SunnySingh

Hello brother, as long as we are in the mayavee planes, these types of phases of ups and downs, and turbulences will be happening time after time. But as passengers / disciples of the pilot Guru Jee, we should be thankful that we are sitting in the airplane of our life commanded by Him, so we should tell our minds to keep quite and stop hopping and trying to trouble us, for in no way we are going to get affected with its tricks and dramas, so it should sit down and be in peace.... that would the better for it and our surtee. We should try to make the mind understand that, we do His bhakti to just please Him, without any conditions nor expectations, so no matter if we see apparent progress or not, for progress in sikhee is undoubted, sometimes we may perceive it or not, but definetely progress is there. So brother do not loose heart, stick faithfully to your spiritual practices, His daya meher, His kirpa, will definetely take you much farther and to higher heights, just do not get dismotivated, for you should fix in mind that He never leaves His lovers, bhagats.... He is much aware of whatever we are doing or going through. Just as the sun is always up there, it is only that sometimes, that the dark karmic clouds come into our way so we do not see the sun, but that does not mean the sun has not arised or gone somewhere, when the clouds move away in due time we will have the sunshine again. Stay blessed. SSA.

First of all from our side it is almost impossible to recognize a true saint. Have a look at our Guru Sahiban, where even some of their family members did not recognize them as such, or even Bhagats of highest order like Kabir Sahib, Christ, where people torture them whether verbally or physically. It is usually whomsoever they want to get hold of their hand, can recognize and accept them. in that respect the Bani says that those people are wadbhagee. Bhoolay marg jinay bataaya aisa Gur wadbhagee paaya. Then too with much difficulties, doubts will assail them until they go within with abhyaas and see the real form of that saint within themselves. Another quality of them is that they will only sing praises of the only permanent and eternal Truth, Waheguru, and inspire us to do only that bhakti as per Gurbani, which will reunite us with Him. But sadly, kalyug has held such a strong grip on the people, that inspite of being told the truth in simple and direct manner , people will strongly criticize them, for trying to not follow the criteria of an established religion as per their views in terms of rituals and dogmas, that too, when the Bani says that the chanting of His name is the highest among all religions. They are the embodiment of humility, peace and forgiveness, they will even lower themselves, in order to avoid any quarrels and fights. Our Guru Sahiban are the real picture of what a true Saint ought to be.

You should read the teachings right from the highest and perfect Teacher, in SGGS. Do not rush, take your time to understand and digest the teachings which are true spiritual gems from the Bani. Monitors or advanced students are fine, but having direct and first hand contact with the teacher is the best, for in the end, it is with the teacher whom we have to account for our education learned and applied at the end of our present grade(human life). Then we can not give excuses, that I only did what I saw others do, or was told by them to do according to their understanding. As for Nam, do not rush as said above, see for yourself what is Nam, what is Guru Sahiban, what is a Gurmukh, a Sant Jan, and see the message which they wanto convey us from their personal intercation and communion with Supreme Power, or level of Highest Consciousness. To start with, I will suggest you you to start with Jap Ji Sahib, Anand Sahib, Asa Ki war, though all the Gurbani by itself is a spiritual wealth beyond measure. Then if here or there you have any questions, you may ask the sangat here, all will be much glad to help you, but, as said, go through the Bani which is true bliss, and a path leading to the Highest, if only applied as indicated by Guru Jee in it. If by His grace you are constant in your approach towards the Bani, you will discover higher truths hidden in it time after time as one gets mentally purer, that is the magic of the Bani. Guru Jee is the only link between us jeev atmas and Him, He is the One to ferry us across, rest of the people are all passengers waiting to fulfill their journey as per their destiny karam. So in Sikhee, Guru Jee is the most important being, had it not been for Him, we could never ever have come to know anything about Waheguru Akal Purukh. To the extent that the Bani says: Guru meree pooja The Guru is the objective of my devotion (for loving Him, we merge in Him, the formless One) Guru Gobind The Guru is the Lord sustainer Gobind Guru mera Parbrham Guru Bhagwant My Guru is the trascendental Lord (formless and unfathomable= Shabad or Nam), beyond the realms of Brahm or Maya. Best of luck Bro and stay blessed.

Welcome Manav Jee, we must bear in our mind that, all souls are just as equal same rays from the One Light/Sun. According to where those rays fall upon(bodies), we say someone is a sikh, a hindu, a muslim or a christian. But when we go within, we all have that same refulgence, light of His Jot. Gurbani says: Sabh meh Jot, Jot hae soee. His Light permates in all as souls, and He Himself is the source of Supreme light. So, it does not matter if one is a sikh, a hindu or be it anyone, yet if one concentrates and goes within by His grace, we will all hear the same sounds if only we are that same satges or levels of consciousness, and that Shabad or Anahad Bani resounds in everyone one of us, irrespective of our color, creed, gender or caste. Sree Guru Amar Das says: Nam jiskay man vaseeya, vaajeh Shabad ganere. Means, whosoever concentrates on Nam will hear the sound of that Shabad or Nam within himself/herself. In His eyes, we are all His souls. It is we blind fools who fight and quarrel and kill or abuse someone in the name of religion, that too, when we have not seen that Jot for ourselves, we forget that according to khel and our karmas we are born in a particular place, body, and dharam, ad according to His kanoon of karmas no one can change anyone, so why not respect all as they are? Going back to your query, it is by great good luck that in Sikhee under the guidance of the True spiritual Teachers, Guru Sahiban, we are taught how to overcome all our limitations and by devoting ourselves to their higher and pure teachings we manifest the Sound or Voice of the ultimate Truth or call it creator and see His Jot within us. That is supreme mahima of Guru Jee, who making us shatter our deep rooted ignorance and thus throughly cleaning us all our dirt of karmas, sanskaras, from countless lives, makes us pur and fit to reunite ourselves and become one with that Ultimate Truth which some call God, and we in sikhee call that creative power Wahehuru Akal Purukh, who is formless and beyond any imagination, not even gods or any other entities can know anything about Him, except His lovers and Guru Sahiban. That is what Gurbani is for, to overcome all our limitations, all our pettiness, all our complexes, of which we are so much proud prisoners.

When one cries while listening Gurbani, it is a sign of His grace and also it means that the Amrit of Gurbani has pierced the hardened stone of our mind and filled us with true love for Him. And when truly loves someone, then only does one feel cry and feel the agony of being away from the beloved. I have heard mahapurukhs say that, there is no such perfect cleanser for our soul/mind as crying for our beloved Waheguru. Not even yeras of bandagee is compared to a moment of vichoraa from our Beloved. Our cries shake Him even, who then comes running to us and embrace us, though we may not see Him with our eyes. But it is a fact, that, even our cries for Him, is more a pull from His side, than any merits of ours. He is ready to give us His wealth of love and mercy, it is only that we have to be pure in word, in deed and in mind, in order to be receptive to that His "daat".

AMA JEE, will try my best, but first of all I would like to tell you, that, this relation of wife - husband mentioned in this Shabad below is not of worldly wife and husband, but that spiritual one of love where the soul is like a wife and Waheguru Akal Purukh is husband, as a loving protector. ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥ āsā mahalā 5 . ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥ ਨਿਜ ਭਗਤੀ ਸੀਲਵੰਤੀ ਨਾਰਿ ॥ nij bhagatī sīlavantī nār . * The bride shows such special devotion, and has such an agreeable disposition ਆਪਣੀ (ਆਤਮਾ ਦੇ ਕੰਮ ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਿਤੀ) ਭਗਤੀ (ਮਾਨੋ ਇਕ) ਸ਼ੁਭ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਇਸਤਰੀ (ਸਮਾਨ ਹੈ ਰੂਪਿ ਅਨੂਪ ਪੂਰੀ ਆਚਾਰਿ ॥ rūp anūp pūrī āchār . *Her beauty is incomparable, and her character is perfect. This means, when the soul engages in the true bhakti of His jaap, it gets purified and sheds away all of the layers upon her of karmas, vaasnas, paaps, thus she shines in her originla state as a particle of that Jot of Satnam. ਜੋ) ਰੂਪ ਵਿਚ ਅਨੂਪਮ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਆਚਰਨ ਵਿਚ ਪੂਰੀ ਹੈ। ਜਿਤੁ ਗ੍ਰਿਹਿ ਵਸੈ ਸੋ ਗ੍ਰਿਹੁ ਸੋਭਾਵੰਤਾ ॥ jit grih vasai sō grih sōbhāvantā . *The house in which she dwells is such a praiseworthy house. That house (Sach Khand)where she(the soul) is meant to go once becomes His bride, is infinitely beyond any description. ਜਿਸ (ਹਿਰਦੇ ਰੂਪੀ) ਘਰ ਵਿਚ (ਇਹ ਇਸਤਰੀ) ਵਸਦੀ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਘਰ (ਹਿਰਦਾ) ਸ਼ੋਭਾ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੈ। ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਈ ਕਿਨੈ ਵਿਰਲੈ ਜੰਤਾ ॥੧॥ guramukh pāī kinai viralai jantā .1. *But rare are those who, meet a Gurmukh, and attain that state. Coming into contact in one´s life with a true Gurmukh is indeed a mark of grace, in whose company one becomes aware of one´s true nature and does all that necessary to please Him and return Home. (ਪਰ) ਗੁਰੂ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਿਸੇ ਵਿਰਲੇ ਜੀਵ ਨੇ (ਅਜਿਹੀ ਇਸਤਰੀ) ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ।੧। ਸੁਕਰਣੀ ਕਾਮਣਿ ਗੁਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਹਮ ਪਾਈ ॥ sukaranī kāman gur mil ham pāī . *As the soul-bride of pure actions, I have met with the Guru. Pure actions here first of all means, His grace from His side, and from our side, engaging in that devotion of His jaap which pleases Him the most. (ਹੇ ਭਾਈ!) ਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਮਿਲਣ ਨਾਲ ਅੱਸਾਂ ਸ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਟ ਕਰਣੀ ਰੂਪ ਇਸਤਰੀ ਪਾਈ ਹੈ ਜਜਿ ਕਾਜਿ ਪਰਥਾਇ ਸੁਹਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ jaj kāj parathāi suhāī .1. rahāu . *In worship, marriage and in the next world, such a soul-bride looks beautiful. As said earler, when such a blessed soul sheds away all the earth binding chains on her such as of karmas, and paaps, she regains her original state of spotless purity, and is thus prepared to merge and become one with that only True Akal Purukh. ਜੋ ਯੱਗ ਵਿਚ ਵਿਆਹ ਦੇ ਅਵਸਰ ਉਤੇ ਹਰੇਕ ਰਸਮ-ਰੀਤੀ ਸਮੇਂ ਸੋਹਣੀ ਲਗਦੀ ਹੈ।