Ratan to the Core

EkOngKar Singh, a dear friend of Didi, my awesome naami aunt, seldom spoke. Quite an interesting guy - to communicate, instead of talking he would say only "waheguru" for “yes” and "gurwah!” for “no”. He would show up once in awhile, hang around for a few days (saying even fewer words) and then would disappear for months. Nobody really knew where he came from and where he went. All I know is that whenever he showed up, more meditations, more singing, and a lot more dancing took place.

One beautiful spring day, he appeared and indicated that he would like us to go hiking with him in the nearby hills. On such a day, it would have been a crime not to take up his offer so we (me, sis and Didi) whole-heartedly agreed.

While we readied ourselves for the outing, I asked Didi to tell me about EkOngKar Singh.

"He is a very intriguing man," Didi began. "Believe it or not, only a few years ago everyone considered him to be one of the top diamond traders in the world. He traveled the earth searching for the most precious stones. One of his fellow gem-hunters, a man known as Ratan Singh, is largely responsible for the transformation into the fellow you see today. It's best if we ask him to tell his own story..."

We took off on our hike and started doing the WahWalk (repeating WAH! when we lift the left foot and GUR! when we step on the right). We clambered along for about 40 minutes, this way until we came to a shady place near a creek with a little waterfall. Deciding this to be the perfect place for a rest, we all plunked down. I found a nice smooth rock which looked like it would make a great pillow.

Didi asked my sister to read Guru Nanaks' Jap Ji stanza #6, while I translated (best as I could).

tirath naavaa jay tis bhaavaa vin bhaanay ke naa-ay karee
Only with grace can one bathe in the inner ambrosial nectar;
without grace, the outside bathing at pilgrimages is kinda mostly useless.

jaytee sirath upaa-ee vaykhaa vin karmaa ke milai la-ee
All of goodies we have are a result of karma, but...

mat vich ratan javaahar maanik jay ik gur kee sikh sunee
The gems within are revealed by grace - then we listen to the Guru's one gospel
(and then we bathe in the inner ambrosial nectar mentioned previously).

guraa eik dhaehi bujhaaee sabhanaa jeeaa kaa eik dhaathaa so mai visar n jaaee
I ask the Guru for this: that I never forget the Giver of all souls.

We kept quiet for while just enjoying listening to the silence and meditating on the meanings of the stanza. I drifted off. I could hear the gurgling sounds of the creek which has this really weird name (Bush Kill Falls), and it got me to thinking about life and death…

When I have finally met my end
Departed this path I'm on
Please commit my memory
To a stream that runs down to the sea
Tumbling over around a bend
When it seems I've finally gone
You will discover me presently
Found in the green of a tree
Whose rustling leaves echo in the wind
Answering to the song
Of ashes tumbling o’er a stony ree
Far scattered to the lee
How befitting a way to blend
Buoyantly carried along
Coursing over falls swept free
By a current wept out from me

Startled out of my morbid reverie I heard Didi ask EkOngKar Singh "Why don't you tell the young ones your special story?".

EkOngKar Singh smiled, flashing an amazing set of white teeth. "Where I begin? Long story... OK, me this guy who care only for money. I look for diamonds in remote places. I have everything - money, cars, friends, but inside I very lonely and sad. One time, me go Ivory Coast doing diamond-trading. [yes, yes, I know - his English is not perfect - please bear with me - he's going to go into silence soon] Rebels capture me. This one fellow Ratan Singh, who in Africa that time, come and give them *all* his money to free me. I very grateful. We fly back home together. He very carefree fellow, always happy, make me feel happy too. I never so happy before. I love him more every hour! We go my house and I take him to my vault and show him my all gems. I tell him "You take anything you want". Inside my heart, I very scared that he take everything, but he take nothing from there.

He remove only a small rock from my backyard. "This to remind me of this moment," he say and leave me. I very, very happy that time. But later I again get very, very sad. I wonder how come he happy with dirt, but I not happy even with diamonds? Next time I see him, I ask him. So he tell me his story."

