Thiti (Kabir Ji)

The being whose love is attached with the lotus-feet of Gobind, through the grace of Saint-Guru, the mind of that being becomes filth-free. Bhagat Kabir addresses the nine openings of the body on the ninth day after the new moon. These openings are conduits through which the internal and external worlds are exchanged. In Yogic philosophy, there is emphasis on discipline regarding these nine openings, or nine doors, as they are closely linked indulgences, desires, and vices, which distract a being from the desires goals of Yogic practice. Yet, one can be immensely pious regarding what enters the internal world through the nine doors, and still remain caught up in anger, attachment, greed, or other vices within. Bhagat Kabir offers us guidance; yes, certainly watch and be disciplined about what you allow into your internal world, but also to get to the root of the problem. Go to the source of these indulgences—the mind—and learn to uproot and discard them there. Leave behind the well-worn, fruitless paths of greed and attachment that have been traversed a million times in your internal garden, and plant seeds that will bear the fruit of eternality. Eating that fruit, the fruit of the Wisdom-Guru, one realizes one’s timeless nature and becomes eternal.

Bhagat Kabir’s offering on the ninth day helps us reflect on the relationship between our bodies, our minds, and what we reach for externally because of our internal vices. Through our mouths we may seek tantalizing flavors, through our ears and eyes we may seek distracting media, through our sexual organs we may crave pleasure. We could cease to interact with the external world in these ways, yet controlling the senses doesn’t equal cessation of desire. Regardless of discipline, the mind flows toward its cravings, leading us to all kinds of fruits, all less pleasant, more bitter, or more sour than the eternality-imparting fruit of IkOankar. Bhagat Kabir urges us to follow the Wisdom-Guru inward to find where greed and attachment, causing us to drift and sway, are rooted. When we uproot these, we can plant seeds of loving devotion for IkOankar. As we once immersed ourselves in sensory pleasure and distraction, we can now immerse ourselves in Nam (Identification with IkOankar, One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) and discover a greater sense of wholeness within, not one that continuously cycles through tastes, sounds, and sensations to be satiated. As our desires lead us to certain fruits, let us plant and reap the fruit of Identification and love for IkOankar within. Eating that fruit, we realize we are alive beyond this current life; as our True Self, we exist in all eons, ages, and eras. In this way, the suffering of the mind fades, desires and cravings dissolve, and our Moon-like mind begins to reflect the eternal beauty of IkOankar. Will we shift our focus away from mere discipline of the nine doors? Instead, will we look at what we’re planting in our internal garden and weed out what produces bitter, sour fruit? Will we plant seeds of love within and long to eat the ever-nourishing fruit of IkOankar?