There were several astoundingly insightful and inspiring responses. I picked the top four - here they are (in no particular order).
Sukhmandir Kaur Khalsa, CA (http://sikhism.about.com/)
Because he had not achieved total awareness. Think for instance of a ninja master who is able to jump through a moving fan. He has to be absolutely aware.
I've known a few people with heightened awareness, I was aware enough to catch on to the fact that they were aware of something I had not yet become aware of, like an approaching car and the person in it, a half mile away.
Once when I had first learned breath of fire I was doing it for 31 minutes sitting out in the woods while some friends were doing some winching with a jeep pickup truck which had a come along on the front bumper trying to pull out a tree stump. Suddenly the wench broke and the truck sprang back several feet.
In an instant of awareness I swear I levitated, I moved instantly (snap your fingers) without changing position (sitting in lotus) over to my left as the truck flew back in that same instant to where I had been sitting. That was not an isolated incident.
A master would be in that state at all times. We window-shop, she owns the store. Continual uninterrupted awareness is a big key to the whole master concept.
The master in this case was aware that the student was unaware of the umbrella. Also the student had way too much ego worrying about the outcome.
Rob Abbott, NC
In that one moment, he was living in the future with anticipation ignoring the present. To be a true master one can only live in the present not wasting time in the past which cannot be changed and the future which you cannot predict nor control. The only moment you can control is the present.
I see the umbrella being included in the surroundings of the present moment and he was unaware of its position.
Gurpreet Hothi, NC
The mind projected itself into future, through hopes/expectations, and thus missed out on the present. The present was the misty and breezy weather, of which the Master was aware, and thus prompted an act in the present, i.e. securing an umbrella.
Inka (the Master, NOT!) got caught up in the expectation of being declared a Master and so busily projected himself in this future and thus neglected living/acting in the present. Sehaj was still eluding this seeker.
Enlightenment is when there is transcendence of even the recognition of enlightenment (from other and even oneself). There is just being, nothing more. No dwelling on what happened in the past to the ego-self, or projecting hopes/expectations for the ego-self into the future. Only acting in the present.
In the present, there is the immaculate mind devoid of egocentricity. As soon as the past and future are brought in, the mind becomes tainted by relating to past failures and successes of the time-bound false-self, and acts from this falsehood and loses the focus on the present. Actions, good/holy or bad/evil, arising from the false self are ALL false.
Siri Kirpal Kaur, OR
Yogi Bhajan always used to say, "If you love me, don't question me; if you question me, don't love me." The student does not become a Master until he or she knows the Master's mind without question.
8/30/08
8/28/08
The Monk and the purple Umbrella
Today with the sunrise, Inka's annual testing day had come. He felt serenely confident that on this day, the 24th anniversary of his entering the Monastery, he would be named Master. His own Master had discontinued giving him formal lessons months ago. Surely it could be considered a sign that the Master believed Inka's learning to be complete.
Even the misty and breezy weather showed itself perfect for this occasion. Inka felt a deeper than usual joy. He knew himself to be enlightened, not in a prideful way, he simply recognized it to be true. His mind dwelt only in the present, like a tranquil lake in which no ripples of worry over past or future disturbed the surface. He loved his fellow monks. All the animosities of earlier times had disappeared, fading with the years gone by. His brethren treated him with utmost respect and love as did the Master.
Inka walked into the Master's room. He knelt down, humbled with gratitude and awaited the formal announcement.
The Master, his eyes clouded with age, looked at Inka and smiled. He spoke softly, his voice quite weak. Inka leaned closer to hear his words. "My purple umbrella is by the door. Is it on the right side or the left?
Inka thought for a moment. In shock, he realized that he was not yet fit to be Master. He bowed deeply and left the Master's room. He would have to try the following year.
Even the misty and breezy weather showed itself perfect for this occasion. Inka felt a deeper than usual joy. He knew himself to be enlightened, not in a prideful way, he simply recognized it to be true. His mind dwelt only in the present, like a tranquil lake in which no ripples of worry over past or future disturbed the surface. He loved his fellow monks. All the animosities of earlier times had disappeared, fading with the years gone by. His brethren treated him with utmost respect and love as did the Master.
Inka walked into the Master's room. He knelt down, humbled with gratitude and awaited the formal announcement.
The Master, his eyes clouded with age, looked at Inka and smiled. He spoke softly, his voice quite weak. Inka leaned closer to hear his words. "My purple umbrella is by the door. Is it on the right side or the left?
Inka thought for a moment. In shock, he realized that he was not yet fit to be Master. He bowed deeply and left the Master's room. He would have to try the following year.
~~~~~
Can you figure out why Inka thought he was not fit to be Master? If so, please send your response to daljitMsingh@gmail.com and the best one will be published on my blog - along with the sender's name and place of residence (if available).
8/27/08
The Hot One on the Beach - 2
read previous part...
I sat in dumbfound-land for a while staring at the Hot One - she wore sunglasses (the reflective kind) and looked simply ... well... divine! Slowly it dawned on me that I could ask all the questions about life rushing around in my head I’d had since I was yeah-high. But somehow none of them seemed important enough to ask anymore.
Tornado came running up and asked me, "What comes after 999?"
"1,000" I answered distractedly, "Er... why do you want to know that?"
"I am counting all the sand grains on this beach!" he said proudly. He turned to go, but stopped and looked at the Hot One, cocked his head for a while and said, "You are so full of light - awesome!"
They high-fived and he ran back to his counting. "What a sweet soul" she murmured.
