"bravest Is He Who Grapples With His Mind"

[Azaad]

The following is a chapter from a book called Say Kinayhiaa, which is a biography of Sant Baba Harnam Singh Ji who was a highly spiritual sikh from the last century.

Baba Ji once told us, “Back in my village of Chak 119, I would walk to the next village every few days to visit a fellow companion who was ill. On the way, I had to walk past a large field of ripe and sweet sugar cane. As I was nearing the field, I felt a desire to chew some sweet sugar cane. I thought to myself that as I walk by the field, I would pick up a couple of sugar canes from it. With this thought, a tussle started within my mind. My inner voice of conscience whispered that, undoubtedly the field wouldn’t lose much if I removed one or two sugarcanes, but taking the sugarcane without consent is theft. Theft is theft, whether it is of a penny or of thousands of pounds, the great Guru has warned against stealing in that…

No one takes responsibility for a thief

How can what a thief does, be good?

(Dhanasari 3rd Guru, page 662)

A second voice arose within and answered that we too are farmers. Whenever a needy person wants some vegetables or sugar cane, they take it from our fields, regardless. They don’t bother to ask us for permission, do they? With this thought came an answer from my conscience that, even though such people take fruit and vegetables from our fields, without permission, we still do not hold a good opinion of their behaviour, do we? We still describe them as thieves and think that heaven knows which desperate person has stolen produce from our fields at odd hours and damaged the crops whilst stealing. We still try to catch such a person red handed, stealing from our fields. My inner voice goaded me to think about what people will say if I was caught grabbing a couple of sugar canes. Surely, they will say that Harnam Singh wears the garb of a Gurmukh, claiming to follow a spiritual path but given half a chance, he steals like any other ordinary man. Whenever people will talk of your indiscretion, you will be defamed and so too will the name of your Guru and Sikhism. This cannot be allowed to happen at any cost. I cannot take the sugarcanes.

As these thoughts unravelled and weaved in my mind, I drew closer to the sugarcane field. By now, my mind had concocted another plan. I would go up to the field, call out to the owner of the field, S. Uttam Singh and tell him that I am taking a couple of sugarcanes from his field, if it was all right with him. In this way, I wouldn’t be stealing from the owner of the field. But my inner conscience began to recite spontaneously the words …

Placing reliance on you O mind

Who is it that has not fallen?

You are bewitched my mammon

This is the way to hell

O vicious mind no faith can be placed in you

You are exceedingly drunk with sin

The foot chain of the donkey is removed

Only when a load is put on it’s back

You destroy the merit of contemplation

And penance and self-mortification

You shall suffer agony

At the hands of yama’s rod

O shameless buffoon

Why do you not remember God?

You shall suffer the pain of rebirth

(Bilawal 5th Guru, Ang 815)

In order to fulfil your lowly desire, O mind, you make many a lame excuse and put forward many an argument. Oh my mind, if you are destined to have sugarcane from this field, you will get it. Be patient and content. Have resolve and faith upon Guru’s words and the fruit of your destiny. O mind, do not make me a thief just to fulfil the sensuous but petty desire of taste. I will not give into thee, O mind. In this conflict of the mind, the voice of the desire-ridden lower mind was silenced and beaten by the true voice of the conscience. A voice from inside rose

up…

O my mind remain steadfast

Then you shall bear no injury

(Ang 1113)

O my mind be brave, don’t abandon your principles for petty and sensuous pleasures. The tussle within the mind was still carrying on when I came to the sugarcane field. I had only walked past about half of the field length when S Uttam Singh appeared from the midst of the

sugarcane crop clutching an armful of broken and discarded shoots of sugarcane. Standing a few feet away from me, he saw me and reverently exchanged Gur-Fateh with me.

