Recently as per Bhaana of Vaheguru jee, I experienced some health related woes. Situation got out of hand and I ended up being in an hospital for few days. Guru Sahib did Kirpa and the difficult medical condition has been resolved and I am back home. My sincere and deepest Dhanvaad (thank you) to all Gursikh brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and seniors who did many Paaths and Ardaas for my recovery. Even before this, I was a slave of all Gursikhs but now I am specially indebted to all Gursikhs and wish that I forever remain their Feet's humblest dust.
My introduction to the term ‘Singapore Noodles’ occurred at the hospital, when I was shifted from intensive care unit to normal ward. In this ward, I had to share room with another patient. He was a young man who was suffering from some terrible disease. Soon after arriving there, I heard his mother telling him, “if you listen to me, I will make sure that you get Singapore Noodles”.
“Really mommy? I can’t wait to get my hands on Singapore Noodles”, he exclaimed in an exciting voice.
I wondered for the first time what Singapore Noodles were and why he was so excited about them. I was imagining how Singapore Noodles would taste like and how this dish would look like. I have tried regular noodles and Shrimati jee makes very tasty noodles.
The subject of Singapore noodles came up again for a few times and this way the afternoon of next day arrived. Around 4 PM, the patient received a call from his friend who had just left work. The speaker of the phone was on and the caller asked, “So are you ready for the big day? Are you ready for Singapore Noodles?
“Yes”, this is all the patient could say. I think he was too excited.
“What time would you like to have them?”
“I want them for supper”, he replied slowly, trying to conceal his excitement.
Soon they hung up and I heard the patient say, “I love you God!”
By now, I too got affected with the ‘Singapore Noodle Fever’ and asked Shrimati jee for them. She said that she never heard of them. I asked her to google them and let me see an image of the noodles. I saw a few images on my Galaxy (remember that Galaxy phone is way better than iphone) phone. The images of the dish looked pretty sumptuous. I started feeling water under my tongue and asked Shrimati jee to find out the recipe to make noodles at home. We make regular noodles at home from scratch and I am sure my wife can make even a Sarblohi Bibeki nuclear bomb, so making them was not an issue at all.
In the meantime, it was soon evening time and the patient’s friend arrived with Singapore Noodles. He brought enough for at least 3 persons because he knew that the patient had great appetite for them. The first thing the patient did when he smelled the Singapore Noodles was exclaim a loud “God”. I knew right away that Singapore Noodles must be a divine dish because it made the patient think of Vaheguru. By now, Simran started within me too, with full vigour. This convinced me that this dish has full approval of Guru Sahib.
Most people, when they are hungry, and get their favourite dish, jump on the dish and start eating it with haste. Soon they overeat the dish and then they upset their stomach. They enjoy the dish only for first few minutes and then it’s just filling their stomach but our patient friend was different. First of all, he did not eat anything for the whole day since he was expecting his favourite dish to come. He had it all diligently planned out. His friend divided all the noodles in 5 or 6 equal parts. Each of his dish was accompanied with his favourite drink – Pepsi. He had planned to eat out the Singapore Noodles in equal parts, throughout the night.
He first ate his first segment of Singapore Noodles at 8pm. He was eating slowly while enjoying each and every bit of it. He remembered God umpteen times while eating. I ate my humble food which consisted of beans soup and some rice and did my Sohila and went to sleep. I was awakened around 11 pm when I heard him calling the nurse. He asked her take second plate of his Singapore Noodles, heat it in microwave for 1.5 minutes and bring it back. Then around 2 am, when I had awakened for Nitnem and Simran, I heard him call the nurse again and she repeated the previous tasks again. This way the patient ate Singapore Noodles all night till about 6am. And he appreciated them so much that it was amazing. He thanked God, God knows how many times. What a unique way of eating your favourite dish. He wanted to prolong the joy of eating his favourite dish and he did exactly that.
I learned the following spiritual lessons from this incident:
1. We should have love for Naam Abhyaas like the patient loved Singapore Noodles.
2. Eat your Naam-roopi food consistently all night. Don’t just do vigorous Naam Abhyaas for 10-15 minutes before sleeping and then just forget about it. Spread the love and Naam Abhyaas throughout the night and keep Japping all night.
3. Appreciate the Daats (gifts) of Vaheguru like the patient was thanking God for Singapore Noodles. We don’t appreciate what we have and take everything for granted. We must thank Vaheguru jee for all his Daats, by engaging in Naam and Gurbani.
4. Singapore Noodles and good for your spiritual health and my Shrimati jee has promised to make me these noodles very soon.
Bhul Chuk dee Muafi jee.
Daas,
Kulbir Singh