[salok] Bhagat Kabeer Jeo Kae

[lowest of the low singhni]

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

ਕਬੀਰ ਪਾਰਸ ਚੰਦਨੈ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਹੈ ਏਕ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

Kabīr pāras cẖanḏnai ṯinĥ hai ėk suganḏẖ.

Kabeer, the philosopher's stone and sandalwood oil have the same good quality.

ਤਿਹ ਮਿਲਿ ਤੇਊ ਊਤਮ ਭਏ ਲੋਹ ਕਾਠ ਨਿਰਗੰਧ ॥੭੭॥

Ŧih mil ṯė­ū ūṯam bẖa­ė loh kāṯẖ nirganḏẖ.

Whatever comes into contact with them is uplifted. Iron is transformed into gold, and ordinary wood becomes fragrant.

ਪਾਰਸ = philosopher's stone; ਚੰਦਨੈ - sandalwood; ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹ = these; ਏਕ = one; ਸੁਗੰਧ = quality; ਮਿਲਿ = meets; ਤੇਊ = those; ਊਤਮ = uplift; ਲੋਹ = iron; ਕਾਠ = wood; ਨਿਰਗੰਧ = without dirt, without bad odour.

Bhagat Kabeer Ji describes both the philosopher's stone and sandalwood oil as having good qualities. The philosopher's stone is commonly believed to turn any metal into gold, and sandalwood oil also has a unique fragrance which it exhibits upon anything it comes in contact with.

Bhagat Kabeer Ji uses the above to tell us about the importance of Sadhsangat, and the effect that Gurmukhs can have on others. Being in the company of those who are imbued with Guru Saheb's love is like being drenched in the oil of a sandalwood tree. Their radiance overpowers the darkness of those around them. This hard to explain, those people just shine. It would be a blessing to be in the company of those souls.

Once it was at Gurdwara LohgaR Sahib that the Jatha was having a keertan. Bhai Sahib was doing keertan and Bhai Giaan Singh arrived in the divvan, matha tekked and then went to the back of the hall. Who knows when Bhai Sahib saw him, but while doing keertan, he sent a Singh to Bhai Giaan Singh and asked him to come sit at the front. At the conclusion of keertan, Bhai Sahib met Bhai Giaan Singh and said, "Piarayo, when you come, come sit in front of us. Seeing you brings us into chaRdee kalaa."

The power of Naam and Gurbani is so immense, although a lot of the time we forget this or even dismiss it.

Tests of Faith

Bhai Giaan Singh was an A-Class Guard on the NorthWestern Railway. He was posted on the Frontier Mail train. This train used to run from Peshawar to Bombay. Bhai Sahib stayed at Rawalpindi at this time. One day, a jealous co-worker betrayed him very badly. He gave a bribe to a railway worker and had him detach the last compartment from the rest of the train. The Guard waved his flag and the train set off. At the next station, Bhai Sahib was informed that one compartment had been left behind. For a normal, worldly person, such an incident would have been very worrisome but Bhai Sahib remained calm in the divine-will. This was a very serious incident and he could have been fired from his job, but he did not waver. He was suspended pending an inquiry but did not feel sad and said, "We'll work for the true "sarkaar" (Vahiguru) now" and spent his days in naam simran and keertan. When the inquiry was completed, the guilty parties were punished and Bhai Sahib was exonerated completely and even given a promotion. "Pooraa niaao(n) karai kartaar. Apunay daas ko raakhanhaar.1.Rahaao" (199).

Another time Bhai Sahib was in a difficult situation was when the topmost officer of the NorthWestern Railway came to Rawalpindi Station. When the train stopped at the station, Bhai Sahib was lost in simran. He exchanged some important papers with the Stationmaster and returned to his personal compartment for rest. When the whistle blew to move the train, he waved the flag and was again lost in simran. The British officer of the NorthWestern Railway was standing in the veranda watching Bhai Sahib and when Bhai Sahib walked by him, he did not salute. The Officer took this as an insult and asked his assistant to note down Bhai Sahib's name and information so that he could be reprimanded when they returned to headquarters.

When they returned to headquarters, the assistant gave Bhai Sahib's information to the Officer along with his personal file. The next day, the file was returned without any reprimand written on it. The file was sent a second time and it again returned unchanged. The third time, he personally brought the file to the Officer and reminded him that Giaan Singh did not salute and was to be reprimanded. The Officer laughed and said, "Whenever I try to write something on his file, I get dizzy and feel afraid. For God's sake, just close that file and find out who this person is."

The assistant collected full information about Bhai Sahib from Rawalpindi station and told his British Officer about him. The Officer was very surprised to hear about everything and was thankful that he had not done anything against him. "Jeh jeh kaaj kirat saevak kee, tahaa(n) tahaa(n) outh dhaavai.1. Saevak ko nikTee hoi dikhaavai. Jo jo kahai thakur peh saevak tatkaal hoi aavai.2.rahaao." (403).

(Those excerpts portray the message much more clearly than I would ever be able to.)

Seek out those who you'll learn from, who you can look up to, who can inspire you and whom you respect. Instil qualities within yourself so that you in turn can be an inspiration to others, and the toxins which feed on our mind will automatically disappear.

Sorry for the lack of vichaar on this Salok - the words won't come today.

~l~

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

[_anon_]

vaheguruuu

where did u find the story about bhai giaan singh?? any more info about this gursikh?

this salok strongly reminded me of the following shabad, tht veehcaar helped me understand a bit more http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=5412

vaheguru jee ka khalsa, vaheguru jee kee fateh!!!

[lowest of the low singhni]

The story about Bhai Giaan Singh Ji was on Tapoban.org, perhaps if you post there you will be able to get more information.

[ISingh]

Vaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsaa! Vaheguroo Jee Ki Fatheh!

Amazing Keertan...

http://www.akj.org/multimedia/Vancouver/20...9vanr012sat.mp3

Vaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsaa! Vaheguroo Jee Ki Fatheh!