2458 - Khajana Darshan July 11, 2022 – Michigan
2458 - Khajana Darshan July 11, 2022 – Michigan (English Translation)
Transliteration Key for Gurbani
ੴ ਸਤਿਨਾਮ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
॥ ਜਪੁ॥
ਆਦਿ ਸਚੁ ਜੁਗਾਦਿ ਸਚੁ। ॥ ਹੈ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਹੋਸੀ ਭੀ ਸਚੁ॥
Let us please become totally still and hear the celestial music (Anhad Shabad). It is emerging from the hirdaa (heart area) but until we become totally still, silent, we feel that it is ringing or it is playing around the head and we can hear it through the ears.
My daughters were just singing a beautiful shabad:
aapey bahu bidh ranglaa sakhiye mera laal
Words like mera laal can only emerge if our inside is filled with love. This is a love story.
jay tau prem khelan ka chao
As our consciousness becomes empty of thoughts, it is filled with love, and a completely empty consciousness is nothing but ishq. As less and less thoughts occur to us, we become more and more loving.
Let us remove our consciousness that is going to sing and hear, from our ‘I-ness’. Let’s sing while feeling what we are singing, and not dry.
Dharnaa:
ਇਹ ਕਵਨ ਸੁ ਦੇਸ ਸੁਹਾਵੜਾ, ਤੇ ਕਵਨ ਸੁ ਪਾਕ ਜਗ੍ਹਾ
eh kavan so des suhaavDaa, tay kavan su paak jagaah
What place is this – so beautiful country, so holy place ?
ਜਿੱਥੇ ਅਨਹਦ ਨਾਦ ਨੀ, ਫਿਜਾ ਨੂੰ, ਮਸਤੀ ਰਿਹਾ ਚੜ੍ਹਾ
jithay anhad naad nee, fizaa nooN, mastee rehaa chaDaa
What is this holy place where the celestial music is making the whole atmosphere intoxicated?
ਤੇ ਆਹ ਵਾਸੀ ਕਿਸ ਨੇ ਦੇਸ ਦੇ, ਗੁਰ ਸਭਾ ਚ ਮਿਲੀ ਜਗ੍ਹਾ
tay aah vaasee kis nay des de gur sabah ch milee jagah
And who are these so blessed, so fortunate souls that they have been allotted seats in the court of the Divine.
Wherever there is celestial music, there is also the Divine light which can be felt by bringing the consciousness very close to our face.
ਨੀ ਇਹ ਜੱਗੋਂ ਬਾਹਰੇ ਮੁਖੜੇ, ਨੂਰ ਜਿੰਨਾਂ ਚੋਂ ਡਲਕ ਰਹਾ
nee eh jaggoN baahrey mukhDay, noor jinnaaN choN dalak rihaa
These faces are not the worldly faces. I see flashes of the Divine light emanating from their faces.
ਤੇ ਨਿਸਚਿੰਤ ਜਿਹੇ ਇਹ ਚਿਹਰੇ, ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ ਲਏ ਘੜ੍ਹਾ
nischint jehay eh chehray, ehnaaN kithoN laye ghaDaa
The faces who look so peaceful and worry free – how did they get faces like these ? Where did they get these ?
In the 36th pauri of Japji Sahib, Maharaj Ji says:
Saram kẖand kī baṇī rūp.
saram means to work very hard. Gyaan khand is the stage when we start feeling the divine within; gyaan means knowledge. Saram khand is the stage when God makes us put in the effort and we meditate a lot. Roop means divinely face, what cannot be seen but can be felt. We are reborn with a new face.
Ŧithai gẖāṛaṯ gẖaṛī▫ai bahuṯ anūp.
Anūp means unique, one of a kind. Maharaj Ji says that your face will be unique, completely different from what you see in the world.
ਤਿਥੈ ਘੜੀਐ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਮਤਿ ਮਨਿ ਬੁਧਿ ॥
Ŧithai gẖaṛī▫ai suraṯ maṯ man buḏẖ.
New consciousness (surat), new understanding (mat), new thoughts (man), new face (budh). Budh means the new face of the consciousness after being reborn.
Ŧithai gẖaṛī▫ai surā siḏẖā kī suḏẖ.
Consciousness that is beyond that of the siddhas and demi-gods – that is how unique your new face will be.
Please focus while hearing. Maharaj Ji says:
ਭਾਵਨੀ ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗੇਣ ਲਭੰਤੰ ਬਡ ਭਾਗਣਹ ॥
Bẖāvnī sāḏẖ sangeṇ labẖaʼnṯaʼn bad bẖāgṇah.
Bẖāvnī means to love. Maharaj Ji says that to fall in love with the holy congregation happens only to those who are destined to be very fateful.
You have come from all parts of the world. This is falling in love with sangat – Maharaj Ji says it happens to the most fortunate ones.
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮ ਗੁਣ ਰਮਣੰ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਸਾਗਰ ਨਹ ਬਿਆਪਣਹ ॥
Har nām guṇ ramṇaʼn Nānak sansār sāgar nah bi▫āpṇėh.
Maharaj Ji says that through dwelling in the holy congregation, and through feeling the Divine, divine virtues flow into our consciousness. We start becoming the true self and the constant traffic of thoughts stops.
It is very important to understand that being reborn means that no trace of the false I remains, and if it does, then it means the rebirth has not taken place. When we come in Sangat and sing His glories, we feel peaceful, the energies of pride and anger become weaker, but it is important to notice how we act in the remaining 23 hours - that is going to tell us where we are. In life, even big accomplishments are an accumulation of small things. Simple things reveal the state of our consciousness.
When we are in the holy congregation, we feel peaceful, we feel less egoistic, we also feel loving, but what about the remaining 23 hours! I want to share an instance with you, something very small, but something that shook my inside. A while ago, one day I was supposed to meet with four Singhs. There were four chairs and the first two gentlemen took the corner chairs. When the third person arrived, he sat next to the person seated on the left corner and signaled the other gentleman to move next to him so the corner seat would be free for the last person. He requested him three times but the person on the corner did not budge. I was also there but they did not realize that I was watching. The person in the middle moved again and now requested the gentleman in the other corner to shift; he did this multiple times, again with no results. This tells the state of our consciousness! It is such a small thing that we usually do not pay attention to it, but it tells us how much pride and arrogance there is. All four of them were very well educated and this was the state of their consciousness. If we are stuck at such a small thing, when will the rebirth take place ? This instance revealed their behavior, their attitude, outside sangat which reflects reality. Here in sangat, we are in fear of Maharaj Ji, fear of others, we will think twice before doing anything, but that was their natural disposition. It was painful to watch this.
Maharaj Ji says:
ਏਕ ਨੂਰ ਤੇ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਕਉਨ ਭਲੇ ਕੋ ਮੰਦੇ ॥੧॥
Ėk nūr ṯe sabẖ jag upji▫ā ka▫un bẖale ko manḏe.
We have to see that we are all born from the same Divine light. One of the reasons Maharaj Ji says this is for us to see that we are together; we don't have permission to renounce the world. We have to live in the world because we face tests in the world every day. We are shaped by the environment in our family, the environment in our society, by the world we live in. Please understand this - it is not about changing just one person, it is about collective change. I am what I am because of what we all are! Each of us is the way we are because of how we all are as a society. If everyone was at a higher state, then I would have reached a higher state as well. If the state of consciousness in my family was higher, my consciousness would have grown higher as well. Of course, we have to have individual responsibility but we also have responsibility towards the society that we live in.
The instance I talked about is small but it is also very significant. What was behind this situation about seating. The corner seats have more room one one side and it is a bit more comfortable; they thought about their own comfort only. If we want to change, then we will think about other's comfort first. Maharaj Ji taught us but we have forgotten. He taught us to feed others first, and not sit in the corner and eat first. This is a practical path. We think that one fine day I am going to transform and everything is going to change - it is not going to happen like that. We have to stay very awake and change every day. Every day we must change ourselves and feel the positive change happening. If our behavior, our attitude is not changing, then nothing is happening.
Tomorrow we will ponder over Maharaj Ji’s utterances in which he tells us that through hearing the celestial music, our consciousness becomes extremely tender, pure, gentle. All of us, sangat who are staying at Darbar Sahib, should sit together at night and make it a goal to hear the celestial music (Anhad Shabad) for 30-45 minutes and have 2-3 sessions. We should take advantage of this time in sangat; once this time is lost it never comes back. We have a momentous task in front of us - to become reborn, to change our nature which has been with us for lifetimes upon lifetimes, and transform to something completely different.
Maharaj Ji says:
Ja▫o ṯa▫o parem kẖelaṇ kā cẖā▫o.
Sir ḏẖar ṯalī galī merī ā▫o.
