Prem Dhey Theer, the Arrows of Spiritual Love in Sikhism
Prem Dhey Theer, Valentine Arrows of Spiritual Love in Sikhism
In Sikhism, regardless of the body's gender, its soul is considered to have a feminine aspect corresponding to male aspect of the Divine. The Sikh holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib is a guide to ridding the self of ego through the practice of simran and meditation on naam in order to experience the ecstatic union of spiritual love between the soul bride and her divine groom. A special love exists between soul-bride sisters who are fondly known to each other as a sakhi, or girlfriend. A Sakhi expresses love by exchanging divine valentines "Prem Dhey Theer" or "Arrows of Love" with her spiritual sisters so that they help each other to remain always focused on remembrance of their Divine Beloved.
Extolling the virtue of spiritual love, Guru Nanak wrote:
"Tan man deejai sajan-aa ai-saa hasan saar||
Surrender mind and body to the Lord your Friend; this is the most excellent pleasure"...
Prem pai-kaam na nik-lai laa-i-aa thin sujaan ||13||
The arrow of love, shot by the All-knowing Lord, cannot be pulled out. SGGS ||1410
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Creation vs Evolution or Does It?
Charles Darwin's February 12 birthday has a way of refueling the debate between Evolutionists and Creationist. However I don't see the controversy. Intelligent design and the evolutionary process seem completely complimentary. Imagine bothering to create creation without the ability to adapt. The result would be in built-in extinction. An outcome without possibility for change could not further propagation. Only limited intellect seeks to limit the illimitable infinite to its finite understanding.
Guru Arjan Dev wrote:
"Sagal bhavan dhaa-rae ek thaen kee-ae bis-thaa-rae poor reh-i-o srab meh aap hai ni-raa-rae||
You established all the worlds from within Yourself, and extended them outward. You are All-pervading amongst all, and yet You Yourself remain detached.
Har gun naahee ant paa-rae jee jant sabh thaa-rae sagal ko daataa ek-ai alakh mu-raa-rae||
O Lord, there is no end or limit to Your Glorious Virtues; all beings and creatures are Yours. You are the Giver of all, the One Invisible Deity." SGGS||1385
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How Do You Cope With Heart Break?
When I learned that someone, who is like family to me, had gone with a group of volunteers to Port-au-Prince, Haiti I never expected that it would become a personal journey for me. I called his mother immediately. We had both become grandmothers that year. I could hardly believe he had left his wife and new baby to take part in disaster relief. He's been very kind to share photographs of the trip, asking only that they be attributed to United Sikhs, the UN affiliated, international aid organization who organized the seva project he volunteered for in Haiti. As I began sorting through the images, I became choked up looking at the devastation and condition that earthquake survivors are dealing with. The little children especially affected me. I asked, my young friend who had been with these children, "How do you cope with the heartbreak?" He gave me an irreverent answer, which is a method I've employed myself during dire moments, try hard to make each other laugh. But when I took a careful look at pictures of him with orphans, I could see his grim expression and I realized in actuality that his manner of coping meant going there and doing whatever he could to help, even though it meant being away from his own family.
Going through all the steps to make these photographs available to share meant looking at each of them very closely in depth a number of times over a period of days. One morning when I woke, I opened my eyes and burst into tears, sobbing very hard, and I had a very teary day. The feeling steals back over me whenever I look at the bewildered little faces of Haitian children and sense their heartbreak. I feel I've gotten to know the courageous souls who took part in disaster relief just a little. I understand how they could work so tirelessly in the face of privation, if it means holding emotion at bay. One Singh wrote home that they had nothing to eat during the overnight journey getting there, and "went to sleep hungry." When they arrived the next day, they went straight to work making langar to feed disaster victims survivors, who may have gone even longer without food, and it makes me want to weep too, that they had been so very caring to put others first.
Haitan Boy With Langar
Photo © [Courtesy United Sikhs]
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As I did sukhasan (closed Guru Granth Sahib) one evening, I asked Guru ji, how do I cope with heartbreak, how can this emotion be overcome ?
