Thiti (Kabir Ji)

The being whose love is attached with the lotus-feet of Gobind, through the grace of Saint-Guru, the mind of that being becomes filth-free. Bhagat Kabir invokes the six chakras on the sixth day after the new moon. In Yogic tradition, the chakras are a series of six energetic focal points in the body, spanning from the base of spine up towards the crown of the head, which a being seeks to balance through various practices for spiritual enlightenment. Using this philosophy as an example, Bhagat Kabir refers to the pain of ritual practices, as people often become stuck in following prescriptive spiritual systems. He notes the mind runs in every which way, sometimes to satisfy the cravings and impulses of the body, other times to seek balance and alignment. Either way, whether swayed by the body or trying to control it through a specific spiritual discipline, people remain unsteady and imbalanced. Bhagat Kabir says that without the Wisdom-Guru, there is no balance, no steadiness. The Wisdom-Guru leads seekers to a state of love, where forgiveness abounds in the absence of duality. That is the way of being which a seeker ought to walk in, not the way of being which is dictated by the prescriptions of dominant culture and hierarchical religious systems. While the system of the six chakras is used here, this applies to any methodological system prescribed by tradition or religious texts that dictate behavior.

Bhagat Kabir’s offering for the sixth day leads us to reflect on being pulled in many directions by the body. We rarely go more than a few minutes without thinking of seeking something more—eating something, talking to someone, going somewhere, or buying something. Instead of chasing quick fulfillment of our fluctuating desires or following prescriptions, rituals, and technical disciplines that promise freedom, we are urged to walk a unique path, a path in which we embrace easily overlooked virtues like patience and forgiveness. To inculcate these things within us, we work on our minds. The Wisdom-Guru tames our fickle minds, moves us beyond our sense of duality, and teaches us to lead with love for IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Rather than disciplining the body, we can discipline the mind, and the impulsive tendencies of the body will follow. Just as knowledge is needed to pass an exam, the Wisdom-Guru guides us through the test of life. When we forgo duality and walk in Nam (Identification with IkOankar), everything falls into place. Love, forgiveness, and patience pour out of us. This is how we avoid the sticky trap of prescriptive spiritual practices, karmic theories, chakras, and other austere philosophies. These things lead us to seek more guidance, buy more things, and follow more prescriptions, not realizing that we cannot finesse our way to liberation through technique or more accumulation. Bhagat Kabir simplifies things: eliminate duality, follow the Wisdom-Guru, and practice forgiveness. Will we leave our six chakras, techniques, disciplines, and rituals behind? Will we pass the test of life with the guidance of the Wisdom-Guru and through Identification with IkOankar?