Amrit:  Its merits

 

The merits of Amrit are countless indeed.  A contact with It renders all other joys and pleasures insipid and makes one a true renunciate.

No longe does he hunger and thirst for things of the world,

He sees Him as All-pervading, in the core of his heart;

Dyed in the color of Amrit, he renounces all and revels in his Master and his teachings.  *79

                                                                                 GURU NANAK

The Water of Life abides in each heart is Its richness.  He who tastes of It knows Its exhilarating influence.  Communion with the Power of God is union with God, and one becomes fearless even of death, the last enemy of man.  Not only do they achieve freedom but many another along with them gets freed.

Those who relish It become fearless by saturating themselves in the sweet elixir of Naam.

This one gets through the grace of God, and transcends the realm of Kal.  *80

                                                                       GURU AMAR DAS

Amrit in Its fullness lies within,

Ye may relish It by an actual contact,

Thou hast cheated the whole world which is going round and round;

He who follows the Master derives the greatest benefit,

He who tastes of the true ambrosia is not molested by death;

Not only does he achieve freedom,

But many another he puts on the Path.  *81

                                                                       GURU RAM DAS

The wondrous gift of Amrit confers many supernatural powers on him who partakesof it, and grants peace and ecstasy.  Through it one is rid of all pain and sorrow, doubt and skepticism, lusts and passions, and is freed from the most ancient malady of egotism; and all desires and cravings fall off like dry leaves as if by an enchanter driven.  The mind too gets steady and rarefied.  Ultimately one gains salvation and attains to the state of Sehaj, and is honored in the Presence of God.

From the teachings of the Masters, who laid great emphasis on communion with Him, it is clear that Amrit is nothing but Naam, Shabd or Word, and this Pool of Nectar lies within each one of us but becomes manifest only through a glance of grace from some true Saint who enables us to partake of It.

Amongst the Sikhs there is the practice of preparing "amrit" with the help of a sword.  By a careful study of the matter we realize that this too is in fact prepared with the help of Naam or Bani.  The consciousness is first turned inward so as to contact the Inner Sound Principle, and then as it comes down saturated in the divine it is turned without, converting the preparation into an Amrit.  It is only a competent Master (a true Khalsa with full refulgent light in him) who can, by his glance of grace, prepare the Amrit, and whoever partakes of It becomes truly intuned.  A saint with eyes bubbling over with divine intoxication can in an instant take one to the mount of transfiguration and make him into a saint.

A glance of grace from a saint makes thee a saint.  *82

                                                                       GURU ARJAN

One can drink of the divine Nectar through the grace of a Satguru, and truly blessed are they who get an access thereto: they rise into the light of Universal Consciousness and gain salvation from the endless wheel of births and deaths, and live in perpetual ecstasy enjoying His beatitude.

By drinking of the ambrosia one lives forever,

By communion with the Lord, one is ever in a state of bliss;

While in the world one remains in contentment without any cares and anxieties;

Let the mind and soul be intoxicated by the sweet fragrance of the lotus feet of God,

Nanak says: O Lord! I am ever devoted to such as Chatrak feels exhilarated by the rain drop.  *83

                                                                                 GURU ARJAN