I had heard several descriptions of Tornado. The most polite one being "handful" but usually "wired", "high-strung", "impossible" were the adjectives muttered along with his name. Never, ever (going all the way back to when I was yeah-high) had I heard the word "sweet" associated with him.
She looked at me, "All souls are sweet."
"You made all the souls sweet?" I asked.
"No, we made all the souls sweet!"
"What do you mean?!" I wasn't ready to take that kind of responsibility!
"Let me tell you a story...so there was this one Being all by herself. She didn't mind being alone, but decided it would be fun if there were more of her kind. So she split herself into many parts (and here is the real fun part), she made all the other parts forget her!
Ok, ok, you are old enough to know the truth. I am that Being mentioned in the story; and you, my fab friend, are me too. You have just (quite conveniently) forgotten who you are, and are on an epic and unique quest to find out that you are me! Isn't that just the most marvelous plan?"
"Uh... uh..argg..." I managed to say.
"Yes, it is!" she answered herself.
"So... so... " I stuttered, "What is the secret?"
"I ... I ...I .. " she imitated me, "just told it to you!"
"It can't be that simple!" I almost shouted, "There have been volumes written about how to .. how to .. get on your good side.."
"Surprise! You are already on my good side and ... ," she leaned close to me and whispered, "I guess you can be entrusted with this knowledge - I don't really have a bad side."
Now I was furious. Surely all the spiritual stuff I did made me .... well... better then .. say my shallow and petty, party-obsessed sister?! It had to! She did nothing remotely spiritual! And I, on the other hand, did deep things - like reading, meditating, and philosophizing.
"Your sister is such a sweet soul! All the stuff she does is just her way of singing Wow! Life is awesome!" she injected into my thoughts. "Tornado is saying the same thing by counting sand grains."
I sat there staring at her. Could this be true? Could it be so simple and easy?
The Hot One pointed to a group of kids playing in the sand. Their grandma (presumably) sat a bit away watching with a perpetual smile on her face, "So what do you think granny wants her kids to do on the beach?"
I stared at the scene for a while as gradually it began to dawn on me - I turned to the Hot One, "You just want us to experience different things .. and have fun .. creative fun. No matter what we do, you are pleased."
"Yes!" the Hot One exclaimed, "You are getting it, kiddo! I watch (quite blissfully, I might add) everything you do. You know how a baby starts baby-step walking, and goo-goo talking, the mother always goes ga-ga. But if you really think about it, walking is not much of an accomplishment, because almost everyone does it eventually. I look at you in the same way, and get goose bumps (well, formless ones) whenever you do something creative and passionate - I don't care if it's a Mona Lisa or a stick-figure - I go ga-ga over it."
"But" my mind refused to accept this simple truth, "what about the hurt and pain we go through? I mean..."
She pointed out at a couple of guys playing Volleyball. Just then one of them dove and took a pretty bad spill (I'm sure she had something to do with it) and completely tore up his shirt (again I'm sure she did that too - shirts don't usually get torn up playing beach Volleyball, because guys are not usually wearing them). He lay there for a while, sat up, grinned, stripped his shirt off, and put on a new one. Then he got up and began playing again.
"The soul doesn't really get hurt, the body it’s wearing does, and you get to change it when it gets really messed up."
We sat there in silence - I think I understood. I looked around and started seeing everything quite differently – When I quit judging, everybody looked quite interesting - in fact, they looked downright awesome!
"Wow!" I said after getting awed-over with everything, 'Life is awesome!!!"
read next part...
I sat in dumbfound-land for a while staring at the Hot One - she wore sunglasses (the reflective kind) and looked simply ... well... divine! Slowly it dawned on me that I could ask all the questions about life rushing around in my head I’d had since I was yeah-high. But somehow none of them seemed important enough to ask anymore.
Tornado came running up and asked me, "What comes after 999?"
"1,000" I answered distractedly, "Er... why do you want to know that?"
"I am counting all the sand grains on this beach!" he said proudly. He turned to go, but stopped and looked at the Hot One, cocked his head for a while and said, "You are so full of light - awesome!"
They high-fived and he ran back to his counting. "What a sweet soul" she murmured.
I had heard several descriptions of Tornado. The most polite one being "handful" but usually "wired", "high-strung", "impossible" were the adjectives muttered along with his name. Never, ever (going all the way back to when I was yeah-high) had I heard the word "sweet" associated with him.
She looked at me, "All souls are sweet."
"You made all the souls sweet?" I asked.
"No, we made all the souls sweet!"
"What do you mean?!" I wasn't ready to take that kind of responsibility!
"Let me tell you a story...so there was this one Being all by herself. She didn't mind being alone, but decided it would be fun if there were more of her kind. So she split herself into many parts (and here is the real fun part), she made all the other parts forget her!
Ok, ok, you are old enough to know the truth. I am that Being mentioned in the story; and you, my fab friend, are me too. You have just (quite conveniently) forgotten who you are, and are on an epic and unique quest to find out that you are me! Isn't that just the most marvelous plan?"
"Uh... uh..argg..." I managed to say.
"Yes, it is!" she answered herself.
"So... so... " I stuttered, "What is the secret?"
"I ... I ...I .. " she imitated me, "just told it to you!"
"It can't be that simple!" I almost shouted, "There have been volumes written about how to .. how to .. get on your good side.."
"Surprise! You are already on my good side and ... ," she leaned close to me and whispered, "I guess you can be entrusted with this knowledge - I don't really have a bad side."
