Guru Nanak and the Lama

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A Quest for Harmony* by (Late) Raja Sir Daljit Singh

From Srinagar Guru Nanak travelled into lower Tibet and approached a monastery. The Head Lama came to meet him and welcomed him to his monastic home. He offered the Guru refreshments, made him comfortable and then quietly enquired, “They say there are many creeds prevalent down in the plains and the learned expound many philosophies. What do you say about the creation of this world and the Creator?

The Guru said:

“From the soundless Absolute proceeds everything
He, the soundless, emanates sound
And from it flows forth air, water, fire, light and souls.
He, the Absolute, remains unaffected and yet maintains all that lives.
He, the Lord of creation, rejoices in His own creation.
The Absolute produces Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
And also Time and the Four great ages.
He who knows the Absolute as all pervading
Is a perfect man, and in his company delusion is destroyed.”

The Lama heaved a deep sigh. “I have heard before the theory of the Absolute and your definition has cleared it a good deal. Tell me more about it.

“The Absolute produces earth and heaven and without any support maintains these. The three worlds come forth from the Absolute and are permeated with the Maya of the Absolute; they are its manifestations and are absorbed in it. From the Absolute arise differentations, the species and all the four forms of speech. They are absorbed in it again. From it also arise the seven regions and the fourteen spheres. They are all its creation, caused by it, and to be absorbed in it. From the Absolute proceed day and night, that measure out pleasure and pain. It is by constant search that we find the way to cross the bounds of time, and become immortal. It is thus that righteous seekers find their heaven.

“From the Absolute are radiated sun and moon. The light of the Absolute pervades the three worlds. The Absolute is limitless and indescribable. The Absolute is samadhi itself. The source of the seven seas is the Absolute and also all knowledge. When the human mind, by the power of the world communicated by the Gurus, bathes in the lake of truth, it obtains release from the wheel of birth and death.”

The Lama smiled and said: ‘So the truth of Lord Budha still remains and the knowledge remains that all beings are tied to the wheel and suffer agonies till they obtain release by following the eight-fold Path.”

“Yes,” said the Guru, “the Absolute manifests itself as God, his incarnations are the Avtars. He makes gods, demi-gods, elemental and celestial music-makers, ordained to perform their various duties. He produces the three basic tendencies, Tamasic, Rajasic and Satvic: of inertia, energy and pure spirit. These are shadows of His manifestations. The spirit imprisoned in five elements sows the seed of acts, good and bad, merit and demerit. One’s own deeds make the destiny which is inscribed on the forehead of everyone and brings the harvest of one’s own sowing through cycles of births and deaths. By Divine grace, when the true teacher imparts the word, the Turia stage is attained, with it the divine consciousness, and with it the gift of freedom from the domination of Gunas - the basic tendencies.”

“This too I have heard,” said the Lama, “also the great books of knowledge teach the same truth. I like to hear from you, for your words are like shafts of light, which illumine the darkness of the mind.”

“The Sam, Rig, Yajur and Atharva Vedas which Brahma is constantly reciting and to which you have referred are books of knowledge. They, and even Maya, with its three attributes - Gunas come from the Absolute. Limited power of expression comes from the Absolute, so no one can describe the Absolute. What we must learn is the cure of suffering which humanity inherits. Suffering classes when the word of the Master enter the heart. Only a rare one reaches this stage and receives the gift of emancipation, such a one is emancipated for all time. He is perfect. He is exalted.

“What are the attributes of the true Teacher?” enquired the Lama, who was deeply interested and was trying to test the truth of the Guru’s teachings in the light of his knowledge of the gospel of Budha.

“The true Teacher is intoxicated with the love of God. He is one with God. He is unique. He is exalted, wisdom and power are his gifts. When good fortune favours a Guru is met. Mind is no more attached to worldly objects. He destroys delusions.

“Can a philosopher (Giani) break the bonds of attachment?

“No, it is only the true Teacher who awakens the budhi, supreme wisdom, and opens the door that leads to the Guru,” said Nanak. “Then the pure sound of the true word is heard and the true name of the Lord enters the heart and samadhi is attained.

The Lama was very pleased and asked: “How can we reach the Absolute?”

“The Absolute is in you,” said the Guru. “Its light is in every heart. It is only discovered under the instructions of the true teacher. The Absolute is all that is: all is in one and the one is in all. This secret is revealed by the Guru. This secret is known when you know yourself and realise yourself in all beings. He is exalted who recognises himself in all beings.”

“Tell me what stands in the way of righteousness?” asked Lama. “Where is the mind situated? How can it become an abode of peace? Show me the way from the unreal to the real.”

“Five passions rooted in desire possess the mind, and these lead the mind astray. It wanders after objects of desire unaware of the inner peace. The mind is in the body. It is the mirror of the True One. It is obscured by desire; but when it dissociated from the search of that which is false and transitory it finds peace in the True One. The way from the unreal to the real is discovered by purification of the self, by perfomance of righteous acts and constant striving for spiritual advancement. He who is not truthful, he whose life is unrighteous, cannot understand the meaning of Mukti or Salvation. He who approaches the Primal Being after self-purification attains with ease the union. He is freed from briths and deaths, coming and going. He, the devotee of the Lord, becomes established in the Lord. Nothing else exists for him.”

“You said that the Absolute is infinite. How can a finite being become one with the Infinite?”

“Just as the tree and its fruit are the same.” said the Guru, “they who eat the fruit of the tree of immortality and drink its nectar become one with the Supreme. He who knows the self becomes one with the Supreme Self.”

“Why does pain haunt those who work for pleasure?” asked the Lama.

“Pain is but the reflex of pleasure, when we seek pleasure we also court pain. The only way to escape pain is to quench the thirst for pleasure and remain unaffected by both pleasure and pain. Everyone is eager to secure pleasure; no one desires pain. The ignorant see not the truth that pain follows pleasure. When pleasure and pain become the same, and these two imposters are defeated, the secret word opens the door of true bliss.”

  • Excerpted from “Guru Nanak” by Raja Sir Daljit Singh, first published in 1930. Reprinted (April 1979) by Lahore Bookshop, Ludhiana.

With thanks to Sikh Review. [1]