Akal University Talwandi Sabo, Punjab held an online and offline two day International conference on April 27 and 28 on 400th Prakash Utsav of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Singh Sahib Giyani Harpreet Singh Acting Jathedar of Akal Takhat was the Chief Guest. Various speakers from India spoke on the life, travels, message and martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur which included Dr. Tejinderpal Singh University College Mirapur Patiala, Dr. Sarabjit Kaur Sandhwalia, Dr. A S Narang Delhi, Dr. Gurmel Singh Punjabi University Patiala, Dr. Jaspal Kaur Delhi University, Dr. Muhabat Singh Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar, Dr. Bhagwan Singh Khoji, Syed Simar Singh, Dr. Harbans Kaur Sagoo Director International Centre for Sikh Studies Delhi and many more. Dr. Jaswinder Kaur was the coordinator.
Dr. Kala Singh from Vancouver spoke on Guru Tegh Bahadur – Mera Baid Guru Govinda. Most of physical illnesses are connected with stress and worry. When mind is free of stress and worries, one will be free of most of physical and mental illnesses as well. As a True Physician, Guru diagnosed that the mind (Mann) is sick and root cause of problems. Mind (Mann) is engrossed in worldly temptations, which in turn gives stress and worries. Giving reference of Shabds from Guru Granth Sahib he explained that Guru Tegh Bahadur first created awareness that human beings suffer from the illness of mind (Mann) which is engrossed with worldly temptations like sexual lust, anger, greed, worldly attachments and ego. Because of that people are having stress with accompanied physical and mental problems. Guru is warning the entire humanity that eternal peace (Anand, Blissful State) is more important than collecting worldly possessions, indulging in lustful activities and slandering. Because of sexual lust we have seen celebrities falling from grace in “Me Too Movement”. Because of human greed, ecological balance created by the Creator God has been changing causing more and more hurricanes, floods, heat waves, wildfires, colds and draughts with accompanying mental and physical problems. All these can be prevented in the entire world just by controlling the mind (Mann) of greed. Guru is creating awareness to prevent the problem in the entire world.
He created awareness that people worry and become anxious when something unexpectedly, unlikely and untoward happens. In fact everything and every situation is expected and likely to happen. A stable marriage can break anytime. One can lose a permanent job. All money can be lost any time. Guru says nothing is stable or permanent in this world. If one loses all money that also will not last forever. If one loses a job that also is not permanent. One might get another job and earn more money. So we should not worry unnecessarily. If we worry too much then we will get depressed and never get another job and money. We will never come out of this vicious circle by worrying. Instead we should be concerned and learn how to get over and cope with the problem.
Once the diagnosis has been made that the mind (Mann) is not under control, the question arises how to control it? Guru then replies that we can obtain salvation (Mukti) from ardent worldly passions by imbibing and practicing Godly Virtues in everyday life. There is no other righteous path comparable to spiritual knowledge and wisdom of the Guru.
Guru Tegh Bahadur preaches that Creator God dwells everywhere and within all of us as well like the fragrance in the flower and reflection in the mirror. If the entire humanity believes in this message and philosophy that One Creator God abides in all of us, and sees the Light of One God in everyone, we will not hate anyone on the basis of faith, religion, caste, colour and gender. That makes the entire humanity as spiritual kinsmen. There will naturally be world peace. There will not be terrorist attacks and killings of each other. It will promote human equality. With that everyone in the world will be stress free and in turn free of most of mental and physical problems. The important fact to note is that Guru is emphasizing introspection, not of changing others.
Guru Tegh Bahadur preaches that one should be indifferent to misery and happiness, get rid of vices like flattery and slander, worldly pleasures, attachment and greed. Renounce ego, sexual lust, company of evil, and be humble. One should consider pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour the same. One should not get depressed while in difficulty and get proud and infatuated when in pleasure. Difficult time should be a time for introspection and learning rather than blaming others and God. We should not worry unnecessarily. Be content with what we have and try honesty for more, but don’t get greedy. We should be ready to help those in need even at the cost of our life, but do not relinquish our faith. He preached there is only one God who abides in each and everyone. When we see the same God in everyone, we will not discriminate on the basis of caste, colour, religion and gender. When someone is in pain instead of showing only sympathy we should get empathy and compassion and consider their pain as our own because we see the same God in them and act to remedy their pain. That’s what he did when he sacrificed his life for the sake of the right of freedom of worship for Hindus, though he was not a Hindu and did not believe in Hindu philosophy. In fact he sacrificed his life for the sake of freedom of worship for all. Guru Tegh Bahadur was the Champion of Human Rights. Modern day Human Rights Movement was born in 1920 after the French revolution, but no one knows the contribution of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur is a practical example of compassion and interfaith harmony. Practicing these will improve the life of the individuals and the community as a whole, which will be free of mental stress and accompanying illnesses. Thus Guru Tegh Bahadur is Mera Baid Guru Govinda for the entire humanity.
For more information Dr. Kala Singh can be contacted at 604 327 5253. He published his book Gurmat Doctrines (Part 1) last April. His second book Gurmat Doctrines (Part 2) published this week. Both books are available on amazon.com