Now I was furious. Surely all the spiritual stuff I did made me .... well... better then .. say my shallow and petty, party-obsessed sister?! It had to! She did nothing remotely spiritual! And I, on the other hand, did deep things - like reading, meditating, and philosophizing.
"Your sister is such a sweet soul! All the stuff she does is just her way of singing Wow! Life is awesome!" she injected into my thoughts. "Tornado is saying the same thing by counting sand grains."
I sat there staring at her. Could this be true? Could it be so simple and easy?
The Hot One pointed to a group of kids playing in the sand. Their grandma (presumably) sat a bit away watching with a perpetual smile on her face, "So what do you think granny wants her kids to do on the beach?"
I stared at the scene for a while as gradually it began to dawn on me - I turned to the Hot One, "You just want us to experience different things .. and have fun .. creative fun. No matter what we do, you are pleased."
"Yes!" the Hot One exclaimed, "You are getting it, kiddo! I watch (quite blissfully, I might add) everything you do. You know how a baby starts baby-step walking, and goo-goo talking, the mother always goes ga-ga. But if you really think about it, walking is not much of an accomplishment, because almost everyone does it eventually. I look at you in the same way, and get goose bumps (well, formless ones) whenever you do something creative and passionate - I don't care if it's a Mona Lisa or a stick-figure - I go ga-ga over it."
"But" my mind refused to accept this simple truth, "what about the hurt and pain we go through? I mean..."
She pointed out at a couple of guys playing Volleyball. Just then one of them dove and took a pretty bad spill (I'm sure she had something to do with it) and completely tore up his shirt (again I'm sure she did that too - shirts don't usually get torn up playing beach Volleyball, because guys are not usually wearing them). He lay there for a while, sat up, grinned, stripped his shirt off, and put on a new one. Then he got up and began playing again.
"The soul doesn't really get hurt, the body it’s wearing does, and you get to change it when it gets really messed up."
We sat there in silence - I think I understood. I looked around and started seeing everything quite differently – When I quit judging, everybody looked quite interesting - in fact, they looked downright awesome!
"Wow!" I said after getting awed-over with everything, 'Life is awesome!!!"
read next part...
8/20/08
The Hot One on the Beach - 1
So Didi, my fav naami aunt, and my 5-year-old cousin brother Tornado (more about his name shortly) from hell (more about his origin shortly) were relaxing at the beach. Well, I was trying to relax - it's not that easy to relax with a 5 year-old cousin brother named Tornado from Hell terrorizing the seagulls and all other species on this planet (seen and unseen).
Didi care-freely meditating, suddenly opened her eyes, turned to me and asked me to recite the 3rd stanza of Guru Nanak's Jap Ji. I had just rubbed suntan lotion all over my 12-year-old fab bod and was ready to impress some female members of the human species. But when Didi asked you to do something, you basically did it because ... because .. come to think of it, I'm not sure why - but you just did.
So she read the gurmukhi part, while I translated best as I could:
gaavai ko thaan hovai kisai thaan The True One's praises are sung with the amount of strength that the True One bestows upon the singer (and usually the inner strength is reciprocally proportional [who said middle-school mathematics won't help you in real life] to the amount of outer strength - you know - book-thumping, foot-stomping, such-and-such-is-the-lord-ing).
gaavai ko dhaath jaanai neesaan Some sing of the One's gifts using these as a sure sign that the True One is around (and listening, so more gifts would be on the way).
gaavai ko gun vaddiaaeeaa chaar gaavai ko vidhiaa vikham veechaar Some sing of the True One by discussing the True One's virtues (you know, Ek-Ong-Kaar, Sat Naam, Karta... wow!Guru! WaheGuru) while other take the more scholarly approach (you know, Ek-Ong-Kaar, Sat Naam, Karta... wow!Guru! WaheGuru).
gaavai ko saaj karae than khaeh gaavai ko jeea lai fir dhaeh
Some sing that the True One creates the bods (like my fab one), and then again reduces it to dust (ouch!). Some sing that the One takes life away, and then again restores it (somehow this reminds me of the movie "The Sixth Sense" - if you haven't seen it - oh, you are missing a fabulous one, dearies).
gaavai ko jaapai dhisai dhoor gaavai ko vaekhai haadharaa hadhoor
Some sing that the One is infinitely far away, while others see the True One all over the place.
kathhanaa kathhee n aavai thott kathh kathh kathhee kottee kott kott
There is no shortage of words uttered in the One's praise. Millions upon millions of sermons and stories have been delivered (to millions of millions of sleepy ears).
dhaedhaa dhae laidhae thhak paahi jugaa juga(n)thar khaahee khaahi
The Great Giver keeps on giving, so much so that the receivers grow weary of receiving. Throughout the ages, consumers consume (entire economies of nations depend on consuming - hope they don't take it away).
hukamee hukam chalaaeae raahu naanak vigasai vaeparavaahu (3)
All walk on the path of the True One's will. O Nanak, while the True One watches blissfully, carefree and untroubled.
"Thank you!" Didi said and promptly got up and left! Pretty unusual - she usually had a story or something after we read the Guru's words. I stared lazily at her for a while, shrugged my fab shoulders and decided the Sun and some fab females members of the human species needed some fab attention.
The next thing I know, Tornado was shaking my fab elbow and grinning (his grin usually meant calamity for some species), "What comes after 99?" asked he.
I told him after deciding it's not worth the effort to find out why he wants to know. He grinned again - showing his yellow teeth. "Tornado, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?!" He was thoughtful for a while and asked, "What year is it?" I let it go and waved him away - sometimes ignorance is bliss.
You probably already have an idea why his name is Tornado and why he's from hell. But let me divulge into it a bit more...
Well, just suppose you have a sister who really annoys you and sometimes even embarrasses you in front of others and just suppose you want to get back at her and you want to leave no traces whatsoever and just suppose Tornado is visiting you (from hell) and your sis happens to be at a slumber party with her dorky friends - please note this is all just suppositions - nothing like this ever happened.
So this is what you would do - hide a can of Coke (or any caffeine-fueled beverage) and a bunch of candies in sis's neat, manicured room. Then take Tornado to her room; tell him where the can of Coke is; slowly back out of the room (keeping your eyes on him while you leave) and GET AWAY (after locking the door from the outside) as far as you can (having an alibi is highly recommended). Within minutes, her room would be unrecognizable. There, that's how he got his name.
Of course, some of you smart ones are saying, "Well, didn't Tornado simply tell on you?"
Well, dear smarty ones, Tornado, by my calculations, is coherent only 18% of the time - and he was in the 82% mode when the interrogation happened (I mean *would* happen - once again, no such thing happened).
Anyway, let's get back to my fab bod on the beach...
So I'm hanging out when I felt someone sitting next to me - thinking maybe Didi had come back, when I turned around to see... (I'm not sure how to stay politically correct here) .. the hottest young female member of the human species I have ever set my eyes on sitting next to me. I mean sizzling hot! (No, I am not falling for the "How hot was she?" routine this time).
All my ten bodies (yes, we have 10 of those) went into high red alert. My spine involuntarily elongated. And I turned to her (all puffed and macho) and said, "You come here..."
"Often?!" she completed my sentence, "Oh Pluuuease! Is that the best you could come up with, kiddo?"
Five of my fab bods deflated. But there were still 5 left (including the outer fab one), "I am not a kiddo! I am actually ..."
"12 years, 5 months, 2 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes and 57 seconds old. Yes, I know! ... And please deflate the rest of your bodies, I know the actual true puny dimensions of all of them!"
I stared at her and unconsciously covered my fab (now in non-fab flab mode) bod.
"Who are you?!!" I managed to ask through my bewilderement.
"I am the One!"
I stared at her, "The One?!"
"Yes, the One who pervades all!"
"But you are so..."
"Hot?! Yes, I know."
"But I thought you would be ..."
".. an old-ish man with a gray-ish beard pointing my old-ish gray-ish judgemental-ish finger at you?! That is soooo Piscean-ish... This is the new age, kiddo - get used to it!"
read next part...
Didi care-freely meditating, suddenly opened her eyes, turned to me and asked me to recite the 3rd stanza of Guru Nanak's Jap Ji. I had just rubbed suntan lotion all over my 12-year-old fab bod and was ready to impress some female members of the human species. But when Didi asked you to do something, you basically did it because ... because .. come to think of it, I'm not sure why - but you just did.
So she read the gurmukhi part, while I translated best as I could:
gaavai ko thaan hovai kisai thaan The True One's praises are sung with the amount of strength that the True One bestows upon the singer (and usually the inner strength is reciprocally proportional [who said middle-school mathematics won't help you in real life] to the amount of outer strength - you know - book-thumping, foot-stomping, such-and-such-is-the-lord-ing).
gaavai ko dhaath jaanai neesaan Some sing of the One's gifts using these as a sure sign that the True One is around (and listening, so more gifts would be on the way).
gaavai ko gun vaddiaaeeaa chaar gaavai ko vidhiaa vikham veechaar Some sing of the True One by discussing the True One's virtues (you know, Ek-Ong-Kaar, Sat Naam, Karta... wow!Guru! WaheGuru) while other take the more scholarly approach (you know, Ek-Ong-Kaar, Sat Naam, Karta... wow!Guru! WaheGuru).
gaavai ko saaj karae than khaeh gaavai ko jeea lai fir dhaeh
Some sing that the True One creates the bods (like my fab one), and then again reduces it to dust (ouch!). Some sing that the One takes life away, and then again restores it (somehow this reminds me of the movie "The Sixth Sense" - if you haven't seen it - oh, you are missing a fabulous one, dearies).
gaavai ko jaapai dhisai dhoor gaavai ko vaekhai haadharaa hadhoor
Some sing that the One is infinitely far away, while others see the True One all over the place.
kathhanaa kathhee n aavai thott kathh kathh kathhee kottee kott kott
There is no shortage of words uttered in the One's praise. Millions upon millions of sermons and stories have been delivered (to millions of millions of sleepy ears).
dhaedhaa dhae laidhae thhak paahi jugaa juga(n)thar khaahee khaahi
The Great Giver keeps on giving, so much so that the receivers grow weary of receiving. Throughout the ages, consumers consume (entire economies of nations depend on consuming - hope they don't take it away).
hukamee hukam chalaaeae raahu naanak vigasai vaeparavaahu (3)
All walk on the path of the True One's will. O Nanak, while the True One watches blissfully, carefree and untroubled.
"Thank you!" Didi said and promptly got up and left! Pretty unusual - she usually had a story or something after we read the Guru's words. I stared lazily at her for a while, shrugged my fab shoulders and decided the Sun and some fab females members of the human species needed some fab attention.
The next thing I know, Tornado was shaking my fab elbow and grinning (his grin usually meant calamity for some species), "What comes after 99?" asked he.
I told him after deciding it's not worth the effort to find out why he wants to know. He grinned again - showing his yellow teeth. "Tornado, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?!" He was thoughtful for a while and asked, "What year is it?" I let it go and waved him away - sometimes ignorance is bliss.
You probably already have an idea why his name is Tornado and why he's from hell. But let me divulge into it a bit more...
Well, just suppose you have a sister who really annoys you and sometimes even embarrasses you in front of others and just suppose you want to get back at her and you want to leave no traces whatsoever and just suppose Tornado is visiting you (from hell) and your sis happens to be at a slumber party with her dorky friends - please note this is all just suppositions - nothing like this ever happened.
So this is what you would do - hide a can of Coke (or any caffeine-fueled beverage) and a bunch of candies in sis's neat, manicured room. Then take Tornado to her room; tell him where the can of Coke is; slowly back out of the room (keeping your eyes on him while you leave) and GET AWAY (after locking the door from the outside) as far as you can (having an alibi is highly recommended). Within minutes, her room would be unrecognizable. There, that's how he got his name.
Of course, some of you smart ones are saying, "Well, didn't Tornado simply tell on you?"
Well, dear smarty ones, Tornado, by my calculations, is coherent only 18% of the time - and he was in the 82% mode when the interrogation happened (I mean *would* happen - once again, no such thing happened).
Anyway, let's get back to my fab bod on the beach...
So I'm hanging out when I felt someone sitting next to me - thinking maybe Didi had come back, when I turned around to see... (I'm not sure how to stay politically correct here) .. the hottest young female member of the human species I have ever set my eyes on sitting next to me. I mean sizzling hot! (No, I am not falling for the "How hot was she?" routine this time).
All my ten bodies (yes, we have 10 of those) went into high red alert. My spine involuntarily elongated. And I turned to her (all puffed and macho) and said, "You come here..."
"Often?!" she completed my sentence, "Oh Pluuuease! Is that the best you could come up with, kiddo?"
Five of my fab bods deflated. But there were still 5 left (including the outer fab one), "I am not a kiddo! I am actually ..."
"12 years, 5 months, 2 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes and 57 seconds old. Yes, I know! ... And please deflate the rest of your bodies, I know the actual true puny dimensions of all of them!"
I stared at her and unconsciously covered my fab (now in non-fab flab mode) bod.
"Who are you?!!" I managed to ask through my bewilderement.
"I am the One!"
I stared at her, "The One?!"
"Yes, the One who pervades all!"
"But you are so..."
"Hot?! Yes, I know."
"But I thought you would be ..."
".. an old-ish man with a gray-ish beard pointing my old-ish gray-ish judgemental-ish finger at you?! That is soooo Piscean-ish... This is the new age, kiddo - get used to it!"
read next part...
8/15/08
The really really Nasty Villain
Once, a traveling theater came to a Village. A dashing Hero and a beautiful Heroine starred together in a play which, of course, featured a nasty Villain. The nasty Villain was really, really nasty - how nasty, you ask? So nasty that rainbows would turn black and white whenever he came on stage.
The Villain had done just about every bad thing possible: robbed the hero's father; poisoned the hero's dog; neutered the heroine's cat ... and that's just before breakfast.
In one night time scene, after extensively frolicking with the Hero (who had to rush home so that he would not be late in giving his old mother her medicine), the Heroine had to walk home alone just as it got dark.
Hiding behind a tree, twirling his nasty mustache, the nasty Villain lurked waiting to kidnap the fair maiden. Having completed his customary evening chores of tipping over all the cows and painting all the sheep purple; he smirked in his nasty self-satisfied way rubbing together his hasty hands and grinning a nasty grin on his nasty face showing all his nasty teeth and nasty gums.
The Heroine slowly approached the tree...
Well, one of the audience sitting in the front row - a Villager - had had enough of the Villain. The Villager shouted out to the Heroine, "HEMA JEE!!!! WATCH OUT!!!! I WILL SAVE YOU FROM THIS ##@@@##!!!" (if you want to know what ##@@@## is, please send a note stating you know Punjabi).
Saying that, the Villager took off his slipper, and waving it about jumped on the stage and starting slapping the Villain with all his might!
Of course, there was much running around. Many stage-hands tried to save the Villain but the furious Villager (especially about the cow-tipping) mistook the stage-hands for the Villain's goons and beat even some of them!
The director had the good sense to turn on all the lights and bring the Villager back to "reality".
The Villager turned out to be no less than the sarpanch - the Village headman. He felt quite embarrassed and walked away mumbling some sanskrit mantras and adjusting his dhoti.
This is a true story and it is said that the actor who played the Villain refused to give back the Villager's slipper prizing it above any acting award.
~~~~~ Guru Nanak's Jap Ji; second stanza ~~~~~
hukamee hovan aakaar hukam n kehiaa jaaee
The True One's True Will (hukam) creates the Universes (and cool stuff like that). Hukam is too infinite to be told in a hopelessly finite human language.
hukamee hovan jeea hukam milai vaddiaaee
Hukam creates the birds and the bees and it is hukam, (not Hollywood or even the Queen), which bestows greatness upon us.
hukamee outham neech hukam likh dhukh sukh paaeeahi
It is hukam (once again) which is responsible for our highness and lowness; and for our pain or pleasure.
eikanaa hukamee bakhasees eik hukamee sadhaa bhavaaeeahi
Due to hukam, some are graced (with enlightenment) while others are not; and some wander aimlessly (Author's note: My sister certainly fits in the aimless lot because I have seen her wander aimlessly in and out of malls for hours).
hukamai a(n)dhar sabh ko baahar hukam n koe
Everyone, yes even the mighty I, is under the power of hukam.
naanak hukamai jae bujhai th houmai kehai n koe
Nanak says the ones who understand (and experience) hukam, don't say "I exist"
8/4/08
The Old Man and the Ferrari
My amazing naami aunt - Didi; my older sister and I were hanging out in the park, when we heard a car rev up and drive off angrily leaving a lot of dirt and gasoline smell in the air.
