GROWING UP OR GROWING OLD?

The Manmukhs (self-willed materialists) grow weary of wandering around in all four
directions (i.e., they deteriorate or abate their spiritual life or Aatamic Jeevan), but they
do not understand (the real purpose of life) (sggs 37). The Gurmukhs never grow old; within them is
Intuitive Understanding and spiritual Wisdom (understanding of the real purpose of life, consciousness
of Divine Knowledge, ਆਤਮਕ ਜੀਵਨ ਦੀ ਸੂਝ ਦਾ ਟਿਕਾਵ, ਆਤਮਕ ਅਡੋਲਤਾ, ਸਹਜ ਧਿਆਨੁ, etc.) (sggs 1418).
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For a person, there are two ways to grow in life — either to grow up or to grow old. Growing up is to become a Giaanee or spiritually Wise. Growing old is to live in bondage and let the body just wither away only to meet the painful death at the end of the life's journey. Thus, to grow up spiritually is immateriality: that which is not material. It's Divine or Holy. In other words, growing up is to mend our ways and thus bring about a shift in our perception — from worldly to the spiritual, from the external to the internal, and so on.

Growing up is synonymous with becoming the Gurmukh. To the contrary, growing old and die like a worm in the end is synonymous with the term Manmukh used in the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS). As indicated in the Gurbani, the Gurmukh never grows old; for he possesses intuitive understanding and spiritual wisdom. The Manmukh, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite of the Gurmukh.

Apparently, in the state of Manmukhtaa, we tend to follow the dictates of our mind (Haume or false ego-sense: lust, anger, greed, etc.), which are motivated only by our selfish likes and dislikes. Conversely, in the state of Gurmukhtaa, we lead life wisely (Divine Life). Therefore, the Gurbani time and again urges us not to follow the human nature that likes to relegate the pursuit of the spiritual goal — becoming the Gurmukh while living in the body — for attaining liberation from repeated suffering to old age. Because, first, there is no guarantee that one's life will follow a structured course wherein one will find the time and energy to execute the goals one has set for oneself or about one's life span. Second, a layperson cannot decide what is the right age for this.

The true Gurmukhs and the rest of us (Manmukhs) live in the same world. However, the Gurmukh sees the world as it is, while the rest of us don't. For example, we see ourselves in the world, while the Gurmukh sees the world in himself; for everything exists in the Infinite Consciousness. Consequently, to us, we take birth and die; while to him it is the world that appears and disappears in the mind! The Gurmukh thus is a Timeless Being, and there is no birth or death in the state of timelessness. He realizes his own unassailable Nature (Joti-Svaroopa). People are afraid of death. However, the true Gurmukh is afraid of nothing; for he is fearless. It is natural for the Self or the Self-realized being to be fearless, but to be afraid of death or anything is not. Only the body-conscious person (Manmukh) is afraid of death. Since the Giaanee or the Gurmukh knows he is neither the body nor the mind, thus the event of death has no effect on him. He is the Changeless Reality, beyond time and space; thus Immortal and untouched by the death. The Gurmukh knows that what comes and goes is unreal. That which is Real never dies, and that which dies is not Real. Since the Gurmukh's mind is already dead, he has no reaction to death. For him it's natural for the body to die, as it is natural for the incense stick to burn out. He sees body and Soul as two separate entities — the body bound in time and space that comes and goes, whereas the Soul is eternal, free of birth and death.

The Gurmukhs become Immortal for they ever remain immersed in the Naam or God-Consciousness. To the contrary, the Manmukhs remain mortals and experience the pain of death for they ever remain in Mayaic or material consciousness (falsehood). The Gurbani says that even though a Manmukh may grown weary chanting the Naam, but the "filth" of his mind (Kaam, Krodh, Lobh etc.) will not go away. Because, even while doing spiritual practices, his focus remains at the worldly level!

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

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Updated on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 3:49 PM (PST)

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