Yogi Bhajan Lecture Archive
Lecture by :
Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji
Close Document
Lecture on: 02/13/1977
Category: Class Lectures
Location: Columbus, Ohio
.
Public

The Khalsa Concept of Action

The concept we carry is five hundred and some years old. It is a concept of action. Agreeing to our failures and our misconceptions, agreeing to our monopoly and our ridiculous ignorance, we have carried the message of the Guru to the best of our weaknesses, and not to the best of our strength. We as Sikhs have proven to be the most selfish, self-centered and arrogant people. History will never forgive us. We are aware of it. But one thing we did and perhaps that was the only thing worth doing: throughout the persecution, we carried the message of the Siri Guru Granth across the world. We don’t claim today that we were following the path exactly. Our low, low nature, our self-getting nature fueled by temptation, our worldly caliber which sacrificed the caliber given to us by the father of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh, that all has to be immediately reformed to put us within the concept of the Khalsa. But on the other hand, we, with our own tragedy, did carry the truth and spread it all around with a hope that one day the seed shall sprout and shall become, by its own grace, a very beautiful tree which can give shelter to millions.

If you are to understand time and space, then there are very simple things to be understood. Jesus the Christ left only twelve people behind. Moses took a handful of people for forty years through the desert and gave up the task of realizing the freedom of the people who he brought from Egypt. Hajid Mohammed of Islam was chased out, and the great Buddha was poisoned at the end when he had achieved the entire gian. He could have found out that the mushrooms given to him were poisonous. Lord Rama lost his wife Sita to Ravana, and they didn’t let Lord Krishna have birth on the ninth month. Guru Arjun was tortured in the most awful way a human body can be put through, and the seven and nine year old sons of Guru Gobind Singh were bricked alive. So all told, whenever a man in a human body wants to walk on the path of God, the hardships are numerous, and unconquerable. But it is true that when a man penetrates through the tragedy, he enjoys the vastness of God.

People die with death; we play with it. People ask for life; we ask for the glorious death to match it. It’s a different world altogether. It has no concept for those who want to live on earth. It is a concept of going from here with grace to our true abode. It is not understand by a commoner, though it is for the commoner.

Look at the life of these people who come here, who earn security through all the mess they can go through on this earth. Somebody asks for four acres, somebody asks for twenty; somebody can be a president. But it’s all subject to time and space. It dwindles as time passes by. But the concept of the Khalsa is: here we are and here we go. The grace earned in going is beyond the entire value of this earth.

We are fortunate that we could reach the House of the Guru to admire that principle which is not only great in value, but which is graceful in living. For what use is this life if it is a direct insult by the creature to the Creator? What is security? A heap of earth won’t give us this security. The children will leave; the “husband” and “wife” only exist for as long as they can enjoy the life; these bank balances, and these cars that we are trying to relate to…. That egomaniac of an individual who thinks the entire world is under his command, when he breathes his last, the first thing they’ll ask is, “Where to shove him out, and what to do with him?”

Realizing the concept, Guru Nanak unto Guru Gobind Singh gave a new hope to humanity, to live with that grace that there should be no insecurity at the time you leave this earth. Especially the Indian Sikhs who have come here in the United States of America, they understand the fate of the alien. Our entire religious teaching is just that of an alien – the earth is very alien to us. We don’t belong to this earth. We have been sent here through the grace of God and Guru to just come and enjoy and experience God’s homey presence. Therefore, leaving this earth should never be difficult or painful. That is where we differ from others. We don’t seek heaven; we are not afraid of hell; we are not afraid of judgment; we are afraid of this; we are not afraid of that. We are afraid of only one thing: that under any normal and abnormal circumstances our faith in our Guru may not shatter. That’s what we are afraid of.

We are not afraid of the fact that we are poor. We are not afraid of the fact that we are rich. We are not afraid that we may not have any children. We are not afraid that we have twelve children, how will we raise them? We have solved all these small items. They hold no fear for us. That is the concept given to me, and given to all of us by the father of this nation, Guru Gobind Singh – the concept of the commonwealth of the Khalsa. We all live for each other, and we all shall die for each other. Death shall come to all of us. But when death shall come to us, it will not mean anything to us. It will be just quitting your job and going to rest.

