Nirbhau Nirvair - Fearless and All-loving is He
5. Nirbhau Nirvair - Fearless and All-loving is He
These two words, Nirbhau and Nirvair, are adjectives qualifying the
Lord of the universe, Ishwara, the Kartaa Purakh. On a higher and
subtler level, the same adjectives indicate the qualities necessary
for the seeker on the quest for Truth.
The Lord is nirbhau or 'fearless' because there is none higher than
Him; at the same time, there is nothing other than Him. "Higher" in
the sense that there is no one more powerful than Him, nor is there
anyone more knowledgeable than He is.
Also, since He is the Cause of everything, there is no one older than
Him whom He needs to fear. There is no one to boss over Him, so to
speak. He is the Supreme Boss.
Fear is always of something other than oneself. One is never afraid
of oneself. When you are all alone, there is nothing to fear. But if
you are on a street and you hear footsteps, you are afraid. Even when
we are alone, the fear is not of ourselves but of an imagined someone
hiding somewhere. Fear is always in reference to another. Why, even a
friend or close relative can cause us harm! Thus, for the Lord who
knows that He alone is, there is no fear.
Fear can also be of the unknown. But then the Creator is All-knowing.
One also fears the loss of something dear, or the non-fulfillment of
one's desires. But the Lord is Infinite. As such He experiences no
loss and is never incomplete. by the same token He is without desire.
Hence He is totally Fearless.
One may think that such a powerful, fearless person could be a
terror, a mad sultan or a dictator ever ready to punish anyone who
displeases Him. He the Fearless One would thus Himself become our
greatest fear. No! Guru Nanakji says the Lord is Nirvair, He
is 'without hatred, enmity or vindictiveness'; for there is no one
separate from Him.
Think: do you hate any part of yourself? Would you in your proper
senses inflict any harm on yourself? How many times must your own
finger have poked your eye and caused you pain! Did you can and throw
away that finger? Or do you hate it now, even a little? In fact the
very eye that was poked carefully examines the same finger when it is
cut. Does the eye say, "You poked me, so now you should suffer"? No,
because we know that all the parts form one body.
The Lord who sees all as His own Self, how can He hate anyone or harm
anyone? He is All-loving. He who wants to know this Nirbhau, Nirvair,
Kartaa Purakh should himself become fearless and un-vindictive, for
fear and vindictiveness sabotage our peace of mind, create countless
agitations and cover the blissful divinity lying within. A saadhak
or 'seeker' cannot afford to entertain any of these negative
qualities.
It is because of our lack of faith in the all-powerful, omnipotent,
loving and compassionate Lord that we have fear. A devotee need not
fear anyone or anything. Even the fear of not reaching our goals
should be dropped. The Lord is just and ever compassionate.
Subjectively live in the knowledge that no harm can ever come to the
Atman, the Self. Only the very rare, courageous few (kashchid
dheerah), the Upanishads declare, can tread the path to perfection.
Fear dissipates all the mental stamina one needs to grasp the subtle
knowledge and meditate on the Reality.
When there is fear in the mind, where is there place for God? Neither
is there any place for God where there is enmity. It is interesting
to note that one hates one's enemy and sometimes even wishes the
latter were dead, but all the while he keeps that enemy alive in his
own memory, in his heart.
Realize: we alone keep the enmity burning in our hearts and suffer.
He who has devotion to the Lord, how can he hate anyone? All are Him
alone in the different forms, all are His expressions. Seen from the
subjective standpoint, the one Self alone is, so what is there for me
to fear, and what is there for me to hate?
The ego, this sense of individuality with all its likes and dislikes,
false expectations and desires, is the cause of all fear and enmity.
Surrender this ego at the feet of the Lord. Give up the sense of
distinction. Give up even the thought that God is separate from you,
for if you don't, there will still be the fear of being punished. In
love come to identify with Him.
There is nothing to fear or hate, not even the terrible devil who is
sometimes over-glorified (i.e. over-emphasized) in certain religions.
God alone is and He is All-loving. So love all and hate none. He who
has no enemies has nothing and no one to fear.
One may say all this is fine, but the greatest fear in this world is
of death!
He who has no fear of death fears nothing. Therefore Sri Guru Nanakji
glorifies the lord as Akaal Moorat.
5. Nirbhau Nirvair - Fearless and All-loving is He
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Guru Granth Sahib: 1. Mool Mantra - Fundamental Meanings
Guru Granth Sahib: 2. Ik Onkaar - The One God, the Absolute Reality
Guru Granth Sahib: 3. Satnaam - His name is Sat, Ever True
Guru Granth Sahib: 4. Kartaa Purakh - The Only Doer, the One Creator
Guru Granth Sahib: 5. Nirbhau Nirvair - Fearless and All-loving is He
Guru Granth Sahib: 6. Akaal Moorat - His Form (Existence) Transcends Time
Guru Granth Sahib: 7. Ajuni - He is Without Birth or Beginning
Guru Granth Sahib: 8. Saibangh - He is Self-existent and Self-illuminating
Guru Granth Sahib: 9. Gurparsaad - The Grace of the Guru
Guru Granth Sahib: 10. Jap - Chant
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