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And When The Swan Soul Leaves The Body, Then ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ

japjisahib04

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Jan 22, 2005
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ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥
O dear friend, know this in your mind.
ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause||
ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.
ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you,
ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2||

Normally this pankti is linked with wife and has been interpreted accordingly by almost all the scholars. It is my belief that Gurbani is Universal Truth and each and every sabd opens up a new concept to make our life sachiar and applies to whole humanity irrespective of caste, creed, religions, age, gender, THAT IS WHY GURBANI IS CALLED SATGURU (Divine wisdom). When we link above pankti with wife, then does it mean this pankti does not apply to husband, bachelor or those ladies who are not married and all of them are singled out.

Further, logical question arises, when husband dies what else should we expect from the wife other than feeling sorry and take his body for final cremation rituals or she should sit around the dead body and perform lamp-lit worship with incense (aarti) i.e. lady has been understood for running away shouting pret pret. When wife dies, husband also feels sorry accordingly and move on with his life, then why do we discriminate and are biased towards woman. At least Panj Pyares of our Highest institution should be able to comprehend and understand the message of Guru sahib. At least they should know 'aath pehr prabh kou means installation of anti virus divine software and not parroting. But from their body language, their fatwa, their walk and talk to me I feel ashamed that Highest institution has been controlled by these ignorant and as such the brave quam is reduced to laughing stock.

Over here when gurbani says ‘pritam jaan’ it does not mean gurbani is addressing to friends or the beloved (who is residing in every heart sabhai ghat ram bolai)as the one who understand Him does not discriminate others especially by gender but is addressing to my tainted manh.

Then comes 'ghar ki naar' in above pankti. Let us contemplate on rahao pankti which is the central idea of this sabd, 'pritam jaan lehu mann mahi' guru sahib is pointing towards himself as a first person - so here 'ghar ki naar' is my tainted 'maligned intellect' and not housewife, who has opened his own devil workshop and is emotionally attached with it.

Therefore meaning of, 'Jab Hee Hans Thajee Eih Kaaneiaa Praeth Praeth Kar Bhaagee' when I forsake 'hans birti' divine intellect, my body become 'prat jivan di bhagi or grave yard where only ghost resides or ghost birti becomes part of my thought process, as Kabir ji has rightly said, 'ਕਬੀਰ ਜਾ ਘਰ ਸਾਧ ਨ ਸੇਵੀਅਹਿ ਹਰਿ ਕੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਨਾਹਿ ॥ਤੇ ਘਰ ਮਰਹਟ ਸਾਰਖੇ ਭੂਤ ਬਸਹਿ ਤਿਨ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧੯੨॥ - those houses in which neither the divine wisdom nor God are served those houses are like cremation grounds, demons dwells within that body. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. 1374.16. Thus it has got nothing to do with soul or death. Here 'bhaagi' is not run away but accountable to ghost birti.

I am only a student and would love share and look forward further improvement in my understand from learned members.

best regards
sahni
 
Last edited:

spnadmin

1947-2014 (Archived)
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Jun 17, 2004
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Re: "and When the Swan Soul Leaves the Body, then ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ "

I had to include some English words to the pankti because Gurmukhi does not show up properly in the links on the home page itself. Some part, the first part, of a title has to be in Roman alphabet. English is preferable because the official language of the forum is English, making it possible for both English and Punjabi speakers to get a sense of the topic to go with the link title.

Thank you.
 

Ishna

Writer
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May 9, 2006
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Thanks for sharing ji.

When I read this, I've never give much thought to the actual wife. When I read it, I see an example of how fake and hollow life is, because we'll all die, and ultimately the only relationship which is real is with Akaal Purakh. The painktee isn't making a judgement on anyone or about the scenario - it's just giving an example from real life to illustrate the truth, that when we die we leave people behind and they carry on their lives as if we weren't there.

Are we sure it needs to be any more complicated than being a mere illustration to prove a simple yet profound point?
 

japjisahib04

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Jan 22, 2005
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Ishna Jee

Gurbani is full of precious pearls but unfortunately there are very few takers. My way of understanding and explaining gurbani with logic is not liked by majority, but it does not bother me as I strongly believe in guru's vaak, 'ਨਾਨਕ ਗਇਆ ਜਾਪੈ ਜਾਇ ॥੩੪॥ only by living one recognizes the price of these gems. Thanks for sharing

best regards
sahni
 

chazSingh

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Feb 20, 2012
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Thanks for sharing ji.

When I read this, I've never give much thought to the actual wife. When I read it, I see an example of how fake and hollow life is, because we'll all die, and ultimately the only relationship which is real is with Akaal Purakh. The painktee isn't making a judgement on anyone or about the scenario - it's just giving an example from real life to illustrate the truth, that when we die we leave people behind and they carry on their lives as if we weren't there.

Are we sure it needs to be any more complicated than being a mere illustration to prove a simple yet profound point?

Yup, well said. it's just an example...gurbani cannot list every possible scenario or example...it's the underlying message behind the example that can be applied to any person, male female...married, un-married, etc etc etc
 

spnadmin

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Jun 17, 2004
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ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥
Soraṯẖ mėhlā 9.
Sorat'h, Ninth Mehl:

ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥
Parīṯam jān leho man māhī.
O dear friend, know this in your mind.

ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause||

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you,

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2||

ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕੋ ਬਿਉਹਾਰੁ ਬਨਿਓ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥
Ih biḏẖ ko bi▫uhār bani▫o hai jā si▫o nehu lagā▫i▫o.
This is the way they act - those whom we love so much.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. ||3||12||139||


The shabad on its face seems melancholy, almost to say that in times of adversity and in the hours and days surrounding our death, those who admired us and were attached to us will not come near. Even a much-loved wife believes she sees a ghost 'paret' and runs in fear when the swan-soul 'hans' leaves the body. Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa’s translation is a poetic English translation. However, I broke with his translation in places because I feel he has missed the point. Forgive my errors, because I found the grammar ambiguous in places, and correct me where I am wrong.

Probing a little deeper the images provide some other views, and the shabad could be seen to be a hopeful and uplifting message, and not so colored by feelings of being resigned to unreliable friends and family members who in the end abandon us. The shabad may even describe spiritual rebirth, where the one who dies in ego is the one who abandons familiar sources of contentment.

Pondering, ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|

Take as a given that 'jag,' our universe is debilitated by entanglements in personal pleasures, few of us can be truly there for others. Guru Teg Bahadur ji is saying that very few people are able to free themselves from the bondage to the pleasure they gain from the illusions they have about their place in the world.

Next, consider some of the powerful images Guruji presents that burst these personal myths.

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.

This tuk is actually saying that times of happiness and good fortune your house its 4 corners with friends and associates (those joined to you)

Friends avoid us in adversity, and even a spouse may run in fear.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

This tuk is saying when times of adversity come, fair women will not keep company with you (and by implication neither will your friends and associates); indeed even your wife draws away. We enjoy the company of friends and family in good times, but they avoid us in times of distress. The image is that of spiritual alienation. Guru Teg Bahadur is alluding to the Brahmin belief in samskars, or imprints from positive and negative experiences in life attach to our minds and color our destiny. Good and bad samskars are contagious. Our samskars attach to those around us. Hence, a person in distress, or at the time of death, is a problem because no one can endure negative samskars to burden them in their own reincarnation to a next life. This was the thinking of Guru’s time. And it was so deeply ingrained that ...

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you,

Meaning the wife that you kept in your own house, who was always tied to you,

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2||

In this shabad, as in other shabads, Guru Teg Bahadur ji consistently uses Hindu imagery to turn the tables on Brahmin beliefs. Particularly in this tuk he relates beliefs about death and the soul after death. A wife who was once attached to her husband at his death now recoils. In the shabad she runs in horror from a ghost. This is not a ghost in the western sense of a lingering soul, but the karmic residue of a dead person that can contaminate his survivors. The wife of a dead man could not touch him; his body had to be turned over, with even the jewels he might be wearing at the time of death, to a member of the Sudra caste who would dispose of the remains. By tradition a wife had to pull away in distress or risk her own purity.

Guru ji then labels the moment of death “when the swan-soul leaves the body.” The image of swan-soul is not a simple image of the soul as a swan in flight from the dead person’s spent body. Guru ji has deliberately picked the swan to foreshadow the end verses of the shabad. The swan is a special bird in Hindu mythology because it inhabits more than one plane of being: the earth, the water, the sky. It is often taken to mean a being at ease and in perfect balance in more than one habitat. It is capable of moving from one realm to the other with ease. The swan therefore becomes a symbol of the soul that is ready and able to merge with the Brahman and change its spiritual status. So, it is with a swan soul leaving the body and leaving beind those fearful of samskars and ghosts that Guruji leads us to the last verse. This is where he turns the tables.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the

Dear Lord. ||3||12||139||

The journey is complete and at its end, 'ant,' we are at a threshold, 'bar,' without Har, 'bin Har'... satisfaction there is none 'kam na a-i-o.' This tuk can mean that kam, usually meaning sense gratification, no longer has any value once our material attachment to the world and friends and loved ones is severed. In the final days, hours, and moments, on the threshold of life into death ‘Ant bar’ no one can give gratification, ‘kam,’ except ‘Har.’ However, the tuk might also mean, at the threshold of death into life, your friendships will have a different meaning, and your wife may not recognize you (she sees only the ghost of your former self). Only our attachment with Har, the indestructible truth, can satisfy us then. Only a swan soul is ready and able to find oneness with Akaal.
 

aristotle

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May 10, 2010
1,156
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Ancient Greece
Guru ji has deliberately picked the swan to foreshadow the end verses of the shabad. The swan is a special bird in Hindu mythology because it inhabits more than one plane of being: the earth, the water, the sky. It is often taken to mean a being at ease and in perfect balance in more than one habitat. It is capable of moving from one realm to the other
with ease. The swan therefore becomes a symbol of the soul that is ready and able to merge with the Brahman and change its spiritual status.

Thanks SpnadminJi, you answered my question even before I posted it. :happymunda:
 

spnadmin

1947-2014 (Archived)
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Jun 17, 2004
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aristotle ji

There is something I cannot put my finger on yet in this shabad that tells me that the flight of the soul after physical death is not the complete message. The way that swan-soul is used very deliberately here makes me think I have more thinking to do.
 

Luckysingh

Writer
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Dec 3, 2011
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ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥
Soraṯẖ mėhlā 9.
Sorat'h, Ninth Mehl:

ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥
Parīṯam jān leho man māhī.
O dear friend, know this in your mind.

ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause||

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you,

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2||

ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕੋ ਬਿਉਹਾਰੁ ਬਨਿਓ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥
Ih biḏẖ ko bi▫uhār bani▫o hai jā si▫o nehu lagā▫i▫o.
This is the way they act - those whom we love so much.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. ||3||12||139||


The shabad on its face seems melancholy, almost to say that in times of adversity and in the hours and days surrounding our death, those who admired us and were attached to us will not come near. Even a much-loved wife believes she sees a ghost 'paret' and runs in fear when the swan-soul 'hans' leaves the body. Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa’s translation is a poetic English translation. However, I broke with his translation in places because I feel he has missed the point. Forgive my errors, because I found the grammar ambiguous in places, and correct me where I am wrong.

Probing a little deeper the images provide some other views, and the shabad could be seen to be a hopeful and uplifting message, and not so colored by feelings of being resigned to unreliable friends and family members who in the end abandon us. The shabad may even describe spiritual rebirth, where the one who dies in ego is the one who abandons familiar sources of contentment.

Pondering, ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|

Take as a given that 'jag,' our universe is debilitated by entanglements in personal pleasures, few of us can be truly there for others. Guru Teg Bahadur ji is saying that very few people are able to free themselves from the bondage to the pleasure they gain from the illusions they have about their place in the world.

Next, consider some of the powerful images Guruji presents that burst these personal myths.

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.

This tuk is actually saying that times of happiness and good fortune filled your house its 4 corners with friends and associates (those joined to you)

Friends avoid us in adversity, and even a spouse may run in fear.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

This tuk is saying when times of adversity come, fair women will not keep company with you (and by implication neither will your friends and associates); indeed even your wife draws away. We enjoy the company of friends and family in good times, but they avoid us in times of distress. The image is that of spiritual alienation. Guru Teg Bahadur is alluding to the Brahmin belief in samskars, or imprints from positive and negative experiences in life attach to our minds and color our destiny. Good and bad samskars are contagious. Our samskars attach to those around us. Hence, a person in distress, or at the time of death, is a problem because no one can endure negative samskars to burden them in their own reincarnation to a next life. This was the thinking of Guru’s time. And it was so deeply ingrained that ...

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you,

Meaning the wife that you kept in your own house, who was always tied to you,

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2||

In this shabad, as in other shabads, Guru Teg Bahadur ji consistently uses Hindu imagery to turn the tables on Brahmin beliefs. Particularly in this tuk he relates beliefs about death and the soul after death. A wife who was once attached to her husband at his death now recoils. In the shabad she runs in horror from a ghost. This is not a ghost in the western sense of a lingering soul, but the karmic residue of a dead person that can contaminate his survivors. The wife of a dead man could not touch him; his body had to be turned over, with even the jewels he might be wearing at the time of death, to a member of the Sudra caste who would dispose of the remains. By tradition a wife had to pull away in distress or risk her own purity.

Guru ji then labels the moment of death “when the swan-soul leaves the body.” The image of swan-soul is not a simple image of the soul as a swan of in flight from the dead person’s spent body. Guru ji has deliberately picked the swan to foreshadow the end verses of the shabad. The swan is a special bird in Hindu mythology because it inhabits more than one plane of being: the earth, the water, the sky. It is often taken to mean a being at ease and in perfect balance in more than one habitat. It is capable of moving from one realm to the other with ease. The swan therefore becomes a symbol of the soul that is ready and able to merge with the Brahman and change its spiritual status. So, it is with a swan soul leaving the body and leaving beind those fearful of samskars and ghosts that Guruji leads us to the last verse. This is where he turns the tables.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the

Dear Lord. ||3||12||139||

The journey is complete and at its end, 'ant,' we are at a threshold, 'bar,' without Har, 'bin Har'... satisfaction there is none 'kam na a-i-o.' This tuk can mean that kam, usually meaning sense gratification, no longer has any value once our material attachment to the world and friends and loved ones is severed. In the final days, hours, and moments, on the threshold of life into death ‘Ant bar’ no one can give gratification, ‘kam,’ except ‘Har.’ However, the tuk might also mean, at the threshold of death into life, your friendships will have a different meaning, and your wife may not recognize you (she sees only the ghost of your former self). Only our attachment with Har, the indestructible truth, can satisfy us then. Only a swan soul is ready and able to find oneness with Akaal.

That was beautifully presented :blueturban:
 

Luckysingh

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aristotle ji

There is something I cannot put my finger on yet in this shabad that tells me that the flight of the soul after physical death is not the complete message. The way that swan-soul is used very deliberately here makes me think I have more thinking to do.

I think it's more about the affections and attachments to our loved ones, rather than the death.
Remembering that Death of the Ego is of more significance for a sikh of the Guru.
The affections and attachments to loved ones, ALL stem from the ego-mind.
9th Guruji also mentions elsewhere about the mind being like a dog's tail that can never be straightened with ease.

The swan, I think has many qualities as you mention.
A gurmukh is someimes equated to the swan that can separate milk from water.

I think we might get further understanding from cross-referencing with Bhai Gurdas ji's Varan here.
I shall try and learn further some time later.
(very busy editing music at the moment -just browsing in between file saves)
 

japjisahib04

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Probing a little deeper the images provide some other views, and the shabad could be seen to be a hopeful and uplifting message, and not so colored by feelings of being resigned to unreliable friends and family members who in the end abandon us. The shabad may even describe spiritual rebirth, where the one who dies in ego is the one who abandons familiar sources of contentment.

