Death is a universal truth. We are reminded of this fact so often, that all who come must go. We are presented with this reality in a multitude of ways throughout our lifetimes—multiple opportunities to learn the lessons it has to teach us about temporariness, about connection to IkOankar (the One), and grief. But somehow, each time, it feels like we are learning the lesson for the first time.

Somehow, we still struggle to work through the emotions that overtake us when we experience loss.

This week, we turn to Sadd, revealed by Baba Sundar Ji, the great-grandson of Guru Amardas Sahib, narrating the protocols to be observed after the departure of Guru Amardas Sahib from the earthly realm as described by the Guru himself.

In the fourth stanza, we journey into the past, and the scene is set: Guru Amardas Sahib gathers his family and beloved Sikhs, knowing his time of departure is near. Seated among them, he says:

Lest anyone cry after me, that person will not be pleasing to me at all.

What does this mean? This is not a command born of coldness or apathy, but a sincere and tender wish: please do not cry after me. It will not make me happy.

We are not being asked to suppress or ignore our grief. The Guru knows that we are human. The Guru meets us in our humanity and gently points us toward a reframing. We are not condemned or belittled for our sadness. We are only asked to expand our thinking.

This is a loving invitation to all of us—an invitation to see what the Guru sees:

If a friend is enrobed with honor, their companion rejoices, to whom the honor of the friend is pleasing.
Having contemplated, you see, O children! O siblings! The 1-Light is enrobing your eternal Guru with honor.

Let us think of those we love deeply. Let us imagine we are watching them receive the highest honor of their life. Is it sadness that overcomes us, or joy? The Guru gently urges us to see death in a new light. This is an honor that the One is giving him—gracing him with eternal union. We live in a world that has no language for the joy in this departure. When someone we love is dying, we often hear them say they are ready, that they want to go home. Sometimes, we find those words hard to sit with.

The Guru asks us to understand this process as a celebration, a great honor, a return to the Light from which we came. What is death but an embrace from the One we have always belonged to? What is death but a final call to return home?

To be called home is a great joy. To be a part of the Hukam (Command) of the One is a great honor.

What a beautiful gift for all of us, not only in how to understand death, but also in how to live:

With love for those who leave us, and for those we will one day leave.
With loving surrender to the Command of IkOankar.
With joy at the chance to participate in the fruition of the Command—in beginnings and in endings.

May we see death in a new light.
May we find joy even in this departure.

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!