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Babar Vani/Free will and Karma

asked 2016-02-19 16:10:25 -0600

strongKaur gravatar image

updated 2016-02-24 18:06:39 -0600

Guruka Singh gravatar image

I'm trying to understand Babar Vani. I've read forums where people write Babar was a chosen agent by God citing- "The Creator Himself does not take the blame, but has sent the Mughal as the messenger of death" (page 360). Does it mean that because Babur was chosen by God to murder people ,etc. who had bad karma? Or does it mean that Babur, through his free will, chose to do that? My understanding of Karma and free will was that God's hukam rules all, including the law of Karma. We all exercise free will but we reap what we sow and that sets up for our next life. Forgive me, I've read through tons of old Sikhnet forums but i still don't understand the meaning of "chosen agent."

Forgive me if i've made any mistakes, i'm just beginning to learn about all this.

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answered 2016-02-24 18:05:57 -0600

Guruka Singh gravatar image

updated 2016-02-26 12:11:24 -0600

Your understanding is correct. Guru Ji is saying that even the most barbaric and painful events happen in God's will. Yes, Babar killed over a million and Hitler killed over eight million and it all happened in God's will. They were, as you say, 'agents' through which actions took place.

"What can the poor wooden puppet do? The Master Puppeteer knows everything. As the Puppeteer dresses the puppet, so is the role the puppet plays." ANG 206 (Guru Arjan Dev Ji)

When we read all four verses of Babar Vani we feel how deeply Guru Nanak Dev Ji felt the pain of the slaughter that was happening, and yet in the midst of that pain, with barbarity and death all around, he says - do not blame God. He understands that, no matter how horrifying, everything happens for a reason and when we judge it from our limited consciousness we always look to place blame, whether on Babar, or on God for letting it happen. Karma is very impersonal. It's just the law of cause and effect. It's as impersonal as Newton's third law of motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It's not "good" karma and "bad" karma, it's just the universe in equilibrium. The beauty of Babar Vani is that we feel the depth of his pain and grief and Guru Ji's deep humanity but we also experience his vast, cosmic understanding of the events which are unfolding.

There is a vid on free will/God's will here.

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Thank you for the explanation!

strongKaur gravatar imagestrongKaur ( 2016-02-24 18:59:29 -0600 )edit

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Asked: 2016-02-19 16:10:25 -0600

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Last updated: Feb 26 '16