Pondering, ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|

Take as a given that 'jag,' our universe is debilitated by entanglements in personal pleasures, few of us can be truly there for others. Guru Teg Bahadur ji is saying that very few people are able to free themselves from the bondage to the pleasure they gain from the illusions they have about their place in the world.

Next, consider some of the powerful images Guruji presents that burst these personal myths.

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, many come and sit together, surrounding you on all four sides.

This tuk is actually saying that times of happiness and good fortune filled your house its 4 corners with friends and associates (those joined to you)

Friends avoid us in adversity, and even a spouse may run in fear.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1||

This tuk is saying when times of adversity come, fair women will not keep company with you (and by implication neither will your friends and associates); indeed even your wife draws away. We enjoy the company of friends and family in good times, but they avoid us in times of distress. The image is that of spiritual alienation. Guru Teg Bahadur is alluding to the Brahmin belief in samskars, or imprints from positive and negative experiences in life attach to our minds and color our destiny. Good and bad samskars are contagious. Our samskars attach to those around us. Hence, a person in distress, or at the time of death, is a problem because no one can endure negative samskars to burden them in their own reincarnation to a next life. This was the thinking of Guru’s time. And it was so deeply ingrained that.
Spnadmin Jee

With apologies, the understanding that every one is engrossed in his/her own comforts and none is for another is true to some extent but to state that gurbani is endorsing and encouraging such type of ideology, I feel is not fair and is an insult to humanity or to those who are deeply, emotionally attached with their dearest. If this was the case, Guru sahib would have never advocated grehast Jivan. This way we remain no more than a machine and there will be no Love, attachment, sentiment - everything would have been on contract basis.

Once we read together this panti of kabir jee 'ਕਬੀਰ ਜਾ ਦਿਨ ਹਉ ਮੂਆ ਪਾਛੈ ਭਇਆ ਅਨੰਦੁ ॥ ਮੋਹਿ ਮਿਲਿਓ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਆਪਨਾ ਸੰਗੀ ਭਜਹਿ ਗਬਿੰਦੁ ॥੬॥ Kabeer, on the day ego vanishes, afterwards there shall be bliss and I shall enjoy ecastacy with Oneness, then who are these, 'ਸੰਗੀ ਭਜਹਿ ਗਬਿੰਦੁ ॥ shall all my friends and companions will join in His praise or my body organs indray and gian indray will join to sing His praise' with above pankti, we will be better able to understand it.

Kabir Jee is telling his mind to grab this opportunity and realize that your companions e.g. tongue, ear, nose, kaam are only interested in their pleasure and they will never like that you come out from this 'jag - tainted mind' and change your habits as at difficult time none will come to rescue, thus let divine wisdom be the base of your 'jag - your thought process and control them so that body is not unnecessarily eroded in superfluous acts. So I feel Guru sahib is pointing towards himself as a first person and not referring to selfishness of wife, friends or family members or general public.

You will notice 'ਹੰਸੁ' appeared more than thousand times in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and at most places it denotes hans birtee and 'ant baar' means the moment you ignore the truth and not last moment of life.

best regards
sahni
 

Luckysingh

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So I feel Guru sahib is pointing towards himself as a first person and not referring to selfishness of friends or family members or general public.

Yes, that I agree with. But don't forget that it is the SELF-EGO that gives rise to the attachments and affections for close ones.
Therefore, I don't think that anyone has made a wrong point or is off track.
Of course,we are told to Love and have grihasti jeevan. But this Love is for ALL of humanity and All that are around us.
Sad;y,the Ego makes us put our close ones in our personal 'Affection' bubbles and exclude all others outside this bubble.
However, the True Lord becomes harder to acknowledge when we are too busy attached with all those inside our bubble.
At death, this bubble bursts and all those within it, blend in with the excludes from earlier. But the Lord Almighty is the Only One that remains close and embedded within us and was Inside and Outside the Bubble all along!
 

spnadmin

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japjisahib ji

The shabad is saying this, without argument, but implying this learning, not saying it directly.

realize that your companions e.g. tongue, ear, nose, kaam are only interested in their pleasure and they will never like that you come out from this 'jag - tainted mind' and change your habits as at difficult time none will come to rescue, thus let divine wisdom be the base of your 'jag - your thought process and control them so that body is not unnecessarily eroded in superfluous acts. So I feel Guru sahib is pointing towards himself as a first person

But first you have to examine what the words say before you can get to the moral lesson. Guru Tej Bahadur was using reality and describing reality to move on the final tuk. Ordinary experience of ordinary people of his time.

Often I find myself trying to overcome my own frustration with the tendency to say Guru ji says in shabad xxx ...... and a moral lesson yyy follows. Then one is left wondering how on earth do we get to that lesson from the words I am reading before my eyes. It is so arbitrary to do that, yet we do that all the time. And when we do it the majesty of Guruji's use of imagery is overlooked; yet that imagery is how we learn, and get to the end of the shabad.

