REMEMBERING THESE DAYS
A Destiny Of Pain
Introduction:
Almost 3,000 years ago, the poet Virgil penned his masterpiece The Aeneid. This poetic epic, composed on the same lines as Homer’s Odyssey, was part-panegyric and part-political mythologizing to lend credence to Roman rule and domination of the known world. It charted the trials and tribulations of Prince Aeneas, a fugitive from ransacked Troy, and his journey to Italy as fated by the gods who desired that he raise Rome from the ashes of his native Trojan homeland. But despite retaining divine prerogative, Aeneas by no means is able to evade the pangs of destiny that wound him in a bid to inure him to hardships. Even his landing on Italy is beset by war, but the measure of the man is derived not from his military accomplishments but his endurance and resilience.
Today:
Our modern times produce weak men who, on account of materialism, sacrifice their inner potency for temporary highs. Epics such as the Aeneid, resultantly, lie forgotten and disdained for the inconvenient truths they expose: that life is a battle and only the virtuously strong can win it. None other. Aeneas foregoes and rejects the love of the Carthaginian queen Dido and instead accepts the hand of the less-sophisticated Lavinia rejecting the materialism of the former for the simplicity of the latter. Though heartbroken, he nonetheless weathers the wounds of love to proceed onwards with his destiny. He overcomes the grief of losing his Trojan wife to enemy swords while fleeing the ransacked city and stoically endures the demise of his father. Such men are rarely found today.
Inspiration:
Virgil’s inspiration for Aeneas is derived from the lives of several Greek and Roman figures that defined endurance in the ancient world. Voluminous to mention here, they were figures of stoic resilience who endured the vagaries of life to build mighty empires and/or carve such characters for themselves that they became deified as immortals in their own lifetimes. Virgil makes clear a fascinating but equally grim reality: Aeneas, and the class of men he belongs to, are always beset by dual options. They can either take the easy route, or they can either take the hard route. The hard route is fashioned for them by the immortals who wish to test their mettle but also ensure the immortality of their legacy for all time to come. The easy route dooms them to oblivion and its infamy.
These Days:
The most stirring moment in The Aeneid-that tragically defines the present devolution of manhood-is when shipwrecked upon Carthaginian shores Aeneas observes his weeping men belittle their fate. These proud warriors now reduced to itinerant beggars begging from shore to shore curse their destiny for all the pains it bequeaths them. But Aeneas refuses to forfeit hope and instead delivers a rousing address that infuses new hope within their very souls and restores their spirits. He concludes with:
“Perhaps someday, even remembering these days will bring joy.”
-Aeneid, Virgil.
These words are emblematic of what strong men undergo when they tread the path of vanquishing life in the very battle that is existence. By accepting the divine mantle of raising Rome, Virgil contends that Aeneas invited immeasurable pain upon himself but the thought of future generations enjoying peace at his expense gave him the solace to continue onwards. This, he concludes, is what divine destiny is. A destiny of pain but one that only heroes embrace because of their loyalty and steadfastness.
The Sikh Perspective:
Catastrophically for the Sikh youth, the preceding generation of boomers has failed to furnish any comprehensive apologia or intellectual material for them geared towards a diverse range of philosophical outlooks on the Sikh faith or praxis. Subsequently, they are forced to rely on haphazard commentaries of village illiterates that draw more from non-Sikh faiths than they do from the profundity of Sikhi itself. The canonical Guru Granth attests:
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਢੂੰਢਿ ਢੂਢੇਦਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਸਜਣੁ ਲਧਾ ਰਾਮ ਰਾਜੇ ॥
“The Gurmukh seeks and seeks the divine beloved and finally finds the great sovereign.”
-Guru Granth, 449.
And,
ਜਿਨ ਮਸਤਕਿ ਧੁਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਤਿਨਾ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਰਾਮ ਰਾਜੇ ॥
“Those who have it inscribed on their heads from the divine court, they discover the divine truth leading to the all-pervasive emperor.”
-Guru Granth, 450.
The initial verse clarifies that one who becomes Gurmukh i.e. a Gursikh or loyal Sikh of the Guru, they orient themselves towards seeking the path to appeasing their Maker. The second verse explicates that as a result, they earn the munificence of the divine court and then discover the Satguru that paves the way for them to meet their Maker. Both verses hinge on the unsaid truth that acceptance of the divine reality or Hukam is the cornerstone to successfully realizing the process they delineate. From this it emerges that while destiny is not prewritten in Sikhi, nonetheless Gurmukhs have a special specific destiny inscribed for them that is designed to inure them if they accept it. This is what the Guru Granth calls the game of love:
ਜਉ ਤਉ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਖੇਲਣ ਕਾ ਚਾਉ ॥
ਸਿਰੁ ਧਰਿ ਤਲੀ ਗਲੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਆਉ ॥
ਇਤੁ ਮਾਰਗਿ ਪੈਰੁ ਧਰੀਜੈ ॥
ਸਿਰੁ ਦੀਜੈ ਕਾਣਿ ਨ ਕੀਜੈ ॥੨੦॥
“When you desire to play this game of love, offer me your head on your palm and approach my path. Once you tread this way, then be prepared to sacrifice your head but not pull an inch back in retreat.”
-Guru Granth, 1412.
This game is not a game of loving one’s neighbor or humanity. Such secular fantasies were not accepted by the Sikh Gurus. Rather, it is one of loving Hukam and the path of strength that one selects to tread as a Gurmukh. It is then that much like Aeneas, the Gurmukh undergoes great tribulations but as an act of sacrifice to ensure that others after them also acquire the path to true immortality by following the footsteps that they pave on the sands of time. In such a way, the Gurmukh transforms into the Khalsa or high Sikh mystic and defies the constraints of physicality to continue guiding even from beyond the grave through their enduring legacy and how can such a legacy be furnished? Through trials and tribulations alone.
Destiny:
The Gurmukh’s destiny is not specified to be preset minute to minute erasing the necessity of their freewill as alleged by many self-proclaimed Sikh traditionalists. Rather, by accepting initiation into the Khalsa they undertake vows to pursue perfection that naturally elicits hostility from the world at large. This is a crucial distinction that should be kept in mind. Both the Sikh Gurus and Virgil do not believe that there is a prespecified minute-to-minute, second-to-second destiny that permeates an enlightened individual’s existence. Rather, it is more general like a certain path they tread that comes with its own varieties of pain that are specific based on individual contexts rather than pre-established. But what earmarks a hero is the tendency to accept and undergo that pain.
ਬਿਖਯਾ ਭਯੰਤਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੰ ਦ੍ਰੁਸਟਾਂ ਸਖਾ ਸ੍ਵਜਨਹ ॥
ਦੁਖੰ ਭਯੰਤਿ ਸੁਖ੍ਯ੍ਯੰ ਭੈ ਭੀਤੰ ਤ ਨਿਰਭਯਹ ॥
ਥਾਨ ਬਿਹੂਨ ਬਿਸ੍ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮੰ ਨਾਨਕ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਰਹ ॥੩੭॥
“They can change venom into elixir, and turn foes into friends. They perceive pain to be pleasure, and make cowards into valorous warriors. They may have no roof upon their heads but find solace in the divine wisdom (of the Guru Granth), which is bequeathed to them by the merciful Master.”
-Guru Granth, 1357.
It is when the Gurmukh, the Khalsa, accepts and comprehends the reality of life and the value of pain therein that they use it to build themselves up as resolute warriors aiming to triumph in the battle of existence. They alter their perceptions and thus they become the establishers of an immortal legacy that continues to inspire long after them. This is the quintessential Sikh mystic, a Khalsa who continues to guide long after they have physically departed this plane. Aeneas’ speech, as narrated by Virgil, is representative of what such men believe when confronted by the trials of life. Remembering these days, someday in the future we shall smile.
Conclusion:
The current collapse of manhood, led by modernist forces and false faiths such as Christianity and Islam, has rendered the human male an insignificant puppet unable to undergo pain. He collapses in emotional fatigue, protesting the unfairness of his ordeals. Yet his heritage is that of pain. Generations of men before him have laughingly accepted pain knowing fully well the consequences and the unfairness of it all. Yet rather than deter them, it has encouraged them to confront the tyranny of life and subdue it. Such a strong tradition is greatly conspicuous in both the ancient classical tradition and the Sikh faith. It is high time that it be brought to the fore and highlighted for the whole world to follow. Let us accept and luxuriate in pain. It is the key to perpetuity.
