SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI

Who Is Your Guru ?

The word ``Guru'' is used to mean guide/expert, it is composed of two parts ``Gu'' meaning darkness and ``Ru'' meaning light; darkness representing ignorance and light representing knowledge/understanding (enlightenment). Who do we get guidance from ?, Who do we turn to ?, Who is/are our Guru(s) ?

Media

Fashion

Friends

Horoscopes

However all these are transient, all these `guides' are influenced by society and are not ``true'' i.e. change with time, by following these guides we are living up to societies opinion on life. These ``gurus/guides'' only tell give knowledge of the 3 dimensional physical/materialistic world we see around us.

Is there another dimension to life and how can i discover it ?

There is another dimension to life that is the spiritual dimension whether you call it God, salvation, liberation etc, without this dimension our lives cannot be truly fulfilled. We mistakenly believe that man is a rational being and that he always behaves in accordance with reason, however modern psychology has shown this to be incorrect. Man acts according to his instinct and is easily led by society, also man cannot extend further than his experience, man's understanding necessarily depend on the circumstances in which he spends his life. It is thus necessary that one is guided by those that are not easily led by society, those that are spiritually enlightened and have experienced the full splendour of God. There are many who claim these experiences, each indicating a different way. Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not have a man as his guide but was in direct communion with God, Guru Ji in the sacred scriptures enumerates the criteria which enable the ordinary person to recognise the Guru ``spiritual enlightener/guide''. The Guru who would lead the disciple to union with God must himself have attained that perfect union. [ A physics lecturer cannot teach you about music]. He must also be one who leads others to the divine Lord without any concern for his own gain. He must be free from all enmity. These qualities enable a disciple to recognise the Guru as a true representative of God, his words are God's words, because the Guru is spiritually one with God, his message communicates the divine wisdom of God. The divine wisdom of the ten Gurus is contained within Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Eternal Spiritual guide of the Sikhs (and the world, the rest of the world doesn't know it yet). History shows this to be true, Bhai Lehna Ji who worshipped the Hindu goddess Durga, met Guru Nanak Dev Ji and recognised these divine qualities, he devoted his life to Guru Nanak Dev Ji and

became the next Guru; Guru Angad Dev Ji (Guru Nanak Dev Ji renamed Bhai Lehna to Angad, to indicate that he was a part of him, ``ang'' in Panjabi means limb). In Guru Gobind Singh Ji's autobiography Bacchittar Natak (Wonderful Drama) Guru confirms that the divine light of Guru Nanak Dev Ji was passed through the different Gurus as one candle is lit from another).

Have you recognised the True Guru ?

Before Guru Gobind Singh Ji left for God's court he ordained: Sabh Sikhan ko hukam hai Guru manyo Granth, Guru Granth Ji manyo, pargat Guran ki deh, Jo Prabh ko milbo chai, kojeh Sabad mai lai. To all Sikhs of the Guru realise that Guru Granth Sahib Ji is your Guru, recognise it as the manifestation of God. He who wants to unite with the Lord should contemplate on the Sabad (message). Similarly when Guru Nanak Dev Ji was asked by the yogis as to who was his Guru, Guru Ji replied: Sabad Guru surat dhun chela Sabad is my Guru, my conscience is the disciple that is tuned to the message contained within the Sabad. On many occasions when Guru Nanak Dev Ji would leave a congregation on his many journeys outside Panjab, his Sikhs asked how long would it be before they see him again, and how could they survive without seeing him. Guru Ji always stated that his Sikhs should not be attached to him, but to the Sabad (message) of God which came through him. Satgur ki bani sat sat kar janho gursikho, Har Karta aap muho kadhae Disciples of the Guru know that the True Guru's words are perfectly true, God, the creator, Himself inspires the Guru to utter them from his mouth. Bani Guru, Guru hai Bani, wich Bani amritsare, Gurbani kahai sevak jan manai partak Guru nistare Guru's holy word is the True Guru, and the Guru is the embodiment of the holy word. In the holy word is contained nectar, if the Sikh puts faith in what the Guru says then manifestly the Guru saves him. So even while we had the physical Gurus, the Guru was not the body, the eyes, the feet etc. but was the word (Sabad) which was spoken and today it is not the physical pages or the ink of Guru Granth Sahib Ji but the word (Sabad) that is written. The True Guru has always been the Sabad Guru, which is the manifestation of God: Wah Wah Bani Nirankar hai, Tis jevad avar na koi. Wonderful are the words, which denote the Formless one (God), there is none so great as He.

