Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Haumai and 'I-am' - The Illusion of Seperation

In days gone by, it was prophesised by the Great Sages during Sat Jug, the Age of Truth, that countless years later in the burning Age of Kalyug (the fourth great eon in Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist Mythology), man's connection with the divine within him would dwindle, until eventually he became unaware of the presence of God within him. He would worship his senses, and instead of heeding the advice of a Satguru, would go by his five senses - thus giving rise to the frequently cited argument by atheists, 'seeing is believing'.

The world is like a painting. Paint is spread across a canvas to create an image. When paint is applied to a canvas, then you are unable to see the canvas behind all that paint. But the canvas is there, you know it is, else how could the images in the painting be there? Paint cannot float in nothingness, it needs a support. Similarly, God is the canvas on which the entirety of all that exists, including you and I, is painted upon . The images on the painting, the world as we see it through our eyes, make the presence of God, the canvas, unknown to us. We believe that the painting can exist without the canvas. This idea that we are seperate from God has taken us over, we believe this world to be all that exists, we worship our senses and wordly things. Bhagat Fareed Ji says: 'Birha Birha Akhieh, Birha Thoo Sulthan'. Oh seperation (from God), (people) complain of seperation, Seperation, you are the ruler of all'.

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Gurmat Sangeet - Its Origins and Purpose

Of all the great world religions, none put as much emphasis on the divine and spiritually uplifting qualities of music than Sikhism. For the Sikhs, 'Sangeet' (Music) is not just a medium through which man can express his devotion to God by praising him, but a method of attaining enlightenment and self-realisation. All the Gurbani, the written word of the human Sikh Gurus in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Eternal Living Guru of the Sikhs, are prescribed to different musical mediums, many of them thousands of years old, known as 'Raags' (stemming from a Sanskrit word meaning 'colours'). There is no precise or accurate definition for this in the English language, but its purpose is to create a mood, stir up emotions which link to the particular verse being sung.

Bhairaag makes one's Atmaa (Soul) ache with the twangs of pain and seperation from God, Dhanasree invokes a feeling of possesing no worries in this world... Such appeal to the human soul is what sets 'Gurmat Sangeet' apart from the other sacred musics of the world. Although one may be absorbed in the hymns of Christ or the compositions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the raags boast some kind of spiritual science, tested and reshapen by the intellect of saints, sages and accomplished musicians over the course of milennia. This effect upon the human soul is further amplified through the application of Gurbani. This is when Raags transform from being spiritual to becoming sacred.

The foundations of the Gurmat Sangeet tradition were laid by the first great spiritual master of Sikhism, Dhan Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj. Guru Nanak Dev Ji's faithful mureed (Muslim disciple), Bhai Mardana (literally, 'One who does not die', pictured above, along with his Saaj, instrument) master of the stringed instrument known as the Rabab, accompanied the Guru during his four great journeys across Asia, known as the Udaasis, playing his Rabab as the Guru sang and gave sermons. All the Kirtan performed by Guru Nanak Dev and Bhai Mardana, every single shabad they sang, was allocated to a specific Raag, corresponding with the mood the Shabad was intended to create within the hearts and minds of those who listened to it. One doesn't even need to understand it, one simply has to listen to it with humility, faith and love to reap its spiritual benefits.

Such is the power of Gurmat Sangeet.