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TOUGH TIMES

Posted by hsc13 
TOUGH TIMES
May 22, 2012 01:08PM
If one is going through some tough times (for months on end), what can a Sikh do to help lessen the pain? Sadh Sangat Jee, please share your stories / comments.
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 22, 2012 01:32PM
When wartime comes, the whole world panics but true warriors rejoice. Their faces reflect a certain glow in anticipation of entering the battlefield and testing their martial skills.

When an epidemic disease breaks off, the whole world is horrified but a Sidh-Vaid (accomplished doctor) can't contain his happiness. He gets a chance to test his knowledge and Sidhi.

The testing and difficult times befall on all but Bhagats who are connected to Vaheguru don't despair at all. They rather are thrilled because now they get to test the eternal truths listed in Gurbani. They get to test the "Naam Aukhad" they have been earning all life by doing Har-Har Aukhad. A Gursikh who had been doing Kamaaee for years and who at one point was full of Naam Aukhad, once asked me to find someone with a terrible disease like cancer so that the Naam Aukhad may be applied on that person in order to heal.

What to do in difficult times? A Gursikh has no other refuge but of Guru Sahib. A Gursikh seeks the refuge of Guru Sahib and SadhSangat. What else is there to do but recite Gurbani and chant Naam? There is no other cure of diseases and no solution of problems except Gurmat.

Amrit Chako, Rehit Rakho, Takde ho ke Naam Japo te Gurbani da Paath Karo. That's it. There is nothing else we can do to solve our problems and cure our diseases.

Kulbir Singh
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 22, 2012 02:12PM
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh Bhai Kulbir Singh Ji,
Excellent post Veerji, but what if unlike the lucky Gurmukhs of Canada, one who is yearning to attain Gurmat living, is amongst family, friends, and relatives who is against Gurmat, saying it is taking Sikhi too far, or God understands and accepts how we live (afterall; kran karan ek hai), or your brother advises you; when living in .........do as ......?
That is when, for me, Gurdwara would be a good refuge, but what if Gurdwara sangat also, as the author of this article states? >[sikhanonymous.wordpress.com]

Bhul chuk muaf
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

ps. seems like Gurmat today, where I live, is having to be a recluse to world (but a great big happy family within, when one attains union with our King)
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 22, 2012 04:57PM
Bhai Sahib has said everything that needs to be said. We have a habit of looking for quick fix solutions, but end up only throwing ourselves into more dubida. Even if we do not consider ourselves Gurmukhs, or if we are in circumstances where family makes it difficult to stay true to gurmat, we must break free of our fears and doubts and rely fully on Guru Sahib and naam to save us. Nothing else.... just don't stop japping naam.
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 23, 2012 01:21AM
KS jeo
Daas' personal experience is
In case of very tough times
1. Increase ur attendance at amrit vela prakash of guru sahib
Do gupt ardaas
2 amrit vela nitnem with sangat at gurdwara sahib
Sangal can do ardaas
Or At chardikala gursikhs' house as they welcome evone
3 listen and jap baani all day long remember waheguruji
Do ardaas ke vaheguruji is nu main jarr jawwan

4 a pyaare gursikh once said to me in such times if u are doing ur nitnem and ardaas
And incresing nitnems to do more chaupai sahib or sukhmani sahib paaths
Then its a sign that sikh is going through the test of gurujiand paasing
If nitnem is gone everything is gone
5 best advice on anything can be blessed by panj pyaare
U can ask for any specific baani or shabd abyaas

Wahegurujikakhalsa
Wahegurujikifateh
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 23, 2012 11:13AM
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh Charan_dhoorjio,
Thank-you very much, I am very blessed that Gurujio is always ang sangey, despite my own laziness, and weakness, but I know my Gurujio will bring out within me His perfection, so this itself will inspire, and transform others, beginning with my bachi, whom I refer to as His Princess, to have been blessed with His Darshan when not even two years.
Bhul chuk muaf.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 29, 2012 01:20AM
hsc13 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If one is going through some tough times (for
> months on end), what can a Sikh do to help lessen
> the pain? Sadh Sangat Jee, please share your
> stories / comments.



Singh Mahapursh said to do 25 Paath of Chaupai Sahib (from Nitnem) daily till one gets out of Tough Times. The result depends on one's Pararabdh but still Guru Jee will do Kripa to take you out of Tough Times.

Finally after getting out of Tough Times you should follow what Bhai Kulbir Singh Jee and Charan Dhoor Jee have beautifully explained.

Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.
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Re: TOUGH TIMES
May 29, 2012 11:20AM
ks jeeo further reading here may or may not help, but the essence is to change ones emotional state from the suffering - listening to Gurbani,and sangat - not only but also learning somehting new - take on those nasty beliefs and fears that are causing you stress:


ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ" - "Suffering is the medicine". This is the edict of the Gurbani. How can suffering ( Dukh or Dukha ) be the medicine (Daaroo)? We are further told by the Gurbani that: "Pleasure is the disease"! How can pleasure (Sukh or Sukha) be the disease—suffering? What a paradox! To an ordinary person full of desires, fears, agitation, excitements, passion, unkindness, animal-nature, and so on, such statements of the urbani may indeed sound paradoxical. However, their mystic meaning, subtler in import and graver in suggestion, can be grasped if we try to think with a cool (Sahaj) mind.

ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ ਸੁਖੁ ਰੋਗੁ ਭਇਆ ਜਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਤਾਮਿ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥: Dukhu daaroo sukhu rogu bhaiaa jaa sukhu taami na hoee: Suffering is (or becomes) the medicine, and Sukh (or pleasure becomes cause of) the disease (i.e., siffering); but if (the Real - spiritual or ਆਤਮਕ) Sukh (is experienced or Realized, within), then (no Dukh remains) (sggs 469).
As repeatedly mentioned in the Gurbani, man's psychological ego (Haume) is his chronicle disease, the cause of all his Dukha, mental and physical. And if we can give it up, there will be no grief and suffering! What is this psychological ego? It is simply accepting the body-mind-intellect as the Immortal Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...). When one comes to fully understand that he is not this body-apparatus and is the Eternal Mool, then he comes to his Real Ego.
ਮਨ ਰੇ ਹਉਮੈ ਮੋਹੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਭਾਰੀ ॥: O mind, egoism and attachment are such heavy loads of pain (sggs 1260).
ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਵਡਾ ਸੰਸਾਰਿ ॥: The world is suffering from the terrible disease of egoism (sggs 1278).
ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗ ਕਠਿਨ ਤਨਿ ਪੀਰਾ ॥: The body is afflicted with the terribly painful illness of egoism (sggs 1172).
The Real Ego (or I), Pure Consciousness (Joti-Svaroop), is untouched by the pair of opposites such as Dukha and Sukha, and so on. It is the pseudosoul or false ego that suffers the consequences of deluded mentality (Haume) that we cultivate for ourselves. When sun rays get refracted at the prism, the colors are perceived. Similarly, when Pure Consciousness gets refracted at the prism of false ego-center, the duality or the sense of distinction and separation is perceived. Which, in turn, gives rise to a perceiver of objects, a feeler of emotions and a thinker of thoughts. In other words, when the Unconditioned Consciousness looks out upon Itself through the spectacles of Its own matter-envelopments, It identifies with the limited and becomes the pain-pleasure man.
ਹਉਮੈ ਸਭੁ ਸਰੀਰੁ ਹੈ ਹਉਮੈ ਓਪਤਿ ਹੋਇ ॥: Ego is within all bodies; and through ego beings are born (sggs 560).
ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਮਾਨੁਖ ਕਉ ਦੀਨਾ ॥: Mankind is afflicted with the disease of egoism (sggs 1140).
ਦੁਖੁ ਹਉਮੈ ਪਾਪ ਕਮਾਇ ॥: Man suffers pain by practicing Paap in ego (sggs 511-3).
