"Newspapers and news channels have only as much to do with news as he Houses of God have to do with God. Don't go to these vendors of truth for the wares they shout. But if you wait long enough, you will be entertained with substitutes that are far more luring than truth. Both work - and succeed - on the premise that nothing bores an average mind more than truth." ..From an old post in my blog
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Reflections on Asa di Var
ਕੂੜ ਰਾਜਾ ਕੂੜ ਪਰਜਾ ਕੂੜ ਸਭ ਸੰਸਾਰ / False and Unreal is the king, false the people, false and unreal is play of the juggler seen all this universe
ਕੂੜ ਮੰਡਪ ਕੂੜ ਮਾੜੀ ਕੂੜ ਬੈਸਣਹਾਰ/ Unreal and illusory the palaces,unreal its inhabitant,
ਕੂੜ ਸੋਇਨਾ ਕੂੜ ਰੂਪਾ ਕੂੜ ਪਹਨਨਹਾਰ / Misleading is the reality of gold, ornamanet, and unreal its wearer
ਕੂੜ ਕਾਇਆ ਕੂੜ ਕਪੜ ਕੂੜ ਰੂਪ ਅਪਾਰ / Uneal the seemingly solid world of of matter, unreal its appearance of garment, and the enchantinng beauty of the seemingly real;
ਕੂੜ ਮੀਆਂ ਕੂੜ ਬੀਬੀ ਖਪ ਹੋਇ ਖਾਰ / False and illusory are the husband and wife and their relationship in which they both fritter away life;
ਕੂੜ ਕੂੜੇ ਨੇਹੋ ਲਗਾ ਵਿਸਰਿਆ ਕਰਤਾਰ / Irony of relationships: falsehood and unreal in love with falsehood and unreal
ਕਿਸ ਨਾਲ ਕੀਚੈ ਦੋਸਤੀ ਸਭ ਜਗ ਚਲਣਹਾਰ / Whom shall one befriend when all that one sees is ever slipping and passing away
ਕੂੜ ਮਿਠਾ ਕੂੜ ਮਾਖਿਓ ਕੂੜ ਡੋਬੇ ਪੂਰ / The sweeetness and the honeyed - unreal and sinking
ਨਾਨਕ ਵਖਾਣੇ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਤੁਧ ਬਾਝ ਕੂੜੋ ਕੂੜ : Nanak humbly observes and prays: all except the abidiing truth of this cosmos ( some call it God and others call it the cosmic physical and metaphysical reality) - false, O, false!!
The vision of Nanak is not merely ritualistic submission to the idea of a physically real God; the vision is more in tune with the findings of modenrn science including the uncertainty principle and the findings of the quantum theory in which the location and the velocity of objects are impossible to determine. The use fhte word "false and unreal" by Guru Nanak does not mean that the world is a myth and reality lies somewhere else standing out in the shape of a figurehead God. God himself is another name for enerrgy and laws. Nanak was too subtle to fall into the fallacy of God as an idol. Time and again, he subtly refers to God as the " truth as it exists in the form of shifting patterns in a kaliedscope in which no one pattern is permanenent" ; so how can one fall in love with any one pattern or form when one knows its soon going to shift? Nanak's definition of religion is the recognition of the reality of these shiftng patttern as the "will of the universe" -- and not just recognitin but acceptance of this reality of impermanence of patterns and forms. . Elsewhere, Gurbani urges us to accept the shifting nature of seemingly permamennt images in life as "the sweet law" (Tera bhaana meetha laage) Ancient Hindu wisdom as also the crux of Chiinese philosophy, with both of which Nanak was familiar, had underlinesd the same thouht: "The multiplicity of things is a mirage produced by the distrubance of Mind; when the Mind is quieted -- or settles into peace -- the multiplicity of things disappears." Says physicist Frtjof Capra:" Our tendency to divide the perceieved world into individual and separate things and to experience ourselves as sepaparated egos comes from our categorising mentality."
We know today that of hundreds of particles are being created artificially in collision processes and living only for an extremely short time, far less than a millionth of a second ( Sabh jag chalan haar) In Budhism also, things do not have any meaning except as intercoonection of their mutual relations :" Things derive their being and nature as a set of relations; they are nothing in themselves."
