A Devotional Reflection for the Sangat
By Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa

The command to “Love thy neighbor” is among the oldest spiritual instructions given to humankind. Yet it remains one of the most challenging to live. Recently, someone asked me a question that goes straight to the heart of this challenge:

“You teach that the worse a person is, the better chance they have of becoming deeply spiritual. Are you telling us to love bad people? How can that be?”

My answer was simple:

Before we can love anyone—good, bad, or anywhere in between—we must first love ourselves. And true self-love can only arise from loving God fully and joyfully. When the soul offers its devotion to God with sincerity, God responds with His grace. That grace becomes the experience of reciprocal love—the divine romance between the soul and its Creator. In that sacred union, “God and me, me and God are one.”

But the question often arises: How do we love our enemies? How do we love those who harm, deceive, or betray?

To answer this, we must first understand a universal truth:
The world is not merely what it appears to be.
Much of what we accept as truth is merely belief—supported by many, repeated by many, but not rooted in divine reality. Truth is not determined by public agreement. Truth stands alone, unchanging, untouched by consensus.

Truth is not something we manufacture through opinions or judgments.
Truth is unveiled only by God’s grace and revealed to the soul that lives in faith.

The Law of Polarities

The ancients understood that the entire Universe is built upon polarity:

• For every up, there is down.
• For every light, a shadow.
• For every virtue, a temptation.
• For every expression of love, the possibility of hate.

This “Law of Polarities” is not merely a cosmic design—it is the architecture of our inner spiritual growth. The one who has known darkness can recognize the radiance of light. The one who has been lost can understand the beauty of being found. Those who have walked in error may possess a greater capacity to value Truth when it finally dawns within them.

This is why some of the greatest saints were once the greatest sinners. Their fall becomes their turning point. Their pain becomes their prayer. Their darkness becomes the fertile soil for divine realization.

Judgment as the Obstacle

A student begins to transform when they realize a simple but profound truth:

• A saint judges no one.
• An exploiter judges everyone.

Judgment blocks spiritual growth because it blocks compassion. Judgment freezes the consciousness and closes the heart. But when a student releases judgment—even for a moment—the flow of grace begins. Misunderstandings soften, misgivings dissolve, perception clears, and awareness expands.

A saint does not refrain from judgment out of naivete; they refrain because they perceive the Divine within all beings. They have learned to see God’s Will in every face, every circumstance, and every polarity.

All Is God—Even What We Resist

If we affirm that ALL is God, then we must also accept that God dwells in the parts of humanity we dislike, fear, or resist. God is present not only in goodness but also in the lessons that arise through difficulty.  

When we embrace this truth, our own faults can become pathways to transformation. Rather than fear or condemn the worst within ourselves, we can use it—through discipline, prayer, and divine remembrance—to carve a new direction. In yogic teaching, this is the essence of Pratyahara: turning a negative impulse upon itself and using its energy to fuel higher consciousness.

When we do this without judgment, even our darkest tendencies become our teachers.

Why the Worst May Become the Best

Those who have tasted the bitterness of harmfulness often become the strongest seekers of righteousness. They know the difference intimately. They know the cost of ignorance. They know the longing to return Home.

Thus, the “worst” sometimes have within them the greatest potential to become the “best.” This pattern appears across every spiritual tradition—countless stories of the sinner transformed, the outcast redeemed, the wounded soul elevated into saintliness by the grace of God.

The True Nature of Happiness

All beings seek happiness. But while definitions may vary according to one’s desires, true happiness remains constant. True happiness lives opposite harmfulness. It appears when one aligns with righteousness, compassion, humility, and devotion.

Even within the natural ego, divine Truth whispers from the side of goodness. There, and only there, can enduring happiness be found.

How I Love My Enemies

Our conversation concluded with the heart of this teaching:
“This, I said, is how I love my enemies:
I do not love their actions—I love their soul.
I love their Maker.
I love the divine spark within them that cannot be extinguished.”

Every soul is born from the same sacred Source. We are spiritual siblings, fashioned in the Image of the One. A person may wander for a lifetime, or many lifetimes—that is their karma. But their soul remains a shard of the same Infinite Light that animates my own.

I choose to live in neutral mind—the sacred space where clarity prevails and the heart can follow the guidance of Truth rather than fear. In that neutrality, I can choose rightly who I must be. And along that entire path, I hold love even for my enemies—not for their deeds, but for the divine origin we share and the divine destiny where we will all meet again.

May we all grow in this understanding.
May we see the Divine in all.
May we love even where the world teaches us to judge.
And may Guru’s grace guide every step.

Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.

In Perfect Harmony, 
Your Partner and Friend in this Fantastic Journey,

Hari Jiwan