੧।ਰਹਾਉ। ਜਿਚਰੁ ਵਸੀ ਪਿਤਾ ਕੈ ਸਾਥਿ ॥ jichar vasī pitā kai sāth . *As long as she lived with her father. This means: as long as the soul was with her earthly parents (ਹੇ ਭਾਈ!) ਜਿਤਨਾ ਚਿਰ (ਇਹ ਸ਼ੁਭ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਕਾਮਣੀ) ਪਿਤਾ (ਗੁਰੂ) ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ਸੀ, ਤਿਚਰੁ ਕੰਤੁ ਬਹੁ ਫਿਰੈ ਉਦਾਸਿ ॥ tichar kant bah phirai udās . *Her Husband wandered around in sadness. Waheguru Akal Purukh, the true Husband of the soul, was sad, looking for her bride as per when will she will meeta True Gurmukh , and wake up from the deep slumber of ignorance and start looking for Him, to the needful to return back Home. ਉਤਨਾ ਚਿਰ ਜੀਵ ਜਗਿਆਸੂ ਉਦਾਸੀ ਦੀ ਹਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਫਿਰਦਾ ਸੀ। ਕਰਿ ਸੇਵਾ ਸਤ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਮਨਾਇਆ ॥ kar sēvā sat purakh manāiā . *I served and surrendered to the Lord, the True Being; the soul gave up haume and served the Lord with full faith and love, her True Husband. ਜਦੋਂ (ਗੁਰੂ ਦੀ) ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਗੁਰਿ ਆਣੀ ਘਰ ਮਹਿ ਤਾ ਸਰਬ ਸੁਖ ਪਾਇਆ ॥੨॥ gur ānī ghar mah tā sarab sukh pāiā .2. *The True Guru, brought me as His bride back Home, and I attained the true bliss and happiness. ਤਦੋਂ ਗੁਰੂ ਨੇ (ਜੀਵ ਦੇ ਹਿਰਦੇ ਰੂਪੀ) ਘਰ ਵਿਚ (ਆਣ ਬਿਠਾਈ) ਤਾਂ (ਇਸ ਨੂੰ) ਸਭ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਸੁਖ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ।੨। ਬਤੀਹ ਸੁਲਖਣੀ ਸਚੁ ਸੰਤਤਿ ਪੂਤ ॥ ਆਗਿਆਕਾਰੀ ਸੁਘੜ ਸਰੂਪ ॥ batīh sulakhanī sach santat pūt . āgiākārī sughar sarūp . *She is blessed with all sublime attributes ਇਹ ਭਗਤੀ ਰੂਪੀ ਇਸਤਰੀ) ਬੜੀ ਸ਼ੁਭ ਲੱਛਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਹੈ, ਇਸ ਦੀ ਸੰਤਾਨ, ਸੱਚ (ਸੰਤੋਖ ਆਦਿ) ਪੁਤਰ ਹਨ। (ਇਹ ਪਤੀ ਦੀ) ਆਗਿਆਕਾਰ (ਤੇ) ਸੁਚੱਜੇ ਸਰੂਪ ਵਾਲੀ ਹੈ। ਇਛ ਪੂਰੇ ਮਨ ਕੰਤ ਸੁਆਮੀ ॥ ish pūrē man kant suāmī . *Her Husband, her Lord and Master, fulfills her heart's desires, by making her desireless with the Amrit of Nam. (ਹੁਣ ਇਹ ਆਪਣੇ) ਮਾਲਕ ਜੀਵ ਦੇ ਮਨ ਦੀ (ਹਰੇਕ) ਇਛਾ ਪੂਰੀ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਸਗਲ ਸੰਤੋਖੀ ਦੇਰ ਜੇਠਾਨੀ ॥੩॥ sagal santōkhī dēr jēthānī .3. *Hope and desire (my younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law) are now totally content (ਇਹ) ਦਿਰਾਣੀ ਜਿਠਾਣੀ (ਆਸਾ ਤੇ ਤ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨਾ ਨੂੰ) ਸੰਤੋਖ ਦਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ ਸੰਤੁਸ਼ਟ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ)।੩। ਸਭ ਪਰਵਾਰੈ ਮਾਹਿ ਸਰੇਸਟ ॥ sabh paravārai māh sarēsat . ਹੇ ਭਾਈ! ਆਤਮਿਕ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੀ ਇਸਤਰੀ) ਸਾਰੇ ਪਰਵਾਰ ਵਿਚ ਉਤਮ ਹੈ। *She is the most noble of all the family. ਮਤੀ ਦੇਵੀ ਦੇਵਰ ਜੇਸਟ ॥ matī dēvī dēvar jēsat . *She counsels and advises her hope and desire. Now the soul has full confidence in herself due to the support from her Husband Waheguru, so she is not bothered by any doubts ਦੇਉਰਾਂ, ਜੇਠਾਂ, (ਗਿਆਨ ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਹੋਰ ਸੰਬੰਧੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ੁਭ) ਮੱਤਾਂ ਦੇਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਹੈ। ਧੰਨੁ ਸੁ ਗ੍ਰਿਹੁ ਜਿਤੁ ਪ੍ਰਗਟੀ ਆਇ ॥ dhann s grih jit pragatī āi . *How blessed is that household, in which she has appeared. ਉਹ (ਹਿਰਦਾ ਰੂਪੀ) ਘਰ ਧੰਨਤਾ ਯੋਗ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ (ਘਰ ਵਿਚ ਅਜਿਹੀ ਭਗਤੀ ਰੂਪ ਇਸਤਰੀ) ਆ ਕੇ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਹੈ। ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਖੇ ਸੁਖਿ ਵਿਹਾਇ ॥੪॥੩॥ jan nānak sukhē sukh vihāi .4.3. *O servant Nanak, she passes her time in perfect peace and comfort by focussing on Him alone at all times. *Bhul chuk maaf.

