he natives of Dalla reached their village. Religious _ congregations had continued even in their absence. Bhai sain Dass was considered and treated as leader and spokesman of the village not because he was rich or physically stronger than others but because he was full of love. He loved all. He was free from the common evils of jealousy and prejudice. Amongrelatives and others Bibi Ramo Ji was known for her open heartedness and kindness. One day a friend asked her, “Sister, how strange it is that you never think ill of anybody. One may forget your kindness and one may do evil in return for the good acts done by you but you remain free from all thoughts of illwill.” Ramo said, “Sister, we are all blessed with love by the gracious and kind God. Since life is a gift from Him we must learn to love our fellow beings. Human life is very precious, one must not waste it in useless pursuits. One must rise higher and higher. One must excelin good actions. One must be worthy of God’s love. Guru Ji loves everybody and teaches us to love everybody. If we call ourselves Sikhs we must converse with others in the language of love.”
Frnend— Doyouthink this thought helps in elevating one’s mind to noble deeds?
Ramo— the firstrequirementis faith, firm faith. Then faith should be succeeded by good actions. One must rise above petty considerations in one’s behaviour. In routine dealings one must place truth above everything.
Friend— How can one do that?
Ramo— Faith, belief or trust are more precious than wisdom. Faith moves mountains. Faith is a rare quality. We do not understand the value of faith. When we have faith that there is God and He is with us and He loves us, one
gets strength to accomplish even the impossible things. One considers oneself competent to do everything. One starts feeling oneself that God is helping him, God is guiding him and God is with him. As this belief is strengthened, one becomes stronger and more confident. As faith becomes deeper, one’s belief becomes stronger that God is present everywhere and protecting and guiding us. With every passing day one believes more and more that God loves us and God is always with us. sister, when this belief becomes a deep-rooted faith, one is bound to think that God is the source of all love. One starts thinking that as God treats me with love, also musttreat others with the same feeling of love. Inthis way God's love encourages us to love others. If my Father loves everybody and love is His main trait, then I can endear myself to Him only by doing to others as He does to me. Moreover, faith in God solves all difficulties and one finds good actions flowing naturally from oneself. One has to make no effort to do good because doing - good becomes a natural habit. His love encourages and inspires us to do good to others. This inspiration gives strength and. confidence to go farther and farther on the road to truth. Here another phenomenon takes place. Even the thought of doing evil to anybody gives pain and the heart cramps and shrinks. In other words faith in God does not let us think even of doing evil to anybody. One just can not think of hurting anybody because if one “as faith in God, one thinks that by hurting others, one would be | urting God Himself. Even the mere thought of hurting others makes the person restless and creates a bad taste. Such a person finds no peace in Gurbani. He finds no solace in prayer. He finds no joy in doing good to others. Rather he starts feeling like a fish out of water. One forgets God and thus loses the source of inspiration. This state of mind is worse than any punishment. In this state of mind one prays and asks for forgiveness and one promises never to do evil to others in future. So, when the mind is restless one must recite Gurbani to find solace. Even if-one is not able to concentrate, one must recite Gurbani. Slowly and steadily one will find concentration returning and the mind feeling at peace.
When Gurbani drives the evil thoughts away from the mind, one finds peace, harmony and love. A man feels as if he was being crushed by a very heavy weight, as if a mountain had fallen on him and it was with great difficulty that he could extricate himself from the crushing weight. When the mind returns to peace, one thanks God, and says in gratitude, “I had gone against the dictates of God. Keep me near your feet. Be kind to me, letme seek no other refuge. Give me the gift of your blessings. Give me your blessings that remember you always and everywhere.” With these thoughts one gets transformed and one finds His blessings flowing to him.
Fnend—Ihave found that only you are full of love towards others. Why are others not like that? Does it Mean that only the chosen few undergo such an experience? Can it happen to everybody? Does it happen to everybody without exception?
Ramo— First of all, it is not correct that we are the chosen | few. Our election can be only on the basis of our foolishness. People have the capacity to become something and the range is very wide as it extends from a saint to a robber. Good actions make us happy whereas evil actions make us sad and disappointed. Good actions add to our energy whereas evil actions sap our energy. The reality is that evil persons slowly become so insensitive that their only concern is to know the efforts of their evil actions. If ever their actions make them sad, they try to drown and forget these feelings in drinking and gambling. Thereafter one evil leads the men to another. With the passage of time they become hardened criminals and become so insensitive that nothing moves their soul. The worldly wise people try to justify their actions and try to ask themselves as to what circumstances compelled them to do like that. They tell themselves that it was inevitable and no other course was available. If these people are unable tojustify their actions they try to indulge in diversions like fun games, gambling, dancing and other vulgar actions. They know that they are unhappy but they make no effort to know the rootcause of their state of mind. They do not try to locate the reality or the cause of their sorrow.
On the other hand a regular participant in the religious congregation develops this faculty from the very beginning. Whether such a man is weak or strong, the very fact that he participates inthe congregation shows that he wants to know the source or the cause of his unhappiness and in the light of his acquired knowledge he tries to mend himself and thereby improve. When one tries to find the cause, one may come to _know about some act which might have unintentionally hurt
others or he might have spoken ill words against others or he might have taken a decision out of prejudice. Such a person goes on trying to locate the real cause of his sorrow. He does not rest until he has found the himself. A seeker knows that Nam is capable of washing all sins which somehow or the other creep into the human soul. A participant in the congregation increases his capacity to do good and proportionately his capacity to do evil is reduced.
Friend— Sister, I have perfectly followed your line of action but now kindly tell me how should one become a seeker or how should one seek God's protection. My marriage took place sixteen years ago and it is for the first time that I have come to visit my parents. After filling one’s stomach one thinks that all is well with the world. Men and cattle all behave alike. But! feel pain in my heart when even an animal dies. | have been here for the last three months and ! feel myself at home. Everybody is very considerate. Every body seemshappy and contented. Nobody feels unduly sad and unduly happy. You are indifferent to what happens around. Sorrows or joy do not affect you. Disease and ignorance are not the characteristics of this village. I wonder how and why life is so different here. When I was here, the people had faith in Sikh religion but now the things are different. Either I was then too young and ignorant or some transformation has taken place here in the meantime.
Ramo— I have told you that even an iota of faith makes a great difference Even a grain of faith in God removes all doubts and misgivings. Those who are cautious, they stumble more often. Those who worry too much about their children or their
personal well being suffer more tragedies. Those who have faith that God loves them, and that He will do only the right thing, they do not suffer. Their loss is minimum. They accept their loss as a grace of a God. They are of the view that God loves them so, it is unthinkable that He will do them any harm and if something goes wrong it must be ultimately for their good.
This belief protects them. It is their shield always and everywhere. Dear friend, there are two states, day and night. One who walks in the day light stumbles less often but one who walks and wanders in the darkness, stumbles more and suffers more injuries. Here ‘light’ is symbolic. To have faith that He is, and that He is always with me and that He loves me, is light, is knowledge. Good actions, sympathy, love cooperation truth, love are the rays of spiritual light. Whosoever has these qualities, suffers much less than the one who wanders in the darkness of dilemma, indecision, superstition, falsehood, enmity, anger, lust and greed. Whosoever has these characteristics is lost in chaos. Goodness is the other name of ‘light’ or knowledge. Evil is the absence of light and ignorance is the absence of knowledge. Evil is diametrically Opposite to good. So it proves that evil and darkness have no existence of their own which means that they exist when good and light are missing. One who walks on the road to truth, walks in light and achieves something but one who walks in darkness or evil, loses everything. What can an evil man be proud of? He is constantly losing, he is becoming a pauper, he is sowing the seeds of sorrow. The wisemen say that God alone
is truth and He is omnipresent. He was, He is and He shall be.
He is free from space and time. He is immortal andetemal. Heis | light, He is the source of all light. He is truth. He is the source of © all truth. Guru Ji says in the past. He was present in the © present and in the future He will be present. In other words it means that only truth is immortal everything else is slave and subordinate to time and space. Whatever is not true is neither immortal nor eternal. What is neither true, nor immortal, nor eternal is not worth our attention.
Let me give you another example. The traders either earn a profit or suffer a loss. Profit increases their capital whereas loss decreases it. Similarly good conduct is a bargain of profit, which increases our worth whereas evil actions eat into our Capital; we become weak financially with each passing day. Evil actions break us from within. These make us vulnerable and weaken our resolve to resist temptation. Whosoever suffers from doubts and suspicions, gets broken from within. He loses and loses again. The net results of this behaviour are diseases and sufferings. The panacea for all these problems les in Nam, true and firm devotion. Faithin God is the panacea of all doubts and problems. Faith removes fear and worry, anxiety and doubt. Guru Ji says that those who have faith are free from sorrow and suffering. Fear and doubt are the sources of all sufferings. So, when fear and doubt are removed, all problems stand eliminated. How does it happen? By reciting the Psalm of Peace, one can focus the wandering attention. The wavering mind finds peace and harmony. In the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji the first Guru Ji described God as fearless and free from all prejudice and enmity.
Whosoever has faith in God, inculcates in himself the qualities of fearlessness and freedom from all prejudices. Such a person will come out of the depth of evil and nse to the glory of good. The Guru Sahibs have eleborated on this point in detail. Guru Ji says that a fearless person is free from all doubts and fears. In other words it means that by placing faith in God the faithful becomes free from all fear. By remembering God one gets over all the problems which corrode the mind. This fear does not mean the awe which is born out of God's grandeur and glory, might and majesty but fear here means the fear of losing something precious, the fear of death of a close relation or the fear something might be snatched from me.
This fear kills all joys. Itseeps into our vital energy. We are to this fear with fearlessness which is based on faith in God. 50, it must be clear, very clear to you, that fear and doubt weaken the man whereas faith gives strength and belief that God is merciful. He is with us and He is always kind. This faith keeps
us Steadfast in the face of adversity. WE can call these conditions as debit and credit. Fear and doubt fall in the category of debit whereas faith in the Almighty falls in the category of profit. Those who indulge in evil actions and accept to reap good, are living in paradise, they are certainly deceiving themselves.
Friend— (with a sigh of relief) That is true but sister, how can one make it happen? I have followed what you have said but I find that I lack the strength and the will to do as you have suggested. I wish to act upon your advice. Please help me in grasping the intricacies of the process. I find that the greatest hurdle is that the world is too much with us, we have indulged in the world to such an extent that to extricate ourselves from all this looks very difficult.
Ramo— Thehabit of over-indulgence inthe worldly affairs which are the source of all illusions and ignorance needs regular and forceful attack. Make determined efforts to cut at the roots of the feelings of attachment. I have told you that illusion has no existence of its own. What we call illusion has - no feet to stand upon, it is neither immortal nor eternal. You must extricate your mind from illusions and false and accept what is true. When the mind is vulnerable to temptations it cannot concentrate. It totters and wavers. It will collect and compose itself when it learns to concentrate on God. Scattered attention is weak whereas concentrated attention is strong. Your mind is aimless that is why it is tempted. It is tempted, therefore, it is weak. It is weak because it is aimless..S5uch a weak mind cannot pull you out of ignorance and illusion. When you turn your attention towards God, it will gather its energy, it will become strong and only then will it be able to pull you out of illusion and extricate you from ignorance.
