Three pictures of God
A popular picture of God is that of an authoritarian ruler, a dictator who wants his subjects to worship and obey him or face punishment. If God were like this, I would reject him, and I would consider it inspiring and courageous to do so.
Another picture of God is as the creator of the universe, something like an energy that we cannot see but that permeates everything. It is omnipresent and omnipotent. Would I love such a God?
No. I don’t see any reason.
Because it is all-powerful, I might be tempted to use it to achieve my goals. Then it would be just a means to an end. However, I see no possibility of a relationship with such a God.
Then there is the view of God as an embodiment of love, one who offers unconditional love. Love is his nature (or hers, or theirs, or its). So, he cannot but love. In a way, God is helpless in that regard.
This is a God I like.
God is humility personified
Recently, I have come to see another facet of God that I find very attractive.
God is the humblest of all. In fact, God is humility personified.
Let me explain how.
The Brahmgyaani
Let’s begin with the Brahmgyaani, the enlightened being. This is how Gurbani describes the Brahmgyaani:
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਊਚ ਤੇ ਊਚਾ ॥
The God-conscious being is the highest of the high.
ਮਨਿ ਅਪਨੈ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਤੇ ਨੀਚਾ ॥
Within his own mind, he is the most humble of all.
…
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਸਗਲ ਕੀ ਰੀਨਾ ॥
The God-conscious being is the dust of all.
…
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਕੈ ਗਰੀਬੀ ਸਮਾਹਾ ॥
The God-conscious being is steeped in humility.
…
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਅਹੰਬੁਧਿ ਤਿਆਗਤ ॥
The God-conscious being renounces his proud ego.
It is clear from these lines that the Brahmgyaani is the dust of all, the humblest of all, and steeped in humility. The Brahmgyaani is humility personified.
Now consider this line from Gurbani, which states an equality:
ਨਾਨਕ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਆਪਿ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ॥੬॥
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is Himself the God. ||6||
Let’s put two and two together. The logic is as simple as math:
Given
The Brahmgyaani is humility personified.
The Brahmgyaani is the same as God.
Then
God is humility personified.
This is remarkable. The all-powerful creator of the universe, who permeates everything, is humility personified. Humility is his very nature.
Kabir ji
Kabir ji makes the same point. First, he says:
ਕਬੀਰ ਸਭ ਤੇ ਹਮ ਬੁਰੇ ਹਮ ਤਜਿ ਭਲੋ ਸਭੁ ਕੋਇ ॥
Kabeer, I am the worst of all. Everyone else is good.
And elsewhere he says:
ਰਾਮ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਏਕ ਭਏ ਹੈ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਪਛਾਨੀ ॥੬॥੩॥
The Lord and Kabeer have become one. No one can tell them apart. ||6||3||
If Kabir ji is the humblest of all, and Kabir ji and God are one, then God is the humblest of all.
Guru Nanak Dev ji
Guru Nanak Dev ji says:
ਨੀਚਾ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਨੀਚ ਜਾਤਿ ਨੀਚੀ ਹੂ ਅਤਿ ਨੀਚੁ ॥
Nanak seeks the company of the lowest of the low class, the very lowest of the low.
ਨਾਨਕੁ ਤਿਨ ਕੈ ਸੰਗਿ ਸਾਥਿ ਵਡਿਆ ਸਿਉ ਕਿਆ ਰੀਸ ॥
What do I have to do with the proud?
Once again, the emphasis is on being the humblest and the lowest. That is what Guru Nanak seeks, that is what Guru Nanak is, and that is what God is.
It is hard to imagine that the all-powerful, omnipresent God is the humblest of all, that he is humility personified.
We are nothing but a part of the divine, so his nature is also our nature. The more arrogant we are, the further we are from that nature.
Why creation exists
The universe was created so that the divine could experience himself:
ਆਪੀਨੈ ਆਪੁ ਸਾਜਿਓ ਆਪੀਨੈ ਰਚਿਓ ਨਾਉ ॥
He Himself created Himself; He Himself assumed His Name.
ਦੁਯੀ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਸਾਜੀਐ ਕਰਿ ਆਸਣੁ ਡਿਠੋ ਚਾਉ ॥
Secondly, He fashioned the creation; seated within the creation, He beholds it with delight.
As I understand it, what the divine experiences and expresses through creation is his humility. Gurbani describes what existed before creation:
ਜਬ ਅਕਾਰੁ ਇਹੁ ਕਛੁ ਨ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟੇਤਾ ॥
When this world had not yet appeared in any form,
ਪਾਪ ਪੁੰਨ ਤਬ ਕਹ ਤੇ ਹੋਤਾ ॥
Who then committed sins and performed good deeds?
