Inner spiritual journey has brought me closer to my eternal family and friends

[Guest guest]

Dear devotees of the Great Mother,

 

Namaste - i bow to the Holy Spirit who resides in you!

 

i believe this topic is quite important, at least for me personally:

 

The fine art of editing our lifes

/message/10591

 

i find this quote of Shambhavi Chopra especially comforting:

 

" Everyone has a right to encircle their lives with encouraging,

supportive, compliant and loving individuals. The people we surround

ourselves with personally, sometimes are a deeper expression of

ourselves, mirror imaging our own mindsets. "

 

For me these individuals are those who are daily dedicated to

spreading the Advent and Message of the Divine Mother. All others

must, will and should fade from memory ......... and the Guru Granth

Sahib agrees completely with Jesus' teachings ordering disciples

seeking the eternal afterlife to abandon every cherished relationship,

replacing it with daily remembrance of, attention on and dedication

to the Divine.

 

The Falseness of Life

/message/10594

 

Both Jesus and Guru Nanak assail family attachments as the snares of

Maya, the falseness and illusion of earthly existence, possessions

and relations that daily deceives, weakens and hinders Self-

realization. The Guru Granth Sahib repeatedly reminds us to:

 

" Jaarayu aisee pareet kutamb sanbandhee Maya moh pasaaree. Jis antar

preet Ram ras naahee dubidaa karam bikaaree: Burn away any love of

family and relatives, which increases your attachment to Maya. "

 

Ever since i started meditating on the Great Mother i have been

unconsciously experiencing the above. i just cannot help myself as my

attachment to family and friends continues to decrease as attachment

to the Great Maha Devi ever increases. i have absolutely no regrets

whatsoever as the inner spiritual journey is far more rewarding, and

has brought me closer to my eternal family and friends - Shri Krishna,

Jesus, Shiva, Ganesha, Prophet Muhammad, Buddha, Vishnu, Brahma, Guru

Nanak and others. At last i have also found my Eternal Mother who

never abandoned me over countless rebirths despite all my faults and

shortcomings .......... and never ever will!

 

Please introspect Tara Singh's " The Liberated Householder " so that you

too will be able to remember your eternal family, friends and Mother.

All others must, will and should fade from memory.

 

regards to all,

 

jagbir

 

 

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THE LIBERATED HOUSEHOLDER

 

Gurbani reminds us that this body is like a house of straw. When it is burnt, it

mixes with dust. Gurbani further reminds us that which we can see is Maya,

therefore, don't place hopes in family attachment, or this life will be wasted

and lost.

 

Mere renunciation of family life and other rituals will not help break the

Maya's bonds. Gurbani says, for example, some go and sit in the forest realms,

and do not answer any calls. Some, in the dead of winter, break the ice and

immerse themselves in freezing water. Some rub ashes on their bodies, and never

wash off their dirt. Some look hideous, with their uncut hair matted and

disheveled. They bring nothing but dishonor to their family and ancestry. Some

wander naked day and night and never sleep. Some burn their limbs in fire,

damaging and ruining themselves. Satisfaction, contentment and tranquility do

not come to their.

 

As long as we identify with the body, the mind, and the intellect, we are

attached. To the contrary, when we abide in the Self we become detached. It is

so because the Pure Consciousness or Waheguru alone is real, everything else is

unreal. If one can become detached from one's immediate family (i.e., the body,

the mind and the intellect), he can also become detached from the extended

family and its related paraphernalia.

 

Through the body, we experience the world of objects. By abstaining from

gratifying the senses, one can become detached from the physical body. Through

the mind, one experiences the world of emotions. By restraining mind through

Naam Simran or meditation, we can tame it from emotional attachment. Through the

intellect, we experience the world of thoughts. By attaining proper

understanding through listening, studying, reflecting, etc., we can keep the

intellect in shape.

 

In order to become detached, mind has to be annihilated. The mind is mad with

the madness of ego. Because of this madness, one becomes self-centered instead

of becoming centered in the Self.

 

The household which is filled with abundance — that household suffers anxiety.

One whose household has little, wanders around searching for more. Thus we see

that the attachment is a disease. Those who do not have enough suffer pains of

wanting what they do not have. On the other hand, those who have enough also

suffer pains because they want more, and also they want to safeguard what they

have already attained. Therefore, both conditions create mental pains,

agitation, chaos and turbulent. The disease of attachment is so dangerous that

it makes people go insane, commit murders, etc. Accordingly, the Gurbani

declares that he alone is happy and at peace, who is liberated from both

conditions.

 

Duhu bivasthaa te jo muktaa soee suhelaa bhaaleeai: He alone is happy and at

peace, who is liberated from both conditions (sggs 1019).

Ye man meriaa chhod aal janjaalaa Ram. Ye man meriaa Hari sevahu purakh niraalaa

Ram: O my mind, abandon your household entanglements. O my mind, serve the Lord,

the Primal, Detached Lord (sggs 1112).

 

Gurbani shows us a way to freedom from the bonds of both conditions. The trick

is to trick the Maya's trickery by becoming Shabad or God-Conscious in the

association with saintly or God-immersed souls.