Says the Gita: " At the end of the Night of Time, all things return to my nature; and when the new day of time begins, I bring them into light and shape again." ( Shades of multiples big bangs or the theory of the universe as expanding -contracting of the palpitating heart) It is quite another thing that that the ritualists and fanatics among the Hindus have reduced even Krishan to a mere idol whereas in the Gita, the voice of Krishan is like Cosmos speaking about itself to itelf by splitting itself into two illusory patterns: Krishan and Arjun.
Nanak's thought rhymes with the findings of science, especially the quantum theory in which " particles ( or say human beings or other forms of life) are no more than 'probabibility pattterns, interconnections in an inseparable cosmic web
. .. a continuous dance of energy in which no one posture can be treated as a permanent or frozen image.
In sub-atomic physics, various forms of matter are nothing but unstable and inconcrete processes which keep changing. Any one form in its definite and frozen state is thus not real but illusory. The only reality is the permanence of Law -- which various religions describe as "His Will" , Raza, Hukam (Order in the sense of a system of Laws -- Hukami hovan akaaar -- all that comes into being does so under the force of an Order or Supreme Law." That Law itself pronounces the supremacy of constant change, impermanence of any given stage, dynamism and shifting of patterns, life-and-death interplay also being only a reflection of this dynamism of reality.Gurbani says: "Na koi mare, na aave jaave." (No one dies, neither is there any comin and going from life.") It is in this context that Gurbani and other scriptures urge us to calmly and wisely accept death as something as natural as life itself, one no more a cause for grief than the other is a cause for exultation.)
I think the problem here is one of language and its misunderstanding at some places and deliberate minsinteretation by fanatical ritualists at others. And matter is nothing but energy taking different shapes; the same energy permeates every particle. Says Gurbani: Ghat ghat main har jeo basse, Santan kahio pukaar" The saints have been crying aloud that only one and the same energy inhabits each and every particle."
To my mother, the word 'saint' meant a mind that can comprehend reality and therefore be at peace with it. (The note is based on the discussions I used to have with my mother on religion; she did not know anything about science or its principles but her interpretations were always in tune with them. To her, Gurbani and eligions in general were an attempt of the human mind to make sense of this universe and its laws in order to be able to accept them with mental calm and poise. ( THIS NOTE IS WRITTEN IN A HURRY UNDER PRESSURE OF TIME, ME HAVING TO RUSH TO MEET AN APPOINTMENT. ERRORS, WHICH MUST BE MANY, MAY PLEASE BE FORGIVEN. I WILL COME BACK AND TRY TO CORRECT THEM)
(The views expressed here naturally represent only one way of looking at the universe and I make no claims that this is correct or the only way )
Who is "other" woman ..
I have often been intrigued by expressions like "other women". What do they mean ? What do we imply -- respect, disgrace, anger, approval, admiration or what -- when we refer to a person who has shown guts to get into a relationship with huge social costs as "other woman". In an intellectual philosophical, emotional and poetic sense, who is the "other person" -- other man or other woman. What defines her /his otherness except social norms ? How much store would or should any enlightened mind place by social norms ? Social norms deserve all the respect they get. Is that enough to persecute or ridicule its violation ? And can poetry and societal norms be talked about in the same breath?. Should those who take pride in poetry also take take pride in passionate adherence to societal norms. ? Can societal norms be brought int play whhile discussing higher truths - scientific, spiritual or poetic ? Above all, these are humble questions and must not be confused with arrogant answers or even insinuations....... P L E A S E
When you speak, you touch but one of millions of layers of truth
"Whenever you say something, you address but one of the million layers of truth. Because you did not and can not touch all layers at one stroke, it does not follow that what you spoke was wrong; it only means that it was true in a limited way. For the matter of that, everything spoken can be true only in a limited way. Whenever you touch something, you leave a lot else untouched. You can not touch the whole universe at one stroke. But you can know the whole universe at one go. And the way to do that is so simple. It is called love.
And love? Love at first sight is the only love that is possible. You can never know anything without first being in love with it. The belief that you need to know something well before loving it is so grossly misleading; knowledge is impossible without love. If you want to know something – from your child to God – fall in love first. There is no better example of this than a mother. No one knows you better than your mother does, but that’s because she hadn’t bothered to know you before deciding to love you. In her case , it is love even before first sight. You will never a better form of love on this earth. ”
And love? Love at first sight is the only love that is possible. You can never know anything without first being in love with it. The belief that you need to know something well before loving it is so grossly misleading; knowledge is impossible without love. If you want to know something – from your child to God – fall in love first. There is no better example of this than a mother. No one knows you better than your mother does, but that’s because she hadn’t bothered to know you before deciding to love you. In her case , it is love even before first sight. You will never a better form of love on this earth. ”
ਰੇ ਮਨ ਐਸੋ ਕਰਿ ਸੰਨਿਆਸਾ II...A note in response to Rajiv query
Shabad
ਸ਼ਬਦ ..੧ ਓਂਕਾਰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ II
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ
ਫਤਿਹ II
ਰਾਗ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ
ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀ ੧੦ II
ਰੇ ਮਨ ਐਸੋ
ਕਰਿ ਸੰਨਿਆਸਾ II
ਬਨ ਸੇ ਸਦਨ
ਸਬੈ ਕਰ ਸਮਝਹੁ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਉਦਾਸਾ II੧ II ਰਹਾਉ II
ਜਤ ਕੀ ਜਟਾ ਜੋਗ
ਕੋ ਮਜਨੁ ਨੇਮ ਕੇ ਨਖੁਨ ਬਢਾਓ II
ਗਿਆਨ ਗੁਰੂ ਆਤਮ
ਉਪਦੇਸਹੁ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਭੂਤ ਲਗਾਓ II੧ II
ਅਲਪ ਅਹਾਰ ਸੁਲਪ ਸੀ
ਨਿੰਦਰਾ ਦਯਾ ਛਿਮਾ ਤਨ ਤਨ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ II
ਸੀਲ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਸਦਾ
ਨਿਰਬਾਹਿਬੋ ਹ੍ਵੈਬੋ ਤ੍ਰਿਗੁਣ ਅਤੀਤ II II੨ II
ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ
ਹੰਕਾਰ ਲੋਭ ਹਠ ਮੋਹ ਨ ਮਨ ਮੋ ਲਯਾਵੈ
ਤਬ ਹੀ ਆਤਮ ਤਤ ਕੋ
ਦਰਸੈ ਪਰਮ ਪੁਰਖ ਕਹ ਪਾਵੈ II3 II ਇਈ
ਸ਼ਬਦ ਹਜਾਰੇ - ਸ੍ਰੀ
ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ
ਰੇ ਮਨ
Re man in Gur-bani is
not so much an exhortation to self or soul or mind as a prayer to the cosmic
spirit which resonates within and without us and is thus an evidence of
omnipresence not only of an external force but of our own consciousness -- in a cosmic spread. ( Thus,
the prayer, the one who prays and the one to whom the prayer is addressed are
overlapping and are in fact shifting patterns in the same
kaleidoscope .)
Thus, "Re Man" is an outcry of the cosmic
self` or cosmic energy ( also called God- param atama- cosmic energy in the throes of self-conflict, which in fact
is a self-play ( Leela??), a self-delusion
of consciousness, spirit, mind, God, energy or whatever name you want to give
it. The problem as you know better than any of us, Rajiv, is one of language here
– language which is a tool of the rational mind, and
rational mind being just the outer tip of consciousness can hardly grasp or
express the whole truth of the ocean that spreads behind it.( And I am already
into preaching to a Prophet !!)
"Re man" is
also one half of the mind addressing the other.
ਰੇ ਮਨ ਐਸੋ
ਕਰਿ ਸੰਨਿਆਸਾ II
"Sanyasa" of
course you know. I only need to emphasize that san+nias also means "
residing everywhere", seemingly quite the opposite of what it normally
expresses.
Reach a state of such
sanyaas .....
ਬਨ ਸੇ ਸਦਨ
ਸਬੈ ਕਰ ਸਮਝਹੁ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਉਦਾਸਾ II੧ II ਰਹਾਉ II
ban= of course a forest
and sadan = of course a house/ home...Regard all homes as forest ( home in
Gurbani is also a symbol of soul, self, mind, consciousness within-- Ghar hi
parcha paiyeeye....find knowledge at home only).Interestingly, the Guru does
not say, “Regard the forest as your home” but “Regard your home as forest”. Here,
the Guru refers to the belief that mental detachment is possible only through
sanayasa or retiring to the forests...but the Guru is obviously not being
critical of this; he is going beyond that and is in fact endorsing the
importance of sanyasa, but is suggesting that for this, one's own home can
attain the status of a forest; its about state of mind . The chief difference
between a forest and home is not "desolation" ( which in any case a
forest never represents); the chief difference is that one regards a home as
one's own, and thus a possession,
whereas a forest is belongs to
everyone or to no one in particular, and certainly not to "me". The
Guru appears to suggest that residing in your home but by regarding it as not
your own but a place that belongs to everyone or to the universe itself, you
can free yourself of the pangs of attachment --"this house is not mine; I
merely reside here" , this world does not belong to me; I merely reside
here" --But by surrendering everything you gain everything; so you can see
that since nothing belongs to you, by the same logic nothing belongs to anyone
else either. Therefore, everything here is yours through love. And through love
alone does anything become yours; but then it belongs to anyone or everyone who
loves it, and that takes nothing away from the place or from your rights over it.
