Mysticism in the Sikh Faith

Dear Friend,

This is the first of a series of articles throughout this year where we will be presenting the role of mysticism in various faiths. Mysticism and the mystic are understood in different ways depending on the religion, but in general mysticism can be said to mean "the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality." Throughout religious history mystics have been alternately worshiped and reviled, hailed and hidden.

Mysticism in the Sikh faith began with its founder, Guru Nanak, who even as a child had profound mystical experiences. There are many stories of the young Nanak slipping into deep meditative trances, once even getting into trouble for neglecting his father's cattle, which then wandered into a neighbor's field and ate their crops!

What was the great Guru contemplating? Guru Nanak "stressed that God must be seen with 'the inward eye', or the 'heart', of a human being. Beyond this there is no dogma, only the search for truth. Sikhs meditate as a means to progress towards enlightenment; it is devoted meditation practice that enables a sort of communication between the Infinite and finite human consciousness."

But,  meditation in the Sikh's understanding is different from meditation as it is understood in other Eastern practices. For the Sikh there is no concentration on the breath, for example, but chiefly the recitation of the name of God. "We are instructed to recite the name of God (Waheguru) 24 hours a day, no matter what we are doing," says Dr. Dass, a local leader from the Gudwara. "That is the first and foremost duty of a Sikh. You start by reciting aloud, then from your mind. You inner being is reciting the name of God while you are doing your own work."

Though mystic practice--"to be one with God," as Dr. Dass explains, is essential to Sikhism, these practices are not limited to an elite few who remove themselves from the world. Rather, participation in ordinary life, being householders, business people and so forth, is considered spiritually essential to the Sikh. "We do not renounce the world. You can attain being one with God while living a family life," says Dr. Dass. This way of thought was exemplified and encouraged by Guru Ram Das who pointed out that Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, did not renounce the world, but only renounced "the greed for money."

There are no priests, monastics or yogis in the Sikh faith. Dr. Dass explains that, "We are all supposed to lead that spiritual life. We don't all achieve it, but this is our goal. Our ultimate goal is to be one with God."

Our thanks to Dr. Dass for his help with this article.

Comments

[Emmanuel Karavousanos]

Ultimate reality and the mystical state are one and the same. Of course, few ever reach this precious state of mind. Why? Simply because we have ignored the analysis of familiar, obvious and known things, and things we take for granted. Is there a basis for this? Hegel said, "Because it's familiar, a thing remains unknown." Whitehead wrote, "Familiar things happen and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious." Many other prominent names including Holmes, Shaw, Doyle, Gibran, Koestler, agree. Is it just possible that science looks too deep, philosophy too far and religion too deep for the answer to the so-called mystical state. How then does one attain the mystical experience which is the onset of that mystical state? It is by analyzing things we already know, but we do NOT know them intuitively. We know them only superficially -- on the surface. What is it we know that can help us cross over to that precious state of mind. What are the things we know and may very well have taken for granted? Our very own thinking is something we know we do (and it is unavoidable). But do we know this intuitively? Is is just possible we know it only on the surface? We keep wondering and researching consciousness and know we are conscious beings, but higher consciousness has been elusive at best. Yes, we look at the fact that we are conscious from scientific, philosophical and religious perspectives ... but we fail to analyze them. We must begin to wonder, for example, when our thoughts are there. "All the time" you may say, and you would be correct. But that knowledge is only known on the surface and must be thought of in this new way so that insight will be triggered. Buddha and the author of Cosmic Consciousness, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, each in his own way, agree that one must be in the proper frame of mind for enlightenment or the onset of cosmic consciousness to occur. Yes, mysticism is real and it no longer has to be a mystery, but each individual must attain it independently of everyone else.
Science, philosophy and religion have encouraged us to look, but unfortunately, in the wrong direction.
Emmanuel Karavousanos
Author and Speaker
EKaravousa@aol.com