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Images: above - a sketch by Kanwar Singh (www.ArtOfPunjab.com]. Below: first from bottom: detail from Vaisakhi painting by Kanwar Singh. Second from bottom: detail from "Anandpur", by Gagandeep Singh.

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The Moment

T. SHER SINGH

 

 

 


 

There are turning points in every life, I'm sure, when unexpectedly, unpredictably, inexplicably, a number of unconnected thoughts come together ... and, suddenly make sense.

From that moment on, they collectively acquire a new depth of meaning, even a heightened sense of import and consequence.

Some call it an epiphany.

I can recall the exact day  -  long ago, in my teens  -  when, out of the blue, with no pushing on my part, no effort, no stress, no distress, the doors cracked open and I got my first glimpse past them. From that moment on, I knew one thing as clear as crystal  -  that I enjoyed being a Sikh.

I didn't know why. I had no great insights or understanding. I knew that a whole lot of learning lay ahead of me.

But somehow, I knew as of that moment  -  I remember it clearly  -  that Sikhi worked for me. It grabbed my soul. It lighted sparks in me. It fired up my intellect. It gave me grounding.

I even remember the very spark that triggered that awareness.

I had been struggling with a fictionalized version of the Vaisakhi story. I had tried to put myself, in my childish way, inside the head of Daya Ram as he rode into Anandpur in the days leading up to that fateful day in the month of Vaisakh 1699, and through the adventures that followed.

In conjuring my personal vision of the story, I  was long past Gobind Rai's address to the crowd, well beyond Daya Ram's stepping forward, followed by the other stalwarts ... past all of that, and now in the thick of the momentous initiations ...

The Five have been transformed. Young Gobind Rai, the Guru, then drops down on his knee, in bir aasan (the warrior's pose), and asks them - the Guru in their new collectivity  -  to bless him, the disciple! as the next initiate.

That is the moment! It gripped me. Then. As it does now.

I knew, as I fathomed that Moment on that day, that it was for me the central moment in all of Sikhi.

It captured for me, that moment of aape gur chela  - "Himself the Teacher, Himself the Disciple"  -  as the fulcrum on which Sikhi stood and reached out to me.  

True, that Nanak's epiphany as he emerged from the river inspires me no less. Or Angad's deep-seated negation of the self. Or the vision of Ramdas overseeing the nascent Harmandar. Or the moment when Arjan first brought the Adi Granth into it. Or Tegh Bahadar's audience with the Brahmins ... they're all moments of deep spirituality and infinite import.

But Gobind Rai's dropping on his knee, before the First Five, asking for their blessing, brings it all together for me, the entire gamut of Sikh thought, beliefs ... and history.

All I seek and all I find, lies in its quintessence in that Moment.  

Utter humility and infinite wisdom. Godliness and deep spirituality. Faith. Conviction. Passion. Commitment. Courage. Service. Selflessness. Beauty. Pride. Endless optimism. And Leadership.

True leadership. In fact, the only kind that, in my mind, qualifies as real leadership.

And the modern monikers as well, they all fit into that moment seamlessly:  Democracy. Freedom. Equality ....

Oddly enough, the scene, as it sits in my mind's eye, reminds me of another: of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.

A moment that we, as Sikhs, strive for ... to emulate in our lives. A supernatural act which should come naturally to all of us.

Is it a coincidence that we call ourselves "Sikhs", i.e., disciples?  Perennial students and pupils, blessed with failures and successes, stumbling yet always moving forward, climbing over hurdles, picking ourselves up when down, but forever learning, learning, learning ...

After all, we hail our spiritual guides as "Gurus" or Teachers, don't we?

 

 

[First published: March 30, 2007. Republished on April 14, 2016]

Conversation about this article

1: meeta kaur (oakland, california), April 03, 2007, 1:28 PM.

This article lingered with me for awhile. It was a nice read. Thank you for sharing.

2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), May 30, 2012, 9:16 AM.

" ... from that moment on, I knew one thing as clear as crystal - that I enjoyed being a Sikh ..." Wow, Mr. Singh! Each one of us can experience that epiphany if we open ourselves and make ourselves receptive to it. I particularly like the title of the article.

3: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 30, 2012, 9:05 PM.

This moment comes to everyone in his or her lifetime, when stocktaking and the innate goodness beckons you to the right path. "an ras chookai har ran man vasaa-ay " (GGS:115.14] - "Other essences are forgotten, while Waheguru's Essence come to dwell in the mind"

4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), April 14, 2016, 6:23 PM.

That moment that Sher Singh ji is talking about comes with 'Gurparsad' (Grace) in everybody's life, when it comes and hits like a ton of bricks. When Pothi Sahib (the earliest compilation of baani, which later became Guru Granth) was installed in the newly constructed Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar, some Sikhs from Agra requested Guru Arjan if he would now also write a commentary for an easy understanding. Guru Sahib said No, the Sikhs themselves would do it on their own as they graduate in understanding. There are hundreds of translations of Japji Sahib alone and they have different interpretations and do not necessarily agree with each other. While doing paatth, a day comes when you suddenly understand the line and are amazed at how it missed before. This is the Gurparsad and The Moment we are talking about.

5: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, USA), April 15, 2016, 4:51 PM.

Business and Science are nowadays talking about "Servant Leadership" being the best and most productive style of leadership theory, where the leader creates an environment of equality by himself rolling up his / her sleeves and performing the duties of the subordinates. It is being acknowledged that this style of leadership is most respecting and most successful in the corporate world. It's fascinating that Guru Gobind Singh lived this leadership theory by dropping on his knee before the First Five, asking for their blessing.

6: Dya Singh (Melbourne, Australia), April 16, 2016, 5:51 AM.

Wah, Sher Singh ji. Great inspired points to ponder on, and ... proud to be a Sikh!

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