Pain and pleasure are of the deluded mind (psychological ego-center): nothing created by the Lord is responsible for either. What gives one Sukha may give someone else Dukha. Also, what gives Sukha in one situation may give Dukha at another, depending upon the context in which one has it. Thus, by the working of the human mind, the same object appears as a source of pain or pleasure to different persons and in different contexts. Therefore, it can be said that Sukha and Dukha are the same feeling but the difference is in the point of view from which we look at it. The bottom line is: if one gets what he craves for, he feels Sukha. To the contrary, if he does not get what he craves for, he gets frustrated and feels Dukha. Thus, bewildered by wrong ideas, our mind with its false ego-center desires Mayaic gains and fears loss; experiencing Dukha and Sukha in the process.
ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੧ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਆਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜੰਮਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੁਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਦਿਤਾ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਲਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਖਟਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਚਿਆਰੁ ਕੂੜਿਆਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਪਾਪ ਪੁੰਨ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਨਰਕਿ ਸੁਰਗਿ ਅਵਤਾਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਹਸੈ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਰੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਭਰੀਐ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਧੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਤੀ ਜਿਨਸੀ ਖੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੂਰਖੁ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਿਆਣਾ ॥ ਮੋਖ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਕੀ ਸਾਰ ਨ ਜਾਣਾ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮਾਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਛਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਜੰਤ ਉਪਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਤਾ ਦਰੁ ਸੂਝੈ ॥ ਗਿਆਨ ਵਿਹੂਣਾ ਕਥਿ ਕਥਿ ਲੂਝੈ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਲਿਖੀਐ ਲੇਖੁ ॥ ਜੇਹਾ ਵੇਖਹਿ ਤੇਹਾ ਵੇਖੁ ॥੧॥ ..: Salok M: 1. In ego (man) comes, and in ego (man) goes. In ego (man) is born, and in ego (man) dies. In ego (man) gives, and in ego (man) takes. In ego (man) earns, and in ego (man) loses. In ego (man thinks of) Paap and Punn. In ego (man) experiences heaven or hell. In ego (man) laughs, and in ego (man) weeps. In ego (man) becomes dirty, and in ego (man) is washed clean. In ego (man) loses social status and class. In ego (man) is ignorant, and in ego (man) is wise. (man) does not know the value of salvation and liberation. In ego (man) loves Maya, and in ego (man) is kept in ignorance by it. Living in ego, (man) is born again and again. When (one) understands ego (Haumai), then (one) knows the (Tenth or God's) Gate. Without spiritual wisdom, (man) babbles and argues ||1|| (sggs 466).
If we look at ourselves in our moments of Sukha or Dukha, we will consistently observe that it is not the object in itself that is Sukha-giving or Dukha-giving, but the circumstance and condition of which it is a part. In other words, if the situation is acceptable, we feel pleased. To the contrary, if the situation is unacceptable, we suffer.
Now, first, let's try to understand why pleasure (Sukha) is said to be the source of disease (i.e., suffering). The Gurbani tells us that pleasure puts us to sleep — it makes us forget our True Nature (Mool) as Unconditioned Consciousness. Pleasure thus kills the Spirit per se, not to mention the body. As told in the scriptures, we are nothing but "Joti Savroop", the Pure Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...), which is free from pain and pleasure. However, pleasure deludes us away from this Truth, causing separation where there is none.

