We Are All Children of One Father
This is one of the supreme teachings of the Japji Sahib. It is a cardinal principle for all Indians to follow. The Japji Sahib exhorts us to remain steadfast in obedience to the Will of God. It is a priceless and timeless gift with which all Indians can start each day. There is no room for any of us to harbor anger, lust, ego, delusion, or envy. Since we are all children of one Father, our family must include everyone.
Equality is a primary driver of civilization. Other forms of life, as far as we know, do not discriminate against members of their own species. Ignorance, inappropriate thoughts, and wrong actions, lead mortals in to adversarial positions against one another. We need a common prop to realize the truth. Scripture such as the Japji Sahib is an eternal Indian path to realization. It reminds us, through daily recitation, that all of us, including our opponents, are actually a single family under the tutelage of God.
Though all indigenous spirituality of Mother India springs from a single source, each tributary has enchanting nuances of its own. Sikhism is most prominent in abiding commitment to equality. Only the Living Guru is superior. The rest of us are equal. No one is superior. No one is a lesser child of God. You do not have to be a Sikh to enter an abode of the Living Guru. However, no matter where in the world you may be, you can rest assured that the Living Guru is at home and welcomes you without qualification.
Sikhs endure super-human hardships to pioneer settlements in all corners of Earth. They may have no comforts or security, but they inevitably establish an abode of the Living Guru as one of their first social acts. The Japji Sahib is a convenient way for anyone to realize God, no matter where in the Universe life may take us.
It is the best gift that India offers to all who are willing to receive it.
Equality is a primary driver of civilization. Other forms of life, as far as we know, do not discriminate against members of their own species. Ignorance, inappropriate thoughts, and wrong actions, lead mortals in to adversarial positions against one another. We need a common prop to realize the truth. Scripture such as the Japji Sahib is an eternal Indian path to realization. It reminds us, through daily recitation, that all of us, including our opponents, are actually a single family under the tutelage of God.
Though all indigenous spirituality of Mother India springs from a single source, each tributary has enchanting nuances of its own. Sikhism is most prominent in abiding commitment to equality. Only the Living Guru is superior. The rest of us are equal. No one is superior. No one is a lesser child of God. You do not have to be a Sikh to enter an abode of the Living Guru. However, no matter where in the world you may be, you can rest assured that the Living Guru is at home and welcomes you without qualification.
Sikhs endure super-human hardships to pioneer settlements in all corners of Earth. They may have no comforts or security, but they inevitably establish an abode of the Living Guru as one of their first social acts. The Japji Sahib is a convenient way for anyone to realize God, no matter where in the Universe life may take us.
It is the best gift that India offers to all who are willing to receive it.
2 comments:
I would like to add on to the concept of ‘One Father & Universal Brotherhood’ brought out in your write up today. I think most of the religions accept that there is but one God – the Father, who creates & sustains His entire creation. If this be so, it is hard to understand why the concept of universal brotherhood is not accepted by mankind. Why does man chose to differentiate and discriminate amongst his fellow men on the basis of caste, colour, creed or status in the society. God does not believe in this philosophy. He created the entire human race as equals. And, to prove his point, he created nature as a torch bearer of His belief in equality. He created ‘Air’ which serves the human race irrespective of caste, colour, creed or status of the individual. He created Sun, which gives the warmth of its sunshine to all & sundry. He created ‘Earth’ for all to live in harmony. But man chose to divide earth on the basis of his political/religious ideology. The list is endless. The point is, when God is for equality; why does man thrive on inequality? Why do sermons of our Prophets and Gurus, given at different points of time, go unheeded? Ego and spiritual ignorance of man is the main cause. Man, because of his preoccupation with pursuits of things material, has little or no time to understand the sermons of his spiritual masters. And, out his ignorance, he gradually reduces the ‘spirituality’ contained in the sermons of the Prophets/Gurus of his time, into ‘religiosity’. As a result, the great divide that we find ourselves in today continues from times immemorial. The strife continues; the fight continues. In fact more men have been killed in the name of religion than anything else. There is a saying from our Muslim brethren: ‘Mazhab nahin sikhata apas mein veir rakhna’, meaning ‘no religion teaches us to have enmity amongst ourselves’.Then why do we need to fight? If we could accept this simple saying, much of the strife, the disharmony that we see today could well be avoided. We can only supplicate: may God grant us the wisdom to live in universal brotherhood. God Bless
Premjit, thank you for your inspiring post. The Japji Sahib is a sacred way of avoiding the pitfalls of ego. My Gurumukhi is rudimentary, so I have benefited from your English rendering. I wish that we could get an audio version from the Gurudwara in Ludhiana which Gurjeet has chosen.
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