Thou shall not be born again

Thou shall not be born again

According to the Sikh beliefs human soul transmigrates according to the deeds of the individual mind and body accompanying it during various births. Soul is considered to be as pure as Lord almighty himself but is sullen by the impurities of the accompanying body and mind and though the soul constantly longs to merge with the almighty, the source of its origin, it must remain in transit till it becomes pristine pure to mingle with the Lord.

In fact Soul, the energy transmitted by Lord Almighty who is the ultimate source of everything, has been in transit ever since the life began in water as the single cell specie finally evolving and taking the human form, the most evolved of all the species. Though the soul exists in lower species as well it is not accountable for the deeds of the accompanying body till it acquires the human form and gets a chance of salvation which may be defined as mingling back with its source dependent upon the deeds performed by the accompanying individual human body and mind.

The human soul gets affected as per the deeds or karma of the human body and mind broadly classified as vices and virtues resulting in impurities and purities respectively. The virtues are three in Sikhism namely honest living, meditation on Lord’s name and sharing one’s fruit of labour with others. The vices have been further divided into five namely desire, anger, greed, attachment and ego. One who leads a virtuous life while shunning vices is called Gurumukh (Literally meaning the follower of the Guru) while the reverse of this is Manmukh (literally meaning follower of one’s own mind) While the Gurumukh is eligible for salvation the Manmukh is subject to transmigration.

It may be argued that in order to live a normal life in the society, the vices as described above cannot be shunned entirely. However, moderation in practice is advisable. For example, desire to achieve pleasures in life should not become lust. Anger may be necessary for maintaining discipline but should not lead to cruelty. Greed in moderation may result in saving for emergency but not undue amassing of wealth .Similarly attachment should mean love and affection for your own yet not lead to hate for others and finally ego in moderation may lead to self-respect and not self-indulgence and subjugation of others.

However, it must be understood that indulgence in vices, even in moderation, is not conducive for liberation of soul and it will still remain in transition i.e taking human forms again and again having to suffer the pains and pleasures as per the previous deeds.

Though every human birth is yet another opportunity for attaining salvation, a fear of migrating into lower forms always lingers on if ever the limit of moderation was to be violated. Therefore, one requires the grace of a true Guru who helps one at the least to live a disciplined life and get another opportunity and at the most to attain salvation by purifying the soul completely from all the vices.

Guru Amar Dass the third Guru of the Sikhs has beautifully summed up the above struggle of the human soul on page 74 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, The holy scripture of the Sikh faith and their presnt and eternal living Guru. He has compared the struggle with a wrestling bout between a Gurumukh on one side and five wrestlers on the opposite side representing five vices whereas the world is the arena.

The verse is loosely translated hereunder;

I am a wrestler belonging to the Lord Almighty.

I met with the Guru- my coach- who bestowed upon me a high plumed turban as a symbol of virtue.

All have gathered to watch the bout, and the Merciful Lord Himself is seated enjoying the spectacle.

The bugles play and the drums beat.

The wrestlers enter the arena and move around the ring.

Lo, I have pinned the five challenging youths to the ground, and received a pat on my back from my Guru.

All those who gathered here,

Shall return home by different routes.

The Gurumukhs have taken home the profit (Salvation) while the Manmukhs departed losing their capital. (their souls keep migrating in different forms)

O Lord, You are without colour or mark yet, manifest and omnipresent

Hearing of you, the believers, attuned to you meditate on you. O the embodiment of all virtues

Through the ages I am the servant of the Lord

The Guru has released me from the bonds (of transmigration)

I shall not have to perform again in the arena

Nanak has got the opportunity after a long search.