What is the source of all entanglements?
Ego.
What is the source of all suffering?
Ego.
What make us lost in pleasures and pain?
Ego.
The purpose of all religions and spiritual paths is to free the human beings from the bondage of Maya. How are bound in this bondage of Maya?
By engaging in the sense of “I, Me, and Mine”.
Till the time, this duality exists that I am separate from everyone else, we cannot be free. And till we are free i.e. till we realize our true nature, we’ll be governed by the Karmic law of “As you sow so shall you reap”, according to which we’ll have pleasures and pains in our life, or in other words, we’ll experience heaven and hell in our life. Heaven is nothing but pleasures, and hell is nothing but pain. A Gurmukh or a devotee or a Saint rises above heaven and hell, pleasure and pain into the realm of pure freedom and joy.
ਕਵਨੁ ਨਰਕੁ ਕਿਆ ਸੁਰਗੁ ਬਿਚਾਰਾ ਸੰਤਨ ਦੋਊ ਰਾਦੇ ॥
What is hell, and what is heaven? The Saints reject them both.
The way out of this bondage and suffering, Gurbani says, is to shift from “I, Me and Mine” to “You and Yours” i.e. by living as if everything, including us, belongs to God or Waheguru.
ਕਬੀਰ ਮੇਰਾ ਮੁਝ ਮਹਿ ਕਿਛੁ ਨਹੀ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਹੈ ਸੋ ਤੇਰਾ ॥
ਤੇਰਾ ਤੁਝ ਕਉ ਸਉਪਤੇ ਕਿਆ ਲਾਗੈ ਮੇਰਾ ॥
Kabeer, nothing is mine within myself. Whatever there is, is Yours, O Lord.
If I surrender to You what is already Yours, what does it cost me?
ਤਨੁ ਮਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਸਭੁ ਸਉਪਿ ਗੁਰ ਕਉ ਹੁਕਮਿ ਮੰਨਿਐ ਪਾਈਐ ॥
Surrender body, mind, wealth, and everything to the Guru; obey the Order of His Will, and you will find Him.
ਜਉ ਲਉ ਮੇਰੋ ਮੇਰੋ ਕਰਤੋ ਤਉ ਲਉ ਬਿਖੁ ਘੇਰੇ ॥
ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਬੁਧਿ ਅਰਪੀ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਕਉ ਤਬ ਹਮ ਸਹਜਿ ਸੋਏ ॥੩॥
As long as I claimed, “”Mine, mine!””, I was surrounded by wickedness and corruption.
But when I dedicated my mind, body and intellect to my Lord and Master, then I began to abide in peace.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮੇਰੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਕਰੈ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਕਾਜੁ ਏਕੁ ਨਹੀ ਸਰੈ ॥
ਜਬ ਮੇਰੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਮਿਟਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਤਬ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕਾਜੁ ਸਵਾਰਹਿ ਆਇ ॥੧॥
As long as he cries out, Mine! Mine!,
None of his tasks is accomplished.
When such possessiveness is erased and removed,
Then God comes and resolves his affairs.
Let’s not just read it and then, ignore it. Let’s try to inculcate the message of Gurbani in our lives. Let’s stop being proud of our achievements. Let’s stop cursing ourselves for our failures. Both failures and successes belong to God. Why entangle ourselves in these things? Why blame other people for unwanted outcomes, when God is doing everything?
Why not get out of our rut of life for a moment and pay attention to what the Gurbani is saying?
It might help us.