EkOngKar Singh took a deep breath, it was obvious that talking was hard for him - he was definitely out of practice (perhaps I could arrange talking-lessons from my always-ahead-of-you-by-at-least-200-words-half-of-which-were-"OMG" sister). He waved his hand indicating Didi should tell Ratan Singh's story.

She began, "Ratan Singh, before he partook amrit [ie became a Khalsa], had an unusual nickname. Everyone called him 'Rock' since childhood, because of his love for stones. Not surprisingly, Rock grew up to become a geologist. While hunting for geodes on one of his solo camp outs to the Indian mountains, he fell severely sick after eating some leftovers. He lay in his tent delirious with a perilously high fever, retching, shivering, sweating and shaking; thinking that this might be his last night on Earth. Very late that night, towards morning, he heard the sounds of hooves. A mysterious light approached. Rock thought perhaps the fairy spirit of a sacred cow had come to carry him off to the netherworld (he was delirious remember). Then suddenly the apparition came to a stop right outside his tent. With great difficulty, he lifted the tent edge nearest where he lay, and peeked out frightfully.

Lo and behold, a magnificent sight awaited him!

Astride a blue horse sat a man emitting brilliant white light. A royal white turban adorned his head. The horseman looked directly into Rocks eyes. His searing white hot gaze seemed to penetrate; piercing him as though he had been struck by an arrow. His commanding voice reverberated in the sick mans ears, like echoes in a cave, when he spoke, ordering "Ratan Singh, wake up!"

Rock fainted away into a dead sleep. Much later when he awoke again he discovered he had been completely healed. Sitting up, he remembered the vision (how could he forget?), but shrugged it off thinking he had to have been hallucinating. He stretched, stood up and stepped outside his tent. Looking down, he observed tracks appearing to be horse hoofs. Shaking his head in disbelief he bent over to examine them more closely and then to his utter amazement he spied a small silver arrow with the name "Ratan Singh" inscribed on it. You can imagine the shock Rock felt upon discovering that his vision had indeed been real. Soon after returning home, he realized the one in his vision to be none other than the Great Guru Gobind Singh ji! Before long he had partaken amrit, receiving at that time the very name of Ratan Singh."

When he heard this last part, EkOngKar Singh became very excited and jumped up interrupting Didi. He told us, "So when I hear this tale from Ratan Singh, I want to be like him – I want this amrit too. I want to be happy and carefree. Ratan Singh tell me, "Do WaheGuru WaheGuru early morning, read Jap Ji and Guru Gobind Singh come to you too!"

After few months, I partake amrit and get the SatNaam diamond inside me. Enough talk, now we sing!"

Saying that, he started singing,

Guru Raam Daas Ji
I searched and searched and through Guru's Grace, found the True One, my Friend, the One who pervades and presides over all.
Within the walled fortress of my golden body, the True One's SatNaam is revealed.

The True One's SatNaam is a jewel, a diamond; by which my mind and body are pierced through and through.
By great good fortune, I have found the True One. Nanak is permeated with the One' sublime essence (sggs 449)

Morals for the Genie

The top 2 morals for the Genie story:

Anonymous
The Genie is the mind - let it do Sat with inhale and Naam with exhale, otherwise it will eat you up!

Beth Webb, Hurst, TX (www.bbyoga.biz)
Sometimes we THINK we have so much to do that our thoughts keep us from actually "DOING" the WORK.

The Genie

Once there lived a very a wealthy man with many farms and businesses all over the world.

He was also a devotee of a yogi who lived in his city. No matter how busy he was, he would visit the yogi at least once a day. The yogi was quite pleased with him and one day told him, "Ask for anything and you shall receive it."

The wealthy man thought awhile and said, "I have too much work and not enough good workers. I want a servant who will do things at very fast speed."

The yogi said, "There is a genie I have under my control who could be of service to you. The only problem with it is that it has a condition attached to his service."

The wealthy man said, "And what might that be?"

The yogi answered, "The genie is alright as long you have work for it, but as soon as it is free, it will eat you up!"

The wealthy man laughed at that and said, "Oh, no problem with that, I have plenty of work for it."

The yogi warned him again. Once again the man laughed it off. So the yogi gave him the bottle the genie lived in. As soon as he got home, the wealthy man eagerly broke open the bottle. A big genie appeared and said just one thing, "Work!"

The man told him to till his land. The genie disappeared and re-appeared in a few minutes!

"Work!" he demanded. This greatly surprised the man. He took a look outside his window and sure enough, all his land had been tilled. He said, "Now sow all the seed into it."

Once again the genie disappeared and re-appeared in a few minutes and demanded, "Work!"

The man remembered the yogi's warning and had to think quite hard to come up with work for the genie. He told the genie to feed all his animals. Once again the genie disappeared and re-appeared in a few minutes and demanded, "Work!"

Now the man started sweating. Surely he would be eaten soon because he didn't have much more work for this genie.

With panic, he thought hard and told the genie to deliver all his mail personally around the globe. The genie disappeared and the man quickly ran to the yogi shouting, "Save me! Save me!"

The yogi laughed and reminded him of the warning. The man told the yogi, "You were right, yogi jee, you were right! Now save me! For surely I am doomed!"

The yogi said, "This is what you should do. As soon as the genie returns, ask him to build a pole outside."

The man interrupted, "But he will do that in 2 seconds - you don't know that genie, please think of something else. Please save me.."

