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Mehar
(God's Grace)
Hari Singh*
The Mehar (grace) of God showers all the time on all of
us. Do not think that God chooses someone that suits Him
or favours those who sing His praises. Actually His Mehar
showers on all equally without any difference, but there
are some people who have turned their pots upside down so
that water does not fill it. But if our pot is upright,
it is bound to fill. No doubt the filling takes place by
His Mehar only but we have to make full efforts from our
side to place our pot in the proper position. We should
see that there are no cracks or holes in it and also make
sure that it is not lying upside down so that His Mehar
does not escape the mouth of our pot. By doing so means
that we prepare ourselves capable of receiving His Mehar.
We should also keep in mind that Mehar of Waheguru always
depends on the size of our pot, our Paatartaa, our capacity
to hold it. If we have a cup in our hand and the other has
a bucket, he will definitely get more water. In this case
we should not grudge against him but just try to improve
our Paatartaa. For example; a father brings two suits for
his two sons aged 5 and 15 years. The suit of the younger
son is small according to his size and if he complaint to
his father as to why he brought small suit for him, the
father will explain to him that at present his Paatartaa
cannot hold a bigger suit but after ten years he will definitely
get a bigger one. Similarly if we are deprived of His Mehar
it is due to our Paatartaa. We should, therefore, only concentrate
on increasing the capacity of our Paatartaa and His Mehar
will definitely shower on us in due time.
We should not forget that the gap between our efforts and
results can only be filled by His Mehar. It is, therefore,
very important that in doing any work we should first make
utmost effort from our side and only then leave it for His
Mehar. But if we just depend on His Mehar, He will not help
us. It is perfectly true that God helps those who help themselves.
In this connection Bhai Gurdas Ji says very beautifully:
Charan saran gur ek paindaa jaae chal,
Satgur kot paindaa aagay hoi let hai.
It means that when a Sikh puts one step towards his Satguru,
then He comes out to welcome him even by traveling a hundred
thousand steps. In these days the Sikhs are very clever
and they say “Dear Guruji we do not understand that
if you can travel such a long distance then where is the
difficulty in coming one step further?” We must understand
that one step from our side is a “must” or compulsory
because it means that we are serious and willing to do whatever
we can from our side.
Secondly, we must develop good friendly relation with Waheguru
and for this purpose it is important that we make our friend
either like us or we become like him. As Waheguru cannot
be changed we have to become like Him. It means we should
try to understand and follow His virtues. In Gurbani, Waheguru
is mentioned as our Father, Mother, Protector and by many
other such names. He is the cause of our birth; He nurses
us, protects us and does everything that parents do for
their children. Gurbani explains:
Toon meraa pitaa toon hai meraa maataa
toon meraa bhandap toon meraa bharaataa. – Guru
Granth Sahib, p 103
When we realize this everlasting relation of ours with Waheguru,
we can have full faith in Him and accept whatever sukh or
dukh we receive from Him happily without any complaints.
We should adopt the good qualities of dheeraj (patience),
santokh (contentment), dayaa (sympathy)
and nimarta (humility), try to rid ourselves of
the major enemies like kaam (lust), karodh
(anger), lobh (greed), moh (attachment)
and hankaar (ego) and concentrate on doing Nitnam
and Simran regularly.
It is a fact that when we are deprived of Mehar it is due
to our mistake but when we attain it, it is because of Him
only. So try to understand that we attain through Him, and
loose through our own mistakes. It is imperative to remember
“If ‘I AM’ losing, it is ‘I AM’
who is wrong but if ‘I AM’ gaining, it is entirely
His Grace”. This way our Haumai will not be fattened
and he who has no Haumai finds that God is within
him.
When any Bhagat is united with God he feels that the rewards
he gets are too much as compared with the time he devotes
on his Bhagati. He is filled with thanks to Waheguru but
like a dumb person he can only enjoy the sweetness but cannot
express its taste. So Bhagat will whole heartedly say that
whatever satisfaction he has obtained, is not the reward
of his mehnat (hard work) but is His rehmat (grace).
¤
©Copyright Institute of Sikh Studies,
2007, All rights reserved.