Therefore, we shall not only survive, we shall expand tremendously. In thirty-six years from now, according to all estimates, there’ll be equally as many more human beings on this earth as there are now. Today, the human population is 4.2 billion. In thirty-six years, we will add 4.4 billion more people. At this moment, with all the synagogues, temples, churches, and whatnot on every corner of the street, people are unable to handle their neuroses. People are going crazy and the world is not in good shape. There has to be some technology available through which man can survive the ordinary composite life as a human being. That is where it comes – the era of Guru Nanak. That is where the handy science of Nam Simran comes in. Sometimes people wonder how to get up in the morning, it is difficult. I say, “You crazy folks, just wait. Not only will you get up in the morning, not only will you take part in the morning sadhana, but thousands of you will stand outside the Guru Ram Das Ashrams, just to seek peace.”

It is not possible for humanity to live at the level of grace they are living with. The contempt against the soul is not going to be tolerated by the consciousness. Therefore, it is not going to be that easy. Look at the life of the average individual here. Everybody’s life breaks through torture and self-treachery within the framework of thirty-six years to forty-five years. The way the culture, the pressure of the peers, and insecurity of the rich people are going, they are unable to handle their private lives; they are unable to handle their children; they are unable to handle their other aspects of ordinary life. They do not have a place to go. They do not have an organization to join to work for them. And each individual is suffering in that tragedy.

Seeing that tragedy, Guru Nanak gave us the Word and made us to be as saints. And Guru Gobind Singh gave us the technology that we can defend ourselves and live with grace. With the blend of saint and soldier, life can became smooth and honorable to those who live with the concept of the Guru. We do not convert people because we have fought conversion all our life. We do not even feel sorry for those who have betrayed the Satguru; it was not in their destiny to be so. For the earthly values, they turn their backs on the House of the Guru. Their generations shall go through the tragedy of the time and space.

It is a very simple thing when we say our Ardas. We do say: Khuaar hoe sabh milainge. Those who have not learned at the feet of the Guru, they shall learn through time and space. And they shall wander in the wandering of the planetary attractions. It is so simple and so clear. It is not unknown to us. In each of our prayers we say openly and firmly – Khuaar hoe sabh milainge, bache sharan jo hoe. (Those lost ones will all meet; he who seeks the Guru’s protection shall be saved.) Only that one shall be safe who has taken the protection of the House of the Guru. It is not a proclamation which we do egocentrically. We know the future and we know the demand of the future. And we know very positively and honestly that the Guru left with us the solution for that future. In our love for humanity and peaceful coexistence, we give this call with every prayer so that all those who seek peace, who seek grace, who seek dignity and divinity can understand the way of life.

Today we are here, praying to Almighty God, in the words of the Guru. It’s a very profound privilege to do so. It is very simple and authentic. Those who shall keep in touch with their higher consciousness will not suffer in their concept of life. That’s why the Guru gave us a very simple way of living: Rise before the sun rises, because each fool has to rise after all. Prepare yourself for your daily duties by meditating on one God, and chanting the Holy Name. By calling on God, you will belong to God and then the entire creation of God will stand by you. It’s a very, very selfish act. Those who cannot do that, they have no right to live. Because when you go to work, you’ve got to get ready. So why not get ready to face the world. Then earn through the sweat of your brow, and earn a lot. It’s a curse to be poor. Work hard, earn sincerely, work efficiently, and work diligently. And then, share with those who are less fortunate so that they may feel the love to belong to the brotherhood. Then live as God made you to live, and don’t worry – all shall die but a Sikh shall always seek to die with grace. Simple fundamentals.

One of us – Mukhia Singh Sahib Livtar Singh, put our entire philosophy into one Song of the Khalsa, which we always sing with every prayer and in every congregation to remind ourselves that we must know who we are, what our goal is and what our concept is. Hopefully, as the Guru shall will, we’ll expand and flourish despite persecution. Remember, all people are judged, but the best judge of a man is the enemy of the man and the opposition of the time. Our will should be like that of steel; our practice should be steady like a mountain; and we should make a mark against the wind of the times to relate that we existed on this planet earth, so that the generations to follow should stand and understand that we excel as a human race. May the Guru guide us through the time and space. Waheguru ji ka Khalsa; Waheguru ji ki fateh.

© 1977 YB Teachings, LLC
Above Article Copyright © Yogi Bhajan 2002. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.



Return to top of document

All Documents | By Location | By Category | By Date | Help

History - Donation - Privacy - Help - Registration - Home - Search

Copyright © 1995-2004 Sikhnet