Wednesday, 11 June 2008

The Guru is the "boat"!



In this Dark Age the earth has been consumed by sin and vice. Corruption and evilness has taken over the minds and hearts of human beings. Guru Ji describes the earth as a terrible ocean in which all the beings are sinking in and therefore not reaching their destination (union with God). It is very easy to sink as there is more bad around us then good. Everyone around us may it be work, TV; school and even family seems to be engaged in tempory false pleasures (materialism). However if we make Gurbani our main focus in life, it acts as a boat and carries us across this worldly ocean.

The Guru is the Boat to carry me across the world-ocean; the Guru is the Sacred Shrine of Pilgrimage, the Guru is the Holy River. ANG 17 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

O Nanak, the Boat of Truth will ferry you across; contemplate the Guru. ANG 20 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The True Guru is the only boat on this terrifying ocean. His Glance of Grace carries us across. ANG 59 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The ocean of fire is so deep; the Saints have crossed over, in the boat of the Lord's Name. ANG 241 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

As a palace is supported by its pillars, so does the Guru's Word support the mind! As a stone placed in a boat can cross over the river, so is the mortal saved, grasping hold of the Guru's Feet. As the darkness is illuminated by the lamp, so does the mind blossom forth, beholding the Blessed Vision of the Guru's Darshan. The path is found through the great wilderness by joining the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and one's light shines forth. I seek the dust of the feet of those Saints; O Lord, fulfill Nanak's longing! ANG 282 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

My boat was sinking under the weight of greed and corruption, but it was uplifted when the True Guru implanted the Naam, the Name of the Lord, within me. ANG 443 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Emotional attachment to Maya is spiritual darkness; it is very difficult and such a heavy load. Loaded with so very many stones of sin, how can the boat cross over?
Those who are attuned to the Lord's devotional worship night and day are carried across.
Under the Instruction of the Guru's Shabad, one sheds egotism and corruption, and the mind becomes immaculate. Meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har; the Lord, Har, Har, is our Saving Grace.
ANG 509 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

By the Grace of the Saints, I have found the boat of Truth; embarking on it, I sail across the ocean of poison. ANG 618 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

O miser, your body and mind are full of sin. In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, vibrate, meditate on the Lord and Master; He alone can cover your sins. When many holes appear in your boat, you cannot plug them with your hands. Worship and adore the One, to whom your boat belongs; He saves the counterfeit along with the genuine. People want to lift up the mountain with mere words, but it just stays there. Nanak has no strength or power at all; O God, please protect me - I seek Your Sanctuary. ANG 714 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji