Malcom X

[Akaali]

9.4 - Malcolm X

There's a scene in the film Malcom X, when his cell mate finally succeeds in getting Mr X to accept Allah. Malcolm X was a very haumai rogee (ego diseased) gangster type when he came to jail. His cell mate was a black muslim and day in day out chiselled away at Mr X's mountain sized ego. Finally , Malcom X said I want to accept Allah. His cell mate told him to bow to Allah right here and now in this cell. Malcom X struggled hard to go down on his knees, his cell mate screamed at him like an army commander `BOW TO ALLAH!', `SUBMIT TO ALLAH!' finally Malcom X lowered his head to Allah's feet.

Every night Guru Ram Das jee lovingly tells us :

ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ ਪੂਰਬੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥

Rāg ga­oṛī pūrbī mehlā 4.

Raag Gauree Poorbee, Fourth Mehl:

ਕਾਮਿ ਕਰੋਧਿ ਨਗਰੁ ਬਹੁ ਭਰਿਆ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਖੰਡਲ ਖੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥

Kām karoḏẖ nagar baho bẖari­ā mil sāḏẖū kẖandal kẖanda hė.

ਪੂਰਬਿ ਲਿਖਤ ਲਿਖੇ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਨਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਿਵ ਮੰਡਲ ਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੧॥

Pūrab likẖaṯ likẖė gur pā­i­ā man har liv mandal mandā hė. ||1||

ਕਰਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਅੰਜੁਲੀ ਪੁਨੁ ਵਡਾ ਹੇ ॥

Kar sāḏẖū anjulī pun vadā hė.

ਕਰਿ ਡੰਡਉਤ ਪੁਨੁ ਵਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Kar dand­uṯ pun vadā hė. ||1|| rahā­o.

ਸਾਕਤ ਹਰਿ ਰਸ ਸਾਦੁ ਨ ਜਾਣਿਆ ਤਿਨ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਹਉਮੈ ਕੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥

Sākaṯ har ras sāḏ na jāṇi­ā ṯin anṯar ha­umai kandā hė.

ਜਿਉ ਜਿਉ ਚਲਹਿ ਚੁਭੈ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਜਮਕਾਲੁ ਸਹਹਿ ਸਿਰਿ ਡੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੨॥

Ji­o ji­o cẖaleh cẖubẖai ḏukẖ pāvahi jamkāl saheh sir dandā hė. ||2||

ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਸਮਾਣੇ ਦੁਖੁ ਜਨਮ ਮਰਣ ਭਵ ਖੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥

The humble servants of the Lord are absorbed in the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. The pain of birth and the fear of death are eradicated.

ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਬਹੁ ਸੋਭ ਖੰਡ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੩॥

Abẖināsī purakẖ pā­i­ā parmėsar baho sobẖ kẖand barahmandā hė. ||3||

ਹਮ ਗਰੀਬ ਮਸਕੀਨ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਤੇਰੇ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਖੁ ਰਾਖੁ ਵਡ ਵਡਾ ਹੇ ॥

Ham garīb maskīn parabẖ ṯėrė har rākẖ rākẖ vad vadā hė.

ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਧਾਰੁ ਟੇਕ ਹੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੇ ਹੀ ਸੁਖੁ ਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੪॥੪॥

Jan Nānak nām aḏẖār tėk hai har nāmė hī sukẖ mandā hė. ||4||4||

This body town is filled with Anger and Lust,

by meeting the Sadhoo-Saint it is destroyed.

Only with perfect destiny does one find the Guru,

the mind then unites with God's love in the spiritual realms.

Have palms pressed together to the Sadhoo-Saint,

it is a greatly virtuous deed.

Lie humble as a stick (at the Sadhoos feet),

it is a greatly virtuous deed. Pause.

The Athiest does not know God's Nectar inside him is the thorn of ego.

Wherever the athiest goes, the thorn painfully pricks him

and at the time of death he is beaten on the head with Death's Staff.

The servant of God meditates on Vaheguru Naam

and his fear of births and deaths is totally destroyed.

He attains the Supreme and Indestructable Being and

his great glory resounds in all the realms and creations.

I am a poor and humble one oy yours Prabh

protect, O protect me Greatly Great One.

Servant Nanak takes the support and refuge of Naam,

God's Naam is the true Sukh.

So Malcom X fulfilled the first stage. He was an athiest full of Anger and Lust which probably had something to do with him being in prison. He was being pricked by the thorn of ego, causing great pain and suffereing and was well on the way to having Death's Staff beaten around his head as well. The Saint for him was his cell mate, and anger and lust was reduced for him to bow at the feet of Allah.

