One of the most commonly accepted truths in the world today is you cannot have everything. It's so silently embedded in our consciousness that we no longer aspire for it. If you are wealthy and successful, you will not have time. If you have time, you may not be making the most of your potential. You will likely not have money if you have a creative talent. If you are born into a position of privilege and power, you will not have life experiences that can keep you rooted. If you have a scientific bent of mind, you cannot be spiritual. If you are spiritual, you lack rationality. The list of what we cannot do is endless.
Do you know of anyone who has everything? I would typically tell you the story of my guru Om Swami, who meditated since childhood and ran a multi-million dollar business before leaving it all to do Sadhana in the Himalayas and realized his ultimate goal of merging with the object of his devotion. However, his example is intimidating since the distance between my current position and liberation seems infinite.
Hence, I wanted to talk about someone I am greatly inspired by and hope to emulate in this lifetime. According to me, he has everything. I am talking about Shivpreet Singh, an entrepreneur, CEO, poet, musician, and, most importantly, a devotee of the highest caliber. When you hear him sing, something melts inside you because he becomes one with the shabad he is singing, piercing the bubble of conditioning we build around ourselves.
Shivpreet was born in Katmandu and is the tenth direct descendent of the celebrated 17th-century Sikh spiritual poet Bhai Nandlal Goya, known as the crown jewel of Guru Gobind Singhji's court. Bhai Nandlal studied and used parables from Hindi, Sanskrit, and Persian in his poetry, and you can see the same strain of cosmic oneness when you listen to Shivpreet's compositions.
He started learning Indian classical music at the age of five from legendary Pandit Raghunath Prasanna of the Benaras Lineage. He studied English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Sanskrit in his early years. He grew up as a teenage musical prodigy who performed before the Indian president, Giani Zail Singh, when he was fifteen.
He then moved to the United States and graduated from the UC Berkley School with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in music. His first CD, Ardas, was launched in 1997, and he continued researching the best ways to blend classical Indian and Western music. While his musical career flourished, he also grew by leaps and bounds in the field of Biotechnology. Forbes rated him one of the leading equity research analysts in the Biotechnology industry before he founded BioRamon Pharmaceuticals.
Most people would be happy having a slice of Shivpreet's life - a singer, musician, entrepreneur, CEO, poet, writer, and most importantly, a devotee who gives back to the culture and tradition that shaped him. How do you become like Shivpreet?
Someone once asked King Janaka how he could have everything. He was an emperor, an enlightened person, the father of the Devi Sita, and the father-in-law of Sri Ram - an avatar of Lord Vishnu. If you ponder on it, it's a fair question. Why would nature shower someone with so much grace?
King Janaka went to sleep pondering over this question. He dreamt of a saint who asked him to meet him. So, the next day, the king started walking. In the late evening, he saw the saint eating dry leaves under a tree. Before Janaka can utter a word, the sage told him he knew about Janaka's question and asked him to rest. The next day, he advised Janaka to continue walking till he saw another saint eating ashes. Janaka continued his journey till he encountered this saint who asked him to make one final journey and meet a young baby born at the village headman's house.
Janaka makes this final journey, and the headman was delighted to welcome the king to his house. The king met the baby, who miraculously tells him a story of their past lives.
Many centuries ago, a window lived in the same village. She had four children who had been starving for three days since they were very poor. The mother finally gathered four chappatis and distributed them to her children. Just before they could eat, a guest knocked on their door, said he was hungry, and asked if they could share food. The woman told him she had distributed the food amongst her children, and he had to ask them to share food. The first child refused to share food and said if he gave away his food, he would have to eat dry leaves to satiate his hunger. This child was reborn as the saint who kept eating dry leaves over lifetimes. The second child refused to share food and said he would have to eat ashes. The third one said he would die of hunger if he shared his food. The newborn child paused and told Janaka he was that child and kept taking birth and dying as an infant. He looked deeply at Janaka and said he was the fourth child who followed his dharma and shared his food with the stranger.
"You died due to hunger that night and spent time in the heavens for centuries. Then, you were born as Janaka and have this blessed life."
That's how much power karma has in our lives according to our culture. We always see life as a continuum, and you begin life from wherever you left off the previous time. This video by my guru Om Swami explains it beautifully.
This article is a submission at the lotus feet of my guru Om Swami – the founder of the Vedic Sadhana app. The app helps you identify your ishta and then perform daily rituals that deepen your relationship with them. This incredible app makes the ancient rituals and practices followed by the sages of India available to you.