ਦੂਖੁ ਤਦੇ ਜਦਿ ਵੀਸਰੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਚਿਤਿ ਆਏ ॥ ਸੰਤਨ ਕੈ ਆਨੰਦੁ ਏਹੁ ਨਿਤ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਏ ॥: Pain comes, when one forgets Him. Peace comes when one remembers God. This is the way the Saints are in bliss — they continually sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord (sggs 813).
ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਤੇ ਭੁਲਿਆਂ ਵਿਆਪਨਿ ਸਭੇ ਰੋਗ ॥: Forgetting God, all sorts of illnesses are contracted (sggs 135).
ਮੈ ਵੇਦਨ ਪ੍ਰੇਮੁ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਰਹੁ ਲਗਾਈ ਜੀਉ ॥: I am consumed with the pain of separation from God's Love (sggs 175).
While intoxicated with mundane pleasures, we care less about the Spiritual matters. For example, when inflicted with Dukha (a serious illness, economical or legal problems, etc.), we start showing up at religious places begging for relief. Once the problem goes away, our religious mood also disappears like horn of a donkey! Sukha, thus, creates separateness between man and his Real Source. Consequently, it paves the way to Dukha. In other words, in every Sukha there is Dukha disguised.
ਤੁਧੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਨਾਲਿ ਉਪਾਇਆ ਲੇਖੁ ਕਰਤੈ ਲਿਖਿਆ ॥ : You created pain along with pleasure; O Creator, such is the writ You have written (sggs 787).
ਨਾਨਕ ਬੋਲਣੁ ਝਖਣਾ ਦੁਖ ਛਡਿ ਮੰਗੀਅਹਿ ਸੁਖ ॥ : O Nanak, it is absurd to ask to be spared from pain by begging for comfort (sggs 149).
ਸੁਖ ਕਉ ਮਾਗੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਦੁਖੁ ਨ ਮਾਗੈ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਸੁਖੈ ਕਉ ਦੁਖੁ ਅਗਲਾ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਬੂਝ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥: Sukh kaou maangai sabh ko dukh n mangai koi. Sukhai kaou dukh agalaa manmukh boojh na hoi: Every one asks (begs, craves, wishes, etc.) for Sukh (happiness, pleasures, joy, peace, etc) and none asks for Dukh (suffering, misery, etc). But in the wake of Sukh, there comes Dukh. The self-willed Manmukhs do not understand this (sggs 57).
The Gurbani roars that the world and its gross objects can only give us fleeting pleasure, not Happiness. Because, the true Happiness flows from within. In other words, Realization of our Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...) is the true Happiness. In the absence of Mool-realization, it's all Dukha! Still, surprisingly, man's all efforts are aimed at securing nothing but material pleasures!

ਮਿਠਾ ਕਰਿ ਕੈ ਕਉੜਾ ਖਾਇਆ ॥: Deeming it sweet, they eat the bitter (sggs 1243).
ਮੁਖਿ ਬੇਰਾਵੈ ਅੰਤਿ ਠਗਾਵੈ ॥: In the beginning Maya seems to please, but in the end, she deceives (sggs 892).
ਸਭੇ ਵਸਤੂ ਕਉੜੀਆ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਉ ਮਿਠਾ ॥: All material things are bitter; the True Name alone is sweet (sggs 321).
ਮੀਠੇ ਕਉ ਕਉੜਾ ਕਹੈ ਕੜੂਏ ਕਉ ਮੀਠਾ ॥: That which is sweet (ਨਾਮ-ਰਸ, the Lord's Name) is said to be bitter, and the bitter (enjoyment of the sense-objects, ਵਿਸ਼ਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਰਸ, which proves to be bitter in the end) is said to be sweet(sggs 229).
Thus, as indicated in the Gurbani, all material pleasures end in pain. But due to perverted understanding, we are unable to grasp this Truth. Why does the Gurbani claims that experiences which are apparently pleasurable are ultimately states of Dukha? What we perceive as a state of pleasure is nothing more than a form of relief in comparison to painful experiences. Hence the pleasurable status is only relative. As we know it, everything around us keeps changing on a constant basis. Nothing ever stays permanent. Even our mind renews itself every instant. Accordingly, any happiness experienced from material objects is also changeable, hence impermanent. Everything being in the frame work of time-space has a beginning and an end, so does pleasure. Accordingly, at the end of pleasure there rises Dukha. Therefore, all sentient beings are said to be bound by these two.