~ You know that true love purifies the mind and with love we become stronger and capable of doing good to others. When we adulterate love with doubts and anxiety it builds illusions and fears. It leads to infatuation and attachment. Infatuation and attachment never make us happy or contented. True love treats all on the basis of equality
whereas infatuation and attachment build prejudices which create disappointment. As infatuated person is not a happy person. An infatuated person loves one and hates many. He becomes possessive, jealous. Whosoever is possessive or jealous or prejudiced or partial is not a happy man. Infatuation breeds hatred and loss of energy and it takes away the peace of mind. Infatuation complicates problems. As long as one is in possession of the alluring object one is plagued with the thought that he may lose it or somebody may snatch it from him. As a person is blessed with as on the relatives say, ‘May he live long.’ This seeming blessing is born out of the hidden fear that he will die. If one has accumulated wealth by evils means, one is constantly haunted with the fear lest it would be stolen. If one builds a new house, the relatives say ‘may it bring you prosperity and joy whereas the underlying fear is that something unfortunate will happen and the new house will collapse or the owner will die. Those who are nursing the same desires become the objects of hatred. Anchmanisjealous of the others’ riches. It must be clear to you that infatuation never leads to peace and rest. It is because things that are based neither on faith nor on truth are never the source of joy. They are always the source of sorrow and suffering.
Friend— Then how should one come out of the position of debit to the position of credit or from loss to profit.
Ramo— I have told you that participation in the congregation ensures the transformation.
Friend— How does the congregation transform’?
Ramo— It is very simple. When an evil person or persons join another evil person, evil gets compounded. Two evil persons try to excel each other in evil. Whereas when a good and pious person joins the company of the good and pious, good gets strengthened and with their combined efforts they are able to resist evil. They do good and think about others’ welfare. Those who participate in the congregation are always benefitted in their efforts to resist evil and to do good.
Friend— Aslam sitting with you, can it be called a meeting or a congregation?
Ramo— I am what! am.I am not as pious as I wish to be but if you really sit in the company of the pious and you seek the protection of Guru Ji and you have faith in God, it will be certainly a holy assembly or congregation. If you do seek Guru Ji's blessings, for example the blessings of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, then you will certainly be participating in a congregation.
Friend— But dear friend, Guru Ji is away to Delhi and! am subject to the command of my family. HowcanIgo and sit in his presence to seek his blessings?
Ramo— Physically Guru Ji is away to Delhibut spiritually Guru Ji is always present in the company of the seekers. If. one concentrates, one can see Guru Ji present in the congregation.
With these words Ramo shut her eyes and remained in a state of meditation for quite some time. After a while when Bibi Ramo Ji opened her eyes there were tears in them. Seeing her weteyes the fnendsaid, “Sister, | could know about the concept of congregation through your explanations. There was no other: way to understand than that our meeting cannot be termed as congregation or assembly.
Ramo— sister, Iam not well versed in these matters but if some pious person shows you the right path and puts you on the right track and tells you the right technique and helps you in building your faith in God, it will be called a congregation and such a person will be called a pious person worthy of being sought for his company.
Friend— Then it means that with the help of a pious person! can transform myself and free myself from the evils of fear and doubt.
Ramo— Certainly but by acting upon the advice of the pious person and by doing good to others.
Friend— Who can such a pious person be that his company can transform the seeker.
Ramo— Either Guru Ji himself or the one whom Guru Ji loves.
Friend— How can an ignorant person like me know whom does Guru Ji love or whose company I should seek?
Ramo— It is possible through prayer.
Friend— How?
Ramo-—— Leave your doubts aside and fold your hands in prayer to God to give you the knowledge to know the person whom you can love. The prayer should be free from all doubts and all considerations of profit. This is one form of congregation. The other form of congregation is sitting in the presence of Guru Ji. Gurbani has the status of Guru Ji. We have faith that Guru Ji lives in his psalms. We treat Gurbani as Guru Ji. Yes, the Gum is away to Delhi, but he is present with us through his Gurbani. You want to know how to meet him. Meet him in his Gurbani. He is present there. If you recite | Gurbani you will start feeling Guru Ji's presence near you, around you and with you. By reciting Gurbani one can see Guru Ji and live in his company. Gurbani takes the seeker to the spiritual world. This spiritual world is the heart of Guru Ji. _ Through Gurbani one can enter into Guru Ji's heart and live there.
As Guru Ji declares that he loves that fellow, similarly a seeker, through Gurbani, learns whom Guru Ji loves and who is worthy of his love. Guru Ji loves the pious person whom we call Gurmukh and a seeker, through Gurbani, knows who is a pious person and how can one become a pious person make him a distinct personality easily recognizable. One learns all this through one’s devotion to Gurbani and through careful reading and through actions - based on Gurbani. True love and true devotion to Gurbani tell all these things to the seeker.