I was astonished yet felt ashamed of myself to see S Uttam Singh. After exchanging Gur-Fateh, he continued, “Some contemptible person goes through my sugarcane field stealing the sugarcane and discarding the leafy shoots into the middle of the field.” S. Uttam Singh showed me the leaves he was clutching and remarked, “These are freshly broken shoots from yesterday. For a few days now I have been sitting amongst the sugarcane, lying in wait for the culprit. If I catch him, he’ll be taught a good lesson and dragged publicly in front of the village council. Even now, I was sat lying in wait to catch the thief, hidden in the midst of my crop. Then I saw you coming and thought, thank God! I have glimpsed the presence of a holy man like Harnam Singh. Even though I was lying in wait to catch a thief, I have been blessed with your company. All morning I’ve been sitting in the heat, in wait of the culprit and am tired now. So, wherever you were going, please take a short break from your journey and sit with me a while as I wish to ask you some questions regarding Sikhism and gurmat. You can answer my questions and remove my doubts. He pointed over to a densely shady tree (tahli) and said, “Please sit on the bed under the shade. I will bring some sugarcane for us to have whilst we discuss gurmat. You will do me a great honour by letting me serve you some sugarcane and by discussing gurmat.” Baba Ji used to tell us, “I tried to persuade S Uttam Singh to allow me go on with my journey as I was in a hurry but his affectionate manner overpowered me. He went to the field to collect some sugarcanes and I sat under the shady tree. I was thanking Almighty God on the one hand and at the same time feeling guilty and ashamed on the other. The super conscience rebuked the lower mind, “O weak and feeble mind, had I at your instigation broken those sugar canes, I would have been declared a thief. Not only that, I would have been blamed for the theft of the sugarcane by the real thief. God only knows how many other people S. Uttam Singh would have told about how S. Harnam Singh was the culprit, stealing sugarcane from his field. I would have been defamed, that Harnam Singh looks like a gurmukh fellow but steals so expertly that he will even call out to the owners before he steals.” The higher mind was scolding and rebuking the lower evil mind, which was shamed into silence. At the same time, my faith in God and resolve in destiny grew even stronger. My conscience explained further that, “Had I broken the sugarcane at the behest of my wicked mind I would have been labelled a thief forever. Yet, I would have got the sugarcane without stealing and as destined by God. I did not have to give in to my wicked mind, instead S Uttam Singh offered me the same sugarcane with great love and respect.”

Baba Ji used to say, “From that day onwards I was determined not to believe the mind as it always drags you to the bad side. We should listen carefully to the soft, faint tone of the inner conscience, which advises one to resist temptation of misdeeds and act upon guidance. Thus, Baba Kabir Ji cautions us to guard against the mind as follows…

Kabir the mind knows everything

Yet knowingly commits sins

What use is the lamp in his hand?

If man still falls into the well

(Salok Bhagat Kabir Ji, page 1376)

In spite of knowing the merits or demerits of a sinful act, the mind still persuades one towards evil. Everyone knows that theft, adultery, cheating, robbery, lying etc are bad deeds but the mind still drags one to commit such acts. The punishment for these acts is borne by the body

in this world and by the soul in the next world. To be saved from the evil machinations of the mind, we should use the touchstone that is Gurbani, to evaluate whether a deed is sinful or not. If the mind still refuses to yield to righteous action, then as Bhagat Kabir Ji says…

Beating and thrashing his mind

He applies it to the touchstone

Of the Lord’s love

That person obtains perfect salvation

(Bilawal, Bhagat Kabir Ji, page 872)

The mind must be allowed to direct our actions under the command of Gurbani, only then can we save ourselves from bad deeds. If we follow the leadership of our mind, it will tempt the body to commit all manner of absurd and ridiculous deeds of demerit…

Suffers ever in loss

The perverse wanders in doubt

The blind infidel remembers not the Lord

How can he obtain insight?

(Asa 1st Guru, page 421)

The person overwhelmed with base desires such as lust and anger does not know what is righteous or not. He or she cannot evaluate what is the right place or time for righteous actions…

The egocentric know not how to speak

Within them is lust pride and anger

They distinguish not between right and wrong

They ever think evil

In the Lord’s court they are held to account

They are then judged as false

(Salok 3rd Guru, page 1248)

In order to please the Almighty, we should always abandon the teachings of the mind. Though it is difficult to let go of the devious machinations of the mind one, should remember what the great Guru advises us to do…

O mind renounce your cleverness

However hard this task may be

Receiving instructions from the great Guru

Reflect upon the Lord’s name

Night and day

We should always listen to the Guru’s word

Instead of the mind’s false arguments

(Bilawal 4th Guru, page 800)

Instead of listening to the immoral teachings of the mind, one should listen to the Guru’s true gospel…

Forsake you the mind’s cleverness

And hearken to the Guru’s gospel.

(Bilawal 5th Guru page 814)

[immortal57]

[no_0ne]

soo beautiful

[Mehtab Singh]

Ouch! My neck hurts after reading this. I felt a strong slap behind my ear.

:WW: