Gurumustuk Singh Ji asked me to write a bit about the five tattvas and the three gunas. This is what was "assumed knowledge" in the time Gurbani was written. Basically, it’s the KAR part of IK ONG KAR (ONG being the creative power itself.)
The five tattvas are: earth, water, fire, air and ether. They are not those things literally, but rather states of density of matter. For example, water can be solid (earth,) liquid (its normal state between 0 degrees C and 100 degrees C) and air (when it vaporizes.) Ether is the most subtle element. Though there is no air in "outer space," there is ether. Ether is the carrier of light and the least dense of the five tattvas.
So matter is made up of both the five tattvas (or states) along with the energy that flows through them. E=MC2 right? It’s a continuum of energy and matter, and the two flow into each other, but neither is destroyed (according to the law of conservation of matter and energy.) So the tattvas are the states of matter and the three gunas are the frequencies of energy: low-frequency=tamas (inertia,) mid-frequency=rajas (motion) and high-frequency=sattvas (calm.)
The three gunas are manifested in human qualities as well, and I’m sure you know these qualities in yourself and in other people. Most people have one of the three gunas dominant in their personality and projection. Tamas=crude, lethargic, heavy. Rajas=passionate and action oriented. Sattvas=light, pure, calm and relaxed. When we say someone has a "high" vibration, we mean they are dominantly sattvic in nature.
- Guruka Singh
P.S. - We did an earlier video on the subject of free will and God’s will. I think it was the "fate and destiny" one, but I’m happy to revisit that topic.
I’m back from my vacation and it’s great to be home. Winter time is a nice time of coziness and consolidation. I feel like everything slows down and I am able to internalize more (Like the plants that go into hibernation the end of the year). For me it’s a time of thinking and evaluating. By the time the new year comes I always start to think about what I want to accomplish in the next year (personally, spiritually and professionally). The winter time is sort of a "deep-breath" to stop and think about where I am and where I want to go. It also helps that at this time of year I normally take a vacation, so I am able to get out of my normal every day patterns of work and day to day things.
Today me and Arjan celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. In this day and age commitment in marriage is not a common thing. Divorce rates are so high it seems that no one stays married for long these days. I am thankfull to have a happy marriage and a awesome partner to travel this journey with. That’s not to say it is always easy. I think God must be testing to see if I can keep my "marriage black belt" in recent months, since it has been quite challenging having two kids and all that goes with being a family. It is so easy to fall into your emotions and feelings and be reactive when problems come up, rather than being conscious and communicative. Having a relationship is an art and skill in itself. This is one of the reasons why I think having a family and being married is the highest "Yoga"….since it forces you to work on yourself (And hopefully become a better person). It is no longer just about YOU.
It’s been fun watching Narayan and Charanjeet (our kids) change and move into different phases. Charanjeet is 18 months old and is changing so rapidly. I keep thinking how I need to record more of the "moments". She is copying so many words and learning new things every day. Her latest favorite word is "Aaw Man…!". She heard Narayan saying that after something happened and she picked up on it. Now something will drop…and she blurts out "Aaw Man!". It’s quite funny. Another recent classic word is "Parantha!". A month or so ago I made my first stack of paranthas from start to finish and I was saying "Paronetaaaa!!" (with a loud/strong Punjabi accent). Ever since then she just blurts it out like that with lots of enthusiasm at all moments. Children are so beatiful! As much work as they are, they are a gift and jewels to learn from!!
So, as we start this new year I hope you all are thinking about your life and all the gifts that you have. It’s a great time for renewed commitment and change. Even I need a kick in the butt sometimes to get myself going and make a change. Ready-Set-Go! (I’m "cooking" up some plans too)
Here is an audio clip by Hari Bhajan Kaur who brought the Espanola sangat through to the new year during the all night Rainsabhai Kirtan. She ended just after midnight 2008 singing the Shabad "Ram Japo Jee Aasay Aasay".
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa - ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
One of the most beautiful aspects of studying Gurbani is to share ideas with other people who study it, as well. And to see all the different ways that the various souls relate to and express their understanding of the Guru’s wisdom.
Inni Kaur, who many of you may know as the editor of Nishaan Magazine, recently shared her own translation of a shabad from Bhagat Namdev with me. I’ve posted it here for you all to enjoy.
Yesterday in Gurdwara Ek Ong Kaar Kaur sang beautifully from her heart to the few of us that were there at the start. I always love to get to Gurdwara first thing because so that I can listen to all the kirtan, and that is when it is the most quiet and easy to meditate. Some of you might remember Ek Ong Kaar Kaur who is a guest blogger on MrSikhNet.com and always writes very interesting and thought provoking things. You can check out her blog and listen to her beautiful voice sing "Ang Sung Wahe Guru" (God is in every limb/part of my body)
There is a search that every human being goes through in life. It is a search so primal, so instinctual in us that endless songs have been sung about it. Plays written. Paintings painted. Philosophies expounded. It is an urge so strong that we are willing to lay down our lives for a taste of it. To leave the known completely behind and plunge into turbulence and chaos for it.
It is the search for Love.
And if there is one experience that can create bitterness, hatred, disappointment, or vengeance stronger than any other experience – it is when what we thought was Love disappoints us. Betrays us. Plays a game with us. I have written this before in other essays. And I write it again now. If there is ever a nuclear war, the moment that the first button for the first warhead gets pushed, the real cause behind it will be a person whose heart was simply so broken that life meant nothing anymore. And all the politics to justify it will just be the excuse.
Many times people ask me the question, "Yes, there were 10 Gurus, but who was Guru Nanak’s Guru?" I always answer that our Guru is exactly the same as Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Guru. It is the Shabd Guru, which exists beyond time and space and is beyond all physical forms. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib "captures" the Naad (soundcurrent) of the Shabd Guru through the songs of the Bhagats and the Gurus. Gurucharan Singh is the director of the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI). In this video he talks about the technology of sound in the Shabd Guru and takes a scientific approach to answer the question, "Why does listening to or singing the Guru’s Shabd elevate our consciousness?" There are so many ways to answer this question, but if you want to hear a scientific explanation, listen to this six minute video.
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa * ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh. It’s been a long time coming. This particular translation. Not because it took a very long time to do. But just because it took a very very very long time to find out that this even existed. Lifetimes, probably, when you get right down to it. In the last year, there have been a few people who have asked if I had translated the Lavaan yet. Because they wanted to use the translation for their wedding. Once you’ve heard a request three times from three entirely different people - you begin to get the feeling that the Universe is trying to tell you something. Whenever embarking on a new translation project, I like to discuss the subject with my Gurbani instructor, Dr. Balkar Singh. When I asked him about the Lavaan, what he told me was that I couldn’t translate the Lavaan first. What he taught me was that there are four Shabads right before the Lavaan in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. (Starting on page 772). These shabads are written by Guru Ram Das. And they are the called the Engagement Shabads. "You have to understand the Engagement Shabads before you can translate the Lavaan," he told me.
While I was away in Los Angeles this past weekend, my computer faithfully recorded the audio from Gurdwara, as it does every Sunday. Here are two live recordings of Hari Bhajan Kaur playing Kirtan.
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