ਮੈ ਨਿਰਗੁਣਿਆਰੇ ਕੋ ਗੁਣੁ ਨਾਹੀ ਆਪੇ ਤਰਸੁ ਪਇਓਈ ॥
mai niraguniaarae ko gun naahee aapae tharas paeiouee ||
I am unworthy - I have no worth or virtues at all. You have taken pity on me.
What a beautiful tuk this is! This tuk is filled with the feeling of ultimate egolessness, ultimate thankfulness and gratitude, and ultimate surrender. I am nothing by myself, You Yourself took pity on me and saved me. You Yourself chose me and made me what I am. You Yourself put me on this path that I am on, I have no credibility by myself. And why did You do that? That only You know, I don’t. So what do I say now? What else can I say except Vaheguru tera shukar hai.
ਕਬੀਰ ਮੇਰਾ ਮੁਝ ਮਹਿ ਕਿਛੁ ਨਹੀ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਹੈ ਸੋ ਤੇਰਾ ॥
kabeer maeraa mujh mehi kishh nehee jo kishh hai so thaeraa ||
Kabeer, nothing is mine within myself. Whatever there is, is Yours, O Lord.
ਤੇਰਾ ਤੁਝ ਕਉ ਸਉਪਤੇ ਕਿਆ ਲਾਗੈ ਮੇਰਾ ॥203॥
thaeraa thujh ko soupathae kiaa laagai maeraa ||203||
If I surrender to You what is already Yours, what does it cost me? ||203||
Another beautiful tuk that has the divine fragrance of total surrender. On several instances in life, we lose a lot. One loses material possessions, one loses people (friends, relatives, loved ones), one may even lose honor and social status. The pain that is experienced is because we were under the impression that we had achieved it all, and thus get attached to all of these mentioned gifts of Vaheguru. If one has the avastha of what this tuk teaches us, we would never lose anything, or anyone! Because then we would know that whatever I had/got, whoever I had/got, was gifted to me by Vaheguru. Now He has taken it/them back. Sahib-E-Kamaal Dhann Dhann Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj Sachay Patshah thanked Vaheguru even after the shaheedi of all 4 of His Sahibzaade. If we could have even a speck of that avastha, our janam would be fulfilled. Then we would always be saying Vaheguru tera shukar hai.
ਕੇਤਿਆ ਦੂਖ ਭੂਖ ਸਦ ਮਾਰ ॥
kaethiaa dhookh bhookh sadh maar ||
So many endure distress, deprivation and constant abuse.
ਏਹਿ ਭਿ ਦਾਤਿ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤਾਰ ॥
eaehi bh dhaath thaeree dhaathaar ||
Even these are Your Gifts, O Great Giver!
This is the height of accepting Vaheguru’s Hukam. What kind of avastha would this be when even pain seems sweet? This is what Sahib Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj Sachay Patshah meant when He said
ਤੇਰਾ ਕੀਆ ਮੀਠਾ ਲਾਗੈ ॥
thaeraa keeaa meet(h)aa laagai ||
Your actions seem so sweet to me.
This is the avastha of all those Shaheed Singhs and Singhnees who faced the most brutal tortures. They accepted even pain and death as His gifts, and what is even more amazing is that they thanked Him. All they had in their minds was Vaheguru tera shukar hai.
I feel like a hypocrite writing all this, as I am myself unable to live this way. It’s very easy to write things, but becoming a living example is the real challenge. And that is where I fail.
But its ok. I still say Vaheguru tera shukar hai
~ Mehtab Singh
March 24 2009
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