Today we are going to talk about something very important: The world burning and how to cool it.
This story starts over 500 years ago. A great soul was in total bliss sitting in the very home of God. But there was something wrong… you see, that soul, who we’ll call ‘The Great Master’, looked towards earth and saw that the souls were not happy,
“Love has left the world, there is just hatred. People are no longer devoted to God and don’t have spiritual guidance. These souls are... suffering…”
It’s true, on earth the powerful rulers were cruel to everyone, they were obsessed with getting more stuff for themselves. Men abused women. Everyone ignored the poor who were sad and confused. People talked about God… without feeling love. But the great master DID feel love… and so much compassion,
“Why should I care about my own bliss. It’s better to give bliss to others who are in pain. Why not go to earth and help them in person...”
What does this have to do with the world burning? Well, you see when a soul is satisfied, and at peace, it is cool and clear. When it is full of karma, and unsatisfied, it is irritated and hot. So many souls... were not at peace. It was as if the world, all the people, were inside an invisible fire.
How to put out that fire and cool our souls? The great master answered that question during a… conversation with God!
God, the Supreme One, asked, “I know the prayer in your heart, you want to help them… Tell me, what do you see on earth?” The Great Master humbly replied “I see that people are lost in lies, full of ego and selfishness, they burn in endless desire. Then, when the leave, and go to the spiritual world, they realize they haven’t used their lifetime well. Because they haven’t done good actions they come back here empty-handed. Then they have to be born and die again and again.”
The Supreme One asked, “How will you help them?”“My prayer is to guide them to truth. To encourage them to chant Your Name so they can use the time in their lives well. To inspire them to do good actions so they will not come back empty-handed.. Everything is from Your blessing Lord!!!”
We do need to learn to do good actions and chant God’s Name so our souls can be at peace.
God was pleased with the prayers of the master soul, “I am the Great Supreme One, You are the Great Guru. You are completely full of My Love. You will be known as ‘Nanak’. Go now. I command you to be born on earth and bless the people.” The Great soul bowed in humility, “I bow to You. I bow to You again and again, forever...”
Then Guru Nanak started moving from God’s home. The gods and goddesses were shouting calls of victory, angels carried the great Guru on a throne of flowers, the saints and sages, in a huge parade, followed until they all reached earth. Then Guru Nanak was born. His mother’s name was Mata Tripta, his father was Mehta Kalu, and he had an older sister named Nanki. When he was born the room was filled with a great light from all of the heavenly beings who were there.
As a child he was mostly interested in meditating on God’s Name and he always had more wisdom than the adults. Later he got married and had two children. Eventually, he started a grand journey, he walked, on foot, all over the world to meet people. He did this for 30 years and he helped countless souls. Then Guru Nanak became all of the 10 Gurus and he created the Khalsa. And he is not finished yet. Guru Nanak is just getting started with his revolution. And you can be part of it!
One day the corrupt will no longer have all the power and the Khalsa of the Guru will be kings in this world for 5,000 years.
How did Guru Nanak help people's souls? In so many ways! Do you remember the SikhNet story, the one with the cannibal? Guru Nanak taught him to have a clean heart, and instead of eating people to be kind and feed others. There's another story where Guru Nanak taught the queen of black magic to help others instead of manipulating them. And remember when Guru Nanak squeezed out blood from the bread of a cruel man and milk from the bread of a kind man? He humbled the arrogant pundit who flew on a carpet. He taught us how karma works in our lifetimes with story ‘Gold and the injured foot’. He showed everyone how silly it is to do rituals you don’t understand when he bathed with the Brahmans. He crossed an ocean to meet a friend who prayed to be with him in the story of ‘Dancing Girls of Ceylon’.
Guru Nanak loves you very much. Remember how we go with Guru Nanak? That's right, chant God's Name and do good actions. Now let me explain a little more how we can do that. Do you know one of the best ways to chant God’s name? Waking up before the sun and singing is one of the best ways to connect with God. And do you know what else?
Jap Ji!
Every day we can read the poetry of Guru Nanak, and the other Gurus, and firstly do Jap Ji. And any time during the day we can repeat Mool Mantra. Do it with your heart and Guru Nanak will be with you.
Now let’s talk about doing good actions. Try to think of good actions you can take. Like Sharing what we have, not being selfish. Feed people who are hungry. If someone is feeling bad, help them to feel better. Guru Nanak loves when we help people. So go and help everyone, especially the poor.
But there is someone else very important we haven’t mentioned.
Mother earth.
We all live on this planet and if the environment suffers we all suffer. So helping the earth is doing good actions for everyone, even for people who haven’t been born yet.
The planet is getting hotter and there will be many huge consequences because of it. Now remember we are talking about you doing good actions that will stay with your soul after your life. One of the best actions you can take is…. to plant trees. So plant gardens and fruit trees for food. A tree will give us oxygen and a lot of trees together can even make the area more cool.
Chant God’s Name and keep planting that way you can cool your soul and cool the planet! If you plant lots and lots of trees, a forest, they can even attract clouds to bring rain! This would help mother earth so much. Plant trees your whole life! Plant a jungle! Make a Guru Nanak forest!
It does sometimes feel like there are a lot of teachings we have to follow: chant God's Name, help people, cool the planet, cool our souls. If it ever feels like too much or you are confused just know that it's all very simple:
Follow your heart and you will know what to do. Always remember to chant God’s Name and do good deeds. And if you ever have a question Guru Nanak will be there to help you. He is your best friend. If you ever feel lost or confused, just ask the Guru. Let’s do it right now.
Close your eyes…. Take a breath…. And say, “Guru Nanak, I am your child. I am confused, Guru ji please guide me.”
Guru Nanak will absolutely guide you. He loves you and will always be there for you.