Everything is infinitely sharable because everything is infinitely lovable .
That which you possess does not belong to you. You merely possess it, as an
invader might possess your land or country, but it will never belong to him. It
will belong to you , even if you don't possess an inch of it. It will belong to
you simply because you love it. Desire
is about possessing; love is about belonging. Thus the Guru extends the space
of home to the infiniteness of a forest. And the other meaning of san-nias , residing
everywhere, also comes into play.
Thus sanyas no longer
remains an act of painful giving up; it actually transforms into a door
to "Anand" since you have expanded the bounds of your home to those
of a forest...actualy the bounds of your mind !! Thus, ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਉਦਾਸਾ ...Now, udasa is another interesting word here,
Rajiv, as you already know all its connotations. And surely it has nothing to
do with udasi or even udaseenata... It refers to a state of mind akin to
"bairaag" -- another exceedingly fascinating phenomenon which runs
close on the bounds of Anand ( Which is untranslatable) I would like to
sit quiet one day and listen to you on Bairaag.
ਜਤ ਕੀ ਜਟਾ ਜੋਗ
ਕੋ ਮਜਨੁ ਨੇਮ ਕੇ ਨਖੁਨ ਬਢਾਓ II
(ਜਤ ) of course refers to stern discipline of mind ; For the Jog
Mat, the Jata, or long hair, among other things, symbolised
penance also, It also referred to external discipline though as a symbol of
internal penance.. The Guru obviously moves the journey completely inwards....and says cleansing of
the mind alone is purification (ਜੋਗ ਕੋ ਮਜਨੁ ). The followers
of the Jog Mat, as you know, used to grow long nails. The Guru brings up
a concept so crucial to Gurbani - nem
or niyam which to me symbolise the divine laws but is commonly taken to mean
"rules" . I go for "kudrat de nem" --- Laws of Nature .
Acceptance of these laws alone is highest discipline and highest bliss. For
me Rajiv, words 'nem" and "hukam" hold fascinating
and infinite meanings. Contrary to a tin-pot dictator's diktat, hukam appears
to me to be the ultimate embodiment of reality -- hukam, Order, Laws, Niyam,
Nem -- they all seem to refer to forces and principles that govern the
universe or life. These are immutable and hence supreme; fighting against them
or nurturing wishes or desires that run contrary to them can only lead to a
conflict with truth and therefore to pain, agony, sorrow. The greatest and the
most obvious nem or hukam or law of the universe or of Nature (
Kudrat/fitrat)
is "change" (
refers also to dynamism of reality). Everything is subject to change, said
Buddha, and Vedas and Gurbani clearly agree. Thus birth and death too are merely
parts of the same natural
nem/hukam/laws/principles. There is neither good not bad in either of these.
But to rise that level – well, well, well !! In Gurbani there is another name used for
this: Bhaana or the Will. To me at least, Bhaana and Hukam and nem and Laws of
Universe ( Laws of Physics also) are the
same thing.
The
problem of language arises here again. We seem to conclude that if there
is bhaana, then there must be one whose bhaana it is; will seems to presupposes
the one who wills ( God) and hukam seems to presuppose a haakam ( also,
mohkam, hakuoomat etc) These contradictions can never be resolved for these are
contradictions created by a rational tool called language. To me, briefly,
hukam or Will or God or nem and bhaana -- all refer to the same thing and
speak of the same truth—that Universe
and its Laws are the same thing.( You can call it God and His Will, if you
please) The universe is nothing but a
set of laws in operation; so is God -- another name for expressing the same
reality.
ਗਿਆਨ ਗੁਰੂ ਆਤਮ
ਉਪਦੇਸਹੁ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਭੂਤ ਲਗਾਓ II੧ II
Gian-- enlightenment -
alone is Guru . The other two words can mean either that this enlightenment
addresses or teaches "Atm" , self, you etc, or that Atm itself is the
updesh incarnate. I am not sure which is closer to the Guru's meaning. Will
consult someone and get back.