The 3 worlds/lokas or planes are as following: the physical or gross one, the astral, and the causal. All of these in time are subject to decay and dissolution, in Parlay or Mahaparlay Above these 3, is Parbrham, the pure spiritual realm which has it highest peak in Sach Khand, the ultimate, changeless, eternal and infinite, the permanent abode of Waheguru Akal Purukh, where only He exists, and whosoever reaches there by His grace, also becomes one with Him.

Though this thread is quite old, yet I believe is much valid even today, for the law of karma does not change just like that, it keeps functioning as long as He wants to keep this creation in motion. Just as there is no tree/ fruit without seed, or , there can be no action without reaction. So too, our lives can not exist without the law of karma, each one gets exactly what one has sown. You sow apples, you will reap apples. if you sow chillies, you will not get mangoes, you will definetely reap chillies, and moreover, you yourself will have to eat them, no matter how much one may shout or cry. The law of karma is just and has to exist, otherwise, the weak humans and maybe other beings, for all of their wrong doings, usually do blame Him for being partial, that too when the truth is, He is all forgiveness and full of mercy. We are sent here (this creation)to become better beings and mature spiritualwise, and recognize His true value by being away from Him, yet many are such donkeys, that they keep on being proud of their deep rooted ignorance when true spirituality or even the pure Gurbani is presented before them. We are born in koor, and we deeply love koor,so naturally we are prisoners in the creation of koor. Unless, we eat and digest TRUTH, then only, we do regain our true original healthy nature of purity, and only then do we become fit to merge and become one with that INFINITE, ETERNAL, EVERLASTING, CHANGELESS TRUTH, our Origin. The dirt accumulated on our heads since countless births is just beyond our petty imagination, there is no such soap which we can use and wash ourselves totally, no matter even if we use the soap 24/7 again in countless births/janams. The remedy for that our such huge amount of dirt, is only washable if He pours the water of His kirpa on us. The secret of our cleanliness is to please Him, just as a child pleases his/her parents, in order to be receptive to His apaar grace, which in the end is the "cleanser" of all our paaps/sins. Then too, we proud ignorants, we think we have achieved His realization. We have to bear in mind, we are all spiritually blind, and unless "He" who has eyes and gets hold of our tiny hand to pull us out, we can never ever get out from the mayavee creation. For that very reason, we should always have to be humble (saadkee) from the very bottom of our hearts, for in being humble, we are in disposition to become virtuous and do His devotion with firm unwareing faith, which is also more of His bakshish. Karmas, have reactions in engaging us in more unavoidable karmas, but, His true devotion is karmaless, and is the only water to wash away all of our karmas, there is no other way. He is Ooch, He is apaar, He is beant, so is His devotion/seva, if done faithfully and nishkam, it can wipe away all our accumulated dirt of karmas/paap/sins.

Hello Veer Jee, regarding your question above, found the following information on the net: THE COMING OF NIKALANK AVATAR: A MESSIANIC THEME IN SOME SECTARIAN TRADITIONS OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIA Journal of Indian Philosophy 25: 401-426, 1997. (c) 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Dominique-Sila Khan In the literary tradition associated with a few "obscure" religious movements of Rajasthan and Gujarat[1] one finds a number of prophetic songs the central motifs of which are of an eschatological and messianic nature. They describe the end of the world or rather, according to Hindu beliefs, the cataclysms and disasters preceding the dissolution (pralaya) of the universe at the end of the fourth cosmic Age (Kali yuga) before a new Era begins.[2] The advent of a saviour and restorer of justice in the form of Vishnu's tenth incarnation is also predicted, although, unlike the Epic and Puranic Kalki, he is referred to as Nikalank Avatar. Hope it satisfies your query somehow. Anyhow, if you or anyone wants to read more about it, following is the link : http://www.ismaili.net/Source/nikaintro.html.

