“We tremble, thinking we are about to dissolve into non existence,
But nonexistence fears even more, that it might be given human form!”
- Jelaluddin Rumi
“Heaven and earth live forever because they do not live for themselves.” (The I-Ching) They distribute their affection equally both to the virtuous and the evil. There is no “evil” for them. They carry with them the highest variety of experiences of both joy and sorrow; preservation and devastation. Therefore, they are beyond time.
Men with virtue similar to those of heaven and earth do not decay with death. They do not sacrifice their belongings; as they do not believe that anything belongs to them. All that they have does not belong to them because their inner self is vacant of ego. They are empty of their ‘I’. Both defeat and victory are same for them as both are under the supreme command. Both glory and dishonor are the same because they do not carry the ‘I’. They are beyond birth and death. They are a phenomenon. They are always in Oneness with The Almighty.
The very first sign of duality (separation from The One) appears when selflessness starts to get shrouded with egotism. Guru Nanak in the verse of ‘Asa Ki Var’ states, “Haumai aei Bandhna, fir fir Joni Payae” (Ego ambushes creatures in the vicious circle of life and death). The emptiness of a vessel, determines the utility of a vessel. If there is no space in the vessel then there is no way that anything could be added into it. A mind comprising pride, prejudice and vice is so full of itself that no wisdom can get in.
Men who are alert to the emptiness of selfdom are the ones who experience love in each moment. Nature’s phenomenon and nature’s love exists within and without. The cosmic relationship exists forever. Their eyes wait for the glimpse of the Almighty. They are a tree and a bird, a fountain and the rain, a mountain and an ocean and…and One with the One in everyOne. The Almighty exists within them and they are living in The Almighty.
The fragment of the infinite Lord exists in every human. We call it the human soul. It longs to re-unite with its Creator. The various schools of religious philosophy help to cover some distances in one’s journey towards the experience of Oneness. The mushrooming modern religious institutions to a certain extent, provide some relief to the wounded souls, but complete eternal bliss lies in the experience of the Shabd Guru. The incomplete journey traveled with religions still maintains the state of duality. It is for those who wish to drink a cup from the fountain. If the thirst is for the whole ocean then the spirit is bound to travel through the door of the One where ego must be left at the door. The Guru enlightens one’s consciousness and helps us to keep aware of the emptiness. No ego is allowed to fill this vessel. Gurus ‘Shabad’ is an eternal bliss that is carried within and which radiates in all directions inspiring all with the smiles and joy of cherdi kala!
Let us all look into our inner vessel and feel what we carry.
Carrying a begging bowl on my head
I wandered in search of knowledge
From door to door I begged for food
Filling my bowl to the brim.
My stuffed bowl made me feel stuffy-
A learned scholar me.
With my head held high
I walked touching the skies.
One day I took this bowl and
Placed it before a sage. Saying,
“False! False!” he flipped it over,
And emptied all its contents.
He scrubbed off its mental stains
And wiped the begging bowl clean.
See, how this bowl now shines:
Like a Lotus blooming brilliantly.
- Bhai Vir Singh