Hukam 8 – Recite Shabad Gurbani

 

In Kaljug, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji came with the sole purpose of liberating mankind through Naam and Gurbani. It is not enough to just read Gurbani just as it is not enough to merely ‘believe in God.’ We must love Gurbani, practice what the Guru is saying & experience what the Guru is teaching. Being truly in love means to lose the perception of one’s self and to recognise God as the only undying truth and reality.

 

 

If we did not have the Guru to tell us that it takes us to look within & slowly begin to etch away at the ‘Me’ and merge into ‘You’; who would tell us? We would walk around with the pride & ego that youth and beauty compel of us. It takes us to renounce our ego and accept the will of God. This one teaching alone could take someone a lifetime and they still wouldn’t be able to renounce their ego. This is why Gurbani is so deep; it is like an ocean. An ocean, overflowing and expansive with the treasure of inner peace sitting within it. Nobody can ever epitomise Gurbani; Sant Giani Maskeen Singh Ji would often say at the end of their katha that whenever someone gives their thoughts on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, they are doing so within the limitsof their own understanding. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji has no limits and thus you could never find the deep-lying mysteries of this jewel. Emeralds, rubies, pearls, diamonds, gold, warriors, sunbursts & half-moons do not hold even a percentage of the value this knowledge possesses.

 

 

The message can give you everlasting peace. It is mind-blowing. Once you have experienced it, you will know its keemat (value). The beauty of Sikhi is that we can meet with God today rather than waiting until we die. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji tells us that to experience union with God’s, we first have to apply the teachings of the Guru to our lives. This is the essence of this hukam. To apply and practice the teachings of GurSikhi into your life and experience the benefits. 

 

 

Fall in love with the Onethat created you and who, without care, lives in the essence of each breath you take; the same Onewho has looked over you silently andpatiently ever since you came into this world. Gurbani tells you of the story you have forgotten, a story that is older than time. The love between the Creator and his Creation; the Nirgun (formless i.e creator) & Sargun (all forms i.e creation). 

 

 

The first practical step that would be taken by a true Sikh of the Guru would be to learn the language in which Gurbani has been written; Gurmukhi. This means going to your local Gurdwara (Sikh temple) and enrolling into the Santhiya classes where they teach the correct pronunciation of Gurbani. Once this has become a regular setting within your life, you will begin to feel the effects of Gurbani slowly and surely. Nothing happens at once, have trust in your Guru that His medicine (Gurbani) is destroying the disease of ego within. 

 

Once you have learnt the language then you will be blessed with further understanding of Gurbani and with this understanding comes the choice of whether to apply this understanding or not. Again, that is a battle that will be fought within and can only be won with real love and devotion. Once you have beaten your mind and have begun to apply the teachings of Gurbani to your life, you will feel the effects that occur in good time.

 

The Gurus were against ritualistic worship more than anything else; do not become one of those people that just do what they are told. Understand why you read Jap Ji Sahib every day or why you say Vahiguru or why you do the Mool Mantar. Once you begin to learn of the mysteries of the Creator, everything else will seem fickle and false. Join with the Shabad (teachings) and practice it in your life. You will not regret it.