Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

In a world of instant gratification, it’s easy to get caught in the snares of those promising “peace,” “salvation,” “liberation,” and so much more. Inundated with numerous schools of thought, philosophies, and practices, confusion reigns.

Guru Nanak Sahib, in the second stanza of Sohila, the Song of Joy says:
Six are the houses, six are the gurus, and six are the teachings. The greatest Guru is only one, though the forms are many.

We reflect.

The multiple schools of thought, the multiple teachers, and the multiple teachings will always be there. However, at the end of the day, the real Guru, the real Wisdom, is only One, with multiple forms. The real thought is only One.

The Guru continues:
Sun is one, seasons are many.
Nanak: Likewise, the Creator’s forms are many.

The sun is constant as the seasons change. The sun is equated with the Origin. For us, Guru Nanak Sahib is the sun. For Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru is IkOankar, the One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force.

How do we realize that the origin of multiple thoughts, teachers, and teachings is only One?

When we are in Remembrance. It is the Remembrance of IkOankar that graces us with the understanding that every other thought and the manifestation of thought has one Origin.

We can appreciate the many forms. We can look at different archetypes and systems and schools and mystics. However, the idea that there are infinite ways of operating that are all rooted in the same Origin is hard to internalize, especially when the schools are starkly different and disagree on many things. And though we may like to condemn, judge, and separate them, Guru Nanak Sahib repeats that the Origin of these schools is One.

Can we choose the path that helps us remember the One?
Can we choose the path that helps us discover the One?
Can we choose the path that helps us identify with the One?

May we choose wisely.
May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!