In the Guru?s system, the entire development has to be integrated, good actions eading to change in emotions and attitudes, and change in motives and approach resulting in good reactions and deeds. According to the Guru, "without good deeds no worship is possible." [1. p. 4].
Here is an important word of caution. We are not at all denying the basic sanctity of the mystic approach and experience, or that the ultimate link with Naam involving the highest spiritual or suprasensory experience is an act of God?s Grace. All we suggest is that according to the Sikh Gurus, the seeker?s way to invite God?s Grace is through virtuous and non-egoistic deeds in life, and that after the mystic experience, the compulsion for such deeds is even greater than before, since one is the creative instrument of the Attributive Naam, dynamically directing and sustaining the world.
9. Conclusion
We recapitulate briefly our conclusions :
(i) The Transcendent God expressed Himself in Naam that created the world.
(ii) Naam is the Creative and Dynamic Immanence of God, supporting and directing the becoming universe towards (a) a qualityful goal and (b) the emergence of a society of supermen.
(iii) The Gurus? system is monotheistic, since God is both Transcendent and Immanent, and the world is His creation.
(iv) The world is proclaimed as authentic and the sole sphere of Naam?s deed, interest and activity. It is not illusory or of a lower category of reality.
(v) Accordingly, all human actions have a reality and validity, and are immoral or moral, destructive or constructive, self-centred or God-centred, to the extent they contribute or not to the ethics of Naam or a unitary view of life.
(vi) The superman is both the knower and the executor of God?s Will. After enlightenment, his duties and responsibilities, as the agent of Naam, increase and become more purposeful. He cannot be a silent spectator of this world, or a mere enjoyer of bliss; his bliss lies in being yoked to God?s purpose, giving meaning to life, and hope and optimism to man, i.e., in Sikhism, the test, expression and goal of all mystic and spiritual endeavour is life and life alone.
(vii) The way to establish link with Naam is through virtuous participation and deeds in all aspects of life, which is the sole arena and test of spiritual and mystic activity both for men and supermen. It is not possible to have link with God by ritualistic, ascetic or escapist practices or even so-called salvation or merger.
We recapitulate briefly our conclusions :
(i) The Transcendent God expressed Himself in Naam that created the world.
(ii) Naam is the Creative and Dynamic Immanence of God, supporting and directing the becoming universe towards (a) a qualityful goal and (b) the emergence of a society of supermen.
(iii) The Gurus? system is monotheistic, since God is both Transcendent and Immanent, and the world is His creation.
(iv) The world is proclaimed as authentic and the sole sphere of Naam?s deed, interest and activity. It is not illusory or of a lower category of reality.
(v) Accordingly, all human actions have a reality and validity, and are immoral or moral, destructive or constructive, self-centred or God-centred, to the extent they contribute or not to the ethics of Naam or a unitary view of life.
(vi) The superman is both the knower and the executor of God?s Will. After enlightenment, his duties and responsibilities, as the agent of Naam, increase and become more purposeful. He cannot be a silent spectator of this world, or a mere enjoyer of bliss; his bliss lies in being yoked to God?s purpose, giving meaning to life, and hope and optimism to man, i.e., in Sikhism, the test, expression and goal of all mystic and spiritual endeavour is life and life alone.
(vii) The way to establish link with Naam is through virtuous participation and deeds in all aspects of life, which is the sole arena and test of spiritual and mystic activity both for men and supermen. It is not possible to have link with God by ritualistic, ascetic or escapist practices or even so-called salvation or merger.
The doctrine of Naam gives a clear clue to the understanding of Sikh theology and Sikh history. It also explains vividly the ten Gurus? attack on the socio-political institutions of their times, their martyrdoms and military preparations and struggle with a view to creating new socio-political organisations and institutions, and how all these were the logical consequence of a single spiritual thesis and the continuous unfolding of a planned process, uninfluenced by local, social or political circumstances or the exigencies or accidents of history.
