Photo by Ravitej Singh
This article is courtesy of Journey into the Heart of Sikh Dharma and written by Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa (VA)
I have always experienced a certain feeling of gravity when I think of Amrit vows – I take the process and ceremony very seriously. While I have always felt an overwhelming love of the Guru, and the deepest gratitude that my soul came into the Sikh path during this lifetime, I have held off on taking Amrit thus far. I needed to feel I was really ready on all levels, and fully done with and “played out” on certain aspects of myself, and experiences I felt the need to explore in this lifetime– parts of the karmic (versus dharmic) aspect of my journey in this incarnation.
Taking Amrit feels akin in level of commitment and seriousness to that of marriage – which makes sense, since it is one’s marriage to the Guru and the infinite. Like any big decision or milestone in life (marriage, children, etc.), Amrit requires a certain type of leap, a certain surrender that is very deep and profound. You know you are onto something real when you feel both giddy with excitement and slightly terrified at the same time.
When I was doing the meditation assigned for the Journey into the Heart of Sikh Dharma class on Amrit, I had a very profound spiritual experience. During the middle of the meditation, I experienced a moment of feeling “shuniya” – the zero point of ultimate Stillness. I was watching my life’s journey to this point through my soul’s eyes and could see myself at a spiritual crossroads. As I was approaching the crossroads, I could clearly see my destiny written out and knew that me walking toward this moment was written from the beginning. There was piercing clarity. I saw a khanda (double-edged sword) sitting in the middle of a greyish blue pond of water – a pool of infinity. I could hear drops dripping slowly from above and echoing continuously around it. The moment felt like it was stretching into infinity. I experienced a feeling of inevitability around myself ultimately taking Amrit and saw myself falling through space into the Guru’s arms.
There were times in my life in the past, when it felt like I was living in a constant state of duality, and I experienced doubts about whether or not I was up to the task of taking Amrit, or could make it work socially, career-wise, discipline-wise or otherwise. But at the same time my heart has always drawn me irresistibly toward Amrit. My ultimately taking Amrit has always felt inevitable – despite my ego’s resistance and protest, the call and the pull has always been too strong to ultimately resist.
To me, Amrit feels, and has always felt, like a magnet pulling me in. I am so humbled that the Guru has drawn me in and given me this opportunity in this lifetime. The Guru blesses us with devotion, and the ability to bow and experience the Lotus feet, and ultimate Reality and Divinity while we are in human form.
As our presenter for the session, Hari Kaur, beautifully stated, “Taking Amrit is a gift that allows us to experience divine love and sweetness beyond words. The experience was a gift from the Divine actualized by Guru Gobind Singh. It’s just you and the Guru in that wonderful moment. Today, going through Amrit vows puts us into a moment beyond time and space, where it is just your Soul and God. It is a rebirth in the sense that it is the moment in which we recognize the true Guru. Our human selves obtain knowledge of our souls and understanding that there is ultimate grace and a path to Enlightenment beyond reincarnation and the world ocean.”
This was an assignment from the Journey into the Heart of Sikh Dharma tele-course.
Journey into the Heart of Sikh Dharma is a small group class, meeting together via telephone biweekly with an expert presenter and the course facilitator.
This course will allow you to delve more deeply into a relationship with your spiritual path, and will also enrich your practice and understanding of Kundalini Yoga – it is a perfect complement or follow up to Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training.
The course involves an investment of time leading up to each session. Short reading, experiential, and written assignments are given. In addition, between classes, you are invited to explore your relationship with the material with another participant in your section. Your assignments are sent to the facilitator before each class. Highlights from each person’s reflections are shared during the class for learning and feedback.
Also, all students choose seva projects to do during the course as an offering to integrate the learning to the living experience.
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