Saturdays have become synonymous with GRACE – Every week as I look forward to sharing a snippet of Guru’s Grace – I feel Blessed to be Guided by Baba Nanak. Today’s Post resonates on the concept of ANCHORS – The very essentials that help hold the ship in place when thrown overboard.
The reflections of the days gone by sometimes make me SMILE and also make me WONDER at my obliviousness – But above all – Every Reflective Moment makes me feel Grateful for the GIFTS & SUPPORT I have been receiving in the JOURNEY of LIFE. Today, I share with you all the very first Lesson that I gifted when I started this JOURNEY towards my Baba’s abode.
We always talk about having a Positive Attitude in our LIFE, but we also know that some situations in life make it difficult to display this Positive Attitude – The Storms of Life do impact us and then all the preaching and hearing about BEING POSITIVE goes down the drain and out come our Negative outpour… We crumble in our life and then life becomes one big box of Regrets & Complains.
The way out is “Having Anchors” in LIFE – Something that ANCHORS us, Something that keeps us “Going Forward” because the bitter sweet REALITY of LIFE is that Storms are a part of growing up process – To each its own – No one individual is exempted from these – WE are all exposed to STORMS !
As we pass through the phases of LIFE, growing through life as kids, teenagers, young adults, married couples and even grown-ups, old aged persons, the storms will come…they may vary in size and type, but they are CERTAIN – This is the TRUTH associated with Life & Storms, but that in no way means that we ought to STRUGGLE…We must use our Anchors, just like a SHIP does in times of Storms, and come our strong – Fit & Fine after the Storm has passed.
The ANCHORS that I hold onto in my LIFE during the STORMS of LIFE were gifted to me in a rather unique way – As a young mother, I was excited to give the BEST of everything to my Daughters – I would make sure that they receive the BEST EDUCATION and are served with HEALTHY MEALS and I would also visit the temple to seek BLESSINGS for them…it was during one of such visits to the temple when I had the thought of purchasing some Devotional Songs audio Cassettes that would help me inculcate Spiritual Awareness in my daughters. With this thought echoing, I found myself walking into a shop and asking the owner for the same.
The shopkeeper asked me as to what I was exactly looking for – But obvious, my answer was muddled as I was to vague in describing my needs…and then I asked him to help me with some CHOICES of his own.
The shop owner handed me his personal favourite and said that most people tend to enjoy this particular Collection. He was CONFIDENT of his CHOICE and that set the chords for me…The very next morning, the excited me put on the audio cassette to hear the Blissful Songs.
To my dismay, the songs were in “Punjabi” – A language I wasn’t well versed with. I was sad and confused and also shocked to have not been clear in my CHOICES and instructions to the shop owner, regarding me language expertise but then something within me compelled me to continue hearing the Songs – The soothing voice of the singer worked its MAGIC on me and gradually I began to grasp the meaning of these Devotional Songs…What I best enjoyed was that the Devotional Songs were explained using stories – and though the language served as a barrier in the initial moments – the integrated stories were a BLESSING in Disguise.
I later discovered that such stories were referred to as “Vyakhya Sahit Shabads” denoting “Verses of Guru Nanak with Explanation“. The shop owner indeed caught my THOUGHTS and had handed me the “Perfect Choice”
It became a ritual in our house to play this Audio Cassette every morning when the girls were getting ready for school – Slowly and Gradually, I was able to grasp the language and comprehend the message concealed in the Devotional Song…I also became a fan of the Singer. I did go back to the same shop and bought many more of his collection and ever since then the Singer Bhai Harbans Singh became my favourite.
It was the very FIRST AUDIO TAPE that Gifted me my very FIRST ANCHOR – One that kept me rooted in the path chosen by God for me…Today as I share my thought, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Shop owner who guided me towards this Path – It was his thoughtfulness that set me on the Trails of Bliss and forever gratitude to the Bhai Harbans Singh who connected me to Baba Nanak in the TRUE SENSE.
Technology is a GREAT BLESSING if put to RIGHT USE – I was fortunate to find the link of that very FIRST Devotional Song Cassette that I had purchased on that Blessed day – Here’s share with you the YouTube link – This Devotional awareness is my favourite as it was my very ANCHOR that I was GIFTED in my Trails of Bliss…
A fabulous awareness echoes through this Shabad – Hope you enjoy the learnings and are able to take away meaningful connects just as I did.
I personally feel that Baba Nanak had gifted me a DIVINE ANCHOR that echoed through the Devotional Songs in that audio tape – Baba was aware that my LIFE TRAILS would be filled with refusal from my loved ones – The trails that I would have to walk upon would be lonely and that it would be difficult for me to take care of myself in the Moments that would gift me refusal…It was a MUST that I get prepared for the STORMS of abandonment that awaited me in the near future.
Baba has always been there for me and through a cassette handed over by a stranger, Baba was guiding me – or rather say preparing me for the challenges that waited around the corners of life. I believe that I was being trained to fight like a warrior against the odds of LIFE… The seeds of Trusting the Creator and HIS Plans for me, were being sowed within me through the Devotional Song that was being explained in that Audio cassette…
Ik Takya Bharosa Tere Charna Da Hor Sabhe Dhaaiyaan Dheriyaan
The above words became my Guiding Anchor – Forever a reminder that with God on my side, I have nothing to FEAR – I gathered the Courage to accept REJECTION of Family and Embrace support of God.
Indeed, the TIMES of Trail Came and REJECTION was my GIFT in those Phases of LIFE – But the Guidance and support given by Baba kept me going – YES, I did have my low moments, but strangely, I never doubted my Baba…Yes, my questions were never ending, maybe because I was confused at the happenings – But today as I look back in life – the DOTS all CONNECTED – Happy and Confident – My Baba keeps me STRONG !
Rejection and lack of support from LOVED ONES often breaks us, we feel incomplete and then either we give up on our Chosen Trails or we end our Life Trails by adopting wrong choices like suicide…To protect me from wavering during the storms of LIFE, a Divine Anchor was gifted to me very early in life.
The creator is the one who creates us and put us on the trails we must walk upon to justify HIS Purpose – But also TRUE it is that HE does not leave us unguarded and alone – HE prepares us well in advance for the Challenges in LIFE and HE HIMSELF carries us across the Storms of LIFE – HE is our Caretaker – We must forever and always seek HIS Support…When we TRUST GOD and seek HIS Support, HE HIMSELF will take care of US.
REFLECTION TIME !
We are Emotional Beings and the storms of Life an integral part of our JOURNEYS…there is no avoiding the Storms – But our Attitude towards these Storms can CHANGE the Course of our LIFE ❤
Our ATTITUDE towards a situation is the Outward Expression of our Emotional Temperament toward just about everything…Adopting a more Empowering Attitude is therefore more of an “INNER CONNECT”. Also, true it is that developing an Empowering Attitude isn’t easy as it appears – It involves a lot of Learnings and Faith in our Creator.
On a personal level, I have come to accept that only the Blessed are gifted with “Empowering Attitude” – One that helps us face the many challenges of LIFE with Positive Mindset...and this Empowering Attitude is concealed in the Anchors that we hold onto in our LIFE.
ANCHORS – GAME CHANGERS in our JOURNEYS.
Life is very topsy-turvy, but that is indeed the nature of LIFE – But with Guru and HIS Learnings as our Anchor, we can always reach the shores safely…My very FIRST ANCHOR has always prevented me from Drowning when the Storms hit hard.
Ik Takya Bharosa Tere Charna Da Hor Sabhe Dhaaiyaan Dheriyaan
Journeys & Reflections 