By Hb Singh | Opinion |
In one of my chat groups, some sent the following translation for Gurbani quote of the day.
“By singing the Almighty’s glorious praises, by constantly contemplating on the name of the Lord, a sincere yearning to meditate wells up in us. We can’t meet the Lord by visiting sacred shrines of pilgrimages, by fasting, by having ceremonial feasts and giving to charity. Good karma and righteous living can only be found in meditating on the Lords name. It washes away the stains of sins and mistakes. The Almighty can only be merciful to us if we sincerely focus our attention on him. The rest is only a show of drama we are playing in. Let’s reflect on it.”
I reflected on the entry and found the translation a little problematic. Let me explain. I will quote bits of it and share my understanding. Emphasis (in uppercase) are mine.
- “We can’t MEET the Lord by visiting sacred shrines of pilgrimages, by fasting, by having ceremonial feasts and giving to charity.”
On the surface, the statement resonates Sikhi. Gurmat rejects pilgrimages and fasting in the name of religion. You may gain outwardly from those activities – better health or expanding your worldview via travel – but there is nothing spiritual about them. But this paradigm about wanting to ‘meet the Lord’ puts us on a wild goose chase. God is within. No need to run around looking for him. We just need to look within – internalise – to realise Him.
- “Good karma and righteous living can only be found in MEDITATING on the Lords name.”
It depends on how we understand meditation here. If it’s about constant repetition of a certain word – mantar chanting – then once again we are being sent on a goose chase. Meditation is about living a life based on our understanding of the Shabad.
- “The Almighty can only be merciful to us if we sincerely FOCUS our attention on him.”
This sentence fits well if we think of God as some external being, some thing out there. But God is all pervading, all around, and within. God needs neither attention nor adulation. Notice the corruption at work here: I focus on You and You be merciful to me. I scratch your back, you scratch back mine! We want to reduce God to our daily deals.
- “The rest is only a show of DRAMA we are playing in.”
Again, depends on how we define drama. Life is real. Shabad enjoins us to live a God-loving, God-rejoicing life. Living a productive life, showing compassion to those around us and extending a helping hand where needed are some of the daily actions we can undertake. Life is here and now. This is it!
Hb Singh is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist with some experience in dealing with Sikh organisations, both from within and outside.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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