Sikh Guru Sahiban consider the whole world as His family, and they inspire the Sikhs to behave toward it like a family; this is a part of their Message. They also stress on falling in love with only one Creator by getting out of duality once for all. Sixth and Tenth Nanaks had to fight in self defense, but never ever they broke the rules of treating the world as His family; this suggests how our Guru Sahiban dealt carefully with worldly conflicts. In this book, based on and supported by Guru–thought, an appeal is made to all Sikhs to develop universal mind, and get out of small holes of mentality that do nothing but divide humanity. Guru Nanak Dev Ji accepts only one path to realize the Creator, and that is to involve with Him and praise Him. Nonetheless, he also stresses on looking at various faiths and ideologies as a part of His Will; in other words, it is all right to support a free will of the people, who are living in His Will literally; regardless whatever they say, they say as per His Will. There are passionate people, and there are cruel people in this world. We can sever our relations with selfish and cruel people without hating their existence; we should not make them a subject of slandering. Treating His big family like our own doesn’t mean we should support tyranny or ill intentional behavior of others in submissiveness; we should rather resist it to keep goodness in His show. If evil people exist in His will, so do the virtuous people. As our Guru guides us, we support goodness. Self defense is naturally programmed in the body; that is the reason that it reacts toward any attack if it occurs on it. For instance, automatically our hands come out to protect our body if we face an attack; when the birds or animals overwhelmed with the “feeling of a threat,” they get ready to bite or attack. He has blessed everyone with this kind of awareness of survival (self–defense). Being humans, we need to act in self defense if our lives are threatened. Our Guru Sahiban have shown us how to do that. Anyone, who doesn’t want to listen to what the Guru says, is free to do whatever his or her thinking guides because that will be also His Will. We should just try to pass on Guru Message to those who are ready to listen.
People out there on the internet, question about Sikh Gurus’ preaching by saying that they themselves didn’t implement their teachings; for instance they ask why Gurus Sahiban, who spoke against caste, didn’t marry their off spring in lower castes, and while asking others to “work hard and give it away,” why they never worked hard to give away to the needy. These questions are a display of shallow knowledge of the questioners about Sikh Guru Sahiban and Gurbani. Without knowing circumstances of Sikh Guru Sahiban during their physical presence on the Earth, such people, with their own small–minded agendas, are merely into insulting by posing as Sikh–seekers. The Guru Ji questioned Caste system in those times when down trodden people wouldn’t even be allowed to worship on religious places. To speak against castes doesn’t need marrying off springs into so called lower castes; many of these people cannot even realize how it was difficult for a lower caste to seek relations in upper class and survive. After Tenth Nanak’s Amrit ceremony event, a big roar was created by high caste believers against it because through it, Tenth Nanak leveled the wall of castes. (Gursobha, by Sonepat).
They forget that Guru Nanak Dev Ji personally worked as a clerk, Buffalo care–takers and a farmer. No other founder of a religion worked as hard as Guru Nanak Dev Ji did before him or after him. All other Guru Sahiban worked hard to bring harmony in the society, to help people in the time of famine and other natural disasters, and to teach self defense in time of danger. When a business needs to be taken care of, the owners though do not work physically on business premises, they put all efforts in it to take care of its existence; it is also deemed hard work. Working hard doesn’t mean that the business owners need to work hard physically in the business! There is manual hard work, and there is also mental hard work too. Childish questions can come only from childish minds. Sikh Guru Sahiban were spiritually enlightened leaders; they did what they should have. These are false accusations on Sikh Guru Sahiban obviously by those (who pose as Sikhs on different sites) who intend to promote a different agenda. Their baseless claim about Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s advice on “His Name Simran” as “an ambiguous statement” proves that they do not know Gurbani, and they remain busy in leveling false accusations against Sikh Guru Sahiban and Bhagatas, because “Naam Simran” is well elaborated in many ways in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. These are the people, who keep saying that Guru Nanak Dev Ji wrote in Hindi (as a proof they want hand written note of Guru Nanak Dev Ji); they are so ignorant that they do not know that people do not write in Hindi but in its script “Devnagari.” They just cannot understand that in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, there is a Bani named “Patti,” that defines “Gurmukhi script–letters.” Sikhs need to deal with such people carefully and forgive them as ignorant, and ignore totally what they say. They are also members of His big family, never forget that. That is the reason I have referred their ignorant questioning.
My effort is to deal with the current situations by understanding Guru Message to tread on that path Guru Nanak Dev Ji laid out for us. I have taken support from Gurbani by keeping “the concept of Guru Message” in my mind. Here and there, I have tried to discuss some issues I faced some time in my life, but their reference are given in the book solely to make clear the concept of Guru Message. Time to time, some people have been opposing virtuous ideologies; it has been happening like this since the beginning of History (or before that), but the true Sikhs should remain focus on what Sri Guru Granth Sahib says. They should live according to Guru–teachings. In the beginning, let me state that the Guru shown path will appear very difficult to follow because our Guru asks us to feel detached from what is shown as “dear and necessary” in our society. Nonetheless, when “feeling detached to Maya” becomes understandable in pursuit of the union with Him, the Guru–shown path will become a way of life, and it will fill the life with joy as it becomes free from worries and anxieties.
Guru Message is for the whole world, it is not designed for particular area or population, and here is a verification of this fact in the Guru’s own words, 647, SGGS, Mehla 3:
ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੩ ॥
ਪਰਥਾਇ ਸਾਖੀ ਮਹਾ ਪੁਰਖ ਬੋਲਦੇ ਸਾਝੀ ਸਗਲ ਜਹਾਨੈ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਹੋਇ ਸੁ ਭਉ ਕਰੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਪੁ ਪਛਾਣੈ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਜੀਵਤੁ ਮਰੈ ਤਾ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਤੇ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨੈ ॥
Salok Mehlaa 3:
Parthaa–ay saakhee mahaa purakh bolday saajhee sagal jahaanai.
Gurmukh ho–ay so bha–o karay aapnaa aap pachhaanai.
Gur parsaadee jeevat marai taa man hee tay man maanai. {647}
Salok of Third Nanak:
In Essence : Guru–teachings are for the whole world; who are true followers of the Guru, they feel fear/respect of the Creator, and search themselves (analyze their purpose of life and try to find His presence within), and then with the Guru, they become detached being alive. Thus, by convincing their minds, they believe in Him.
I feel, Third Nanak uses the word “Mahapurakh/Great man” for the Guru, and in the end of the Saloka, he talks about believing in the Creator by having full respect and fear for Him. And “man hi te man mania” means they believe in Him by convincing their minds through the Guru; the next following Vaaka makes it clear that it is about believing in the Guru–teachings and Him.
ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਮਨ ਕੀ ਪਰਤੀਤਿ ਨਾਹੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੇ ਕਿਆ ਕਥਹਿ ਗਿਆਨੈ ॥੧॥
Jin ka–o man kee parteet naahee naanak say ki–aa katheh gi–aanai. ||1||{647}
In Essence : Nanak says those who have no faith (in the Guru and Akalpurakh), there is no use of expounding divine knowledge to such people?
(Some interpreters interpret above Vaakas like this, “Those people, who have no faith in their minds, how they can expound divine knowledge?” I disagree with them. If we go through earlier Vaakas of this Saloka, Guru expresses about the importance of Guru–blessings; therefore the word “parteet/trust/faith” expresses about the faith in the Guru and Akalpurakh.)
In above Guru – Vaaka, it is stressed that when the believers realize the importance of their coming into this world, through the Guru, they get detached from the Maya. They have fear of Akalpurakh (Fear here also means respect that comes out of fear). If one doesn’t have faith either in Guru or Akalpurakh, there is no use of imparting Guru knowledge to such a person. In other words, if the people have interests in different pursuits, they will prefer their pursuits to Guru–guidance; let them enjoy what they want to; it is not necessary to try to convince them. (believe in His “Will”)
