Sat Nam Dear Family,
Guru Gobind Singh writes in the Bachittar Natak, a most beautiful poem (paraphrased), “There is nothing but love.” He was a master warrior, and, yet, He did everything with love. How did He do war with love? That is the question.
In another hymn, Ode to Durga, Guru Gobind Singh writes about neutrality, balance and understanding. The only graceful way to engage in war is through defense of righteousness. The limits of war are set by an opponent as neutrality has no limit. Victory with graces is a must.
When neutrality is real, the success of a battle is guaranteed, won through love. The love of service to God is the highest seva, spiritual service.
Neutrality is where love resides. It holds no enmity, no bias, no prejudice, no judgement. no resentment, no remorse, no duality. Shall I go on?
It turns out that Guru ji’s works of literature explain the balance between love and hate. He explains that they are two sides of the same coin. In other words, Neutrality is the balance which holds the polarities of creation, love and hate, together. The nothingness of God’s pure, pre-creation, love is turned into creation through the love of hate. Funny, but true.
God’s will is found in neutrality, and living in His will provides His grace. God’s neutrality teaches that there are two rules, two commands: No judgement and no doubt. No judgement of whatever you think is right or wrong as it’s all about what God wants. And, there must be no doubt in serving Guru ji’s will. That’s it. That’s the ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ a place of sahej, contentment.
His will commands the student to not judge anything! Then where does right and wrong, good and bad come into play? Where do they fit in? They fit in all along the way, only with a different understanding, perspective. It’s complicated. It’s even hard to describe. It’s otherworldly. Please, let me offer this view.
God’s worldly expression of love is through compassion. This means non-judgement. It’s not up to you, to me, or to they as to how things are. It’s karma. It’s God’s call. Sometimes karma is meant to represent thinking and actions in opposition to the duty of love. That’s natural, as some believe one way, while others believe another.
Abhorrent, loathful, thinking and actions are necessary. They balances love. Without it there’d be nothing. So, love for ALL is needed. Some souls support one polarity, others support the opposite. Both are necessary in the creation of neutrality. It’s the karma of each which depicts where on the scale polarity a seeker resides, where his reality lies. Some are great lovers of pure love, while others or great lovers of hate. Most lie somewhere inbetween. That’s God’s call, that’s karma.
As Guru Gobind Singh says, “ALL is love. God is pure love.” God is the pure energy of love broken into gorgeous vibrational branches like light, sound, breath, and so on. These variations are the direct link from God to His creation. God energizes these variations through the law of polarities and, thus, creates good light and not good light, good and bad sound, good and bad breathing, and so on.
As light, sound, and breathing work there way down to us, our habits, memories, and patterns pervert this worldly display of love into a myriad of less noble experiences. Nevertheless, they’re ALL stills form of love. Agape love and love of neurosis are both attractive forms of love, however, the experience of each is greatly different. Yes, we do love our neurosis. It’s our neurotic nature.
Guru Gobind Singh’s base of love, Totality, is a command: love ALL. Through love, it’s possible to defend against any opposition which becomes violent. This is God’s will, and our duty. The love of duty, of service, of devotion, of compassion is under the direction, protection, and will of God. Doing God’s will is a display of great love for God, even if it means keeping ALL in balance through the defense of righteousness.
When there is a need to defend the truth because violence, or it’s threat, has replaced tolerance, love must accompany the fight. We, as Students of Guru ji, stand ready and do so with love for ALL of God’s creation, without judgement. We may fight to the death, but do so by loving God and His assured protection, Our continued prayer is: Dear God, we understand that ALL is your doing so please bless us to do your duty in defending your honor, and exhaling your will with purity of purpose.
There’s a way to know whether a student’s path is elevated, or not. A good student will check to see if his chosen way has compassion as a first, last, and always goal. If the answer is yes, stick with it; if no, move on. Displaying compassion, `even, and especially, to enemies, is the student’s, not just ticket, but first class “Ticket to Paradise.”
In conclusion, the way to non-judgement, to understanding, to neutrality, to compassion, to love for ALL, resides in loving what is hated, and the neutrality to understand the difference. A student can and should love God, while standing against some of the karma He’s created through the love of His creation. Everyone has a soul and a karma. Remember that the soul of another is God’s abode, karma is just drama. Separate the karma and the soul and a different perspective enters the consciousness. Stay tuned,
Your Friend,
Hari Jiwan