ਸੁਖੁ ਮਾਂਗਤ ਦੁਖੁ ਆਗੈ ਆਵੈ ॥ ਸੋ ਸੁਖੁ ਹਮਹੁ ਨ ਮਾਂਗਿਆ ਭਾਵੈ ॥: People beg for pleasure, but pain comes instead. I would rather not beg for that pleasure (sggs 330).
ਦੁਖਿ ਸੁਖਿ ਏਹੁ ਜੀਉ ਬਧੁ ਹੈ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਮ ਕਮਾਇ ॥ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਬਦੈ ਭਰਮੁ ਨ ਚੂਕਈ ਨਾ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਹਉਮੈ ਜਾਇ ॥੬॥: The beings are bound by pleasure and pain; they do their deeds in egotism. Without the Shabad, doubt is not dispelled, and egotism is not eliminated from within. ||6|| (sggs 67).
As made clear by the Gurbani, Dukha is the price of Sukha; for every Sukha ends in Dukha. It is our unending search for worldly pleasures (or Sukha) which makes us suffer; bodily as well as mentally. All suffering is born of desires, and desires prompt us to perform volitional or selfish actions, resulting in rejection (pain) or acquisition (pleasure).
ਆਸਾ ਵਿਚਿ ਅਤਿ ਦੁਖੁ ਘਣਾ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਇਆ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਭਏ ਨਿਰਾਸ ਪਰਮ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥: In desire, there is very great pain; the Manmukh (material being) focuses his consciousness on it. The Gurmukh (spiritual being), becomes desireless and attains the Supreme Happiness (sggs 1249).
ਨਾਨਕ ਦੁਨੀਆ ਚਾਰਿ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਸੁਖਿ ਕੀਤੈ ਦੁਖੁ ਹੋਈ ॥: O Nanak, the world lasts for only a few days; indulging in pleasures, pain is produced (sggs 1286).
How can Dukha be the medicine? If Sukha puts us to deep sleep of illusion (Maya), Dukha awakens us! It makes us patient and humble and takes us closer to the Supreme Truth; the source of real Happiness or Bliss. It is the messenger to remember the Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...). It is our reformer and benefactor in disguise—the "Dandaa" (stick) of the Eternal Law. To put it otherwise, every Dukha that enters our body and mind pulls us towards Bliss Absolute. For example, if we look at ourselves in our moments of Dukha, we will invariably find that we not only think of God a lot during those moments, but also do so with more intensity and faith! Dukha thus revive the Divine Consciousness dormant in us. Hence the recognition that the state of our unenlightened existence is suffering acts as catalyst of the Spiritual quest. In short, Dukha pulls us towards the Divine Truth, and thus the Divine Naam (Gurmat: Divine Knowledge, Aatam Giaan...) becomes medicine for all our ailments!
ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਏਹੁ ਲਾਏਹੁ ॥: The Lord's Name is the Nectar (Amrit), take this healing medicine (sggs 554).
ਦੁਖੁ ਤਦੇ ਜਾ ਵਿਸਰਿ ਜਾਵੈ ॥: Upon forgetting (the Lord), one suffers in pain (sggs 98).
ਨਾਮ ਵਿਸਾਰ ਸਹਹਿ ਜਮ ਦੂਖ ॥: Forgetting the Naam, one has to endure the pain of death (sggs 226).
Therefore, Dukha is preferable if it is a step towards fulfilling the life's Higher Goal—Realization of the Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...). In the process, Dukha may destroy the physical body but it certainly glorifies the Mool! Sincere devotees, accordingly, accept suffering as the Lord's blessing in disguise, for they reason that their suffering will increase their Devotion (Bhagti -Understanding of the Gurmat...) and bring them ultimate Spiritual Realization.
ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ ....: Suffering is the medicine ... (sggs 469).
I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths (Bhaagvat, 1.8.25).
I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow and called out "it tastes sweet, does it not?" "You have caught me", grief answered, "and you have ruined my business, how can I sell sorrow when you know it's blessing?" (Rumi).
Heartache can never find me without laughter—I call the pain the "cure". Nothing is more blessed than heartache, for its reward has no end (Rumi).
The falls of our life provide us with the energy to propel ourselves to a higher level (Kabbalah, a mystical text of Judaism).
Why are sentient beings in a state of Sansaar (place of repeated suffering)? The Gurbani has diagnosed the actual disease of the conditioned beings, and found that our suffering is due to our attachment to material things. Under the control of ignorance or Mayaic efforts, we are tightly tied or bonded to the world of gross objects. This is our present state, the unenlightened existence, encased in the snare of false ego-sense (Haumai) and self-grasping, tossed around aimlessly by the waves of fluctuating painful experiences.
ਨਾਨਕ ਦੁਖੀਆ ਸਭੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥ ਮੰਨੇ ਨਾਉ ਸੋਈ ਜਿਣਿ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਅਉਰੀ ਕਰਮ ਨ ਲੇਖੈ ਲਾਇ ॥: O Nanak, the whole world is suffering. He alone is victorious, who believes in the Lord’s Name. No other action is of any account (sggs 954).
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਮੈ ਜਾਨਿਆ ਦੁਖੁ ਮੁਝ ਕੂ ਦੁਖੁ ਸਬਾਇਐ ਜਗਿ ॥ ਊਚੇ ਚੜਿ ਕੈ ਦੇਖਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਘਰਿ ਘਰਿ ਏਹਾ ਅਗਿ ॥: Fareed, I thought that I was the only one suffering; in fact the whole world is suffering! When I looked around from a vantage point, I saw this fire in each and every home (sggs 1382).
Once this truth that the "whole world is suffering" is understood, one will find the urge and energy to Awaken the Spiritual Center (Mool...) within to go beyond suffering. In other words, if we recognize and accept our present state as Dukha, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, painful experiences and frustration, only then we will wish to look into the causes and conditions that give rise to it.

