Recently the severe storm Amphan on the east coast of India did a lot of life and property damage. The storm broke the record of 283 years. Watching the devastation on TV was quite painful. Imagining living through one such storm is sure to send a shiver up through the spine. Now if we add an eyewitness account or a report to the experience that would really be like compounding the suffering thousand times. Imagining the scenario and contemplating on it, spiritually inclined Bhupinder Singh Houston contemplates the times of Bhagat Kabir and explores his recorded legacy of how divine wisdom swept through his life. The author also sketches the transformation.

BHAGAT KABIR HAS USED THE METAPHOR OF A STORM to describe his inner transformation. The storm swept through him awakening divine wisdom, higher intellect in him. It came so suddenly and with such intensity that Bhagat Kabir feels that the storm metaphor captures the essence of its unfolding. The description of the after-effects of the storm has been beautifully captured by Bhagat Kabir in the composition. He says:

–Behold, O Brothers of Destiny, the storm of spiritual wisdom has come. It has totally blown away the thatched huts of doubt, confusion and torn apart the bonds of Maya. 1. Pause. The two pillars of double-mindedness have fallen, and the beams of emotional attachment have come crashing down. The thatched roof of greed has caved in, and the pitcher of evil-mindedness has been broken. 1. Your servant is drenched with the rain that has fallen in this storm. Says Kabir, my mind became enlightened when I saw the sunrise. 2.43.Guru Granth Sahib, Page 331

For Bhagat Kabir, divine wisdom came with an intensity of a storm, first, it knocked off the four thatched walls of the hut. Kabir Ji compares human life to a thatched hut which he equates to the hut/house of ignorance. Although the hut is quite fragile to withstand severe weather conditions, yet its cosiness comforts us. The hay mats of doubts and confusion making the four walls blew away, along with the cords of illusion used to secure them.

In effect, he is saying that the ignorance of the mind is tied with strings of illusion to the beams and pillars of the hut. Next, he describes the pillars by saying that the two pillars representing the double-mindedness or duality supporting the hut to keep it erected came down. When the pillars came down the propped up beams of attachment also hit the ground.

Just as pillars acting as props support the hut, the same way we are looking to others for props in the form of support to help us during our challenges in life. We put our expectations on them, yet carry a lingering doubt in our mind if they will come through at the time of reckoning or not? When the expectations are not met, there is disillusionment, disappointment, resentment plus soured relationships. Then, that grudge is carried on for a very long time. As the beams and pillars caved in, the thatched roof of greed caved in as well. Inside the hut, there was a clay pitcher of false wisdom or evil-mindedness which shattered to pieces by the impact. So, the false wisdom was completely smashed to pieces in the wake.

The heavy downpour followed the severe storm. Bhagat Kabir compares it to the shower of Divine Naam -the Name of God Almighty, that completely drenched him, in the process of transforming and rejuvenating him. With the false wisdom sheltered in the hut of ignorance already crushed, a new detachment took birth within, pushing away doubts, fickle mindedness, and fears, along with evil thoughts that are prompting the mind to implement them.

The evil deeds as a direct result of evil thoughts were also completely banished. All the impediments to divine wisdom were washed away, like being cleaned in a heavy downpour. Now, the fickle mindedness was purged from within, replaced with equipoise and faith in Almighty.

When the downpour finally stopped early next morning the bright sun came out and everything was glittering, pristine, reflecting in the Sun. The bright sun and clear skies that greet the dawn of the new day came in the form of divine wisdom. The clear bright spectacle was a realization that everything that he was witnessing had the divine essence in it and the same essence was inside him as well. This is the dawn of divine wisdom, which has driven away the false wisdom.

The transformation in the states of the mind occurs thus:

Original State of Mind	New /Transformed State of Mind
Doubt	Faith
Illusion	Clarity
Duality/Double-mindedness	Firm conviction
Attachment	Detachment
Greedy/Selfish	Altruistic
False Wisdom	Divine Wisdom

So, the false wisdom acted like a shell, a capsule containing the other first five listed above it. The storm like divine wisdom dawned, driving away the wavering mind, illusion, confusion, greed, and attachment to the world. The double-mindedness which was ferociously swinging like a pendulum from one extreme to another completely stopped moving.

Now, his mind was in a neutral state, poised, totally calm without any lust, greed, craving or attachment to the world. As the new day dawned, the bright Sun rose, that illuminated his mind with the new divine wisdom. The mind had transcended limitations. Now, it saw the divine in everything and in himself as well. Everything witnessed or observed was part of the Limitless. The blissful feeling that he experienced, he shared it in these words:

“ਅਬ ਹਮ ਤੁਮ ਏਕ ਭਏ ਹਹਿ ਏਕੈ ਦੇਖਤ ਮਨੁ ਪਤੀਆਹੀ ॥੧॥”
Now, You and I have become one; seeing this, my mind is content.
Guru Granth Sahib, Page 339

An en­gi­neer by pro­fes­sion, hail­ing from Myan­mar, ed­u­cated in In­dia, Bhupin­der Singh is a Hous­ton-based busi­ness­man, with a keen in­ter­est in writ­ing books and ar­ti­cles on Sikh his­tory, mo­ti­va­tion and spir­i­tu­al­ity.