REFERENCES
1. Guru Granth Sahib.
2. Bachitar Natak, part A-6 (33).
3. Galloway : The Philosophy of Religion, Edinburgh, 1915, p. 654.
4. See, Niharranjan Ray : The Sikh Gurus and The Sikh Society, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1970.
5. Sharma, I. C. : The Ethics of Buddhism, Ethical Philosophies of India, p. 169.
6. Smith Huston : The Religion of Man, New York, 1959, p. 214.
7. Stace, W. T. : Mysticism and Philosophy, p. 126
REFERENCES
1. Guru Granth Sahib.
2. Bachitar Natak, part A-6 (33).
3. Galloway : The Philosophy of Religion, Edinburgh, 1915, p. 654.
4. See, Niharranjan Ray : The Sikh Gurus and The Sikh Society, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1970.
5. Sharma, I. C. : The Ethics of Buddhism, Ethical Philosophies of India, p. 169.
6. Smith Huston : The Religion of Man, New York, 1959, p. 214.
7. Stace, W. T. : Mysticism and Philosophy, p. 126
Concept OF Naam in Sikhism
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sent by: Gurdip Singh Sekhon <gurdip@pacbell.net> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waheguru Jee Ki Khalsa Waheguru jee Ki Fateh!
This article is worth reading.
CONCEPT OF NAM (DIVINE NAME):
According to Gurmat (Guru's teaching), before the creation, God lived Absolutely by Himself, Formless. When He made Himself manifest, He first formed Himself into NAM (Divine Name) and then created Nature. After creating Nature, He did not go away from it, rather He sustained His creation with His Own presence into it, and felt delighted.
"Aapinai aap sajio aapinai rachio Nao Dui kudrat sajiai kar asan ditho chao." (Asa Mohalla 1- pauri 1, p-463)
"God created Himself and assumed Name Second besides Himself He created Nature
Seated in Nature He watches with delight what He creates." (Translation of the above)
1) NAM (Divine Name) and God are not two different entities. Nam is just another aspect of the Almighty, still Formless. Nam is the total
expression of all that God is. Nam sustains everything:
"Nam sustains and controls all beings
Nam supports the universe and its regions." (Gauri Sukhmani Mohalla 5, 16-5, p-284)
2) Nam is not expressed as mere noun and it does not mean that there is a special name of God and by enchanting of which, one will meet Him. He
is Infinite and can be called with infinite names, but who can count His infinite names? The enlightened and the blessed ones remember Him through His Attributes:
"Tav sarb nam kathai kavan
Karm nam barnat sumat."
(Guru Gobind Singh- Jap Sahib)
3) God may be called by countless names by the devotees, who create these names according to the attributes of their Godhead, but the first and the foremost name of God is clearly depicted as 'SAT' (Eternal Truth) which shows the ever-existence of God:
"Kirtam nam kathai terei jihba
Satnam tera pra purbla."
(Maru Mohalla 5, p-1083)
4) The word NAM is a mystic Word used in practical religious life and in discipline of meditation. God is remembered by His attributive names.
There is another aspect of it called true Name which emanates from a prophet's personal experience. It emerges from a vision that the Prophet has of the Divine Being. Such a mystic Word in Sikh religion is called 'Waheguru' or Wonderful God or 'Thou art Wonderful'. True Name is not the word by which we describe an object, but the total power, quality and character of Reality. Through the word 'Waheguru' the prophet has tried to sum up mystic power and experience of His presence all around. Prophets have given us Divine Names of the nameless God, which reflect His presence in our consciousness. Contemplation or meditation on true Name (Waheguru) is called practicing the presence of God in one's conscious.
5) Gurbani (Divine Word) itself is NAM.
a) Gurbani itself is Nam:
"Gurmukh bani nam hai, nam ridai vasaie." (Sarang ki Var-pauri, p-1239)
b) The term 'Nam Japo' means to remember God and to invoke His presence in one's conscious. All modes of meditation take the devotee into the presence of God, but according to Gurbani, Hari Kirtan, the musical recitation of Gurbani, is the super form of meditation. It invokes one's consciousness to the maximum level, into the presence of God:
"Har kirat utam Nam hai vich kaljug karni sar." (Kanre ki Var Mohalla 4, p-1314)
c) The Gurmat explains that the recitation of the word 'Har Har..' is Nam Japna:
"Har har har har nam hai gurmukh pavai koei." (Kanre ki Var Mohalla 4, p-1313)
d) Salvation cannot be attained without Nam. In other words anything that delivers salvation is Nam. Since Gurbani delivers salvation, therefore, Gurbani is Nam:
"Sachi bani mithi amritdhar
Jinh piti tis mokhdwar."