The yogi said, "NOW CALM DONE AND LISTEN! ... After the genie has built the pole, tell it to climb the pole. Once it is up, it should climb down. Then it should climb up again. And it should continue this until you have some other job for it. After which it should start climbing and descending the pole again."

~~~~~

If you have a spiritual moral for this story, please send it to daljitMsingh@gmail.com

The Hot One on the Beach - 3

read previous part...

So I'm sitting here on the beach with the hottest One EVER at my side. She just told me the secret of life and I am having a ball realizing how awesome life really is. Tornado, my 5-year-old wired cousin from hell (ok, I take that back - my sweet cousin from heaven) is busy counting the grains of sand on the beach [what a dork! - ok I take that back - what a cutie pie].


Most of the questions I have about life, birds and bees (and the 'emerald-eyes' girl in my class) have vanished completely from my mind. While we are on the subject of girls, I have to tell you that the girl I just mentioned - she and me are like... like... -have it- on! Like ... we are on the same wavelength, if you know what I mean! you know.. like ... we are like seeing each other.

ok, ok, we are not really seeing each other - she did however look in my direction once when we were in the chemistry lab; and winked. Yes, winked! Not once, but several times. ok, ok, she didn't really wink, but blinked - she had an allergic reaction to a chemical that was dropped on the floor. But so what? She still did look in my direction, didn't she? ok, ok, it was I who dropped the chemical on the floor. You should have seen...

What?! oh, you want me to stop my blabbering and ask some good questions while the Hot One is still around - not a bad idea I must say, not a bad idea at all.

One question pops in to my head - I turn to the Hot One and ask, "So what's the deal with the Guru? If we are all one why do .."

But before I finish my profound question...

~snap~

I am ... standing in the middle of the Ocean! Whoa! What happened?! I can't move! It's dark all around, only the wave crests are white with the reflection of the moon. I can't move anything ... except my eyes a bit - even those barely. OMG! What happened? And it's freezing!! Am I dreaming?! I am going to try to move eyes downwards to see what I am standing on - it's weird out here in the middle of the dark Ocean.

OMG! OMG! I see a thing sticking out where my nose should be.... it's a CARROT!!! And my cheeks are all white ... I... am.. am.. a SNOWMAN!!! A SNOWMAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN!!! THIS IS CRAZY!! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? A SIMPLE QUESTION!! I CURSE THE BUMPER STICKERS WHICH SAY "QUESTION AUTHORITY" AND...

WHAT?! OH?!!! YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?!! CALM DOWN MY ... ... OMG OMG DO I STILL HAVE AN...

OK, OK, you have a point. What does my Kundalini yoga teacher always say? "Mul Bandh!" (no! not sure if that's possible in these circumstances) ... "Deep inhale deep inhale"... but HOW DO I INHALE THROUGH A CARROT?!.. I'M DYING. GOODBYE READERS, HELLO GRAN-DADDY!

This is probably the last half-story I will write. Oh, why did I listen to you readers?! You sitting in your cozy chairs somewhere warm and I, freezing my butt off (if I still have one - and mine is/was a really good one!) and have a carrot for a nose ... and... and what ELSE has been substituted by a vegetable? OMG?!! Dear readers, save me.. the girl with emerald-eyes.. ohhh, she really looked in my direction... really! I wasn't lying about that...

ok, ok, I got to calm down - I can't go out like this! Dear readers, please tell my sister that I really thinks she awesome - I only say mean things about her because I'm.. I'm jealous! Please tell the Principal that it was I who painted her poodle pink. I am getting really cold...really cold... and last thing, my blog's password is....

Wait a minute... I see something rising right in front of me. It's like an iceberg! It's getting to be dawn too, so I can see a bit better. The tip of the iceberg is a few feet away from me. It's directly in my vision, so I can't help but look at it. And... and, I hear a sound. Oh... it's the most beautiful sound! I'm melting into this sound. The sound is getting stronger and more beautiful. And more subtle. It's .. it's bliss! Bliss! Bliss! I am melting. I am in bliss. I am bliss! I love it! I love me; I love you. Love, love... Oh, I can't take this - it's too wonderful! I am melting, I am melting. This is not possible. This is too beautiful! I can't ... I can't.. describe it.... I'm melting into the sound and the waves below me. Ah, the warm, warm embrace of the waves... They gush over me... I am going into the water.. warm, blissful water.. Here I go into the water...

I am the water! I am everywhere at once! This is incredible! I am the Ocean, the rivers. I am the clouds and I am the trees! I am the mountains. I am everything! I am human and and I am animal and I am vegetation and I am rock! This is incredible. I can't describe it! I have melted into everything. Everything is ALIVE! I am vibrating with LIFE! I FEEL everything! All emotions are mine. All love is mine. I am Love and Love is me. I love you. I love me. I hear everything. It's a perfect symphony! I am one! I am all!

~snap~

I am back in my body lying next to the Hot One. I look at her and cry out. I don't know why I am crying, but I am. I can't keep the cries inside. She, me, you are too beautiful. There is too much depth and beauty for me not to cry.

She turns to me. She is indescribably kind. Everything about her is love and kindness. She is ... is... I cant' describe this - she is love. Bliss. ALIVE! So alive...

My sobs end. I take a deep breath. Oh the delicious breath! Incredible! I didn't realize how sweet breath is. I feel the power and joy of each breath particle, each molecule of air going into my alive body. My body is alive with vibration. All parts of my body are singing! I didn't know they could sing! And the song is breathtaking! It's joyous! It's bliss! bliss bliss.

I take a breath, eternity passes,… I visit each wonder of the cosmos in an instant, I breathe all that is beautiful, all that is sad, the drama of each life plays out before me joyously, tremulously. I live and die myriads of times in myriads of existences, taking place in myriad of worlds, in oceans, in sand. A wave washes over me, I exhale…

Tornado whips by showering me in a wave of sand still counting, as only a child who can't count can, one billion gazillion trillion, 39 billion gazillion trillion, 2 hundred 89 thousand hundred trillion gazillion billion zillion; he scoops and tosses handfuls of sand showering me and the Hot One who smiles sweetly, sizzling each grain into threads of spun glass, which shimmer and fall back to the beach to be swept out to sea by an incoming wave on its way out.

I become aware of a sand crab tickling my toes, I watch as it climbs my leg. It scuttles up my torso and climbs my neck and pauses to whisper into my ear. I hear its crabby little voice say… "breathe". I hear my breath as I inhale and exhale in a long sigh as my air is coming out.... I inhale the present and turn to Hot One in awe of blissful eternity, still hearing the ringing of its song through my being…thrilling my fibers of existence.

"I... I.." I hopelessly begin, "didn't know!"

She nodded.

"I didn't know you cared so much?!" I finally managed to say, "I .. thought you were carefree!"

"The Guru is part of me which cares.
The Guru is the part of me which loves.
The Guru is the part of me which sings to you.
The Guru is part of me which unites me and you!"