And the following three
words present the greatest difficulty. ਨਾਮ ਬਿਭੂਤ ਲਗਾਓ II੧ II
All my life, Rajiv, I have privately struggled to find
out what ਨਾਮ refers to. Surely, it is not name; or if it is, surely it is not in the sense of
nomenclature So what is it?.. a cosmic sound like OM ?? Or is it the unheard
melody of cosmic love anhad naad or what is it??.. I am completely at a loss
here.. i am soon going to a saint whose wisdom i trust . I wish to sit at his
feet and try to understand what this refers to . Its not as easy as that --
that I will go and in one month, I will get to understand. Wish self realisation
or revelation of truth was that easy. But I am going to make an attempt, sitting at his feet, loving, serving
everything and everyone and trying to see if I can get anywhere close to
this. If I do, you might find me dancing in the streets.....you will find out
whether or not I have found out , although then it might cease to matter one
way or the other..
I am leaving these words
completely untouched for this reason. ( Not that I understand much of what I
have written about other things !!!)
But you are going to
love the followng line ( as you do the rest of it , of course) ..ਅਲਪ ਅਹਾਰ ਸੁਲਪ ਸੀ ਨਿੰਦਰਾ ਦਯਾ ਛਿਮਾ ਤਨ ਤਨ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ
II
alap ahaar of course
does not simply mean "eat less" but has a larger context -- May be,
consume less, the door to peace and bliss in any case. ( It is , as you already
know, not just about eating less; its about ahar.. which is subsistence and
everything that you need for it.)
But the next two words are
fascinatingly poetic --ਸੁਲਪ ਸੀ ਨਿੰਦਰਾ -- sleep as brief and as aware (as that
of a snake !!) To be awake and alert ( chetan) or aware of truth even in sleep ( mundane ,
day to day life) is the distinguishing
mark of an Enlightened One ( Buddha, Jogi, Giani, Guru, Braham-in)
And I simply love and
adore the following words: ਦਯਾ ਛਿਮਾ ਤਨ ਤਨ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ…compassion, (sym—pathy, feeling
exactly one with someone), forgiveness ( the highest virtue in Sikh thought)
and love that can not be held back, love that overflows …
Plus, ਸੀਲ ਸੰਤੋਖ
ਸਦਾ ਨਿਰਬਾਹਿਬੋ ਹ੍ਵੈਬੋ ਤ੍ਰਿਗੁਣ ਅਤੀਤ – gentle, pious, (ਸਾਊ, ਸ਼ਰੀਫ਼ ਹੋਣ
ਦਾ ਗੁਣ) , the
contentment ( in the sense of accepting reality with quiet and dignified poise –
not a lazy acquiescence but a dynamic exercise of will to refuse misery over
failure to feed greed , is what ਸੰਤੋਖ is. Stay with
these virtues and then you might transcend the three legendary gunas ,
including sadgun)
ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ
ਹੰਕਾਰ ਲੋਭ ਹਠ ਮੋਹ ਨ ਮਨ ਮੋ ਲਯਾਵੈ
ਤਬ ਹੀ ਆਤਮ ਤਤ ਕੋ
ਦਰਸੈ ਪਰਮ ਪੁਰਖ ਕਹ ਪਾਵੈ II3 II
Hatth here of course
means a mixture of stubborn greed and vanity. If you transcend these snakes, ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਹੰਕਾਰ ਲੋਭ ਹਠ ਮੋਹ , then alone will self ( soul, mind) have a
vision of truth, and then alone will he rise to the level of param purakh)
As you can see, my focus is tiring towards
the end. ( Spill over of a long day at work –Vidhan Sabha Session. ( I am not
in job, but I am still in love. We will discuss later. Or does it matter??)
I will come back some other time on these two
most beautiful last lines. For the moment, I will be hoping this answers your
query at least to some minor extent, Rajiv.
Finally, I am not befooled into believing
that I am writing all this to help you understand anything better than you already
do. Knowing how far ahead of me you already stand, I will never be found guilty
of that blasphemy. Let it be said I enjoy talking to you, and hence these
rambling thoughts)
AND ONE MORE THING,
RAJIV. I am indebted to a younger but friend
here for his extremely valuable inputs into this note – a young man of exquisite
sensibility, intelligence AND, above all,
humility. His name is GURDARSHAN SINGH BAHIA. I must acknowledge his help here.)
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