My aunt smiled and told us this story:
Once a teenager with a hot new Ferrari was revving up the engine at a red stoplight. An old man on a bicycle squeakly came alongside and leaned into the window admiring the car. The light turned green and the impatient teenager pealed out tires squealing.
The teenager laughed as he thought of the old man eating his dust. But lo and behold, he saw the old man racing really fast on his bicycle. Unbelievably, the old man zoomed past him (while the car was doing 100+ mph). Then lo and behold, he saw the old man riding backwards and zoomed past him again at top speed. Every time the old man passed the car, he shouted "STOP!!"
"What the..." the teenager was heard to mutter as he slammed on his brakes. The old man and the bicycle still zoomed past him in both directions a few times until finally the old man stopped by the car and panted, "Please O please, don't drive off - my suspenders are tangled in your rear view mirror!!"
We laughed and laughed until Didi asked "What's this story got to do with Guru Nanak's first stanza of Jap Ji?"
"OMG! OMG! I know this! I know this! Is this, like, a game - like, guess what the color of the car is? OMG! This is so easy - it's a red Ferrari!!" my sister happily exclaimed while I rolled my eyes into my thinking turban on and started wondering - what DID this joke have to do with Jap Ji's first stanza?
Didi asked my sister to read the stanza in gurmukhi while I translated as best (read loosely) as I possibly could...
sochai soch na hova-ee jay sochee lakh vaar.
Even if we purify our body to the zenith level, our mind is not going to become pure.
chupai chup na hova-ee jay laa-ay rahaa liv taar.
Even if we take the vow of silence, our mind is not going to shut-the-heck-up.
bhukhi-aa bhukh na utree jay bannaa puree-aa bhaar.
Remaining hungry or getting overloaded on food will not get rid of our mind's hunger.
sahas si-aanpaa lakh hohi ta ik na chalai naal.
Our intellectual capabilities (even if they do impress the beauty sitting next to us) are not of much use on the spiritual path.
kiv sachi-aaraa ho-ee-ai kiv koorhai tutai paal.
Then how can we get purified enough to merge with the True One?
hukam rajaa-ee chalnaa naanak likhi-aa naal.
Guru Nanak answers: by flowing with the True Will (hukam, Tao ...) that is written within us.
Didi smiled again, "In other words,
be here now
relax
stop and smell the roses
be cool
don't worry, be happy
just chill!
My aunt smiled and told us this story:
~~~~~
Once a teenager with a hot new Ferrari was revving up the engine at a red stoplight. An old man on a bicycle squeakly came alongside and leaned into the window admiring the car. The light turned green and the impatient teenager pealed out tires squealing.
The teenager laughed as he thought of the old man eating his dust. But lo and behold, he saw the old man racing really fast on his bicycle. Unbelievably, the old man zoomed past him (while the car was doing 100+ mph). Then lo and behold, he saw the old man riding backwards and zoomed past him again at top speed. Every time the old man passed the car, he shouted "STOP!!"
"What the..." the teenager was heard to mutter as he slammed on his brakes. The old man and the bicycle still zoomed past him in both directions a few times until finally the old man stopped by the car and panted, "Please O please, don't drive off - my suspenders are tangled in your rear view mirror!!"
~~~~~
We laughed and laughed until Didi asked "What's this story got to do with Guru Nanak's first stanza of Jap Ji?"
"OMG! OMG! I know this! I know this! Is this, like, a game - like, guess what the color of the car is? OMG! This is so easy - it's a red Ferrari!!" my sister happily exclaimed while I rolled my eyes into my thinking turban on and started wondering - what DID this joke have to do with Jap Ji's first stanza?
Didi asked my sister to read the stanza in gurmukhi while I translated as best (read loosely) as I possibly could...
sochai soch na hova-ee jay sochee lakh vaar.
Even if we purify our body to the zenith level, our mind is not going to become pure.
chupai chup na hova-ee jay laa-ay rahaa liv taar.
Even if we take the vow of silence, our mind is not going to shut-the-heck-up.
bhukhi-aa bhukh na utree jay bannaa puree-aa bhaar.
Remaining hungry or getting overloaded on food will not get rid of our mind's hunger.
sahas si-aanpaa lakh hohi ta ik na chalai naal.
Our intellectual capabilities (even if they do impress the beauty sitting next to us) are not of much use on the spiritual path.
kiv sachi-aaraa ho-ee-ai kiv koorhai tutai paal.
Then how can we get purified enough to merge with the True One?
hukam rajaa-ee chalnaa naanak likhi-aa naal.
Guru Nanak answers: by flowing with the True Will (hukam, Tao ...) that is written within us.
Didi smiled again, "In other words,
be here now
relax
stop and smell the roses
be cool
don't worry, be happy
just chill!
Our mind is never in the present. It's either racing into the future or the past. It zooms by the present. Guru Nanak says, bring it into the present. And Guru Nanak gives us the tool for bringing it into the present; and that wonderful tool is SatNaam. It is perhaps the easiest and definitely the most fun way of being in the present.
When we are listening to Naam, we are in the present; otherwise we are not. Only in the present can we detangle ourselves and become free."
At the End of the Rope
Once upon a time, a traveling fair come to a Village. All the Village children went running to see it. The child-like Village simpleton too was very excited. But the simpleton had been told that it is easy to get lost at fairs, so he was quite scared to go to one. But he desperately wanted to go.
So he decided to consult one of the Village elders. The elder knew that there was no chance for the simpleton to get lost. So he pretended to think for a while and said, "I will show a way of not getting lost."
The elder then put a short rope around the simpleton's neck (not much unlike a necktie) and said, "Whenever you feel lost, just pull at the rope. You will always be at the end of the rope."
The simpleton tried it a few times and sure enough, he was always at the end of the rope. So he joyfully clapped his hands and joyfully went to the fair. The simpleton walked around the fair feeling good. Whenever he felt a little overwhelmed in the crowds, he would pull at the rope around his neck and say, "Aha, here I am." And would continue feeling good.
A Village joker was also at the fair and was, as usual, on alert to play jokes. When he saw the simpleton, his mind went "Bingo!" He asked the simpleton about the rope. The simpleton joyfully told him. The joker joyfully listened.
It was afternoon by that time. And everybody in India takes a short nap in the afternoon! So the simpleton found a nice shady spot and dozed off. Of course, the joker did not - this was work time for him!
The joker quietly stole up to the simpleton and carefully removed the rope. Then he went to a nearby sleeping Villager and carefully put the rope around his neck. Quite satisfied with his work, he retired to a corner.
As soon as the simpleton woke up, he felt for his rope and completely panicked - he started running around shouting, "Where am I? Where am I?"
Then he came up to the still dozing Villager wearing the rope. The simpleton gave a cry of joy and pulled at the rope. The rudely awakened Villager was naturally quite cross and said, "##@@@###" (if you want to know what "##@@@###" is, send a note stating that you are over 21 years of age).
The Village simpleton exclaimed, "The Village elder told me that I will always be at the end of the rope. Therefore, I am you! I am you!"
~~~~~
So he decided to consult one of the Village elders. The elder knew that there was no chance for the simpleton to get lost. So he pretended to think for a while and said, "I will show a way of not getting lost."
The elder then put a short rope around the simpleton's neck (not much unlike a necktie) and said, "Whenever you feel lost, just pull at the rope. You will always be at the end of the rope."
The simpleton tried it a few times and sure enough, he was always at the end of the rope. So he joyfully clapped his hands and joyfully went to the fair. The simpleton walked around the fair feeling good. Whenever he felt a little overwhelmed in the crowds, he would pull at the rope around his neck and say, "Aha, here I am." And would continue feeling good.
A Village joker was also at the fair and was, as usual, on alert to play jokes. When he saw the simpleton, his mind went "Bingo!" He asked the simpleton about the rope. The simpleton joyfully told him. The joker joyfully listened.
It was afternoon by that time. And everybody in India takes a short nap in the afternoon! So the simpleton found a nice shady spot and dozed off. Of course, the joker did not - this was work time for him!
The joker quietly stole up to the simpleton and carefully removed the rope. Then he went to a nearby sleeping Villager and carefully put the rope around his neck. Quite satisfied with his work, he retired to a corner.
As soon as the simpleton woke up, he felt for his rope and completely panicked - he started running around shouting, "Where am I? Where am I?"
Then he came up to the still dozing Villager wearing the rope. The simpleton gave a cry of joy and pulled at the rope. The rudely awakened Villager was naturally quite cross and said, "##@@@###" (if you want to know what "##@@@###" is, send a note stating that you are over 21 years of age).
The Village simpleton exclaimed, "The Village elder told me that I will always be at the end of the rope. Therefore, I am you! I am you!"
~~~~~
I had several thought-provoking morals sent by readers for this one. The response that completely blew me away was this one:
Karen Peters (Winnipeg, Canada) http://karenfood.blogspot.com/
wow! even the village simpleton knew that all was one. :) Its so obvious to him and no one else. Of course he would want to be assured of his connectedness to oneness since he was labeled an outsider. No one else had that need since they were unaware of their connectedness.
Note: I heard this story from a recording of Baba Isher Singh jee, a great Sikh spiritualist. The moral he attached to the story was:
The trickster Maya has taken the rope of consciousness from our soul and put it around the body; thus we think we are the body.
8/2/08
The WaheGuru Ocean
OMG! Didi is just amazing! She's like ... totally .. totally amazing! OMG! It's like she knows the secrets of the Universe and all the planets! Even the ones outside it! Like totally! I mean she does this thing ... this thing .. called Naam. It's like SatNaam Wahe... Wahe.. whatever... - like "SatNaam" is like totally cool! It's like the best thing EVER!!!! It means ... like...
Thank you sis, that will be all.... That was my older sister. She is fifteen years old - please forgive her. Sorry you had to read all that - just imagine having to hear that all the time! No wonder I am interested in deep spiritual stuff.
OMG! My little brother is like soooo ... froggy! I mean he's like planet zitface! Like...
Again I apologize - she is fifteen. Only three older than me yet .... I often wonder where I went wrong with her... girls tch tch.
But I promise - no more interruptions.
So me, my sis-OMG!-ter and Didi, our really cool Naami aunt were on a hike. Didi stopped at this huge oak tree by the river and sat down. We sat down too.
