The entire construction of the world has been done according to a system. Whatever has been created or is being built must have some order in it. A wall can be constructed only by placing the bricks in a proper sequence. Railways, motor vehicles, and aeroplanes are manufactured according to a definite plan; their use is also regulated by constitutional rules.
Orderly sound is called music. Pronouncing words in a particular order gives birth to poetry. If the movements of the body follow a rhythm, it is called dance. God has created the parts of the body—the nerves, heart, brain, etc.—according to a perfect system.
Gur-Wak:
ਪੁਤਰੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਬਿਧਿ ਕਰਿ ਥਾਟੀ ॥ (ਅੰਗ ੩੭੪)
putrī terī biDh kar thati.
“The puppet of the body has been fashioned with great skill.” (Ang 374)
In reality, life itself is the name of an arrangement.
ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ ਕਿਆ ਹੈ ਤਰਤੀਬ ਅਨਾਸਰ ਦਾ ਜ਼ਹੂਰ,
ਮੌਤ ਕਿਆ ਹੈ ਇਨਹੀ ਅਜਜ਼ਾਂ ਕਾ ਪਰੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਹੋਨਾ।
Zindagi kya hai tartib-e-anaṣir ka ẓuhur,
Maut kya hai in hi ajzan ka pareshan hona.
Life is the manifestation of elements arranged in order;
Death is the scattering of these very elements.
If all the actions of a person are in proper order, he is called a Saint, Gurmukh, or Bhagat.
If a person’s habits—eating, drinking, dressing, waking, sitting, sleeping, walking, laughing, and weeping—become disciplined, then he can truly enjoy the flavour of life. All bliss and real happiness lie in living according to discipline and order. One must organize life systematically; this requires intense effort and penance. No effort is required to live in disorder.
Producing music on a sitar is not everyone’s job, but anyone can break it. A piece of cloth can be turned into a beautiful dress, and bricks into a palace, but such creation requires hard work. Destroying them requires none. Not everyone can write a book filled with lofty thoughts, but anyone can tear it apart.
To become contented, calm, disciplined, generous, and large-hearted requires long, sincere self-discipline. But anyone can easily become angry, greedy, deceitful, or pitiless.
Water naturally flows downward, but effort is needed to push it upward. Humanity has learned to refine and beautify the world around it: keeping homes tidy, turning land into gardens and fields, shaping clay into pots, refining iron into useful machines, spinning cotton into fine cloth, and crafting gold into ornaments. These are all proofs of human skill.
Yet, alas! In adorning everything else, man has forgotten to adorn himself. Everything around him is purified and decorated—except the human being. Everything looks almost perfect, but human life does not.
Just as we prefer things that are clean and well-arranged, in the same way, God loves only those who are pure and who live with discipline.
ਆਪੁ ਸਵਾਰਹਿ ਮੈ ਮਿਲਹਿ ਮੈ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਸੁਖੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
aap savaareh mai milah; mai milia sukh hoe.
“Adorn yourself, and you shall meet Me; meeting Me, you shall find peace.”
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਜੇ ਤੂ ਮੇਰਾ ਹੋਇ ਰਹਹਿ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਹੋਇ ॥੯੫॥ (ਅੰਗ ੧੩੮੨)
Farida je tu mera hoi reheh, sabh jag tera hoi.
“O Farid, if you belong to Me, the whole world will belong to you.” (Ang 1382)
Giani Sant Singh Maskeen