Taste of Besakhi Amrit

By Harsimirit Kaur Khalsa

Gurbani Parchar Mission of USA

510-432-5827

Koty Kry quDu afip Aupfey .. (mfJ, mhlf ó ññù Maaj M: 3 Ang 119)

"You Yourself created the counterfeit and the genuine."

We think we understand everything that we sense. What is true and what is false? All operations in the universe are governed by God’s hukam, the natural laws of the universe. The true perspective of the universe is only seen in God’s eyes. Our perspective is the counterfeit, because of our limitations to sense everything accurately.

quDu afpy prKY lok sbfey ..

"You Yourself appraise all people."

God observes the thoughts and actions of all people. All are created and judged equally, but the thoughts and actions of man determine which way God appraises them. cMigafeIaf buirafeIaf vfcY Drmu hdUir .. krmI afpo afpxI ky nyVY ky dUir .. "Merits and demerits are read out in the presence of Dharma (Righteous Judge). According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away." It is natural laws of reality that affect one’s destiny, which he does to himself. God does not decide our fate. We experience of our own heaven or hell according to our actions and attitudes. Dharma verdict is the factual cause and reaction which all of nature witnesses in our lives.

Kry priK KjfnY pfieih Koty Brim Bulfvixaf ..ö..

"You appraise the true, and place them in Your Treasury; You consign the false to wander in delusion. ||6||"

When man accepts God’s hukam and controls his ego, he automatically acquires membership into God’s treasury. We are all equally blessed with God’s essence. If we reject the Guru Gian Shabad that teaches us how we are blessed in accepting God’s hukam, then we will wander in ignorance, living untruthful, suffering its fate. ikv sicafrf hoeIaY ikv kUVY qutY pfil .. ‘‘So how can one become truthful? And how can the false veil of illusion be torn away?" hukim rjfeI clxf nfnk iliKaf nfil .. ‘‘O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will." God does not have a physical treasury the way we think. All in the universe is a product of His divine will, all the king owns is his treasury. When we realize this, we see how we are His treasury. The kings treasury is safely guarded. Likewise, we need to safely guard ourselves with the understanding of Divine Shabad word of God, so that ignorance and ego do not affect our inner peace.

ikAu kir vyKf ikAu sflfhI ..

"How can I behold You? How can I praise You?"

God is so perfect. We do not understand enough of the reality in which we live to measure the value of God. aMqu n isPqI khix n amqu .. "Endless are His praises, endless are those who speak them." keemit kahe na paya When we try to see God, there is nothing to look at. All is beyond our visual senses. Seeing God means accepting His hukam in the whole universe. Guru Granth Sahib helps us understand hukam, so that we can live truthfully.

gur prsfdI sbid slfhI ..

"By Guru's Grace, I praise You through the Word of the Shabad."

Giani Jagtar Jachak Singh taught me that the meaning of Gur Prasaad is God’s universal, unconditional free Grace, which prophets have taught throughout the centuries. Guru Granth Sahib teaches these truths in simple, contemporary fashion. Gian Shabad is the Guru.

qyry Bfxy ivic aMimRqu vsY qUM BfxY aMimRqu pIafvixaf ..÷..

"In Your Sweet Will, the Amrit is found; by Your Will, You inspire us to drink in this Amrit. ||7||"

All nature is presented to us to assist us to taste the Amrit. The Guru Granth Sahib Gian teaches us how to learn from nature, the created tool to seek God’s hukam, so that we can live truthfully, ego free. The Amrit is the benefit that we experience from God’s hukam, wisdom, and essence.

aMimRq sbdu aMimRq hir bfxI ..

"The Shabad is Amrit; the Lord's Bani is Amrit."

When we absorb the teaching of Guru’s Shabad, we are digesting the lungar of God’s wisdom that all of nature is used to educate us.

siqguir syivaY irdY smfxI ..

"Contemplating on the True Guru, it permeates the heart."

When we live the way we were created to live, and not the way our ignorance ego leads us, then it is because we are thinking about Guru’Ji’s teaching. By bringing only a new ramaala or bowing down to Guru does not prove anything. When we learn and apply Guru Gian in our lives, then are we actually serving Guru.

nfnk aMimRq nfmu sdf suKdfqf pI aMimRqu sB BuK lih jfvixaf ..ø..ñõ..ñö..

"O Nanak, the Ambrosial Naam is forever the Giver of peace; drinking in this Amrit, all hunger is satisfied. ||8||15||16||"

When we continually relish the savor of Guru Gian, in word and deed, then we are benefiting truly from the universe "Amrit." When we drink this Amrit, we need no other source of truth for survival. Since there is only one reality, there is only one source of Amrit – that which Guru Granth Sahib teaches – the universal truths of God’s hukam and grace, which fills hungry soul. This Amrit teaches us that there is no difference between pain and pleasure, birth, age, and death. All is part of God’s hukam. God’s hukam is forever good. Our perspectives of pain and pleasure are because of our ignorance and ego.

In conclusion, the only way we can behold God and praise Him is by His grace. He has shown us through nature, the dimension of reality, which is beyond our limited, perspective that is clouded by ignorance and our 5 vices, greed, ego, attachment, lust, anger. When we learn the teachings of Gurubani, then we begin to understand this. We then will instinctively react by behaving with sewa, which is performing the way we were created, and not acting under control of our 5 vices. This means of truthful living is the way we praise God. God does not need our words or motions to observe this. When we sing kirtan, this is symbolic of our accepting Guru’s teaching, understanding it, and applying it to our lives. We have thus entered Sache Kande and have awakened in this world of illusion. We then can begin to live fruitful lives. qnu mnu QIvY hiraf "My body and mind have blossomed" (Mundaveni M 5 Ung 1429) Now we can function as productive members of society. No matter how wicked a person is, if he learned Guru’s message and continues in his gross sins, then he never fully understood it. ÈuixaY dUK pfp kf nfsu ..ù.. "Listening (to God’s Word), pain and sin are erased." When one has truly listened to Guru’s wisdom, will automatically respond and begin to live truthful, no matter how wicked he may originally have been. Let us all consider the delicacy of Amrit Shabad in our daily menu. We then become saint and soldier. Saint in our life style and soldier in guarding and fighting against our 5 vices. A mere action of shaking Amrit as a ritual alone will not make one an Amritdhari Saint. Once a person has become aware of Guru Ji’s wisdom, then he can sincerely undergoes the write of true Amrit baptism This is only possible by understanding and accepting the message of the Guru’s Gian Amrit Shabad. Saint long before Guru Gobind Singh Ji have savored this Amrit. If they were alive from his time, they probable would also have undergone this Amrit Baptism. But they did not have it offer in their life time. We have it available to us. Unless we understand what God has offered to us, as seen in Gurbani, then no Amrit Baptism ceremony will do any good. It is this reason why there are some very corrupt so called Amritdhari Sikhs who drink, cheat, lie, and are very greedy. They proudly wear their kirpans, long shaven hair and turban, yet they have never fully tasted Guru’s message. Since God loves all wicked and good people equally, we must not be judgemental against sinners. We should hate sin, but love the sinner, since all of us have imperfections. Amrit is vital for both good and wicked people. All need God’s healing and grace. The Moguls were not Guru’s enemies. The ego and ignorance that possessed the wicked Moguls is what our ancestors battled and won. This fateh victory is triumph over our 5 vices that drag us away from truth, causing living like animals. God’s Gurbani of grace is the liberator of oppression. We all must want His Amrit grace, in order to function properly, the way God created us and intended for us how to behave. This is the truth khalsa experience.

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