A Sikh Has To Practice To Be The Son Of The Great Guru.

A friend sent me a video of Harbhajan Singh [Yogi Ji] the other day.  I never really listened much to Yogi Ji, but I think he makes some interesting analogies in his katha.

Here are a few that I thought were pretty cool and some that go to our previous discussions of what it means to be a Sikh. My favorite is the one that is the heading of this post:

A sikh has to practice to be the son of the Great Guru.

If we do not understand the Guru’s values, we wont survive.  We can make claims.  We have to have to have an understanding.  Under stand. It means “stand under.”  Stand under something, which is real and clear.

Somebody asked me “why we have to meditate?”

I said “why we have to take bath?”

If you don’t take bath you will stink, if you don’t meditate and chant the naam your mind will stink.

If you will not excel and serve everyone with smile and love, your soul will stink.

I actually really like the last quote as well. Its a basic way of putting it, but it is really a pretty good literal translation of a lot of Gurbani on the point.  What is the purpose of reciting your nitnem and “japping” naam – to cleans yourself (of course there is a deeper discussion here, but for now I want to focus on the basics).  There are numerous praises of naam, where the Guru tells us that it is through mediation that we will be able to “cleanse” ourselves – the first one that comes to mind being from Jap Ji Sahib:

BrIAY hQu pYru qnu dyh ]

pwxI DoqY auqrsu Kyh ]

mUq plIqI kpVu hoie ]

dy swbUxu leIAY Ehu Doie ]

BrIAY miq pwpw kY sMig ]

Ehu DopY nwvY kY rMig ]

Bhareeai hathh pair than dhaeh ||

Paanee dhhothai outharas khaeh ||

Mooth paleethee kaparr hoe ||

Dhae saaboon leeai ouhu dhhoe ||

Bhareeai math paapaa kai sa(n)g ||

Ouhu dhhopai naavai kai ra(n)g ||

When the hands and the feet and the body are dirty,

Water can wash away the dirt.

When the clothes are soiled and stained by urine,

Soap can wash them clean.

But when the intellect is stained and polluted by sin,

It can only be cleansed by the Love of the Name.

[Link to SikhitotheMax]

Anyhow, please share your thoughts and it would be awesome if you could provide any other Shabads that embody some of the basic concepts forwarded in the above video – I will add as well.