Shivpreet Singh
Shivpreet Singh
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True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. ~ Martin Luther King

Here is my interpretation of Guru Gobind's poem, "Deh Shiva" -

Dear God give me this boon,

To never shirk from doing right
To never fear when I go to fight
to always have the confidence to win

Let my heart learn
through ordeals of life
to have the desire
to remember your name
incessantly

And when the time has come
let me die bravely in the battlefield

More: Lyrics and Translation of Deh Shiva


I generally spend time with the kids on Fridays in the library where we try to pick up 2-3 books each to read over the next 2-3 weeks.  One of the books I picked up this week was "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.  It is clear on preliminary research on Sam Harris that he is a staunch athiest who has a decent webpage (http://www.samharris.org/) and a twitter presence (https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=SamHarrisOrg). 

Apparently, Sam wrote his first book "The End of Faith" and received a lot of letters from Christians opposing him for believing in God.  In this book he has tried to reason with these people in form of a letter.  The book is small -- its less than 100 pages, a 3 by 5 (photo size) hardback.  He refutes a lot of fundamental Christian beliefs.

I don't disagree with many of the things he says: he does not believe in a person-like God, a place called heaven, and the questionable divinity of all prophets.  In the note to the reader he reminds how dangerous a belief in God is:

Forty-four percent of the American population is convinced that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead sometime in the next fifty years. According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry here on earth. It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say that if the city of New York were suddenly replaced by a ball of fire, some significant percentage of the American population would see a silver lining in the subsequent mushroom cloud, as it would suggest to them that the best thing that is ever going to happen was about to happen—the return of Christ. It should be blindingly obvious that beliefs of this sort will do little to help us create a durable future for ourselves—socially, economically, environmentally, or geopolitically. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this, purely on the basis of religious dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.The book you are about to read is my response to this emergency...

There are many videos on his website, and I was most interested in his opinion about God as energy or God as consciousness (Deepak Chopra's version of God), and found the following interesting video.  



I found that while he makes some good points, he has made the debate of the presence of God the focal point of his life and career.  The question I am trying to answer is whether that is the way he sings?  I will be reading more and sharing my views on this page.
Guru Nanak's poem Jai Ghar mentions the six houses of Hindu Philosophy ...



Wikipedia mentions the following on the six orthodox systems:

Several Indian intellectual traditions were codified during the medieval period into a standard list of six orthodox systems or ṣaḍdarśanas, all of which cite Vedic authority as their source. Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimāṃsā and Vedanta are classified as āstika schools:

Nyāyá, the school of logic
Vaiśeṣika, the atomist school
Sāṃkhya, the enumeration school
Yoga, the school of Patañjali (which assumes the metaphysics of Sāṃkhya)
Mimāṃsā, the tradition of Vedic exegesis
Vedanta or Uttara Mimāṃsā, the Upaniṣadic tradition.

These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons: Nyāyá-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, and Mimāṃsā-Vedanta.

The following is an excerpt from an essay about the six houses of philosophy.

Nyaya - The Nyaya school was founded by sage Gautama. Sixteen major topics were discussed in this system, the most important of which is pramana, the source of valid knowledge. Actually, Nyaya is a school of logic, and all other schools of Indian philosophy use the Nyaya system of logic, in whole or in part, as a foundation for philosophical reasoning and debate. Navya-Nyaya or Neologic, a further development of this school, occurred in the 16th century in Bengal and Mithila.

Vaisesika - Kannada is the founder of this school, which is associated with the Nyaya system. This school discusses seven major topics: substance, quality, action, generality, uniqueness, inherence and non-existence. This school is called Vaisesika because it considers, uniqueness, as an aspect of reality and studies it as a separate category. Under the topic of substance, it deals with the physics and chemistry of the body and the universe. The theory of atomic structure was established by this school. Its practical teaching emphasizes dharma, the code of conduct that leads man to worldly welfare and to the highest goal of life.

Samkhya - Kapila is traditionally cites as the founder of this school, although his Samkhya Sutras have been lost. The Samkhya-karika of Isvarakrsna, the oldest text on this philosophy, cites the name of Kapila, Asuri and Pancasikha as previous teachers of this school. It is considered to the oldest of the philosophical systems.

