The True Spiritual Warrior - Becoming a Spiritual Warrior
- Simran Kaur Khalsa
- Jan 27
- 11 min read
You can either read this article discourse or listen to it on the YouTube video.
It was originally offered in March 2025.
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji ki Fateh!
Thank you, Sangat of the Divine Light, for another opportunity and blessing to offer a discourse in the presence of our international Sadh Sangat, on the topic of what it means to be a True Spiritual Warrior.
The Guru defines a warrior in many ways, however, I’m not here to talk about your typical warrior who wages wars and combats in battles. The amazing heroic stories of the Saint Sikh Warriors could be shared in another discourse if desired.
I’m here to talk about the true spiritual warrior, the warrior who combats his or her inner demons – who combats and overpowers the five thieves of lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego, and who releases the grip of Maya.
A true spiritual warrior will do what’s needed to heal the self from ignorance.
A true spiritual warrior will work to raise their level of consciousness.
A spiritual warrior is one who combats worldly illusions and limited beliefs to uncover Divine Truth, Universal Wisdom, Divine Knowledge, and serve humanity with right actions.
A true spiritual warrior is one who works on bettering the self on a daily basis to create higher levels of self-awareness.
In Jainism, a Mahavira means ‘great hero’, a divine being embodying supreme spiritual strength and enlightenment – one who inspires people to practice self-discipline, compassion, and non-violence in daily life. A Mahavira teaches detachment and inner purity, and guides individuals toward a life of spiritual awakening and ethical living. Mahavira represents the eternal struggle of the soul to transcend material bondage and achieve liberation.
In Islam, we’ve heard of the term Jihad, the Islamic ‘holy war.’ This term has however a more profound meaning, and Muhammed mentions Jihad as the ‘greater jihad’, which is the struggle within our own selves.
Jihad means a spiritual warfare, a battle with the demons and adversaries within ourselves, so that we can move forward on a spiritual path that leads to self-improvement and self-purification.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the term spiritual warrior is used for one who combats the universal enemy which is self-ignorance – the ultimate source of suffering according to Buddhist philosophy. The complete and right practice of a spiritual warrior is that which compassionately helps other beings with wisdom. This is the Bodhisattva ideal, the spiritual warrior who resolves to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate others.
The Teachings of the Gurus and the many other writers in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib teach us to be better human beings, so that we may in turn inspire others to better themselves and liberate themselves from suffering caused by the five thieves.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhi, tells us from the very beginning in the Japji Sahib that there are so many “heroic warriors begging at the Door of the Infinite Lord.” And that these spiritual heroes are “imbued with the Lord’s Essence.”
Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the fifth Guru says,
Those who know Him, cross over; they are the brave heroes, the heroic warriors. Nanak is a sacrifice to those who meditate on the Lord, and cross over to the other shore. || 2 ||
The Divine Creator, the Source of all things is at times described as a warrior in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
The Guru calls on the Almighty Warrior, the Sheltering Lord, the Redeemer of Sinners, and Saving Grace, to impart the importance of chanting the Lord’s Name, so that his student seekers of Truth, can seek the Sanctuary of the Lord’s Feet, and be pulled out of Maya’s pit. There is no other protector, than the Almighty Divine Warrior.
Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second Guru says, p. 1391:
Casting Your Glance of Grace, you dispel the darkness, burn away evil, and destroy sin. You are the Heroic Warrior of the Shabad, the Word of God. Your Power destroys sexual desire and anger. You have overpowered greed and emotional attachment; You nurture and cherish those who seek Your Sanctuary. You gather in the joyful love of the soul; Your Words have the Potency to bring forth Ambrosial Nectar. You are appointed the True Guru, the True Guru in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga; whoever is truly attached to You is carried across. The lion, the son of Pheru, is Guru Angad, the Guru of the World; Lehnaa practices Raja Yoga, the Yoga of meditation and success. || 5 ||
The Lord, in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is described by Guru Arjun Dev Ji as “the Giver of Sanctuary, the Heroic Warrior who keeps His Word. Such is the Lord God, the Giver of peace, whom I have met; He shall never leave me or go anywhere else. || 14 ||” (page 1073)
We also find the Guru as described as a “Warrior Hero of Truth” in the Swaiyas in praise of Guru Amar Das, the third Guru:
Swaiyas in praise of Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, p. 1393:
He is the Warrior Hero of Truth, humility is His Power. His Loving Nature inspires the Congregation with deep and profound understanding; He is absorbed in the Lord, free of hate and vengeance. Patience has been His white banner since the beginning of time, planted on the bridge to heaven. The Saints meet their Beloved Guru, who is united with the Creator Lord. Serving the True Guru, they find peace; Guru Amar Daas has given them this ability. ||7||
Because the Guru tells us that we and God are One, the Guru instructs us to behave as heroic warriors; warriors who keep their word, who experience peace and bring peace to this world.
