“Your task is not to correct others – your task is to correct yourself.
And through correcting yourself, you will automatically correct others”
- Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh
October 9, 2012: it feels so easy, so tempting to slide into viewing the world in terms of manmukh and gurmukh – so many rules and standards with which to measure those around us. we see cut hair, different practices, and suddenly we stop seeing the person before us – they become less-then in some way, our vision blurred because we’ve mistaken the ideal for a weapon to be used against them.
there are descriptions throughout gurbani about what makes a person a manmukh and what a gurmukh. these descriptions help me to see the millions of moments, every day, when i am facing and receiving guidance from my mind, and how often i distance myself from Guru ji. how often i turn away from the guidance that He continually holds out towards me.
it doesn’t feel right to see these descriptions as tools to judge others – instead, i see all of the admonitions throughout gurbani to see only God, all around. in you and in me. and to move beyond the duality of us and them all together -
Dhanaasaree Mahalaa 9 ? Kaahe re ban khojan jaaee …
Why do you go looking (for God) in the forest? Although he is ever detached, he dwells everywhere. He even abides with you. ||1||Pause|| Like the fragrance which remains in the flower, and like the reflection in the mirror, the Lord dwells deep within (all). (Therefore) search for Him within your own heart, O brother.
(Siri Guru Granth Sahib, ang 684).
the understanding that Guru Sahib is in all of us must extend beyond concept – it must be a conviction that we can apply to our life everyday – to apply to the thoughts and judgements we have about others, and to our day to day interactions, as well. in order to be continually challenged to strip away the layers that exist between each one of us, and ultimately, between our own selves and the Ultimate Truth that is Waheguru.