Dhan Dhan Dhan Sadh Sangat

Dhan Guru Nanak!

Wow!

Awesome!

Shukar hai!

Thank you!!

These are just some words that come to mind to describe the samagam held at Montreal this past weekend.

Each samagam brings with it, its own rainbow after the showers of Nanak Love. In one of the earlier posts (Avatar), you might recall that I mentioned the ‘collective voice’ of the sangat being very similar to the scene in the movie when all the congregation is holding hands and chanting - all connected through a universal power as they prayed. There was a highpoint during the samagam when that happened. If you were there, I am sure you know what I am talking about. It was during afternoon simran when a crescendo was reached and there was a single voice - all the sangat reciting ‘waheguru’ as if they were all one.

How beautiful is that?

During the Children’s classes - on the first day we read a summary of Bauji’s lekhs on Divine Will. It was presented as a powerpoint presentation which is available at this link http://www.slideshare.net/jussrani/divine-will. Those attending the class brought up several points about the application of the principles of Divine Will - for example - how life can be particularly stressful during school (homework, exams) and Divine Will, making appropriate choices for careers, How does one know what is Divine Will? While there were no clearcut answers (there rarely are) it was refreshing to hear ‘children’ (i put this in quotes as some of the children are now going to college) answer each others questions and give suggestions.

The word “Will” comes from the Italian “Volontà” or volition.

Free will is the greatest gift given to human beings by Divinity for progress. However, exercising free will sometimes lead to greater suffering. According to Bhai Sahib Bhai Vir Singh ji , each suffering or pain comes to us in the form a teacher or a guru and if we allow it to, it ends up refining us. We might learn more from that suffering because behind our free will there is a Divine will that guides the destiny of the individual.

The gift of free will is like being given a lamp to light the way home but not to set the forest afire. Only we are to blame for misusing our free will. We have the mechanism and the power within us to join free will with Divine will and move with the current of nature, not against it.

“By calling it in everything you do, whether natural or spiritual. In fact, everything is in the Divine Will; therefore It wants to love together with you, and if you call It, It gives you Its Love in your power in order to be loved; It gives you Its sanctity to make yourself a saint, Its light to make Itself known and to eclipse your weaknesses, miseries and passions, so that they may no longer have life in you, but only Its Will, laying and forming Its Life in your little act…”

(From the Letters of Saint Luisa – Corato, January, 2, 1939)

Linking Divine Will to Guru Gobind Singh ji and how He embodied it in His lifetime and the events at Vaisakhi we played a game of Jeopardy (The Khalsa Edition) with categories like Khalsa, Vaisakhi, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Judging from the laughter and comraderie and comments after the class, it was a great success.

It made learning historical facts fun! (one of the comments)

I guess it’s a redo!!.

Some of you requested the questions and answers - here is where I found the game. Hey we might just repeat the same game, so learn the facts.

http://www.khalsakids.org/

(A special thanks to Sikh Coalition for providing this wonderful site with loads of pertinent information for kids and fun games)

In other parts of the lekh on Divine Will Bauji reminds us that language is so limited that it could never express what true surrender is but when we do surrender we would know it intuitively. One can surrender oneself consciously - first, through the thought process until all is discarded, all thought, feeling, and emotions. With all that eliminated, you yourself become the Divine will.

ਮਨ ਤੂੰ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥

O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light - recognize your own origin.

ਇਉ ਕਹੈ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਮਿਲਿਐ ਧਾਵਤੁ ਥੰਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਿਆ ਨਿਜ ਘਰਿ ਵਸਿਆ ਆਏ ॥੪॥

Thus says Nanak: O my mind, you are the very image of the Luminous Lord;

recognize the true origin of your self. ||5||

We are God - in the making!!!!!!

Can we give our all to achieve this dream?

With Warm Nanak Love

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki fateh