His apostles remind us of the great spiritual war that we must fight. We need to be strong, and have weapons but physical strength, and swords and guns will not be able to help us. King Ravana was very strong, indeed, he was imbued with magical powers, but they were of no avail. Such conventional warriors are dismissed by Saint Kabeer:
The moon and the sun cooked his food.
The fire washed his clothes.
Thousands of sons and grandsons -but today, in that house of Raavan, there is only darkness.
Collection of material wealth and physical power only feeds our ego, and the bigger the ego, the greater will be the greed it engenders. Saint Ravidass satirises it so:
How this puppet of clay dances!
Hears and speaks, and runs around.
When he acquires something, he is inflated with ego!
His apostles tell us — your battle is with none other, but only with yourself. The arsenal that we need is different. But, before we enter the battle-field, Guru Granth Sahib warns us:
If you will play this game of love,
then step onto My Path, with your head in hand.
Asking the devotee to come with “head in hand” signifies the death of the egoistic self. In the internal battle, there are no iron swords or shields. However, the scriptures offer us a fantastic arsenal to choose from:
Humility is my spiked club,
And my dagger is to be the dust of all men’s feet.
No evil can withstand these weapons.
My Teacher has given me this understanding.
Armed with a feeling of universal love, and strengthened with a humble nature, the devotee is ready. When the forces of lust, anger, greed, and ego glimpse such a devotee, they fade away in surrender, for such a blessed one is impervious to their guiles. The invincible weapons of love and humility win the war, sans any battle.