The light of God has descended on Earth

In the year 1666 on Diwali day, a great and revered Muslim holy man, a Sayyid, Pir Bhikam Shah, at Thaksa (Haryana, India) was offering Namaz facing west towards Mecca, when he suddenly turned east towards Patna, bowed with great humility and offered Namaz.

He explained to the stunned crowds,  "God's light has descended on earth, I must leave, to go there immediately." Guided by a divine light Pir Bhikam Shah  set off for Patna about 1100 kms (700 miles) away.


Travelling by foot he arrived in Patna after 8 months, at the residence of Guru Tegh Bhadur ji, the 9th Sikh Guru. He requested to see the child that had arrived recently, for he was not an ordinary child but the light of God.

Pir Bikham Shah meeting infant Gobind Rai

Bhikam Shah offered two pots filled with sweets, to Gobind Rai. One purchased from a Muslim and the other purchased from a Hindu  eager to see which faith the child would choose.

The infant Gobind Rai, pushed down simultaneously both pots breaking them causing the sweets to mix. Pir Bhikam Shah interpreted this to mean, that Gobind Rai did not belong to any faith but to the one true God who is the benefactor of all. He payed obeisance to the infant, kissed Gobind Rai's feet and set off for home a delighted Pir.



Gobind Rai was 5 years old when his father the Guru returned back to Patna to meet his son for the first time, in the meanwhile, Gobind Rai ji had grown and flowered. He was already fluent in Panjabi, Sanskrit, Farsi, Bhojpuri and Hindi. He was an expert horseman, archer and could wield a sword with great skill and balance. He already demonstrated remarkable intelligence, compassion, wisdom and leadership qualities far greater than even great men. 

Soon after the Guru's return, he accepted the request of Gobind Rai, to be permitted to  attend the discourses and meetings which his father held daily at the congregation hall to guide people on spiritual and worldly matters. 

In May 1675 when he was just 9, Gobind Rai was present when a delegation of Kashmiri Hindus led by Pandit Kirpa Ram ji called upon Guru Tegh Bhadur ji. 

They implored the Guru to help and save them, for they were terrified by the rampant abduction and rape of their sisters and daughters, the high taxes, looting, killing and destruction of all they held precious, and the looming end of Hinduism. They saw no merit in Islam and were not willing to embrace it, but they did not want to die either.

Guru Tegh Bhadur ji decided to confront Aurangzeb to stop the atrocities. He challenged Aurangzeb to convert him failing which Aurangzeb would leave the Kashmiri's in peace. It was a case of noble divinity, challenging satanic cruelty.

After Aurangzeb agreed,  Guru Tegh Bahadur ji knew he would be going towards certain physical death, but the soul never dies. Anointing his young son The light of God, Gobind Rai as the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bhadur ji left for Delhi accompanied by 500 Sikh disciples on 11 July 1675.  

497 of the Guru's companions grew terrified and retracted their claims as being Sikhs. Three great souls proudly claimed they were Sikhs of the Guru's. For their refusal to yield to Aurangzeb and Islam they were horribly tortured, and finally martyred. 

Guru Tegh Bhadur ji had promised to save the Hindus and to vanquish evil and injustice.   He refused to yield to both inducements and tyrannical pressure. He remained as a true Guru does, fearless and dignified.
When all attempts physical and emotional, to convert the Guru failed,  at the place called Chandni Chowk (Delhi) the great Guru Tegh Bhadur ji was publicly beheaded on 24 Nov 1675. on instructions of Aurangzeb.

Guru Gobind Rai ji knew, that his father would not return, but when he came to know of all that had transpired, the greatness of Guru Tegh Bhadur ji, the 3 noble Sikhs, and the cowardly behaviour of the 497 so called Sikhs he thundered, 

"I will create a race of people, so courageous, that they will fear nothing and even face death with joy.
I will fill them with such nobility and valour, that they will always fight for righteousness and destroy evil everywhere. They will always protect the weak, the oppressed, the hungry. 
I will give them an identity, so unique, that they will never again be able to hide themselves".

