Bani Mahala 9 - Rag Devgandhari

Guru Teghbahadar Sahib

In the second composition, Guru Teghbahadar moves from a discussion about what the mind is like into what the behavior is as a result. Everything becomes only about our living relationships as they are in front of us, tangible and of the world. The Guru says that if we want to see how the mind operates, we will be able to see it in our relationships. All of the closest relationships one can have are listed — both blood and social relationships. The people we live with, with who we are both emotionally and physically intimate. These are the things our lives revolve around. When there is no life or being or “existence” in the physical form, when we see that the life is gone from a person with whom we had a close relationship, we are uninterested in keeping those relationships. We take the body out of the home as quickly as possible. 

The Guru calls this world a mirage, using the example of a deer and the mirage in a desert. The mirage is a natural phenomenon. So it is not that the world is false and therefore must be discarded. It is an illusion, and we ought to know this as we live in it, as we form relationships in it, as we lose relationships in it. A mirage disappears when the deer gets closer to it. The Guru asks us to get close to the mirage, not to abandon our relationships but to lean in and watch the mirage disappear — to see beyond the mirage, not to run from it. When we examine our relationships more closely, we see them for what they really are, and we understand which relationships are shallow. When we can realize this and unfold our realization, when we can reflect on this, that is when our behaviors can change. The desire of the deer is not being questioned here. The creation of the world is not being questioned here. It is the condition of the deer in this world that we are being asked to look upon more thoughtfully. It is our desires that we are being asked to look upon more thoughtfully, to see the creative reality of the world and our relationships in it, and to see how shallow they are when they are only being pursued for a particular end. We are pursuing our desires daily! Can we rise above them as we have gone near them? 

This is not to say that we ought to abandon our relationships. We tend to view these things as dichotomous: that we cannot connect with IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, the One, 1Ness) or sing praises of the Beautiful Charming One if we have our “worldly” relationships. This is not a dichotomy! The Guru shows us a contrast between living only for our relationships daily and understanding how to live for IkOankar daily. We tend to live in duality, so our own perspectives convince us our relationships are not part of the 1Ness. We see them as opposed to. Separate from. This is due to our own shortcomings and limitations. We do not see our relationships as part of the 1Ness and only see them as revolving around ourselves. If we understood that our relationships are actually rooted in 1Ness, we would not be in such a hurry to end our relationships with those who have physically left their bodies. If we understood this, our relationships would exist beyond the confines of physical presence. The Guru says that when we do not feel that relationship beyond the physical body, beyond death, when we do not feel the presence of our loved ones who have passed away because we never felt that nearness when they were alive, we cry “ghost, ghost!” But suppose we really understood the depth of our relationships when they are rooted in IkOankar. In that case, their vastness, the way they transcend time and space, this kind of relationship is not bound to the physical presence and bound to the body — would not scare us so much. 

The Guru asks us to go beyond being just in and of the world. Beyond doing everything only for the world and our relationships in the world, and to pay attention to that which can free us: singing praises of and Identifying with the Beautiful Charming One — reflecting on the virtues of the Beautiful Charming One in whatever way that looks like for us as individuals. When we do this, we create a culture of Identification. We begin to Identify with the One constantly. We are able to see our relationships as part of 1Ness and instrumentations through which to understand 1Ness and connect with IkOankar. We are able to understand them as temporary and change our behaviors as a result. This behavior change is what allows us to be free. In the first composition, the mind needed some resolution. In this second composition, the behavior needs some changing for us to experience freedom. So who do we live for, and who do we die for? Are we able to move past dichotomies that view our relationships as separate from the One? Can we approach the mirage of this world and see past it?