in their loving rememberance, but what Guru wants from us is to understand reality and not be pained or be shattered with death in the family. Gurbani does not expect us to be extraodinary beings (although if one can then that would be great) but helps us to deal with day to day situations effectively and with sehaj (equanimity). The topic of Death is always hard to talk about. But I hope that whoever reads this tries to understand just this one shabad. This one shabad itself is enough to understand the phenomena of physical death. In my next post I will talk about the death of ego. Till then take care.

Death and dying - Part 1

(This article is kinda long, but I request that you read it fully and also the other Parts which are to follow)

Yesterday was my dads death anniversary (Jan 10th). Its been 6 years now that he died all of a sudden because of a cardiac arrest as the whole family was getting ready for a marriage of my cousin. My dads death had brought shock and sadness to everyone in the family as nobody expected a healthy (nothing much apart from a history of high blood pressure for which he was taking medicines) to die so suddenly. But apart from the initial grief, it also brought an understanding and acceptance for the whole extended family about the nature of death (its can come to anyone at anytime). I know this is a very touchy subject and sometimes I do get emotional about it. But I thought that this is a good time to do a reality check. What is our attitude about death and dying? Do we hate to even mention/talk about this subject? Or we know that at certain point (maybe 40/50/70 years from now) that we may die and right now its about living life to the fullest (whatever thats supposed to mean to an individual...it depends from person to person).

So lets try to understand what is death and dying. Not that I am an expert in the subject matter (I wouldnt be writing this if I were!!!) but I will base my explanation on verses from Gurbani and the other phenomenas which can be verified through Bani. Gurbani talks of 3 types of death.
1)Physical death
2)The state of being spiritually dead
3)The death of Ego

Let talk about Physical Death today. To start I will use a very common shabad (verse) which is generally read at someones death. Although this shabad is very enlightening but at the time of death or otherwise we just listen to this shabad but never really pay attention to what the Guru really wants to tell us. Let first take a look at the Shabad very carefully and try to fully understand what its trying to tell us. This is very profound concept of physical death that Guru Arjan Dev the 5th Nanak has given us:

pavanai mehi pavan samaaeiaa
The wind merges into the wind.
Here Guruji is saying that the physical body is made up of Five elements (earth, wind, water, fire, sky/void/energy). Each of these elements are merged into their respective form. Our breath (wind) merges with air, our body (earth) merges with dust (earth), the water in our blood and body also evaporates while burning/buried and again merges with water and so on.
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jothee mehi joth ral jaaeiaa
The light blends into the light.
Here Guru Sahiba talks about the fire and sky element of our being (Soul/Spirit). In Gurbani the Soul/Spirit is often refered to as Jyot or light (man thoon joth saroop hai aapanaa mool pashaan O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light - recognize your own origin).
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maattee maattee hoee eaek
The dust becomes one with the dust.
Again here Guruji refers to the physical body merging into the earth/dust again.
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rovanehaarae kee kavan ttaek
What support is there for the one who is lamenting?
Now Guruji questions the condition of the people who are left behind. They are crying over the dead and Guruji asks who is the support of the person who is left behind and is crying. This question points to the fact that the person crying is also going to leave at some point and there is no stopping that, he has no one to go to for comfort him. Sounds harsh but please read on.
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koun mooaa rae koun mooaa
Who has died? O, who has died?
Now the most important question. So if the elements have merged into their respective elements, so who has died? This question really needs to be contemplated.
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breham giaanee mil karahu beechaaraa eihu tho chalath bhaeiaa
O God-realized beings, meet together and consider this. What a wondrous thing has happened!
So Guruji says that like minded God/Truth/Love seeking people gather together and contemplate as to what has just happened. Who has died? The spirit/energy/Jyot moves on, the body is left behind, SO WHO HAS REALLY DIED?? Oh man I hope we realize the beauty of this question and how Guruji is trying to awaken us. Guruji is trying to tell us that we are all Jyot swaroops (Light Beings) and the Jyot does not die itself. Its undying. It cannot be killed. It cannot be afflicted by diesease or pain. It cannot be punctured by a sword or a bullet. WE ARE ALL JYOT SWAROOPS (Light Beings). And dont thing that light being is something metaphoric. I consider this to be literal. We are literally Light Beings- made out of Light, and I will try to explain it through NDE (Near Death Experience) of others.
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agalee kish khabar n paaee
No one knows what happens after death.
So very true. No one knows what happens death except Guru. So what really happens after death? There are two possiblities as to what happens after death. The first one (the not so desired one):
kaparr roop suhaavanaa shadd dhuneeaa andhar jaavanaa
Abandoning the world of beauty, and beautiful clothes, one must depart.
mandhaa changaa aapanaa aapae hee keethaa paavanaa
He obtains the rewards of his good and bad deeds.
hukam keeeae man bhaavadhae raahi bheerrai agai jaavanaa
He may issue whatever commands he wishes, but he shall have to take to the narrow path hereafter.
nangaa dhojak chaaliaa thaa dhisai kharaa ddaraavanaa
He goes to hell naked, and he looks hideous then.
kar aougan pashothaavanaa
He regrets the sins he committed.

