Vahiguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Vahiguru Ji Ki Fatih!

This week, as nationalism and jingoistic rhetoric continue to make waves across the globe, 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 eleventh stanza, Guru Nanak Sahib describes with great clarity the rampant hypocrisy in the world—how falsehood is operating in the political, religious, and social spheres. It is in this environment pervaded by falsehood that all beings become false:

Greed and sin are both the king and the minister; and falsehood has become the chief.
Lust is their deputy who is called and asked; thus this group of vices having frequently seated, reflects.
Devoid of wisdom, the blind citizenry, like a dead body, fuel the fire of their craving.
Those who call themselves wise dance, play instruments, wear different costumes and adornment.
They shriek loudly, sing narratives of war, and reflect on the valor of the warriors.

In this age, the kings, chieftains, and ministers are full of ‘sin’—so much so that they have become ‘sin’ embodied. In this age, vices permeate every aspect of political and spiritual leadership. In this age, it is as if all of these vices sit together day after day, deliberating amongst themselves. In this age, the powerful engage in theatrics and sing of war, and we fall for it.

In this age, the ghost-like constituency is blind without wisdom. We continue to fuel the fires of our temptations like a dead body to a funeral pyre.

We pause.
In what ways have we become dead or ghost-like?

We are dead in what we do not question, in how we do not speak up, in what we do not protest—in how we do not bear witness to the truth.

We witness injustice and we say nothing. We are full of fear and it paralyzes us.

What is the way out of this mode of being? How do we bring awareness back into ourselves, so that we may become brave and steady in a world that feels tumultuous and violent? How do we become complete beings who insist on justice and dignity for all?

Guru Nanak Sahib says we can transform—we have the potential to transform!

This transformation happens when we reflect internally on whether our actions and our words are harmonious. This happens when we, the ones devoid of wisdom, engage with the Wisdom, and live in a state of devotion—when devotion to IkOankar (the One) fuels every thought, word, and action.

Through this transformation, we begin to understand the temporariness of all worldly powers, and the eternality of the One. We begin to understand the One as the Doer and the Cause.

In this state of transformation, we remember our bravery, we begin to bear witness, and we begin to speak truth to power.

May awareness awaken within.
May we become steady and brave.
May we transform.  

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!