Samkhya is a dualistic philosophy that believes in the coexistent and interdependent realities, conscious Purusha and unconscious Prakrti. Purusha is ever pure, wise and free but it becomes a subject of pain and pleasure when it identifies itself with Prakrti. Prakrti is the material cause of the universe and is composed of three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas that correspond to light, activity and inertia respectively. The state in which the gunas are in equilibrium is called Prakrti but when disturbed the state is called Vikrti. Disturbance of the equilibrium of Prakrti produces the material world, including the mind, which is supposed to be the finest form of material energy.

Samkhya philosophy explains the dynamics of the body and nature of mind. It is the mother of mathematics as well as Ayurveda and is indeed the very basis of Eastern philosophy.

Yoga - Yoga and Samskhya are allied systems. Although Yoga philosophy was known even in the Vedic and pre-Vedic periods, it was not formally systematized until it was codified by Patanjali in about 200 BC. The Yoga Sutras contain 196 aphorisms, which are divided into four sections. Yoga studies all aspects of human personality and teaches one how to control the modifications of the mind through practice of meditation and detachment and surrender to higher consciousness. It prescribes a holistic system of practice beginning with the yamas and niyamas (ethical and behavioral codes) and proceeding through the asanas (physical postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratyahara (control of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and culminating in samadhi. In this system the individual self is the seeker and pure consciousness is the ultimate reality that he finds within. Practicality is the main feature of this system.

Mimamsa - Jamini was the founder of this system that accepts the Veda as the final authority on all questions. It provides a comprehensive method for interpreting and understanding the underlying meaning of the Veda. It lays great emphasis on rituals, worship and ethical conduct and provides a systematic lifestyle and direction. Mimamsa offers guidelines for practical application of Vedantic theory. This school is foremost in the analysis of sound and mantra.

Eventually this school was divided into two groups: the school founded by Prabhakara and the one founded by Kumarila Bhatta. According to the former there are five sources of valid knowledge: perception, inference, comparison, testimony and postulation. According to the latter there is only one source of knowledge – noncognition.

Vedanta - was taught and practiced by the sages of the Vedas and Upanishads and was handed over through a long line of sages. But Veda Vyasa, who codified these teachings in the Brahma Sutras, is considered its founder. Until the time of Sankara, Vedanta was mainly transmitted through oral tradition but sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries a.d. Sankara reorganized the system of this monistic school of thought. After him numerous teachers wrote commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, interpreting it in various ways and thus establishing various schools within the single system of Vedanta.

The major schools of Vedanta are Advaita (nondualistic), Dvaita (dualistic), Dvaitadvaita (both dualistic and non dualistic), Visistadvaita (qualifies nondualism) and Visuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism). Of these schools Sankara’s Advaita and Ramanuja’s Visistadvaita are the most important. Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta covers all the other systems. The main teachings of Vedanta is that self-realization is the actual goal of life, that the essence of the self is the ever existent consciousness and bliss, the Self is free from all qualifications and limitations, that the self is essentially Brahman, supreme consciousness and this Brahman is the absolute, transcendent, attributeless reality but it eternally embodies itself within itself the capacity or power called maya, which is the basis of mind and matter.

Read here for the complete essay on the six houses.

Questions About Angels
By Billy Collins
 
Of all the questions you might want to ask
about angels, the only one you ever hear
is how many can dance on the head of a pin.

No curiosity about how they pass the eternal time
besides circling the Throne chanting in Latin
or delivering a crust of bread to a hermit on earth
or guiding a boy and girl across a rickety wooden bridge.

Do they fly through God's body and come out singing?
Do they swing like children from the hinges
of the spirit world saying their names backwards and forwards?
Do they sit alone in little gardens changing colors?

What about their sleeping habits, the fabric of their robes,
their diet of unfiltered divine light?
What goes on inside their luminous heads? Is there a wall
these tall presences can look over and see hell?

If an angel fell off a cloud, would he leave a hole
in a river and would the hole float along endlessly
filled with the silent letters of every angelic word?