Shri. Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

He meditated for many years on how to build a new and noble humanity. Then in 1699 at the age of 33, hundreds of thousands of Sikhs gathered at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi (New year day, 14 April) as per the wishes of the Guru.

There he first baptised 5 volunteers who offered to without question do as the Guru commanded including give up their life. Then he baptised tens of thousands that day, who made the same pledge. 


The Guru called them the 'Khalsa' the pure ones. He infused in them by divine grace, the strength and courage of Lions, that is why each of the Khalsa Sikh is called a 'Singh'. The Gurus also stressed on equality and respect for women and therefore, each Sikh female is given the title of 'Kaur', meaning princess.

Guru Gobind Rai ji baptising the 'Panj Pyare', (The beloved 5)

The Guru then requested the 'Panj Pyare' (the beloved 5) to then baptise Him. They baptised the Guru and gave him the name 'Guru Gobind Singh ji'. 

With this the Guru himself became the disciple of the 'path of the Khalsa'. To bind himself and all future Sikhs by the same traditions and values that he had ordained. A true democracy for a noble, humanity.

This is why the proud Sikhs have a distinctive look of long unshorn hair, do not shave, and carry a Kirpan (sword or dagger) at all times. The Sikhs are unimaginably courageous and loyal unto death, friends of humanity, and destroyers of injustice and evil.

Blessed by the Gurus and baptised into the Khalsa, the Sikhs have never looked back. They have excelled in every field, be it military, agriculture, academics, engineering, medicine etc. The Sikhs have served India and humanity with joy, nobility, courage, love and sacrifice. If India is today a free and prosperous land, its in no small measure due to the contribution of the magnificent Sikhs.

Next time you meet a real Sikh, take a good hard look, befriend and embrace the Sikh, for there can never be a greater and nobler people than the Sikhs and the Khalsa. The inheritors and custodians of a great and noble heritage.

The Mosque built by, The Guru.

"Guru ki Maseet" (Guru's Mosque)

Shri. Guru Hargobind ji. 6th Sikh Guru

We inevitably find what we seek.
If we seek violence, hatred, and indifference we find them. If we seek out good souls, love, compassion, brotherhood, we find those too.
Below the surface of all religions lies a humanity, where individuals long to belong to one another.

Where do we go when we seek the divine? A spiritual teacher, the Muslims call such a great soul, 'Murshid' and the Hindus and Sikhs call 'Guru'. Unlike us ordinary mortals, they have only come to give. Though they will accept any offering for sharing with other disciples and for the common good, they never demand.


Guru Hargobind ji the sixth Sikh Guru and the Sikh disciples themselves provide numerous examples of universal brotherhood, love and devotion. 

One such instance is the 'Gur ki Maseet' (Guru's Mosque). 
In 1630 the greatly outnumbered Sikhs led by Guru Hargobind ji defeated in battle, Abdullah Khan, the tyrannical ruler of Jalandhar. The battle was for righteousness and justice not power and wealth in any name or pretext.
The Muslim residents approached the Guru with a problem, they had no place to pray.

To a Guru all people are the same, saving the oppressed, spreading love and amity by their every word and action. In probably the only known such example in history, the Sikh Guru built a mosque for the Muslims.  

Located at Sri. Hargobindpur, in Panjab's Gurdaspur district, midway between Jalandhar and Amritsar. The mosque is picturesquely situated on a hill overlooking a curve on the banks of the mighty Beas river.

Even now 387 years ago those values and that spirit the Guru espoused are vibrantly alive in the hearts and minds of many, as can be seen from the return of the mosque to the Muslim community.

In 1947  all the Muslim residents abandoned the town to move to Pakistan, during the horrific partition caused by power hungry, cunning, and soulless men.

