Raja Jhank or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Loving Reality

Raja Jhank was a beloved Indian ruler back in the days.  One night after a big festival (ie after a LOT of Indian food and barfi) he went to bed; his queen was already snoring and it didn't take him long to doze off.  Only to be woken up by his General banging on the door shouting, "We are under a surprise attack!"  It was a particularly power-thirty King from the neighboring kingdom who had planned the attack, knowing full-well the week-long festival food and booze would have dulled the soldiers.

The Raja fought back hard, but the battle was lost after a few days.  The neighboring King burnt the royal palace to the ground and captured all of the Raja's family and as was his style, slaughtered them right in front of the Raja's eyes; he did not kill the Raja but banished him.

The Raja walked for three days, full of despair and hunger.  Finally he gave in to his hunger and pride and sat down outside a temple along with other beggars.  But to his utter despair, the food finished right before he could be served.

That proved to be too much for the Raja and he just collapsed right there in grief and wept uncontrollably before finally dozing off; only to be woken up by his queen saying, "What's wrong?!  You were crying in your sleep!"

He could not believe his eyes - he was back in his bed!  The queen sleepily said, "It was just a dream" and went back to sleep; but he could not.  A question just kept him awake, "Is this real or was that real?"  Of course, everything here felt real but so did everything in his dream.

The next few days, he could not function - he could not eat or sleep; only the question, "Is this real or was that real?" kept his attention.

Luckily for him (and the story), an enlightened Guru was in town and came to see him and this is the conversation that occurred (I wasn't around then, so it's paraphrased... ok, I was around, but I didn't take notes)

Guru: So Raja, let me ask you a question... does the hunger you experienced in your dream exist right now?

Raja: No, Sir, it does not

Guru: Ahh, so that was not real!  But before you start celebrating, let me ask you another question: when you were in your dream, did your royal palace and family exist?  

Raja: No, Sir, it most definitely did not!  

Guru: Ahhh, so this is not real either!!!  But before you fall into despair again, let me ask you another question... Does the one who experienced the dream still exist?

Raja: Er.. Sir, I guess that would be me - yes, I still exist.

Guru: Ahhh, there is your answer! The perceiver, you, is always real, but the perceived is not!  Indeed this dream of you being a Raja will also one day be over, but you, the experiencer of this dream will continue.

Jap Ji, salok (pavan guroo paanee pitaa)

Once a butterfly disguised himself as a moth to infiltrate a group of moths.  He was trying to boast about his experiences and told the other moths that he once saw a huge flame… they stopped him in mid-story and said, “You are not a moth! You wouldn’t be here to tell about a flame if you were!”

If you desire to play this game of love with me,
then step onto my path with your head in hand.
When you place your feet on this path,
give me your head, and do not pay attention to any other.
----- Guru Nanak,  Shri Guru Granth, 1410

Teacher:  The game of naam is not an easy game - naam and you are mutually exclusive – they cannot co-exist.  So if you want to meditate on naam, you better be prepared to lose you!

Seeker:  Will I cease to exist?
Teacher:  Only you as pure consciousness will remain.

Seeker:  How does that feel like?
Teacher:  Like jumping into a cool clear lake on a hot muggy summer day!

Seeker:  Thank you for sharing your wisdom of Jap Ji with an unworthy seeker like me.
Teacher:  Ha!. As long as I am not absorbed in the formless One all the time, I am an unworthy seeker too!

Saying that the Teacher stepped down to the seeker’s mat and sat opposite him.  “Let’s breathe together,” was all he said.

It was a breathtakingly beautiful morning.  The desert sun had not turned too harsh yet and there was a slight breeze that took the edge off the sunlight that fell on their faces.  There were some birds still chirping. They stared into each other's eyes;  slowly their breathing synchronized.  They both felt the blissful presence of the formless One  - loving them, supporting them and playing with them.

Without any words being said, they started breathing from their hearts – wahe inhaling in, and guru exhaling out.  It was a glorious moment.

wahe guru

wahe guru

wahe guru

wahe guru

wahe guru

Those who have meditated on the Naam, and departed after having worked by the sweat of their brows, O Nanak, their faces are radiant, and many are saved along with them!
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, salok

Jap Ji, 38 (jat paahaaraa Dheeraj suni-aar)

Bhai Lehna was a successful business and spiritual man who worshiped the Goddess Durga.  Each year he would lead a group of worshipers to the Goddess’s temple to pay her homage.