If an angel delivered the mail, would he arrive
in a blinding rush of wings or would he just assume
the appearance of the regular mailman and
whistle up the driveway reading the postcards?

No, the medieval theologians control the court.
The only question you ever hear is about
the little dance floor on the head of a pin
where halos are meant to converge and drift invisibly.

It is designed to make us think in millions,
billions, to make us run out of numbers and collapse
into infinity, but perhaps the answer is simply one:
one female angel dancing alone in her stocking feet,
a small jazz combo working in the background.

She sways like a branch in the wind, her beautiful
eyes closed, and the tall thin bassist leans over
to glance at his watch because she has been dancing
forever, and now it is very late, even for musicians.
The purpose of life is to sing. The most beautiful music is created when you sing with others. You have to listen hard to hear the harmonies. And if you can hear the harmonies you can sing well.

If you hear the intercepting noise, you cannot sing. And if you can't sing you are alone.

Tweet from @mohankartha: No one is pure & perfect in this world. If u avoid ppl for their mistakes, u will always be alone in this world. So judge less and Love more ...

“Here's the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don't find it anywhere else. Songs like "Let Me Rest on a Peaceful Mountain" or "I Saw the Light"—that's my religion. I don't adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I've learned more from the songs than I've learned from any of this kind of entity. The songs are my lexicon. I believe the songs.”


This is a song he wrote when he converted to Christianity my neighbor on my flight just told me. Even if you are a king, you are serving somebody.

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody


Groupon Inc. founder Andrew Mason sent a memo to employees after he was fired Thursday. The absolute lack of ego and anger, the presence of gratitude, and focus on the right goal (focusing on customers) makes this letter a beautiful song. A beautiful singspiration and a must read:

Here's the text of his letter:

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding — I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we've shared over the last few months, and I've never seen you working together more effectively as a global company — it's time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don't be — I love Groupon, and I'm terribly proud of what we've created. I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I'll now take some time to decompress (FYI I'm looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I'll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there's one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what's best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness — don't waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew


Maaroo, First Mehl:
Eh dhan Sarab rehya bharpur

This wealth is all-pervading, permeating all.
The self-willed manmukh wanders around, thinking that it is far away. ||1||


That commodity, the wealth of the Naam, is within my heart.
Whoever You bless with it, is emancipated. ||1||Pause||


This wealth does not burn; it cannot be stolen by a thief.
This wealth does not drown, and its owner is never punished. ||2||



Gaze upon the glorious greatness of this wealth,
and your nights and days will pass, imbued with celestial peace. ||3||


Listen to this incomparably beautiful story, O my brothers, O Siblings of Destiny.
Tell me, without this wealth, who has ever obtained the supreme status? ||4||


Nanak humbly prays, I proclaim the Unspoken Speech of the Lord.
If one meets the True Guru, then this wealth is obtained. ||5||8||




Who is the true guru? Guru Nanak explains in this poem:

Gauree, First Mehl:
Gur Parsaadi boojh lay hoye nibera

By Guru's Grace, one comes to understand, and then, the account is settled.

In each and every heart is the Name of the Immaculate Lord; He is my Lord and Master. ||1||


Without the Word of the Guru's Shabad, no one is emancipated. See this, and reflect upon it.

Even though you may perform hundreds of thousands of rituals, without the Guru, there is only darkness. ||1||Pause||


What can you say, to one who is blind and without wisdom?

Without the Guru, the Path cannot be seen. How can anyone proceed? ||2||


He calls the counterfeit genuine, and does not know the value of the genuine.

The blind man is known as an appraiser; this Dark Age of Kali Yuga is so strange! ||3||



The sleeper is said to be awake, and those who are awake are like sleepers.

The living are said to be dead, and no one mourns for those who have died. ||4||



One who is coming is said to be going, and one who is gone is said to have come.

That which belongs to others, he calls his own, but he has no liking for that which is his. ||5||



That which is sweet is said to be bitter, and the bitter is said to be sweet.

One who is imbued with the Lord's Love is slandered - his is what I have seen in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga. ||6||



He serves the maid, and does not see his Lord and Master.

Churning the water in the pond, no butter is produced. ||7||


One who understands the meaning of this verse is my Guru.

O Nanak, one who knows his own self, is infinite and incomparable. ||8||


He Himself is All-pervading; He Himself misleads the people.

By Guru's Grace, one comes to understand, that God is contained in all. ||9||2||18||





Stephen Hawking is regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. He is also the most read scientist of the day. His book 'A Brief History of Time' was on the London Sunday Times bestseller list for over four years, longer than any book so far.

During one of my travels I bought the book. The first page of the book started with Bertrand Russel describing how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy.

At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?"
I was surprised. Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the first Guru of Sikhs faced this very question 500 years ago. He replied to it very diligently. Similar to the tortoise story in Europe, the prevalent Indian myth at the time was, 'The earth is settled on the horns of a bull.' Guru Nanak's reply too was in question form, "If the earth is settled onthe horns of a bull, where does the bull stand? Or for that matter how many earths support bulls or how many bulls support earths?" (Sri Guru Granth Sahib p.3)

As I read the first page further, I found this greatest scientist of the time caught in a web of confusion. He had more questions than answers. Had he read Guru Nanak or Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS), the holy scripture of the Sikhs, he would have not been confused. Answers to all his questions are available in SGGS. Guru Nanak propounded the truth when it was taboo. India was ruled by the invaders, and speaking out universal truth would attract death punishments.

Hawking mentions that Copernicus proposed in 1514 the idea that the sun was stationary at the center and that the earth and the planets moved in circular orbits around the sun. He feared being branded a heretic by the Church and hence circulated his model anonymously. (Hawking: p. 4). The Copernican model propagated that "fixed stars did not appear to change their positions apart from a rotation across the sky caused by the earth spinning on its axis, hence it became natural to suppose that the fixed stars were objects like our sun. (Hawking: p.5) His idea was taken up a century later by Kepler and Galileo Galilee. However, just around the time Copernicus was toying with his idea, Guru Nanak had already said fearlessly, "Numberless are earths and the mountains for doing virtuous deeds and numberless over numberless Dhruvs (stars), the instruction receivers. Numberless are Indras, the moons, the suns; numberless are the universes and numberless countries." (SGGS: p.7). Some other question sraised by Hawking have been well explained by Guru Nanak. Read on...
Table1: Answers to Hawking’s questions available in Guru Nanak’s hymns




Hawking's Queries

Explained in Guru Nanak hymns

1

Did the universe have natural boundaries? (Hawking: p.5) Whether the universe is limited in space?(Hawking: p.8)

The Lord's creation is limitless. The bounds of His creation and their end are limitless. (SGGS:p.5)

2.

Were the stars static or moving? (Hawking : p.6)

"Lord's fear moves the sun and the moon. They travel myriads of miles without an end." (SGGS: p.464)

3.

a) Has the universe existed forever or was created at finite time in the past? (Hawking :p.6) b) Is the universe expanding or contracting? (Hawking: p.6) c) Is the universe eternal and unchanging? (Hawking(a): p.6) What could have caused the stars to turn on in the first place? (Hawking: p.7) What was the first cause of creation of the universe? (Hawking: p.8) Did the God create the universe? (Hawking: p.9) Is it right to imagine that the God created the universe at the instant of the big bang? (Hawking: p10)

With one word (bang) thou (the Lord) didst effect the world’s expansion and whereby millions of rivers (of galaxies) began to flow. (SGGS: p.3) We find these answers: 1: The universe did not exist forever. 2. It was created at a finite time in the past. 3. The universe has been expanding ever since its origin 4. The universe is continuously changing and not static. 5. The stars were formed with the expansion of energy. 6. The Lord created the universe with one sound (bang!)

4.

When was the universe created?(Hawking: p.8)

None can tell the time o fcreation except the Creator. (SGGS: p.3)

5

Whether the universe had a beginning in time? (Hawking: p. 8) What did God do before He created theuniverse? (Hawking: p 9) Did time start with big bang? (Hawking: p9)

For countless ages, there was utter darkness. There was no earth and sky. The Infinite Lord's will alone was pervasive. There was neither day, nor night, nor moon, nor sun. The Lord sat in profound meditation…..There was no hell, nor heaven, nor death, nor time." (SGGS: p.1035) "Time originated from sun" (SGGS: p.357) Universe thus did not have the beginning in time.

6

Have Newton's theory of gravitation and Einstein's general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics provided the right answer to the beginning, existence and ending of the universe? (Hawking: p 9-12)

No. They have not. Guru Nanak has explained the beginning, existence, expansion and end of universe clearly as follows: With one word the Lord created the universe and started the expansion of the universe into millions of rivers (of galaxies) (SGGS: p.3).He created the universe smoothly (SGGS: p.930) The existence of the universe is as per Lord's Will and will end when He so wills. (SGGS: p.1-2)

7

Why are we on earth? (Hawking :p.14)

We are on earth to perform according to His Will.

8

Where did we come from? (Hawking: p.14)

We came from the True Lord and our ultimate aim is to merge wherefrom we came i.e., into the True Lord.

If Guru Nanak’s above renderings are compared with the modern scientists, we find that they too agree with the same conclusions.
Table 2: Comparing Guru Nanak’s renderings with Modern Scientists




Guru Nanak

Modern Scientists

1

Origin of universe

a) “Fo rcountless ages, there was utter darkness. There was no earth and sky. There was neither day, nor night, nor moon, nor sun. The Lord sat in profound meditation. There was no hell, nor heaven, nor death, nor time." (SGGS, p.1035)

b) "The Lord Himself was in a state of nothingness from where He came into existence Himself. There was nothing of the universe at that time.( SGGS: p.1035)

c) With one word (bang) the Lord effected the worlds' expansion whereby millions of rivers (of galaxies) began to flow.(SGGS: p.3)

d).He went on creating the entire nature creating nothingness from nothingness. (SGGS: p.1037)

(e) The Lord started creating regions and the universes from unmanifest to manifest. (SGGS:p.1036).

Origin of Universe

Gregg Easterbrook "Something made an entire cosmos out of nothing."

FrancisCollins: “The universe came into being out of nothingness, approximately 14 billion years ago.”

Prof.Abdus Salaam: In the first moment of time, everything in the universe was compressed into an unbelievable dense form. So crushed was the matter that Physicists have to start the clock of time some few moments after zero because the law of nature will not extend to that point of infinite temperature and mass.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble made observation that wherever you look, distant galaxies are moving rapidly away from us. In other words the universe is expanding. This means that at earlier times objects would have been closer together. In fact it seemed that there was a time, about ten or twenty thousand million years ago, when they were all at exactly same place and when, therefore, the density of the universe was infinite.This discovery finally brought the question of the beginning of the universe into the realm of science. (Hawking : p.9)

2

All the five elements were created from nothingness.( SGGS:p.1038) He further explained how theLord created the universe from nothing very vividly on SGGS: pp.1037-1038) Everything is created out of Him alone. (SGGS :p.223)

There is only One Lord who created the entire universe. ( SGGS:p.1188)"Time originated from sun"(SGGS, p.357)

About the creation of life, Guru Nanak explained, "The physical body is created by the union of semen and blood and the life is created by the union of air,water and fire. He is doing this wonderful play by creating this world of materialism and love. (SGGS:p.1026)

A set of theories of the universe known as the big bang theories satisfiy the cosmological principle. Basically, these cosmologies say that once upon a time there was a great big bang that began the universe. From that moment onwards the universe expanded.

Modern astronomical observations indicate that the universe came into existence roughly 10,000 million years ago, from a huge ball of fire tremendously hot and very dense indeed.

Allen Sandage: The big bang can be understood only as a"miracle." “..the world is too complicated in all its parts and interconnections to be due to chance alone."

Hawking: Scientists have failed to describe the universe.

Georges Lemaître: "Existence began with the detonation of a "primordial atom" of infinite density."

