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Sikh Research Institute
Sikh Research Institute Canada
Copyright Sikh Research Institute 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!
We seem to be living in a fragmented world of extreme segregation. Has it always been this way, or has something changed?
We pause.
We reflect.
We recall an incident from the Meharban janamsakhi, the biographical narratives of Guru Nanak Sahib when the Guru visited Multan, Pakistan. According to Bhai Gurdas, when the Guru reached Multan, the Muslim saints sent a milk bowl to the Guru. In “Guru Nanak Chamatkar,” Bhai Vir Singh writes that the pirs brought a bowl of milk to the Guru. The Guru placed a jasmine flower on the milk, indicating that his presence needs to be seen as that of a flower. It does not intend to cause any pain. The Divine is without enmity.
Can we see all beings as flowers?
Can our presence be unthreatening?
In the third composition of Maru Kaphi rag (musical mode), Guru Nanak Sahib, speaking in the seeker’s voice, says, neither do I know anyone is foolish, nor do I know anyone is wise. All people are operating in the Command, playing the game based on the cards they have been dealt. Though there may be an external difference between the wise and the foolish, the Light of IkOankar, 1Force, the One, is within both. The Guru continues, always dyed in the color of love of the Owner, IkOankar, I utter Nam every day.
Where does one get this Nam, Identification with IkOankar? We receive Nam from the door of the Guru, from the Wisdom. Without the eternal Wisdom, we cannot understand or carry it within us. By following the guidance of the eternal Wisdom, Nam enters the mind and continues to dwell there. Through this, our consciousness gets attached in a loving connection with IkOankar day and night. This is the condition of the one who can see the Light in everyone — they are constantly following the eternal Wisdom and not seeking anything anywhere else.
Will we make an effort to devote ourselves to the Nam?
Will we make an effort to change our perspectives and stop judging others?
May we yearn to see the Light within all.
May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!
A webinar for children and their families featuring a saakhi from Journey with the Gurus Volume II by Inni Kaur. Jasmine Kaur, director of education at Sikh Research Institute, joins in the Q&A session at the end.
What’s “Love” got to do with it? Love is indeed a four-letter word, heavily used, very interpretive, and often taken out of context in our personal lives. How do we understand love in the Sikh context?
In the second composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib emphasizes union with the 1.
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