The True mighty and fearless Warrior is one who meditates on the Lord, sings of His glories, and praises the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Guru Arjun Dev Ji says, bottom of the page 679:
jaa ka-o, har rang laago is jug meh, so kahee-at hai sooraa.
He alone is called a warrior, who is attached to the Lord's Love in this age.
aatam jinai, sagal vas taa kai, jaa kaa satgur pooraa. ||1||
Through the Perfect True Guru, he conquers his own soul, and then everything comes under his control. ||1||
Guru Arjun Dev Ji also says, p. 258:
beeraa aapan buraa mitaavai, taahoo buraa nikat nahee aavai.
One who eradicates his own evil is a brave warrior; no evil even approaches him.
When we bathe in the Guru’s Divine Frequency and Light; when we chant the Naam, we are protected by this high frequency that surrounds us.
Here is how the Guru describes one who chants the Naam in the Sadh Sangat, among the holy congregation:
Guru Arjun Dev Ji says, p.2021:
He alone is clever and wise and a religious scholar, he alone is a brave warrior, and he alone is intelligent, who chants the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. O Nanak, he alone is approved. || 2 || 67 || 90 ||
Here is how Guru Amar Das Ji, the third Guru describes a “brave warrior.”
“O Nanak, he is a brave warrior, who conquers and subdues his vicious inner ego.
Praising the Naam, the Name of the Lord, the Gurmukhs redeem their lives.
They themselves are liberated forever, and they save all their ancestors.
Those who love the Naam look beauteous at the Gate of Truth.“
I’d like to offer a few inspiring warrior quotes that I have come across over the years.
Jack Kornfield says: “We need courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit. But the place for this warrior strength is in the heart. We need energy, commitment, and courage not to run from our life… We need a warrior’s heart that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.”
Carlos Castaneda says: “To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.”
Confucius says: “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.”
Tibetan Master Chogyam Trungpa says: “The strongest of us are those that are spiritually strong, and a spiritual warrior is one of vulnerability."
Jeff Osterman, a basketball coach says: “There’s nothing more powerful than a humble person with a warrior spirit who is driven by a bigger purpose.”
Nathan Chasing Horse, a Lakota Spiritual Leader says: "Being a warrior is not about taking lives, not about how much knowledge you have... being a warrior is learning how to cry. When a man learns how to cry, he is learning understanding. When a man cries, compassion starts... being compassionate and loving all children... respecting everybody and protecting your family."
I believe that a true warrior never gives up the search for self-discovery and self-awareness. A true spiritual warrior never gives up the Lord, never gives up their personal connection to Source.
A true spiritual warrior is a humble warrior who meditates on God’s Name and acquires divine qualities of kindness, compassion, humility, and controls its evil impulses.
There is a Shabad that I enjoy singing that reflects these qualities. This Shabad is part of 67 Stanzas written by Guru Arjun Dev Ji. This Shabad in question is the 29th Stanza.
It is a Shabad that I often wish to sing when thinking of the warriors in Sikh history.
Let me first start with a background katha, story, to this Shabad that I will sing at the end of the discourse.
This Shabad was written in what’s called Sehaskritee, a mixture of Hindi and Sanskrit.
First, let me talk about Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Sehaskritee Salok.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji when visiting Kashi, known today as Benares or Varanasi, was approached by pundits led by Gopal Datt. Pundits are scholars or teachers particularly skilled in Sanskrit and Hindu religion and philosophy.
The pundits felt that Guru Nanak Dev Ji had desecrated their puja and were at first quite angry as he stepped over their puja belongings and interfered with their prayers for salvation.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji calmly spoke to them and told them that performing their rituals and Pujas can’t accomplish the deliverance that they were seeking.
Listening to Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s calm first words to them, they became deeply moved. Gopal Datt then implored the Guru to offer a sermon on attaining salvation.
At the time the language of the learned pundits was Sanskrit, and the language of the inhabitants was Hindi. So, Guru Nanak Dev Ji addressed them in what’s called Sehaskritee, a mixture of Sanskrit and Hindi. The passages addressed to them are entitled Salok Sehaskritee Mehla Pela, found on p. 1353 of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji first spoke to them of the importance of connecting with Source, as everything is under the control of the Creator. He reminds the pundits that one should meditate on the Lord who saves us from our sins.
