A single picture can sometimes create an avalanche of memories. Memories so fond and over powering that you realize their worth now, much later after the actual moment. The overwhelming emotion is such that your heart swells up with love hitherto you have unknown of, a longing of that smile that is now captured in the lens of your heart. 'These are the matters of the heart...' they say and they often last for a lifetime, for it is the timeless love that the heart cherishes, pure and unadulterated love that only the Lord and Master can give, despite the tantrums and impossble demands we place on Him. And what does He demand of it in return? or rather does he expect anything in return at all.
Legend says that when Sri Satguru Gobind Singh Ji formed the Khalsa, He asked for 5 human heads, 5 people who would sacrifice themselves at the altar of the Lord, the 5 who would become the chosen 5, the Punj Piaras, as we know them today. Times were tough, the Mughals were at their zenith, morale was at an all time low and here was the Guru asking for heads. As destiny would have it , the brave 5 rose to the occassion and the rest as we know is history and the rise of the Khalsa.
Three hundred plus years later the Moghuls are no more, the rule of the land is in the hands of the voted representatives and morale ? Depending on who you are and what your status is, could be on the either side of the pendulum. In an environment of relatively, comparably free country if a Guru was to ask for something today what would it be? a head? In a society wound with several faiths, surely that wouldn't be an issue now. Wouldn't several of us say and probably even offer our heads, if and when the Guru asked? Yes we would. But is this what He would desire? The surprising answer lies in a simple statement of His Holiness Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji...
In a poigant moment He had remarked with a smile that could be only His, I do not demand a head or a sacrifice on the altar, I know several will do it if asked for. What I ask for though is - your Heart, can you Love me as unflinchingly as I Love you, can follow the ideals of our relationship, can you adhere to the tenets of Sewa, Simran and shun jealously and falsehood. For if you can do that then you would have given me your Heart. After all a Sikh-Guru relationship is a matter of the heart. I don't need a Head, I need you, your Heart and your unconditional love, so that history can then repeat our folk lore and be an example onto others for generations to come.
May we all follow the path with His benevolence and make Him proud of us and may history remind the future generations here is a Satguru, the True Master who asked for the Hearts of His loved ones.
Dhan Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji