Gurbani Art in daily life

I have been wondering for some time that why dont we have in some shape Gurbani everywhere in our houses. We all have in our homes paintings, prints, showpieces, wall art, calendar art, portraits …. the list is endless. We are all on the lookout for the latest things that we can put up on that wall in the drawing room. Why not something that reminds us of our faith?

The problems are ….. well.. many.

One, the art that is available in the market is of poor quality. There seems to be no creativity in the calendars, portraits and other such things. With the coming of computers, practically all art has turned digital and in the process everyone has become an ‘artist’. This has lowered the creative standards of our art. Many would simply not consider it up to the mark for ‘my’ home!

Two, when our artists do create excellent art based on Gurbani, this is sometimes so much general and abstract that it goes beyond the type which a common man can understand and appreciate. It sometimes looks like an abstract painting which ‘somehow’ has been connected with Gurbani interpretation, sometimes, seems like…….. as an afterthought.

This leaves the common man and the artists with only one choice – depict the Gurus and sometimes historical personalities. But that leaves very minimal scope for the artists and art enthusiasts. No artist can really go much beyond Sobha Singh, Devinder Singh and the like, and the enthusiast is left with a very limited range which can bring newness in the art.

And why don’t we have prints, calendars, cards which are nicely produced and which carry a message which can be understood by the common man and still be appreciated by someone who is in a way uninitiated?

Finding the Peace within

When I was going through the Hukam of the Guru yesterday, I felt the Guru was telling me how to be peaceful in this world. It is only on finding peace within we become fit enough to meet HIM. For that we need to close the gap in our consciousness which makes us engrossed in the damaging part of our consciousness. Once we close our consciousness to the negative influences that we gather from the world, we automatically start listening to the Anhad Bajey! But Guru, how can I stop the negatives from acting on my consciousness?

Do I close my consciousness to negatives first or do I concentrate on the sounds within which Guru is referring?

Thinking about what to do, I came to this conclusion that if we want to close our minds to negatives, we must occupy ourself with the positives. Busying ourselves with the positives will help in getting rid of the negatives. So the way to get rid of the negatives is to busy ourselves with the positive activity. Remembering Guru, doing seva, reading good books, being in the company of the blessed people, reciting Gurbani, kirtan and such other things. In other words living a life of rememberance.

Gurbani Kirtan

I find Gurbani Kirtan as the most fruitful way of enjoying Gurbani and its message. I find that my undestanding of Gurbani becomes much greater when I sing Gurbani. The sikh music is uniquely suited for this purpose. It had to be. It has its roots in what Guru Nanak created himself. And in fact if you read the Sakhis of Guru Nanak, the music preceded the revelation of Gurbani. In a way the music by Bhai Mardana created the ground on which the immortal word of His message landed. Music welcomed the message! Music carried the message! Music permeated the message! Music made it the soul-mate! Music tuned the soul to the message! Music made the soul fit to rise with the message. Music became so important that the process of the spiritual experience is called ‘Singing his praises’ by the Guru.

The Gurbani quotation in the banner states

“He sings the song of the One Universal Creator; he sings the tune of the One Lord. He lives in the land of the One Lord, shows the way to the One Lord, and remains attuned to the One Lord. He centers his consciousness on the One Lord, and serves only the One Lord, who is known through the Guru. ||”

He sings the song of the One Universal Creator; he sings the tune of the One Lord.He lives in the land of the One Lord, shows the way to the One Lord, and remains attuned to the One Lord.He centers his consciousness on the One Lord, and serves only the One Lord, who is known through the Guru. ||1

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