|
Hunger and Satiety
Human body is the aggregate of countless hungers. Then the whole life is spent on satiating those hungers. When one hunger is satiated, then many new hungers come into being, and one day life comes to an end in these hungers.
The whole taste of the matter is hidden in the hunger: GurWak:
hunger and tasty food are tied together.
{SGGS, p 1288}
Hunger and matter are closely associated like body and skirt of a garment. A person, hungry since two days, feels even the dry bread so tasty but the satiated person cannot enjoy the same happiness in a food of even thirty six types.
If a childless person, who is wandering in holy places and at the doors of saints for the gift of one son, gets one son, then it is difficult to measure his happiness. If a father of five sons gets the sixth, then he considers this event very bothersome.
A shirt of course cloth gives so much pleasure to a naked person but a person, having suite-cases full of clothes, cannot get that much pleasure. It is clear from these examples that hunger and taste have a deep mutual bond. Hunger exists in all living beings. But every living being satiates his hunger with separate matter. Birds, insects, cattle, animals-hunger exists in everyone's life. Someone fulfils one's hunger by eating blade of grass, someone else by picking up grains and someone else by eating meat.
In a similar way hunger exists in every human being's life, but every man satiates his hunger with different substances. A person from Punjab eats wheat gladly. Persons from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bengal are fond of eating rice. People of some parts of Madhya Pradesh are fond of eating millet.
In the same way thirst exists in every living being. Somebody drinks water from well to quench his thirst. Someone else quenches his thirst by taking water from hand pump at his house. Someone takes river of fountain water to quench the thirst. Thirst is same in every living being. But water is from different places.
Hunger is same in all. But food is different. Every person wants to cover nakedness, but style of wearing clothes is separate. Everyone wants money but earning methods are different. Someone is earning money by becoming shopkeeper while someone else earns money by doing service. Somebody earns money by farming and someone else by doing business.
In the same manner hunger of Faith exists in all human beings. But the way to practice religion could not become same uptil now. Someone offer prayers prescribed by Mohammadan Law, someone else does worship by reading scriptures, some other person does so by repeating the name of deity or God.
A person who does not feel the hunger for food, is considered sick. Spiritually that person is sick who does not feel the hunger for religion. Indeed the absence of hunger is the sign of sickness. Under the hungers of body and mind, the spiritual hunger is hidden. To awaken this hunger it is necessary to give chooran (Indian powder of some medicine ingredients used for improving digestion) of discourse and Kirtan (Singing in the praise of God). With the birth of spiritual hunger all sufferings ends.
If someone feels hunger for the True Name,
that hunger shall consume his pain.1.
{SGGS, p9}
Every hunger gives birth to one suffering. The hunger for wealth is a pain. The hunger for food is also a pain. The hunger for offspring, House or Supermacy is the source for pain. Hunger and pain always go together. But there is one hunger-for the Name of God, which if kindles in human's life, then all suffering and pain vanishes.
Any matter can relieve that hunger only which exists for that matter. But God's Name relieves all types of hunger. Therefore all the suffering comes to an end.
|
Back to home page