~~~~~

Guru Nanak's Jap Ji, stanza #5
The immaculate and pure One cannot be established or created.
Those who serve, experience the One. O Nanak, sing of the One, the treasure of excellence.

Sing ... and listen, and let your mind be filled with love. Your pain will be replaced with peace.
The all-pervading Guru's Word is the sound-current of the Naad and the wisdom of the Vedas.

The Guru is Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Paarvati and Lakhshmi.
The True One cannot be described in words even by those who know.

The Guru has given me this one understanding: may I never forget the giver of all souls.

Morals for Sher Singh

I got several great responses - here are the top 3 (please see Comments for more).

Parvati, Enid, OK
"DON'T MESS WITH EMS!"

Anonymous
Mughal = Ego, Sher Singh = Guru, Sher Singh's sword = SatNaam
Any questions?

Sonu Kapoor
The Spiritual Moral of the story goes back to a Sakhi ["true story"] related to Guru Gobind Singh Ji [the tenth Sikh Master], a moment in his life period where he was once surrounded by enemy forces and a Mugal leader who challenged him for a dual.

Guru Gobind Singh ji offered 3 chances for the Mugal Leader to gain victory, when the 3rd attack came close and touched Guru Gobind Singh Ji, he then took his turn and finished off the Mugal Leader with one strike.

Allowing the enemy to go first, allows a saint to stand behind his principals with confidence, it also brings self assurance that he/she is Right and therefore has the support of the almighty. It is a test of confidence and faith in the principals of one's beliefs; "if I am wrong, than may I die, but if I am right, than victory shall be mine" The moment the first blow of the enemy is missed/altered, the saint gains confidence and assurance that he is correct and therefore uses that bliss of energy to return a blow back to his enemy and gains victory.

Often in a battlefield the weaker opponent will strike first because of fear, by resisting the desire to strike first the stronger opponent projects confidence in himself and in the almighty.

Sher Singh let his opponent go first, being alone in a battlefield, surrounded by mugals and not choosing to take the first strike, showed his confidence in his Guru "ja ko rakhe sahina mar sake na koye". The method which Sher Singh used to strike his opponent sent a clear and precise message to the entire mugal army "You may talk all you want, but the moment you make a move against what is right, you will crumble to the ground, for neither your head nor your body will support your useless talk"

Sher Singh and the Moghul leader

One morning after EMS (please see http://seekerofone.blogspot.com/2008/09/beware-of-ems.html for the dangers of doing this Early Morning Sadhana/meditation), Sher Singh was travelling into the forest. He was drowning in the spiritual bliss of SatNaam and walked right into a Mughal soldier's ambush (yet another danger of using the EMS drug - you walk into Mughal soldier's ambushes).

Since he was an adept saint-soldier, he had no problem escaping the trap. The Mughal leader called out to him, "I have heard much about the Khalsa and their Guru - come and show me what your Guru has taught you!"

Listening to the challenge to his Guru - Guru Gobind Singh ji - Sher Singh could not resist the Mughal's call.

So he returned.

The Mughal growled, "We will each show our swordsmanship - the winner will walk free."

Sher Singh agreed. They stood a few feet apart. First, the Mughal took his sharp sword and with "whooshs" filling the air, managed to unhook Sher Singh's battledress clean off.

All the other Mughals soldiers were impressed - they shouted something in ALL CAPS.

Then Sher Singh took out his sword and a few "whooshs" later, re-sheathed it. Apparently no damage had been done to the Mughal leader.

The Mughal smirked, "What good is that?!"

Sher Singh suggested, "Move your head..."

