Babaneea Kahaneea Putt Saputt Karayn...

ਬਾਬਾਣੀਆ ਕਹਾਣੀਆ ਪੁਤ ਸਪੁਤ ਕਰੇਨਿ ॥
The stories of one's ancestors make the children good children.

This summer my grandfather visited us for the first time. When I used to be a kid, he was a catalyst for my curiosities, both intellectual and spiritual. He was the one that told me all the saakhees about Guru Sahibaan and other Gursikhs. I hadn't spent as much time with him since I was 12 years old. There was never enough time during my occasional visits to India, he hadn't fully shared his life experiences with me.

During his stay with us, I got to spend quite a bit of time with him, I don't remember most things that we talked about but there was one that stuck with me. He told me that sometimes we as Gursikhs look at Gurbaanee as something that is surreal and unattainable from an everyday perspective. Sometimes we only look at the "deep" meanings of it all and not how it applies to our everyday lives.

He told me the story of a Gursikh from a pind {village} who earned his living honestly and was devoted to his Gursikhi Jeevan. His routine was to get up at 2 am, take an isnaan {shower or bath} and do naam simran {remembrance of god by the repetition of his name given to one by the true guru}. Then he would do his nitname {a minimum of 5 collections of sacred writings from Sree Guru Granth Sahib Jee and Sree Dasam Granth} and set out on a journey through the fields to the pind's gurduara.

Another Gursikh who would get up early to work in his fields would see this Gursikh everyday and wonder where he goes everyday before sunrise. One day the man decided to stop the Gursikh and asked him, "Where are you going, the sun hasn't even risen yet?".

The Gursikh replied with a question, "What are you doing here so early?". The man answered proudly, "I am going to work on my farm so I can have the best crop when the harvesting season comes!".

The Gursikh said, "Well so am I..". Now the man was confused and a little agitated, thinking that this guy's trying to mock me. The Gursikh continued, "I'm just following Guru Arjan Dev Jees command:

I just repeated the guru's name with my tongue:
ਅੰਤਰਿ ਗੁਰੁ ਆਰਾਧਣਾ ਜਿਹਵਾ ਜਪਿ ਗੁਰ ਨਾਉ ॥

I am going to the gurduara to do darshan of the guru with my eyes and listen to baanee with my ears:
ਨੇਤ੍ਰੀ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਪੇਖਣਾ ਸ੍ਰਵਣੀ ਸੁਨਣਾ ਗੁਰ ਨਾਉ ॥

And by doing this, at the end of my days, I'll have the best crop possible:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸੇਤੀ ਰਤਿਆ ਦਰਗਹ ਪਾਈਐ ਠਾਉ ॥

Shabad

The farmer was in tears and said "I read this everyday too, but it never occurred to me that I could do this everyday." He thanked the Gursikh and both said...

Vaheguroo Jee Ka Khalsaaa Vaheguroo Jee Kee Fatah(i)!!