Brother Guest Shaheed Jee, whatever you are experiencing, take it as His apaar kirpa on you. Please continue with your spiritual practices, and see what more Sachay Patshah can has in store to bless you with. Plus, you are a inspiring example for all of us, that if one is sincere in one´s bhakti without any calculations, He can never ever withold Himself to shower His apaar kirpa on us. So glad for you. Stay firm at all times in His bhakti come whatsoever may come, for this is the only true wealth which we will take with us while departing from this plane. Stay blessed.

Brother ama jee, there are many things which can be discussed, and I do understand your feelings, you being disheartend and somehow cofused too. But many things are due to our own mistakes and ignorance. When you say innocent sikhs suffer and others enjoy inspite of doing bad karam, well, the Bani tells us: Ek pita, ekas ke ham barak . There is only one Lord father creator, Waheguru Akal Purukh, and all beings are His children Or are the hindus, muslims , christians or atheists also not created by Him? is there any other Creator apart from Him? All the gods, incarnations of Vishnu Jee, godesses, angels and countless other beings on other levels of consciousness, of different dharmas, philosophers and so on ... all are his creation. His creation is characterized by varities at all levels, be it gross or subtle, be it Baikunth the abode of Vishnu and his incarnations, or the dev lok, or be it any other level of consciousness. He alone is One, and His abode of eternal truth is also One (Sach Khand), apart from it, all is paraphernalia. Going back to your points of your posts above, it is we people who see different people with different perspectives, and classify them, as ours, as outsiders, as foreigners, or of different dharams, but in His eyes, all are His souls, be in whatsoever joonee. All carry His Jot. It is by inmense fortune, that one is born in such envoirements and is aware of His majesty, of His infinite love and mercy. Following are some verses from the Bani which as per my understanding shed some light on the main points of your post above: ਅਹਿਨਿਸਿ ਜੀਆ ਦੇਖਿ ਸਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਲੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਪੁਰਬਿ ਕਮਾਈ ॥ Ahinis Jeeaa Dhaekh Samhaalai Sukh Dhukh Purab Kamaaee || Day and night, God watches over and takes care of His living beings; they receive pleasure and pain according to their past actions. * We suffer or get pleasure due to our own past karma, and this imples also that whatever anyone does now, will for sure have to pay or get rewarded at its correct/due time. We are very limited, we can hardly see farther than a mile, then, how can we see what karam have we done in our past births, the law of karmas is not like cutting the vegetables now and cook them and have them as food for luch for example, it is a much complex law to be understood by our petty and short mind. To see how accurately the law of karma operates, we have to arise within and see it with our own eyes. Not otherwise. Everybody is entangled in maya, thus remain fattily ignorant. The only way to cut this ignorance is with the aid of Guru Jee´s teachings, in order to understand ourselves better as well as His infinite creation. Nobody becomes His devotee, just by being born in paricular caste, gender, nationality or dharam. One is His lover, if only one has Him at all times. In that respect the Bani says: ਨੀਧਨ ਕੌ ਧਨੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਪਿਆਰੁ ॥ Needhhan Ka Dhhan Naam Piaar || I am poor, but I have the Wealth of Your Name, O my Beloved. In the next verse, it clarifies one step even further: ਇਹੁ ਧਨੁ ਸਾਰੁ ਹੋਰੁ ਬਿਖਿਆ ਛਾਰੁ ॥੪॥ Eihu Dhhan Saar Hor Bikhiaa Shhaar ||4|| This is the most excellent wealth; all else is poison and ashes. So let us ask ourselves, if we all call ourselves His children or lovers, but how many of us has faithfully followed the Bani, to have that excellence of the wealth of His sacred Name? In the end, it is this virtue of our devotion of His Name, which He sees and looks for in His beings. He does not see where you come from, or if you are rich, poor, tall, short, black or white, and so on .... He only sees the love of our devotion to His Name. For once we firmly believe as seen in the verse above that apart from His Name, everything else is poison and ashes, then only will we try each and every second with our breaths, to not waste any time in which we do not gather the wealth of His Name, because as seen in the words of Guru Jee, that "all else" is poison and ashes. Once we start walking the path of His Name, automatically we will become virtuos, shed all our imperfections and impurities, and we shall become good human beings, until then we are much under the falsehood me, mine ..... The saints you mention being protected by Him, should be an inspiration and a living example for the rest of us human beings, if only we want Him to take care of us as His babies/children. We want the results, but without paying the price for that "protection" of His. If we submit ourselves to the devotion of His Name as seen in the Bani, He will take care of us at all times with His kirpa, but, if we use our own will and do manmat, then brother, we are bound by our own karam. Just as by being admitted in a good school, we do not get passed, for that, we have to pay attention to the "teachings of the Teacher" and do our "homework" without looking or caring for what others do or not do. I apologize if I have upset or disturbed you in any way. Good luck bro.

Bro paapiman, as per your question above, and in the context given by you in your post of 23rd March 2021 : Raag= Love with Partiality, I would say it means, one being proud of one´s limited view of love as whole, whether conscioussly or unconscioussly. It could well be also an expression of subtle ego. As I usually say, if ever one wants to know how much right or wrong one can be, the only valid source of true wisdom to discern correctly, is to check what with Gurbani oneself. Not to see what others say or do and copy them, because not all are at the same spiritual heights, but yes, Gurbani is the same changeless Truth for all, because the authors of/in Gurbani are perfect by themselves.