Soon thereafter the local Sikhs got together and used the mosque as a Gurdwara (congregation hall) at the same site. Here prayers were offered and hymns sung from the Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book containing the hymns of all the Sikh Gurus, various great Hindu, and Muslim saints (30 of them in number). It was protected and served by the valiant and noble Nihang Sikhs, as their solemn responsibility. 

The Sikhs always maintained that this place belonged to the Muslims and wanted to return it to them. They constantly nagged the government and the Punjab Waqf Board to get Muslims to start offering Namaz at the mosque and to take over its upkeep.

The Muslims were mostly poor labourers who could not build a mosque for themselves and since 1947 they had to travel 10 to 15 kms away for offering prayers.

Though the mosque was a splendid structure it was in disrepair, and who would replace the Sikh staff who all worked as volunteers?  The Punjab Waqf Board requested the Sikhs to continue to look after the mosque, while they found a solution.


Eventually it is the people that have to take responsibility.
By 1997 a group of Sikhs and Muslims had come together, roped in the Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI), and UNESCO to set things right. The restoration work began in 2000 with sikh families donating some land adjoining the Mosque. The Nihang Sikhs and the local population volunteered for most of the spade work. 



By 2002 the restoration was complete and  Maulana Hamid Husain Qasmi, the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Amritsar, led the first prayers in the mosque.

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Sikhs taking care of and protecting the Mosque

This is but one example of how magnanimous the true Sikhs are in helping all humanity irrespective of belief, all attributable to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus.

The Gurus taught that it is the solemn duty of Sikhs to fight against injustice, save the oppressed, share with others and particularly the needy and to remember God (Naam) always.

Sikhs are reputed for their gregarious, passionate, noble, valiant, honest, steadfast, and intelligent nature. Time and again one can usually experience this in the interactions with them. 



 

             

'Guru Ki Maseet' during restoration

'Guru Ki Maseet' after major restoration

Muslim and Sikhs discussing historical texts  about the mosque's history

Muslims offering prayers in the Guru's Mosque while Sikh brethren & the media watch them

                                       

Religion, talk less of it ...

Sadhu T.L. Vaswani

Religion; Let us talk of it less, practice more.

~ Sadhu T.L. Vaswani

Sadhu Vaswani (born 1879) was a great Sindhi Spiritual master, an educationist and philosopher. A scholar of both ancient Indian texts like the Upanishads, and modernity with a Masters degree. 

Always a man of spirituality committed to serving humanity, he longed to find his God chosen Guru.  He was fortunate that while on a teaching stint in Kolkata his Guru (spiritual teacher), Sri Promotholal Sen appeared in his life. From 1920, Vaswani ji abandoned himself to the spiritual path. 

Sadhu Vaswani ji, dedicated is life in the service of God by serving humanity. He imposed great faith in the power and capability of women to play a greater role in 

shaping a brighter and happier future for the world.

He founded a girl’s college to educate women and named it the Mira School, this grew into a global phenomenon known as the Mira Movement. Vaswani ji's love, works and philosophy has  flowered into the Sadhu Vaswani mission, now headed by his disciple  Dada JP Vaswani.

Sadhu Vaswani ji and now Dada JP Vaswani ji, remain the spiritual beacon and guiding lights not only for the Sindhi community but for millions of people across the world.

A Sadhu's manner is compassionate as was that of Sadhu Vaswani. They take what nature offers but never by force or cruelty. Hence they abhor taking life. 

Many people who have tread the spiritual path have turned vegetarian. 

Today Nov 25th Sadhu Vaswani ji's birth anniversary  is celebrated in many parts of the world as Meatless Day.

Regaining Paradise

Regaining Paradise

Paradise is not a physical place somewhere. Its a state of being. The good news is, we do not have to die to go to paradise. The best news is, all of us can live there, and now.

In paradise, nationality, religion, colour, race, gender, are irrelevant. Nor is our bank balance, wealth, social status of any consequence. Ego, hatred, lust, etc. all the things that define who we are but in the end corrode humans are not even a factor.

There is one very large group of people that live in paradise, they are called 'Children'. 

