Fw: November is Sri Guru Nanak Devji.doc

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Wah-Guru, Wah-Guru ki Fateh. The Golden Shrine at

Amritsar

 

November 26th is Sri Guru Nanak Devji's Jayanti & many communities specially,

Punjabi, Sikh, Sindhi & many more from other parts of the country visit

Guruduwaras, if not regularly, but on occasions like this & other Gurus' Birth

Centenaries. Sri Guru Nanak Devji was the first of the ten Gurus revered by the

Sikhs in particular & Sindhis & other communities in general. During His

life-time, He not only realized the Truth, but spread the meaningful knowledge

of the Absolute Reality across the countries.

 

It was in the 15th Century, when the Hindus were steeped in orthodoxy of being

trapped in outward practices of rites & rituals & the Kings of Northern India

were fighting among themselves & the Mughals took the advantage, attacked the

country & became rulers of India. It was at this crucial time in the history of

Bharat that Sri Guru Nanak took birth.

 

>From his very childhood, He was in search of Truth & discovered the same in His

youth. Not satisfied with His own Personal SALVATION, He moved from place to

place & reached Mecca & Medina, demonstrating that the TRUTH has no boundaries.

 

 

TRUTH is the essence of all religions. The Absolute Truth being infinite, it

cannot be defined through words or concepts, which are relative & limited,

according to one's own concept & understanding. However, efforts are being made

by all concerned to communicate & capitulate the Absolute Truth to reach the

understanding of the common man.

 

The teachings of Sri Guru Nanakji are found in the "Guru Granth Sahib It begins

with the moolmantra, which is chanted by even little children of Sikh, Punjabi,

Sindhi & other communities throughout the World. Guru Nanak was a prophet of

Sikhism. Being a man of Truth, his concern was that of liberation. Guru Nanak

was not unconcerned with the study of humanities and sciences. The religious

system and way of life which Guru Nanak revealed and preached are based on the

philosophical doctrines that the One Absolute God. & that the world has a

Creator. Sikhism removes this gross nescience in the Mul-Mantra, which has the

arithmetic numeral '1' as its first term

 

The Nature, according to Guru Nanak, is created by and utterly dependent on the

Creator. The status of Nature in the philosophic scheme of Guru Nanak is also

encompassed within the time-cycle so that the concept of God as first and last

is kept intact. On the other hand, Guru Nanak aimed at opening the windows of

the human mind to all the four quarters of space so that man's mind may grow

freely and his soul remain whole through healthy contact with the insights

gained by mankind in all countries, and in all ages, through such education as

trains him to employ his, critical faculty as the anvil and the accumulated

wisdom of mankind as the fashioning tool.

The Guru Granth Sahib :- Like the Bible of Christianity, the Vedas of Hinduism

or the Koran of Islam, the Guru Granth Sahib, also known as the Adi Granth, is

the main scripture of Sikhism. Compared to other religions, Sikhism is a

religion of recent origin, founded in the 15th Century AD by its founder Sri

Guru Nanak. Although like Islam it believes in the oneness of God and is

opposed to idol worship, in many respects it is an offshoot of Hinduism and is

much closer to Hinduism. It evolved primarily out of Hinduism, in line with the

Bhakti marg or the devotional path of Hinduism, as a kind of reform movement In

many respects, it is much more closer to Hinduism than either Buddhism or

Jainism and unlike the latter it maintained a very healthy relationship with

Hinduism throughout.

 

The relationship between Hinduism and Sikhism can be compared to that of a son

and father, where the son though a grown up individual has never lost his

respect towards his father and took upon himself the responsibility of taking

care of the latter. On account of its simplicity and unpretentious approach to

God, it does not hurt, the religious sentiments or beliefs of any or, the caste

or the creed to which each belongs, it has the potential to appeal to all and

inspire all. Sri Guru Nanak Devji tried to narrow the gap between the Hindus

and Muslims through their teachings, by emphasizing the similarities. But they

did not succeed much due to religious bigotry of the Mughal rulers.

 

The Guru Granth Sahib in its present form was originally compiled by the tenth

Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. The Scripture contains 5894 hymns of pure devotion

composed in 18 ragas (musical patterns) by the ten Gurus and 15 Hindu and

Muslim saints such as Kabir, Shiak Fareed etc. Of these Guru Nanak contributed

974 hymns. The hymns were originally composed in different languages such as

Persian, mediaeval Prakrit, Hindi, Marathi, old Punjabi, Multani, and several

local dialects.

 

The basic philosophy of Sikhism revolves mainly around three concepts:

Naam, the name of God,

Shabad the word of God and

Sat Sang, the company of the pious and the holy.

These are the simple means to salvation. What is required is inner purification,

true devotion and surrender to God. The true Guru is the Naam, the name of God

by remembering which constantly one can achieve salvation. However a Guru, who

has become completely absorbed in the contemplation of Naam and has become

united with God in thought and deed, can also help us to cross the world of

illusion and taste the sweetness of the Lord.

 

Special mention may be made of Japji, comprising of the thirty eight short poems

of Nanak which appear at the beginning of the Adi Granth. It contains the

essential teachings and beliefs of Sikhism and is considered to be very

important. Compiled in the 16th century in lyrical form with devotional touch.

 

 

The Guru Granth Sahib can be truly called the essence of all religions, since it

contains hymns and verses from many sacred books of various religions and sects

of Hinduism. The Sikhs had ten Gurus in human form and after the tenth Guru it

was decided that henceforth the Guru Granth Sahib would become the eleventh

Guru and would remain so for ever as the living embodiment of the Gurus. The

Book is kept in all the Gurudwaras, the Sikh places of worship and worshipped

daily. In the common households, wherever the book is, it is kept in sacred

surroundings, treated with utmost respect, and worshipped during all important

religious occasions

 

"IK-ONKAAR SAT-NAAM KARTAA-PURAKH NIRBHAU NIRVAIR AKAAL MOORAT,

AJUNI SAIBANH

GURUPRASAD JAP"

 

Mantras are those mystical sound symbols, which serve to protect the one who

chants them & reflects upon its meaning. The above mantra is considered to be

the mool mantra of the "Granth Sahib" & the entire Truth enshrined in this

mantra, is the entire "Japji Sahib." It is this mool mantra as well

Mangalaacharan that Sri Guru Nanakji performed, praising the Lord before

starting on the "Japji Sahib."

 

IK ONKAAR -The One God, the Absolute Reality- Shri Guru Nanakji added IK before

OM to indicate that this OM alone is one. God can be only one. There is neither

a Hindu God, nor a Muslim Allah nor a Christian God separate from a Jewish God.

The names of God in various religions are different, but He as such is One. The

word Ik has great depth & meaning, whatever there is in this Universe consists

in that ONE alone. There is only one Reality, the Plurality does not exist.

 

"NANAK KAHAT JAGAT SUBH MITHYAA, JANU SUPNA RAHENAAIE."

 

This world is an illusion, like a dream in the night. Truth or Reality is that

which remains unchanged in all the three periods of time-Past-Present & Future.

 

"ADI SACH, JUGAAD SACH, HAI BHI SACH, NANAK HOSI BHI SACH."

 

SAT NAAM- HIS NAME IS SAT, EVER TRUE- We consider ourselves to be the body &

think of ourselves as handsome or beautiful, tall or short, fat or lean, etc.

But this body does not exist in dream or deep sleep. Then how can we say we are

the body. The one who is the witness of the ever-changing body, mind, and

intellect is the Eternal, Changeless Existence, which we call TRUTH & in

religion, it is known as GOD. Sat means Eternal. Sat Naam also means HIS NAME

IS TRUE or His name is Truth because it leads us to Him.

 

KARTAA PURAKH- THE ONE DOER, THE ONE CREATOR-All our sciences are nothing but an

inquiry into the cause of things. Every branch of science is working towards

finding out as to what is the cause of the Universe & from where the Universe

came? Each time the earlier concept is thrown off due to some new discovery &

the search is still on & their present saying is that the Creation came forth

from inert mass and energy & life was created from the interplay of these & the

Universe is one big accident. For every effect, there must be a cause. He is

present in each & every being in the universe & thus He is Kartaa Purakh. But

why do we suffer? We suffer because of our own false identification with this

limited ego which is full of desires, selfishness, passions, greed, likes,

dislikes, fears, hatred & self-made sorrows.

 

NIRBHAU NIRVAIR-FEARLESS & ALL LOVING IS HE- The Lord is nirbhay or fearless

because there is none higher than Him & there is nothing other than Him. Fear

can also be of the unknown. But the CREATOR is All-knowing. One may feel that

such a powerful & fearless person could be a terror. No, Guru Nanak says the

Lord is NIRVAIR, He is without hatred, enmity, for there is no one separate

from Him. He is all loving. A saadhak or seeker cannot afford to entertain

negative qualities. The ego, this sense of individuality with all likes &

dislikes, is the cause of fear & enmity. Surrender the ego at the feet of the

Lord & think that the Lord & you are inseparable. Do not fear death, it is part

of life.

 

AKAAL MOORAT-HIS FORM TRANSCENDS TIME.- He is beyond time & without death or

change. There are a few who believe that God created the world & then perished

like a seed that perishes to become tree or as milk that disappears to form

curd. The universe is not real, it is superimposed on the Reality. It is like a

dream & nothing in the dream can harm the waker. In the same way, God, the

Reality, can never perish or die. He is the creator of time, He was before time

& He is beyond time. He is aware of time & cannot be conditioned by time.

 

AJUNI-HE IS WITHOUT BIRTH OR BEGINNING- God has no birthday. He was never born.

That which is born, has to die. He is beyond birth & death, so is Atma. He can

manifest Himself by His own Maya. HE who surrenders to the Lord & realizes His

own nature as the Atma, which is Ajuni, unborn, is freed from the cycle of

birth & death. Some one may ask, " If God created the entire Universe, who

created God? Shri Guru Nanak says, "He is Saibanh."

 

SAIBANH-HE IS SELF-EXISTENT & SELF-ILLUMINATING- It is Saibangh which means, It

is shining in Its own light. It is of the nature of Consciousness without which

even the sun cannot be seen. This Consciousness lights up the entire universe.

It is ever shining in Its own light. How can such Reality be gained? It could

be gained through the grace of the Guru.

 

GURUPARSAAD-The Grace of Guru.- The Guru is He who removes the darkness of

ignorance. Guru inspires us, guides us, & reveals to us His true nature. It is

said," GururBrahmah, Gurur Vishnu. GururDevo Maheshwarah, Guru Sakshat Para

Brahma Tasmai Sri Guruve Namah." Guru is the Creator, (Brahma) Guru is the

Sustainer, (Vishnu) Guru is the Renovator, (Shiva) Guru is the Lord of the

Universe. Guru is absolute Reality, the Param Brahma. Unto that noble Teacher

Or Guru, my humble prostrations" Guru Nanakji Dev says,

 

"GUR ISAR, GUR GORAKH BARMAA, GUR PARBATI MA-EE"- The Lord is the one Guru of

all. He is the giver of all knowledge. Who taught the birds to fly, sing &

build nests & look for food? He is Aadi Guru, the first Guru. He appears again

& again in the form of different Gurus to bless the seekers. There are no words

to describe HIS Compassion & Grace, His Prasad? His mere glance can transform a

sinner into a saint. The cool stream of Ganga Mata flowing from His lotus lips

destroys the evil of ignorance, washes away the sins of countless lifetimes &

ends the burning sorrows of Samsara. His Lotus feet are the one refuge in the

many storms of life. Even the Devatas, the heavenly denizens, cherish the

sacred dust of His feet.

 

Sri Kabirdas once said,

" SUB DHARTI KAAGAZ KARO, LEKHAN SUB BAN RAI, SAAT SAMUDRA KI MASI

KARO, GURU GUN LIKHEEYA NA

JA-EE."

If the entire earth were turned into paper, all the trees in all the world's

forests into pen, & all the seven seas and oceans into ink. Still they would

not suffice for me to write about the glories of my Guru."

 

Guru Nanakji says, " JE HAU JAANA AAKHA NAAHI, KAHNA KATHAN NA JA-EE."

Even if I knew Him and all His glories, still I would never be able to describe

Him, for He is indescribable" To surrender in devotion at His lotus feet, is

the only direct means of salvation.

 

"NA GUROH ADHIKAM TATVAM, NA GUROH ADHIKAM TAPAH,

TATVA GYAANAAT PARAM NAASTI TASMAI SHRI GURAVE NAMAH.'

 

JAP (CHANT)

"IK ONKAAR SAT-NAAM KARTAA-PURAKH NIRBHAU NIRVAIR

AKAAL-MOORAT AJUNI SAIBANH GURUPRASAD JAP".

 

This mantra should be read & recited in a slow, gentle & loving repetition as if

you are calling your beloved again & again. When recited with devotion with

meaning, this Japa will purify the mind & takes the seeker to higher Bliss &

dissolves into Truth. Start & do not wait for any auspicious day, because all

days are auspicious. The grace of Lord or Guru is ever with us. Chant, reflect,

understand, contemplate, meditate & realize. Sri Guru Nanak Devji completes the

Japji with the message.(38 pauree).

 

"JAT PAHAARAA DHEERAJ SUNIAAR, AHARAN MAT VED HATHIAAR.

BHAU KAHALAA AGAN TAP TAAO, BHAANDAA BHAAO AMRIT TIT DHALL.

GHAREEAI SHABAD SACHEE TAKSAAL, JIN KAU NADAR KARAM TIN KAAR.

NANAK NADREE NADAR NIHAAL.

 

Let forbearance be the furnace & patience the goldsmith, let the understanding

be the anvil & the Vedas, (spiritual knowledge), the hammer. Let fear be the

bellows & austerity, the fire, & let love be the crucible in which pour down

thou the ambrosia. Thus in the true mint wilt thou coin the Shabad, the divine

name. Such alone, who have HIS grace & kindness adopt this way. On them, "O

Nanak, shower rain of Grace Divine. Absorbed are they forever & ever. Theirs is

the Eternal Bliss." SAT SRI AAKAL VIHIGURU JEE KA KHALASA - VIHIGURU JEE KEE

FATEH. nimano fakir-Dubai- 25.11.04

 

 

 

 

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