INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

emarked that not even the Sikh Gurus wanted mukti but only to “get a place and sit
at God’s feet”. Those who have been graced with spiritual knowledge desire nothing
but to express devotion to God. As was reflected in some responses, the spiritual
gains of devotion are considered incomprehensible to ordinary humans, and to have
no other intention but to praise and thank God is an ultimate goal in itself. To fully
engage in worship acts without desires, not even the wish for a favourable rebirth or
spiritual liberation, is considered a sign of humbleness in compliance with the Guru’s
teaching and the divine will. It is an effort to stay detached from worldly desires and
completely sublimate the self to the divine, while living an active social life for others
in the world. To sustain a devotional relationship to God and the Guru ‒ who illuminates
the spiritual path and burns the self-centeredness that keeps humans alienated
from God ‒ becomes both the means and the end in itself. As the eternal Guru dwells
within the divinely revealed words and teaching enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib,
devotional Sikhs will continue to recite, sing, explicate, and meditate upon the verses
in the scripture and honor the physical text. The human-divine activities of “writing”
and “reading” religious action will continue, and these processes mark the end.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008