(Malar Mohalla 1, p-1275)
'The True Bani is sweet-nectar
Whosoever is devoted to it, attaineth salvation." (Translation of the above)
"Sachi bani sion dhare piyar
Tako pavai mokhdwar."
(Dhanasari Mohalla 1, p-661)
Whosoever devoted to Eternal Bani
Will get deliverance."
(Translation of the above)
It is therefore, very clear and evident that any form of recitation of Gurbani, may be simple reading with attention and devotion or meditation on any Sabad of Gurbani or Kirtan of Gurbani, is fully deemed as Nam Japna (meditation on Nam), that is to invoke the presence of God in one's conscious.
It may be mentioned here that there are small sects who mislead the innocent Sikhs on the subject of Gurbani and Nam. These sect leaders very emphatically say to the innocent Sikhs," Gurbani says that one must meditate on Nam, but Gurbani is not Nam. Come on, we will give you Nam." Then they whisper in their ears some broken sentence of Gurbani which they call Nam, and warn them not to tell any one; if ever they disclose this Nam to any one, some curse will fall on them. In this way they run their cults (shops). Thus, innocent Sikhs and others are lured and misled into their fold. The Sikhs should, therefore, be very careful from such sects. Those who try to say that Gurbani is not Nam, they are either misguided or are deceitful. According to Gurmat (Guru's teaching), Gurbani is everything:
Gurbani is Nam:
"Gurmukh bani Nam hai.."
(Sarang ki Var-pauri, p-1239)
Gurbani is Guru:
"Bani Guru, Guru hai Bani..."
(Nat Mohalla 4, p-982)
Gurbani is Nirankar:"Wauh wauh bani nirankar hai Tis jiwad avar na koi."
(Slok Mohalla 3, p-515)
'Wauh wauh Bani is the Formless One
There is none as great as He."
(Translation of the above)
Gurbani is every Nad and Ved:
"Sabh nad beid gurbani
Man rata sarang pani."
(Ramkli Mohalla 1, p-879)
It is, therefore, Nam that ultimately leads a person to Eternal Bliss. For God consciousness, one must come in contact with Nam, but without Guru one cannot attain Nam and would wander away in the darkness.
"Were a hundred moons to appear
Were a thousand suns to arise
There would still be utter darkness
If there were no Guru."
(Asa di Var, Mohalla 2, p-463)
"Let no one in the world remain in doubt
That it could ever be possible to be saved without the Guru." (Gaund Mohalla 5, p-864)
"In this age of falsehood, Nam lieth hidden Though the Lord filleth all hearts,
The Jewel of Nam becomes manifest in the hearts of only those Who resort to the Guru's refuge."
(Parbhati Mohalla 3, p-1334)
"All repeat God's Name, yet He is not attained But when through the Grace of the Guru
God comes to reside in the mind
It is only then one's life becomes fruitful." (Gujri Mohalla 3, p-491)
This article taken from book published by Sikh Missionary Center
P.O. Box 02664
Detroit, Michigan 48202
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee
2. Bhai Gurdas- Varan
3. Bhai Vir Singh- Santhia Sri Guru Granth Sahib 4. Dr. Kartar Singh- Sikh Fundamentals
5. Prof. Sahib Singh- Jiwan Birtant of the Gurus
What is the Concept of Naam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sent by: Gurdip Singh Sekhon <gurdip@pacbell.net> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waheguru Jee Ki Khalsa Waheguru jee Ki Fateh!
This article is worth reading.
CONCEPT OF NAM (DIVINE NAME):
According to Gurmat (Guru's teaching), before the creation, God lived Absolutely by Himself, Formless. When He made Himself manifest, He first formed Himself into NAM (Divine Name) and then created Nature. After creating Nature, He did not go away from it, rather He sustained His creation with His Own presence into it, and felt delighted.
