Let’s make the world a better place

- Pinder Chauhan

Looking through an old magazine I found this piece of writing which interested me:

" ...The Allah of Islam is the same as the God of the Christians and the Ishwar of the Hindus. Even as there are numerous name of God in Hinduism there are many names of God in Islam. The names do not indicate individuality but attributes though He is above all attributes - indescribable and immeasurable. Living faith in this God means acceptance of the brotherhood of mankind. It also means equal respect for all religions. If Islam is dear to you, Hinduism is dear to me and Christianity is dear to all the Christians, it would be the height of intolerance and intolerance is a species of violence - to believe that you religion is superior to other religions and that you would be justified in wanting others to change over to your faith..."

(Mahatma Gandhi)

As I read through this I felt a sense of familiarity, because this is what I have learned in the company of devotees all of my life. I feel so lucky that I am not caught up in the trap of despising people for their religious beliefs, rather have been blessed with knowledge so that I can help others to also realize this Nirankar (Formless Lord).

All that it takes is one flame to turn into a raging fire and burn down a building - no matter how large it is. In the same sense, all it takes is one person to start a fight with another person on the grounds of their race or religion, causing clashes between communities and gradually creating wars. We should start by changing the environment around us by making it more peaceful, not creating hatred between others and ourselves. We should break down the barriers that others have created - learning to love and respect not hate or criticize.

Attending congregation is an important step in achieving this goal. I am sure we have all heard the phrase -we are the company we keep.- This doesn’t necessarily mean we are like the company we keep, whom society sees as being corruptive then we too will be categorized as this. It is in the company of spiritually enlightened individuals that we are especially inspired to imbibe positive values, ‘the company of Saints is the best company’, as they say. Devotees will always speak about Nirankar (Formless Lord) and lead us on the practical path to happiness, imparting not only their wisdom but also their experiences. In society however, there are a lot of temptations (especially for us ‘youth’) that draw us away from the most important things in life, and unfortunately we never end up prioritizing as we should. Sure enough we must enjoy these aspects of life, but there is so much more that we need to experience in the spiritual realm that we need to experience in the spiritual realm that would bring us even more fulfillment in our lives.

Whilst living in the everyday society, we, the followers of the His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, should be good ambassadors of the Mission. This means we should aim to be forgiving and tolerant towards our fellow beings, and broadminded in our views. May be in congregation we are all spiritual and God loving, but what are we like outside of the four walls of the Bhawan? We cannot, and are not in a position, to criticize any other person so the answer lies within us. Every action we take - good or bad - reflects back to our Mission, to our Satguru. If a child does something wrong people are obviously going to point fingers at the parents. In the same way what we do wrong (or right!) will be reflected back to our Satguru by all onlookers.

The branches of a tree look so much similar top the roots of a tree. In the same way, we should have the same image in Satsang and in society. We could achieve this by remembering the Mission’s teachings (and the five principles in particular) and Nirankar at all times. We have the five principles to base our lives upon. If we think about it, all that Baba Ji is teaching us to do is to be human. A Mahapursh once gave the example that each time a child takes a wrong step the mother will tell her child off until he/she learns. In the same way, Baba Ji teaches us that is right and what is wrong - it is up to us to learn.

It is important for the youth to get involved in the Mission and it’s activities and follow in the footsteps of the individuals before us. We have to set an example because we are the future of our Mission. If we are tempted to tread on a wayward path then what will become of the generation below us?

We can’t change the world and - some people don’t want to be changed - rather we should look first to improve ourselves and become more considerate of others. Let’s forget about criticizing other people and their lives, and start improving ourselves as individuals - not by our physical appearance but by our attitudes, habits and our inner selves. If we all did this collectively then this would certainly make a positive difference in the world. If we have a strong enough desire to reach our goal than we can always achieve it.

We can make a big difference. The world can become a better place.