Goindwal – A Poem by Gurutej Singh Khalsa

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Where the Land lies green on fertile ground,
At the bend of the river, Goindwal is found,
In the humble village lived three Gurus;
Amar Das and Ram Das, and Arjan too

At the bottom of the eighty-four steps
The pilgrims go to take their dips;
To wash away their karmas and pains
It takes that water to remove those stains.

But up in the village of Goindwal,
In a sacred house with a peg in the wall,
Lived Guru Amar Das, the third Guru,
In the place where Arjan was born and grew.

I walked those streets to find that place
Where Guru sat in his sacred space,
Each step brought me closer to understand
That this path was carved by Guru’s hand.

For against that wall Guru would sit
And fate and destiny he would knit
Together in his meditations deep,
with his hair tied so that he wouldn’t sleep.

Around that peg his hair was tied,
To wake him up whenever he tried
To sleep, instead of meditate;
It pulled him up to stay awake.

And I understood, when I saw that wall,
That this path is the same for us all,
That only when we sit and meditate
Can we find the substance that makes us great.

It is the same for me, the same for you
As it was the same for each Guru;
That day by day we must sit and grind
ourselves slowly, slowly but exceedingly fine.

That wooden peg is smooth and worn
In the house where Arjan was born,
For the Guru was a man like you or me
Who followed this path to Victory.

Four hundred years later, here in the West,
Each new day we rise and face the test
To identify ourselves and stand our ground,
In this land where broken hearts are found.

The course hasn’t changed since Guru’s time,
We all must bow low to be divine,
Japa and Tapa we must combine,
To give the light to shunya’s shine.

Guru has walked this way before,
As I walk it now to find his door
And it gives me hope when I recall
that humble peg in Goindwal.

~ Espanola, September 5, 1994

Gurutej-Singh-202x300Gurutej Singh Khalsa is a yogi, warrior, businessman, poet, healer, and teacher. For 35 years he studied Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of the Sikhs from his teacher Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, aka Yogi Bhajan (1929 – 2004). As a trained law enforcement officer, Gurutej was a personal bodyguard and aide to Yogi Bhajan and traveled the world with him. He is the Founder of Akal Security, Inc., which he grew from a small start-up business in his living room to the largest privately held security services contractor in the United States and largest provider of protective services to the U.S. Government. Gurutej is a respected and recognized teacher, speaker, healer, and counsellor in his own right and has taught Kundalini Yoga, the science of meditation, and the teachings of the Sikhs all over the world. In 2001 he published a book of poetry, Children of the Cusp, about his experiences as a student on the spiritual path under the guidance of a great teacher. In 2014 he published his moving and inspiring novel RAJNI, which was awarded the Gold Seal of Literary Excellence. Drawn from myth, legend, and historical events and the first of a trilogy,RAJNI is a deeply moving epic about the powers of love, sacrifice, and the elevation of the soul. Gurutej Singh lives in Singapore with his wife and son. Click here to purchase a copy of Children of the Cusp


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  1. Gurubachan Singh Khalsa says:

    What a beautiful poem. Gurutej is such a master at so many things and his poems and books really express his heart and devotion.Thank you for all your inspiration.

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