Dear Khalsa Ji,
With the blessing from ‘The Sat’, I share with you what I understand from the 14th Pauri of Anand Sahib.
1. Bgqw kI cwl inrwlI ] bhagtaa kee chaal niraalee.
The way the devotees live their life is distinct.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that the life of the devotee is different from that of an ordinary individual. It is bound to be so, because, for the devotee the intent of life is different when compared with that of a common worldly person. What the devotee looks from life is not the same, which an individual who is all the time busy in worldly tasks expects from life. This is a plain fact of life, which Guru Sahib makes it explicit for me.
2. cwlw inrwlI Bgqwh kyrI ibKm mwrig clxw ] chaalaa niraalee bhagtaah kayree bikham maarag chalnaa.
The devotee treads the distinct path that is difficult
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that this unique way of living of the devotee is difficult. Why Guru Sahib calls it difficult? It is not clear in this sentence.
3. lbu loBu AhMkwru qij iqRsnw bhuqu nwhI bolxw ] lab lobh ahaNkaar taj tarisnaa bahut naahee bolnaa.
They shed greed, avarice and Ahamkara, free themselves of desires and do not speak too much.
My understanding:
What was left unsaid in the previous sentence Guru Sahib tells me here. Guru Sahib tells me that to be a true devotee, I should be free from greed, ego and desires. This means that my mind should neither be driven by my senses nor by my memory of past events and myself.
I should be in command of my mental faculties. I must evolve to a level where it would not be any need for me to curb my desires, instead my frame of mind would be such that these desires do not arise; this should be my natural poise for my mind. To me curbing desires or yielding to them is the same weakness because the desire is there all the time, though one appears to be opposite of the other. Saiyam with contentment should be my natural state of being.
I should always have the child’s freshness and innocence. My memories of the past should not pollute my thinking and these memories should not be the originator of my actions.
As I grow up physically, intellectually and spiritually increasing my knowledgebase, the ‘I’ in me i.e. my Ahamkara should not grow. In other words my life should give expression to the slogan that we Khalsas use very often – ‘Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Sri Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh’. This slogan tells me that I belong to ‘The Sat’ and all that have come to me, or what I think I have achieved in life also belongs ‘The Sat’ - I can own nothing; all is because of the grace of ‘The Sat’. This slogan Guru Sahib has given me to keep reminding me and thus help me to get over my Ahamkara i.e. my ‘I-ness’.
Guru Sahib has asked us to live a life of a householder. We are not asked to abstain from what life can give, but indulgence is also not sanctioned. It is the middle path of Saiyam, which is not driven by desires or greed or Ahamkara that is implied; humility, compassion and wisdom are the virtues in such life.
As I understand, to achieve this, it requires some element of discipline and alertness. This is not natural in this world, where the normal upbringing trains the individual in gratification of the senses and accumulation of wealth; the environment too supports such development of mind. It requires special efforts to acquire and practice Saiyam in this worldly environment. It is for this reasons Guru Sahib has called this path distinct and difficult.
4. KMinAhu iqKI vwlhu inkI eyqu mwrig jwxw ] khanni-ahu tikhee vaalahu nikee ayt maarag jaanaa.
This path is sharper than the edged of the sword and finer that hair, which one has to follow.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib here tells me that the line of demarcation between the devotees and the others is extremely thin. Either one has desires or not; this individual cannot have both. It cannot be said that the individual is ninety percent desire less. The same applies to greed and Ahamkara. The purity of the devotee has to be one hundred percent and always remain so. Small mistake in mental attitude can trip the devotee and hurt her or his evolution. It for this reason Guru Sahib has called it edge of the sword.
We all know hair cannot take large weight. The achievement and maintenance of mental purity, the devotee should not require any exertion or efforts on her or his part. The effort on the part of the devotee is equivalent to the weight on the hair. This purity of mind should be natural state of the devotee i.e. it should be free from any tension.
5. gur prswdI ijnI Awpu qijAw hir vwsnw smwxI ] gur parsaadee jinee aap taji-aa har vaasnaa samaanee.
With Gurparsadi, who gives up his own self, her or his desires merges with the ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib here tells me that with the grace of ‘The Sat’, those who give up their own self all their desires them merge with ‘The Sat’ i.e. such individuals are left with no worldly desires; they all become otherworldly.
6. khY nwnku cwl Bgqw jughu jugu inrwlI ]14] kahai naanak chaal bhagtaa jugahu jug niraalee. ||14||
Says Nanak; the ways of devotee are distinct and unique in each and every age.
My understanding:
In this sentence Guru Sahib has provided for the environmental factors that change with the age of the individual and with every period in the history. Yet the ways of the devotee remain distinct of unique with respect to the ordinary individuals all the time.
With this I close.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal
With the blessing from ‘The Sat’, I share with you what I understand from the 14th Pauri of Anand Sahib.
1. Bgqw kI cwl inrwlI ] bhagtaa kee chaal niraalee.
The way the devotees live their life is distinct.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that the life of the devotee is different from that of an ordinary individual. It is bound to be so, because, for the devotee the intent of life is different when compared with that of a common worldly person. What the devotee looks from life is not the same, which an individual who is all the time busy in worldly tasks expects from life. This is a plain fact of life, which Guru Sahib makes it explicit for me.
2. cwlw inrwlI Bgqwh kyrI ibKm mwrig clxw ] chaalaa niraalee bhagtaah kayree bikham maarag chalnaa.
The devotee treads the distinct path that is difficult
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that this unique way of living of the devotee is difficult. Why Guru Sahib calls it difficult? It is not clear in this sentence.
3. lbu loBu AhMkwru qij iqRsnw bhuqu nwhI bolxw ] lab lobh ahaNkaar taj tarisnaa bahut naahee bolnaa.
They shed greed, avarice and Ahamkara, free themselves of desires and do not speak too much.
My understanding:
What was left unsaid in the previous sentence Guru Sahib tells me here. Guru Sahib tells me that to be a true devotee, I should be free from greed, ego and desires. This means that my mind should neither be driven by my senses nor by my memory of past events and myself.
I should be in command of my mental faculties. I must evolve to a level where it would not be any need for me to curb my desires, instead my frame of mind would be such that these desires do not arise; this should be my natural poise for my mind. To me curbing desires or yielding to them is the same weakness because the desire is there all the time, though one appears to be opposite of the other. Saiyam with contentment should be my natural state of being.
I should always have the child’s freshness and innocence. My memories of the past should not pollute my thinking and these memories should not be the originator of my actions.
As I grow up physically, intellectually and spiritually increasing my knowledgebase, the ‘I’ in me i.e. my Ahamkara should not grow. In other words my life should give expression to the slogan that we Khalsas use very often – ‘Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Sri Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh’. This slogan tells me that I belong to ‘The Sat’ and all that have come to me, or what I think I have achieved in life also belongs ‘The Sat’ - I can own nothing; all is because of the grace of ‘The Sat’. This slogan Guru Sahib has given me to keep reminding me and thus help me to get over my Ahamkara i.e. my ‘I-ness’.
Guru Sahib has asked us to live a life of a householder. We are not asked to abstain from what life can give, but indulgence is also not sanctioned. It is the middle path of Saiyam, which is not driven by desires or greed or Ahamkara that is implied; humility, compassion and wisdom are the virtues in such life.
As I understand, to achieve this, it requires some element of discipline and alertness. This is not natural in this world, where the normal upbringing trains the individual in gratification of the senses and accumulation of wealth; the environment too supports such development of mind. It requires special efforts to acquire and practice Saiyam in this worldly environment. It is for this reasons Guru Sahib has called this path distinct and difficult.
4. KMinAhu iqKI vwlhu inkI eyqu mwrig jwxw ] khanni-ahu tikhee vaalahu nikee ayt maarag jaanaa.
This path is sharper than the edged of the sword and finer that hair, which one has to follow.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib here tells me that the line of demarcation between the devotees and the others is extremely thin. Either one has desires or not; this individual cannot have both. It cannot be said that the individual is ninety percent desire less. The same applies to greed and Ahamkara. The purity of the devotee has to be one hundred percent and always remain so. Small mistake in mental attitude can trip the devotee and hurt her or his evolution. It for this reason Guru Sahib has called it edge of the sword.
We all know hair cannot take large weight. The achievement and maintenance of mental purity, the devotee should not require any exertion or efforts on her or his part. The effort on the part of the devotee is equivalent to the weight on the hair. This purity of mind should be natural state of the devotee i.e. it should be free from any tension.
5. gur prswdI ijnI Awpu qijAw hir vwsnw smwxI ] gur parsaadee jinee aap taji-aa har vaasnaa samaanee.
With Gurparsadi, who gives up his own self, her or his desires merges with the ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib here tells me that with the grace of ‘The Sat’, those who give up their own self all their desires them merge with ‘The Sat’ i.e. such individuals are left with no worldly desires; they all become otherworldly.
6. khY nwnku cwl Bgqw jughu jugu inrwlI ]14] kahai naanak chaal bhagtaa jugahu jug niraalee. ||14||
Says Nanak; the ways of devotee are distinct and unique in each and every age.
My understanding:
In this sentence Guru Sahib has provided for the environmental factors that change with the age of the individual and with every period in the history. Yet the ways of the devotee remain distinct of unique with respect to the ordinary individuals all the time.
With this I close.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal
