There was a young girl by the name Sifty who had a very curious mind. Even at the young age of 8, she had already read most of the world's classics. Her parents, who were blue-collar workers and had never attended college, were proud of her; and also a little intimated by her. They would often wonder where she got her brains from.
As it turns out, she got her brains from one of her Aunts, her mother's sister by the name of Karney - they found this out when Karney was visiting their city and happened to run into them at the local library when they were picking up their library-attached daughter. The Aunt had not been in contact with them for ages and it was a wonder that she even recognized them.
When Sifty was introduced to her Aunt, it was love at first conversation. Her Aunt had a PhD in literature, had taught at universities across the country and given literary workshops around the world. It was a perfect match. They spent almost all of the summer together in discussion about the universe and its workings.
Once Karney was talking about her youth and it was then Sifty found out that her Aunt and her mother were actually twins. Sifty had been wondering lately about how her mother's life and Karney's life were so different. Karney enjoyed the world, while her mother mostly just collapsed in front of the TV as soon as she got home and after hastily putting together a reminiscent of a dinner; watching hockey of all things with her father; they both gulped down beer after beer and her mom was usually snoring away embarrassingly loudly after an hour or so; it was usual for her father to half-lift, half-walk his wife to bed each night.
But to realize that Karney and her mother were twins was a shock - how could their lives be so different?! Once after a heated argument with her mom, she bluntly asked her, “What happened to you?!"
"You want to know what happened to me?" her mother replied in anger, "I will tell you what happened? You happened!" As soon as she said that, a sob escaped her and she covered her mouth with her hand, "Yes, you happened. I and your 'fabulous' Aunt were similar in every way, we had the same dreams and the same plans, but .. I took a turn when I met your father. He was the hockey captain and very different from my world, so it was fun to be with him, but I got.. I got pregnant with you and ... and now," she pointed to the TV and the cans of beers lying around, "this happened!"
Teacher: So which of the twins is more interesting to God?
Seeker: (after a long pause) I would think Karney is but I don't think you would have asked that question if it wasn't a trick one!
Teacher: Ha! Yes, you know me well! Well, God finds both of their lives equally interesting and valuable. God is big and keeps on getting bigger with each of our experiences.
Seeker. How so?
Teacher: With each experience you have, God grows - you are expanding God's experiential knowledge every time you have an experience. Remember you are a spiritual being having a human experience, not the other way around.
Seeker. What kind of experience grows God?
Teacher: All experiences - from you sitting in a car waiting impatiently for the traffic light to turn, to you stubbing your toe on a table corner and to you searching for the formless One within you!
Seeker: But most of my life is boring!
Teacher: Not to God. Have you seen a new mother talking about her child? She calls her friends when the child does something new; even something as small as falling sideways and giggling. For God, we are perpetually new children.
Seeker: So God loves every moment of ours?
Teacher: Yes. Even spiritual masters love each moment. For most of us, we have decided to love parts of our lives and not others. For some it is watching sports and they impatiently go through their days to get to the game start-time and then they become alive with passion. For others, it's spiritual things. You, for example, rush through your day finding it boring and shallow, but when you get here, you become attentive and joyful.
Seeker: So true.
Teacher: But masters know that each moment is alive and just as fulfilling as any other moment, because remember God resides in this moment and you can't skip this moment to enjoy God in the next. You have to enjoy God in this moment, because God really just exists in this moment!
Seeker: But if I just start enjoying each moment, who is going to meditate on naam?
Teacher (with a hearty laughter): My dear, dear friend, enjoy each moment WITH naam. That is the message of Guru Nanak.
Only God knows how big God is
Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 24th pauri
As it turns out, she got her brains from one of her Aunts, her mother's sister by the name of Karney - they found this out when Karney was visiting their city and happened to run into them at the local library when they were picking up their library-attached daughter. The Aunt had not been in contact with them for ages and it was a wonder that she even recognized them.
When Sifty was introduced to her Aunt, it was love at first conversation. Her Aunt had a PhD in literature, had taught at universities across the country and given literary workshops around the world. It was a perfect match. They spent almost all of the summer together in discussion about the universe and its workings.
Once Karney was talking about her youth and it was then Sifty found out that her Aunt and her mother were actually twins. Sifty had been wondering lately about how her mother's life and Karney's life were so different. Karney enjoyed the world, while her mother mostly just collapsed in front of the TV as soon as she got home and after hastily putting together a reminiscent of a dinner; watching hockey of all things with her father; they both gulped down beer after beer and her mom was usually snoring away embarrassingly loudly after an hour or so; it was usual for her father to half-lift, half-walk his wife to bed each night.
But to realize that Karney and her mother were twins was a shock - how could their lives be so different?! Once after a heated argument with her mom, she bluntly asked her, “What happened to you?!"
"You want to know what happened to me?" her mother replied in anger, "I will tell you what happened? You happened!" As soon as she said that, a sob escaped her and she covered her mouth with her hand, "Yes, you happened. I and your 'fabulous' Aunt were similar in every way, we had the same dreams and the same plans, but .. I took a turn when I met your father. He was the hockey captain and very different from my world, so it was fun to be with him, but I got.. I got pregnant with you and ... and now," she pointed to the TV and the cans of beers lying around, "this happened!"
Seeker: (after a long pause) I would think Karney is but I don't think you would have asked that question if it wasn't a trick one!
Teacher: Ha! Yes, you know me well! Well, God finds both of their lives equally interesting and valuable. God is big and keeps on getting bigger with each of our experiences.
Seeker. How so?
Teacher: With each experience you have, God grows - you are expanding God's experiential knowledge every time you have an experience. Remember you are a spiritual being having a human experience, not the other way around.
Seeker. What kind of experience grows God?
Teacher: All experiences - from you sitting in a car waiting impatiently for the traffic light to turn, to you stubbing your toe on a table corner and to you searching for the formless One within you!
Seeker: But most of my life is boring!
Teacher: Not to God. Have you seen a new mother talking about her child? She calls her friends when the child does something new; even something as small as falling sideways and giggling. For God, we are perpetually new children.
Seeker: So God loves every moment of ours?
Teacher: Yes. Even spiritual masters love each moment. For most of us, we have decided to love parts of our lives and not others. For some it is watching sports and they impatiently go through their days to get to the game start-time and then they become alive with passion. For others, it's spiritual things. You, for example, rush through your day finding it boring and shallow, but when you get here, you become attentive and joyful.
Seeker: So true.
Teacher: But masters know that each moment is alive and just as fulfilling as any other moment, because remember God resides in this moment and you can't skip this moment to enjoy God in the next. You have to enjoy God in this moment, because God really just exists in this moment!
Seeker: But if I just start enjoying each moment, who is going to meditate on naam?
Teacher (with a hearty laughter): My dear, dear friend, enjoy each moment WITH naam. That is the message of Guru Nanak.
Only God knows how big God is
Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, 24th pauri
No comments:
Post a Comment