Too Many Hukamnamas!

Ishna · #10 (**permalink**) 14-Jun-2012, 06:09 AM

Thanks Ambarsaria ji for your thoughtful response. I am drowning in attachment to maya and so far from living in Hukam it's not funny.

I think though, to act without contemplation is to act blindly. When I read the Hukamnama from Harmandir Sahib at lunch time every day (that's when it kindly arrives in my inbox), I read it and ponder and try to take it with me for the rest of the day. It's very difficult when the hukamnama is very long! It's not necessarily a neat little command that one can apply practically striaght away in life, and point to the result and say "there! I did it!" It's to be read, understood, imbibed (taken within and allowed to permeate one's being so the right actions come naturally).

I think Gurbani is more than a list of instructions, it's also motivational, comforting, liberating, and generates courage, focus and gives direction. Theres are abstract effects of the hukamnama and not necesarily a command. And if we focus on the direct action parts of the hukamnana only we miss out on understanding the more complex universal truths and concepts the Gurbani is trying to explain.

Yesterday's Hukamnama from ang 767:

Raag Soohee, Chhant, Third Mehl, Second House: One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru: Meditate on the Lord, and find peace and pleasure. As Gurmukh, obtain the Lord's fruitful rewards. As Gurmukh, obtain the fruit of the Lord, and meditate on the Lord's Name; the pains of countless lifetimes shall be erased. I am a sacrifice to my Guru, who has arranged and resolved all my affairs. The Lord God will bestow His Grace, if you meditate on the Lord; O humble servant of the Lord, you shall obtain the fruit of peace. Says Nanak, listen O humble Sibling of Destiny: meditate on the Lord, and find peace and pleasure. ||1|| Hearing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, I am intuitively drenched with His Love. Under Guru's Instruction, I meditate intuitively on the Naam. Those who have such pre-ordained destiny, meet the Guru, and their fears of birth and death leave them. One who eliminates evil-mindedness and duality from within himself, that humble being lovingly focuses his mind on the Lord. Those, upon whom my Lord and Master bestows His Grace, sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, night and day. Hearing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, I am intuitively drenched with His Love. ||2|| In this age, emancipation comes only from the Lord's Name. Contemplative meditation on the Word of the Shabad emanates from the Guru. Contemplating the Guru's Shabad, one comes to love the Lord's Name; he alone obtains it, unto whom the Lord shows Mercy. In peace and poise, he sings the Lord's Praises day and night, and all sins are eradicated. All are Yours, and You belong to all. I am Yours, and You are mine. In this age, emancipation comes only from the Lord's Name. ||3|| The Lord, my Friend has come to dwell within the home of my heart; singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, one is satisfied and fulfilled. Singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, one is satisfied forever, never to feel hunger again. That humble servant of the Lord, who meditates on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, is worshipped in the ten directions. O Nanak, He Himself joins and separates; there is no other than the Lord. The Lord, my Friend has come to dwell within the home of my heart. ||4||1||
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/questions-and-answers/38655-too-many-hukamnamas.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=38655

I'm seeing, maybe, 30% command, 70% other stuff there.

It would be nothing short of ritualism to take one's own hukamnama in the morning, receive another from the community Gurdwara, and yet another from the Golden Temple in one day because I'm not sure anyone can give adequate thought and application to all three of them.