[salok] Bhagat Kabeer Jeo Kae

[lowest of the low singhni]

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

ਕਬੀਰ ਮੈ ਜਾਨਿਓ ਪੜਿਬੋ ਭਲੋ ਪੜਿਬੇ ਸਿਉ ਭਲ ਜੋਗੁ ॥

kabeer mai jaani-o parhibo bhalo parhibay si-o bhal jog.

Kabeer, at first, I thought learning was good; then I thought Yoga was better.

ਭਗਤਿ ਨ ਛਾਡਉ ਰਾਮ ਕੀ ਭਾਵੈ ਨਿੰਦਉ ਲੋਗੁ ॥੪੫॥

bhagat na chhaada-o raam kee bhaavai ninda-o log.

I shall never abandon devotional worship of the Lord, even though people may slander me.

ਜਾਨਿਓ = thought; ਪੜਿਬੋ = reading; ਭਲ = good; ਜੋਗੁ = yoga; ਭਗਤਿ = meditation; ਨ ਛਾਡਉ = don't leave; ਭਾਵੈ = even if; ਨਿੰਦਉ = slander; ਲੋਗੁ = people.

When Bhagat Kabeer Ji lived in the city of Benares he saw many Brahmins and other learned men. The city was holy in the eyes of the Hindus. Bhagat Ji watched these holy men and thought that learning the scriptures would be beneficial. Many would adopt strange postures in an effort to reach God through yoga.

But Bhagat Ji saw that they argued uselessly about their scriptures and didn't take real meaning from them. He saw that if reading spiritual books and scrolls would lead only to contraversial debates, then it's better to remain a humble devotee of Akaal Purakh instead. It's something we often forget ourselves. We read a few shabads here and there - skimming over the English translations - and think we know it all. We preach to others instead of encouraging them. We're so keen to force our viewpoint upon others over 'contraversial' topics because we're blinded by our ego. The whole essence of Gursikhi lies in Gurbani, but we're more interested in having short-term fun which result in temporary thrills or hormone-rushes etc. We forget our roots so easily, but one day we'll realise that if we want to get anywhere then we need to make the effort to sit down and actually recognise what Maharaj is telling us.

(This reminds me of something I saw on http://khalsa4ever.blogspot.com/ today:

'Regarding our Guru Granth Sahib:

Many say that it is imperative that we learn Gurmukhi, and ONLY Gurmukhi for understanding Gurbani. While it may be true that the essence of what our Guru said is best understood in Gurmukhi, it is important to consider the meaning of language.

Look at the spread of Christianity for example. I hardly see anyone fluently conversing in Latin, but rather English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, ...

The Gurus went from place to place preaching in the language of the place they went. Our Gurus not only wrote in Punjabi, but Sanskrit, Persian, and others. In that respect, as our 11th Guru, wouldn't Guru Granth Sahib also preach to us in the language that the people of the place speak?

Just a thought.' )

Anyway, Bhagat Kabeer Ji is telling us that usually people will try to mock anyone who follows the path to God. It's strange that if we talk to God then we're praying, but if God talks to us, then we're mad. We have to decide what is best for us. Do we want to take action now? Or do we want to hope that there will be time later on in life to take action? Do we continue following our own minds and other people's opinions, or do we swallow our pride place our trust in something bigger? It's not something many of us ever truly manage. There's no point in uselessly repeating different scriptures like parrots, even though we might look fantastic to people on the outside.

There's no point in calling ourselves Sikhs and expecting to reach Sachkhand, the same way some expect a one-way ticket to Paradise through the label 'Muslim'. We have to EARN our tickets. Otherwise we can't exactly blame people for slandering us.

:

~l~

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh