Vahiguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Vahiguru Ji Ki Fatih!

This week, as nationalism and jingoistic rhetoric swirl around the subcontinent, as tensions rise and Nation-states act without consideration for civilian life, as the most vulnerable once again must bear the worst of it, made 'collateral' yet again, we turn to Guru Nanak Sahib's Asa Ki Var, the Song of Hope.

In the fourth stanza of Asa ki Var, Guru Nanak Sahib says that all things happen under the Command of IkOankar, the Divine. Under the Command, the wind blows, and the rivers flow. The hierarchies we have created of divinity, of authority, of power, the various cosmologies we believe in—they are all existing under the eternal Command. There is nothing that is not under this Command.

Then what of these worldly rules, these worldly commands? How can we make sense of the competing narratives? How can we understand the political games playing out in front of us?

Later in this same stanza, Guru Nanak Sahib describes these competing worldly commands that exist everywhere. They are temporary, they are theatrical—they play into our emotions, and feed on our egos.  They might make us feel powerful or righteous, but only temporarily.

We might find them entertaining, or get swept up in how they make us feel in a moment, but Guru Nanak Sahib is asking us to see them for what they are.

These things do not bring us Wisdom. They do not bring us a connection with the One whose Command is eternal.

How do we steady ourselves?

Guru Nanak Sahib says; Wisdom cannot be found through talks; stating wisdom is hard like iron.
If this wisdom is received through the grace, only then is it obtained; all other cleverness and command lead to misery.

We pause.

We reflect.

These worldly commands do not make us feel grace. They do not encourage us to eliminate the ego from within. They do not foster a relationship with the Divine.

These worldly commands foment our otherism, steep us in duality, and cause us to forget that all things exist and are operating under the eternal Command.

In them, we mistake cleverness, punditry, and misplaced righteousness for true Wisdom.

So, amid these competing commands, Guru Nanak Sahib’s words are a light in the chaos of our geopolitical context.  

Worldly commands come and go.
They distract us from the Command of the One.
They move us, only at an emotional level, for a particular end.
In the end, they frustrate and exhaust us.

What if we shift our attention and our efforts to pursuing a deep relationship with the Wisdom-Guru, with the One?

We can steady ourselves in the eternal Command, instead of wavering in the temporary commands of this world.

We can connect with the Wisdom, and we can internalize it by getting rid of the self and by feeling the Grace.

The Grace is that the One who is commanding everything brings the Wisdom into our lives, and it is the Wisdom that gives us the Word (sabad, or Divine teaching)—and that Word is for everyone.

May we connect with the Wisdom.

May we feel the Grace.

May the Wisdom-Guru be with us!