Mankind today has started realizing the hollowness of materialistic pursuits that have involved deeper unrest in stable structures of society. The sense of wonder is diluted in the blind race that has captured the heart, mind and soul of mankind. Sensitive hearts carrying the fragrance of love are cornered in the aggressive passion of single dimensional growth.
This particular article is written to touch the underlying cord of man that connects him to his Creator helping him to realize his higher purpose of creation. Before we go ahead, let us first try to understand the spiritual essence of Baisakhi in Sikh ideology. Baisakhi should not be looked upon as a mere historic event where a particular set of people came together to declare the onset of religious group. Prayers of earth have waited for ages for this day as the onset of a new dawn was awaited from times immemorial in the spiritual universe. It is like a vivid emergence of a spring in a desert. It is like a ocean that quenches the thirst for the past, present and future history of man. Thus, there are gifts that are bestowed to man to receive them in the vessel of his mind and soul before wearing these on his head and heart.
The gifts to man are not just objects or article in their essence. They have a divine cosmic meaning that are bestowed on Man. Their meaning is beyond their simple utility like that of an object. The implied meaning within the framework of time and circumstances reduce the divine meaning that The Guru brings to man for his transcendence. Their divine relevance is lost when only their objective utility is considered as the final truth or the real truth. It happens with the insensitive minds as one wishes to impose the logic of utility, over the divinity of love. The flower in a garden carries the meanings much more than a thing of beauty. It may mean a life to one and it may mean a complete universe to another. The essence of Baisakhi and that of Sikh faith to a great extent rests in developing the sense of wonder which is also reflected in Wah of the name Waheguru. The seed of wonder is sown in the earth of Prayer (Shabad) and cultivated with the labor of sweat to grow into a flower.
Visualizing only the abstract reality of gifts of the Guru, confines their cosmic meaning and therefore leads to either straying away from them or fanatical obsession for possessing them. It dilutes the sense of wonder that dries the succulence of living hearts and makes them dry sticks. Both these minds have the same root of only looking at the visible reality of the articles thereby driving only their implied utility. One mind discards their spiritual relevance while arguing their physical utility, while other asserts his stony fanaticism without realizing their deeper spiritual meaning. The living pulse of their relevance is lost in both these extremes. Both minds travel the incomplete journeys on their self determined paths.
The first extreme tries to discard the spiritual nature of these articles in the name of freedom of thought as a revolt against tradition. Without deliberating the essence of feeling, individualism, nuclear setup, self dependence and challenging outlook overtook respect, community life and obedience in the tradition. All fiber of traditional values is torn apart to look behind the veil and bring about relations in concrete tangible relations. Arguable logic is put forward to assert ones stance even though the mind realizes its incompleteness. This psyche constantly endeavors to bring newer meaning to all subjects around him, without deliberating that all that is current in time becomes a tradition in a moment. The restless speed is, therefore, imposed on subjects of sacred relevance. Various aspects of art including, poetry, music, language, dress, architecture and patterns of thinking was given an assertive and mechanical transformations. Sense of wonder is thus diluted as everything occurring in nature is a routine for such mind. These barren lands can erect some buildings, but do not grow flowers.
The second psyche is dangerously bricked in the walls that it builds around the religion. This psyche is dangerous because it becomes reflective mirror for the society. Men in this category fight like beasts to enforce religion on all the rest but themselves. This mind is more concerned with the technical terms and rules. It asserts its self in the shade of the religion. Essence of love is diluted in the strict codes of 'imposed' integrity. Rule book is used to find faults as the mind is focusing more on detection rather than submission. This mind asserts its self perfection by ordaining some implied errors in the rule book to impose rejection. He visualizes all perfection in his self, without realizing that Love can not be imposed. He forgets that the Sun does not shine favorably and earth does not choose to hold judgmentally.
Regrettably today the seriousness of Baisakhi is diluted with the waters of cultural poverty. Uncultured folk festivity provides fodder for racial assertion in which a caste or a race can assert its hegemony to stimulate animal instincts in man, that is also used as a tool to serve the political and feudal purposes of the elite class. Man is excited in the uncultured culture for keeping him under control to serve the feudal face. Whenever the feudal races fail in their attempts, they use the wider platform of their religious outlook to serve them. Religious functions are used as a mere source of entertainment to excite and thrill instead of providing contemplation and Spiritual progression.
Baisakhi is the culmination of Love of the Creator towards his Creation. As the season of Spring is full at its youth, the Sun is at its highest point, the Almighty bestows His graceful glance on his creation named, Man, to make him the groom of entire creation. The time is paused as the Man is bestowed the responsibility of His glance in the form of His Sword-His Kirpan. The animal being is now progressing into a higher being. His disorder and anarchy is shed as his higher self is regulated under the spiritual order of Maryada. Just like the earth circumferences the Sun, the Man is attracted to revolve around the nucleus of His Creator. The breeze is soft, the young leaves have spurt from the dry stems, waiting for a long age of piercing frost, making the land dress like a bride. Man is now inspired in this season, to cultivate his self like a land that can now grow some flowers. He harrows his soul, to pull the weeds of his uninspired passions, detaches is soul from his structure of blood and bones as he wears the integrity on his waist. Then he waters it with the prayer of his essence and wears the iron bangle of reflecting circumference towards his Origin. The sovereignty of thought and mind are reflected in the Kirpan which is not hidden like a dragger. His love emerges like a spring in the dry lands as he wears his tresses- His Kesh. Thus is love zealous to be crucified.
All parts of man's social, political, cultural, intellectual and spiritual life are blessed in this divine celebration. The order of cosmos where the discipline is observed even its growing expanse is brought to be worn on human mind. One instance and one mind thus lives infinite times and infinite lives within the walls of his human bond. The gravity of mind is bestowed upon the grace of heavens to give surface to both the brightness of day and the veil of night. The speechless is said as the Nectar, the Khanda (Double edged sword), the prayer, the sweetness of sugar are all mixed in the presence of the Ones who are acknowledged as The Creator's representatives. The Lord bestows His glance on Man!
[Emphasis of some texts is by Editor.]