Well, the only explanation for me according to the definition beside the word "Raag" above, I think, it means not to limit our love to a certain number of things, such as relations, properties, wealth and so on, but to let it flow in a wider range, or call it universal, covering all of His creation, for in all does He reside. Our limited extension of love, makes us bound by "moh", which in the end is also a reason for our sufferings. Does not the Bani say: Kis naal keejay dostee sabh jag chalan haar. Our attachment (love with limitations)with the temporary and perishable, keeps us prisoners in the mayavee creation. But that same love, if directed to the One eternal and changeless Truth Waheguru, will unfold His same virtues in us, such as grace, mercy towards all without any reservations or distinctions, and will be the cause to be receptive to His kirpa, and thus be drawn to His Lotus feet for once and ever.

Brother I do not want to dissapoint you, but we have to understand that spirituality has to be done within the mind, if only we want to go beyond the spheres of matter and mind. The purpose of real bhakti as suggested by Guru Jee, is to loose oneself into it, for if any counting is done with the body/mind, means that we are much with the body, and the body or mind is a barrier in our spiritual path within, which can only be overcomed by submitting oneself completely in the jaap of His Naam. Then too, when He has given us so much without any limits... we make big countings and tell Him, here you have this much from me.... Let us ask ourselves, could this be correct? Can ever a child repày anyhow his father´s/mother´s selfless love for him even before being born? Does ever a parent want his childs earnings? Nope, they do not even look at that. For what they only want is, that their child hugs them closely and tightly . This much is what they want. Now, if the child shows them a petty handful of cents/pennies from a distance, and says here are these for you and goes away, in which way has that child make his parents happy or make them feel being loved? For that is what we do with our huge countings, we are just waiting to finish the countings and get up as soon as possible and go away. So sad, so pitiful. If our countings were the real bhakti, we would surely have derived some"rus" from it, and not wanting to get up, for when we merge into His sacred Name, we taste that Amrit which wants to make us keep on going with that devotion, and not wanting to get up. That is a sign of our devotion being accepted at His darbar, and in return by His grace we taste that Amrit within us. It is not the time, the quantity what He wants from us, it is the quality of our prem, of our pyaar, what He looks/expects from us. You know what, when we merge into His jaap, it is like going towards Him and hugging Him, for only then, I, me, mine, do not exist, only He and our jeev atma exist, without any distances or barrirers. This is the "prem" He expects from us, and this is the quality of prem which Gurbani refers as "Jin prem kiyo, tinhee Prabh paayo". In this type of prem, the lover ceases to exist, and only the Beloved(Waheguru) exists. In true love, only the beloved exists, for in that type or quality of love, we get merged into it, and directly reach the Beloved´s heart.

Just amazing. Just WAHEGURU.

SSA Parunoid Jee, Following are the answers to your questions as per my view in the same order of them: 1) Each Saint, Gurmukh, Guru Sahiban, act as per the hukum of Waheguru, we are nobody to question them if only we believe and trust in them. 2) It is just a matter of undrstanding and interpreting those words, some take it literally, some base their belief on the general teachings, revelations, pointers, throughout the Bani. After all, each and everyone acts according to their budhi and past karam. 3) Mardana was muslim outwardLy, but within Him was the Jot of Akal Purukh also, and it was this Jot which Satguru Sachay Patshah saw fit to apoint Him as His sucessor. 4) Because, the muslims to which 10th Patsahee mentions, are ordinary ignorants, spiritually blind, who only want to suck others blood with their hatred and wickedness, so just to keep us alert and remain aware. 5) He was a sadhu in the sense that He was the embodiment of sadhkee at its full, which means simplicity, humility, love, mercy and truthfullness, the foremost virtues of a true sadhu, but the fact is He lived a householder´s life. 6) Brother, it is not that important if Guru Sahiban, lives like a King or a Sadhu, for that also as said earlier, it is all by His Hukum which they follow it implicitly. Why should that bother us? Do we not anyhow usually call them Sachay Patshah? Let us not get confused by their outer aspect or appearance, for their true essence is that they are the Supreme Being, Supreme Truth, Waheguru Akal Purukh. Look at their teachings, that is most important which try to remove the heavy chains of agyanta, of moorakhta that we proudly carry upon ourselves as jewels and ornaments, by attaching ourselves only to the Lotus Feet of the Lord, by meditating upon Him through His Saacha Nao. * Lastly, if you want to be a better sikh, than follow Guru Jee alone, do not look here and there what others say or do, because that is their limitation. Each one will tell you what to do as per their level of spiritual maturity, awareness or purity, but on the other side, if you follow Guru Jee, than that is the absolute Truth , a perfect flawless wisdom. Remember, when you shall leave this world, Guru Jee the teacher, will be standing to check you, and He will see what you have written on you exam papers. Whether you wrote down what you saw and heard others doing howsoever intelectual they seemed to be, or whether you wrote down the lessons taught by Him. If we write what He has taught us through Gurbani, then He will for sure pass us in the examination called life, otherwise we will remain as failures, and maybe thrown out of the class or school .... for only god knows, when again shall we get admission in that school (human life). What a pity, having Guru Jee with us, we shamelessy do not pay attention to their teachings, but rather to the distorted and imperfect understanting of others. A monitor in class( howsoever suppossed advanced student) can never ever take the palce of a Teacher. So study the lessons and do the homework taught by the Teacher only, for it is this practice as per Gurbani, which will take us across. MAT KOEE BHARAM BHOOLAY SANSAAR BIN SATGUR KOEE NA UTRAAS PAAR.

