language selector
May 28, 2017
Rev. Rakesh Ahuja ji's Visit
*********************************************************************
Samar Narang ji shared his personal experience of how the gyan removed all the walls in his mind and took away any divisions he might have seen among people. He thanked his Satguru for blessing him with the vision of oneness with which he no longer views people as being separate from each other. A group of children echoed those sentiments of the blessing of gyan through the song, “With the palms, he made a nod; And he showed the Formless God. What a grace, in my case!”
One youth saint shared the quote used by basketball star Kevin Durant that, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard,” emphasizing that attaining the gyan is not enough. Rather, it is how much hard work we put into practicing the gyan in our daily life that matters.
It was repeatedly expressed by many saints that one of the biggest blessings given to us by the Satguru is the gyan or God-realization which is accessible to us 24/7 anywhere and any time.
“Teri rehmathon ka bayaan karoun, wo zubaan nahin mere paas hai...” One saint shared a spiritual song that translated to say, “I do not have the tongue or ways to express your countless blessings.”
Rev. Pali Noor ji said one of the greatest gifts given by the Satguru is the state of acceptance. He pointed out that when something happens our way, we call it ‘God’s blessing’ but when something does not happen our way, we call it “God’s will.” He said with the gift of surrender taught by our Satguru, we are now able to call anything that happens- whether it is our way or not- “God’s blessing.” Chiropractor Dr. Brandon expressed his delight in attending the congregation and mentioned how impressed he was to see the level of youth involvement. Rev. Rakesh Ahuja began his sermon with the words, “Mera aap ki kirpa se, sab kam ho raha hai. Karte ho tum mere Satguru, mera naam ho raha hai...” meaning, “With your grace, all the works of my life are getting done. You are the one taking care of it all, my Satguru, and yet I am the one getting the credit.”
Rev. Ahuja shared an example of two sisters who were married and lived close to each other in a village. He said when the father went to visit the daughter married to a businessman, she asked for his blessings that it would not rain so that the clay pots they made for the business would not be ruined. Her father puts his hand over her head and says, “God bless.” When he visits the second daughter who is married to a farmer she asks for his blessings that it rain soon so her family’s crops can grow and flourish. Again, the father places his hand on his daughter’s head and says, “God bless.” Which daughter will be blessed? The answer is that both will be blessed – one will be blessed with a state of thankfulness (shukria) and the other will be blessed with the gift of patience (sabar). Everything becomes a blessing when you see God’s hand in it.
Rev. Ahuja also recounted the experience of the Satguru’s visit to the Tracy center last year and made a point of saying that once the Satguru blesses a place, those blessings remain. Satguru does not have to keep coming back to the same place to give blessings because the blessings never left in the first place!
A youth question/answer session was held following the English Medium Satsung in which Rev. Ahuja addressed many topics. In regards to the question about drinking alcohol, he made clear that when the Satguru says not to do something, a ‘no’ is a no. Rev. Ahuja shared his personal example of how his father passed away when he was only 12-years old and how his mother raised him as a single parent. His dad was a martyr in the mission and he had always heard in sangat that drinking alcohol is like drinking a martyr’s blood and so, he could never bring himself to do something that would taint the memory of his father.
Rev. Ahuja also stressed the importance of not missing satsung. He said Satguru is present in every congregation so we should not think otherwise and only commit ourselves to specific Sundays. As Rev. Ahuja concluded by encouraging the youth to engage in selfless service (sewa), prayer (simran), and to attend regular congregations (satsung), everyone in attendance felt this saint’s visit was truly another form of Satguru’s blessing.
*********************************************************************