Now lets look at the other possiblity. The one which we all desire and seek and the main purpose of our life:
saahib hoe dhaeiaal kirapaa karae thaa saaee kaar karaaeisee
One, upon whom the Merciful Lord bestows His Grace, performs His service.

so saevak saevaa karae jis no hukam manaaeisee
That servant, whom the Lord causes to obey the Order of His Will, serves Him.

hukam manniai hovai paravaan thaa khasamai kaa mehal paaeisee
Obeying the Order of His Will, he becomes acceptable, and then, he obtains the Mansion of the Lord's Presence.

khasamai bhaavai so karae manahu chindhiaa so fal paaeisee
One who acts to please His Lord and Master, obtains the fruits of his mind's desires.

thaa dharageh paidhaa jaaeisee
Then, he goes to the Court of the Lord, wearing robes of honor.

So as we can see there are two possiblities. We are judged for our actions, good or bad. Based on the judgement we can be sent to hell (cycle of birth, death and then rebirth according to Gurbani. Heaven/Hell is considered as a physical place in many religions. Again this is something which can debated but not here) or be sent to heaven (to become Jyoti Jyot meaning merging completely witht the Supreme Light).

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rovanehaar bh ooth sidhaaee
The one who is lamenting will also arise and depart.
Here Guru Sahib hits the hammer on the head (this is the real straight-talk-express. McCain needs to come up with a better slogan). Guruji is saying people who cry around the dead are also going to die at some point.
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bharam moh kae baadhae bandh
Mortal beings are bound by the bonds of doubt and attachment.
And thats the reason we cry. Weather we like to hear this or not (sometimes truth can be hard to digest) but this is the truth - because of our attachment to the person and the sadness of them departing, we cry. If we understood truly what has been explained in this Shabad, then we would not make such a big hue and cry about death (not that its totally possible by everyone even after understanding this. Everyone has their own emotional capacity to handle situations and I think Guruji understands that, but He also wants us to be aware of the reality.
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Now this Shabad is pretty long and I really need to sleep. So I will continue. Till then chew on this.

Attitude towards learning

Koi Gaave Ko Sune Har Nama Chit Laaye
One of my friend who read one of the blogs had a very interesting comment. What he is saying is basically what everyone feels who reads something like this for the first time or is not so familiar with the concepts that are used/talked about in Gurbani. This is something that everyone experiences in the beginning. Since I can talk from my experiences, even I had no understanding of the concepts explained/used in Bani. I was not born with that understanding. So what happened in between was that I attended satsang regularly. Initially I used to sit in the satsang and nothing used to go inside my head. It was like Ramesh Uncle (the person who used to explain shabads in Gurbani) was talking some foreign language (although he used to mostly explain in Punjabi). But with God's grace I did not give up and the curiosity within me to learn more helped too.
So my advice (and yes its free of cost!) to anyone who is interested in learning more about Gurbani is to have patience. Not all the mumbo jumbo is going to make sense at the very beginning. A lot of concepts are foreign to us. But like any other skill, it needs time and effort to master. How you put the effort is upto you. Like the heading says (a quote from Kabeer jis bani) "Whoever sings or listens to the Lord's Name with conscious awareness". The keyword here is that we do it with conscious awareness, attention and try our best to understand what has been said/written. After that if we have some doubts, we can always ask from someone we trust will give us somewhat close to the right answer.
Bottom line: We have to put in the effort of learning new concepts regarding Gurbani just as we do in our day to day lives, in our jobs, in our relationships and otherwise. This spirituality stuff is no different.

To be (Gursikh) or not to be...that is the question

On new years day at a dinner with family the topic of passing Sikh values to kids brought about another interesting discussion. The question was - Is there a need to follow the tenants of Sikhism or just being a good human being and doing things the right way is more than enough.
I guess the answer would be that if you are able to judge right from wrong, love all human beings as equals, see God's light prevailing in all (with kids and family its easy but to be able to see it in all is another story) and be confident that you wont be committing anything that will be judged negatively hereafter then I guess you dont need to be following an organized religion and you may not need a Guru.

Thats what I think. Now lets take a look at what the Guru has to say about the importance of True Guru (will cover who/what is True Guru in another post):

sathigur baajh n paaeiou sabh thakee karam kamaae jeeo
Without the True Guru, God is not found; all have grown weary of performing religious rituals.

baajh guroo ddubaa sansaar
Without the Guru, the world is drowning

baajh guroo sabh bharam bhulaaee
Without the Guru, everyone wanders in doubt

baajh guroo firai bilalaadhee dhoojai bhaae khuaaeae
Without the Guru, they wander around crying out in misery; in the love of duality, they are ruined

andhaa jagath andh varathaaraa baajh guroo gubaaraa
The world is blind, and its dealings are blind as well; without the Guru, there is only pitch darkness

So as we can see there is no dearth of quotations in SGGS on the importance of Guru. But someone might still say that if the end result is the same (we turning out to be better human beings) with or without Guru/God/organized religion then why we need one?
Well for me its easier to just follow the Guru rather than worry about being right or wrong in the end. There is a reason there is so much similarity in the message of all the great messengers that came on this earth. What they are trying to tell people is to Love God and all of its creation and cherish it. To lead a life of bhagti (devotional love) and have an attitude of Jeh Prasad . The question really is that weather we want to walk all the way on our own (keeping in mind what the Guru has said above) or walk on path which has been tested by the Gurus themselves and it works!