Does the word Sarbat Ka Bhala exclude our enemies?

[Harjinder]

2. In Rehras-Chaupai, it said,”(God), protect me by your hand and destroy all my

enemies.” In Ardas, we pray for the welfare of whole humanity, “Sarbat Ka Bhala”. Does the word Sarbat exclude our enemies?

We mistakenly assume our enemies to be human beings. In spiritual life our enemies are

those who mislead us from the path of truth and put us in trouble. The major ones among them

are lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego. They are called “diseases” or “devils” which “kill”

our soul. They attack our mind and fill it with vices destroying its virtues.

i) What hope could be there for a person suffering from Five ‘incurcable’ Diseases. (Page 486 Guru Granth Sahib)

ii) The poor fellow is possessed by the Five Devils. My Savior, God, please save me from them. (Page 205 Guru Granth Sahib)

iii) With the blessings of the Guru, I overpowered the strong Five Youths (devils). (Page 74 Guru Granth Sahib)

Out of these ‘enemies’, ego is the strongest one of all. However, there is a method to

control it. If blessed by the Lord, the person meditates of His virtues and destroys his ego. This is

mentioned in the Gurbani .(Page 466 Guru Granth Sahib)

Gurbani teaches us to give up all Five and follow the path of Gurmat; obey the Will of the Lord

rather than obeying these evil thoughts. (Page 9 Guru Granth Sahib)

May also be mentioned that the above hymn, in the beginning of the Rehras, refers to

spiritual life and not to physical life. It means “I can live only if I remember God’s Name. I die if I

forget His Name.” This life of death of a person is not related to the body; it refers to the soul. It

tells that the soul is ‘dead’ if one does not love God.

We conclude that the Sikhs wish well for all humanity; they have no enemies. Evil

thoughts or vices are to be avoided by a Sikh. In physical terms, the Sikh philosophy says that if

any violence is committed against an innocent person, he has a right to take up arms, to defend

himself and the virtues he practices. While doing so he does not nurse any enmity against any

individual, but he is protecting himself against that wrong thought which led the person to commit

the violence. :arrow: