| “I guess I had never listened to a religious song so many times before in my life. Riddhie happens to love Satnam Kaur’s rendition of ‘Ek Onkar…’ She listens to it intently and it has become an integral part of her daily routine presently.” |
Dear Riddhie,
I shall begin this letter talking about the way you have taken to a recorded recitation of the “मूल मंत्र - इक ओंकार सतनाम...”. What started as a lucky coincidence has now turned to an important ritual of the day for you. I don’t know how long shall it last but I shall try to have you imbibe this as one of your daily prayers in times to come.
First the story behind this, You were probably three months old when one evening I was trying to rock you to sleep and you were in one of your moods to carry on crying and kicking your feet in the air. In an attempt to distract you, I switched on a random song on my phone. Incidentally the song which came up was the mantra recitation by Satnaam Kaur. I believe you kind of took to the sound and tone of the song almost instantly and kept listening to it with eager attention. Before the song could finish, you were sleeping peacefully in my arms. I repeated this the next time you were cranky a few days later and it worked again. I guess this kind of became our remedy for helping you soothe your nerves in days to come and I soon had every CD in my car hold this recording at least once. Your mom tried this last evening as we were driving back to Gurgaon and I played it for you this morning before coming to the office as well and so far it has worked every time.
What is surprising for us is that currently no other song appeals to you as much as this piece does and it has helped you find rest and catch some sleep almost every time. I guess, in days to come as you get a better grasp on your tongue and start talking, we might find you repeating the lyrics on your own and singing along.
However, there are two important lessons I want to share with you citing this reference. First, you should never underestimate the power of prayer and faith. There are millions of things which science can not answer and one really can’t live being an atheist. You need to find and define your own faith and follow it with conviction.
And as I say this, the second thing which I want you to understand is know the difference between faith and religion. Religion is only a pathway and faith is what drives you on that path. The end objective is the same universal power we all call God. In recent times there has been an upsurge in religious fundamentalism which is upsetting. I hope you learn to recognize that there is no such thing as religion superiority and a silent personal conversation with ‘your God’ is any day better than circling temples, observing fasts and making offerings to a deity.
So, in a nutshell, find your faith and keep it separate it from rituals observed for a religion. Learn to love, respect and help others and follow what your heart tells you. Your God speaks through your conscience. Listen to him and you shall never go wrong.
Coming back to what I started with, the song that gets you into a trance and relaxes you like nothing else does right now can be found HERE
I shall translate the words for you so that you know what you are listening to now and maybe reciting in days to come.
Love,
Dad.
Ik Onkar (God is One)
Sat Nam ( His name is True)
Kartaa Purakh (He is the Creator)
Nirbhau (He is without fear)
Nirvair (He is inimical to none)
Akal-murat (He never dies)
Ajooni (He is beyond births and deaths)
Saibhang ( He is self illuminated)
Gurprasaad (He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru)
Jap (Repeat His Name)
Aad sach (He is True in the beginning, (before the anything (universe) existed)
Jugaad sach (He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True)
Hai bhi sach (He is also True now)
Nanak hosi bhi sach. (Satguru) Nanak (says that) he will be certainly True in the future.)
