The Devil In Disguise

The following is written inspired by a conversation with Baba Ji in 2005

The Devil In Disguise  

When I was a kid I hid behind a pillow while watching Count Dracula about to bite the neck of some poor girl. And then trying to creep upstairs past the open window was terrible. Thoughts of "What if a vampire bat flies and bites me?" We all like to feel a bit of fear and that's why we watch scary movies, and afterwards we can laugh it off "its not real – just a story."  

We can laugh of Count Dracula as a fictional character, but billions of people actually believe in the existance of the Devil. Listen to any Christian evangelist on the GOD channel screaming about how the Devil is running the world. Or even within Sikhs we hear people say "Kaljug" (The Dark Age) came as a Devil to tempt Guru Nanak Dev Ji.  

Why do religions need the concept of the Devil? A Christian psycholgist told me that in the old days Christian preaching was done with the basic premise "DO THIS OR GOT TO HELL!". Meaning people who didn't fit in with the general society would be punished. Fear was the motivating force to make people pray to God and to conform to the religious belief system. But scientific thinking has exposed the false belief systems imposed by religious organisations.  

For example, Galileo lived around the time of Guru Arjun Dev ji – 1600s. He was a monk as a kid and then became a famous mathemetician and astrologer. He worked out that the planets revolve around the sun. However, the Catholic Church interpreted the Bible to mean that the Earth was the centre of the Universe. The Pope of the time had Galileo sentenced to lifelong imprisonment. Even upto this day, the Catholic Church has not admitted they were wrong for what they did.

 "On 31 October 1992, 350 years after Galileo's death, Pope John Paul II gave an address on behalf of the Catholic Church in which he admitted that errors had been made by the theological advisors in the case of Galileo. He declared the Galileo case closed, but he did not admit that the Church was wrong to convict Galileo on a charge of heresy because of his belief that the Earth rotates round the sun."  http://www-groups.dcs.st- and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Galileo.html   

If the Pope of Galileo's time and the Pope of our time are more concerned with preserving their Church's reputation than accepting the Truth, then who is the Devil that is corrupting the masses? Some imaginary being with horns and a red tail, or some real figure dressed in white , smiling and looking good on the outside but fake on the inside?  

Are the relgious leaders the Devil in disguise?  

Are the President and Prime Ministers the devil in disguise?  

Gurbani teaches that the individual consumed by the 5 thieves – anger, greed, lust, attachment and pride – is the living, talking, walking Devil.  

It doesn't matter that on the outside the religious leaders look good in their robes and preach morality. That they lay down what they think is God's law about social topics like abortion, gay marriage, using contraception etc etc. It doesn't matter that Presidents wear business suits and have utmost respect from world leaders. It doesn't matter that they justify wars saying "Good against evil". None of it matters if they are consumed by the 5 thieves. Then all they say and do is corrupt. Beware of these Devils that walk about in broad daylight to the adoration of the media and the masses. Its just a show.  

Are they not corrupt? In the old days the power lay with the King and the Church, and the musicians entertained them whilst the masses lived in fear. Now in the 21st Century, neither the Rulers nor the Religions managed to save the starving in Africa. Why? Because they are not interested where people of their nation or their relgion are not involved. They have not had enough compassion to help the God in the heart of the dying Africans. So where the Rulers and the Relgion have failed, the Heart of God singing love songs from the mouths of musicians have managed to move the world into action (Live8 concerts last weekend).  

The time where people lived in fear of their Rulers and of the Relgions is coming to an end. Now is the time for the heart of God in every body to come forward and make a difference.

 God is the power in our body that can make the world better for everyone. Don't be scared of some imaginary Devil or "Kaljug", look inside and only be scared of yourself turning into the Devil in disguise. And avoid the Devils in organised religion and politics. Don't give them time or money, don't give them respect. With your own hands go and feed the poor and needy. There's a saying "The mouth of the poor is the Guru's moneybox." Don't waste your money in donations to Building funds and travelling preachers building Temple complexes in India.  

Guru Nanak Ji says that wherever the poor are looked after God's mercy rains down. So become God on Earth, not a Devil in Disguise. And remember "If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem."

 Written under GurPrasad.