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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!
In Asa Ki Var, the Song of Hope, Guru Nanak Sahib takes us through the journey of realizing IkOankar, 1Force to feeling Nam-Identification,1Ness, and allowing the 1-Ness to transform us.
Everything is 1Ness.
Yet we cannot feel the 1Ness.
Why is that?
We are entangled in Iness. We are caught up in the separations we witness at public and private, personal and community levels, and in various religious and political dimensions.
We pause.
We seek guidance.
Guru Nanak Sahib guides us on transcending dichotomies and dualities at the physical, intellectual, and spiritual levels by identifying with the 1Ness and its vastness. When 1Ness permeates how we think, witness, and experience the world, it transforms us from the inside out and fuels our behaviors to create social harmony.
The twenty-fourth ballad is a powerful reminder that we are all “vessels” undergoing a transformation that requires time and effort. It requires hard work; however, we should not lose hope because none of us have reached the point of no return. We, the “vessels,” have the capacity for behavioral change or a shift in focus. The grace of IkOankar is ever-present. Through the power of 1Ness, we can all be transformed into Lovers.
May we yearn to become Lovers.
May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!
The Guru’s Wisdom helps us turn from ordinary human beings into divine-like beings full of IkOankar’s virtues. Asa-Ki-Var raises our consciousness and enables us to look at the current political, social, economic, and gender issues through that Wisdom.
This conversation touches upon lessons and guidance to the Sikh community on how to pursue advocacy, long-term strategies, and building coalitions via both positive and not so positive case studies from the Afghan-Sikh crisis to the Farmers movement.
For love to flow naturally, one needs to enter the domain of vulnerability. It is scary and downright wild, but those brave enough to do so are richly rewarded.
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