The Mughal leader turned his head and lo and behold, it came clean off his body.

~~~~~

Yes, there is a spiritual moral in this story. And no, it ain't "The Mughal leader had it coming!" If you can come up with the spiritual moral for this story (I bow to you), please send it to daljitMsingh@gmail.com - the best one(s) will be published.

Beware of EMS!!!

Beware!!!! Deadly drug on the streets - EMS!

I usually don't write about stuff like this but THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Please do read.

There is a lethal drug on the streets - it's called EMS (aka AVSN by old users). A friend cried to me about it the other day; said she, "It COMPLETELY changed my life," she told me between tears, "I no longer enjoy anything without a dosage of EMS!!!" she admitted.

It was heartbreaking to see someone so lively BECOME SO STILL!!!
This friend used to love hanging out at the malls for hours - NO MORE!!!
She used to have great arguments with her friends about the latest fads - NO LONGER!!!
She would spend hours on the Internet - YOU GUESSED IT, THE MOUSE SITS IDLE ALL DAY!!!
I'm telling you: do what it takes to avoid this drug. Someone who is beloved to you MIGHT ALREADY be hooked onto this drug. People who take this drug usually do it because of peer pressure - SO PLEASE DON'T HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE ON THIS DRUG!!!
How can you tell who the users are - well, here are some common symptoms:
~ EXCESSIVE stillness
~ IRRATIONAL cheerfulness
~ COMPLETE LACK of gloomy outlook
~ UNCOMMON health, happiness and holiness
~ UNHOLY wholesomeness
~ UNNATURAL love of trees and stars and rivers and lakes
~ NON-ATTACHMENT to monetary things (gasp!)
~ UNGODLY loving and hugging of other humans
~ HIGHLY DISRUPTIVE "enjoy the moment" mindset

This drug, EMS - Early Morning Sadhana (meditation) or AVSN (Amrit Vela Sach Nao, as Guru Nanak calls it) is DANGEROUS!! It has ruined many lives and it will surely ruin yours (as you know it). The whole of civilization (as we know it) is at stake here.

Here are some expert opinions:
~ Guru Nanak (jap ji stanza # 4)
True is the One, True is One's Name - speak it with infinite love.
We beg, "Give this to us, give that to us", and the great giver keeps on giving.

So what offering can we (the receivers of gifts) place before the One (giver), by which we might see the One's court? What words can we speak to evoke One's love?

The answer: In the Amrit vela, meditate on the True Name, and contemplate One's glorious greatness (Amrit Vela btw is the ambrosial hours before dawn - the time when it is hardest to get up, since the blanket is ohhh soooo comfy and the snooze button is ohhh sooo seductive - I am thinking of getting a alarm clock which has snore-recognition - if I'm snoring, it should unplug itself).

By the karma of past actions, the robe of this physical body is obtained, but the gate of liberation is found only by grace.
Nanak says: then (and only then) we realize that the True One is the only one around!

~ Guru Amar Daas jee
If a seeker cries (to the beloved) at amrit vela, those cries are heard in One's court (sggs 1285)

~ Guru Ram Das jee
One who calls herself a seeker of the Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on One's Name (sggs 305)

~ Sheikh Fareed JiIf you do not awaken in the early hours before dawn, you are dead while yet alive [zombies rule!] (sggs 1383)

~ Yogi Bhajan (more of Yogi ji's views on Sadhana)
"SADHANA!!!!"
Only word in Yogi Bhajan's reply-letter to a long, long letter from a seeker who asked for a cure for his fledgling spirituality, lousy prosperity and failing relationships.

~ Bhai Randhir Singh ji, a great Sikh spiritualist
The seeker that does SatNaam at amrit vela, is assured of enlightenment

~ Baba Nand Singh ji, another great Sikh spiritualist
(Upon finding out that someone will be writing his (Baba jee's) biography)
Imagine an almond. It has the outer shell, the brown part we all see. Then it has a white inner part that is not seen. My life is like that almond. The biographer will be writing about that brown outer part - what I did, what I said - but my real life, the inner white, is from 1 am till 6 am. Nobody can possibly even imagine that life, let alone write about it. Only I know that real life.

~ Rumi
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the doorsill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.