This is a difficult concept to understand:

God

Guru Granth Sahib Ji Sabad Guru (written word)

Guru Nanak Dev Ji (/Guru Gobind Singh Ji) Physical Guru (spoken word)

Formless Guru

These are all different forms/manifestations of God, let us consider an imperfect analogy of different forms of water:

Vapour

Water

Ice

(invisble)

(liquid)

(solid)

It would be difficult for us to understand that invisible water vapour is fact a different form of liquid water but with the aid of scientific advances (microscopes etc) we can see that they are the same compound with a different form.

When do we have a Guru ?

Satgur no sabh ko vekhda jeta jagat sansar, Dithai mukat na hovee jichar Sabad na kare vichar The whole world may go on having sight of the True Guru, but none will be saved without contemplation upon the divine word (hymns). How very true this statement is, each of us visit the Gurdwara (some only at weddings, funerals and christenings) and we quickly bow ritualistically (without any true feeling) in front of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, sit for 2 minutes, have ``langar'' and leave. Is it any wonder that we come away empty handed ?, we have not focused or even attempted to focus on the message of the True Guru ! What was it about this message that tuned Bhai Lehna Ji (lost in idol worship of Durga) into the next True Guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji ?, What was it about Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's message that turned cowards into warriors who even under tortures of being sawn alive, wrapped in cotton wool and being set on fire etc never denied there allegiance to Sikhi ? This something is hidden in the message of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, it cannot be written or explained but it can be experienced by those who show faith and are ready to follow the path. The Sabad guides the individual on the path, it enlightens the follower and destroys his ignorance. Teaching is useless, if one does not pay attention, if one does not understand and if one does not act upon the wisdom/teaching. Raeni rahai soiee Sikh mera, ohu Sahib mai uska chera He is a Sikh who follows the discipline/teachings, he is my master and I his slave.

Bina rahet ne Sikh kahavai, Rahet bina dar chota kavai Without the Sikh discipline (rahet) call not yourself a Sikh, without Sikh rehat, at the court of God you shall be punnished. rahet pyari mujh ko, Sikh pyara nahe The Sikh discipline is more valuable to me than a so called Sikh who has no rehat. Pritham rahet yahe jan, Khande Ki pahul shhuke The first/supreme discipline is to drink the nectar of the double edged sword (amrit). Can we truly say that we have a Guru if we do not follow Guru Ji's advice/teaching ? What is our discipline ?, we follow the foolish physical world which is rapidly destroying itself, it has no spiritual/ moral life. We bend over backwards to be accepted by this world and the false gurus/guides, what have we got out of it ?

To hit the spiritual goal first you must aim at YOURSELF!

Take a look at our own life, at our own achievements and those of our false guides. Is there something missing ? What was it about Bhai Amardas Ji who on meeting Guru Angad Dev Ji stated: On meeting the True Guru, I have attained true bliss Bliss and joy all talk about, but only the True Guru knows true bliss. It is clear that there is a need for a guide in our lives for true fulfilment, that there is a greater purposein our lives rather than the low/mundane physical fulfilments we have. That this guide is the living True Guru: Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and that the True Guru communicates to us via Hukamnama and Akhand Path and that this advice is the same since Guru Nanak Dev Ji and comes from God Himself. So what now ? , learning about Guru Ji's message / Sikh History (or any other subject) requires effort, but you are not alone :

For every step taken towards The True Guru, Guru Ji takes a myriad of steps towards you.

Charan sharan Gur ek painda jai chal, Satgur kot painda agai hoi lait hai