"Aapinai aap sajio aapinai rachio Nao Dui kudrat sajiai kar asan ditho chao." (Asa Mohalla 1- pauri 1, p-463)
"God created Himself and assumed Name Second besides Himself He created Nature
Seated in Nature He watches with delight what He creates." (Translation of the above)
1) NAM (Divine Name) and God are not two different entities. Nam is just another aspect of the Almighty, still Formless. Nam is the total
expression of all that God is. Nam sustains everything:
"Nam sustains and controls all beings
Nam supports the universe and its regions." (Gauri Sukhmani Mohalla 5, 16-5, p-284)
2) Nam is not expressed as mere noun and it does not mean that there is a special name of God and by enchanting of which, one will meet Him. He
is Infinite and can be called with infinite names, but who can count His infinite names? The enlightened and the blessed ones remember Him through His Attributes:
"Tav sarb nam kathai kavan
Karm nam barnat sumat."
(Guru Gobind Singh- Jap Sahib)
3) God may be called by countless names by the devotees, who create these names according to the attributes of their Godhead, but the first and the foremost name of God is clearly depicted as 'SAT' (Eternal Truth) which shows the ever-existence of God:
"Kirtam nam kathai terei jihba
Satnam tera pra purbla."
(Maru Mohalla 5, p-1083)
4) The word NAM is a mystic Word used in practical religious life and in discipline of meditation. God is remembered by His attributive names.
There is another aspect of it called true Name which emanates from a prophet's personal experience. It emerges from a vision that the Prophet has of the Divine Being. Such a mystic Word in Sikh religion is called 'Waheguru' or Wonderful God or 'Thou art Wonderful'. True Name is not the word by which we describe an object, but the total power, quality and character of Reality. Through the word 'Waheguru' the prophet has tried to sum up mystic power and experience of His presence all around. Prophets have given us Divine Names of the nameless God, which reflect His presence in our consciousness. Contemplation or meditation on true Name (Waheguru) is called practicing the presence of God in one's conscious.
5) Gurbani (Divine Word) itself is NAM.
a) Gurbani itself is Nam:
"Gurmukh bani nam hai, nam ridai vasaie." (Sarang ki Var-pauri, p-1239)
b) The term 'Nam Japo' means to remember God and to invoke His presence in one's conscious. All modes of meditation take the devotee into the presence of God, but according to Gurbani, Hari Kirtan, the musical recitation of Gurbani, is the super form of meditation. It invokes one's consciousness to the maximum level, into the presence of God:
"Har kirat utam Nam hai vich kaljug karni sar." (Kanre ki Var Mohalla 4, p-1314)
c) The Gurmat explains that the recitation of the word 'Har Har..' is Nam Japna:
"Har har har har nam hai gurmukh pavai koei." (Kanre ki Var Mohalla 4, p-1313)
d) Salvation cannot be attained without Nam. In other words anything that delivers salvation is Nam. Since Gurbani delivers salvation, therefore, Gurbani is Nam:
"Sachi bani mithi amritdhar
Jinh piti tis mokhdwar."
(Malar Mohalla 1, p-1275)
'The True Bani is sweet-nectar
Whosoever is devoted to it, attaineth salvation." (Translation of the above)
"Sachi bani sion dhare piyar
Tako pavai mokhdwar."
(Dhanasari Mohalla 1, p-661)
Whosoever devoted to Eternal Bani
Will get deliverance."
(Translation of the above)
It is therefore, very clear and evident that any form of recitation of Gurbani, may be simple reading with attention and devotion or meditation on any Sabad of Gurbani or Kirtan of Gurbani, is fully deemed as Nam Japna (meditation on Nam), that is to invoke the presence of God in one's conscious.
It may be mentioned here that there are small sects who mislead the innocent Sikhs on the subject of Gurbani and Nam. These sect leaders very emphatically say to the innocent Sikhs," Gurbani says that one must meditate on Nam, but Gurbani is not Nam. Come on, we will give you Nam." Then they whisper in their ears some broken sentence of Gurbani which they call Nam, and warn them not to tell any one; if ever they disclose this Nam to any one, some curse will fall on them. In this way they run their cults (shops). Thus, innocent Sikhs and others are lured and misled into their fold. The Sikhs should, therefore, be very careful from such sects. Those who try to say that Gurbani is not Nam, they are either misguided or are deceitful. According to Gurmat (Guru's teaching), Gurbani is everything:
Gurbani is Nam:
"Gurmukh bani Nam hai.."