Once before embarking on such a trip, he happened to hear some of Guru Nanak’s Words being recited by one of the Guru’s Sikhs.  An arrow pierced his heart; he felt the Guru’s words talked directly to him.  Since the Guru’s place of residence was in the direction of his trip, he decided to pay the Guru a visit.  Once he reached close to the Guru’s residence, he told his fellow pilgrims that he would go visit the Guru and then catch up with them a day later.

It never happened – since as soon as Bhai Lehna had a look into Guru Nanak’s eyes, he never left the Guru’s side!  Bhai Lehna already had a longing to see the Truth, so as soon as the Guru glanced in his direction, his heart and inner eyes opened to the formless One within him.  Since there was no more searching left, he decided there and then to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of the Guru and the Guru’s message of naam.

Yes, physically he did leave the Guru to wrap up his business and family affairs in his hometown, but spiritually he was single-mindedly focused on the Guru for the rest of his life.  After he had returned, even physically, he barely left the Guru.  He would stand at attention all night at Guru’s door while the Guru rested.  Many Sikhs offered to relieve Bhai Lehna for some time so he could go rest, but he smiled and said, “You are welcome to join me, but even if I go to rest, I would still be standing here in spirit!”

Only during the late morning hours, when people came to listen to the Guru and there were plenty of Sikhs around to take care of the Guru, would Bhai Lehna go and lie down to give his body some rest (for advanced naam mediators, only a few moments of rest are enough to get the body revitalized).

Once, the Guru had a taka (similar to a penny) in his hand.  He asked the Sikhs present how much it was worth.  The Sikhs replied in estimating what things a taka could buy in the market.  Bhai Lehna was also present but had not spoken, so the Guru turned to him and asked him the same question, Bhai Lehna folded his hands in a prayer form and said, “That taka in your hands, Guru ji, can buy the whole Universe!” The guru smiled knowingly.

Later a Sikh approached Bhai Lehna and respectfully asked about his strange answer to the Guru’s question.  Bhai Lehna smiled and said, “Anything that Guru Nanak glances at becomes instantly priceless!”  He paused and further added, “You too, my friend, are priceless – perhaps you don’t know it yet, but a day will come when you will realize my words to be true.”

At another time, the Guru woke up the Sikhs at midnight and asked them to take some wet clothes outside to dry in the sunlight!  To most Sikhs this sounded rather strange and they, including the Guru’s own children said, “It is midnight, we will do it in the morning”.  But not Bhai Lehna, he immediately took the clothes outside.

Later a Sikh approached Bhai Lehna and asked him why he did such a strange thing, to which Bhai Lehna replied, “My dear fellow seeker, you haven’t yet seen Guru Nanak for what Guru Nanak really is. If you did, you would have done the same thing.”  The Sikh looked at Bhai Lehna questionably, Bhai Lehna explained further, “You see, there is very little of Nanak in Guru Nanak!”  That was even stranger than what he had said before, so Bhai Lehna had to add, “Guru Nanak is mostly just the formless One with a touch of form called Nanak.”  The Sikh bowed deeply and walked away to mull over Bhai Lehna’s words.

One day, towards the end of Guru Nanak’s physical life, Guru Nanak started acting very strange.  He wore strange clothes and started saying strange things.  He walked into the forest holding a large stick which he menacingly shook at anyone who tried to follow him.  Many Sikhs who had started following him eventually turned around, not Bhai Lehna.

When Guru Nanak could not shake off Bhai Lehna, he asked him, “All others have left, why are you still here?”  Bhai Lehna bowed and said, “Sire, we both know that there is no other place for me to go to.”