If you want to play the game of love, remove your head and keep it on the side, and bring your heart to me.
Gurbani says:
ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਧਿਆਇਓ ਹਿਰਦੈ
an▫ḏin har har ḏẖi▫ā▫i▫o hirḏai
Here Maharaj Ji is saying, remember me in your heart. What does this mean ? It means give me your heart. If my remembrance stays in your heart that means you have given your heart to me. In the world, people say he stole my heart or she stole my heart - that is all false. The heart can only be given to God! Gurbani is very deep and cannot be understood superficially. Bhai Gurdas Ji explained many concepts in his compositions, called vaaraN. Guru Nanak Dev Ji in his fifth appearance gave a blessing to Bhai Gurdas Ji that you are the key to Gurbani, you can open Gurbani to see what is contained in a verse. Until we open Gurbani with the key, we won’t understand it.
Dharnaa:
ਦਿਲ ਦੇਕੇ ਦਿਲਬਰ ਅਪਣੇ ਨੂੰ, ਦਿਲੋਂ ਪਿਆਰ ਭੁਲਾਇਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ
dil deke dilbar apNey nooN , diloN pyaar bhulaayaa jandaa nahiN
If we have given our heart to Him and we want to be reborn, then His remembrance will always stay in our heart. If we give our hearts to Him then not only will we feel humility in the holy congregation, that humility will remain with us all the time.
ਸਿਰ ਰੱਖਕੇ ਯਾਰ ਦੇ ਕਦਮਾਂ ਤੇ, ਕਦੇ ਕਦਮ ਉਠਾਇਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ
sir rakhke yaar de kadmaaN te, kadey kadam uthaayaa jandaa nahiN
If we placed our head and surrendered at His Lotus Feet, then how can we walk away! If we gave everything to Him then how can we be separated from Him.
First, we are responsible towards our family - the rest of our family, our children, will become what we are or what we are becoming; our state of consciousness will be reflected in them. Then, groups of families, and then the whole society will become like that. I am what I am because of who we all are! Each one of us emanates energy. If the collective energy is loving, then it will generate love even in those insides which are devoid of love. If the collective energy is full of humility then everyone will be touched by that humility. But if our consciousness is full of arrogance then that is what we will give to others as well. We have a huge question in front of us. A rare one understands this, let alone reach the destination. A rare one understands that I have such an important task ahead of me and I get entangled in these pointless issues. Please stay awake and change every day. Every night before we go to sleep, should sit silently and reflect upon the journey of the entire day and ask ourselves, am I happy with my behavior towards others today? Wherever we see mistakes, we should reflect upon them time and again and show ourselves that here I acted in a foolish manner, I should not have done it this way.
Due to COVID, we were devoid of sangat and have met after three years. Without the holy congregation, my transformation halted and I felt like I was living a sinful life.
Dharnaa:
ਵੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ, ਤੇਰੇ ਬਾਝੋਂ ਜਿਊਣਾ, ਗੁਨਾਹ ਲੱਗਿਆ
vay mainu tere baajhoN jyooNa gunaah lagyaa
ਜਦੋਂ, ਹੁੰਦੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ ਜੇਰੇ ਸਾਥੋਂ ,ਹੋਰ ਇੰਤਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਦੇ
jadoN hundey nahi see jayray saathoN hor intezaaraaN de
ਵਾਦੇ, ਦਿਲ ਨੂੰ ਦਿਖਾਉਂਦੀ ਸਾਂ ਵੇ, ਤੇਰੇ ਇਕਰਾਰਾਂ ਦੇ
vaade dil nooN dikhaundee saaN vay tere ikraaraaN de
When I would become so restless that I could not wait any longer for the holy congregation, I used to remind my heart, remember the last time we departed from each other, we promised each other that we will meet, so we are going to meet!
If we are singing it correctly, we will feel a lot of energy is needed and the whole inside is vibrating and that is a meditation.
ਇਸ਼ਕ ਆਪਣੇ ਤੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਸੀ, ਯਕੀਨ ਰੱਖਿਆ
ishq aapNey te aseeN see yakeen rakhyaa
I fully trusted the love within me. We are going to meet!
ਵੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੇਰੇ ਬਾਝੋਂ ਜਿਊਣਾ ਗੁਨਾਹ ਲੱਗਿਆ
vay mainu tere baajhoN jyooNa gunaah lagyaa
Living without the holy congregation felt like I was living a sinful life.