The Khalsa or the Elect (Conclusion.)

3.   Conclusion.

In conclusion, I must tell you that great as are your privileges, as sons of the Gurus, yet greater are your duties and responsibilities. Youngmen, all the world over, are the backbone of any nation. It is on you that the burden of future will rest. I want you, therefore, to be up and doing, to bestir yourself for the great task that is ahead, ie., the evangelisation of the whole world. You have to translate you holy scriptures and broadcast them, you have to write and re-write your history each page of which his written with blue blood of our ancestors such as Bhai Mani Singh and Taru Singh shed, the Great Guru expects you to soar up from the dust and dirth of earth until you are verily like his Khalsa i.e., unadulterated. I do not want you to be torch-bearers of light only but to go a step further and become yourself torches of light which burn and burn without fuel or consumption, radium-like, sun-like from age to age, to eternity. I want you to strike the fire of Nam for when that fire is aroused, it doth not die. Enrobed in that light, you will no longer be of earth, but unearthly, yea, you will be verily transfigured on the Mt. Sinai. I do not want you to smother your ego, as the Hathyogi’s do, but I want you to outgrow yourself, express your personality until it overflows and envelopes the whole. I want you to become good citizens loving fathers, good patriots, serving doctors, keen scientists, but above all I want you to be true sons of the Guru. A time will come when the pageant of this earth will be dissolved, when the sky scrappers which we build with so much care will become other Towers of Babel, when the Himalayas will sink and be engulfed into the ocean where the moon will cease to shine and the sun will cease to warm, when the heavens will be crumples like paper and thrown into the waste  paper basket, when man and bird and beast, yea even the gods will be no more, then all be naught but the KHALSA WILL YET LIVE for has it not doffed the Nectar of Immortality — the Amrit of the Sat Guru!

RAMBAN

5-1-33.

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The Khalsa or the Elect (HOLD FAST.)

3.   Hold Fast.

I invite you to chant Sat Sri Akal again and again in the morning and in the evening when you get up from the bed and when you retire for sleep, when you begin your deliberations and when you end them for Sat Sri Akal, (True is the timeless-one) is the holiest of all exclamations. It comes from the heart and goes straight to the heart; it reverberates to the very depth of heaven and penetrates the cloud carrying us to the Fatherland Beyond. Brethren, stand fast, and I assure you that the Khalsa shall conquer the forces of evil and unrighteousness and plant the Akal banner in all corners of the earth for this prophecy * that was made centuries ago is already becoming true and the might of the Khalsa is already felt much in France as on the Indian Frontier. In this march onward, in this ceaseless conflict, our deathless Guru is Guru Granth for therein lies the accumulated treasure of all ages, the Nectar of immortality. If you are true to the Guru, the Guru will never turn His back on you.

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The Khalsa or the Elect (The esoteric meaning of the phrase SAT SRI AKAL.)

3.   The Esoteric meaning of Sat Sri Akal.

I will not detain you any longer, but there is one thing I must tell you although it is in our mouth everyday, yet we understand it the least, I mean our clarion call of Sat Sri Akal. How many of you know the real meaning of Akal? If you translate it into unending time, I am afraid you will be wholly wide the mark. The people of the West and are never tired of singing of life-eternal, but how few understand the meaning of this word ‘eternity’. If you will ask them to explain as to what they mean, they will again point to meaning-time, which begins we know not when, and proceeds into the future we know not where. But if this is what is the goal then we must not use either the word Akal or eternity as Akal is a much higher conception; for it is the very negation of time. (akal = time-less). I will discuss it in a little detail to make it clear. Our phenomenal world is made up to two units viz., time and space, which weave the visible world even as cloth is woven out of warp and woof. But behind this visible and the phenomenal world, there is another world which is time-less, spaceless, impalpable, ethereal and it the Formless one or Nirankar. When we sing the praises of Akal (as we do in the Akal Ustat jap ji) we are talking no more of time, but of that of that noumenal, timeless (Nirankar), world where time and space are no more for they are left behind. That another world does really exist and it is there alone where youth is eternal, where bliss is eternal, where activity is eternal, where being is eternal. And it is that hidden and higher world where NAM lifts us! Let us, therefore, dispel from our minds all ideas of time (Kal) when we are talking of the timeless-one (A-kal). I will give you an illustration to make my meaning a bit clearer. Real comprehension comes only with Nam, for that is the light which lightens the darkest recesses of soul. Let us compare time to an outspread-snake for that is the recognised symbol of time as it devours us all. The snake, of course, has its head and tail, but lengthen the snake in you imagination to infinity in either direction. You will then comprehend Time in its true condition, its outspread state, for time has no beginning nor end on either side. But now let us turn round and try with the Time-snake in another way. Suppose the snake is one yard long, and he curls round so as to eat its own tail, which it does when it forms a full circle then try to locate its beginning or end of this circle. You will, no doubt, come to the conclusion that the circle has no beginning nor any end. Now double the length of the snake and let it circle round again; it has still no beginning nor end, nor will it have any even when the circle covers the whole space as also all time. This circled time, rounded up on to itself, in such a way that it has no beginning nor end is Akal (eternity) for you cannot now divide it into past, present and future as you do with outspread-time, whatever its duration. This Akal is, as I have said, a higher world and to attain it we must reach the apex of mind and then fly off at a tangent into the Realm of Nirankar. Having reached this height, time is left behind like an outworn garment and then at that height a second is enlarged into a millennium and the millennium becomes one with the second for the time-element is eliminated. Perhaps you will believe me better if I gave you the evidence of another mystic namely * Meister Eckhart who may be called the Shakespeare of Germany, but whom Germany understands as little as England understand the elements of Shakespeare. Says he “when we rise past our own mind to the summit of mind, we have an inkling of the perfection and stability of eternity, for there is neither time nor space, neither before nor after, but everything present in one new fresh-springing. Now, where millenniums last no longer than the twinkling of an eye.” This flight above the jail-walls of space, and above the enduring influence of time is the flight into Akal, into the timeless one. Of that circled-time (Akal) our iron bracelet (Kara) is the best of all symbols for time hath divisions but this is anant (eternal, without beginning or end). And it is made of steel, all-steel as eternity is synthesized thereby with armed-efficiency which is the doctrine of science. The Kara or the endless circle is therefore, to us as a constant reminder not of infinite time but of eternal Akal, and every time when we cleave the heavens with you ringing sonorous calls of Sat Sri Akal, we peep for once into that kingdom of Heaven where death is not, where tune is not; for the time-serpent loses its sting, where age leaves behind its wrinkles, where the chains of space have fallen from our feet, and where we feel we are like birds free in the air soaring upwards and outwards to the boundless heaven, where the pangs of home-sickness are no more, where we are one with Him who is One, where we dwindle into the formless One as sugar melts into the milk, where we are like water molecules wafted into thin air, and where air is dissolved in ether, and where ether is no longer lifeless medium, but all-intelligent, all-powerful, all-pervading, blissful-Entity which indeed, is the Akal. Soaring to that height you are no longer mortal but immortal, you are no longer men, but angels, nay you are one with Him, who is you, I and He, all-in-one, and one-in-all, the Being Transient, the Being Transcendent!

* Menster — Master.

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The Khalsa or the Elect (The four pillars of Sikhism.)

3.   The four pillars of Sikhism.

Brethren! The invisible throne on which great Guru Gobind Singh sits with the elect has four feet. I have mentioned to you the first and foremost of these feet the Nam, the other three are Kirt Karna i.e., earning an honest living by the sweat of one’s brow, being dependent on oneself, and instead o grabbing the possessions of others sharing the same with one and all : for this is what is expected of a Bhai or a true brother. Thirdly, deg, teg, fateh i.e., one must have the power so to use our hands as not only to partake our earnings with others but to wield the sword and the gun if and when necessary i.e., in self-defence. It is very rarely that resort to arms is permissible but when arbitration has proved futile and there is no other alternative to end aggression and religious persecution, then resort to arms becomes an imperative duty. 

     Indeed, it would be sheer cowardice, it sit idle at that critical hour, and let yourself be trampled under-feet like crawling insects. The Khalsa is a born lion (Singh) and therefore, Sikh is primarily a Singh. The fourth and the last foot of this throne is abiding humility : Garibi Gada Hamari. Humility should not, however, not be confused with cringing impotence, for it is quite its reverse. Humility is the crown of all virtues, for it is at the very apex of the pyramid of virtue and it is there where man touches and becomes one with God. Guru Gobind Singh who is the very embodiment of life and energy calls himself not God but only servant of God and in one of his quatrains in the Akal Ustat he sings of “Tuhi Tuhi, i.e., Thou, Thou, O Lord!” In vain would you find in the Sikh Bible the grandiloquent phrases in which the Vedant abounds : the Vedant formula I am God (Aham Brahm assmi) is reversed in Sikhism and we read : “I am naught O Lord, Thou art all” for that is what is the essence of reiterated Tuhi. These are then the four outstanding pillars on which the Taj (soul-dome) of Sikhism rests. In them lies the kernel of time, democracy and that spirit of equality

that sweeps untouchability from within and not from without and of which our common (kitchen) Langer is the best proof. There are many other virtues which are connected with the above even as spring water has its connection with many a wet recess hidden in the bowels of earth. The basal virtue which feeds others is Brahmcharya : for that is the fountain from which the spring of life bubbles. The Kachh (half pent) is a constant reminder to us of this virtue and it enjoins us to keep ourselves continent, for in conserving that fountain we conserve life spiritual. But continence should not be confused with monkery for there are no monks or nuns in Sikhism. 