Later when Bhai Lehna became the second Nanak, Guru Angad Dev, he wrote,  

Some people have others, but I am forlorn and un-honored; I have only You,
I might as well just die crying, if you will not come into my mind.
---- Guru Angad, Shri Guru Granth, 791

Let self-control be the furnace, and patience the goldsmith.
Let understanding be the anvil, and spiritual wisdom the tools.
With the fear of God as the bellows, and austerity as the flames,
In the crucible of love, melt the Nectar of the Name,
And mint the True coin of the Word of God.
Such is the karma of those upon whom the One has cast the glance of grace.
O Nanak, the Merciful Master, by the One's Grace, uplifts and exalts them.
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 38th pauri

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Jap Ji, 34-37 (raatee rutee thitee vaar)

There was a redwood tree that was 2,000 years old and had grown to 300 feet tall. It was once basking in the summer sunshine when a man in a hot-air balloon asked it how it was feeling that day.

"Hmm," the tree replied, "Which part of me do you want to know about?"

The man said, "All of you of course!"

The tree paused for a moment, "Well, that's a tough one.  You see, the top of me, who you are now addressing is doing just great. Up here there is abundant sunshine.  I don't have to worry about anything. Me and the other trees live playfully and peacefully.  We love each other.  Going towards the middle of me, there is right now a young man who is camping in my branches!  Yes, you can't see him from here, but he is there.  He has been there for 6 months now; he hugs me a lot, which I enjoy.  But he also cooks his food with an open fire!  So needless to say, my middle part is quite anxious about the fire.  Now my bottom part - don't laugh, I do have a bottom, are my roots of course. They are in constant war with other tree's roots for the sparse water there and I dare say they would be incensed if they found out how carefree I am - their life is of constant strife and conflict.  So like I said, it would be difficult to tell how the whole of me is feeling today."

The man thanked him and flew away shaking his head and saying, "What a weirdo!"  

Little did he know that he too had multiple parts of him existing simultaneously.  He, unlike the tree, didn't even know he had other parts - let alone know how they felt.

Seeker: I too have several parts of me existing simultaneously?
Teacher: Yes you do.

Seeker: Please explain.
Teacher: Well first there is your body, which is an amazingly advanced machine which runs very efficiently - you can read any anatomy book to realize how intricate it is and how many things it has to do to keep running smoothly.  Its' awareness level is immediate only.  If it is fed, it is happy and relaxed.  When it feels hungry, it urges you to give it energy urgently; if you don't, it starts eating parts of itself which it deems to be non-critical.  But as soon as you feed it, it becomes perfectly satisfied - it does not worry about the next meal.  It will die one day, but it does not fear or think about death at all.  The bodies of people who do yoga or other exercises run even more efficiently.

Seeker: What other part do I have?
Teacher: Well, then there is the mind.  The mind too needs feeding in the form of attention.  If you don't give it attention (by meditating or reading or discussion or learning or music or something) it becomes very unsatisfied and throws tantrums.  It is very worried about it's death - it will constantly show itself and remind you and others around that it is very much alive and needed.  Ironically, it never dies.

Seeker: Is this my roots then?
Teacher: Yes, the body and the mind can be said to be your roots.  They always look for energy and sometimes have to get that energy via conflicts and strife.

Seeker: And my soul?
Teacher: Yes, your soul can be said to be the top of the tree - it watches you and the world unattached - it knows about God and knows that God is the real doer, so is not worried whatsoever.

Seeker: That's it then?
Teacher: Not quite, you are also the formless One!  Yes, you are all these things living simultaneously.  For example, you and your wife live together and if you both are rooted in your body/mind you will create much conflicts and strife.  But if you are more rooted in your soul, you will realize you are companions with abundance of resources, so will naturally live in more harmony.

Seeker: How can I and my wife feel the formless One within us?
Teacher: Ha! You already actually do, my friend, you just don't realize it.  When you are in perfect harmony with your wife; you can feel the formless One within both of you when you meditate or sing together - it greatly helps if you both meditate regularly.  Or when you make selfless love.  The formless One is not far from us - in fact the formless One IS us!

The formless One rejoices watching over all creation.
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 37th pauri

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Jap Ji, 33 (aakhan jor chupai neh jor)

Seeker and Seeker's soul's had a conversation - here is the transcript:

Seeker: What do you do on a daily basis?
Soul: I watch you joyfully.

Seeker: That's it?
Soul: Yes.