3

Unlimited Expanse of the Universe

a) The spread of the universe is limitless. Man is not alone in the universe. No one knows how much is the spread of universe. (SGGS: p.9)No one knows his end. (SGGS: p.469)There are millions of regions and nether lands. These are beyond my calculations.Billions are the airs, waters and fires. Billions are the countries and earths. Billions are the suns, moons and planets. (SGGS: p.176).The Lord created the physical world in numerous varieties of colours. He goes on creating the universe the way His Greatness is. (SGGS: p.6)

Unlimited Expanse of the Universe

Frenc hbiologist Jacques Monod wrote, "The ancient covenant is in pieces: man knows at last that he is alone in the universe's unfeeling immensity; out of which he emerged only by chance."

Hubble's observations suggested that there was a time, called the big bang, when the universe was infinitesimally small and infinitely dense. Under such conditions all the laws of science, and therefore all ability to predict the future, would break down. If there were events earlier than this time, then they could not affect what happens at the present time. Their existence can be ignored because it would have no observational consequence. One may say that time had a beginning in the big bang, in the sense that earlier time simply would not be defined. (Hawking : p. 10-11)

4

The entire universe is on the move""In Lord's fear is the sun and in Lord's fear is the moon. They move myriads of miles without an end." (SGGS: p. 464)

Galileo; The Earth rotates on its axis every day and revolves around the sun once a year.

5

We get the Truth about the True Lord only by getting tuned to Him. He can be seen in the three worlds (the entire universe) through the truth of true Lord's Name." (SGGS: p.56-57)

Einstein: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. His eyes are closed."

6

Even if I have millions of tons of paper and have ink which never finishes writing, moving with the velocity of winds; the writing which I continue reading and get attachment to the Lord; even then I cannot appraise Thee (The Lord).

Nobel Prize Winner Steven Weinberg, "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job! (Hawking: p. 9-10.)

7

Binding together air, water and fire the Lord has created the body fortress. To it the Creator has fixed the nine doors. In the tenth gate is the abode of the Indiscernible Infinite Lord. (SGGS: p.1036)

Hoyle declared, "The probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to makethe random concept absurd."

8

Onl ythe one who can be as higher than the Lord; can understand Him." (SGGS; p.24)The Lord watches all beings while the beings cannot see Him. This is the greatest wonder. (Japuji)."

Sigmund Freud "Man exalts the image into a deity and makes it into something contemporary and real. The effective strength of this mnemonic image and persistence of his need for protection jointly sustain his belief in God.”

9

Through the true knowledge, meditation on True Lord's name and living a truthful life, the enlightenment of the truth occurs. (SGGS: p.223)The worldly attachments and detachments are the two sides. The faith is the deciding factor between the two.

Pope, John Paul II declared that "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to contemplation of the truth."

Einstein said, "Religion without science is blind; science without religion is lame."

10

If God shows mercy then one remembers Him. His soul is softened and He remains absorbed in the Lord's love. He makes his soul one with the Supreme soul. His mind's duality is reabsorbed in the mind. By Guru's Grace the lord is obtained. (SGGS: p.661)

Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, insists that "a lot of scientists really don't know what they are missing by not exploring their spiritual feelings."

The answers given by Guru Nanak are not just off the cuff given by a layman. They are born out of his deep knowledge and vast experience; both divine and worldly. They are empirically verifiable as can be seen from the observations made by various modern scientists.

Here are some other important Questions about Universe and Nature as answered by Guru Nanak Dev Ji:

Table 3:Questions about the Universe




Question

Answer

1

What is the universe?

Lord’s entire creation is the universe. It includes the eighty-four lacs of species all originated from God.
2

Who has created the universe?

The Creator of the universe is The Only True Lord..
3

Why did He create universe?

.He created the entire world for His play .Creating the world, He has set His play into motion. .
4

When did He create universe?

The Creator alone knows when He created it. No yogi or anyone else knows the day and time.
5

What was before creation?

Nothingness.
6

From where did He create the universe?

He created the universe from the void..
7

How did He start the creation?

He created the universe with one word .
8

What are the stages and process of creation of the universe?

Guru Nanak gives eight stages of creation of universe. These are Pre-Universe, Cosmic Haze, Manifestation, Initiation of Creation, Creation of Cosmic Bodies, Solar Systems and Earth, Creation of the Atmosphere and Troposphere and Water Bodies, (Arbad Narbad Dhundukara, SGGS p.1335).
Process of Creation: God - Energy - Air - Water - Fire - Nature - Universe - Beings
1. He first created Himself and gave Himself a Name.
2. He created the universe with one word.
3,4,5. From void He created air and water. He created air in which it placed the entire earth and tied the water and fire around.
All parts of universe, the galaxies and the nether worlds have been created from void.
In between air, water and fire, the Lord established the earth to act as a place of worship for the being.
God fashioned the world by creating human maya in various colours and kinds.
Creating the bodies the Lord sends the souls and ultimately takes back the soul.
He himself establishes and de-establishes and makes men assume many forms.
9

For how long has the universe been created?

Only God knows when He created the universe.
10

How does the universe exist?

The universe functions in a system as per Divine Order. Everyone is in His order; no one is out of the system. By His Order Maya is created and everyone is attached to Mayacausing attractions with an urge to achieve. In order to achieve, the beings toil hard and change the shape of things in turn. Change is continuous because desire never ends, it always expands unless controlled; desire leads to continuous toil and in turn causes continuous change. The perishable nature of goods causes a fear of losing them. In fear of losing he strives harder and so does act to create and recreate. His creation and recreation of something is the result of destruction of something else. This process of destruction and creation creates a cycle balancing the universe.
11

Who controls the universe?

Lord watches and controls the entire creation and takes care of His creation.
12

How is the universe controlled?

The Lord has set a system of 'union and separation'through which he regulates the world's functioningi.e., He unites and separates; destroys and revives
13

What is the expanse of the universe?

There are many more worlds beyond this worldand countless continents and underworlds.No one knows the exact expanse of the universe.
14

What is the life of the universe?

The Lord keeps on creating and destroying. He alone knows how far this will continue. The expanse of the universe happened many times.
Table 4: Questions about the Nature:



Question

Answer
1

What is Nature?

The entire universe, the environment and their functioning in a system are all nature.It is beyond a human being to describe the nature of the Lord.
2

What is the power and extent of the nature?

The power and extent of nature are beyond the measuring capability of the human beings. By Lord's power is the entire creation.His limit cannot be known as the limit of the Nature cannot be known.
3

Who has created the nature?

The Lord created the Nature.God created the Nature as He thought fit and right what to do next.
4

What all does the nature include?

God created nights, seasons, lunar-days, weekdays, wind, water, fire and nether lands. In the midst of these He established earth as a home for mediation. In it He placed living beings of different habits and kinds.All this is His nature.
5

How did He create the nature?

The Supreme Lord created the nature with one word.
6

Why was the nature created?

He has established this wonderful show as a play for Himself.
7

How is the nature changing regularly & systematically?

Having created the entire nature, He has set a continuous change system and continues destroying and creating nature.He does everything as He wishes.
During Guru Nanak’s era scientific approach was then a neglected field in India and science was the casualty of orthodoxy. There was a need for general awakening of the people to take them out of the darkness of ignorance and to propagate the true path as envisioned by Guru Nanak.
The world then was not even aware of laws of gravitation,solar system, earth's rotation around the sun and the existence of countless stars and galaxies in the universe. It was not known then that the air was a creation from heat and water was created from air. It was the sun-rays which helped origination of nature.
Guru Nanak had not only a great vision but also a very scientific and analytic mind. Through his knowledge and analytical and scientific vision, he propounded certain doctrines which were very new to the world. Most of these are still under study.
Guru Nanak undertook journeys to bring in a change and moved from place to place enlightening the people about the truth of life and ultimate reality. His approach to the study of universe was analytical, systematic and scientific and his propagation of scientific truth was realistic and humane.
Through inquisitiveness, experience, intuition and super-consciousness, Guru Nanak has answered the most difficult questions which modern science has not been able to answer so far and is not likely to provide the answer if it does not change the methodology of inquiry. Guru Nanak's answers to the various questions, theories, concepts and doctrines are certainly going to be the guiding light for the future inquiries, hence need the due attention of the scientific world at large.

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

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SHIVPREET SINGH

Singing oneness!
- Shivpreet Singh

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