 Share With Others  |
Share With Others
Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan
The subject I am touching on today is Vand Chakna, which means "share with others." Nam japo, vand chako. "Meditate on God and share with others." It means to share something practical, something realistic, not just sending good wishes and prayers.
There are two basic fundamentals in Sikh Dharma, and they are sangat and pangat. Sangat comes from the root word sana, which means love. Unquestionable love. Sana means love which has no dimension, which has no question and no answer.
The other basic fundamental in Sikh Dharma is pangat. Pangat means eating together and sharing together. Pangat is where your desires and your worldly concerns are solved.
If you are commanded to share, it means it was presumed by Guru's dictate that you shall be in a position to provide. Did Guru Gobind Singh, the great Guru, presume that every Sikh would be successful? Yes. Success and Sikh cannot be separated.
It is good if, as a Sikh, you live with planned deeds. Planned deeds do not have a defeat. Success is granted. When you plan, then naturally things will come to you. You know who you are, you know what you are, you know what you are going to do, you know what you are achieving.
No matter how intelligent you may be, success in life comes only when you put your cons before you, you put your pros above them, and you act on this. If you waste your time in thinking too much about pros and cons, that moment shall bring you defeat.
Commotion of emotions is caused by duality; just remember that. Duality is nothing but a waste of the most precious time of life. Guru presumed you would understand the will of God; recognize it, understand it, and live it. Then after you understand the will of God, what can these minor things in the world do for you? Nothing. You, by your grace, by your existence, try to understand. If you are living in your own grace, you will attract opportunities to you.
There is an old saying by a Bhagat (devoted one) in Rajastan, a part of India, that people who run after the wealth of the world - money, prosperity, success - sometimes get so tired of running that they can't even catch it. Those who sit down and radiate their grace, to them opportunities will not only run; opportunities will run around them in circles.
Let us sit and imagine Baisakhi at Anandpur Sahib in 1699. According to the record of the imperial recorder of the time, 80,000 - 90,000 beloved Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh came to Anandpur Sahib. The imperial recorder says there was a tent, and a stage, and Guru was expected to come and give the Sikhs charan paho, which meant that an initiate would get to drink from water that the Guru had dipped His right toe in. That was the procedure up to that time.
Instead the Guru came out with a naked sword, and said "I need a head." The question was who wanted to excel over death. One Sikh, Dharm Singh, got up and said, "Not only my head, but all of me is yours." Guru Gobind Singh took him into a tent, and came out with a bleeding sword. Now you can understand the strength of the second Sikh who said, "My head is yours." The first Sikh might have had some misconception, but the second had no doubt.
Then came the Guru's request for the third, fourth, and fifth. After doing all that, Guru reappeared with the five, beloved of the Guru, and dressed them Himself. He gave them bana. We do not understand the concept of bana; we think we can wear anything we want. No, that's not true. We gave five heads on Baisakhi Day 1699. Out of 80,000 - 90,000 people, five could stand up and give their heads, and Guru gave us bana. Why? Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam. "Your identity is True." Guru gave you a true identity that day. It was such a great identity, my dear people, that 72 hours later Guru gave the amrit (sweet nectar), and called them the beloveds, and a day later He asked them to initiate Him with amrit. Just understand the strength.
The life is not pursued for the joy of life, life is not pursued for the pleasure of life, life is not pursued for the success of life, life is not pursued for the sharing of life. Life is pursued for the goodness of life. When life is pursued for the goodness of life, that is the Godliness of life. That is where God comes to love. God shall love you when you love the goodness.
Guru said, "Share the goods." Vand Chakna. If you are not pursuing goodness, what can you share? If you are pursuing commotions, emotions, feelings, and neurosis - all that - then your pet cat will laugh at you, because even she does not pursue that. The entire teachings of Guru are based on one thing: if you seek happiness for yourself you shall never be happy. Seeking happiness for self is seeking misery. If you seek happiness for all, in sangat and in pangat, you shall be the happiest.
The only way to gain freedom from karma is by living dharma, which is a discipline to conquer death, laziness, and duality. Guru says to get up at 4 am and enrich yourself, nurture yourself, and grow yourself. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Sadhana gives you a way to penetrate into that deep self and relate to the Oneness of God. That way duality is conquered, prosperity comes, and grace and radiance become the shield.
Then it is not that you love God; it is that God is proud to love you. That is the concept of vand chakna. This is not the concept of giving a gift and getting a "thank you", or giving Dasvandh and expecting to be thanked. It is our duty to share. The law of vacuum is that there is no vacuum. If you don't share, you don't get anything. Guru has dictated that we should share with others, in sangat and in pangat, who are in need because our homes are Guru's homes, our being is the Guru's being, and our self is the Guru's self. The concept of vand chakna is to give and feel grateful that you could give.