 

Je lorahi sadaa sukh bhaayee. Saadhu Sangat Gurahi bataayee. Ooha keval japeeyai

Naam. Sadhu sangat paargraam: If you long for eternal peace, O brother, then

join the Saadh Sangat; this is the Guru's advice. There, the Naam alone is

meditated on. In the Saadh Sangat, you will be emancipated (sggs 1182).

 

With the practice of the Shabad and the company of the saintly souls comes

spiritual wisdom. Then one understands that the wealth, family, friends,

relatives, power, pleasure, possessions, etc., are false show and false

displays. Its nothing but the vast expanse of Maya from which very rare one

escapes.

 

Ik grih kutamb mahi sdaa udaasee. Shabad mue Hri Naam nivaasee. Andin......:

Some, in the midst of their household and family, remain always unattached. They

die in the Shabad, and dwell in the Lord's Name. Night and day, they remain

forever attuned to His Love; they focus their consciousness on loving devotion

and the Fear of God (sggs 1047).

Maya ke sanbandh sain saak kit hee kaa na aayaa: Relatives, relations and family

bound through Maya are of no avail (sggs 497).

Gur kee mat toon lahi iaane. Bhagti binaa bahoo doobe siaane. Hari kee bhagtee

karhu man meet. Nirmal hoyi tumaaro cheet: Take the Guru's advice, you ignorant

fool; without devotion, even the clever have drowned. Worship the Lord with

heart-felt devotion, my friend; your consciousness will become pure (sggs 288).

Saaadh Sang tutahi hayu bandhan eko ek nihaaleeai: In the Saadh Sangat, the

Company of the Holy, the bonds of egotism are released, and one comes to behold

the One and only Lord (sggs 1019).

 

Detachment starts with proper understanding. How one can bring about the proper

understanding? As mentioned above, the Guru's advice is to join the company of

the saintly souls (Saadh Sangat) and become Shabad or God-immersed. One attains

Divine qualities and spiritual perfection by meeting the Holy Saints, and

through the Name of the Lord. By following such advice, a disciple becomes

receptive to the Guru/ God's grace. Primarily, realization is the result of such

grace.

 

Jaarayu aisee pareet kutamb sanbandhee Maya moh pasaaree. Jis antar preet Ram

ras naahee dubidaa karam bikaaree: Burn away any love of family and relatives,

which increases your attachment to Maya. One who does not savor the Lord's Love

deep within, lives in duality and corruption (sggs 1198).

Dehee mahi jo rahe aliptaa tis jan kee puran ghaaleeai: Perfect is the work of

that humble servant, who remains unattached while in the body (sggs 1019).

 

The moment one becomes a humble devotee, the Lord Himself infuses devotion into

him. Then, in the midst of family life, he ever remain unattached. When the

inner love is established with the Lord, then whatever one does, is pleasing to

God. He performs only those deeds and tasks which the Lord has set him to do.

Those whose devotional worship is thus pleasing to God — those humble beings

center their minds lovingly on the Lord's Name.

 

So girhee jo nigrah krai. Jap tap sanjam bheekhiaa karai: He alone is a

householder, who restrains his passions and begs for meditation, austerity and

self-discipline (sggs 952).

So ayudhootee jo dhoopai aap: He alone is a detached hermit, who burns away his

self-conceit (sggs 953).

Jaagat rahe tinee prabh paayaa Shabade hayumai maaree. Girhee mahi sadaa Hari

jan udaasee giaan tat beechaaree.....: Those who remain wakeful obtain God;

through the Shabad, they conquer their ego. Immersed in family life, the Lord's

humble servant ever remains detached; he reflects upon the essence of spiritual

wisdom. Serving the True Guru, he finds eternal peace, and he keeps the Lord

enshrined in his heart (sggs 599).

 

Gurbani advises us to become the Lord's slave. As the hungry person loves food,

and the thirsty person is obsessed with water, and as the fool is attached to

his family — just so, the Lord is very dear to His devotee. With faith, one

becomes detached while living amidst worldly affairs. Thus, who has broken the

bonds of attachment is celebrated as a liberated householder as well as a

renunciate.

 

Mannai paavahi mokh duaar. Mannai parvaarao saadhaar: The faithful find the Door

of Liberation. The faithful uplift and redeem their family and relations (sggs

3).

Kabeer soee kul bhalee jaa kul hari ko daas. Jih ku daas na oopjai so kul dhaak

plaas: Kabeer, that family is good, in which the Lord's slave is born. But that

family in which the Lord's slave is not born is as useless as weeds (sggs 1370)

 

The Lord witnesses everything but ever remains detached and untouched.

Similarly, a liberated household simply watches everything that happens around

him, without becoming emotionally attached and involved. As his mind is

dissolved, it does not interfere in this state of eternal witnessing. This is

the state where one constantly abides in his true nature.

 

Dhann daaraa sanpat gareh kish. Kish sang na chaalai samajh leh. Ik bhagti

Naaraayan hoi sang. Kahu Nanak bhaj tih ek rang: Wealth, spouse, property and

household — none of them will go along with you; you must know that this is

true! Only devotion to the Lord will go with you. Says Nanak, meditate on the

Lord with single-minded love (sgs 1187). "

 

T. Singh, Reflections on Gurbani

www.gurbani.org/webart6