545. The Man in Blue - If you want to play the game of love

jau qau pRym Kylx kw cwau ]
jo tho praem khaelan kaa chaao ||
isru Dir qlI glI myrI Awau ]
sir dhhar thalee galee maeree aao ||
iequ mwrig pYru DrIjY ]
eith maarag pair dhhareejai ||
isru dIjY kwix n kIjY ]20]
sir dheejai kaan n keejai ||20||

If you want to play the game of love
then step onto My Path with your head on the palm of your hand.
When you place your feet on this Path,
give Me your head, and do not listen to what others say ||20||
Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib page 1412

I am not a great kathakar, I like it much better when what I say is part of a dialogue and when I am not obliged to make a long speech. But listening again to the katha that I did for Sangat TV, starting with the above slok, I feel that I did a reasonable job on that occasion.

The slok is well known, and is often compared with Guru Gobind Singh's question on Vaisakhi 1699: Who wants to give their head? The circumstances were different, but the meaning of giving your head or carrying your head on the palm of your hand is the same. It means total dedication, total commitment to God.

The meaning of 'game of love' should also be clear to those who are familiar with the Guru Granth Sahib. It is about the love that God pours out over us, without limit, without condition, and the unconditional love that we should try to develop for God. We are all brides of God, God is our groom.

The strength that you can see in real Gursikhs comes from that mutual love. Of course the Sikh warrior-saints of the past trained their bodies and worked on their skills with various weapons. But without the love for God and without experiencing God's love, they would just have been warriors, not Saint-Warriors.

The game of love is played when you always keep God in mind, whatever you do, when you make an honest living and when you share money, goods or time with others.

The game of love is played by those who are in control of their lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride and instead are full of Truth, Contentment, Humility, Love and Compassion.

We should realise that the five 'thieves' which take away our peace of mind are based on natural inclinations. Sexual desire is part of our nature and can be a force for the good within a loving relationship, but we should not be ruled by it.

We should feel anger when we see injustice, and use that anger as a motivator for positive action. Greed is there where the natural desire to have our basic needs fulfilled changes in lust for more, more and more again. We should not be attached to our cars, our families or to branded clothes that are unnecessary expensive. It is good to feel satisfied with a job well done, as long as we realise that our talents are gifts from God. Where ego is, God is not!

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Related Article:

Sikhism in Farsi & Pastho with Daya Singh

برنامه مهمان يار با ديا سنګه انجان

Mujeeb Arez, a presenter of Afghanistan’s Tolo TV visits Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Karte Parwan, Kabul where he interviews Daya Singh, a Pashto Poet. In this episode of Mehman-E-Yaar, Daya Singh talks about the history of Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan well as their current situation in the war torn country. Watch this very interesting and informative programme in Pashto, Farsi & Urdu/ Hindi with English subtitles. مهمان یار پربیننده ترین برنامه گفتگوی صمیمانه است. میزبان این برنامه چهره جوان وشاد مجیب عارض است. دراین گفتگوهرآنچه مردم انتظاردارند، مجیب ازمهمانان شبه لبخند میپرسد ومهمانان نیزبا تمامصداقت پاسخ میدهند. دراین برنامه ما با تعداد زیادی ازچهره های مطرح سیاسی، هنری، مقامات دولتی واستعداد های مختلف نیز آشنا می شویم

Published on Jan 4, 2014 A very interesting & informative chat between Mujeeb Arez & Daya Singh about Sikhism in Afghanistan. In Pashto, Dari & Hindi with English subtitles Facebook Link

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