Japji Sahib - Pauri 16

Dear Members,

In this posting, I share with you my metal deliberations on the first four sentences of 16th Pauri of Japji Sahib.Trying to understand what teaching Guru Sahib is trying to me in these four lines, I looked into some of the literature to which I had access. The first sentence says:

pMc prvwx pMc prDwnu ] panch parvaan panch parDhaan.

The very first ward ‘panch’ raises question in my mind. What does it mean? It is not paanch; it resembles the word used to designate five elected members of village panchayat. Panchayat is what we ourselves have created for good social order; it has no relevance to ‘Nirakaar Karta Purakh’. Why will Guru Sahib consider these panch at a different or higher spiritual level; spirituality has nothing to do with the level at which an individual is in the social order.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/jap-ji-sahib/299-japji-sahib-pauri-16-a.html



Not able to find any definitive clue, I create one myself with full awareness that the meaning I take has to be tested to be true. In an attempt to proceed further I take ‘panch’ to be some derivative of numeral five (5). I have to test this selection of meaning.



Now I take the second word of the sentence also and try to make out if it means something special. Now the deliberations are on ‘panch parvaan’ – five that are accepted or accepted five. Questions now start arising. Why ‘Nirakaar Karta Purakh’ will accept in bunch of five; why not one why not in thousands? Numbers have no meaning for ‘Nirakaar Karta Purakh’ who is beyond infinity. Numbers have meaning only to those who are limited like we humans. This thought gives me new direction; I change the paradigm of my thinking. Instead of assuming that ‘Nirakaar Karta Purakh’ accepts the five, now I assume that we humans accept the five.



I ask myself what five we humans accept? Promptly the answer comes; we humans accept the five inputs coming from our five senses. I am encouraged; at least some reasonable answer has come. Yet this answer cannot be accepted unless determined to be true.



Now the same paradigm I apply to the next two wards of this sentence – panch pardhaan. Pardhaan means the one who leads. I ask myself what five in we humans lead us; again the answer comes very promptly. These are the five human faculties of action through which we lead ourselves in life. This make me feel little more confident that probably I am on the right track in understanding what Guru Sahib is tell me through this sentence. Armed with this understanding I now move to the next sentence; it should also be linked to the my current premise of thinking.



pMcy pwvih drgih mwnu ] panchay paavahi dargahi maan.



Here the question arises, why ‘dargahi’, it is a place a building. Why should Guru Sahib think that is an ultimate place for respect? I tried a lot to understand why Guru Sahib has used the word ‘dargahi’; after trying many alternatives when I compared this sentence with the next sentence that follows the meaning start becoming clear to me. Guru Sahib used this word ‘dargahi’ as a metaphor; it actually means the ‘spiritual world’. This meaning goes well with the sentence. The next sentence is already clear to me, as it only had given me the clue to the meaning of the sentence under discussion, which I take up next.

pMcy sohih dir rwjwnu ] panchay sohahi dar raajaan.

The question comes why ‘dar raajaan’? In the previous sentence it was ‘dargahi’. It is because the king’s court is ultimate in wealth. Again this word is used as metaphor here; it means the material world. With this I get further convinced that in my attempt to understand what Guru Sahib is telling me I am on the right track. With this frame of mind I now apply myself to the fourth sentence.

pMcw kw guru eyku iDAwnu ] panchaa kaa guru ayk Dhi-aan.

This fourth sentence gives me great delight; it tells me that my understanding is correct. What I had understood in last three sentences naturally flows into this sentence. This time there are no questions arising in my mind, there is no mental resistance. Dhi-aan here means the mental process of thinking i.e. the cognitive process. The meaning of this sentence is very clear. The ‘five senses’ and ‘five faculties’ to act are controlled by what we are contemplating; where our thought is. Our thought decides where our senses alight and what action we take. That is why Guru Sahib has said that thought is the Guru of the five senses that we human have and the five faculties to act that we posses.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299



The teaching from these four sentences is that our level in the material world and in the spiritual world get decided by what thought we entertain in our minds.



I have tried to be as transparent that I could be with all my limitations.



With Love and Respect for all.



