It’s A Long Way From L.A. To Amritsar,
It’s a long time to hang in the sky (a parody on a John Denver song). We hang in there, we keep-up. We are the people, the people of love. That’s worth keeping-up for. This journey, this spiritual journey, this Sikh Dharma journey, ALL spiritual journeys, almost always takes eons of years to get to Amritsar. Aren’t we lucky, we have made it in this lifetime.
Amritsar is an earthly destination. Amritsar is also a metaphor for reaching the heavens, at least one of them anyway. Do you remember the expression ‘seventh heaven’ as meaning the top experience of all the seven heavens? Well, it turns out that the expression is right. There are seven heavens. It’s the heaven’s which define what a true spiritual journey is a student’s focus.
The earth, maya, is always there, the heavens are often overlooked. In other words, Knowingly or not, by focusing on the heaven, the student is focused on his next creative reality - and so on, and so on. It’s a progression, a process, until the seventh heaven is reached and mastered. Then, the heavens and the student become one.
Going from L.A. to Amritsar is the true ‘Fantastic Journey.’ It takes a creed, courage, conviction, compassion, and completion. Courage is the first hurdle. The memory of doubt and other insecurities rob us of our courageous identity. In other words, we’re addicted to insecurities which deflate courage.
Nevertheless, we remember that, after all, our insecurities are our own. We have generally learned to handle them. Our memory reminds us that, ‘courage may just creates more insecurity. So, don’t go there, don’t go looking for trouble, if you do, you’ll find it!’
It takes courage to defeat this memory. Courage, a creed, a technique, a commitment and discipline, are all required for victory. It takes the courage to fully commit, and the courage to do whatever discipline is called for. But, boy is it worth it. This change creates you into being your own boss, in control of yourself and your self-identity, it’s fantastic.
This ‘Fantastic Journey’ of courage begins with all sorts of tests. Each one tougher than the last. A meditative mind will bring the thoughts back to Amritsar, Amritsar’s the focus. Do not let the mind wonder into a focus other than Amritsar. Amritsar is the point, the target, of a one-pointed convergence. Amritsar is where God resides, and where our service and love in God is worshiped. Amritsar is our goal, our purpose, our salvation. Keep it in this focus. And, BTW, Amritsar also demands that this world is served as well. That’s the Sikh perspective. Multitasking is necessary. Holding both in perfect coordination and one-pointed focus is the challenge and blessing.
For instance, lets say that we really don’t know what to do, where to go, or who to trust, as we pursue our goal of trust. This isn’t uncommon thinking at all. Ask yourself, do I want a new car - business will do the job; do I want a good partner - the internet seems to be doing a great work; do we want the heavens - serving God is the answer. Let’s say that we want door number 3, You want the heavens. This is the goal, this is is the focus, this is Amritsar.
Now, I’m going to tell you a secret. It’s a ‘Fantastic Journey’ unto itself, unto Infinity. I know because has worked for me and it will do the same for those who are sincere about it’s.
It’s a prayer, a prayer to God’s heart. A prayer beyond the beyond, straight into the heavens, right to God’s gate, and proceeds into God’s real home, straight to His essence, It melts God’s heart.
It’s a prayer for the right answer as to what must be done in order to achieve the heavens. Most pray for A way which is clouded by memory and needs, as well as belief and comfort. They all get in the way and lead us astray. Praying for A way, rather then THE way leads the mind, the memory, the desires, to get in the way of the real truth because we normally gravitate back to our habits, our patterns, our tendencies, our comfort zone without even knowing it. Therefore, preponderantly, another life, another spirt, another soul of God’s creation is lost like a dog chasing his own tail. Most get in their own way without ever knowing it.
It takes courage to be flexible, to explore the unknown, to understand neutrality, to pray another way. When a student prays for THE way to the heavens, magic happens. I prayed for THE way to God. I prayed for God to lead me, and not for me to lead me anymore! Don’t ask me how I intuited into this prayer except to say that it was my purpose. God started coming through for me right then.
The difference in the prayer for ‘A way’ rather than ‘THE way’ is exponential, Infinite. Praying for THE way means that whatever direction comes through God, without any interference, must be followed. And, when there is no personal interference, you’ll know it’s real when you get the message from God Himself. It brought me from a Jewish frat boy to Guru loving Sikh. ‘Who’d have thunk it!’ Not me, that’s for sure.
This THE prayer provides awareness, commitment and discipline. It lets the student know what his real purpose is. and to know how to proceed in serving God. We all commit to something. Wouldn’t it be better to commit to something which is best for each of us personally? Maybe it’s not the religion you were brought up in, or maybe it is, Nevertheless, it’s best to know, that your truth is as it presents itself.
This prayer brings along the flexibility to be courageous in accepting heaven’s message. We must drop the need to be right, and just want to get it right. To get it right the takes true courage to be wrong and love it because it’s to your advantage. We learn much more from mistakes than success. That makes courage very doable. “Thanks again, God, for the insight and understanding.” It’s the original DM, between only you and God.
This prayer got me to Amritsar, and it will take you there as well. I pray that you find what your looking for through this prayer. This prayer defeats ALL the qualifying tests. So, Don’t give-up along the way. There’s no time limit. Keep-up and God will continue to keep you-up.
Please don’t misunderstand, not ALL have a ticket to Amritsar. Some may have Jerusalem, or Mecca, or wherever ticket. It’s God’s choice which way you go. So, I don’t want to get in your way anymore than I want you to. I pray that you find the real right way for you to progress, and that it works beautifully. That’s the way of a Sikh. Stay Tuned,
Your Friend,
Hari Jiwan