Seeker: What do you know?
Soul: I know that God is the real doer, so all I got to do is watch and enjoy.

Seeker: How big is God?
Soul: Unbelievably big, yet completely small too. In fact so small that all of God fits in this moment.

Seeker: You are kidding!
Soul: No I am not.  God is here and God is now. I would suggest you don't worry about God's qualities, since words can't describe God.

Seeker: What do I need to worry about?
Soul: Nothing!  But here is what you need to do.  You need to drop your "otherness".  I (another part of you) enjoys life infinity more than you do because you are always worried about non existing things.

Seeker: Like?
Soul: Like the future, past and whether you are living a good life or not.

Seeker: Am I?
Soul: There is no good or bad life, there is only awesome life!

Seeker: How can I become more like you?
Soul: That is not a good question. Think about it and ask again.

Seeker: Ok, how do I become you?
Soul: Good question. As you are already me but you think you are something else, I would say, simply drop your otherness.

Seeker: How?
Soul: Naam.  Our guru is Guru Nanak and Nanak's way is that of devotional awareness.   So meditate on naam with devotion,  and might I add meditate on naam urgently.  Imagine if someone said tomorrow will not come, since tonight the world will end, how would you meditate then?

Seeker: Oh wow, you asked me a question for once!  Well, I would meditate on naam like there is no tomorrow.

Soul: Exactly, meditate on naam like there is no tomorrow.

Seeker: What does naam do?
Naam brings you here.  Naam is the most potent form of God.  All joy is naam.  All things have joy in them because they are made of naam.  You are attracted to things because of the naam inside them. Our Guru Nanak says to become immersed in naam instead of seeking its' reflections.  And naam is an unimaginable fountain of joy.  You have tasted it (and so has everybody else) but you have tasted it unconsciously,  our Nanak says taste it consciously now and it becomes pure nectar.  I can go on forever, literally :) but I won't, now go and become me.  Bye!

The One alone has the power to do anything - the One watches over all.
O Nanak, no one is high or low.
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 33rd pauri

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Jap Ji, 32 (ik doo jeebhou lakh hohi)

Iktu had always been a well-behaved droplet.  She hadn’t ventured out much.  Over the years though, she had seen other droplets who had, and upon their return she’d feel a little left out.  So one day, she floated right up to the top.  She even rode on a wave briefly leaving the other droplets behind in its wake. It felt exhilarating.  In time, her excursions grew quite adventurous. She would go up top and linger there day and night. 

One such night while riding a wave, she hit the shore rather abruptly.  She found herself stuck in one of the pools on the shore along with some of the other droplets, and for the first time, she felt fear. The others told her, “It's going to be alright, the wave always comes back.” She waited hours upon hours. At dawn, the rising sun cast warm rays over the shallow tidal pools. Suddenly it dawned on Iktu that she had risen, for she found herself floating on air! She called out loudly to the others, they only looked up at her helplessly.

She hung suspended in the air for quite a while before getting sucked into a cloud.  There she found others whom she had never previously met.  They looked at her curiously, but said nothing.  Day became night. The Sun set into a shimmering sea. A dreamy drowsiness crept over Iktu like she had never felt before.  The others all seemed droopy too.  Suddenly she found herself with her mother playing in the waves and she shouted with joy. One of the droplets next to her jolted her out of her reverie, "Shh!" he hissed.

Iktu, to her dismay, found herself still in the cloud!  How had she come back so fast from playing the waves?  Peering down through the mountain tops, she could see mother on the shore far away.  She felt so alone!  The others crept away from her and withdrew from each other.  She tried to talk to the one who had shushed her, but he didn't seem to hear her.  She jumped up and down trying to get her mother’s attention, but to no avail.  The others glared at her a little menacingly now. So eventually, she stopped and sulked away by herself.

Again, she found herself playing with her mother, and then abruptly felt herself lifted into the air. She screamed. This time Shh poked her cruelly while shouting at her to “Shut up”.  She looked down terrified , but could not spy her mother anywhere. Iktu felt cold and discovered herself becoming hard and heavy.  She had never felt anything like this before.  Desperately she looked to the others for help, but they too began solidifying right before her, and she could tell they had never felt like that either.  