My sister was about to say something (my guess is "OMG! The water is like totally amazingly wet!!") when Didi raised her finger to her lips and indicated "shhh".
Didi softly whispered, "Listen."
We listened - suddenly we heard stuff we had not noticed before. The wind embracing branches of trees - its breeze dancing in among the leaves. A nut breaking free and a soft plop as it landed in a mossy nest of tall grasses. The pattering of tiny scampering squirrel feet carrying the nut to its nest. A tirade of scolding chatter and a far-away sound of bird wings flapping to carry away the nut in its beak. The sound of water droplets carried along in a gurgling current caressing river rocks and softly stroking the finger like tendrils of lacy tree branches which stooping low reached out to touch each drop trickling by.
We discovered another world within our world - a world full of sound and sights which we had completely tuned out and ignored before.
My senses quickened, heightening my inner awareness. I felt a little more awake; a little more happy; a little more graceful; a little more pure than I had just a moment before
Didi told us a story:
Bhai Sahib Veer Singh jee, a great Sikh spiritual writer, once went sight-seeing in Shimla. There he went to a certain place where there was a very deep and big lake. There were many fish in the lake and the people who ran that place had built a small pond adjoining the lake.
The pond served the owners and the tourists very well; the tourists would throw food into the pond and fish would come out of the lake, grab the food and rush back into their lake. This way the tourist would get to see some very exotic fish (and the owners would get to see some very exotic tourists).
Spiritual people like Bhai Sahib see small truths in everything. Bhai Sahib was greatly inspired by this and later wrote,
"Spiritual people are like the fish in the lake. They stay in their deep spiritual state at all times. But if there is need to come out to work, they come out and as soon as the work is done, rush back to their deep spiritual state."
There was complete silence for a little while (except for the gentle sounds around us).
Didi smiled, "When we sit for meditation, our mind wanders. Our body might be reciting WaheGuru, but our mind is shopping online!
But as we progress spiritually, a day comes when the opposite happens - our body might be working or driving; or even talking; but our mind will be in deep meditation.
Longing to merge with the blissful WaheGuru, the mind is tuned to Waheguru in the way that...
a mother remembers her child while going about her chores
a child flying a kite chatters with friends but is always conscious of the string
a young girl in love giggles with her girlfriends extolling the virtues of her husband-to-be
a bride plans her wedding ...
the mind is ever merged in the blissful deep ocean of the One WaheGuru."
Thank you sis, that will be all.... That was my older sister. She is fifteen years old - please forgive her. Sorry you had to read all that - just imagine having to hear that all the time! No wonder I am interested in deep spiritual stuff.
OMG! My little brother is like soooo ... froggy! I mean he's like planet zitface! Like...
Again I apologize - she is fifteen. Only three older than me yet .... I often wonder where I went wrong with her
But I promise - no more interruptions.
So me, my sis-OMG!-ter and Didi, our really cool Naami aunt were on a hike. Didi stopped at this huge oak tree by the river and sat down. We sat down too.
My sister was about to say something (my guess is "OMG! The water is like totally amazingly wet!!") when Didi raised her finger to her lips and indicated "shhh".
Didi softly whispered, "Listen."
We listened - suddenly we heard stuff we had not noticed before. The wind embracing branches of trees - its breeze dancing in among the leaves. A nut breaking free and a soft plop as it landed in a mossy nest of tall grasses. The pattering of tiny scampering squirrel feet carrying the nut to its nest. A tirade of scolding chatter and a far-away sound of bird wings flapping to carry away the nut in its beak. The sound of water droplets carried along in a gurgling current caressing river rocks and softly stroking the finger like tendrils of lacy tree branches which stooping low reached out to touch each drop trickling by.
We discovered another world within our world - a world full of sound and sights which we had completely tuned out and ignored before.
My senses quickened, heightening my inner awareness. I felt a little more awake; a little more happy; a little more graceful; a little more pure than I had just a moment before
Didi told us a story:
~*~*~*~*~*
Bhai Sahib Veer Singh jee, a great Sikh spiritual writer, once went sight-seeing in Shimla. There he went to a certain place where there was a very deep and big lake. There were many fish in the lake and the people who ran that place had built a small pond adjoining the lake.
The pond served the owners and the tourists very well; the tourists would throw food into the pond and fish would come out of the lake, grab the food and rush back into their lake. This way the tourist would get to see some very exotic fish (and the owners would get to see some very exotic tourists).
Spiritual people like Bhai Sahib see small truths in everything. Bhai Sahib was greatly inspired by this and later wrote,
"Spiritual people are like the fish in the lake. They stay in their deep spiritual state at all times. But if there is need to come out to work, they come out and as soon as the work is done, rush back to their deep spiritual state."
~*~*~*~*~*
There was complete silence for a little while (except for the gentle sounds around us).
Didi smiled, "When we sit for meditation, our mind wanders. Our body might be reciting WaheGuru, but our mind is shopping online!
But as we progress spiritually, a day comes when the opposite happens - our body might be working or driving; or even talking; but our mind will be in deep meditation.
Longing to merge with the blissful WaheGuru, the mind is tuned to Waheguru in the way that...
a mother remembers her child while going about her chores
a child flying a kite chatters with friends but is always conscious of the string
a young girl in love giggles with her girlfriends extolling the virtues of her husband-to-be
a bride plans her wedding ...
the mind is ever merged in the blissful deep ocean of the One WaheGuru."
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