And reminds the Pundits that the most sublime duty of all is to meditate on the Naam and to realize that God resides in all souls and provides divine light to all.
Gopal Datt after listening to the Guru’s divine wisdom and being thoroughly inspired, became one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s disciples. Gopal Datt also kept Guru Ji’s sermon in his family’s possession.
So, years later, Gopal Datt’s two grandsons, Har Krishen and Har Lall came upon Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Sehaskritee Salok.
They were both spiritually educated and knowledgeable, but this did not help release their doubt and worldly attachments.
After the death of their father, they were very depressed and tried to overcome their grief by reading the Shastras, the Divine knowledge books of Hinduism; but sadly, they failed to feel better, until one day they found the Salok recited by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, which was properly kept by their parents.
Upon reading the Salok, for the first time they felt deep peace within. This led them to wish to know more about Guru Nanak Dev Ji. They heard that Guru Arjun Dev Ji was presently on the throne and in Amritsar, so, they decided to go and pay their respects to the Guru.
On seeing Guru Arjun Dev Ji, they humbly bowed and requested that Guru Arjun Dev Ji offer a divine sermon just as Guru Nanak had offered one to their grandfather.
So, the Sabad that I’ll be singing is part of several stanzas that are referred to as Salok Sehaskritee Mehla Panjva.
Guru Arjun Dev Ji just as Guru Nanak Dev Ji did, spoke to the two grandsons in this language that combines Hindi and Sanskrit.
This Sabad that I’ll be singing is one that I often wish to share when we celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Jayanti, Guru Gobind Singh’s birth, as Guru Gobind Singh was known as a mighty warrior, a compassionate, and thoughtful warrior.
Guru Arjun Dev Ji in the passage that I am offering, says: “The saints, the holy warriors are an invincible spiritual army. Even when they hold unlimited power, they remain so calm, as if they are wearing a bullet proof vest of humility. I love this idea that we wear an armor of humility, that the warrior is one who is humble.
The Guru continues by saying that these warrior saints are armed with the weapons of singing God’s praises, and they hold the impenetrable shield of (Gurbani) the Guru’s words.
And to realize the path to union with God is like enjoying the horse and elephant rides.
And the way the spiritual warriors launch their attack, is by singing God’s praises. And thus, they pierce fearlessly through the enemy ranks vibrating the Creator’s frequency.
Guru Arjun Dev Ji then ends by saying, O’ Nanak, by being this humble spiritual warrior that chants the Naam and vibrates to the Sabad Guru, one can bring all the five thieves, lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego under control and thus conquer the entire world.” (29)
The message of this Salok is that they who meditate on God’s Name acquire divine qualities of kindness, compassion, and humility, and control their evil impulses. Therefore, they always remain happy and satisfied, as if they have conquered the entire world.
May we always be reminded to vibrate to the Naam and allow God’s Divine Amrit to trickle down through our crown chakra, infusing us with the Guru’s Divine Light and Blessings that guide us every day to defeat our lower impulses, to defeat Maya and its five thieves, so that we can better ourselves by living an honorable life filled with humility and compassion for our fellow human brothers and sisters.
May we be a True unwavering Spiritual Warrior in our daily lives!
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji ki Fateh!
The main phrase of the Shabad that I am offering today by Guru Arjun Dev Ji is:
(Main phrase is in bold)
Spiritual Warrior, Guru Arjun Dev Ji, p. 1393
sainaa saaDh samooh soor ajitaN saNnaahaN tan nimrataaha.
The Holy people are an invincible army of spiritual warriors; their bodies are protected by the armor of humility.
aavaDhahe gun gobind ramnaN ot gur sabad kar charamnahe.
Their weapons are the Glorious Praises of the Lord which they chant; their Shelter and Shield is the Word of the Guru's Shabad.
aaroorhatay asav rath naagahe bujhantay parabh maaragahe.
The horses, chariots and elephants they ride are their way to realize God's Path.
bichartay nirabh-yaN satar sainaa Dhaa-yantay gopaal keeratanahe.
They walk fearlessly through the armies of their enemies; they attack them with the Kirtan of God's Praises.
jitatay bisav sansaarah naanak vas-yaN karot panch taskarahi. ||29||
They conquer the entire world, O Nanak, and overpower the five thieves. ||29||
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