Bani Mahala 9 - Rag Sorathi

Guru Teghbahadar Sahib

In the seventh composition, Guru Teghbahadar once again invokes the maternal figure, saying, O Mother! My mind is not in my control. Day and night, it runs after materialistic pleasures. Through which method can I stop this?  The Guru is showing us again how to ask for help, to be brave in our asking, and to be fearless in our vulnerability. When we invoke the maternal figure, we allow ourselves to reflect on our mistakes or transgressions, and we reveal ourselves without worrying about judgment or conditional love. The maternal figure is from whom we came, who loves us despite our flaws and missteps. This is the relationship we can invoke when we are in this state of introspection, when we want to bare our flaws and reflect on how we have spent our time honestly and candidly. 
 
O Mother! My mind is not in my control. The Guru takes us along on this introspection so that we may understand how to reflect. Maybe we have been listening to the teachings of various religious texts; maybe we have tried various disciplines and schools of thought, and maybe we have sought out different methods and knowledges. But we have not enshrined any of them in our hearts or nurtured those teachings within us. Our minds are not allowing even an iota of these teachings to enter the consciousness or enter the heart. It is because of this that our behaviors have remained the same. We are running after other people’s wealth and spouses; we are full of envy and constantly comparing what we have to what others have. We are engrossed in this and wasting our lives in vain.
 
O Mother! My mind is not in my control. The Guru continues, saying that we have gone mad in the intoxication of Maya, or attachment to the material and to relationships. Because of that state of intoxication, we are becoming more and more foolish in our behaviors and perspectives. We cannot figure out even a bit of wisdom or deep knowledge. The Guru reminds us that it is in our very hearts that the immaculate One, IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One), dwells. IkOankar is the One without the blemish of Maya, the one who is above the influence of Maya and the way it causes us to transgress. But despite this constant presence, despite the intimacy of that connection, our minds have still been unable to realize the secret or mystery of that One. This idea of recognizing a true thing, of sensing the presence of the One comes up multiple times. We might know logically that IkOankar, the One without blemish, is dwelling within us, but how do we know that experientially? What would it be like to feel that? 
 
O Mother! My mind is not in my control. The Guru offers us hope at the end of this introspection — it was when the mind came into the shelter of IkOankar, the one who goes beyond certain eras and times, all false or negative thinking perished. It is through the meeting of the One, through the sanctuary of the One, that we are able to bring our minds under control. It is through remembering IkOankar, the wish-Fulfiller, that the noose of death is cut — that our fear is removed. 
 
Every seeker is looking for some kind of discipline or method through which we can feel a connection at the mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. But the mind gets in the way, entangled in Maya and intoxicated in that entanglement. It is not easy for us to come out of that frenzied state, consuming whatever we are getting and enjoying it. It begins with introspection. And if we cannot get through that first step, if we have become exhausted and gone mad in our current conditions, we can seek the sanctuary of the One. Will we make that effort?