The Gurbani or Gurmat (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) says that there is no "others". One God, One Pure Consciousness, One Truth or One Light has become everything. This one Supreme Essence is the substratum (support or "Adhaar") for all beings, places and things. It is this Infinite Essence, the Homogeneous Oneness, the highest plane of Pure Consciousness, which runs in and through everything. This is the Supreme Truth. The implication is that if we bless all, the whole universe blesses us. If we hurt others, in fact we hurt ourselves. If one selflessly loves and serves others, in fact he benefits himself. A Great Soul observes, "The beauty and charm of selfless love and service should not die away from the face of the earth. The world should know that a life of dedication is possible, that a life inspired by love and service to humanity is possible. Meditation and studying the scriptures are like two sides of a coin. The engraving on that coin is selfless service, and that is what gives it its real value. Our compassion and acts of selflessness take us to the deeper truths."
Therefore, it goes without saying that when one is situated in the state of Supreme Truth, there is no sense of otherness: everything is permeated with One, Pure Consciousness. This implies that when one transect in the world with mind permeated with conditioned consciousness (false ego-sense, Haume, Manmukhtaa, etc.), then there is the sense of otherness.
In addition to ethics and morality, the Gurbani teaches us spiritual unity of mankind. It teaches us real Love, friendship, universal brotherhood, and Oneness. It time and again points to the common bonds that exist among all of us. On account of the curtain of false ego-sense or Haume (the sense of "I-ness", etc.), this reality of Oneness remains hidden from us. So the Gurbani repeatedly urges us to remove the veil of Haume. The Gurbani on universal brotherhood, spiritual unity of mankind, and frienship:
The Gurbani's message is universal - everyone lives as One (Universal Brotherhood). Horrors of war, terror and hate are only symptoms of the root problem - the false notion of difference and "otherness." In true Oneness, there can be no fear, hatred, suspicion or jealousy. Although we might not talk about it much, the feeling and notion of "untouchability" and discrimination between social classes, castes, religions, nations and races are still there in a subtle form in the human mind. The Gurbani wants the entire human family to forget all distinctions and come together as we do in the "Langar" (kitchen where community meal served to people irrespective of caste, religion, status, rich or poor etc.) and "Pangat" (line or row for interdining) after performance of service in the Sikh congregations. In this way, the feeling of difference and inequality between human beings is reduced. This was the spirit behind the great institution of "Langar" started by the Sikh Gurus, which plays a significant role to create sense of equality, universal brotherhood, humility, homogeneity and mutual understanding!
The feelings of "otherness" is the ego-mind (Haume) in action: lust, anger, greed, attachment, self-conceit, enviousness, stubbornness, etc. It is the false "I" — the feeling of "mine, mine". Instead of "giving", selfishness or ego likes to only "take". Due to ignorance, illusion, and lack of true understanding, we harbor the feeling of "otherness". This is not it. Then we want to force our ego-vision (evil vision, wrong ideas, etc.) on others to follow so our false ego-sense can get satisfaction. But this false ego-sense can never be satisfied. In fact, more we gratify it more it flares. It is like pouring more fuel over an already burning fire! The ego feeds on attention. Without attention, the ego will starve. But it does not want to starve. Therefore, it wants attention. It keeps our consciousness divided. Because in the divided consciousness, there is always the feeling of "mine, mine" and "others". When there is no "mine, mine" and "otherness", there is no ego. Then there is only the selflessness and true love.
Why do we see others the way we do? The Gurbani dissects this question and gives us an authoritative answer — "According to one's own mind, one sees the minds of others". The mind is ego. It is the greatest liar for it hides the Truth from us. It wants us to believe in deception or illusion ("Anhovan"). Thus, it is inherently negative. It is the feeling of "I, me, mine, you". It dwells in the past that is dead and in the future that is unknown. Therefore, we are told to annihilate this mind. Because it is the greatest hurdle to realize the Truth. The Truth is Unity. The Truth is One. There is no two-ness in it. All duality and plurality is of the deluded, agitated and selfish mind.
The Gurbani says that we are the Light of God ("Joti-Svaroopa"). Thus, we all are One with the Cosmic Energy. But due to the madness of the mind (Haume), we do not see ourselves that way and have forgotten our True Nature. Consequently, we have made this world the play of the self-centered ego, which is inherently selfish. This is why the Gurbani time and again says the mind and ego must dissolve and disappear. Selfless service to all is selflessly love all. This is Sahaj, spontaneoussness or natural sate of being. Without Sselflessness there cannot be true Sahaj. To achieve that state, the Gurbani says we must become Gurmukhs (egoless beings). If one does not do good to others and hurts them, the Gurbani says that person cannot be a God-conscious being and that the body of such a person is "false" or useless.
The Gurbani reveals to us the followings. Only those who truly love God can generously help others. Otherwise we will only delight in hurting them. Also, those who truly love God are busy killing their own false ego-sense, not others. And that we become benefactor to all when we have the proper understanding and Self-knowledge. It is easy to become selfish and hurtful, because our mind is inherently just that. But selflessness and humility is a trait that is most difficult to cultivate, since it has to be genuinely felt and be ingrained in oneself. But with constant practice it can be done. That is why all the genuine scriptures and the true Masters affirm the need to develop humility and to eliminate the sense of ego. The hallmark of a noble person is humility and the ability to discriminate between right and wrong (Viveka-budhi). He has the courage to make the right choice.
— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org
Updated on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:07 AM (PST)
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