Friend— Ihave neverread or recited Gurbani but what! have heard from you has changed me from within and without. Atthis very momentI!feel as if the process of my transformation has been already set into motion. Ifinda positive change taking place in me. I find that your company today is more than congregation for me.
Ramo-— My company has no worth. You cannot imagine what change takes place in the company of Guru Ji. Guru Ji's blessings are the real thing. Guru Ji says that true congregation is the devotion to His Nam.
sister, your meeting has given me an opportunity to discuss the significance of Nam and this dialogue of ours has brought a change in both of us. Guru Ji has blessed with his kindness. His kindness has changed this meeting into a congregation. You are night. This meeting of ours, since it has been revolving around the subject of Nam and God, has turned out to be a congregation. But do not get the impression that I am a pious person worthy of seeking company. Guru Ji's grace has enriched us and blessed us.
Fnend— You may term it like that. But does Guru Ji not want that you should show me the right path. If Guru Ji has been kind enough to bless me do not you consider it worthwhile to guide me on the path of truth?
With these words she became very sentimental and fell at the feet of Bibi Ramo Ji. Ramo lifted her and took her into her arms. This embrace worked like magic. The physical embrace transformed the friend. It had an electrifying effect and the friend became a different person. She had found peace of mind. She had discovered the harmony which sent a wave of joy into her body. This effect was the result of Bibi Ramo Ji’s kindness and blessings. While holding her in her arms Ramosaid, “Sister, you must recite Gurbani. Have faith that there is God. Remember always and everywhere that God is present. Whenever you become worthy of His love He will bless you and your transformation will be completed.
Friend— Dear Sister, whether you like it or not but at the moment you are my Guru Ji...
These words hit Bibi Ramo Ji like poisoned arrows. Her whole body started perspiring and her eyes were shut. She swooned. The friend was nonplussed and stunned. She had expressed her true feelings. Her expression was free from prejudice and falsehood. She thought that she had been certainly done a great favour by the great lady. She was at a loss to understand what had happened. Had she said something unbecoming she should have been rebuked but she had said what she had sincerely felt. But Ramo was aware that she was not a Guru Ji. She did not deserve to be spoken of
her being a Guru Ji. She did not have the status of even being a slave at the gate of Guru Ji's mansion. On the one hand was her unflinching faith in Guru Ji and on the other hand were the true feelings of her friend calling her a Guru Ji. These paradoxical emotions had unnerved her.
On seeing Bibi Ramo Ji in this state, the friend bent over he feet and said, ‘lam extremely sorry, sister do not misunderstand me, Il am ignorant, did not know what! should not have spoken. Iswear by you. [did not say anything on purpose. Kindly pardon me for my serious lapse.”
But Ramo’s mind was away to Delhi. She was bowing in Guru Ji's presence and saying, “Iam the humblest servant at your place. [had told my friend what you had taught me. [had told her what was right and correct from my point of view. How could [ know that an innocent person out of ignorance would compare an insignificant person like me to you? Youhave been very kind. You forgive all sinners. Kindly forgive me and give me the strength to remain devoted to you.” With these thoughts in mind Ramo remained quiet for sometime and when she regained full consciousness, she saw to her surprise that her husband was sitting there with a musical instrument in his hands reciting the psalms of Gurbani. The psalm which he was singing when she regained consciousness, meant ‘what to think of an ignorant person like me, whosoever has heard Thy Nam has found salvation.’
Bibi Ramo Ji opened her eyes and looked at her friend kindly. The friend heaved a sigh of relief. The recitation was over. Bibi Ramo Ji took a deep breath. Bhai Sain Dass Ji said, “God has blessed me that He has given you back to me.” The friend was trying to seek her forgiveness but Bhai Sain Dass Ji asked her to say nothing to Bibi Ramo Ji.
