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Summary of Question:	Gur Prashad
Category:	Gurbani
Date Posted:	Friday, 6/27/2003 1:52 AM MDT

Dear Sikhnet - WJKK WJKF - I've only just recently got this question in my head. In a lot of places in Gurbani, it says 'Gur Prashad' - ie you will only attain enlightenment by the grace of the Guru.

But then in other places, it says, take one step towards the Guru, and he takes 10 steps towards you.

So, on the one hand, Gurbani is saying you need to do your sewa, simran etc to attain enlightenment, but on the other hand it's saying that even if you do this, you may not get anywhere anyway, because you need the grace of the Guru.

And then it says that if you DO do these things, the Guru will come towards you.

My small intelligence means I don't understand this. Do you have any ideas/explanation as to how it works ??

WJKK WJKF

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REPLY
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Sat Sri Akal,

Answering a question like this is always difficult because only a true Sant would know the answer. I will tell you what my limited understanding tells me.

First, one's karma dictates one's life. Someone with bad karma will have a "difficult" life and someone with good karma will have an "easy" life. Here I can quote Slok:

"Changee aa-eeaa buree aa-eeaa, vachai dharam hadoor, Karmee aapoo aapnee kay narai kay dhoor."
-> Good and bad actions will be told before Waheguru (as in a Court), Some will be called in and others will be pushed away by God in accordance with their actions.

These actions, one's karams, stick with the soul from life to life. With bad deeds, one is pushed away from reaching attainment. That doesn't mean Waheguru hates us or wants to punish us, all it means is that we need more time in rectifying our karma. We must have good karma to merge back into Waheguru. In a sense, to be called in we must have Guru's Grace, Waheguru has to accept us into His domain. We get Guru's Grace by having good Karma, and we get good Karma by Naam Simran, Sewa, etc. Note that one can't jump from doing Naam simran and sewa to getting Guru's Grace, one's karma has to be built up. (think of it as energy, naam simran gives one energy, and this energy is stored in a battery called karma, and the light bulb doesn't go on until the battery is fully charged - if the energy is directly applied to the light bulb, it will not be enough to turn it on, it needs to be accumulated).

So can naam simran erase bad karma? If one is destined by his or her karma to lead a "bad" life, is that the end of the story for that person? No, the Guru tells us:

"Sant janaa mil har jas guyou, kott junum kae dhook guvayou" (pg 720)
-> Meeting with the humble saints, sing the praises of the Lord, and the pains of millions of incarnations shall be erased.

The Guru is telling us that even if our destiny is a life of misery due to bad karma from the past, that karma can be replaced by good karma by doing good deeds, helping others, and of course naam simran. (no timeframe is given though).

So, Naam Simran, sewa, etc. is the way to merge with Waheguru because doing these things, you will be given Guru's Grace and then "called into" Waheguru's domain (merged back into him). The Guru tells us on pg 288:

"Sarab nidhaan may har naam nidhaan. Jap nanak dhurgay paravaan."
-> Of all the treasures, the Lord's Name is the Supreme Treasure. Chant it, and be accepted in the Court of the Lord.

And on getting Guru's Grace on pg 924:

"Kuho nanak jo prubk ko bhaanaa, this hee ko prabh pyaraa."
-> Say Nanak, one who is pleasing to God - God is very dear to him.

and of course, one becomes pleasing to God by helping others, doing good deeds and Naam Simran.

I hope this helps.

Gur Fateh,
HSD