NANAK DUKHIYA SABB SANSAR
SO SUKHIYA JIS NAAM ADHAAR

(Loosely translated: Nanak says life for everybody is suffering,
blissful is the one who has based his/her life on Him.)

It is a universal truth. Agony, misery, pain, suffering, both physical and emotional, and in all degrees of intensity are the realities of life experienced by all without exception.

In the bliss of peace and pleasure, we also pass through jitters of distress, grief, and worries. There is hardly any escape from these taxing, and unpleasant realities littered toward life’s end.

The sufferings could be innocently or naively self-inflicted, from fellow beings, or other causes. Elements of nature and the so-called fate also play minor or significant roles to accompany man’s lifelong journey through calamity and disaster.

Stresses and strains in our lives for one reason or the other give enough turbulences as a smooth ride to cover life’s journey becomes a rarity.

So, who is at absolute peace. Certainly nobody.

Can we redefine peace to accommodate tensions and sufferings that otherwise we cannot avert? Do we have to live with them?

In this pursuit to seek serenity and tranquility, let us re-evaluate and narrow down our understanding of that guiding force from whom, in desperation, we often quest for answers to our whys.

The guiding mover is the eternal spirit that, in the first place, buzz us for our acceptance of the adversity (Nanak calls it hukam razai ). The alert signal takes on a calamity with a calm mind, effectively and decisively, instead of being agitative or in panic.

We need not expect miracles from the Eternal Spirit.

But what we can expect with grace and dignity, is the courage and strength to tackle suffering.

Of course, this is not an easy exercise. Still, the utmost and unshaken faith in our resolve to accept and handle circumstances lead us to that sought-after perception. It is a solid base from where one can realize the Supreme power. Nanak calls that base “Adhaar.”

Regarding perception or understanding of the solid base, we can be more precise by setting aside for a moment, the most widespread assumption that God is a person. Instead, bring in another individuality and nature of His or Her as just a performing action.

So when we seek or gather courage and strength to handle any calamity or suffering and use those forces as part of our efforts, that very activity itself is a God in live manifestation.

And once that foundation or “Adhaar,” meaning God in the image of action, is recognized as the platform, from where to fight back and decrease distress and tribulation, then certainly with conviction one can get inspired to comprehend……………..

NANAK DUKHIYA SABB SANSAR
SO SUKHIYA JIS NAAM ADHAAR.

-By Promod Puri