This is the answer I received:
"Vadai bhag bhete gurdevaa||
With great good fortune one meets the divine enlightener.
Kott paradh mitae har sevaa||
Myrads of faluts are eradicated in selflessly serving the divine.
Charan kamal jaa kaa man raapai ||
The mind imbued with the Lotus Feet,
Sog agan tis jan na biaapai ||2||
Is not afflicted with the fire of sorrow." SGGS||683
Listen to this shabad sung by Bhai Sant Niranjan Singh ji
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Garden of the Heart
What do you plant in the garden of your heart?
"Man tan nirmal karat kiaaro har sinchai sudhaa sanjor ||
I make my mind and body into pure little gardens, and irrigate them with the sublime essence of the Lord. SGGS||701
In the garden of the heart
Amritvela is the time for tending the plot
In the sunlight of Naam jap
Plant the seed of Waheguru
Water it by singing praise with Kirtan
Feed with the nutrients of Nitnem banis
Cultivate by reading Paath
Weed out wrongful deeds
Maintain sangat as vigilant guards
Subdue the five predator's voices of ego
Build the fence of five kakars to keep out
Poachers the four bajjar kurehit cardinal sins
Do seva to reap the harvest of the heart in bloom
"Jap tap sanjam hoeh jab rakhae kamal bigsai madh asramaaee||2||
When chanting, austere meditation and self-discipline become your protectors, then the lotus blossoms forth, and the honey trickles out. SGGS||23
Photo © [Jedi Nights]
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Kushi the Royal Falcon in Flight with Ajran
Photo Copyright Protected © [G & H Studios Courtesy IGS NOW]
Arjan, a Sikh boy, experiences compassion, forgiveness and sharing when Guru Gobind Singh Ji's royal falcon, Kushi, transports him through time. Arjan see's inside the room of a sleeping rival, gets a glimpse of his own past and witnesses Bhai Kanhaiya tending wounded enemy soldiers on a an ancient battlefield.
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What is love?
"Naanak dhan suhaaganee jin seh naal piaar||5||13||
O Nanak, blessed is that fortunate bride, who is in love with her Husband Lord. SGGS||18
Photo © [Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa]
The hymns of lavan sung during the wedding rounds of a Sikh wedding tell of the progressive stages of love, culminating in the spiritual union of the soul bride with her husband God.
To the Western way of thinking love is the highest ideal of selfless devotion and readiness to give.
To the Eastern way of thinking love seems to be dirty word used to denote dark passions and self indulgence in desire.
Psychologists have created the Triangular Theory of Love (not to be confused with a love triangle, or the trinity), based on a mix of the components intimacy, passion, and commitment, to define degrees of love.
Science has isolated neuro chemical and hormonal responses occurring in the brain to certain stimuli, to explain love.
The apostle Paul wrote that love is patient, and caring, love has no envy. Love does not boast, nor is it proud.
Guru Arjan Dev wrote of love:
"Maeraa laago raam sio haet||
I have fallen in love with the Lord.
Satigur meraa sadaa sehaaee jin dukh kaa kaattiaa kaet||1||rahao||
My True Guru is always my help and support; He has torn down the banner of pain. ||1||Pause||
Haath daee raakhio apnaa kar birathaa sagal mittaaee||
Giving me His hand, He has protected me as His own, and removed all my troubles.
Nindak kae mukh kaalae keenae jan kaa aap sehaaee||1||
He has blackened the faces of the slanderers, and He Himself has become the help and support of His humble servant.
Saachaa saahib hoaa rakhvaalaa raakh leeae kant laae||
The True Lord Master has become my Saviour; hugging me close in His embrace, He has saved me.
Nirabho bheae sadhaa sukh maanae naanak har gun gaae||2||17||
Nanak has become fearless, and he enjoys eternal peace, singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. SGGS||675
The Forgiving Heart Blossoms
As a lad, Guru Har Rai wept when his robe caught the thorn of a rose bush, broke its stem, and bruised its blossoms. Some might have faulted the rose's thorns, overlooking their own carelessness, but Har Rai felt remorse for not taking care to avoid them.
Years later the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan appealed to Guru Har Rai for help, when his eldest son, Dara Shikoh, had been poisoned by ingesting tiger whiskers put in food given to him by his own younger brother, Aurangzeb. The Guru could easily have refused because of former hostilities shown his family. Instead the Guru produced healing herbs from his own storehouse. When the Guru questioned about his actions told his Sikhs to consider the example that when one hand breaks a blossom and the other offers it, both hands are perfumed by the petals. He gave a further illustration, the axe which cuts the sandalwood tree is perfumed by the sandal essence, in the same way the Guru return good for evil.
Those close to each other can be stuck by thorns of a careless tongue or hurtful deed. The Guru's demonstration of forgiveness teaches us to forget the thorn and remember the rose like essence imparted when brushing the blossom. For in truth, the forgiving heart feels ever so much more wonderful when it blooms than the shriveled heart which harbors hurt.
Love and Romance in Sikhism
Arranged marriage is very much the norm in Sikhism. Dating is discouraged and premarital relations are forbidden by the Sikh code of conduct. Romance between couples is something which takes place after the wedding and occurs behind closed doors. Commitment to marriage and family is strong. Divorce and remarriage is unusual with estimations below two percent. Compare that with the national average in the United States where 40 - 50% of first marriages, 60 - 67% second of marriages, and 73 - 74% of third marriages ending in failure.
So what's going on?
In Sikhism, the Anand Karaj ceremony joins together a couple who have made a sacred commitment. The focus is on spiritual union. Nuptial rites are binding in a way which fuses two individuals with one light while wedding their souls to the divine. Thereafter the entire being of heart, soul, mind, body, thoughts, and deeds of the soul-bride belong to the beloved and are the dwelling place of the divine groom. Husband and wife recognize and serve the divine presence in each other as the premise for communication and conduct in their relationship.
"Gureh dhikhaa-i-o lo-i-naa ||1|| rehaao ||
The Guru's reveals insight so the eyes can see. ||1||Pause||
Eeteh ooteh ghatt ghatt ghatt ghatt toonhee toonhee mohinaa ||1||
Here, there, dwelling in each and every soul, heart, mind, and thought, You, and only you fascinate. ||1||
Kaaran karnaa dhaaran dharnaa ekai ekai sohinaa ||2||
Causer of causes, supporter of the earth; the One and One only, is beauteous. ||2||
Santan parsan balihaaree darsan naanak sukh sukh soeinaa ||3||4||144||
The Saints devotedly sacrifice themselves to behold the blessed vision O Nanak and in peaceful pleasure sleep."||3||4||144|| SGGS||407 || Guru Arjan
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Prem Prashad Heart Shape Butter Cookie
Featured Photo: Prem Prashad Heart Shaped Butter Cookie
When I had a first visit from a dear sakhi (soul sister) with whom I have been corresponding for a while, but had not yet met, I wanted to make something special to show my appreciation for her sangat (spiritual companionship). I thought I'd make a batch of naam ladoo, but discovered I had neither almonds nor walnuts, and no time to fetch them. I did have prashad ingredients, so I whipped up a batch of Prem Prashad (offering of love) heart shaped butter cookies, another first, because I invented the recipe on the spot.
It couldn't be simpler with only three ingredients, and far surpasses in ease my previous attempts to make an eggless butter cookie which could be rolled and cut out to a desired shape. Their delicate flavor makes them perfect to serve fresh from the oven, but they would also be perfect to ice and decorate for festive occasions, and make a sublime divine valentine.
Holidays are always a busy time. If you are looking for a quick and easy eggless rolled butter cookie to cut out, bake, and decorate, this recipe is for you.
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Trivia Quiz: Ghallughara
Trivia Quiz: Ghallughara
Trivia Quiz is inspired by the Sikh Odyssey Trivia Game.
Trivia Quiz features Ghallughara.
Take the quiz and test your knowledge to see how well you understand the history of Ghallughara .