Amarpal

 
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Fateh Amarpal Ji,

What you are sharing us, the sangat is truly priceless... your rational and analytical approach is a treat to read. Please keep it up, Sir.

Sir, Please put some more light on the ‘Five Senses’ and ‘Five Faculties’ ? Please elaborate a little bit more.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

Regards

Happened to see more details about 16th pauri at sikhnet.com discussion forums dated July 12. In that, author said - "So when you begin, through the power of your own practice, to recognize the Creator within you - something happens. You start to live in your own Jot, your own Divine Light. And then that Light shines from you in a way that other people can see. And in that Light - people trust you and you become a Royal Servant to everyone. This is what "Panch" is. It is that state of consciousness we achieve after doing the work of listening so deeply that we have conquered our own fears and misconceptions, and out of that fearlessness of recognizing the Light of God within ourselves - we become a Living Light to others on the earth."
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

As per that discussion, Panch doesnt lead to meaning 'five'. Anyway, I think, I need to read both the explanations in detail again. However, the progressive and analytical thoughts are certainly appreciated.

Best Regards.

Dear ThinkingOne Jee,

On sikhnet.com my ID is Amarpalsinghxx. Today, Balbir Singh Jee in his posting there had said that in Siri Guru Granth Sahib 'panch' word has been used 233 times and it refers to numeral 5.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

With Love and Respect for all.

Amarpal

Thanks for the pointer Amarpal ji.

Nice to meet you here I appreciate your posts very much, which have given so much to think over, but as rightly said - Sochai soch naa hovai... , still the quest goes on...
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

PS: On sikhnet.com my ID is Arvind P Singh.

Dear Amarpal ji,

Thanks for your very interesting insight. I take Gurbani as a prism with many angles and it is always refreshing to see the same prism from someone else's angle which doesnot contradict Gurmat but compliments it.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

Peace & Love

Tejwant

Dear Amarpal ji,

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299
I agree with your interpratation of Panch meaning 5. Let me relate you a little story about it that my grand dad told me when we were talking about this particular pauri many moons ago. He passed in 1988 at the age of 98.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

He said and I am paraphrasing it that Guru Nanak as a visionary knew a lot of things what modern man is still trying to find out.We have 5 senses that makes us check our surroundings, 5 fingers together have more of a grip to anything we hold in our hands as compare to 1 or 2. 5 Toes help us balance ourselves and makes us start our physical journey. The whole idea of PANCH in the Pauri is looking inwards at ourselves so that we can reach out.

Guru Gobind Singh ji took this idea of Guru Nanak a bit futher by having Panj Piyaras.

Peace & Love

Tejwant

Dear Member,



I requested by our member sikhphilosophy, here, I provide some clarifications to my posting.



The five senses I referred to in my postings are (i) sense of smell (ii) sense of sound (iii) sense of sight (iv) sense of touch and (v) sense of taste. These are the five channels form which the inputs we human accept – ‘panch parvaan’.



The five faculties of action I referred in my posting are those organs that we human use for one action or the other; these are (i) organ of speech, which naturally includes mouth (ii) hands (iii) feet (iv) generative organ (v) excretory organ. These are ‘panch pardhaan’ with these we interface with the material world.



Please note that mind is not included in any of them. All these are under the control of what is in our mind i.e. the thought (Dhayaan) that is in the mind. It is this thought, which

makes our senses to alight on the object of interest to it; the actions that follow, is to realise its intent of the thought. That is why Guru Sahib has referred to Dhayaan as the Guru of the five.



This teaching is supported by the current scientific knowledge which says:


Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=299

If you repeatedly think of something, one day you will act on it. If you repeatedly act that way, it becomes your habit. A set of habits gives you a character. The character finally gives you a destiny. With that your position in spiritual and material world will get decided.



Knowing all this Guru Sahib in the first four sentences of the 16th Pauri of Japji Sahib has asked us to be master of our own thoughts as it is through it one can make the five senses and the five faculties to act in a harmonious manner that gives us the place we deserve in material (dar raajaan) and spiritual (dargahi) world.



This is what my understanding is.



With Love and Respect for all



Amarpal

Thanks Amarpal Ji, It helped...