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A principle in life to remember is to travel light.
You are traveling all the time.
Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.
– Yogi Bhajan
A GLIMPSE INTO HIS SPIRIT
Memoirs by Kirpal S. Khalsa
It was 1:30 a.m. SSS Ji was fully stretched out on the recliner and had not moved in an hour. I stole a glance to see if he was still awake. His shawl was pulled up to his chin but his eyes were intently focused on the television. Unlike him, I could barely keep my eyes open.
A couple of hours earlier, things were winding down after a long and hectic day. I had released the security detail around eleven. The staff had gone to bed around twelve. I was figuring on sleeping in the living room, near the front door as a last line of security and near the telephone in case of any calls. But he was not ready for bed.
He asked to see if a movie was on. I flipped through the channels and found one of those late night movies, years before cable, which played almost without interruption. It was about the American Revolutionary War hero, John Paul Jones. Siri Singh Sahib Ji settled down to watch. There was no way I could go to bed while he was still up.
The movie slowly moved to its stirring conclusion, which I well knew. But to the Siri Singh Sahib, it was new. On 23 September 1779, in the North Sea off Famborough Head, England, John Paul Jones, commanding the small American frigate Bon Homme Richard, was locked in a desperate battle with the British Man-o-War, the HMS Serapis. With cannons roaring and his ship taking hits and loss of life, Jones deftly maneuvered to get close the huge British war ship. But the Bon Homme Richard was crushed by a full broadside and listed heavily to one side, dead in the water. The British Captain, Richard Pearson, stood on his bridge and called down in his nasally, British upper class accent, "Commander Jones! Do you surrender?"
John Paul Jones, his ship rapidly sinking into the North Sea, replied, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!"
Siri Singh Sahib Ji flew out of his chair! The movement was so quick and so unexpected; I almost jumped out of my skin. He landed with both feet on the floor, in a crouch, leaning forward and shaking his fist. "Yes!" he growled. Then he slowly sat down and leaned back to watch the rest of the movie.
From his sinking ship, John Paul Jones and his ragtag crew managed to board the British ship and capture it. Captain Pearson was the one who surrendered.
When the movie was over Siri Singh Sahib Ji went to bed. I was so energized it took me hours to finally sleep. Next day he asked me to tell the story to the meditation class. He explained that this was the spirit with which to live life. I was grateful for the glimpse into the spirit with which he lived life.
Kirpal S. Khalsa
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Akal Security, Inc.
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