Tere Dar te

 

schad dite saare aas sansaar de,

meh peya hun tere charnaan te

bhave menu kabool kar leh

bhave maar de,

hun meh ni jaande kite

par tere dar te

Many Questions

Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? What is God? Where is God? How do I find God? How do I live a God-inspired life? What is a Sikh? What does a Sikh do?
What is Guru Granth Sahib? What is Guru Panth? What is Khalsa?What is Naam? What is Nitnem? What is Hukam? What is Rehit? What is Maryada? What is Anand?

The questions are endless. The mind is restless. Yet the only thing that tires are my fingers typing all of them. These are not all my questions at the moment, but they are the questions of every Seeker beginning the journey of Sikhi.

I wonder.

At every step, at every stage of our life we ask questions. The most interesting to note, though, are the beginning and the end. We begin as little innocent children with the question “Why?” We die as old wise men with the question “Why?” We fill the gaps in between with our own colorful stories. Our life as the color book. We pick the crayons we like. We draw on the empty pages the figures we want. We color, draw, color, draw, till we reach the last page. Yet, we’re left with the same question. Why?

So.

Many philosophers and religious people alike always like to mention that the beginning and the end are not important. The destination of a journey is of no significance. The beauty of it is what matters. I wonder though what was the point of the journey if it still ended with the same question as it began? Are we simply loud spectators of life?

I hope not.

I don’t know the answer.

But, Guru Sahib says:

Humanity

I must surrender my mind
To this difficult night
Please grant me serenity
O dear mother
It does get cold in here at times

I feel the pain of their graves
Lying here awake
Pour into my heart love
O dear mother
I hear the nightingale at their wake

I saw a dove eat the eagle
Seemingly surreal
Pour into my heart courage
O dear mother
Sometimes unconventional is the only way

Forgive us for what we do
Forsaking humanity
Pour into our hearts responsibility
O dear mother
Force us to hear the screams of the innocent

Living is the unhallowed grounds
Speaking in death
Pour into my heart determination
O dear mother
To never understand its speech
This world I live in is that place
Of deathly speech
Pour into my heart fearlessness
O dear mother
I may weather the storm of apathy

Be My Saturday

if you could be mine
i would want you to be my saturday
if this day was real
i would want you to last forever
come on be my saturday
be my love, be my heaven
when im at hell's bay
be the joy, be the laughter
be my saturday
come on be my saturday
when im at hell's bay

when its cloudy in my mind
and its stormy outside
come be my saturday
be my sunny side, be the clear skies
comeon be my saturday
when im at hell's bay

when the devil screams in my ears
begs for blood, begs for tears
be my saturday
be my turban, be my sword
come on be my saturday
when im at hell's bay

be my strength, be my courage
be my saturday
comeon be my saturday
when im at hell's bay

if you could be mine,
i would want you to be my saturday...

Mengiaan Mangiaan

meh haan ik keerra is srishti vich
tu hain eh srishti, tu hain sabh kich
meh haan ik boond paani da, dariya vich
tu hai eh dariya
tu hai eh aasmaann
tu hai eh dharti
tu hai, tu hai

par, ki mengiaan si mangiaan darshanaan
jo toon darshan ni denda ve

je pyar di hi gal si
fir dil kyon manzoor ni

je ik phul di zaroorat si
fir sir kyon manzoor ni

sirf ik pal di gal si
par darshan vi menge bhe gay

ki tenu enaan masooman naal pyar
ke tu masooman dian jaanaan lehnaan

ki tenu bacheyaan naal ena pyar
ke har ik dhruv nu chuk lehnaan

ki tenu enaan shauk daata hondaa
ke diti hoi zindgi scheen lehnaan

ki mengiaan si mangiaan darshanaan
jo toon darshan ni denda ve

jaandaan haan tera saneha,
jaandaan haan lakeer...

jad ik kiri pahaarr nu chuk ni saki
mera varga eanna tenu kive apnaa lave

jad koi insaan kisi masoom di zindgi lehnda
pucheyaa jaanda, ke Rab nu ki savaal devengaa

par, jad tu masoomaan dian jaanaan lehnaan
tenu ki puchiye? tenu kaun puche? tu kinu javaab den da?

din raat din raat loki tenu poojde
kade darshan vi deh de
maavaan, thiyaan, bhenaa, bharaavaan diaan jaanaan
tu hi chuk lehnaan, vapis ni kardaa.
fir vi tenu loki poojde
ik vaari darshan deh de

ki mengiaan si mangiaan darshanaan
jo tu darshan ni denda ve

“Trust, Love, Qurbani”

“Sach kahon sun leh sabhai, jin prem kio tin hi prabh paaeo”

Guru Sahib says that in order to attain Akal Purakh, one must love.  This means that we must bring love in general into our hearts, and one way to do that would be to love Akal Purakh and everything he does/has created.  When we love someone, we want that which makes the person we love happy.  If the person we love wants to go some place or do something, we want to do that too.  When we apply this love to Vaheguru, then we love and want that which is in Vaheguru's hukam.  Whatever is Vaheguru's hukam, is what we want.

