IISATYANAAMII
CORONA-VIRUS TO CORONA-TION : THE SWITCH

The world has come to a stand-still with the rapid spread and continued mayhem caused by the coronavirus. So much effort being made to restrain its damage is still not enough. In fact increasing social or physical distancing is not effective if not combined with intensifying our spiritual proximity with God. The more we come closer to God the less endangered we will be.

“Chakki chakki sab kahe, Keelee kahe na koye
Jo keelee se laagaa rahe, vaako baal na baankaa hoye”

Everyone is complaining about the grinding stones, no one is talking about the central pivot. He who embraces the central pivot remains unharmed and fears nothing. Satguru Kabir Saheb is giving all of us a very strong message in this saakhi. Whoever came in this world has to go, no doubt about that. But if because of that we keep moaning and complaining and ranting about how we are being crushed between birth and death what would that do? Our purpose in this life is to get off the two grinding stones. If a branch falls on you, squeezing you to the ground, and you just stay there lamenting about your fate, that will not relieve you. You have to make all efforts you can to release yourself from that paralysis. In the same way, as human beings we have been equipped with tools to be released from the grinding stones. Complaining is not one of them.

Instead of staying in between the stones we should attach ourselves to the central pivot. The analogy here is of a grinding mill which is turning ceaselessly, grinding all grains being fed to it. The grains are fed in a receptacle in the central part of the grinding mill. Those grains which are able to stay in the central pivot are neither crushed nor are they circling along with the stones. What Satguru Kabir Saheb wants us to understand here is that as human beings we have the privilege to be at the central part, which is not time-bound. Attaching ourselves to the central pivot is like connecting with God. Being in the presence of God we are protected. In the human body there are 7 main chakras or energy centres. The root chakra (moolaadhaar) is the first one and the crown chakra (sahasrara) is the 7th. The sahasrara chakra (thousand-petalled chakra) is the door to liberation. If you think about it, the alignment of the 7 chakras is what Satguru Kabir Saheb is referring to when he is exhorting us to consider the central pivot (keelee). Coronation is the process of realising God through the crown chakra. Being at the centre safeguards us and allows us to move up until we realise God. Staying in the periphery is like exposing ourselves to the crisis.

By being in the centre, we make our way up to unite with God. If the COVID-19 is a wake-up call for mankind, this is the switch that we must go for. We must switch our focus from the outer to the inner, from the unstable to the stable, from clouded consciousness to pure consciousness. We must attach ourselves to that which is not Maya. People have been practising spiritual distancing for too long. Now is the time to bridge the gap, now is the time to come back home.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.