Complete The Inner Pilgrimage

Gurbani (Guru’s words) says if you have completed inner pilgrimage (tirath) then you become Guru.  This is what will happen.  This is the path you have to go through to go above everything (nirlep). 

When Guru Nanak Dev Jee started the path to divine union (Dharam), what was his own path (Dharam)?   Actually, they were above any Dharam.  The true pure one (Khalsa) is an enlightened soul (Brahmgyani) and is also above the Dharam.  He’s not below the Dharam. (Khalsa is word used in Sikhism, but a true Khalsa is actually above the Sikh religion, is beyond all religions).   

The one who wants to follow their path (Dharam) has to remember that eventually they are to go above their religion and become a liberated soul (Jivan Mukt).  They have to become Nirlep.  Nirlep means above everything. 

Then what remains over the liberated soul?  Not the Dharam, but only God, God’s Will (Hukam) and God in his heart.     The reason is that God cannot be measured so that part always stays above the liberated soul.  (Wereas religion is measured – rules and regulations and definitions and language etc) 

The liberated soul is the servant part of God and is known as Sat Ram Dass – servant of God-Truth.  Is known as a  Brahmgyani (Knower of God).  Even though the liberated soul – the Guru is merged into the Supreme – “Gur-parmeshwar ekay jaanai”, he’s still Sat Ram Dass – regards himself only as the servant of God-Truth..

The liberated soul is not God, he’s God-conscious alive. 

MunnMat (self-wisdom) is operating at the level of self and is not divine  conscious alive yet.  That person is in the lower part of the cosmic consciousness.  He is in the lower part which  means he is being run by his own worldy wisdom.  He does not understand intuitive thoughts.  The inner Guru speaking to him through divine thoughts.  He is overuling those thoughts by lower consciousness thoughts and actions.

Today science and the rest of the world is saying that intuition is internal Eternal Guru.  That is the inner Guru.   God plays through your thoughts. 

Most of your thoughts are just your own desires coming back at you – lower consciousness.  But, the thought that is compassionate for others,  the thought that is spontaneous, like if you feel compassionate towards a poor man or an injured man, that thought is pure God-consciousness. 

So you need to develop a habit of fighting with your five thieves (anger, greed, lust, selfish attachments, pride) to get out of lower consciousness.  How do you fight with your five thieves?  By nipping them ni the bud by grabbing and throwing out those thoughts as soon as they they enter your mind.  

If you learn to grab those thoughts and become aware of all thoughts, you will understand what is consciousness - ManSarovar. 

How are you going to change and conquer your mind?  By conquering your thoughts and getting out of desire.  When you’re not sowing desires then the mind is going to cool down allowing you to conquer your thoughts and to redirect them from thoughts of “me” to “You.”   You have to change the thought pattern. 

You are used to the patterm of “me”, “mine” (ma, mera).  You have to forget that by changing your thought pattern into “You”, “Yours” (tu, tera).  It is a process.  The process of belief, understanding and then fighting with your five thieves.    Only then do you conquer your mind. 

Then to overcome ego (haumai) is the battle.  Ego will only leave through selfless  service of others (parupkar).   Unless you become selfless you will never be able to get ego out.   Actually, you cant even get out of “my” son and “my” family, let alone ego. 

Ego is even closer to you than your own blood.  Its very close to the Divine Light (Jyot / soul) part of you.   The Jyot is the string that goes through your spine.  It is minute.   The first opposition to the Jyot part of you – God, came when ego took birth.  So you better go back to your childhood and try to pick out the first word you learned to find when the birth of ego took place in you.  What was that first word of ego?  When you said “Me” (ma).  That was the first oppostion to God by you.

Now your age is 40 and today you have the command (Hukam) from God, or you have Naam from your Guru, so now you are trying to fight with the five thieves.  40 years of learning maya is embedded into your memory so your consciousness has to be reorganised and washed. 

Ego started with the first word a child learns, which is “me” (ma).  The ego remains in whatever the child does from then onwards.  The first bottle of milk the  child holds, has ego in it, because the moment he knows this is my favourite bottle, that’s the sign of ego. 

So your consciousness (surat) has to become innocent (bholla) and humble (gareeb) to defeat your own egotistical mind. You must become humble get rid of anger.  When humbleness comes inside you anger will run.  They are opposites. 

Compassion (halimi) is the actual Amrit (presence of God within).  If you don’t have compassion then that means that the Sikh initiation (Amrit Ceremony) has not had any affect on you.  The word of God (gurbani) has not taken affect on you.   You have not sown within yourself what is written in Gurbani.  Your may be initiated and reading Gurbani everyday, but you do not believe in it and you are  not trying to earn it either.  That’s where you have to kill your ego.   But instead you think you are higher and mightier than others as you are initiated.  And you  taunt, dictate and try to rule over others.  You are not trying to kill your ego by  becoming humble.  But, instead you are controlling your sons and daughters.  That only increases your ego.   

So how it will decrease?  If you are a true devotee (Bhagat), do your devotion (Bhagati) whilst living according to the command of God (Hukam).  Stop trying to force your command on others and accept God’s command (Hukam) is prevailing  over your wife, your family and your kids. 

Let them live as it’s written on their foreheads.  Don’t fight it.   Don’t dictate to them, even though God has given you the honour that you are the father.  You only try to control them because you are attached to them.  But, remember in devotion (Bhagati) you have to get out of family attachment (moh) as well.  And the only way you are going to get out is to to do your devotion (bhagati) and at the same time letting them go and accepting that they are living under God’s rule and not your rule.  Then the ego and attachment will disappear. 

Otherwise it will not.   Even if you sit in meditation and recite “band band kat agni mai sarai” (cut me joint by joint and burn ego in the fire) – even then ego will not go if you don’t stop trying to control your family.  Ego wont go whilst you are still talking in ego about the importance of your family name and of the respect your elders deserve.  If you talk like that then your ego still will not die, because that is also part of ego.

So what else is part of ego?  Your first alphabet that you learnt is also part of ego.   “Me” and “my” studies – is a part of ego. 

So what are we to become?  Say, “I am a fool (moorakh).”   Nanak says that I am an innocent (bholla) fool (moorakh).  I am low (neech) and humble (gareeb).  We have to earn these pearls if we want to get rid of ego and the five thieves. 

So in other words, the tough-cookie, the egotistical human, the achiever who is denying God everyday but instead believes in his achievements is actually the biggest loser of life.   All this is a trap and you’re laying on a bed of ego by consciously staying in it.   What feeds your ego? “Me” and “my” studies.  “My” family, “my” religion, “my” past Gurus.  They all feed your ego. 

So how are you going to get out of it?  Listen to God’s words (Gurbani), the answer is there, ”koee nao no jaanay mera” – may no-one know my name.  Nanak says that.  So get rid of that part of yourself where you think your name is important. 

Don’t get ego due to having pride in Guru Nanak either.  Give salutation to Nanak, but forget about him.   He gave us Gurbani.  Read what it wants you to do.  It doesn’t want you to be proud of Nanak.  Gurbani wants you to live a truthful life.  It wants you to acknowledge and  respect one and all regardless of higher or lower status.  Earn spiritual living by being low (neech) and take into account what is truth and what is false. 

Keep truth close to you, but wash out the falseness that is inside you and all around you.  You have to be conscious about it all the time.  If you are conscious about what thoughts are coming into your mind, then you can change those thoughts.  By changing your thoughts you change. 

Addictive thoughts due to ego form your character.  To fight your ego, you must change your thoughts.  Changing your thoughts will change your character.  So you start changing your thoughts by becoming humble (nimana). How?  By regarding others as higher than you.  In Maya, ego has wrongly given the high status to ourself.