So that is what I am trying to do. Look at the words, and then say
The journey is complete and at its end, 'ant,' we are at a threshold, 'bar,' without Har, 'bin Har'... satisfaction there is none 'kam na a-i-o.' This tuk can mean that kam, usually meaning sense gratification, no longer has any value once our material attachment to the world and friends and loved ones is severed. In the final days, hours, and moments, on the threshold of life into death ‘Ant bar’ no one can give gratification, ‘kam,’ except ‘Har.’ However, the tuk might also mean, at the threshold of death into life, your friendships will have a different meaning, and your wife may not recognize you (she sees only the ghost of your former self). Only our attachment with Har, the indestructible truth, can satisfy us then. Only a swan soul is ready and able to find oneness with Akaal

Every shabad has a logical progression of ideas. Humans are not insulted nor are women demeaned in the shabad by my 'wrong' translation.

Women were as much trapped by social beliefs then as women are today by other beliefs. The world fills our minds with delusion. To touch a dead body was to become impure to the Brahmin. That is the way it was. The conclusion we should draw revolves around the image of the soul-swan or hans. To make the 'ant' or 'ultimate' connection with Waheguru do we become the 'swan?' What is the mistaken thinking 'in my mind' that keeps from making that connection Guru ji asks. Then he goes on and explains how our actions belie our wrong thinking.

I cannot read the shabad by picking one idea out and then picking another idea out. It is my opinion that everything in the shabad fits together like a puzzle.
 

spnadmin

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I think it's more about the affections and attachments to our loved ones, rather than the death.
Remembering that Death of the Ego is of more significance for a sikh of the Guru.
The affections and attachments to loved ones, ALL stem from the ego-mind.
9th Guruji also mentions elsewhere about the mind being like a dog's tail that can never be straightened with ease.

The swan, I think has many qualities as you mention.
A gurmukh is someimes equated to the swan that can separate milk from water.

I think we might get further understanding from cross-referencing with Bhai Gurdas ji's Varan here.
I shall try and learn further some time later.
(very busy editing music at the moment -just browsing in between file saves)

I agree with you and also think that cross-referencing to all the different uses of swan in Gurbani would shed light on the image on this shabad. There are only about 20 or 25 times where hans is mentioned and that is doable.
 

japjisahib04

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japjisahib ji

The shabad is saying this, without argument, but implying this learning, not saying it directly.



But first you have to examine what the words say before you can get to the moral lesson. Guru Tej Bahadur was using reality and describing reality to move on the final tuk. Ordinary experience of ordinary people of his time.

Often I find myself trying to overcome my own frustration with the tendency to say Guru ji says in shabad xxx ...... and a moral lesson yyy follows. Then one is left wondering how on earth do we get to that lesson from the words I am reading before my eyes. It is so arbitrary to do that, yet we do that all the time. And when we do it the majesty of Guruji's use of imagery is overlooked; yet that imagery is how we learn, and get to the end of the shabad.

So that is what I am trying to do. Look at the words, and then say

Every shabad has a logical progression of ideas. Humans are not insulted nor are women demeaned in the shabad by my 'wrong' translation.

Women were as much trapped by social beliefs then as women are today by other beliefs. The world fills our minds with delusion. To touch a dead body was to become impure to the Brahmin. That is the way it was. The conclusion we should draw revolves around the image of the soul-swan or hans. To make the 'ant' or 'ultimate' connection with Waheguru do we become the 'swan?' What is the mistaken thinking 'in my mind' that keeps from making that connection Guru ji asks. Then he goes on and explains how our actions belie our wrong thinking.

I cannot read the shabad by picking one idea out and then picking another idea out. It is my opinion that everything in the shabad fits together like a puzzle.
Spnadmin Jee

I understand your concern but gurbani is written in vernacular language where rahao is the central idea. You remember last time while I was interpreting separation from God S. Tejwant Singh Ji immediately corrected me and I realized I didn't reflect rahao while picking one liner.

Before I start you will notice that in addition to Guru Tegh Bahadur word 'ghar ki naar' or 'ghar ki ghehan changi' has been used by Guru Arjun Dev Jee(page 737) Bhagat Ravidas Jee(page 794), Bhagat Naam Dev Jee(page 1164 and 'ghar ki ghehan changi (page 695.19) and you yourself can analyse whether guru sahiban or bhagats are referring to (lady of the house) or tainted mind of manh ki matt or following derawala's matt instead of guru ki matt.

When we interpret sweeping statement that at time of difficulties all your own leaves you is not correct at least not with me or with my family members. Almost all of them stand together during difficulties and find solution. Yes I can believe when jamm strike at manh and make him sick with regular (pal pal marna) all those organs(who were acting as companion_and who were getting power from manh, do not stand with manh but run away. So guru sahib is trying to tell us to beware and instead enshrine divine. When we interpret 'ant bar' or 'ant kaal' as last moment, is it correct. Can anyone predict his ant kaal or ant bar.

best regards
sahni
 

spnadmin

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I think you are disagreeing with me over conclusions I never stated, japjisahib ji. I made a couple of requests for anuvada and then parchaar, before aarth. That way we can see how Guruji progresses to his conclusions, and connects the aarth to the shabad instead of general principles. What often happens is that we like the principles being propounded and forget to ask how the words themselves led to those principles.

If we jump to aarth, then a few shabads is all we need to get to the general principles, and not 1429 pages of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. If we jump to aarth, there is also no way of knowing what the better understanding is, or whether one understanding complements another understanding, because they are not contradictory.

