Thoughts on Guru Nanak's Birthday

"If one wants one's good, one should be humble while himself being doing good"  

                     - Guru Nanak...

Such a simple practical advice for a day to day life, yet here we are!! Well, that was the first thought I had in the morning today. Because being truly happy comes from from being truly giving. I have felt that in my lifetime, but a handful of times. And the fact that I am mentioning the fact that I have "truly given", belittles my having done so anyway. Darn!

Any how, while listening to Japji sahib, Aarti, Chaupai and Anand sahib (Gurbanis from Sikh Scriptures) this morning on out way to the office, I was feeling 2 things.

Firstly, how good and elated I felt. What was I doing different this particular morning? I was listening to Gurbani! My nanji (maternal grandpa, who was a devout man) used to say, when listening to Gurbani hits you and you feel happy and elated, that not mean that you are enjoying it as if you are in a mode of leisure. It means that the dust of 5 vices inside you is being given a jolt of dusting by the duster of Gurbani. The more the dust, the more the feeling if elation. Gurbani says, without luck you will not see God's congregations (sangat), and without being in sangat, the dust of 5 vices gathers inside you. Beautiful!!

See there is a similarity to be drawn here, i.e. between the dusting of 5 vices and healing of a wound. If I had a wound somewhere and I applied medicine on it, it heals in time. But when its healing and fibrosis is taking place, you itch. And deeper the wound and longer it takes to heal, hence more it itches. Now consider the wound to be a culmination of the 5 vices, medicine to be Gurbani and itching to be the feeling of elation. Get it!

The second thought I had was that of me missing things back home (2nd home, as USA is my first home now). I miss the utter convenience of going to the end of the block to visit Gurdwara (congregation and place of worship) on such auspicious days, miss the community langar (kitchen) where anyone could eat as much as they wanted. I miss the faint morning prayers and hymns coming from Gurdwara loudspeaker. I miss the fireworks to celebrate these days. Miss going to Gurdwara and lighting up the candles. I miss the getting up in the wee hours, and joining community procession and singing the hymns passionately just behind babaji's palki. What joy. I miss it. That is why I have been feeling homesick. the materialistic lifestyle in this country is at odds with out up bringing and all the tiny things we sucked joy out of. All those things used to keep my head out of the sky and vices in check. 

OK feeling a little emotional now...so singing out!!