ਜਬ ਧਾਰੀ ਆਪਨ ਸੁੰਨ ਸਮਾਧਿ ॥
When the Lord Himself was in Profound Samaadhi,
ਤਬ ਬੈਰ ਬਿਰੋਧ ਕਿਸੁ ਸੰਗਿ ਕਮਾਤਿ ॥
Then against whom were hate and jealousy directed?
Before the universe was created, only the creator existed. There were no sins or good deeds, no hate or jealousy. There was nothing else.
Since there was no other, there was no way for humility to exist. Humility needs someone you can place above yourself. And for humility to truly shine, there have to be others who are arrogant. If everyone is saying, “I am humble, I am nothing,” it is easy to be humble. But when the other is claiming to be the greatest, and you say, “Yes, you are the greatest. I am just a humble being,” that is enormous.
Everything has been created so that, in the midst of it all, God can experience himself by expressing his nature, which is humility. This is the reason for the entire play.
ਆਪਨ ਖੇਲੁ ਆਪਿ ਵਰਤੀਜਾ ॥
He Himself has staged His own drama;
ਨਾਨਕ ਕਰਨੈਹਾਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੧॥
O Nanak, there is no other Creator. ||1||
…
ਆਪਨ ਚਲਿਤ ਆਪਿ ਕਰਨੈਹਾਰ ॥
He Himself is the Performer in His own plays;
ਨਾਨਕ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਅਗਮ ਅਪਾਰ ॥੨॥
O Nanak, the Lord Master is Unfathomable and Infinite. ||2||
Why I can love this God
We live in a universe where the creator is one with the creation.
ਸਭੈ ਘਟ ਰਾਮੁ ਬੋਲੈ ਰਾਮਾ ਬੋਲੈ ॥
Within all hearts, the Lord speaks, the Lord speaks.
ਰਾਮ ਬਿਨਾ ਕੋ ਬੋਲੈ ਰੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Who else speaks, other than the Lord? ||1||Pause||
And this creator is not a powerful dictator or a lifeless energy, but an embodiment of unconditional love and, above all, humility.
This is a God I can love. Love alone did not tell me that God is humble or that God serves others.
The word love can mean different things to different people. The way I took it in, love meant we are equal: someone cares for me as an equal. You do not place the other above yourself. Humility means placing everyone else above yourself. I find that enchanting.
Even when someone loves me as an equal, I still feel some fear. I can’t pinpoint it. But as soon as I see that humility is the nature of fundamental reality, I feel light, comfortable and safe. He is the most powerful and also the most humble. Despite his enormous power, I am not the least bit afraid of him. This is completely freeing.
Our true nature
Since we are not separate from him, our true nature is also humility.
ਮਨ ਤੂੰ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥
O my mind, you are the embodiment of the Divine Light; recognize your own origin.
Imagine a world where everyone lived by this nature and served one another. It would be a wonderful world to live in. Seeing humility as our true nature is both beautiful and freeing.
That is why the path to self-realisation, to becoming God-like, is the path of becoming humble.
ਹਰਿ ਹੈ ਖਾਂਡੁ ਰੇਤੁ ਮਹਿ ਬਿਖਰੀ ਹਾਥੀ ਚੁਨੀ ਨ ਜਾਇ ॥
The Lord is like sugar, scattered in the sand; the elephant cannot pick it up.
ਕਹਿ ਕਬੀਰ ਗੁਰਿ ਭਲੀ ਬੁਝਾਈ ਕੀਟੀ ਹੋਇ ਕੈ ਖਾਇ ॥੨੩੮॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru has given me this sublime understanding: become an ant, and feed on it. ||238||
…
ਹਉ ਹਉ ਭੀਤਿ ਭਇਓ ਹੈ ਬੀਚੋ ਸੁਨਤ ਦੇਸਿ ਨਿਕਟਾਇਓ ॥
The wall of egotism and pride separates us, but I can hear Him nearby.
ਭਾਂਭੀਰੀ ਕੇ ਪਾਤ ਪਰਦੋ ਬਿਨੁ ਪੇਖੇ ਦੂਰਾਇਓ ॥੩॥
There is a veil between us, like the wings of a butterfly; without being able to see Him, He seems so far away. ||3||
When the wall of ego is removed, our true nature, humility, shines through. The veil is lifted, and we see God.