Shivpreet Singh
Shivpreet Singh
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The chess game of life

What is the difference between 
the seeker's experience
of existence and
that of the
rest?

The seeker 
knows the spiritual path
to be a subliminal chess game with infinity

The limitless has just
made an amazing move
and the entranced seeker 
spurts out in laughter 
“I surrender ... I 
surrender!”

While the rest of the people
seriously think they 
still have a 
thousand 
moves.




Life ebbs ... Life flows. Just allow everything to rise and fall back into silence. Trust this Universe and wait for your destiny. Is there nothing else to do other than waiting? And don't get bored while waiting. Sing!




Acceptance

When the spent sun throws up its rays on cloud
And goes down burning into the gulf below,
No voice in nature is heard to cry aloud
At what has happened. Birds, at least must know
It is the change to darkness in the sky.
Murmuring something quiet in her breast,
One bird begins to close a faded eye;
Or overtaken too far from his nest,
Hurrying low above the grove, some waif
Swoops just in time to his remembered tree.
At most he thinks or twitters softly, 'Safe!
Now let the night be dark for all of me.
Let the night bee too dark for me to see
Into the future. Let what will be, be.'



Acceptance means embracing what is, rather than wishing for what is not. When we accept difficult realities, we are able to discover whatever positive feelings and experiences may be possible in that situation. We find ourselves more at peace and able to experience life more deeply. Even so, acceptance must be guided by discernment – learning how to tell the difference between what we can change and what we cannot.

Acceptance of our faults and the faults of others helps us to be patient and to avoid hurtful kinds of criticism or judgment. By accepting faults we become more able to trust and celebrate strengths. Paradoxically, acceptance often leads to growth because it creates a safe space for insight and understanding.


Today I am meditating upon a poem by Robert Bly -


Wanting Sumptuous Heavens - A poem by Robert Bly


No one grumbles among the oyster clans,
And lobsters play their bone guitars all summer.
Only we, with our opposable thumbs, want
Heaven to be, and God to come, again.
There is no end to our grumbling; we want
Comfortable earth and sumptuous Heaven.
But the heron standing on one leg in the bog
Drinks his dark rum all day, and is content.

Are you Grumbling or Singing?


This poem carries a profound message that resonates with Guru Nanak's wisdom of surrendering to the divine will and finding contentment through simplicity. It draws a stark contrast between the human tendency to grumble and yearn for more, symbolized by our opposable thumbs that can create and manipulate, and the creatures of the natural world, who seem content in their simplicity. In Guru Nanak's teachings, the act of singing, or devotional expression, is seen as a way to connect with the divine and find peace in surrendering to the divine will. Bly's portrayal of grumbling as the antithesis of singing underscores the idea that we often choose to complain about our circumstances rather than embracing them.

Bly's poem suggests that, unlike these "lesser" animals, we, as humans, possess the unique ability to ponder the nature of heaven, desire comfort, and seek divine intervention. However, this very capacity can lead to our restlessness and dissatisfaction. The heron in the poem, standing on one leg in the bog and sipping its dark rum, represents the simplicity and contentment that can be found in embracing the present moment and the natural world. In juxtaposing our desires with the heron's contented existence, the poem challenges us to reflect on the wisdom of accepting what is and finding contentment within ourselves, echoing Guru Nanak's message of surrender and devotion as a path to peace and spiritual fulfillment.

The poem also reminds me of what Mirza Ghalib said about Heavens: I know that it is a lie; its just a way to keep the heart happy: Humko Maloom Hai Jannat Ki Haqiqat



The following is what Yoga insructor April Ritchey said today about inner peace and quiet. I responded, that by saying that the best silence I found was the one that my heart felt in the presence of a song. I don't think peace does not come by staying quiet (Guru Nanak's poem). It comes by adhering to the laws of the universe. And the law of the universe is to sing!

David Whyte says:
All of our great traditions, religious, contemplative and artistic, say that you must a learn how to be alone—and have a relationship with silence. It is difficult, but it can start with just the tiniest quiet moment.

Being quiet in the midst of a frenetic life is like picking up a new instrument. If you've never played the violin and you try to play it for the first time, every muscle in your body hurts. Your neck hurts, you don't know how to hold that awkward wavy thing called a bow, you can't get your knuckles round to touch the strings, you can't even find where the notes are, you are just trying to get your stance right. Then you come back to it again, and again, and suddenly you can make a single buzzy note. The time after that, you can make a clearer note. No one, not even you, wants to listen to you at first. But one day, there is a beautiful succession of notes and, yes, you have played a brief, gifted, much appreciated passage of music.

This is also true for the silence inside you; you may not want to confront it at first. But a long way down the road, when you inhabit a space fully, you no longer feel awkward and lonely. Silence turns, in effect, into its opposite, so it becomes not only a place to be alone but also a place that's an invitation to others to join you, to want to know who's there, in the quiet. 

An interpretation of Guru Nanak's poem:
For other interpretations click here.

The path to nobel truth

On the path of purity
I did not become clean
On the path of silence
I did not gain peace
On the path of riches
I did not gain wealth
On the path of intelligence
I did not gain wisdom
Walking the path of acceptance
I found the noble truth.

- Shiv
June 24, 2011
Shivpreet Singh · Punj Pauriyan da Kirtan (19082-11)

"Hukam rajai" assumes that Ekonkar is sovereign and we do not have much control. So a lot of the things we do to attain peace/freedom/happiness are useless. The only action that makes sense is "Hukam Rajai" -- surrendering to the will to the ruler of our destiny. Surrendering is nothing but loving. And singing is the expression of love! So, the purpose of life remains to sing! This is what my Dear Guru Nanak meant in the 15/16th century in this morning prayer, Japji when he said "Hukam Rajai."

Here are interpretations of Guru Nanak's poem "Hukam Rajai" (Japji 1).
I have started to translate Guru Nanak's Japji Sahib that is a guide to reach the peace promised by the understanding of Ekonkar. Here are the first two steps. The essence, in my opinion, remains that the purpose of life is to sing.


Acceptance

On the path of purity
I did not become clean
On the path of silence
I did not gain peace
On the path of riches
I did not gain wealth
On the path of intelligence
I did not gain wisdom
Walking the path of acceptance
I found the noble truth.
June 24, 2011
- Shiv

Crossing the clean path
I did not become pure
Striding the silent path
I did not gain peace
Going the gilded path
I did not gain wealth
In the intelligent path
I did not gain wisdom
On the path of love
I found everything.

- Shiv
June 22, 2011

Do not try to clean
what can't be made pure
Do not try to quiet
what can't be at peace
Do not try to feed
hunger that doesn't die
Do not try to know
what can't be understood
Acede to the power
that rules everyone


- Shiv
March 18, 2011

Step 1: Gratitude

Cleaning the doesn't clean the mind 
cleaning the body a-thousand
Silencing scarcely bring silence
sitting soundless years a-thousand
Hunger happens to still linger
Having heaps hoarded a-thousand
Like candles in the wind are wits
useless rendered a-thousand
Then how to see the light of truth
and remove all this dark falsehood?
By rejoicing in His Will, says Nanak,
and in His will being thankful! 

- February 2011


Hukam Rajai - Path of Surrender

On the path of purity
I did not become clean
On the path of silence
I did not gain peace
On the path of riches
I did not gain wealth
On the path of intelligence
I did not gain wisdom
Walking the path of surrender
I found the noble truth.


Step 2: His Will

Its in His Will one and all
No one else does have a say
Through His Will springs all life
And His Will that makes small or great
His Will brings High or low stature
His will is what brings joy and pain
In his will are those in peace
In his will too wandering in vain
Everyone everywhere in His will
Without His will there is no one
And once His will is understood
Says Nanak "I" becomes defunct



March 14, 2011; edited March 1, 2021
Shiv

Cleansing doesn't cleaning 
if you clean tier by tier
Silencing doesn't brings silence
if you sit soundless year after year

Hunger will still linger no matter
how many heaps are hoarded here
Like flickers of candles in the wind
the best of wits will disappear

What is then the light of truth
whose brilliance makes the path clear
Living in grace in spite of darkness
and singing His song everywhere


- Shiv

Guru Nanak, Sikh, Sikhism, Gurpurab, Celebration
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Singing oneness!
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