I saw a young boy of about 8 to 9 years old sporting a T-Shirt with a slogan "Proud to be Sikh" on it. I congratulated him that he was proud to be a Sikh. Then, I asked him what aspect of being Sikh made him proud of it? His reply was typical; "I don't know" and my Mom bought this shirt for me as a souvenir from India. Well; I said OK. Good for you. But I kept pondering over the issue; and it made me write this piece to discuss it with our younger generation. So, we will keep it brief and simple.
1. I am proud to be a Sikh because my Gurus have blessed me with a unique book of scripture called Guru Granth Sahib, which is not just a book but a living Guru. It is unique because it not only contains sayings of my Gurus but also other saints; and it has been compiled and finalized by Guru Ji. These are no scripture of any other major world religions, where the prophets of that religion have authored or compiled their own scripture. In most cases these have been compiled by others and there is significant time gap between the utterances and the compilation. The uniqueness of Guru Granth Sahib is that the entire scripture is in poetry form, and it has the set musical scale in which it is sung, and it is has a complete philosophy in it.
2. Now, the question arises what it is in this Guru Granth Sahib for me? Guru Ji has answered that question by saying that; "Nanak ke ghar kewal Naam" meaning that in the house of Nanak there is only Naam. So, this scripture tells us what Naam is, its significance and its need in life, praises of Naam, how to obtain Naam, and also fate of a life without Naam. Naam has been defined by Guru Ji as the energy or life force that is responsible for all the creation i.e. Sun, Moon, stars, galaxies, planets and entire creation and life on the planets. In other words Naam can be translated into English as Aliveness. Sometimes Guru Ji uses the word Green to describe it. Green signifies aliveness as we see it in the plants and not the color green.
3. So, if we have to sum up Guru Ji's message in one line, we can say that Guru Ji is steeped in Naam and Guru Ji also wants us to get steeped in Naam as well. In order to inspire us, provide guidance and direction, Guru Ji has provided us with a legacy in form of the living Guru, Guru Granth Sahib.
4. The Naam is basically perfect and all-pervading. Although, I may not aware of Naam, but still I already in it, and it is all around me as well. Guru Ji has used the simile of a fish to describe it. Because fish is in water and inside the fish there is water too and it life of fish. Everything that we can or cannot see that exists is made of Naam. Guru Ji is telling that our purpose of life is to completely merge in Naam.
5. Guru Ji has provided us with Sewa (service) and Simran (meditation) as two wheels of the vehicle to take us to that destination. The Guru provides us with the road map, directions and mentorship to tread on this path. Treading on this will result in our inner growth, which is not normally available in the academic field. There we can become an expert of a particular field, and with that expertise command premier positions, power & authority, enviable financial compensation. But that will not result in inner growth, nor will it be taking us closer to Naam.
Let us stop at five as that is adequate for us to remember. In addition the number five is significant number. How? Because we have five Kakkars, five banies for daily recital, five beloved ones of the Guru Gobind Singh Sahib. Also initiation into Guru's path is initiated by five.
So, if we want to be proud of being Sikh, feel passionate about it, let us strive to work on the understanding of Naam. As we understand what Guru Ji is trying to give us, there will be a paradigm shift in our lives and with that understanding we will be creating a new state of mind. Guru Ji has coined a special word "Sahej" to describe that state of mind.
If we can understand this message and incorporate it in our own lives, then it will make our life beautiful in this world and the world beyond. This is our Guru Ji's guarantee for us. In addition it will become inspirational even for others. If we open the pages of Sikh History books we can see what Guru Jis have done it in their lifetimes, and many Sikhs have done during the Guru period and even afterwards. The journey on this path will only really make us proud to be Sikh. That pride will not just be on a T-shirt anymore, but it will be inside, in the heart of the wearer. Unlike a T-shirt that Naam will never fade or wear away with age, but will grow stronger and deeper with age. To better understand we can relate it like this; if we want to build muscles we have to exercise, and to sharpen brain we do brain exercises, this Naam is exercise for inner development.
Bhupinder Singh (Houston)
15022 Berkshire Green Drive, Houston, TX 77083
e-mail:[email protected]