As far as I know the spiritual bliss Guru Ram Das jee talks about was never attained by Malcom X. He bowed to Allah and received the blessings he deserved. For a Sikh to attain the spiritual state described by Guru Ram Das jee we have to go further than Malcom X. The more we give to God the more we will get in return.

My uncle said when he went to India he went into a gurdwara, they had Guru Granth Sahib jee and Dasam Granth residing on respective thrones. He said he bowed to Guru Granth Sahib jee but not to Dasam Granth like everyone else was doing. On being questioned he said, `The Gur -Gaddi, the Guruship was not given to Dasam Granth, so I dont bow to it.'. And to tell the truth he is absolutely correct -.but he was full of ego `I know better than everyone else', he was very proud of himself. The whole point of bowing is to erase the thorn of ego, not to sharpen it's edges! Maybe he would have been better off to have bowed to Dasam Granth as well and in his mind said `Dhan Vaheguru jee, I am a poor and humble one of yours dear father, protect O protect me Greatly Great One.

So to go beyond Malcom X, we need to go beyond bowing to God , we need a perfect Guru to whom we bow with humility. What's next? We need to go beyond bowing to the Guru, we need to bow to the Sadhoo-Saint. Many people go to Sants gurdwaras and bow to the resident Sant. They press thier palms together (anjulee) to the Sant, the place their hand on his feet and if feeling extremely humble they will lie flat as a stick infront of him (dandaut). Infact when I was younger, my family used to go to a Sant and that is what we did. I didnt know any better. To the Sant's credit the first time he came to our house me and my brother bowed to him like everyone else, then he told us to touch our parents feet! Ok bowing to a Sant is hard enough for a western kid, but touching my mum and dad's feet - NO WAY! So we hesitated, everyone was staring at us, no-one disobeys the Sant___..MEGA PRESSURE so the thorn of ego crumbled for a moment in the sadh-sangat and we quickly did what we had to - - - NEVER AGAIN was ringing in the back of my mind as I did it.

Anyway, a lot of the people that follow the Sant are devoted to him like Bhai Lehna Jee to Guru Nanak Jee. In private they even say `He's my Guru'. TheSant always preaches Guru Granth Sahib Jee is Guru and is strict about everyone taking Amrit. He doesnt encourage them to call him Guru. Sant is not Guru, Sant is Guru's servant. Bow to Sadhoo-Saints, massage their feet, do as much seva as you can of them but remember they are Guru's blessed servant, and not the Guru.

Now my uncle says, I've never bowed to a Sant, I've never invited any Sant around my house, I've never served any Sant, I only believe in Guru Granth Sahib Jee. Guru Granth Sahib Jee is my Sadhoo-Sant. I bow to Guru - I bow to no man! He's right, guru Granth Sahib jee is the truly greatest Sadhoo-Saint, Sant of Sants, but guess what ? He's so full of pride and ego that he knows what is right and what is wrong, once again instead of erasing the thorn of ego he sharpens the edges. He would be better off bowing to the Sant just to get rid of this thorn and saying in his mind ``Dhan Vaheguru Jee, I am a poor and humble one of yours dear father, protect O protect me Greatly Great One.' Baba Sheesha Singh jee banned me from bowing to any Sants, he said "Vaheguru jee ka khalsa Vaheguru jee kee fateh is what the Khalsa says to each other." So I know he's right and I say fateh, but in my mind I still bow to their feet because they are Guru's blessed servants and I dont want the thorn of ego to prick me.

So to go beyond Malcom X, we need to go beyond bowing to God , we need a perfect Guru to whom we bow with humility. What's next? We need to go beyond bowing to the Guru, we need to bow to the Sadhoo-Saint. What's next? We need to go beyond bowing to the Sant, we need to bow to our parents. Is this getting difficult to even contemplate? If it is, then that means the thorn of ego is beginning to pierce into you.

Giani Nar Singh jee was saying to my friend and his mother, `The most important seva a gursikh can do is to respect and listen to their parents. I tell all youngsters the biggest seva to do is of their parents'.

Some of my friends say, `I'm always arguing with my parents, they're ManMukhs they never let me go to Kirtan programs, my dad is an athiest, my mum tells me to shave my beard_so why should we respect and obey them?

