Guru Nanak The Unseen

Happy Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab

Gurfateh! This is Harijot Singh from SikhNet. You may not know me,  but I  have been serving as the SikhNet Daily News editor this past year, and before that I served as the kids audio stories producer. I've been thinking about what the Guru's presence actually means. 

When I read or hear stories of Guru Nanak I am sometimes struck not by the Guru’s words of wisdom but how people reacted to these words. If I gave a greeting to someone, he/she would probably pay the respect back and carry on as normal. When we read or hear stories of Guru Nanak, no matter how brief the interaction he might have with someone, even a simple salutation could change the person's life.

One story goes that a cannibal named Kauda had captured Guru Nanak’s beloved companion Mardana. Mardana was being boiled alive in a large pot of water before being eaten! At the opportune moment Guru ji entered. It is said the presence of Guru Nanak was such that not only was Kauda overwhelmed, the hot water around Mardana immediately cooled and the fire went out. Guru ji uttered the words “Sat Kartar” and the Cannibal fell to his knees. Kauda cried and begged for forgiveness and Guru ji instructed him to live a life of righteousness.

As you can see above, the story can be told in just a few sentences. It’s so short, and yet the transformation of Kauda is so tremendous. There are many stories that show the incredible power of Guru Nanak’s words. My mind begs to understand how such an extraordinary thing can be!

How did he drastically reform someone with two short words? How could his saying seemingly simple things have had such huge impact? Put another way, it was more than just the words themselves, it was the force behind his words. Otherwise parrots would be masters of us all. Just like an iceberg, what is unseen is much greater than what is visible. Did the cannibal see himself through the Guru’s eyes? Did he gain some new clarity about the heaviness of his past actions? Did he feel naked and powerless while in the presence of a master? Did he feel an endless stream of love coming from the being known as Nanak? Did he feel that even while the Guru could see his dark side, the Guru could also see his true light? Did he for the first time in his life meet someone who knew the good in him? What internal process could the cannibal have gone through that was so moving?

There could have been an entire unspoken conversation between Guru Nanak and the cannibal. Maybe more than just a conversation. More like a flood of a lifetime’s worth of wisdom, light and love. A moment of bliss seems to last forever, while years of small thinking are forgotten instantly. Like a dream, this moment of silent conversation cannot be expressed with words and yet it could surely fill volumes.  

People go through many transformations in life. Often times it takes years of dedicated work to undergo a transformation that still doesn't compare to that of the cannibal. One is baffled at how much transformation this one person went through in that one moment. I believe that most of Sikh history will never be known because most of Sikh history cannot be described in words just as most of the iceberg cannot be seen. Most of the Guru’s message happened in the silence between words, in the pauses which were filled with such a powerful vibration. The atmosphere and presence the Guru created was surely like being in a different world. At such a moment, the look from the Guru’s eyes into your soul is the most powerful message of all. The most important and powerful parts of Sikh history took place in silence. They took place within the souls, hearts and minds of those whose lives were transformed by the Guru.

On this beautiful Gurpurb, let us experience that silence. Let us take Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s command “Suniai” to heart. Let us listen deeply to what is behind our own words. Let us really pay attention and listen deeply to the words, and what is lies behind the words of others. Let us listen to the many voices of nature and let us be blessed to listen most of all to our own inner self. Let us go to that place where we don’t normally go... deep within. Let us be absorbed in the immeasurable power of silence. For this is where we might have a much more profound perception of what we experience and know. Here we may be blessed to see something deeper. Here we may be blessed to hear something more subtle. Here we just might meet our Guru face to face... where he lives... within our own heart.

Wahiguru ji ka Khalsa
Wahiguru ji ki Fateh