IISATYANAAMII

MINE, THINE OR…..SHINE

No one is a winner in the race for wealth and resources. Since time immemorial people have been fighting for territories, for wealth, for riches…. None of these fights have ever benefited anyone. The fight to open the economy at this grave conjuncture of human history will also fail to benefit anyone. Driven by selfish motives, many people are only and only concerned by their business losses. If your life is at stake, and you may put other people’s lives in danger too, how would that be beneficial?

“Meraa mujh mein kuch nahin, jo kuch hai so tor
Teraa tujh ko somptaa, kyaa laagat hai mor”

Nothing that seems to be mine is mine, all is Yours. What do I have to do with any of what is not mine? May everything remain with You. ‘You’ is God. Satguru Kabir Saheb preaches that nothing belongs to Man, so he should not be proud of having this or that, or having more than his peers. He ultimately leaves everything here, everything that he fights for and hoards; none of what he amasses will help him. People tend to compare : how come others have more? Greed comes into play and drives people to fight for more than they need. Although some people come to realise that everything is God’s, they still cannot tolerate how come others have so much more. And that pushes them to go for more. What does Satguru Kabir Saheb mean by everything is Yours? Because if everything is His, then how will Man live? The point is that Man is His ‘trustee’. Man is entrusted to use what is available to him to reach his goal. He is not to develop an attachment to any of what he ‘uses’ in his journey. Because what he really needs to attain his goal is already within him.

“Jo tou chaahe mukti ko, cchor de sab ki aas
Mukt hi jaisa ho rahe, sab kuch tere paas”

If liberation is your goal, then be free of any other desires. Because once you attain your goal, you will have everything that you need to have. That everything is eternal bliss. Such bliss as you cannot find by going after any worldly desires. Attaching oneself to his goal is all one has to attach to. The potential of reaching the goal of liberation is loaded in mankind. Mistaking that target for petty enjoyments that only bring along sufferings is what causes greater burdens. The burden of getting back in the cycle of birth and death. Think about it : all worldly enjoyments come with  afflictions. The joy of being together is quickly dissipated by separation; the happiness of enjoying nice food ends with overeating; the delight of fame is eroded as one grows senile… Like this all moments of so-called happinesses are short-lived and counterbalanced by sorrow. Why then run after these happinesses? When we can enjoy eternal bliss.

Nothing is mine, nothing is thine. The only thing which is within us is His light. Let us shine and not bother about mine or thine. Shine and we’ll be fine.

Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.