Hari Jiwan Singh shares a monthly story about his personal experiences with the Siri Singh Sahib Ji.
Sat Nam Dear Family,
With the pandemic, the martyrdom of George Floyd and the swell of social activism, new questions are being asked of government, society and ourselves. We are being challenged philosophically, socially, economically politically, and spiritually. And all of this is causing a lot of pain and change is painful.
“One day, Guru Hargobind was riding on his horse. He stopped. He asked the accompanying Sikhs. He said, “There is something moving on that garbage pit. What is it?”
“Lord, it is garbage, maybe some dead animal?”
He said, "I don't know, whatever it is, could somebody go and check it out for me?"
So they checked it and they saw a child. And they said, "Sir it's a boy, it is a child. Somebody has left it here. But it’s very dirty." Gundaa-i, it’s dirty!
Why do prayers work, not work, or only work sometime? It’s not a difficult question to answer; it is a difficult answer to do! Let me explain it from my experience.
The more faith you truly have, the more your prayers become answered. When you're so trustworthy that God has merged with you, he allows you the grand prize of making your life a constant prayer, your prayer.
“O Nanak, the whole world is suffering. He alone is victorious, who believes in the Lord.s Name. No other action is of any account. || 1 || “ Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Page 954 Siri Guru Granth Sahib
For years we’ve been taught that patience pays, that in the long run things even out. Then why do some students maintain the joy, the duty, the continuum, while other don’t seem to realize enough of their desires.
There are many reasons, but one word trumps them all. Karma. Everyone’s karma is their own, unique to them. It is written in the scriptures that you either have that mark on your forehead or you don’t; that you're destined toward God, or fatefully fall short.
Deathlessness. What’s that all about? What does it mean to you? What is it? Take a minute, sit still, close your eyes, and contemplate deathlessness. Create your own thought, ‘I am deathless.’ How do you see it? Where do you fit in? How do you envision experiencing it? Just close your eyes and project deathlessness.
Done? O.K. First, let me say that your version of deathlessness is yours. There’s no right or wrong, no good or bad answer.
The seven steps to happiness are: Commitment, Character, Dignity, Divinity, Grace, Power to Sacrifice, and Sacrifice. You can grade yourself along this scale. It may tell you where you are, and what to focus on next. Like any really good astrologer, gemologist, yogi, seer, or numerologist can provide, a preview into the future can help traverse any future objects. As they say, 'forewarned is forearmed'. When your focus proceeds correctly past present reality, thing happens more quickly and easier. Please let me explain.
As a spiritual journeyer, not only must you not self-aggrandize, but you must not fear self-aggrandizement. That sounds counterintuitive. The only way to know you don’t fear something is to go though the experience. In this case, that means the exercise of self-aggrandizement. How can that be? First you mustn’t, then you must do the same thing. Which is it? It can’t be both? Can’t it?
We talk of gratitude, but we just touch the edge. Until you’re constantly in the pursuit of being totally devoted, totally loyal, totally committed, totally obedient, totally trusting, totally subservient, totally loving of something or someone, true gratitude is lost.
The experience of gratitude is Infinite, as is, naturally, the pursuit of more and more gratitude. They go hand and hand as the Infinite example of God. They represent love and duty, the way of a Sikh.
How can you be spiritual if you’re not happy? Who are you fooling? Not me. Yes, spirituality is a process. You should not see it as the end game. The actual mission of spirituality is to deliver a happy, carefree, protected, life. Otherwise, what’s it all about?
One of the techniques to be used in becoming spiritual is the nurturing of you experiencing happiness and contentment.
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