For example, if a sick person wishes to get well, the first step is that he must recognize that he is ill, otherwise the urge to be cured will not arise. The reason scriptures laid so much emphasis on recognizing the state of suffering we are in, as well developing insight into the nature of it, is that there is a way out! This is very strongly demonstrated by the lives of many. For example, it is said that when Buddha caught sight of a sick person, an old person and a dead person, the impact of seeing this suffering led him to search for cure.

ਇਹੁ ਜਗੁ ਜਰਤਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਕੈ ਭਇਓ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਉਦਾਸੁ ॥: Seeing the world burning, Kabeer has become neutral (sggs 1366).
ਕਲਜੁਗਿ ਰਥੁ ਅਗਨਿ ਕਾ ਕੂੜੁ ਅਗੈ ਰਥਵਾਹੁ ॥੧॥: Kaljug rath agan kaa koorr aggi rathavaah ||1||: This age of Kali Yuga is the chariot of fire, and falsehood is the charioteer ||1|| (sggs 470).
If the dependence on conditions and situations is the cause of Dukha, then independence from them must be the cure. We are urged by the Gurbani to change Dukha into Sukha and fear into fearlessness. Those who remain patient, steadfast, and unshaken in Spirit throughout the periods of adversities and comforts are called the people of Truth. Both Dukha and Sukha are like waves on the surface of the ocean of the Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...). However, deep down this Ocean is calm—Blissful. In other words, both Dukha and Sukha are transient, our Mool is not. When we transfer our sense of identity to our Mool, we realize that all Dukha is unreal. Then we no longer imagine the state of pain and fear.
ਦੁਖੰ ਭਯੰਤਿ ਸੁਖ੍ਹੰ ਭੈ ਭੀਤੰ ਤ ਨਿਰਭਯਹ ॥: Pain is changed into pleasure, and the fearful become fearless (1357).
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਚਿੰਤ ਖਟੋਲਾ ਵਾਣੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਬਿਰਹਿ ਵਿਛਾਵਣ ਲੇਫੁ ॥ ਏਹੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਜੀਵਣਾ ਤੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਚੇ ਵੇਖੁ ॥: Fareed, anxiety is my bed, pain is my mattress, and the pain of separation is my blanket and quilt. Behold, this is my life, O my True Lord (sggs 1379).
ਦੁਖਿ ਸੁਖਿ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਤੁਧੁ ਧਿਆਈ ॥: In suffering and in comfort, I meditate on You, O my Beloved (sggs 99).
We think or search in order to escape from Dukha. But, in fact, our very deluded thinking or searching gives rise to it! The state of Pure Happiness is outside of the false ego's realm. Deluded mind (ignorance, false ego, duality, Maya, conditioning, and so on) is the cause of our suffering, and the concentrated or purified mind is the liberation from it.
ਬਾਹਰਿ ਢੂਢਤ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਘਰਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਘਟ ਮਾਹੀ ਜੀਉ ॥: O my mind, remain steady, and do not wander away. By searching around on the outside, you will only suffer great pain; the Ambrosial Nectar is found within the home of your inner being (sggs 598).
What is that medicine which will satisfy the ego-mind? The Gurbani says: "Through the mind itself, the mind is subdued" because "ego is a chronic disease, but it contains its own cure as well". How can such attitude be developed? "By seeing both the Dukha and Sukha as one and the same" and "making the mind die in the Divine Name"; says the Gurbani. In other words, Shabad-Surti or Naam-consciousness (Gurmat-Aatam Giaan...) is the only medicine for our suffering. Therefore, we must take it and be eternally happy.
ਸੁਖ ਦੁਖ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਣੀਅਹਿ ਸਬਦਿ ਭੇਦਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਹੋਇ ॥੫॥: Sukh dukh sam kar jaaneeahi Sabad bhed sukh hoi ||5||: Both pain and pleasure are to be known as one and the same; (real) Bliss is experienced when (the mind is) pierced through by the Shabad ||5|| (sggs 57).
ਹਉਮੈ ਦੀਰਘ ਰੋਗੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਭੀ ਇਸੁ ਮਾਹਿ ॥: Ego is a chronic disease, but it contains its own cure as well (sggs 466).
ਮਨੁ ਮਾਰੇ ਧਾਤੁ ਮਰਿ ਜਾਇ॥ਬਿਨੁ ਮੂਏ ਕੈਸੇ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਇ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਰੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਜਾਣੈ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਸਬਦਿ ਮਰੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਨੁ ਸੋਇ ॥: When someone kills and subdues his own mind, his wandering nature is also subdued. Without such a death, how can one find the Lord? Only a few know the medicine to kill the mind. One whose mind dies in the Shabad, understands Him (sggs 159).
ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਮਨਿ ਵਸੈ ਸਭ ਦੂਖ ਵਿਸਾਰਣਹਾਰੁ ॥: With God dwelling in mind, all suffering departs (sggs 423).
Haume or egotism gradually runs away from the mind engaged in deep Shabad-Vichaar. Beyond Haume there is no suffering; because the Spirit Soul is Transcendental to all Dukha. Suffering lasts as long we take ourselves of a limited form or relative consciousness. The moment one realizes his "Joti Savroop", duality disappears (Dukha and Sukha, and so on). In other words, the moment one transcends the erroneous idea of separateness from the Mool (Source, Origin, Jot...), he knows that the Mool is eternally free of any pairs of opposites. After the Mool is rediscovered, one sees everything existing in Pure Being; nothing besides Him.
ਜਹ ਅਨੰਦੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਦੂਰਿ ਪਇਆਨਾ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨਕੁ ਲਿਵ ਤਤੁ ਲੁਕਾਨਾ ॥: Pain runs far away from that place where there is Bliss. The jewel of the mind is focused and attuned to the essence of reality (sggs 1349).
ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਹਰਿ ਸਹਜਿ ਸਮਾਧਿ ਲਗਾਈਐ ॥: I am cured of the disease of egotism, and I have found peace; I have intuitively entered into the state of Sahaj Samaadhi (sggs 1179)
ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਸਦ ਮੀਠੀ ਲਾਗੀ ਪਾਪ ਵਿਕਾਰ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ਭਉ ਭਾਗਾ ਸਹਜੇ ਸਹਜਿ ਮਿਲਾਇਆ ॥: With the ever sweet Gurbani, I have eradicated Paap, Bikaar from within. The disease of egotism is gone, fear has left, and I am absorbed in celestial peace (sggs 773).
The essence of a person fully attuned to the Divine Name (Gurmat-Aatam Giaan...) sees Dukha and Sukha both the same, and thus accepts the life in its totality as it comes (Hukam Mannanaa). He does not suffer because he is friendly with inevitables. He may be aware of Dukha, but he does not allow it to shatter him — he lets things take their course because he accepts suffering as "medicine". He takes Dukha as precious gift from the Lord for there are many secrets in it!
ਕੇਤਿਆ ਦੂਖ ਭੂਖ ਸਦ ਮਾਰ ॥ ਏਹਿ ਭਿ ਦਾਤਿ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤਾਰ ॥: So many endure Dukh, deprivation and constant abuse. Even these are Your Gifts, O Great Giver! (sggs 5).
Such acceptance of Dukha takes the earnest seeker into his Inner Being (Mool) than any material pleasure can. Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes—which are sure to happen in all circumstances—a pious person remains undisturbed by worldly calamities and makes progress in Spiritual Realization, because that is the mission of human life.
ਡਿਠਾ ਸਭੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਨ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ॥: I have seen the whole world; without Name, there is no Sukha at all. (sggs 322).
ਸੁਖੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਦੋਨੋ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਨੈ ਅਉਰੁ ਮਾਨੁ ਅਪਮਾਨਾ ॥ ਹਰਖ ਸੋਗ ਤੇ ਰਹੈ ਅਤੀਤਾ ਤਿਨਿ ਜਗਿ ਤਤੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੧॥ ਉਸਤਤਿ ਨਿੰਦਾ ਦੋਊ ਤਿਆਗੈ ਖੋਜੈ ਪਦੁ ਨਿਰਬਾਨਾ ॥ ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹੁ ਖੇਲੁ ਕਠਨੁ ਹੈ ਕਿਨਹੂੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਾਨਾ ॥੨॥੧॥ : Sukh dukh dono sam kari jaanai aour maanu apamaanaa. Harakh sog te rahai ateetaa tini jagi tatu pashaanaa. Usatat nindaa do-oo tiaagai khojai padu nirabaanaa. Jan Nanak ihu khel kathan hai kinahoon gurmukhi jaanaa ||2||1||: One who knows that pain and pleasure are both the same, and honor and dishonor as well, who remains detached from joy and sorrow, realizes the true essence in the world ||1||. Renounce both praise and blame; seek instead the state of Nirvaanaa (Aatmic Avasthaa devoid of Vaasnaa). O servant Nanak, this is such a difficult game; only a rare Gurmukh understands it! ||2||1|| (sggs 219).
ਅੰਤਰਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਰਵਿਆ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਸਗਲੇ ਦੂਖ ਨਿਵਾਰੇ ॥: Antri Sabad raviaa Gur paaiaa sagale dookh nivaare: The Shabad has permeated my Inner Being, and I have found the Guru; all my sorrows are dispelled (sggs 1249).
The Realization of the Mool is the fulfillment of the path of right thinking, right understanding and deep Shabad-Vichaar. Linking to our True Nature (Mool) within, thus, is the art of self-liberation through self-understanding.
ਸਦਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਸਾਚੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਵੀਚਾਰੀ ॥: Lasting Sukh is obtained by reflecting on the True Shabad (sggs 560).
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