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The Khalsa or the Elect (Why we must keep the Keshas — our choicest and holiest possession.)

4.   Why must we keep the Keshas our choicest possession.

Brethren! I have already drawn your attention to our choicest possession. I mean Nam without which we will be as much starved as fish without water or fire without air. But who you know what is the custodian or conservator of Nam? Some of you, not having tried long enough, not having thought deep enough, are like motes in the air swept this way or that way by currents of air. They see the Curson fashion much in the air, even some ladies are drawn towards bobbed air for in so doing they take to themselves the airs which the plumed jackdaw took when mixing with the peacocks. But misguided as much men are, you do not realise the harm that they do to themselves by cutting with their own hands the roots of their higher-self : they are verily committing suicide! But you will ask me the how and why of keeping the Keshas. Brethren! of all the men who are assembled here, I am the one who is the most qualified to answer this query, for I am a Forester who lives in the hills and who revels in the dark shades of deodars. But you will ask me what is the connection between woods on hills and Keshas on our heads. And I hasten to reply that there is every conceivable connection they are one and the same, fundamentally and essentially, if only we had eyes to see. Those dark woods on the sunny slopes of the Himalayas invite and usher in the monsoons from far-off Indian Ocean. Were it not for those wooded slopes, the hills would soon be turned into ravines and the ravines leveled into the desolate Sahara which is the curse of Africa. It is those woods which first draw the moisture laden clouds even as the magnet attracts the needle, then precipitate them for they are like rose fans through which water filters down, and they help to conserve the water to keep the soil green, to fertilise the valleys and enrich the country with flower, fruit and grain. India without the monsoons would be another African Sahara, but the monsoons would not settle without the hospitable woods, so also the monsoons shower of Nam would not settle until these holy Keshas are there to act as sponges for that honeyed-dew which is the secret of eternal youth! Believe me, youngmen, what I tell you is true, only too true. But I can see a few among you who are obsessed by the West asking me, if not openly yet in their hearts, how is that Europeans flourish all the same, even though they do not keep the long hair? The objection is good enough but you have only to go deep down to its bottom, to scrap it out-right. If only you will listen, I will explain to you how England has climbed down, I mean spiritually not materially since the days of Shakespeare. I will not refer you to the world war for that is now regarded as a symbol of efficiency. But there is much deeper test of progress or deterioration than the world war and I will use Shakespeare himself as a meter, as a measure of the greatness of England. I believe all of you must have read Shakespeare, but while most of you understand and admire his dramas, yet there is one thing in him which you do not understand. And this is one thing which I will soon mention to you is not only a sealed book to you and to your professors but to all ( I speak subject to correction) the University Professors of England! I will not set your curiosity further on edge, so I will mention to you at once as to what I mean : the Shakespearean Sonnets. University Professors will tell you that these sonnets are love-songs which Shakespeare composed for his lady-love when he was young, but those who hold this view are wrong, one and all. I have read these sonnets with the key which I will soon mention to you and I have no doubt whatsoever that they are no ideal effusions on an idle earthly lover, they are chaste-hymns which Shakespeare the bride, composed and outpoured when the bride was deeply in love with the Universal-Bridegroom : Akalpurakh. But what is the proof, you will say? The proof is in the pudding itself, but if you want an additional one it is there written with Shakespeare’s own hands, for in the dedication Shakespeare writes that he is dedicating these sonnets to one of his friends with the view to initiate him into the “Art of Eternity.” Mark the word ‘Eternity’ and all the rest will follow, albeit in a dim manner. But if you want to unravel this mystery to its minutest detail, you must have the golden key of the Japji for that is the Master-key which will unlock to you this and that riddle, and also the kingdom of Heaven. I know Shakespeare not because I have been taught in schools and colleges, because Guru Nanak too me up one-day, ah! the day! from the lust and dirt of earth into that closet where the Khalsa or the elect sit, and going in I found that Shakespeare was but one of the many Khalsas who are there! Consider brethren! the depth to which England has climbed down. Ponder over it : England cannot understand its own Shakespeare, I mean the best of him which are his sonnets and which were written in the prime of his life, near the grave; the dramas and plays of Shakespeare are but the husk while the sonnets are his kernel! Tennyson understood Shakespeare and when he did so he became ‘the Ancient Sage’ and his poem bearing that name is really a leaf from the unwritten-Bible. The whole of Europe looks aghast at Shakespeare who is head and shoulders above all, and cannot understand him why? Because they have lost the choicest of all possessions, the keshas which made Shakespeare the dramatist, Tennyson the poet, and Jesus the Christ. Brethren! all of these leading lights of the West are truly Sikhs, nay they were khalsa,  for were they not bearded like you? In those flowing locks lies the secret of greatness of the great and when the Tenth Guru made it compulsory on you to keep the holy keshas, he did so because he loved you, because he wanted you to have what is verily best, what is purest and choicest possession. In keeping the long hair, you may not be in majority, but remember you are in select society, in excellent company, members of the Lodge Universal which comprises all the rishis of the East, prophets and seers of the West including Rama, Krishna, Mohammad, Christ above all the Gurus whose replica, the soul-architecture is the Khalsa. In other words, you may not be one the teeming sheep, but certainly you are one among the shepherds. The keshas, therefore, are our holiest possession and we can no more part with them that we can remain without light or air : they who part with them in ignorance are like brutes caught up in a tunnel or thrown down a ditch. They must climb back and recover the heritage they have lost or else they are doomed. 

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The Khalsa or the Elect (Our Ten Gurus, and the Guru-impersonal: Guru Granth.)

3.   Our ten Gurus and the Guru-impersonal.

Youngmen! , you are lucky, you have had not one Master but ten; they were ten to ring out of you all chords of symphony, so that not one may remain untouched, you are lucky. Your gods are not half-mythical, half-real, half-shadowy figures, such as others have, but they were true God-men who walked on this solid earth, who walked with us, worked with us with their own hands, who ached as we ache, who thrilled as we do, and who were withal not of the earth as they transcended the earth, being one with Nam. No one say about out Guru Nanak, our Guru Gobind Singh, as H.G. Wells says about Christ “The Christians Christ is too fine for me, not incarnate enough, not flesh enough, not earth enough” ! I do not hold the same opinion of Christ as Wells holds, for I have reverence for all prophets. I love my Gurus most for they are so lovely that they would not disdain even the dingy cabin of my soul. They speak to me in the touch in which my mother spoke, they speak to me not in the court-language of reason, but the heart-language of love, they do not dodge me or beat me about the bush by parables, allegories or hyperboles, but they give me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but truth! I repeat what I said once before that Guru Granth is the common Bible of the world come into its own, the world grown up into adolescence, for here, at last all veils, all symbols, all myths are thrown aside, discarded and we meet the holy Isis, Minerva or Saraswati by whatever name you call her, face to face, all unveiled! Brethren believe me for what I say is true, others have the gilded coin, you have got the gold, others have nut but you have the kernel, others have essence but you have the very Quintessence: the Nam. All glory unto the Gurus who turned this land of Five Rivers into Sachkhand, who ushered the golden age in the Kal Yug. Youngmen! you are crusaders of the spirit, yea are of Waheguru and victory is of the Deathless one.

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The Khalsa or the Elect (Personal experience the greatest of all arguments.)

3.   Personal experience is the greatest of all arguments.

Youngmen! I will not bore you with further argument, for arguments are at best gilded coins; their gold coating is shallow and skin-deep, and for every argument you can produce counter-argument, or at any rate a semblance of it, as they do in the courts where there is no end to arguments. But the final arbiter in all such matters is the heart, and I ask you to dive deep in your heart and to explore the depths of your internal ocean, and down, deep-down in your bosom you will, no doubt, find the priceless pearl: the Nirankar. But I know you are yet young, you have yet acquired the art of swimming, not speak of diving, and until then you must depend on your elders, on the incontrovertible evidence of those whom we call Bhais or Gurmukhs. They will not deceive you or else you would not call them good-men. Above you, you have your Anchor-sheet of all anchors, I mean the word, the unimpeachable witness of Guru Granth who is verily our Incarnate-Guru, the Guru-impersonal who, for that very reason, is destined to live for all time. That Guru asks you to try everything; search every thing; it goes so far as to assert that you should believe your own Guru, if necessary! — God forbid! — until you have realised the truth in your own person!! But a day will come in your life as it has come in the life of all Bhais, when the mystery of heaven and earth will be revealed unto you, when the highest heaven will bare its bosom to you and the lowest-hall will unfold its secrets to you, yea, when the stars will beacon you from the blue, and when the atoms and electrons will speak to you from behind the veil of matter, when meteors and nebular mist will kiss you from behind the azure blue, when you will have your bath in this Amritsar on earth as also in that Pool of Immortality in which Dhru bathes daily in the heavens and when you will no longer be of earth or matter or dross, but heavenly, angelic, the Khalsa, the pure, the dross-less spirit and then and then alone you will realise the glory of being administered Guru Gobind Singh’s Pahul — for that is the key which unlocks to you the secrets of heaven! Those who are not yet initiated, those who have not yet sipped the Honey-Nectar of His love, those who are yet half, not whole, I ask them, I invite them to love themselves in the Guru-given Amrit, for that alone can make Man out of us, weak boys until then we may call ourselves disciples (Sikhs), but let us not contaminate the holy term: Khalsa, for the Khalsa is all-gold, unalloyed, unadulterated, unadulterable. 

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