The Three C's

And the Poetry of the Master

Following our recent retreat, which fortuitously occurred on a new moon, I felt called to share some practices and teachings that have profoundly impacted my own journey. During the retreat, we set powerful intentions as a community, yet the onset of an intense Mercury Retrograde the very next day brought challenges that many of us began to feel immediately. This experience reminded me of the importance of refraining from the three C’s: complaining, comparing, and competing. These challenges, which might seem overwhelming, are, in reality, opportunities to deepen our connection with the Divine and our own soul. Through these practices, we can learn to relate directly to the source of all wisdom and guidance. In this spirit, I would like to share some of the teachings, mantras, and poems that have helped me navigate my own challenges and find peace and clarity within.

I asked the yogis of UBU to practice refraining from the three C’s: complaining, comparing, and competing. I noticed the need for this because, despite the powerful intentions set by the community, the day after the retreat began an intense Mercury Retrograde, and immediately, people started to quote-unquote and “go through it.” I need oral surgery myself, so I get it. Sometimes, when you become very bright, you can and actually must expect that challenges will arrive. But can we look at those challenges as grand opportunities? Yogi Bhajan said, in paraphrase, that the neutralization of the polarity of the three Cs was that one becomes content, contained, and continuous. 

When I started a serious devotion to my spiritual growth many years ago, the intensity of what I had to face was so immense to me at that time that I needed, or thought that I needed, several close associates with whom I could continuously relay my woes. What I found was that all of those people soon became my foes. Why? Because, on some level, we started to compete and compare in our shared misery. Who was becoming less miserable, who was gathering more spiritual merit, who was financially prospering, and who was not. I was often happy when someone wasn’t doing well because it made it easier to accept my own defeats. What a wretch! 

There was this extra intense period. I had gotten into a pickle with one of my complaining buddies, and boy did we compete about it. It was quite the sword fight! We slandered one another to shreds, and many a relationship was tarnished. Around that time, I got a letter saying that I had gotten into a minor problem related to an issue I won’t discuss here, but which, in retrospect, was a small matter that I quickly overcame. But I was so embarrassed and scared about it that I completely shut myself off from any complaints, communications, or confrontations. I moved back to my home area and sought to resolve the financial complications I had brought on myself. I told no one. That was one of the greatest blessings of my life, but boy, was it a hard one to endure. 

The blessing was that I resolved to tell no one, and therefore, I couldn’t complain. I had no money to speak of while I resolved the matter, and so, removed from my spiritual community, I had no one to compete with. With no one to compete with, I started to see myself more clearly because, for that period, I wasn’t comparing myself to anyone. The incredible blessing of that time was, I learned to share my pain with God alone and in turn, learned how to listen to my own inner voice.

I became a poet and ultimately a yogi, because, determined not to burden others with my problems, I found outlets to express myself and to channelize the energies which were raging inside of me. Humans experience grief, sadness, despair, financial hardship, tragedy, trauma, etc., but these are very temporary experiences. They may seem mountainous and impossible as we face them, but they are opportunities to deepen our soul to soul dialogue with God, with the mirror of our soul to God the Guru, and with our own soul, which in turn, is all of those combinations in miniature.

After the retreat, I noticed myself complaining about a thing or two and immediately remembered the teaching of the three C’s and I determined, that we absolutely needed to use this precious moment to learn or relearn that internal ability to figure it out for yourself. To go straight to the source, to relate directly to the source.

There is a mantra which I have been using consistently for quite some time, the 33rd pauri of Japji.

Aakhan jor chupai neh jor. Jor na mangan dayn na jor.
Jor na jeevan maran neh jor. Jor na raaj maal man sor.
Jor na suratee giaan veechaar. Jor na jugatee chhutai sansaar. Jis hath jorr kar vekhai so-eh. Naanak utam neech na ko-eh.

Translation:

No power to speak or silence to keep. No power to beg, no power to give.
No power to die, no power to live. No power to rule or enlighten the mind. No power to awaken my soul to believe. No power to time the way to be free. By His own will oh Nanak man can be good or bad.
He alone has the power to reveal the way.

You can repeat this pauri as a powerful technology—it will give you all that you need and is especially beneficial for finding lost things, including reconnecting with your own soul. As stated in the teachings, "Whosoever chants this pauree 25 times a day there is nothing on earth he will not have. Guru Nanak chanted it as a 'Sumpuran Kriya.' This pauree means that if you ask for nothing, you'll get everything. That's the law. Whosoever will chant this pauree twenty-five times a day, there will be nothing on the earth that he or she will not have. Guru Nanak sang this pauree as a Sumpuran Kriya, a perfect, perfect seal" (7/3/82).

I also love this English version of the Pauri, which, to my understanding, was often used in the early women’s camps. This version is a song and a poem by Yogi Bhajan, and as Guru Jagat often said in her lectures, the poems and songs of Yogi Bhajan were his deepest teachings and his most profound gift to future generations. If you find learning the 33rd Pauri challenging—though it’s not that long and entirely possible to learn—I sing it when I am looking for my cats in the evenings. You can listen to this English version and deeply study the meaning of the words. Let them become part of who you are.

I would also like to share this poem from the 108 poems of Yogi Bhajan in the book Furmaan Khalsa—a book that my teacher, Harmanjot, implored me to study during our first meeting. Study this poem and discover its meaning over many years. What does it reveal to you about your ability to communicate?

Hey you!
Man of the world.
You’re a Professional!
You know how to take care of yourself.
What do you know about me?
You don’t recognize me at all.
Not even a little bit.
I have come here
Many, many times.
And every time
I spoke the Truth.
But you’re so out of it,
You can’t even move.
You can’t even speak.
You’re so closed,
You don’t even know how to open your heart!
You’re going to leave this earth
Having never meditated on God.
You’ve polluted your sacred life.
You messed yourself up playing dirty games.
Why not sing God’s Praises?
I came here from far, far away.
God, my friend, sent me here.
Now listen to me my child!
Come, let us concentrate together.
Let us meditate on God’s Name together.
Let us become … Illuminated!
Let us speak
And listen to each other.
Let us merge
And become one with each other.

I invite you to engage deeply with these teachings and practices. For example, the 33rd Pauri of Japji is a powerful technology that can guide you in finding what you’ve lost, including your connection with your soul. Whether you chant it in its original form or listen to the English version, let its meaning become a part of who you are. As we continue to explore these teachings together, I encourage you to study the poem from Furmaan Khalsa as well—its wisdom on communication will unfold for you over time. Also, remember that the reverse of complaining, comparing, and competing is to obtain the jewels of becoming content, contained, and continuous. These practices are more than words; they are pathways to profound transformation. Embrace them, let them guide you, and allow them to illuminate your path as you continue your spiritual journey.