Shabad is the soundless sound — Ek Omkar. Sound is produced by friction. The soundless sound is that which is continuously there without any friction. If you have any experience of chanting a mantra, you would know that you begin by chanting aloud, and this loud chanting creates excitement in the atmosphere; there is friction. […]
A Sikh is a learner. A learner is a seeker who has the desire to know. Most people think they already know. They are not learners. They have already gathered too much information. There is no room for more. A learner, a disciple, a shishya or a sikh has to first recognise the fact that […]
Guru Nanak says that Hukam cannot be described. Whatever is significant in life cannot be said in words. And, Hukam is the most important thing. There is nothing beyond it. Words are utilitarian. They are useful in our day-to-day life. But there is no way to talk about the extraordinary in words. There are various […]
The cause of pain is forgetfulness. You have forgotten who you are and where you have come from or where you are heading. In ordinary day-to-day life also, when you forget something, you become restless. It often happens that you forget a word or thought. You know it, and it is right there at the […]
Existence is divine. It is overflowing with God. But, we seek God elsewhere. God is not separate from existence. God is not the creator; God is creativity. The division between the creator and creation is false. There is no creator and there is no creation. There is only creativity. When a flower blooms, it is […]
There are two ways of living life. One way is of struggle, the other of surrender. Struggle means that my will is different from the whole; surrender means I am a part of the whole. There is no question of my will being different from the whole. If I am separate from the whole then […]
Guru Granth Sahib is the living Guru of the Sikhs. It is the embodiment of the spirit of all the ten Gurus who came in human form. The Gurbani, the religious poetry of the Guru Granth Sahib covers the entire spectrum of life. It shows the devotee how to live life meaningfully so that the […]
For Guru Nanak the singer and the song are one. They are inseparable. As long as the singer is singing, he is a singer. Once he stops singing, he ceases to be a singer. As long as the song can be heard, the singer is there. When you cannot hear the song, you cannot feel […]
The seeker has innumerable paths in front of him. Which one to choose? That is the problem – the problem of plenty. Not only that, there are innumerable wrong paths as well. How not to fall in these traps? Before trying it, how can one decide which is the right path. Guru Nanak says there […]
The enlightened masters, the Gurus and saints whose spontaneous outbursts of ecstasy comprise the Guru Granth Sahib, were seers, visionaries. Seers differ from the common man because they see things as they are, whereas the common man sees them through the mind which is blurred with the dust of the prejudices, biases and conditioning of […]
ਭਵਸਾਗਰ Bhavsagar: This world is considered as an ocean of fire (agan-sagar) which is impossible to cross. It is what keeps us bound like prisoners and we strive in every possible way to break these chains and become free. From the moment we are born to the time of death we are thrown from one […]
The Nine Treasures (Nau Nidhi) Padam = gold, silver Maha padam = pearls, diamonds Sankh = rich food and clothing Makar = valour, mastery of martial arts Kachhap = merchandise trade Kund = gold/precious stones trade Mukand = mastery of fine arts The Eighteen Spiritual Powers (Atharah Siddhi) Anima = To take on another’s […]
Approaching the Guru It is an extraordinary miracle that the Guru is so easily available, but we must know how to approach the Guru in order to derive the maximum benefit. Here are a few hints: A Specific Room The first and foremost thing to do is to make a place for the Guru in […]
ਆਨੰਦ The fundamental truth of life is that every creature is seeking bliss, consciously or unconsciously. Not only human beings, but animals, plants, birds, insects and all the other living beings are looking for bliss. This entire creation is seeking bliss, because it is our basic nature. Basically we are all blessed. That is why […]
ੴਸਤਿਨਾਮੁ It is said that if you want to understand the whole of Guru Granth Sahib, you can do so by understanding Japjee alone, because Guru Nanak’s message was complete in Japjee itself. The rest of the Guru Granth Sahib is an interpretation, elaboration and explanation of Japjee Sahib. Many claim that in order to […]