Rehao line is the focal point of the shabad and to leave it out of the aarth is absolutely wrong. However, the reaho line is not the only matter that needs to be taken into one's consideration when thinking about a shabad. I don't think anyone would or has argued that.


You would do a great favor jio if you copy the 3 or 4 ideas you are putting forth in the thread, and then tell us how they follow from the exact wording in the shabad. That way it is less likely that I will misunderstand you.
 

japjisahib04

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Spnadmin Jee

I am presenting my understanding of each pankti in bold. I hope this will clarifies.

ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥
Soraṯẖ mėhlā 9.
Sorat'h, Ninth Mehl:

ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥
Parīṯam jān leho man māhī.
O dear friend, know this in your mind. Pritam over here stands for my mind as a first person(thus advise is not for other but for myself), to listen and recognize the divine message within.

ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|| The world over here is not being addressed to the people of outside world but the organ - indray and gian indray of my body are engrossed in enjoying the demons acts due to my tainted mind in the absense of divine but remember none of them are for you during emergency.

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, all indray and gian indray of my body come and sit together and sing, 'ਦੇਹੀ ਗਾਵਾ ਜੀਉ ਧਰ ਮਹਤਉ ਬਸਹਿ ਪੰਚ ਕਿਰਸਾਨਾ ॥ ਨੈਨੂ ਨਕਟੂ ਸ੍ਰਵਨੂ ਰਸਪਤਿ ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀ ਕਹਿਆ ਨ ਮਾਨਾ ॥੧॥ and in the absence of divine, since these have surrounded the manh then no matter 1430 or presentation of more analogies it does not make difference to them.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come and, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1|| when manh faces the hukam of jamm and loses its strength (by pal pal marna) then all these sanghi sathi who were your real friends don't come near

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you, Since pankti is referring to my mind as first person therefore, over here 'ghar ki naar' stands for my tainted intellect' and not housewife, who has opened his own devil workshop in my body and is emotionally attached with it.

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2|| when I forsake 'hans birti' divine intellect, my body become 'prat jivan di bhagi or grave yard where only ghost resides or ghost birti becomes part of my thought process. Here 'bhaagi' is not run away but accountable to ghost birti.

ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕੋ ਬਿਉਹਾਰੁ ਬਨਿਓ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥
Ih biḏẖ ko bi▫uhār bani▫o hai jā si▫o nehu lagā▫i▫o.
This is the way they act - those whom you are emotionally attached without thinking.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. ||3||12||139|| Thus by ignoring the divine within, your chance is lost in gamble

I don't think dead body ever used to be considered impure as even during Guru sahib times, lady used to keep body of dead husband in her lap and lit the pyre (in sati pratha). Further I have never heard husband or wife ever runs away upon the death of their partner running crying ghost ghost. On the contrary hundreds of family members and friends joins to lit the pyre at the time of death and cremation. Every one feels sorry. Gurbani is forever. We are living in 21st century and people are educated enough to realize that dead body has to be disposed off. I am focusing mainly on sentence stating running and crying ghost ghost (thus surface meaning seems illogical). Further, by linking this pankti with lady and calling pret pret, I feel we are trying to make gurbani obsolete.

Best regards
sahni
 

mandemeet

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Spnadmin Jee

I am presenting my understanding of each pankti in bold. I hope this will clarifies.

ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥
Soraṯẖ mėhlā 9.
Sorat'h, Ninth Mehl:

ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥
Parīṯam jān leho man māhī.
O dear friend, know this in your mind. Pritam over here stands for my mind as a first person(thus advise is not for other but for myself), to listen and recognize the divine message within.

ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Apne sukẖ si▫o hī jag fāʼnḏẖi▫o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|| The world over here is not being addressed to the people of outside world but the organ - indray and gian indray of my body are engrossed in enjoying the demons acts due to my tainted mind in the absense of divine but remember none of them are for you during emergency.

ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ ॥
Sukẖ mai ān bahuṯ mil baiṯẖaṯ rahaṯ cẖahū ḏis gẖerai.
In good times, all indray and gian indray of my body come and sit together and sing, 'ਦੇਹੀ ਗਾਵਾ ਜੀਉ ਧਰ ਮਹਤਉ ਬਸਹਿ ਪੰਚ ਕਿਰਸਾਨਾ ॥ ਨੈਨੂ ਨਕਟੂ ਸ੍ਰਵਨੂ ਰਸਪਤਿ ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀ ਕਹਿਆ ਨ ਮਾਨਾ ॥੧॥ and in the absence of divine, since these have surrounded the manh then no matter 1430 or presentation of more analogies it does not make difference to them.

ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
Bipaṯ parī sabẖ hī sang cẖẖādiṯ ko▫ū na āvaṯ nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come and, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1|| when manh faces the hukam of jamm and loses its strength (by pal pal marna) then all these sanghi sathi who were your real friends don't come near

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ ॥
Gẖar kī nār bahuṯ hiṯ jā si▫o saḏā rahaṯ sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you, Since pankti is referring to my mind as first person therefore, over here 'ghar ki naar' stands for my tainted intellect' and not housewife, who has opened his own devil workshop in my body and is emotionally attached with it.