After sometime Bhai Sain Dass Ji told the lady that anybody less than Guru Ji should not be called Guru Ji. He said, “May God bless you and take you into His protection.” He told her that all the lamps give the light of the sun, all fires that burn on earth are the gift of the sun but neither any lamp nor any fire can claim the status of the sun. All Sikhs are blessed with Guru Ji's
love. A blessed Sikh helps many other to become the sikhs of Guru Ji and seek salvation but no Sikh likes to be called Guru Ji. Guru Ji is above right and wrong. He never errs whereas a Sikh is liable to commit mistakes. A Sikh lives in the light of Guru Ji but he never claims the infallible status of Guru Ji. A true sikh helps others on the right path of life which leads to Joy, happiness and contentment. He spreads the message of Guru Ji. He propagates Nam. A blessed Sikh is a mine of joy. He himself worships God and exhorts others to do the same. He is a seeker himself and helps other seekers. Spreading the message of truth and love, reviving the spiritually dead and helping the fallen Guru Ji's Sikh remains in obedience to God. Obedience is the salient feature and the guiding principle of our religion. I wonder at your devotion, your love and your sincerity but being human we are incomplete, therefore, we _ know our shortcomings and drawbacks. Without Guru Ji's blessings or his grace, Ramo is nothing. She has no existence of her own. Ramoisblessed by Guru Ji.Ifwe have the blessings _ of Guru Ji we do not care even for the kingdom of the world. If we have spiritual peace we do not care for the material assets. Congregation makes you humble. It fills your heart with love. Love will solve all your problems. But as far as we are concerned, we do not consider ourselves even worthy of being called Sikhs. If Guru Ji keeps us under his protection and blesses us even with a grain of his grace, we shall consider ourselves the luckiest persons on the earth.
After the discourse was over, the visitor felt a bit uneasy. He was itching to meet the Baba and to seek his opinion on some points. Next day, seeing the Baba all alone, he approached him and said, “Last night | tried to recollect the points raised by you in the discourse yesterday. I wish to tell you that I have followed and also wish to be corrected wherever you find it necessary.” I have understood that God is love. By loving him we feel enriched with the feeling of love for others. By being in love with God one has peace of mind, strength of faith and the harmony of being in tune with the Almighty. One who is in love with God is free from the effects of evil actions by
others. Such a person becomes indifferent to what is happening around him and he continues to concentrate his attention on God. If one feels hurt, one tries to forget by forgiving the wrong-doers. One learns‘to rise above all prejudices and thoughts of revenge. A lover of God never thinks of hurting others, rather, he enjoys being free from all thought of jealousy and enmity. The mind tells him to rise above petty consideration and to love and lead a life in tune with God. Then the advice of Guru Ji urges the seeker to forgive all those who do not know what they are doing. Guru Ji's advice is to forgive and forget. Itis an established fact that anger, first burns the avenger and then the avenged. Guru Ji urges neither to think of nor to do any harm to others. Rather Guru Ji says to do good to others and to serve them as best as possible. Itmeansthatifeverybody acts upon the teachings of the Gur, it is inevitable that this very world will become an abode of peace and heaven itself. Then | have understood that evil actions weaken the person and they sap all energy of doing good. Evil actions are born out of jealousy and prejudice and they breed hatred and enmity. An evil doer is a sad person. He does not know that he is’ harming himself. One must learn very clearly that the evil actions never result in good feelings. One must learn to see the reality and be able to know what makes him happy and what sad. If one recognises the faults, one also learns to get rid of them. This way one learms to clean one’s mind and develop the strength to love and be kind to other fellow-beings.” “Another point which I have followed clearly is that every human action has twoaspects. Every action affects two person one who does an action and the other to whom it is done. suppose that I slap or hit a passerby, sorrow, anger and the desire to avenge the action will arise in his mind. What he is suffering now, I had suffered in the first instance. There was anger in my mind that is why [ hit him but after hurting him, I would have the feelings of remorse and regret for having done the wrong thing. Naturally, this act was not born out of love or good feelings rather it was born out of evil. The feeling of remorse has been called the feeling of loss. A businessman