She became so heavy that she could feel herself slipping from the cloud and dropped swiftly into the dark night.  Petrified, she could not scream because she could not control any part of herself.  She fell landing hard on a harder vast white landscape. She lay there helplessly. Days and nights passed until she lost count of how many. 

Years, then decades passed.  She could barely think. All she knew was the whiteness around her. She couldn't see the sky anymore, only the endless white above her and below.  Centuries passed. If anyone would had asked her identity she couldn’t have told them, for she longer knew. She just lay there like a rock, frozen, not knowing, nor even caring that she didn’t' know.

One day a deep rumble stirred her from the deep slumber she had been lost in forever.  A sharp jolt tossed her high into the air and then she fell back again rushing downwards along with many of the other frozen droplets.  Painfully, she stumbled down getting hit from all sides.  Too stunned to scream, for it had been eons since she had felt pain or indeed anything, she realized her numbness had departed as she regained the experience of sensation.

She landed in a pool alongside a rushing river.  She surveyed her surroundings and noticed many other droplets; some still frozen and some looking around in wonder.  They looked at each other in awe, and some of them even smiled.  She smiled back.  After a while she felt a very ancient but familiar sense of kinship with the other droplets; the others must have felt it too because they started hugging each other.  The hugs created so much commotion that some of the still frozen ones began to stir too.  After a few hours, the sun shone high and strong upon them. All the frozen ones thawed and awoke amidst the cheers of the others.

After the sense of immediate relief had passed, they looked at each other.  Shh qureied, “Now what?”  One of them suddenly chirped up, “Listen!”  They all quieted and listened, sure enough they heard the river sound loudly and clearly saying “Maa.”  They all went wild with enthusiasm!  They too started shouting Maa over and over until the river took notice of them and with a gurgling splash merged them with itself.

Iktu gloried amidst the thrall. She and Shh had somehow managed to stick together, riding the current gushing downstream. All around them they heard wild shouts and frenzied cheering everywhere!  Some droplets crying, others laughing, the craziest thing Iktu had ever seen.

After several hours, all had exhausted themselves and had for the most part quieted down, when they heard a huge cheer raised on the river that went up from those up in front.  Iktu looked up, she could see mother in the distance!

She screamed, laughed, and cried all at the same time in an almost unbearable state of bliss; she and Shh just joined the others jumping up and down like baby droplets!  Old familiar songs broke out and before long Iktu saw mother opening up her arms to her in an engaging embrace.

The actual union felt solemnly somber.  Iktu just melted into her mother.  She held on tight and said, “I love you!” mother replied, “I love you”.  Iktu kept on repeating “I love you” to which mother kept on replying “I love you” over and over again.  Iktu could not stop and apparently mother could not either.

This went for days, even weeks.  Finally, Iktu quieted down and just held on to mother.  Mother held her back firmly.  Iktu had come up with a million questions for mother when in the river, but they all seemed somehow self-answered now.  

Quite simple actually, she had come home; this is where she belonged.

Meditating on naam over and over again is the way to merge with the One.
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 32nd pauri

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Jap Ji, 28-31 (mundaa santokh saram pat jholee)

There is a amphitheater in Southern India which has hosted plays for thousands of years - so much fake blood, fake love, true and fake tears have been spilled there.  We are the blood, love and tears, while the space that holds the plays in the formless One.

Seeker: Please tell me about the formless One.
Teacher: The formless One is the space in all of us, it is what makes it possible to make form,  it is the empty canvas where artists can paint, it is the silence between the notes that allows music to be made. We, at our deepest essence, are the formless One.

Seeker: What is our inert nature?
Teacher: We are permanent , conscious and blissful - Sat naam waheguru.

Seeker: How will we realize this?
Teacher: By serving our highest self.

Seeker: How can we do that?
Teacher: By singing and listening from our hearts.  Serving translates to paying attention; we pay the most attention when we sing and listen.

Seeker: Singing and listening to what?
Teacher: Our Gurus' Words

I bow to the formless One - the Primal One, the Pure One, without beginning, without end;
throughout time, the unchanging One.
----- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 28th - 31st pauri

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