Hukam and the Surrender Experiment

What is ‘Divine Will’ really? The concept is omnipresent in most spiritual philosophies, but often so misunderstood. Mostly, we treat it is as some form of a diktat from a guy in the sky and hence are either fearful or indifferent to it, depending on one’s disposition.

I read Mickey Singer’s book The Surrender Experiment little over a month ago. It is a unique autobiographical view into a Yogi’s life, written in a lighthearted manner, emanating with the author’s love for the Universe. It shows the miracle of life when one tries to live in perfect harmony with the “flow of life” in wonder and acceptance. It is such a beautiful and precious thing. While Mickey doesn’t particularly call it Divine Will, I like his preference of explanation of the phenomenon – the Surrender Experiment. He made it his life’s mission to accept the paths and direction life had in store for him, without prejudice and complaints. It mostly worked out amazingly well for him, though the Universal Energy Flow did present him with stringent tests along the way.

In the context of Sikhi, this is represented in the concept of Hukam, literally the command, often explained by Guru Nanak Devji in conjunction with Haume, the Ego-Mind. The way I have come to understand these twin concepts is the willingness to let go of your monkey mind’s insistence to follow itself. Me and myself thinking often lead one to choose paths that give momentary satisfaction to the conditioning of the Ego-Mind. The Haume feels a sense of achievement, a dopamine dose when “things go its way”.

However, Satguru extolls us to rise higher, avoid being bound by the barrier of Haume and let the Universal Energy flow through your being.
Perhaps, the sense of surrender is where the intellect is strong, but the will is not obstinate, and with a sense of reverence to creation, this one merges with the Hukam of that One. It happens for a few moments, and then expands slowly and starts to permeate the being. But the Haume is strong, and when one is living a worldly life, with its vagaries, it is sometimes a hard acceptance.

It has been a challenge to extend this feeling, to keep at it through the ups and the downs, not to let either exuberance let one forget that its all part of the game or let despondence set in when one falls on this path.
As I had started to follow this sense of surrender and openness to the Universe’s will, some exciting things began to happen in life. But at the same time, I’ve also had to confront some old issues that I thought where starting to recede. I guess even that is part of the learning, as the path is designed to bring out that discomfort, to observe it, to address and perhaps at some point, transcend it. None of the above seems possible without following the Hukam, the grace of that Universal Energy.

It seems that complete resonance with the grand play is the only way that can bring lasting inner peace.