will say that he has suffered a loss or the debt has increased or the debit amount has increased over the credit amount. In a nutshell it shall be said that a loss has taken place or the fellow has suffered a blow. On the other hand if! offer something toa hungry man his hunger will be satisfied and his heart will be filled with gratitude and my heart will experience the joy of having done something good. This was my achievement, my earning, my profit or my credit. This way actions born out of love give us strength and encourage this way actions born out of love give us strength and encourage us for more such actions whereas actions born out of hatred, jealousy or prejudice and enmity will break us from within. The human soul becomes stronger with good actions and is weakened with evil actions. Dear Baba, this point has removed many of my doubts.” “Then I have followed that man is unhappy because his relations with his fellow-beings are not built on love but on hatred. The reason of hateful actions is that everybody suffers from fear and doubt. I thought and tried to locate the source of fear and doubt. I have realized that we care and try to amass and posses much more than we actually need for meeting our physical needs. In other words we ignore our needs and concentrate on desires. Our needs are limited but our desires have not limit. Desires make a person selfish, jealous and prejudiced. Such a person uses all foul means to fulfil his desires. This type of behaviour creates anxiety and worry. Anxiety in turn creates fear and doubt. All sufferings and diseases are born out of fear and doubt. The panacea for all these problems is faith in the Almighty. He is fearless and anybody having faith in Him also becomes fearless. [ think this point you had elaborated earlier in this context of Sukhmani (The Psalm of Peace). ‘You had said that faith in God kills all fears and doubts. It removes all misgivings. Fears and doubts are the sources of all sufferings, disappointments and diseases. When we get rid of fears and doubts, we are free from all sufferings and sorrows. In other words when the cause stands removed the effect does not take place.” .
“Baba said, “That is correct.” The visitor continued, “Then Ihave followed that faith in Godis gained by keeping company of good people. Participation in the congregation of pious person starts the process of our transformation, you had told us about this in the morning discourse. The company of the wise, the pious and the true makes us wise, pious and true. We are known by the company we keep. In the assembly of the wise one analyses the causes of evil and sorrow and learns to get nd of all these diseases which afflict the soul. One type of congregation is the company of the wise, the pious and the true. Another kind of congregation is devotion and dedication to Gurbani. Recitation of the Gurbani, meditation, discussions etc., also amount to congregation. Recitation helps us in concentrating our attention and focusing it on God. Recitation enables us to be in tune with God and Guru Ji. Then I have followed that a pious Sikh, a person who is the seeker of truth is given the title of Gurmukh. A Gurmukh is the true follower of Guru Ji. The status of Guru Ji is reserved for the ten masters and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji which is the embodiment of the ten Guru Sahibs. I wish to know whether the institution of Gurmukh was in existence even during the life-span of Guru Ji?”
Baba— Yes, even during the life-span of the Guru Sahibs many persons were known as Gurmukh. They were blessed with chairs which were held in high esteem. They were themselves great seekers and they helped their fellow-beings. They read out and recited Gurbani themselves and helped others in the art of reading and reciting helped others in seeking the guidance of Guru Ji. The status of Guru Ji was higher than these pious men called Gurmukhs. The followers also considered themselves subordinate to Guru Ji in status. The same tradition continues even now. We seek the company of the Gurmukh or the one who has been blessed by Guru Ji. We ~ benefit from congregation or assembly with them. We pay them all the respect. Blessed by Guru Ji the seeker himself helps other seekers in reposing their faith in Guru Ji. He calls himself the devotee or follower of Guru Ji. Heis always full of obeisance to Guru Ji.
Every Sikh holds him in high esteem. Dear, Guru Ji's philosophy is very simple and convincing. Guru Ji's philosopr ¥ tells us to be true to ourselves to be treated well and fairly. Similarly, Guru Ji's philosophy says, you should love others and treat them as you wish to be treated by others. Love begets love. For learning the ways of love participate in the congregation of the pious, read and recite Gurbani, meditate on it and have unwavering faith in God. Love for and faith in God will transform you and treating others with love will become your nature. When love becomes a habit, your treatment and dealings will radiate love.
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