From the ten fighting forms in Shastar Vidiya, at Number 6, we have Hanuman Yudhan, this combat form takes its inspiration from the famed deity Hanuman (half monkey, half man), the greatest disciple of Lord Rama, the avatar of Vishnu. Prime targets include the lower body, legs and groin. Use of grappling and counter levers, it not only negates the power of opponents, but directs their energy against them. In application, it advances upon the opponent, slipping past oncoming attacks, and targets the groin region. Sophisticated structure-breaks take place, finally resulting in the opponent being taken to the ground and trampled underfoot.

Excellent thread. Thanks. I would just like to add that all Gurbani is about the praises, about the apaar wadeeayee of Waheguru's real form of Nam. Now about the question of this thread of if Gurbani or Nam? It is like as Gurbani is preparing food, and Nam is to eat The Food. What would happen if we just prepare food but do not eat it? We would die of hunger. Which means, we would have lost this priceless human form to reunite our souls with Him, thus stay strongly as prisoners in the wheel of 84. So Nam is our origin, Nam is our goal, Gurbani is the inspiration or to say like to ignite the true awareness of Nam in us, in order to submit ourselves to His will and by His grace merge in Him. Anyhow Gurbani is very clear when it says: EKO NAM HUKAM HAE NANAK SATGUR DHEEA BUJHAAE JEEO. Guru Sahiban is saying: O Nanak, the Satguru has made me understand, that there is one "hukum" for all, and that is Nam (for the purpose of reuniting our souls with Him).