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ ॥੨॥
Jab hī hans ṯajī ih kāʼn▫i▫ā pareṯ pareṯ kar bẖāgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2|| when I forsake 'hans birti' divine intellect, my body become 'prat jivan di bhagi or grave yard where only ghost resides or ghost birti becomes part of my thought process. Here 'bhaagi' is not run away but accountable to ghost birti.

ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕੋ ਬਿਉਹਾਰੁ ਬਨਿਓ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥
Ih biḏẖ ko bi▫uhār bani▫o hai jā si▫o nehu lagā▫i▫o.
This is the way they act - those whom you are emotionally attached without thinking.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਇਓ ॥੩॥੧੨॥੧੩੯॥
Anṯ bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫ū kām na ā▫i▫o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. ||3||12||139|| Thus by ignoring the divine within, your chance is lost in gamble

I don't think dead body ever used to be considered impure as even during Guru sahib times, lady used to keep body of dead husband in her lap and lit the pyre (in sati pratha). Further I have never heard husband or wife ever runs away upon the death of their partner running crying ghost ghost. On the contrary hundreds of family members and friends joins to lit the pyre at the time of death and cremation. Every one feels sorry. Gurbani is forever. We are living in 21st century and people are educated enough to realize that dead body has to be disposed off. I am focusing mainly on sentence stating running and crying ghost ghost (thus surface meaning seems illogical). Further, by linking this pankti with lady and calling pret pret, I feel we are trying to make gurbani obsolete.

Best regards
sahni
Japjisahib04 ji,
Respectfully, I strongly disagree with you the way you are looking at the Gurbani. I feel it is hard to convince you as Chaz Singh ji and Spnadmin ji have tried and no effect is noticed on your understanding. I have put my comments in Atelic and yours in blue fonts. If you think only you have found the right meaning, no more comments are necessary then.

I am presenting my understanding of each pankti in bold. I hope this will clarifies.
ਸੋਰਠਿ ਮਹਲਾ
Soraṯẖ[/FONT] mėhlā 9.
Sorat'h, Ninth Mehl:
ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਜਾਨਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ
Parīṯ[/FONT]am jān leho man māhī.
O dear friend, know this in your mind. Pritam over here stands for my mind as a first person(thus advise is not for other but for myself), to listen and recognize the divine message within.


ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ is for Akalpurakh, not for the mind, because ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ doesn’t support you.


ਅਪਨੇ ਸੁਖ ਸਿਉ ਹੀ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ ਕੋ ਕਾਹੂ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ਰਹਾਉ
Apne sukẖ[/FONT] si▫[/FONT]o hī jag fāʼnḏẖ[/FONT]i▫[/FONT]o ko kāhū ko nāhī. ||1|| rahā▫[/FONT]o.
The world is entangled in its own pleasures; no one is for anyone else. ||1||Pause|| The world over here is not being addressed to the people of outside world but the organ - indray and gian indray of my body are engrossed in enjoying the demons acts due to my tainted mind in the absense of divine but remember none of them are for you during emergency.

If it is addressed to organs, why the word “ਜਗੁ ਫਾਂਧਿਓ” is used? Why the Guru needs ਜਗੁ? Subject is ਜਗੁ. It is indeed addressed to the people.


ਸੁਖ ਮੈ ਆਨਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਬੈਠਤ ਰਹਤ ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ

Sukẖ[/FONT] mai ān bahuṯ[/FONT] mil baiṯẖ[/FONT]aṯ[/FONT] rahaṯ[/FONT] cẖ[/FONT]ahū ḏ[/FONT]is gẖ[/FONT]erai.
In good times, all indray and gian indray of my body come and sit together and sing, 'ਦੇਹੀ ਗਾਵਾ ਜੀਉ ਧਰ ਮਹਤਉ ਬਸਹਿ ਪੰਚ ਕਿਰਸਾਨਾ ਨੈਨੂ ਨਕਟੂ ਸ੍ਰਵਨੂ ਰਸਪਤਿ ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀ ਕਹਿਆ ਮਾਨਾ and in the absence of divine, since these have surrounded the manh then no matter 1430 or presentation of more analogies it does not make difference to them.




Why ਚਹੂ ਦਿਸਿ ਘੇਰੈ is mentioned if they are the organs? The organs dont act that way. ਧਰ ਮਹਤਉ ਬਸਹਿ ਪੰਚ ਕਿਰਸਾਨਾ ਨੈਨੂ ਨਕਟੂ ਸ੍ਰਵਨੂ ਰਸਪਤਿ ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀ ਕਹਿਆ ਮਾਨਾ The Guru refers to out of control organs but here he is saying about relatives who remain close for selfish cause.


ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਹੀ ਸੰਗੁ ਛਾਡਿਤ ਕੋਊ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ
Bipaṯ[/FONT] parī sabẖ[/FONT] hī sang cẖẖ[/FONT]ādiṯ[/FONT] ko▫[/FONT]ū na āvaṯ[/FONT] nerai. ||1||
But when hard times come and, they all leave, and no one comes near you. ||1|| when manh faces the hukam of jamm and loses its strength (by pal pal marna) then all these sanghi sathi who were your real friends don't come near



ਬਿਪਤਿ ਪਰੀ doesnt mean the end but hard times; therefore, the organs dont act that wa. It is not about Jamm. Where is Jamm in these lines? ਕੋਊ ਆਵਤ ਨੇਰੈ Cannot be said about organs.

ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਹਿਤੁ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਸਦਾ ਰਹਤ ਸੰਗ ਲਾਗੀ
Gẖ[/FONT]ar kī nār bahuṯ[/FONT] hiṯ[/FONT] jā si▫[/FONT]o saḏ[/FONT]ā rahaṯ[/FONT] sang lāgī.
Your wife, whom you love so much, and who has remained ever attached to you, Since pankti is referring to my mind as first person therefore, over here 'ghar ki naar' stands for my tainted intellect' and not housewife, who has opened his own devil workshop in my body and is emotionally attached with it.


ਘਰ ਕੀ ਨਾਰਿ is known as wife not intellect; wife doesn’t run a house in India but husband especially not in those days when the Guru wrote it. Woman is qualified with ਘਰ ਕੀ means wife.

ਜਬ ਹੀ ਹੰਸ ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਭਾਗੀ
Jab hī hans ṯ[/FONT]ajī ih kāʼn▫[/FONT]i▫[/FONT]ā pareṯ[/FONT] pareṯ[/FONT] kar bẖ[/FONT]āgī. ||2||
runs away crying, "Ghost! Ghost!", as soon as the swan-soul leaves this body. ||2|| when I forsake 'hans birti' divine intellect, my body become 'prat jivan di bhagi or grave yard where only ghost resides or ghost birti becomes part of my thought process. Here 'bhaagi' is not run away but accountable to ghost birti.



As the person dies, your referred “intellect” dies as well. You cannot ignore ਤਜੀ ਇਹ ਕਾਂਇਆ


ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕੋ ਬਿਉਹਾਰੁ ਬਨਿਓ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਸਿਉ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ
Ih biḏẖ[/FONT] ko bi▫[/FONT]uhār bani▫[/FONT]o hai jā si▫[/FONT]o nehu lagā▫[/FONT]i▫[/FONT]o.
This is the way they act - those whom you are emotionally attached without thinking.


Once one dies, this is the way they behave with whom you get attached. Thinking is done by the brains not the organs. The idea is about the world playing the game of love.

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਆਇਓ ੧੨੧੩੯
Anṯ[/FONT] bār Nānak bin har jī ko▫[/FONT]ū kām na ā▫[/FONT]i▫[/FONT]o. ||3||12||139||
At the very last moment, O Nanak, no one is any use at all, except the Dear Lord. ||3||12||139||
Thus by ignoring the divine within, your life is lost in gamble

ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ is not translated by you though it is important; its meaning is the last moment, it is not metaphor; it is about the time ਕੋਊ ਕਾਮਿ ਆਇਓ : when? ਅੰਤ ਬਾਰ.

I don't think dead body ever used to be considered impure as even during Guru sahib times, lady used to keep body of dead husband in her lap and lit the pyre (in sati pratha). Further I have never heard husband or wife ever runs away upon the death of their partner running crying ghost ghost.




Gentleman! It is a way of saying, that doesnt mean people leave the dead and run away. They get together and cremate or burry the dead . it is about a scene in those days at the time of someone’s death. At one side, you take every word as metaphor and you are also taking literal meaning in your above comments. You have failed to understand that the Guru is focusing on the attachment and its end.
.
On the contrary hundreds of family members and friends joins to lit the pyre at the time of death and cremation. Every one feels sorry. Gurbani is forever. We are living in 21st century and people are educated enough to realize that dead body has to be disposed off. I am focusing mainly on sentence stating running and crying ghost ghost (thus surface meaning seems illogical). Further, by linking this pankti with lady and calling pret pret, I feel we are trying to make gurbani obsolete.


No you are under estimating the application of the Gurbani. You take every word in the Gurbani as metaphor, which is not the case. There are references to History or mythology, the traditions and rituals prevailing in the society and they are not metaphors. 21 century doesn’t demand to distort the bani.
I recommend you to reread what Chaz Singh ji and Spnadmin ji have posted. If you do so, the message of the shabd becomes very clear. Going through your translation one wonders what is going on here because your all application is questionable.
I also suggest you to go through the following quote of Spnadmin, may be you will rethink again

Rehao line is the focal point of the shabad and to leave it out of the aarth is absolutely wrong. However, the reaho line is not the only matter that needs to be taken into one's consideration when thinking about a shabad. I don't think anyone would or has argued that”. ----spnadmin

Thanks
with regards always
Mandemeet:winkingkaur:
 

japjisahib04

Mentor
SPNer
Jan 22, 2005
822
1,294
kuwait
We can always agree to disagree. Gurbani has answer for all queries.

When kabir jee says, 'ਕਬੀਰ ਜਾ ਦਿਨ ਹਉ ਮੂਆ ਪਾਛੈ ਭਇਆ ਅਨੰਦੁ ॥ ਮੋਹਿ ਮਿਲਿਓ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਆਪਨਾ ਸੰਗੀ ਭਜਹਿ ਗਬਿੰਦੁ ॥੬॥ Kabeer, on the day ego 'ਹਉ ਮੂਆ' vanishes, there shall be bliss afterwards and I shall enjoy ecastacy with Oneness, then who are these, 'ਸੰਗੀ ਭਜਹਿ ਗਬਿੰਦੁ ॥ upon vanishing of ego, do the friends and relative start chanting 'waheguru waheguru' or my body organs indray and gian indray starts acting in positive and constructive manner. Best luck.

best regards
sahni
 

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