Thursday, January 12, 2017

Blissful Memories 5

In the late nineteen sixties, a question began to pop up among the curious seekers and devotees of the Nirankari mission:
Is Moksha guaranteed just by receiving the Gyana or the Karma is also required to achieve it?

Even the preachers had different opinions on this topic.

Some said “Just the Gyana is enough to achieve Moksha and no Karma is required for that matter.”

Others said: “Moksha is guaranteed by the Gyana, but Karma is essential for a happy and peaceful life. One should perform good karmas to stay happy and healthy in the current life but Moksha is certainly guaranteed simply by receiving the Gyana.

Unfortunately, these answers were taken or understood by many in a very different way. They thought ‘Karma has no consequences for Gyanis’. Since the Moksha is guaranteed, a Gyani - who is rich, happy and healthy; or does not need anything - can do whatever he or she wants to do without worrying about its consequences. They cannot be held responsible for their karmas since there is no ‘another-birth’ or another- life for them; they are holding the ticket to Moksha.

Baba Gurbachan Singh ji addressed this topic during his sermons by giving this analogy:

“A man from Punjab planned a trip to Delhi. He packed his luggage along with sheets, blanket and food for the journey and bought the train ticket in advance. He boarded the train and comfortably settled in his pre-reserved seat. He enjoyed his journey for few hours but later, in the middle of night, he started stealing from others. When caught, and confronted, he started quarreling and insulting the other fellow passengers; fighting and using foul language. Police was called and was arrested by the cops at the next stop and taken off of the train. All his planning, hours of collecting and packing of comfortable materials for the journey and the trip – everything was wasted by his wrong doings. Not only he suffered the agony of the prison, he could not reach to his destination either; even though he had bought a confirmed ticket*.

Similarly, all good deeds- attending Sangats, doing seva and Sumiran could be destroyed by our wrong karmas. 
Karmas such as killing and torturing - cheating and stealing from others - depriving others of what belongs to them - insulting, mocking and disrespecting other fellow beings and not treating them properly.

Moksha is not granted on a silver platter by simply receiving the ‘Gyana’; just like buying the ticket and boarding on the train is not a guarantee of arriving at the destination if one’s etiquettes and behavior towards the fellow passengers is not appropriate”. 

                                ‘Rajan Sachdeva’

7 comments:

  1. Excellent Uncle ji agreed i heard that Shahanshah ji said Gyan is guarnteed mukti for soul however for your life as human body good karma is must.

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  2. Nice topic choice Uncle Ji. I have a question. You mentioned "Even the preachers had different opinions on this topic." Why would those that preach this have such drastically different points of view on this? This is a not a simple "life lesson" but a major part of the philosophy. Shouldn't there be consistency and uniformity in the message and point of view on this BEFORE one becomes a preacher?

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  3. Very Nice Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Thank you Manminder ji for pointing out an important issue.
    First of all, I must admire your sense of keen observation and reading skills - to follow the subject, not superficially but deeply.
    You have raised a very important question which indeed is a matter of serious consideration and should be discussed thoroughly.
    But to answer it briefly:
    Unlike many other missions and religious organizations, Nirankari mission never had any training program for its preachers. Since the past decade or so, a one or two day ‘Pracharak Training Camp’ has been started in India. But it is for the ‘Pracharaks’… not for those who want to become or have been chosen to become Pracharaks. It is different than other organizations that have a long-term preacher training programs with set curriculum for the interested or chosen candidates – before they become Pracharaks.
    Since there is no pre-training program in our mission that one has to go through before becoming a Pracharak, their ideas may differ on many general or even important topics.
    Perhaps it should be discussed further… in detail.

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  5. Thanks for touching this important topic which has been raised and discussed with me in the past. The example quoted by Baba ji should dispel any doubts that anyone has that our actions have to be in line with Gyan to achieve moksha .... reminds me of that line from Gurbani, "sacho ure sab ko, upar sach achar"
    .... knowing the path is not enough, I need to walk the path .... pls bless ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

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Na hon Paisay to istaqbaaliyon say kuchh nahin hoga  Kisi Shaayar ka khaali Taaliyon say kuchh nahin hoga  Nikal aayi hai un kay pait say pa...