The ultimate state sought by all true seekers of spirituality is to reach this stage of being innocent, carefree, just like little children. The child is innocent because of purity and ignorance. The evolved adult is not ignorant but becomes innocent by an enlightened consciousness. They transcend human social failings to become unitary creatures, the always pure individual soul connected with the  The Divine, experienced as Creation which most of us call God by a multitude of names. 

We adults are so busy making a living and merely existing, that we forget that life is to be lived. By the time most of realise the folly of our actions or inactions its too late. 

There is a lot that children can teach us. Show us how to be carefree and happy.  

Today 14th November has been declared as 'Children's Day'. In fact everyday should be Children's day, if we wish to be happy and make others happy. 

The Power to Heal One's Soul.

Trauma is an emotional matter, neither legal nor intellectual. That is why its easy for many onlookers to be judgemental and philosophical, when one is not the victim or the affected one. 

Traumatic events leave deep scars in the mind, body and spirit of victims. The tragedy is no amount of rationalisation nor any amount of punishment can undo events that have already occurred. 

Victims have to suffer twice. 

The first when the event takes place which is short and brutal. The second is, living with the wound of the tragedy that comes to completely dominate a victim's being. It is like a toxic geyser which keeps spewing hatred and venom that consumes the victim more slowly and certainly manifold times more terrifying than the initial assault.

How can one heal oneself?

To heal oneself, one has to remove and fling out of our heart and mind, that poisonous anger and hatred that festers within our being. That magic formula is for us forgive the perpetrators. It is easier done that said, because all it requires is courage.

All great masters and faiths have taught humanity that we should forgive. The power of an individual to forgive cannot be given nor can it be taken away by anyone else. To forgive can be the greatest act of freedom an individual can exercise. 

Forgiveness is a healing but prevents nothing  from repeating or getting worse.

Forgiveness is an emotional act, a matter of the heart, and the heart is a private matter, only the individual can exercise it.

Forgiveness does not mean submission, nor forgetting nor deleting the memories nor does it imply not taking corrective action.  Corrective action is  the responsibility of the State and the Community, failing which there will be anarchy.

States and Communities are not individuals. The welfare and protection of all people is the responsibility of the State and Community in general. The leaders have no prerogative to forgive  en masse nor erase memories on behalf of the victims. It is obligatory that the State and Society must take steps to ensure that its not possible to commit the crime again. 

This is why it is mandatory for the State must enact laws and award punishments to deter others from repeating the offence. 

It is also obligatory for leaders in the community to ensure that current and future generations receive an education on the real history of events. 

Unfortunately many cowardly or ineffective social and political leaders for their own personal gains, sweep the crimes under the carpet, where they rot and grow in size and intensity until they violently erupt once again one day. Some leaders wanting to be seen as 'Holier than thou' usurp the right of the individuals and unilaterally  'forgive and forget' crimes, in which they personally are not the victims. This is extremely dangerous, and as a result the crimes are repeated again and again. 

Like in many places and times in the world, we in India have experienced great trauma. The only way we can move ahead is to come to terms with the reality of our history, find out root causes of why we were vulnerable as individuals and as a civilisation and take corrective action. Only then can we be a vibrant, happy and harmonious society.

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How she healed herself and inspired millions

Eva Kor

One of histories recent great tragedies is The Holocaust, where six million men, women and children were simply exterminated. Their only crime was that they were believers of the Jewish faith.

There is this great example of Eva Kor a Holocaust survivor. Her story of how she journeyed from a traumatised victim to a healed and liberated soul is inspiring.

After 50 years she made contact with one of her tormentors, revisited Auschwitz and forgave a surviving Nazi doctor from Auschwitz. She took a very long time but she even forgave Dr. Mengale the mastermind of the human Guinea pig program. 

You can view the inspiring video on the great tragedy and the power of healing

I survived The Holocaust Twin Experiments - By Eva Mozes Kor

International Holocaust Remembrance Day - 27 Jan 2018

She lives on

My mother Swaran Kaur ji passed on in life last year.  It seems that mothers may leave us physically but never leave us spiritually.

