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Guru Teghbahadar Sahib advises individuals to refrain from wrongdoings and connect with IkOankar (the Divine). Individuals are reminded about the preciousness of life and that instilling the virtues of IkOankar within makes life fruitful.
gaüṛī   mahalā  9.  
 
nar  acet    pāp  te  ḍaru  re.  
dīn  daïāl    sagal  bhai  bhanjan     sarani  tāhi  tum  paru  re.1.  rahāu.  
bed  purān  jās  gun  gāvat    ko    nāmu  hīai  mo  dharu  re.  
pāvan  nāmu  jagati  mai    hari  ko   simari  simari  kasmal  sabh  haru  re.1.  
mānas  deh  bahuri  nah  pāvai   kachū  upāu  mukati    karu  re.  
nānak  kahat    gāi  karunāmai   bhavsāgar  kai  pāri  utaru  re.2.9.251.  
-Guru  Granth  Sahib  220  
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GAURI 9
In the ninth composition, Guru Teghbahadar says, O ignorant one! Fear sin. Come into the sanctuary of the One who is compassionate to the weak, the Destroyer of all fears, O ignorant one! There is so much classically religious belief about ‘sin’ and punishment that causes people to live in fear and anxiety. And we understand that we are not living conscious lives or lives in remembrance, so there is even more fear of what transgressions we may have made both knowingly and unknowingly. The Guru says that if we are fearful of sins or transgressions, we ought to exist in praise of IkOankar (One Universal Integrative Force, 1Force, the One). We ought to destroy our fear by being fearful or avoidant of sinful deeds or transgressions, not of those who sin or transgress. An element of forgiveness underlies this because the understanding is that to transgress is to be flawed and human and that no one is condemned to their sinful deeds. We can seek the sanctuary of the Compassionate One, who destroys our fears, who can help us change the way we locate ourselves in this fear of sin. 
 
O ignorant one! Fear sin. The Guru says that the religious texts have been singing the virtuous fame of that One, IkOankar, so we ought to place the Nam, or Identification of that One, in our hearts. We ought to make our way towards the Divine, the Source of compassion. Only the Identity of the 1-Light, the Remover of suffering, the Fear-eliminator, is auspicious or sacred in this world. We can remove our sins by remembering and remembering and remembering the Identity of that One. We can become conscious in our living, and in that conscious living, our deeds will become emulative of the Compassionate. We will no longer transgress. 
 
O ignorant one! Fear sin. The Guru urges us to make some effort towards freedom, reminding us that we will not receive these human bodies again. This is our opportunity, and there is an urgency needed in this effort. In classically religious beliefs about ‘sin’ and punishment and freedom, the experience of freedom does not come until after life is over. The Guru is asking us to think about how to free ourselves now and make an effort now. How can we cross the world ocean and make this life fruitful? We can sing of the Compassionate One, who will help us become conscious in our living, compassionate in our living, and free here and now. 
 
The Guru urges us to change our perspectives on fear and sin, to fear the act of transgressing rather than fearing or condemning others and ourselves for transgressing. If we can give ourselves that tiny bit of compassion, we can also have enough compassion for ourselves to enter the sanctuary of the Compassionate One. We can start to form an understanding of grace and become conscious and compassionate in our behavior, and urgent in our efforts to free ourselves here and now, rather than later. Will we give ourselves that morsel of compassion now? Will we seek the sanctuary of the Compassionate One here? Will we make our efforts towards freedom today? 
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