When my mind and body are lost somewhere and not in the position to handle things, I have a companion who is always there whenever I am in need. It is like air for me that I need to breathe, blood in me which my heart pumps to give me life every second.
Many times, I feel that things have gone so wrong that depression can make its way into my life. The tensions rise so much that I start feeling lost and I withdraw from my near and dear ones. Then, a wave of my companion strikes me and makes me feel that nothing bad can happen because I have the companion that can make the dead come alive. You want to know about my companion?
My Companion is “24 cantos” and is known as the “Consoler of the mind.” It is called Sukhmani Sahib.
This Bani of Guru Arjan Dev Ji has been my healer, my friend, and my companion. It is considered by many as a prayer but believe me when I say I consider it my lifeline. I can even call it my love, the love that never leaves me and is with me everywhere. Sukhmani Sahib is so much mine that I can share my wrongdoings with HIM in my dreams and feel that my hand has been held by HIM. I feel I can meet this companion of mine anytime, not only in the morning. Whenever I go through the stanzas, I feel it very close to me, as close as the breath I inhale and exhale and the beats my heart pumps. Sometimes I forget where I am, and I start singing Sukhmani loudly.
In my childhood, I always wanted to read Sukhmani Sahib but never had my dream fulfilled. Then when I moved from Kashmir to Jammu, I never stopped reading my Bani due to study pressure or college assignments. Yes, sometimes I was not able to read, but in my mind, I always tried to connect to HIM and even now this happens. I am currently working as a Technology Lead in Infosys and my companion is always right here with me.
How I met my Companion
Once I was feeling very low and nothing was going good in my life. Personal as well as corporate life was not as per me and making me depressed. Every day was like a struggle for me and then one friend of mine told me to read Sukhmani Sahib daily for some time.
I started let’s see what happens, believe me first two to three days were hard as I had to sit for almost 2 hours regularly. But within a week it became routine and I starting reciting Sukhmani Sahib daily. I was feeling, I am loving it and I never felt anything hard. It was only calmness and peace that I felt after that. Believe me It boosted my confidence with high spirit. I did the Sukhmani Sahib path for two months regular and then there were some breaks as I had to move to another house and all that. But still I tried hard to meet my companion daily and we meet each other many times in a week.
I have currently published a Short story cum poetry book (Walking with my Soul), which is available online.
Due to a busy schedule, I was not able to recite my lifeline, Sukhmani Sahib, for some days but then again I found some time to meet my Companion. I use Sundays and sometimes weekdays as well, but Sukhmani Sahib never left me alone. I have penned down the deeper story about my companion in my book because in all circumstances, Sukhmani Sahib is there for me, there with me.
Some lines about my Companion
Life starts in the womb and ends after a lifetime in the outer world. There is someone, someone we can’t see, the one who as a companion is always with us.
No matter what I do, no matter where I am,
No matter what I think, no matter what I plan.
It does not matter where and when
God is always there, now and then.
Nothing is hidden from Him, He knows me well.
My life is a mystery living under His spell.
He knew my good, my bad and worst.
yet He is with me everywhere, I trust
By HIS grace only, I am writing a new book. It is nonfiction, based on a true story that makes me feel that I have done something good. I want something which many have forgotten, to be alive again. It will be some work to get published, but as Guruji’s Sikh it is my duty. I don’t want to disclose what it’s about here, but I’m sure, with Sukhmani Sahib’s grace, I will not publish anything that can hurt anyone but will rather make the reader feel alive and connected to Waheguru.
In my imagination, my Companion is always sitting with me, standing with me, looking at me and showing me the right direction. If HE is with me, I can never ever fail.