After the funeral and the departure all the friends and relatives, I walked alone through the rooms of her house. Even with the Mistress gone the home seemed to exude an energy, as if she was still there. I rationalised that, when disturbed or excited the human mind can conjure up anything the heart desires. So I let the feeling pass. 

Mom had cultivated and nurtured many plants in her home and on the terrace. Well I was the only one there so I took care of the many plants.  

 After a few days I took the plants to my own home. It was then, when my terrace garden came alive that I realised that the very same energy I had sensed at her home were also present in these very plants. 

Spiritual by Eduardo Rodríguez Calzado

I suddenly experienced that Mother lives on in our lives. Her love and energy had permeated into our lives, and influences my thoughts, words and deeds, and now through these plants.  The energy and love she poured into me and many others was the same that these plants had also received. The flowers, the herbs and the aroma fills not only my senses but also my being.

Everything we think, feel, say or do has consequences, because it is manifested in this universe. 

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, just its form gets transformed. 

If we are lucky we find our life mostly spent in the company of people with energy that makes us better, stronger, and yet more spiritual. 

I know not what happens to people when they pass on and I am comfortable with that. All I know is mother left a lovely trail within me to journey on. What more can one ask from the divine?

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I rarely attend social events, birthday or anniversary parties, etc. but when I do, I never present a bouquet of flowers, for they will wither and die in a couple of days. I  like to present my hosts with something with meaning and life. A small potted plant is perfect. Something that will grow, and enrich their lives.

'Ubuntu' - I am, because we are

An  anthropologist who had been studying the Xhosa people of Africa, was leaving to return home when he had a revealing experience, which he narrated.

While waiting for his ride, he decided to play a game with the little children who milled around him.  He placed some sweets in a basket, and tied the basket under a tree a small distance away. He asked the children to play a game and run a race. Upon his signal the children were to run to the tree and collect the sweets. Winner was to take all.

When he said “Go!” the kids ran towards each other and held hands, and together they ran off towards the tree. The untied the basket and happily shared the sweets amongst themselves. 

The Anthropologist was pleasantly surprised. He asked the children to explain what they did and why?
A young girl simply replied: “How can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?”

The anthropologist was dumbfounded! For months and months he’d been studying the tribe, yet it was only now that he really understood their true essence…

“Africans have a belief called Ubuntu (oo-boon-too, n.) which means, “I am because we are." The individual is a part of the whole universe, a part of other people and all living things, and they cannot be treated separately.

For centuries, many people have considered the people of Africa backward. When one witnesses such great wisdom and humanity, it makes one wonder who really is backward?

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” ~ African Proverb

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Source:  “This is the Age of Ubuntu” from The noble Sikh Hari Singh. I am deeply grateful to my friend Bobby Basu for introducing me to the concept of Ubuntu.

What benefits the Body and Mind?

           

           

The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.

~ Sakyong Mipham

                                                              ________________________________________

Sakyong Mipham (1962 -) is the head of Shambhala International, a worldwide network of urban Buddhist meditation centers, retreat centers, monasteries, a university etc. Sakyong Mipham is a high lama in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

My God versus your God

The highest state of Love.

"The highest state of Love is not a relationship at all, it is simply a state of your Being." 

                                   ~ Osho

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"Just as trees are green, a lover is loving. They are not green for particular persons, it is not that when you come they become green. The flower goes on spreading it’s fragrance whether anybody comes or not, whether anybody appreciates or not. 

The flower does not start releasing its fragrance when it sees that a great poet is coming by - ‘Now this man will appreciate, now this man will be able to understand who I am.’ And it does not close its doors when it sees that a stupid, idiotic person is passing there - insensitive, dull, or something like that. It does not close itself - 

The flower goes on spreading its fragrance. It is a state of being."

                                   ~ Osho

This too shall pass

Moonlit Seascape, 1902 -Thomas Moran

One evening there was a storm on Lake Galilee. All the people on the boat caught in this storm feared for their lives as the howling winds tore the sails and rigging  and the waves mercilessly lashed against the sides threatening to wreck the creaking and helpless boat. All but one sleeping man were terrified. 

The man awoke and asked the terrified people to have faith and calm themselves. When they refused to be calmed he rose and walked to the side of the boat and spoke to the waves and the winds. "Peace. Be still" and miraculously the storm subsided.  The bad time had passed.
That man was Jesus Christ and he had been heard.  Though legend has it that this particular incident occurred more than 2000 years ago in the lives of those people, it happens even today in the lives of each one of us.

The boat is our being and the storm is what happens in our minds. We tremble and worry as some genuine and mostly imaginary concerns lash and threaten our very sanity and life.

Have faith, in yourself, and in creation and you will be alright. Let the great power sleeping within you awaken, address the storm and command it to be still. Almost always the storm listens, for we are the creators of the storm.

If the time to die has come then embrace death with peace and joy. If death it is not, then remember that whatever challenges we face and overcome that does not kill us only makes us stronger.  If you have gone through difficult times in the past and persevered, you know that this too shall pass. 

Some of us have gone through very difficult times and now laugh at the uselessness of our worry. Tough times never last but people with faith always do.

Pain, Pleasure, Death and Life

To avoid Pain, they avoid Pleasure, 
To avoid Death, they avoid Life.

               

                       ~ Osho

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I am the universe

I am the universe,

and the universe is within me.

From this realisation,

began my spiritual journey.

~ Gurvinder Singh 

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All you need is already within you

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Interpreting the interpretation of the interpretation

Curious people sometimes get a big doses of information, particularly when it comes to religion.   

Once again I was being imposed on with more heat than light about the magnificence of a gentleman's religion. The greatness of  his 'Holy Book.'

After listening to much confusing talk, I asked him, how often did he read the holy book? He replied sheepishly that he never read the book, because, the script was in another language, and the words were rather difficult. 

However he knew the messages and their meanings thanks to his elders and the preacher. I asked myself how could a person who never read the book nor understood the language quote so confidently from it? Looking at my wanting to know more he offered to take me to the local preacher.

The preacher was excited by the opportunities of my joining the fold. He was better able to explain about the holy books and the message better than my acquaintance. 

He had spent some years in learning the ropes to becoming a priest. He spoke confidently, sprinkling his sermon with quotes from the holy book. I could understand little as he prattled on delivering his standard pitch, perfected by its repeated delivery.

Yes the book was not easy to understand, the language, the context, challenged him, but the senior preacher knew so much more and he had taught him and was often guided by him. 

Here I was receiving a sermon and explanations delivered by someone, who acquired it from a paid preacher who got it from an older paid preacher. The text that was quoted so frequently, may or may not have been understood by any of us but we were all  simply regurgitating the same thing without experiencing anything. 

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This is exactly how dogma grows. No one understanding what they say, but just parroting it. To show loyalty to a group, society, community, religion, to exercise dominance over others based on our knowledge. 

The followers increase in numbers and and more adherents are pulled in by lure or coercion. Even the greatest edifice built will collapse sooner or later if the foundation is weak.  

As long as no one asks a question everything is fine. Like the Chinese whisper effect a message finally delivered something vastly different from the original message. It is shallow because it does not stand on original truth, often being tainted by the biases of the communicator. Worse, it is a pure textbook exercise, with no one having experienced anything.

Believers are certainly guilty of this lapse, but so are opponents, who seek to condemn a faith or a people without trying to truly understand what it means and how it is relevant.

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Next time you are lectured on the good or the evil of an individual, people or a faith, it might be a good idea to understand what the person giving the message really understands and has experienced.

All religious knowledge is invalid unless it is experienced. It does not belong to us. It can be ours only after experiencing it. Then and only then can it blossom into spiritual wisdom and an awakening.