GOD'S HOME ADDRESS

ਤੂ ਹਿਰਦੈ ਗੁਪਤੁ ਵਸਹਿ ਦਿਨੁ ਰਾਤੀ ਤੇਰਾ ਭਾਉ ਨ ਬੁਝਹਿ ਗਵਾਰੀ ॥:
Too hiradai gupatu vasahi dinu raatee teraa bhaaou n bujhahi gavaaree:
(O Lord) You dwell, hidden, within the Heart day and night;
but the fools do not understand how to Love You. (sggs 617).
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Is God "there yonder"? Is He "up there" somewhere? Does he live somewhere on a mysterious planet or a kingdom beyond the stars? Or, is there a separate God of Sikhs, a separate God of Muslims, a separate God of Hindus, a separate God of Christians, and so on? Some wonder if He really exists! "If He exists, where does He live?", others may ask.

The address of God is contained in the Gurbani. It is available to anyone and everyone interested; free of charge! All we need do is just look it up with love, faith, earnestness, willingness, and sincerity!

To find someone in a town, we at least need three things: (1) name of that person, (2) his address, and (3) a road map to get to his place without being lost. Without this basic information, one is sure to become bewildered. In such frustration and confusion, he may think that the person he is looking for does not exist! On the contrary, the person does exist; however, the seeker pretending to be searching him does not know where to find him! Similarly, the Lord, or our Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...), does exist. If one does not find Him, it's because he is searching Him in the pitch darkness of his ignorance, with a blind sense-infatuated mind.

In spite of the Gurbani's such assurance, many of us think to the contrary because we do not know His Name (Giaan, Divine Knowledge...), His address, and a road map leading to His Place. 

According to the Gurbani, the Lord is Agmaa (inaccessible), Agam (unreachable or unapproachable), Apaaraa (unrivaled or incomparable), Agochar (incomprehensible), Alakh (invisible), Abhevaa (inscrutable), Beant (infinite), and Athaahaa or Agaadh or Agaah (unfathomable), etc. To the contrary, the mortals are said to be silly, foolish, ignorant and meritless. Still we mortals goes to the extreme to make the Almighty the subject of our mental speculations, worldly cleverness, and material logic; thinking that God can be found, accessed, comprehended and approached through our external and superficial acts such as nonsense beliefs, rituals, and garbs. No one can realize the Divine Presence within through this mental circus, says the Gurbani.

Thus, the Transcendental Being is not the object of our perception (body), emotions (mind), or thoughts (intellect). This is the reason He is indicated to be Unthinkable, Inaccessible, Unapproachable, Unrivaled or Incomparable, Incomprehensible, Invisible, Inscrutable, Infinite, Unfathomable, and so on. Consequently, he is declared to be the Supreme.

Subtle is God's Name and His address. So is the road map leading to His Home! In order to see (Darshan) or realize such a subtle Supreme Substance, one need to prepare himself. Then and only then one can ascertain His real whereabouts (Pataa), the True Home. In this context, this Gurbani Reflection will attempt to reflect on the following:

God's Name

His Name is Truth (ਸਚ). This life-giving Supreme Truth is only One, and everything is filled with His glory. There is no difference between a Sikh Aatmaan, a Christian Aatmaan, A Muslim Aatmaan, a Hindu Aatmaan, a young Aatmaan, an old Aatmaan, a rich Aatmaan, a poor Aatmaan, and so on. There is no such thing as a separate God of Sikhs sitting up there in Sachkhand, a different God of Hindus residing in Goloka, a separate God of Christians "up there" in His Kingdom, a different God of Muslims living in some far off Heaven, etc. The All-permeating Supreme Factor is One without-a-second. His is in all beings just as the butter is hidden in the milk, and the fire is hidden in the wood.

This Truth, the All-pervading Consciousness is to be understood as distinct from, and beyond the physical equipment constituted of the body, mind and intellect. As external and superficial things are merely the play of material vehicle made up of the body-mind-intellect personality, the Divine Substance is beyond their reach or apprehension. It is so as the body can't comprehend the Infinite Reality because He is not the object of senses or perception; the mind can't either because God is not the object of emotions; and the intellect can't comprehend as well because He is not the object of cognition. He can be Realized by the Divine Knowledge (ਸਚ ਦਾ ਗਿਆਨ...) attained through the Shabad-Vichaar. God's Home Address

His home address is Within one's own body, the Cave of the Heart within (Spiritual Heart, Spiritual Center, Home, ਘਰ...). He is in our Aatmaan, and our Aatmaan is in Him. His One Light resides equally within all beings just as the fragrance resides in the flower, and one's reflection is seen in the mirror, and steady clean water.

What is this Cave of the Heart?

This Heart (Spiritual Center…) is also indicated in the Gurbani by many names such as: Intuitive Wisdom, Dasam Duaar (“ਦਸਮ ਦੁਆਰਾ”-Tenth Gate), Nij Ghar (“ਨਿਜ ਘਰਿ”), Begampura (“ਬੇਗਮ ਪੁਰਾ”), Sachkhand (“ਸਚ ਖੰਡਿ”), Gaganpuraa (“ਗਗਨ ਪੁਰੁ”, “ਗਗਨ ਮੰਡਲ”), Sookh Mahal (“ਸੂਖ ਮਹਲ”), Ratan Kotharee (“ਰਤਨ ਕਮਲ ਕੋਠਰੀ”), Baikunth Nagar (“ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਨਗਰੁ”), Param Purakh Kee Ghaatee (“ਪਰਮ ਪੁਰਖ ਕੀ ਘਾਟੀ”), Sunn Guphaa (“ਸੁੰਨ ਗੁਫਾ”-Cave of Silence), Sunn Srovar (“ਸੁੰਨ ਸਰੋਵਰਿ”-Pond of Silence…), Sunn Mandal (“ਸੁੰਨ ਮੰਡਲਿ”-Sphere of Silence), Sukh Aasan (“ਸੁਖ ਆਸਨ”-Seat of Peace), Heart Lotus (“ਹਿਰਦੈ ਕਮਲੁ”), True Temple (“ਸਚੁ ਮੰਦਰੁ”, “ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਮੰਦਰੁ”, “ਹਰਿ ਮੰਦਰੁ”, “ਸੁਖ ਮੰਦਰਿ”…), Innermost Light of us (“ਅੰਤਰਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਪਰਗਟੁ ਪਾਸਾਰਾ”), Inner sacred shrine of pilgrimage (“ਅੰਤਰਿ ਤੀਰਥੁ”), Aatam Teerath (“ਆਤਮ ਤੀਰਥਿ”), Beautiful Abode or Place (“ਥਾਨੁ ਸੁਹਾਵਾ”), Grih (“ਗ੍ਰਿਹਿ”), etc.

A person can not see his reflection in a dirty and unsteady water, or in a mirror covered with dust. Similarly, one cannot see God's reflection or Effulgence Within a filthy Heart contaminated with false ego: evil passions such as Kaam (lust), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (emotional attachment), and Ahankaar (self-conceit), enviousness and stubborn mindedness (and their numerous variations). This outer world of plurality, cognized by our limited material vehicle of body-mind-intellect, is all a play of names-and-forms upon the Supreme Self, the One Infinite Consciousness or the One Unconditioned Substratum. That One Homogeneous whole is the Changeless in changing phenomena, like the gold is the real self in ornaments, the ocean is the real self in waves, the clay is the real self in pots, the thread is the real self in pearls or beads, the sun is the real self in rays, and the moon is the real self in reflections of waters of many pitchers. Road Map To God's Home

To this point, we know His Name, and we know His address. Now, how one can get from here to There: the "Thaan Suhaaiaa" Within? According to the Gurbani, it's relatively simple. Because with a good road map provided to us by the Gurbani, one can easily get to the Destination ("Nij Ghar") without wasting any undue time!

In simple terms, the clear and concise road map leading to the All-embracing Spirit that the Gurbani has given us is "Awareness". As indicated in the Gurbani, we can attain Pure Awareness by intuitively dwelling on the Shabad or Naam — listening (Suno), reflecting or deliberating (Socho-Vichhaaro), intuitive understanding (Samajho), remembering or believing (Manno), and practicing (Karo). Thus, God's Name, His address, and the road map leading to His Home Within is explained to us by the Gurbani. If one is genuinely serious in his pursuit of this Supreme Truth, then, as the Gurbani says, he needs to break the bonds of material consciousness of evil passions (Maya, Haume...). The knowledge of the Divine (Aatam-Giaan) only kindles in the bosom of those who remain subject to His Hukam (Eternal Law or Will). The golden key to all of this is abiding in Shabad-Vichaar in the Cave of the Heart.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Monday, February 13, 2012 2:01 PM (PST)

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