“I hate girls!” shouted Harminder Singh. “They take up so much of your time and then deceive you.”
“Well,” said Buta Singh, “I told you never to get involved with them. When a girl comes my way, I turn my face the other.”
“That sums up your approach to life”
“What do you mean?”
“You think it’s so dangerous you run away from it. You hate it. You never enjoy Life.”
“Well,” said Buta Singh, “you’re a slave to every passing fashion and whim, including women. You only have to see one and your tongue hangs out like a red carpet. So she walks all over you!”
“You’re scared of the world, that’s why you’re scared of women.”
“You’re a slave to the world, that’s why you’re a slave to women.”
Darshan Kaur had been listening to this conversation with great interest. “Neither of you are Sikhs,” she finally declared. Harminder Singh and Buta Singh looked shocked. “A Sikh is not a slave of the world, nor scared of the world. A Sikh enjoys the world while being the slave of God, like a mother doing her household chores while looking after her baby, or a little boy flying a kite while talking to his friends.”
She continued,
“The religions did what you are doing. They were confused by women, confused by life. So they said, `Keep her under control through rituals and stories’, but if you can’t do that `run away from her.’ This is not the Way. Religions have stories and rituals to live in the world, but if you want to find God, they tell you to leave living altogether and live in deserts and jungles. The Way is different: treat women as your friends, as your equals while remaining attached to God. Enjoy life, while remaining above it, attached to God. Be like the swan which, remaining in the water, does not drown and which diving deep finds rare pearls.
This world in which we live is a lake, filled with waters of fire (desires).
In this lake is the quicksand of attachment, in which people are sinking.
(Rehras Sahib, Asa Mahalla 1)
Kanwar Ranvir Singh