(Sarang ki Var-pauri, p-1239)
Gurbani is Guru:
"Bani Guru, Guru hai Bani..."
(Nat Mohalla 4, p-982)
Gurbani is Nirankar:"Wauh wauh bani nirankar hai Tis jiwad avar na koi."
(Slok Mohalla 3, p-515)
'Wauh wauh Bani is the Formless One
There is none as great as He."
(Translation of the above)
Gurbani is every Nad and Ved:
"Sabh nad beid gurbani
Man rata sarang pani."
(Ramkli Mohalla 1, p-879)
It is, therefore, Nam that ultimately leads a person to Eternal Bliss. For God consciousness, one must come in contact with Nam, but without Guru one cannot attain Nam and would wander away in the darkness.
"Were a hundred moons to appear
Were a thousand suns to arise
There would still be utter darkness
If there were no Guru."
(Asa di Var, Mohalla 2, p-463)
"Let no one in the world remain in doubt
That it could ever be possible to be saved without the Guru." (Gaund Mohalla 5, p-864)
"In this age of falsehood, Nam lieth hidden Though the Lord filleth all hearts,
The Jewel of Nam becomes manifest in the hearts of only those Who resort to the Guru's refuge."
(Parbhati Mohalla 3, p-1334)
"All repeat God's Name, yet He is not attained But when through the Grace of the Guru
God comes to reside in the mind
It is only then one's life becomes fruitful." (Gujri Mohalla 3, p-491)
This article taken from book published by Sikh Missionary Center
P.O. Box 02664
Detroit, Michigan 48202
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee
2. Bhai Gurdas- Varan
3. Bhai Vir Singh- Santhia Sri Guru Granth Sahib 4. Dr. Kartar Singh- Sikh Fundamentals
5. Prof. Sahib Singh- Jiwan Birtant of the Gurus
What is the Concept of Naam
Ang 4
Countless names, countless places.
Inaccessible, unapproachable, countless celestial realms.
Even to call them countless is to carry the weight on your head.
From the Word, comes the Naam; from the Word, comes Your Praise.
From the Word, comes spiritual wisdom, singing the Songs of Your Glory.
From the Word, come the written and spoken words and hymns.
From the Word, comes destiny, written on one's forehead.
But the One who wrote these Words of Destiny-no words are written on His Forehead.
As He ordains, so do we receive.
The created universe is the manifestation of Your Name.
Without Your Name, there is no place at all.
How can I describe Your Creative Power?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One. ||19||
Countless names, countless places.
Inaccessible, unapproachable, countless celestial realms.
Even to call them countless is to carry the weight on your head.
From the Word, comes the Naam; from the Word, comes Your Praise.
From the Word, comes spiritual wisdom, singing the Songs of Your Glory.
From the Word, come the written and spoken words and hymns.
From the Word, comes destiny, written on one's forehead.
But the One who wrote these Words of Destiny-no words are written on His Forehead.
As He ordains, so do we receive.
The created universe is the manifestation of Your Name.
Without Your Name, there is no place at all.
How can I describe Your Creative Power?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice to You.
Whatever pleases You is the only good done,
You, Eternal and Formless One. ||19||
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Ang08
Shalok:
Shalok:
- Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all.
- Day and night are the two nurses, in whose lap all the world is at play.
- Good deeds and bad deeds-the record is read out in the Presence of the Lord of Dharma.
- According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven ****her away.
- Those who have meditated on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and departed after having worked by the sweat of their brows -
- O Nanak, their faces are radiant in the Court of the Lord, and many are saved along with them! ||1||
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Raag Goojaree, Fourth Mehl:
ang 10
ang 10
- O humble servant of the Lord, O True Guru, O True Primal Being: I offer my humble prayer to You, O Guru.
- I am a mere insect, a worm. O True Guru, I seek Your Sanctuary. Please be merciful, and bless me with the Light of the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||1||
- O my Best Friend, O Divine Guru, please enlighten me with the Name of the Lord.
- Through the Guru's Teachings, the Naam is my breath of life. The Kirtan of the Lord's Praise is my life's occupation. ||1||Pause||
- The servants of the Lord have the greatest good fortune; they have faith in the Lord, and a longing for the Lord.