Samarbir Jee, to understand in the right perspective the question you are asking in this thread, I believe let us see what else is said in the following 2 verses to the one you have presented above, though since the start to the end, the whole bani should be read and understood, for it contains countless pearls, diamonds and rubies of highest spiritual value.. Here it goes: ਕਹਾ ਭਯੋ ਜੋ ਦੋਊ ਲੋਚਨ ਮੂੰਦ ਕੈ ਬੈਠਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਬਕ ਧਿਆਨ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥ kahaa bhayo jo dhouoo lochan moo(n)dh kai baiTh rahio bak dhiaan lagaio || Of what use it is if one sits and meditates like a crane with his eyes closed. ਨ੍ਹਾਤ ਫਿਰਿਓ ਲੀਏ ਸਾਤ ਸਮੁਦ੍ਰਨਿ ਲੋਕ ਗਯੋ ਪਰਲੋਕ ਗਵਾਇਓ ॥ nhaat firio le'ee saat samudhran lok gayo paralok gavaio || If he takes bath at holy places upto the seventh sea, he loses this world and also the next world. ਬਾਸ ਕੀਓ ਬਿਖਿਆਨ ਸੋਂ ਬੈਠ ਕੈ ਐਸੇ ਹੀ ਐਸੇ ਸੁ ਬੈਸ ਬਿਤਾਇਓ ॥ baas keeo bikhiaan so(n) baiTh kai aaise hee aaise su bais bitaio || He spends his life in such performing evil actions and wastes his life in such pursuits. * In these verses above, Guru Jee is telling us, that when one sits as a crane , pretending to be absorbed in deep meditation (without actually trying to be absorbed in His Name), is like wanting to cheat and impress others, this is useless and being fake. Or someone takes baths at so called holy places, that also is useless, because the water is "jarr" = insentient element; which can at most wash the physical dirt, but not the dirty subtle mind, and this is the reason why that person as seen in the words of Guru Jee, shamelessly continues doing evil deeds. Guru Jee also informs/warns us against other practices which people proudly do which in the end are futile, for maybe in the eyes of the world this holds some sort of importance, but, in reality takes us not even an inch towrds Him. ਕਾਹੂ ਲੈ ਪਾਹਨ ਪੂਜ ਧਰਯੋ ਸਿਰ ਕਾਹੂ ਲੈ ਲਿੰਗੁ ਗਰੇ ਲਟਕਾਇਓ ॥ kaahoo lai paahan pooj dharayo sir kaahoo lai li(n)g gare laTakaio || Someone worshipped stone and placed it on his head. Someone hung the phallus (lingam) from his neck. ਕਾਹੂ ਲਖਿਓ ਹਰਿ ਅਵਾਚੀ ਦਿਸਾ ਮਹਿ ਕਾਹੂ ਪਛਾਹ ਕੋ ਸੀਸੁ ਨਿਵਾਇਓ ॥ kaahoo lakhio har avaachee dhisaa meh kaahoo pachhaeh ko sees nivaio || Someone visualized God in the South and someone bowed his head towards the West. ਕੋਊ ਬੁਤਾਨ ਕੋ ਪੂਜਤ ਹੈ ਪਸੁ ਕੋਊ ਮ੍ਰਿਤਾਨ ਕੋ ਪੂਜਨ ਧਾਇਓ ॥ kouoo butaan ko poojat hai pas kouoo mritaan ko poojan dhaio || Some fool worships the idols and someone goes to worship the dead. ਕੂਰ ਕ੍ਰਿਆ ਉਰਝਿਓ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਜਗ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਕੋ ਭੇਦੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਓ ॥੧੦॥੩੦॥ koor kriaa urajhio sabh hee jag sree bhagavaan ko bhedh na paio ||10||30|| The whole world is entangled in false rituals and has not known the secret of Lord-God 10.30. Moreover Guru Jee goes a step further, and tells us something about those avatars, deites, incarnatiions, gods, godesses to which many take them as equal to the ultimate reality /Truth of Satnam, but which is far from reality cause they too can not escape the noose of death. Death does not only exist at our physiacl level, but also at those subtle realms below Sach Khand, where countless souls in different bodies, and the rulers of those khands, brahmands, realms, rule, such as the well known trinty of Brahma, Vishnu ( and consecuently his avatars on earth plane) and Shiva. ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਮਹੇਸਰ ਬਿਸਨ ਸਚੀਪਤਿ ਅੰਤ ਫਸੇ ਜਮ ਫਾਸ ਪਰੈਂਗੇ ॥ braham mahesar bisan sacheepat a(n)t fase jam faas parai(n)ge || Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Consort of Sachi (Indra) would ultimately fall in the noose of death. ਏਕ ਸਿਵ ਭਏ ਏਕ ਗਏ ਏਕ ਫੇਰ ਭਏ ਰਾਮਚੰਦ੍ਰ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨ ਕੇ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਭੀ ਅਨੇਕ ਹੈਂ ॥ ek siv bhe ek ge ek fer bhe raamacha(n)dhr kirasan ke avataar bhee anek hai(n) || There was one Shiva, who passed away and another one came into being there are many incarnations of Ramchandra and Krishna. ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਅਰੁ ਬਿਸਨ ਕੇਤੇ ਬੇਦ ਔ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਕੇਤੇ ਸਿੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਿ ਸਮੂਹਨ ਕੈ ਹੁਇ ਹੁਇ ਬਿਤਏ ਹੈਂ ॥ brahamaa ar bisan kete bedh aau puraan kete si(n)mirat samoohan kai hui hui bite hai(n) || There are many Brahmas and Vishnus, there are many Vedas and Puranas, there have been the authors of all the Smritis, who created their works and passed away. ਕਿਤੇ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨ ਸੇ ਕੀਟ ਕੋਟੈ ਉਪਾਏ ॥ kite kirasan se keeT koTai upaae || He (the Lord) hath Created millions of Krishnas like worms. ਉਸਾਰੇ ਗੜ੍ਹੇ ਫੇਰ ਮੇਟੇ ਬਨਾਏ ॥ ausaare gaRhe fer meTe banaae || He (the Lord)Created them, annihilated them, again destroyed them, still again Created them. Finally He reveals us, the only way to wash our sins/countless karmas and merge in Him forever: ਫੋਕਟੋ ਸਰਬ ਧਰਮਾ ਬਿਹੀਨ ॥੨੦॥੧੪੦॥ fokaTo sarab dharamaa biheen ||20||140|| All the religious rituals are useless! 20. 140 ਬਿਨੁ ਏਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਇਕ ਚਿੱਤ ਲੀਨ ॥ bin ek naam ik chi't leen || Without the single-minded absorption in he Lord’s Name ! Now going back. to the question of the OP, of if we are not engaged in His name, that is useless ...... I would say, doing His simran, is the only thing what we can do to be receptive to His barpoor grace, daya meher, in order to move forward towards Him. We have been born countless times, we have huge amount of dirt on our heads, so it is normal that our mind wanders and does all sort of tricks to block us in trying to go back to Him. But we too, we are no less, we are sikhs of Guru Jee, so we should also follow His orders diligently and make the mind eat the antidote of His Name(Simran), in order to defeat that naughty wicked mind. We are all sick, unless we take the medicine of His Name, how can we ever get well? Waht sense does it make saying that, unless I get well, I will not take the medicine? Would that not be foolish? So, how can we say, if we see nothing within or our mind is not with us in Simran, it is useless to do it. You see, we are mixing 2 things. One, when someone is trying to behave as religious by showing us that they are in meditation, that is false and cheating. But, what cheating can it be called, or useless practice, if we are trying sincerely to fight with the mind by trying to give it the medicine of His Name? We have been wandering since countless births, so how can we ever control the mind in some days, months or even a life span of time? Our duty is to be truthful to Guru Jee, by faithfully carrying the devotion desribed by Him to be done, then He the Almighty and mercifull Lord, will definetely pull us out with His strong arms. Our duty is only to please Him and extend out our arms, so that He may pull us out. Only that much is in our hands. For if it was not for His mercy to forgive our sins, then even countless lives doing 24/7/365 any devotion from our side, would simply not be enough to wash all the load of sins, which we have been collecting since we stepped in the mayavee creation and left our home in Sach Khand. The Bani clearly says: Baha pakar kar Guru kadeeya. The Guru pulled me out by holding my arm.