Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji – How to overcome mourning
A Sikh once came into the darbar of Satguru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj asked this question, "O True Emperor, holy men have risen above worldly attachment. By what thought are they aided? Attachment is a very chronic ailment of mankind. By what method have they risen above this? Please, be kind and explain it to us."
"I will tell you the way the saints have conquered attachment to the world. They regard the material possessions as a dream. Just as what you see in a dream, does not exist when you wake up, in the same way saints have woken up to the real knowledge (gyan). All objects of the world appear to be transient to them," explained Maharaj.
Satguru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji then began to tell a story, "There was a saint, who had attained a high spiritual stage. Living in the midst of the world, he remained above its pleasures and sorrows. Someone came and informed him that his son had died. The saint did not express any grief at the news. The people talked about the son thus, 'Sant ji, your son was very handsome and young. He was also very learned. At his death all others expressed their shock. But you have not mourned his death. What considerations have influenced your mind?'
"During the night I saw a dream in which I was a king. I married and got a son. But when I woke up, there was neither kingdom, nor wife and son. On waking from this dream, I heard the news that my son of the world of consciousness had died. Then I went to my Gurdev and told him of my miserable plight. 'Swami ji,' I said, 'not only has my dream world disappeared, but my real son also is no more. What should I do now? I am overwhelmed with grief.'
"Give up mourning over both, for the whole universe is an illusion, the dream world and the conscious world. What is an illusion does not deserve mourning over. Illusion means that in fact nothing was created, or exists. Uncreated objects enter our vision, in dreams or in the conscious world. Therefore, stop mourning over both,' explained my Gurdev to me, and the reality clearly dawned in my mind. For this reason, I am not affected by sorrows or pleasures of the world.' This is the way saints have risen above worldly attachments," concluded the Satguru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj, the king of kings and the saint of saints.
The way to the ultimate state of mind is to read Gurbani and follow the teachings and ask for Guru Ji’s grace.
