“Convey to the Dear One, the craving of His devotees for Him.
Without Thee the luxury of downy beds is painful like a malady;
Life in a palace is like dwelling amid serpents;
Without Thee, pleasant beverages are no better than a sharp poniard.
Without Thee these comforts are killing like the butcher’s knife;
A pallet of straw is dearer to us, if the Dear One be there;
Palaces burn us like the infernal fire, if Thou be not with us”, writes the Guru.
When in love a person sees the beloved everywhere. He sees Him everywhere — in water, in land, in the mountains, above, below. The Guru, as if in a trance, writes, “Jale Hari, thale Hari, ure Hari, bane Hari.....Tuhi Tuhi Tuhi Tuhi... Only You only You only You!” No duality is left. The question of distinction or discrimination does not arise.
The Creator is not only universal and eternal but is present in each and every entity. The unity of mankind before the Creator is emphasised in Sikhism. A true Sikh is always imbued with the firm faith in the oneness of God (Ek-Onkar). The Guru says men are one though they appear different. The Creator is in the temple as He is in the mosque. He is in the Hindu’s worship as He is in the Muslim’s prayer. He says a person should rise above narrow sectarian views in order to realise the Supreme Being. A person in love does not believe in any kind of distinction.
A true Sikh, full of devotion and love, has no faith in false rituals and superstitions. Guru Gobind Singh asks, “...So what if you worshipped statues, monuments or pictures? Worshipping these, your soul has been tired but you have not found anything... The whole world is busy in such false performances without knowing the secret mystery of God.”
What is the path of realisation? It is only through love and love only. “Sach kahon sun leho sabai, jin prem kio tin hee prabh paio — I speak verily; hear me all — God is realised only through love”, proclaims the Guru. It is difficult to win the grace of God by any other means.
In Sikh scripture, the Almighty, Wahiguru, is addressed by different names like Mita, Saion, Mittar, Sajan, Dost, Beli. It emphasises a close, friendly and trustworthy bond between the Guru and the Sikh. “O Lord! If you are my friend then don’t separate yourself from me even for a minute” is inscribed in the Guru Granth Sahib.
But love requires courage. It requires sacrifice. Real love consists in open exhibition and indulgence. The Guru writes, “You do not know what love is. He that experiences it, knows it. He alone can taste the fruit of love who is not only instinctively with it but would dare indulge in sports.”
“With contemplation on the Guru in the heart, with the tongue repeating the name of the Guru, with the eyes beholding the True Guru, with the ears hearing the name of the Guru, thus totally saturated with the love of the True Guru, one attains a place of honour in the Lord’s mansion”, says the Guru.
