The Gurbani Experiment

[Akaal Purakh Di Fauj]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

The following Sakhi has been told repeatedly at the Gurudwara Sahib by a Gurmukh to build the sangat’s faith and love in Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj. Hopefully it will have the same effect on me and the rest of you reading this sakhi.

Dhan Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj.

Along with reciting his five prayers of the daily Nitnem, Baba Ji would read a prayer called Sukhmani Sahib everyday. This prayer is composed by Guru Arjun Dev Ji. One day whilst he was deeply attuned in the prayer of Sukhmani Sahib, he came across the following passage…

God Can Revive The Dead

He Gives Sustenance (Food) To The Hungry

mirtak ka-o jeevaalanhaar.

bhookhay ka-o dayvat aDhaar.

(Gauri Sukhmani 5th Guru, page 283)

He stopped to introspect upon these words and repeated them over to himself several times. The meaning of the phrases overpowered him and he thought, “Look how powerful the Lord is! He can bring alive those that have died and sustains the hungry with the power of naam.”

Baba Ji then thought of a novel experiment. He thought that if naam can sustain one without the need for water or food then why not try this out practically. Why not try to exist and live on the power of naam for forty days, without having any food or water. In this way, the strength of Gurbani can be experienced and in the future one will be able to guide spiritual seekers on the basis of practical experience. One can assure the seeker that naam indeed is the only sustenance of the body and not food or water. It can be shown that the meditation of naam is all-powerful and can fulfil the needs of the physical body. Naam can be shown not to be some abstract concept but a tangible practical force that is the basis of this physical universe.

It was the summer season. Baba Ji completed his prayer of Sukhmani Sahib. He then set off towards the residence of S.Bawa Singh to the north from his hut. Bawa Singh wasn’t at home, so he left a message for him to send his son S SurJit Singh over to Rampur Khera as soon as he came home, as Baba Ji had an important task for him. Baba Ji had already decided to practically verify the reality of the phrases that he had read. He wanted to find out if naam can indeed support and nourish the body.

After completing his work, S SurJit Singh came over to see Baba Ji in the evening. Baba Ji told SurJit Singh that, ” For forty days I am going to meditate in this cave and will not be having anything to eat or drink for that duration. For the first 4 or 5 days, can you come and just look through the ceiling vent to check if I am still alive and that my body hasn’t decomposed? If I have passed away then cremate my body before it decomposes. If I’m ok after the first few days then you don’t need to come to check on me any further.”

Hearing these grave instructions, SurJit Singh was deeply moved, fearing the worst for Baba Ji. However, Baba Ji reassured SurJit Singh, that one must be firm in their resolve to live in the will of the Almighty,. Baba Ji said, ”I have firm belief in the Lord that nothing will happen to me. I only told you so that if I do expire then my body does not decompose in the summer heat.”

Jaap Without Food Or Water

The very next day Baba Ji completed his daily prayers and then made a supplication to the Lord, ”O patron of the poor! This humble body of mine is presented in your feet so that it may earn the rewards of the truth ensrined in naam. Shower your blessings so that naam becomes the only sustenance of this body.” Baba Ji started his simran. He would arise at 2am, bathe and recite his Nitnem. He would then recite Sukhmani Sahib with great devotion and then spend the rest of the day meditating on Mool-mantar and Gur-mantar. In the evening, he would recite Rehras and Sohila. He would take a short walk for half an hour and then retire for a short rest. This was his routine the forty days. Baba Ji used to tell us that those forty days and nights passed in unimaginable bliss (this incident is also recorded on audiocassette in his own words). Hunger and thirst aside, even the mere thought of food or water did not enter his mind. Baba Ji told us that his body didn’t feel weak in any way, whatsoever. The words of the true Guru were verified…

God’s name is my thirty-six Varieties of food

Partaking of which I am satiated.

har naam hamaaraa bhojan chhateeh parkaar

jit khaa-i-ai ham ka-o taripat bha-ee.

(Mohalla 3rd Guru, page 593)

At the end of the forty days, Baba Ji thanked Almighty Lord with an Ardas. During those forty days, the Almighty showered upon Baba Ji many boons, spiritual gifts and the nectar of naam, the bliss of which is indescribable until experienced for oneself. His belief in Gurbani became immovable and firm that, Gurbani is true without a doubt, likean indelible mark on a stone. A mark on a stone may disappear in time but Gurbani is eternally true and timeless…

The mountains, the earth, all the water

And the air shall all pass away

But the Saints’ word is infallible.

gir basuDhaa jal pavan jaa-igo ik saaDh bachan atlaaDhaa.

||1||

(Sarang 5th Guru, page 1204)

The shortfall is in our faith. If one believes firmly and with resolve in Gurbani, then its power definitely, transforms the person who believes in it. The need is to believe firmly in the truth of Gurbani. As Guru Ram Das Ji say…

O the disciples of the Guru

Know that the Guru’s hymns are true

God the creator causes the Guru to

Utter the hymns with his mouth

satgur kee banee sat sat kar jaanhu

gursikhahu har kartaa aap muhhu kadhaa-ay.

(Mohalla 4th Guru, page 308)

If one has any doubt about the validity of Gurbani then that person should verify the principles of Gurbani by acting upon them. Denouncing Gurbani without personally testing the truth ensrined in Gurbani is a great sin and ultimately deceiving oneself. They who firmly believe and have faith in Gurbani become attuned in the Lord, eventually becoming his form…

Accept the word of the Guru as true

In this way, you shall merge in the all-pervasive Lord

satgur kee banee sat sat kar maanhu i-o

aatam raamai leenaa hay. ||14||

(Maru 1st Guru, page 1028)

And

The word of the Guru is the embodiment of truth

Through the word, the mortal becomes perfect

satgur kee banee sat saroop hai gurbaanee banee-ai.

(Pauri 4th Guru, page 304)

Gurbani is therefore the embodiment and essence of the ultimate truth. Through faith in Gurbani, one can be transformed into the form of the true Lord.

From: Se Kinehiya

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

[Singhstah]

Vaheguroo, Dhan Sri Satguroo Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj