The Life of Guru Nanak

V

After seventy years of His earthly mission, Nanak’s life drew to a close. But if flesh and blood decay, that Power within does not, but continues to provide to the seeking humanity. So when the people grieved, He assured them He would not leave:

If your Friend comes to you in one garment or the other, won’t you recognise Him?

The Power that worked through Nanak was now passed on so that the Divine Work could continue. He had two sons, but found them both lacking in the necessary Spiritual Qualities. In His devout servant, whom He had made Angad, He found the fullness of self-surrender and Godliness; and through this Human Pole, Nanak continued to reign.

The Master’s final day arrived – that day, the thought of which was an unbearable remorse to each disciple. But amidst their immeasurable grief, Nanak found great delight: it was the time when He was to rejoin the Beloved Lord forever.

Sing ye my comrades! Sing ye all; sing now my Wedding Wong. … the blessed day hath dawned. The hour of consummation draweth nigh. Come ye my comrades, come! And consecrate me with your blessings. Behold ye the Bride uniting with the Bridegroom.

Guru Nanak

He had long spoken to them of death: that all should learn to rise above the body at their own will and commune with the Lord on the Spiritual Planes. Then there would be no fear of death and their days left on earth would be finished peaceably and in love’s detachment. He assured them that that Power was ever with them; they need only turn their attention within – with a silenced mind and full faith and devotion – and He Who had once dwelt amongst them, would again appear before their vision and guide them step by step through the Spiritual Regions until they reached the True Home of the Father and were absorbed into it.

He who transcends the Sat Lok alone knows the essence of Agam and Alakh; the Saints have Their abode above these; and poor Nanak too is a resident there.

Guru Nanak

As a young boy, Nanak had known the deep torment of yearning to reunite with the Most High; and on attaining His goal, He spared Himself no effort in His mission of rekindling this knowledge across the world. He had become One with a sublime and indescribable state of awareness and beauty – which is given to few men even to conceive of – yet He walked the earth in all humility and lived as a servant to the poor, the sick and the neglected. To the confused masses, He brought a message of righteousness, service and worship of the One God; and His words were so charged with a confidence, Love and insight – which sprang from the depths of His heart – that even those who once formed the sub-strata of society, sought refuge in them. But He, Who had in no uncertain terms spoken of seeing God, endured countless hardships not only to bear testimony to that Reality but to enable others to see It as well. For this reason, above all others – to guide the lost but seeking souls back to a Vision of God – did He live and travel among men. Whosoever approached Him with a sincere and humble heart, lost Himself in the ineffable joy of His presence. And whosoever was blessed with His gift of Naam, found that the Master’s own Life-Impulse could lift his attention above the physical and mental limitations, and he would behold for himself the Glory of God’s primal manifestations, on which the soul could ride joyously Homeward.

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Source: Unabridged extract from ‘Servants of God,’ by Jon Engle, Sant Bani Ashram, Franklin, New Hampshire, 1980.