In order for us to attain this love for Akal Purakh, we must have absolute trust or unwavering faith in Akal Purakh, because trust is a fundamental factor in every relationship of love.  A fish in the sea, the reason it continues to live in water and float around its random ways is not because it believes that food is there for it or that it believes that the water will always be there.   It trusts that there will be food provided; trusts that the water will be there.  Think about it, if it was only belief, and not trust, then the fish would be paranoid; it would live in constant fear of the water suddenly evaporating or there not being food.  Its own paranoia would kill it.  In the same way with our minds, we have to trust Vaheguru, and not just believe in something of a Vaheguru being there, or believe in Vaheguru doing something.  We have to trust that Vaheguru sustains us, that whatever happens is in the will of Vaheguru.  It’s not about Vaheguru testing us or not testing us with whatever happens in life, it’s about it just being what Vaheguru wants.   From our trust comes our love. 

When applying this concept to the Shaheeds in our history, physical Qurbani was not a big deal because for them everything was in Vaheguru's hukam, they were in love with Vaheguru; so, whatever was in Vaheguru's hukam they accepted gladly.  Their Qurbani had already occurred in their spiritual and mental life, when they made the realization of “mera mujh meh kich nahi, jo kich hai so tera” and attained the love that made them utter “tera kia meettha laage, har naam padarath nanak maange.”   For them, the end process of their life was not some act of doing something for a higher cause than themselves, or sacrificing something of their own for future generations, it was simply flowing along with the Hukam of Akal Purakh, the Hukam that demanded them to stand up for Righteousness.  The Shaheeds were already merged into Akal Purakh when their bodies were torn apart, so how can there be a sacrifice of some particular thing, when they in essence are existing in everything?  There is no sacrifice, it is simply a life lived in Hukam.

So then, where in all of this does Guru Granth Sahib Ji come in?  Where is our Guru in all of this?  It is something like the following analogy.  If someone were to present to you a glass of water that did not look clean, was all brownish looking and displeasing in sight, would you drink it? No, most likely you would make sure to filter the water and then when it looks good and when you are thirsty, you would drink the water.  Imagine that our existence is analogous to glasses of water.  Our soul is the glass, and the content of the soul is the water.  In our existence in this world, amongst Maya, our glass of water becomes dirty as we allow it to become polluted by outside things.  The reason we need Guru Granth Sahib Ji is because Guru Sahib is the eternal source of filtering and clean water that when poured into our glasses, continually purifies our being and makes us appealing to Akal Purakh.  Then, whenever Akal Purakh chooses he can enjoy that glass. 

That is how the Shaheeds were, these every ready “tyar bar tyar” sources of purity in spirit, which Akal Purakh decided to enjoy.   In our lives, we have the choice of either becoming these glasses of purity in spirit, or remaining glasses of filth, and when we chose to listen to our Guru we begin to become purer in our minds and in our spirits.  If we take a glass of dirty water, and continually pour clean water into it, what you see eventually is an overflowing glass of clean water.  Gurbani is the same way for us, we continually need Gurbani because it is the eternal source of that water, of that purity, that keeps on pouring into our glasses.  If we live attached to Gurbani we live as Shaheeds, if we become detached from Gurbani we become diseased and deceased.

An Apology too Many

I know I said I was sorry
I know I said I was here to stay
But you know I walked out
And I cheated on you
What can I do
I am addicted to abuse
Your feelings
I have never been true
I have said my apologies
I have tried to be sincere
But I have lost my way
Again and again
Only finding myself
Ashamed
Am continually begging
On your footsteps
If I could be perfect
You know I would be
For you I want to say
I will give my life
And never hesitate
But you know I cheated
And know that I walked out
I know I can never expect
For you to forgive me
Or give me a second chance
I don’t deserve anything
Because I am the devil
Reincarnate
A second chance has become cliché
In my life where apologies
Continue to escalate
As I lead my life astray
I committed to you then
I am committed to you now
But I am far from what I wanted to be
What I wanted for you and me
I had once dreamed of living
In a mansion made of love
Of trees and leaves and sunsets
And a beautiful breeze
While we walk in the park
Of a life in a paradise
Just you and me
I look around now and see
Really it was all a dream
How could someone like me
End up with someone like you
Only in a dream
Could it ever come to be
Am a foolish man
With foolish dreams
God help me
Because I am begging on my knees
Any good I did in my life
Was a tribute to thee
But my actions make me
The accumulation of all the
Forsaken particles in a sea
Of all that is to be loathed
Please, I beg on my knees
I am not anything I was supposed to be
Just breathe, into me breathe
All that you wanted from me
Because I am nothing in this body
Without you breathing life into me

- Sevak -