If they are full of ego and are attacking you, then getting mad at them wont get you closer to God. No matter how good your argument is and no matter how greatly you defended Sikh principles while you argued. After the argument, all you ended up with was a lot of anger and religious ego i.e. very high and mighty, know-it-all, great defender of the faith kind of attitude. Guru Amar Das Jee was kicked by the jealous son of Guru Angad Dev Jee, Did Guru Amar Das jee get the nearby sikhs to beat him up? No, Dhan dhan Guru Amar Das Jee started massaging Datu's foot sayin sweetly `My hard bones must have hurt your foot'! Guru Ram Das Jee was verbally attacked by Guru Nanak Dev Jee's jealous and clean shaven son Baba Sri Chand, he said `Why do you keep such a long beard?' , implying it was a silly thing to do. Guru Ram Das Jee humbly and sweetly replied `To wipe the feet of Saints like you'. Guru Ram Das Jee never stood up angrily shouting `HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY RELIGION!'.

Baba Fareed Jee says return kindness for cruelty. And remember, Bhai Gurdas Jee says the one who doesnt look after his parents is UNGRATEFUL.

So to go beyond Malcom X, we need to go beyond bowing to God , beyond bowing to the perfect Guru, go beyond bowing to the Guru's Sant , go beyond bowing to our parents. What's next? We need to bow to everyone, become the dust of every single person's feet. Now is this getting really difficult to even imagine? If it is, then that means the thorn of ego is beginning to draw blood out of you.

My friend said, `OK I understand bowing to God, and to Guru jee, I even understand bowing to Sants/GurSikhs because they have a lot of Naam and blessings in them which rub off. But why should I bow to athiest parents and non-sikhs and criminals.'

Let Guru ArJun Dev Jee answer this one :

Pehla Marn Kabool

Jeevan kee chhaad aas.

Hoi sabna kee renka

Tao ao hamareh paas.

The first rule of dying is

to leave all the hopes of life,

Become the foot dust of EVERYONE

then come towards me.'

EVERYONE includes criminals, parents, rich, poor, sick, the dirty, the homeless, muslims, jews, christians, women, children, blacks, whites, low caste, high caste, Jat , Ramgharia :---- EVERYONE means EVERYONE Sikh and Non - Sikh.

Now this is really a tough one to do. A Giani jee was saying he noticed that when some people came out of the amrit ceremony they were very proud of themselves, they had a superiority complex that now they were better than all the non-amrit dharees. He said, the GurSikh way is they should have felt humble after giving their head. Guru Nanak Dev Jee says he prefers the company of the lowest of the low. So why does my mind want to be rich and famous? Bhai Gurdaas Jee says be like water, it has a natural tendency to go down,. Water starts from up in the clouds at great egotistical heights, it lands on the ground, it even goes lower and flows underneath the lowly dust deep in the Earth.

Once a proud amritdharee Sikh interrupted Bhai Rama Singh jee while he was humbly wiping all the Sangats shoes. He asked `Bhai Sahib dont you agree that everyone should be keeping Sarab Loh (Pure Iron Utensils) discipline'. Bhai Rama Singh jee, looked at him and looked away without answering. After he'd finished his seva he said `When Guru Nanak Dev Jee was called infront of Vaheguru Jee, he was blessed with Amrit and Gareebee (humility) and not a Sarab Loh Batta (Bowl)'.

We are slaves of Guru Nanak Dev Jee's house, we are poor and humble, lowest of the low. We have nowhere else to go. We have no other hopes except to be accepted by Vaheguru Jee. We wipe our Guru's feet everytime we say Vaheguru. Our Foreheads are pressed on the feet of the Saints (Santo Charan Hamaro Matha). We serve all of the sadh-sangat whether they are amrit-dharee or not, because we see Guru Gobind Singh Jee's face everywhere just like Bhai Kaneya Jee in the battlefield.

And when the thorn of Ego has been filed away with Naam and Gareebee and merges in the dust, when we are no more then Vaheguru Jee can fill us completely with love and light

"The servant of God meditates on Vaheguru Naam

and his fear of births and deaths is totally destroyed.

He attains the Supreme and Indestructable Being and

his great glory resounds in all the realms and creations."

So Malcom X had a lot further to go. The thorn of ego was only partly erased. Same with me, the quicker I bow in my mind to my parents, my friends, my enemies and non-amritdharees, the quicker Vaheguru jee will meet me. But I drag this battle out for decades and maybe even the fear of dying as I lay on my death bed wont be enough for me to enter the state of Gareebee.

[I humbly bow]

makes you think doesn't it :gg: almost everything we do inflates our ego, be they good deeds or bad!

nice read, thanks :TH: