FEAR OF GOD
God Himself creates the world, and He himself takes care of it. Without the
God's Fear, doubt
is not dispelled, and love for His Name is not embraced.
Through the Satguru, the Fear of God
wells up (within), and the Door
of Salvation is realized. Through the God"s Fear, Sahaj (natural
state
of Being) is realized, and one's light merges into the Infinite Light. Through
the God's Fear,
reflecting on the Guru's Teachings (Gurmat), the terrifying
world-ocean is crossed over. Through the
God's Fear, the Fearless Lord is
realized; He is Lmitless. The self-willed Manmukhs do not appreciate
the
value of the God's Fear; burning in (the fire of Maya's) desire, they weep and
wail...(sggs 1288).
<><><><>
Fears can be grouped
in two categories — the Fear of God (spelled here with big "F") and
all other worldly fears (spelled here with small "f"). The Central to
scriptural teachings of various religions is to have the Fear of God. But the
question is: "what does it mean to have the Fear of God?" The religious
scam artists of almost all religions have awfully battered this term ("Fear
of God") for ulterior purposes. As a result, it has almost lost it's real
gist. Upon hearing "Fear of God" usually the first thing that comes
to the mind is that God is a some kind of vengeful judge. He is not. Godhood is
Pure Love. In True Love there is no room for any kind of reprisal. Pure Love sees
all with even vision, without animosity (Nirvair) towards anybody. However,
God has set forth His Law of Karma (Hukam or Eternal Law) governing
human actions as a teaching mechanism to prevent incarnate Souls from being entrapped
forever in the outward pull of the delusive Energy called Maya (duality, illusion
or relativist consciousness). In the Light of the SGGS, this Gurbani Article will
briefly try to reflect on the followings:
- What
is the Fear of God?
- Why We should Have the Fear of God?
- Who is
Filled With the Fear of God?
- Benefits That Flow From the Fear of God
- How
is the Fear of God Produced Within?
The
fundamental belief of Sikhism is that God exists (One God). He is not
as merely an idea or concept, but as a Real Entity. Although He is indicated to
be indescribable and Formless (Niraguna or Transcendent aspect), yet knowable
and perceivable (Saraguna or Eminent aspect) to anyone who is prepare to
make the honest attempt to mend his corrupt ways by collecting his Mayaic mind
scattered around in Bikaars (lust, anger, greed, attachment etc.) and thus
make it become perceptive to God's Persona, Divine Qualities and All-pervasiveness.
So for the SGGS, God does not need any logical proof for is Reality and Truth.
- qUM
vrnw ichnw bwhrw]hir idsih hwjru jwhrw: Toon varnaa chihanaa baaharaa.
Har deesahi haaajar jaahraa: (O God) You are without color and mark. (Yet) You
are seen to be manifest and present (sggs 74).
- byd
kqyb sMswr hBw hUM bwhrw ]nwnk kw pwiqswhu idsY jwhrw: Bed kateb sansaar
habhaa hoon baaharaa. Nanak kaa paatisaahu disai jaaharaa: (God) is beyond the
world of the Vedas, the Koran and the Bible. (Yet) the Supreme Lord of Nanak is
immanent and manifest (sggs 397).
- imly
pRqiK gusweIAw DMnw vfBwgw: Milae pratakh gusaaeeaa Dhannaa vadabhaagaa:
God met Dhanna visibly; he aws so very blessed (sggs 488).
- pUrY
guir hdUir idKwieAw: Poorai gur hadoor dikhaaiaa: (God's) Presence is revealed
to her (Soul) by the Perfect Guru (sggs 127).
- qUM
inrgun qUM srgunI: Toon niragun toon saragunee: O God, You are Transcendent
and Immanent (sggs 211).
- gurmuiK hovY
so qqu pwey: Guramukh hovai so tatu paaye: One who becomes Gurmukh, obtains
the essence of Reality (sggs1016).
What is the Fear of God
Simply
put: God's Fear is the Fear of the consequences of one's Karma (Kaarmic
actions, reactionary deeds, bad Karanee, Adharma etc.). To put it
otherwise, God's Fear does not mean to be afraid of God. It simply implies respect,
Love, reverence, veneration or Adb for the
Divine Law, Hukam etc. In essence, it is the fear of immoral, false and
unrighteous conduct. Thus, in deeper sense, the "Fear of God" is meant
to discourage ambivalence. Such pure "Fear" (respect, reverence, Love
or Adb) keeps a seeker in the scale of morality
and righteousness, which, in turn, encourages Spiritual Life, Spiritual discipline,
meditation, cultivation of Self-knowledge through inner inquiry and one-pointed
conscious Love for God. With the help of these Divine Attributes, one adorns Bhgati
(devotion) with its important element of Bairaag — detachment from
materiality and temptations, and attachment to the practice of Love and devotion
of the Pure Self (Joti-Svaroopa) within. According to the SGGS, only those
deeds are "excellent" (good Karanee) that are done in the Fear
of God (respect, reverence, Love or Adb),
otherwise they are "false". Thus the third Guru Sahib says, "Forsake
desire, and abide in the Fear of God; O Nanak, these are the most excellent actions".
- ibnu
BY krm kmwvxy JUTy Twau n koie: Bin bhai karam kamaavane jhoothe thaaou
na koi: Without Fear (of God), the performance of Kaarma is false, and
one finds no place (in the Presence of God) (sggs 426).
- gurmqI
Bau aUpjY BweI Bau krxI scu swru: Guramatee bhaou oopajai bhaaee bhaou
karanee sach saar: O Brother, under Guru's Instruction, the Fear of God is produced;
true and excellent are the deeds (Karanee) done in the Fear of God
(sggs 638).
- kwmix guxvMqI hir pwey ]BY
Bwie sIgwru bxwey: Kaaman gunavantee har paaye. Bhai bhaai seegaar banaaye:
The virtuous soul-bride finds the Lord;
she decorates herself with the Love
and the Fear of God. (sggs 122). - BY qy
bYrwgu aUpjY hir Kojq iPrxw: Bhai te bairaag oopjai Hari khojat phirnaa:
Through the Fear of God, the attitude of detachment (Bairaag) wells up,
and one sets out in search of God (sggs 1102).
- iqRsnw
CofY BY vsY nwnk krxI swru: Trisanaa shodai bhai vasai Nanak karanee saar:
Forsake desire, and abide in the Fear of God; O Nanak, these are the most excellent
actions (sggs 1089).
Although both the unfaithful (Bemukh, Saakat,
the Manmukh or nonbeliever) and the faithful (the opposite of Bemukh
or believer) entertain the Fear, but the Fear of both is something different.
In separation from God, the Bemukh or Saakat is full of all other
fears (e.g., fear of death, repeated suffering etc.). It's common to see such
people subscribe to religion out of fear. They practice the various religious
injunctions because of apprehension that nonperformance of the same will lead
to retribution from God. Ignorance is the root of such fear. The basis of any
religion is Love of God and hence anything done out of fear is due to immaturity.
In True Love, how there can be any room for any kind of reprisal? The faithful,
on the other hand, Fears the All -powerful God in deep reverence, respect, Love,
Adb etc. So he has no other fears (such
as the fear of death etc.) because he does not consider himself to be separate
from God at any given moment.
Spiritual
value is associated not merely with Love and devotion of God but also linked to
having the Fear of God (respect, reverence, Love, Adb
etc.) and the practice of Dharma — the social responsibility of caring
for the entire Creation. According to the SGGS, the true Love of God is the result
of the Fear of God. In other words, in the absence of such Fear of God (respect,
reverence, Love, Adb etc.), there can be
no True Love of God. "This Fear of God adorns the Love of the Lord",
states Baabaa Nanak in the SGGS. The SGGS further observes that without the Fear
of God neither will one get inspiration for devotion (Bhagti) nor will
one remember and Love Him and nor will one's sinful mind (stained with Bikaars
or negative propensities) become Pure, an essential ingredient for God Realization.
You see it's like a dominal effect. In nutshell, the Fear of God is an essential
element in developing Prema-Bhagti (Loving Devotion). Furthermore, as indicated
in the SGGS, Pure Awareness or Consciousness (God, Divine Creator etc.) alone
is Fearless, but everything else functions in the Fear of God.
- BY
Bau rwiKAw Bwie svwir: Bhai bhaou raakhiaa bhaai savaar: This Fear of God
adorns the Love of the Lord (sggs 151).
- BY
ibnu lwig n lgeI nw mnu inrmlu hoie: Bhai bin laag na lagee naa man niramal
hoi: Without Fear (of God), the cloth (of the mind) is not dyed, and the mind
is not rendered Pure (sggs 426).
- BY ibnu
Bgiq n hoveI nwim n lgY ipAwru: Bhai bin bhagati na hovayee naam na lagai
piaar: Without the Lord's Fear, one can neither perform devotional service, nor
can develop Love for the Naam, the Lord's Name (sggs 788).
- BY
ibnu Bgiq n hoeI kb hI BY Bwie Bgiq svwrI: Bhai bin bhagati na hoee kab
hee bhai bhaai bhagati savaaree: Without the Fear of God, devotion is never performed;
(it is) through the Love and the Fear of God, devotion is embellished (sggs 911).
- BY ivic pvxu vhY sdvwau...: Bhai
vich pavan vahai sadavaaou...: In the Fear of God, the wind ever blows (in hundred
blasts). In the Fear of God, thousands of rivers flow. In the Fear of God, fire
is forced to labor (gives heat). In the Fear of God, the earth is bears immeasurble
burden. In the Fear of God, the clouds move across the sky. In the Fear of God,
the Righteous Judge of Dharma stands at His Door (performs his duty). In the Fear
of God, the sun shines, and in the Fear of God, the moon reflects. They travel
millions of miles, endlessly. In the Fear of God, the Siddhas exist, as
do the Buddhas, the demi-gods and Yogis. In the Fear of God, the
firmament stretches across the sky. In the Fear of God, the warriors and the most
powerful heroes (do their duty). In the Fear of God, multitudes come and go. God
has inscribed the Inscription of His Fear upon the heads of all. O Nanak, the
Fearless, the Formless and the True Lord is One. ||1|| (sggs 464).
Why
We should Have the Fear of GodThis body is like a field (Khet),
in which our Karma is the seed (Beej). We harvest exactly what we
sow. If our seed (Karma) is false (Karma done without the God's
Fear), then naturally our harvest (results, consequences, rewards or fruits) will
also be equally false, setting the cycle of the Law of Karma in motion.
Repeated suffering and fears of all sorts are the consequences.
Thus, the SGGS
indicates that one's life would be a waste if one were to die without the Fear
of God. To die without the Fear of God is to die in all other fears. Also without
God's Fear, one cannot retain the "Color" of the God's Name or attunement
to the Shabad within. In short, without the God's Fear, we remain false, unable
to become the Gurmukh (Spiritual Being, Self-realized etc.)and fearless
(from all other fears) and cross over the dreadful ocean of the repeated suffering.
- nwnk
BY ivxu jy mrY muih kwlY auiT jwie: Nanak bhai vin je marai muhi kaalai
outh jaai: O Nanak, if you die without the Fear of God, you will arise and depart
with a blackened face (disgrace) (sggs
149).
- nwnk sbid rqy hir nwim
rMgwey ibnu BY kyhI lwig: Nanak sabad rathe har naam rangaaye bin bhai
kehee laag: Nanak, those who are attuned to the Shabad are dyed in the Color of
the Lord's Name. Without the Fear of God, how can they retain this Color? (sggs
29).
- BY ibnu inrBau ikau QIAY gurmuiK
sbid smwie: Bhai bin nirabhoau kiou theeai gurmukh sabad samaai: Without
the Fear of God, how can anyone become fearless? Become the Gurmukh, and immerse
yourself in the Shabad (sggs 18).
- BY ibnu
GwVq kcu inkc]AMDw scw AMDI st: Bhai bin ghaarrat kach nikach. Andhaa sachaa
andhee satt: Without the Fear of God, all remain false (or sinful). (Just as anything
moulded in a defective mould cannot acquire the right shape), so is the case of
a false person who follows blind or sinful path (sggs 15).
- BY
ibnu koie n lµGis pwir: Bhai bin koi na langas paar: Without the
Fear of God, no one crosses over (the ocean of repeated suffering) (sggs 151)
- nwnk
pwhY bwhrw korY rMgu n soie ]BY ivic KuMib cVweIAY srmu pwhu qin hoie ]nwnk BgqI
jy rpY kUVY soie n koie: naanak paahai baaharaa korai ra(n)g n soe. bhai
vich khu(n)b charraaeeai saram paahu than hoe. Nanak bhagathee jae rapai koorrai
soe n koe: O Nanak, without treatment, the raw fabric cannot be dyed. (Similarly)
The cloth of the body is bleached white in the Fear of God, and if the mordant
of Holy Effort are applied. O Nanak, if one is imbued with devotional worship,
his reputation is not false (sggs 468).
Who is Filled With the
Fear of God
Those who contemplate and live the Gur-Shabad (Guru's
Teaching, Instruction, Word, Divine Message etc.) are "filled with the Fear
of God". It appears that Baabaa Nanak has used the term "Guru"
clearly in three senses. The Guru is God; the Guru is the Voice of God; and the
Guru is the Word, the Truth of God. These three senses (God, Guru and Guru's Word)
are ultimately inseparable.
- Awpxw Bau iqn
pwieEnu ijn gur kw sbdu bIcwir: Aapanaa bhaou tin paaioun jin gur kaa sabad
beechaar: Those who contemplate the Word (Gur-Shabad) are filled with the
Fear of God (sggs 35).
Benefits That Flow From the Fear of God
The
SGGS observes that when a sincere devotee places the Fear of God in his Heart,
He becomes the Gurmukh (spiritual being living a Divine Life); his deeds
(Karanee) becomes excellent; he cherishes sincere Love for God and thus
travels the path of Bhagti (devotion); he conrols his mind, forgets the
selfishness and burns away his false ego-sense (Haume); he attains True
Understanding; he meditates on the Divine Name, sing and follow the Divine Word;
he enjoys True and Real Life; his coming into this world becomes Blessed and Approved;
his all other fears disappear — he becomes fearless; he is honored in the God's
Court; the Glorious Virtues of the Lord dwell in the heart; and so on.
- nwnk
BY ivic jy mrY sihlw AwieAw soie: Nanak bhai vich je marai sahilaa aaiaa
soi: O Nanak, if one dies in the Fear of God, his coming (into the world) is fruitful
(sggs 149).
- fir Gru Gir fru fir fru jwie:
Dar ghar ghar dar dar dar jaai: Place the Fear of God within the home of your
heart; with this Fear of God in your heart, all other fears shall be frightened
away (sggs 151).
- ikAw frIAY fru frih smwnw:
Kiaa dareeai dar darahi samaanaa: Why should we fear, when fear is dispelled by
the Fear of God? (sggs 154).
- gurmuiK AwvY
jwie insMgu: Gurmukh aavai jaai nisang: As the Gurmukh, come and go without
fear (sggs 932).
- BY Bau rwiKAw Bwie svwir]1]
rhwau ]BY qin Agin BKY BY nwil]BY Bau GVIAY sbid svwir: Bhai bhaou raakhiaa
bhaai savaar..: This Fear of God adorns the Love of the Lord ||1||Pause|| The
fire of fear within the body is burnt away by the Fear of God. Through this Fear
of God, we are adorned with the Shabad (sggs 151).
- piq
pwey drbwir siqgur sbid BY: Pati paaeai darabaar satigur sabad bhai: One
is honored in the Darbaar, the Royal Court, of the Lord, through the Shabad of
the Satguru, and the Fear of God (sggs 751).
- nwnk
ijn@ min Bau iqn@w min Bwau: Nanak jinh mani bhaou tinhaa mani bhaaou:
O Nanak, those whose minds are filled with the Fear of God, have the love of God
in their minds as well (sggs 465).
- BY
pieAY mnu vis hoAw haumY sbid jlwie: Bhai paiai manu vas hoaa houmai sabad
jalaai: When the Fear of God comes, the mind is restrained, and through the Shabad,
the ego is burnt away (sggs 645).
- hir
gux ihrdY itkih iqs kY ijsu AMqir Bau BwvnI hoeI: Har gun hiradai tikahi
tis kai jis antar bhaou bhaavanee hoee: The Glorious Virtues of the Lord dwell
in the heart of that person, whose inner being is filled with the Fear of God,
and His Love (sggs 1115).
How the Fear of God is Produced Within
When
a person truly understands God's Immanence in everything and His Hukam
that prevails all equally, he becomes free of all fears as there will not be anxieties
of the false ego-sense (Haume) to torture him anymore. In the following
verses (and many more), the SGGS advises us how the Fear of God can be produced
within (e.g., taking on the Satguru, and so on).
- sqguir
imilAY sd BY rcY Awip vsY min Awie: Satagur miliai sada bhai rachai aap
vasai mani aai: Meeting the Satguru, one is permeated forever with the Fear of
God, (and thus God) Himself comes to dwell within the mind (sggs 33).
- gur
imilAY Bau min vsY BweI BY mrxw scu lyKu: Gur miliai bhaou mani vasai bhaaee
bhai maranaa sach lekh: Meeting with the Guru, the Fear (of God) comes to abide
in the mind; to die in this Fear is the true dying (sggs 635).
- BY
ky crx kr Bwv ky loiex suriq kryie:Bbhai ke charan kar bhaav ke loin surat
karayi: Let the Fear of God be your feet, and let His Love be your hands; let
His Understanding be your eyes (sggs 139).
- suriq
hovY piq aUgvY gurbcnI Bau Kwie: Surat hovai pat oogavai gurabachanee bhaou
khaai: (by focusing on the One Shabad) Intuitive understanding is obtained and
one is welcomed with honor (at the God's Door), by abiding in the Guru's Word
he ends his (worldly) fears (sggs 18).
- Bau
Klw Agin qp qwau: Bhaou khalaa agan tapa taaou: With the Fear of God as
the bellows, fan the flames of Tapa (sggs 8).
- poQI
purwx kmweIAY ] Bau vtI iequ qin pweIAY: Pothee puraan kamaaeeai. Bhaou
vattee it tan paaeeai: Let the reading of your prayer book be the oil, and let
the Fear of God be the wick for the lamp of this body (sggs 25).
—
T. Singh
www.gurbani.org
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Updated on Friday, March 30, 2007 1:44 PM PST [Home]
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