- Obtaining the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, they are satisfied; joining the Sangat, the Blessed Congregation, their virtues shine forth. ||2||
- Those who have not obtained the Sublime Essence of the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, Har, are most unfortunate; they are led away by the Messenger of Death.
- Those who have not sought the Sanctuary of the True Guru and the Sangat, the Holy Congregation; cursed are their lives, and cursed are their hopes of life. ||3||
- Those humble servants of the Lord who have attained the Company of the True Guru, have such pre-ordained destiny inscribed on their foreheads.
- Blessed, blessed is the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, where the Lord's Essence is obtained. Meeting with His humble servant, O Nanak, the Light of the Naam shines forth. ||4||4||
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Aasaa, Fourth Mehl:
ang 11
.You are the True Creator, my Lord and Master.
.Whatever pleases You comes to pass. As You give, so do we receive. ||1||Pause||
.All belong to You, all meditate on you.
.Those who are blessed with Your Mercy obtain the Jewel of the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
.The Gurmukhs obtain it, and the self-willed manmukhs lose it.
.You Yourself separate them from Yourself, and You Yourself reunite with them again. ||1||
.You are the River of Life; all are within You.
.There is no one except You.
.All living beings are Your playthings.
.The separated ones meet, and by great good fortune, those suffering in separation are reunited once again. ||2||
.They alone understand, whom You inspire to understand;
they continually chant and repeat the Lord's Praises.
.Those who serve You find peace.
.They are intuitively absorbed into the Lord's Name. ||3||
.You Yourself are the Creator. Everything that happens is by Your Doing.
.There is no one except You.
.You created the creation; You behold it and understand it.
.O servant Nanak, the Lord is revealed through the Gurmukh, the Living Expression of the Guru's Word. ||4||2||
ang 11
.You are the True Creator, my Lord and Master.
.Whatever pleases You comes to pass. As You give, so do we receive. ||1||Pause||
.All belong to You, all meditate on you.
.Those who are blessed with Your Mercy obtain the Jewel of the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
.The Gurmukhs obtain it, and the self-willed manmukhs lose it.
.You Yourself separate them from Yourself, and You Yourself reunite with them again. ||1||
.You are the River of Life; all are within You.
.There is no one except You.
.All living beings are Your playthings.
.The separated ones meet, and by great good fortune, those suffering in separation are reunited once again. ||2||
.They alone understand, whom You inspire to understand;
they continually chant and repeat the Lord's Praises.
.Those who serve You find peace.
.They are intuitively absorbed into the Lord's Name. ||3||
.You Yourself are the Creator. Everything that happens is by Your Doing.
.There is no one except You.
.You created the creation; You behold it and understand it.
.O servant Nanak, the Lord is revealed through the Gurmukh, the Living Expression of the Guru's Word. ||4||2||
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Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
ang 12
.This human body has been given to you.
.This is your chance to meet the Lord of the Universe.
Nothing else will work.
.Join the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; vibrate and meditate on the Jewel of the Naam. ||1||
.Make every effort to cross over this terrifying world-ocean.
.You are squandering this life uselessly in the love of Maya. ||1||Pause||
.I have not practiced meditation, self-discipline, self-restraint or righteous living.
.I have not served the Holy; I have not acknowledged the Lord, my King.
.Says Nanak, my actions are contemptible!
.O Lord, I seek Your Sanctuary; please, preserve my honor! ||2||4||
ang 12
.This human body has been given to you.
.This is your chance to meet the Lord of the Universe.
Nothing else will work.
.Join the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; vibrate and meditate on the Jewel of the Naam. ||1||
.Make every effort to cross over this terrifying world-ocean.
.You are squandering this life uselessly in the love of Maya. ||1||Pause||
.I have not practiced meditation, self-discipline, self-restraint or righteous living.
.I have not served the Holy; I have not acknowledged the Lord, my King.
.Says Nanak, my actions are contemptible!
.O Lord, I seek Your Sanctuary; please, preserve my honor! ||2||4||
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NAM
NAM (lit. name), a collection of sounds possessing the capacity to signify a person, place, thing or idea, is a key term in SIKH theology, embodying a concept of central importance.
It subsumes within it the revelation of God`s being, the only fit object of contemplation for the individual, the standard to which his life must conform, and the essential means of purification and liberation.
Nam translates easily and accurately into the English word `Name`, but this does not provide an actual understanding of its full import as a conceptual category in SIKHISM.
Even as commonly understood, a name is not a mere label. It expresses something of the nature of whatever it designates, or at least points towards that nature.
As used in the compositions of the Gurus, the word nam is a summary expression for the whole nature of AkalPurakh (God).
Anything which may be affirmed concerning AkalPurakh is an aspect of nam. Because He is all powerful, it follows that omnipotence is part of nam. Because He knows all things, omniscience is similarly a feature of nam. The many and varied qualities which may be attributed to AkalPurakhHis timelessness. His transcendence and immanence, even His manifestation in the form of the created world of time and spaceare all to be regarded as aspects of nam. And because AkalPurakh is infinite, so too is His Name. This stress upon nam as an expression of the inherent nature of AkalPurakh should not imply that it is essentially passive. In the Sikh belief, it is crucial that individuals should understand its active role. Nam is the bringer of liberation.
The means to release from the circuit of birth and death are enunciated by the GURU, and the message thus communicated by him enjoins all people to bring their lives into harmony with the divine Name. By means of regular devotion, coupled with strict virtues, each person can develop a pattern of living which accords with the nature of AkalPurakh as expressed in his Name. By bringing one`s being and personality into evercloser conformity with the being of AkalPurakh as affirmed by the Name one shall obtain liberation from the cycle of transmigration. The task is not an easy one, but persistently pursued it leads to the ultimate harmony. For some people this condition of perfect peace can be attained while they are yet living this life. The person who wishes to appropriate the benefits conferred by a discernment of the divine Name must undergo the discipline of nam simaran, remembrance, i.e. constant awareness of the Name. The act of simaran (smarana) is on the one hand related to the act of surati (sruli), hearing or listening to the Word (nam, sabda), and on the other to the function of smriti, i.e. consciousness which means retention in one`s awareness of what has been heard. The notion of nam simaran is thus similar to that of suratisabda. At one level this involves the practice of namjapand or repeating the Name, a longestablished convention whereby merit is acquired by devoutly repeating the sacred word. This helps the devotee to internalize the meaning of the word he may be uttering and in this sense the practice is explicitly enjoined in the Sikh faith. Further, the discipline must be practised in a corporate sense with devotees gathering as a fellowship (satsang) to sing hymns of praise (fdrtan).
A third level which is also required of the loyal disciple is meditation. AkalPurakh, as expressed in the Name, is to be remembered not merely in the repeating of auspicious words or the singing of inspired hymns but also in deep contemplation of the divine mystery of the Name. All three practices constitute legitimate and necessary forms of nam simaran; and all serve progressively to reveal the divine Name to the person who earnestly seeks it. As Guru Ram Das, NANAK IV, says in Sdrangki Vdr,
"Name incorruptible is beyond our comprehending. At the same time, it is our constant companion and pervades all creation. The true Guru discloses it unto us and lets us perceive it in our hearts. It is through God`s grace that we meet with such a Guru" (GG, 1242).
According to Guru ARJAN, God`s Name is the key to emancipation (MUKTI) and the means of attaining it (jugati); God`s Name is the fulfilment (tripati) and enjoyment (bhugaii). He who repeats God`s Name suffers no setback. God`s Name is the devotee`s distinction. Repeating God`s Name the devotee wins honour (GG, 26465).
In Sikhism, nam`is an ontological category, a term denoting the Divine presence, a proper name for the Reality, an epithet of the Truth which does not exist apart from or in addition to the Truth, but is Truth by itself. Ndwthus means AkalPurakh, the Creator who is beyond time.
The word is sometimes used in compounds such as satinam and harinam, the Name of God. Occasionally, it is also used as a prefix as in namnidhdn (the treasure of now) and namras(szip or essence of nam). In Sikh usage, nam is not mere name, but the Ultimate Reality itself. Nam is that Omnipresent Existence which manifests itself in the form of creation and is the source and sustenance of all beings and things (GG, 284).
In other words, nam is the manifest form of the Transcendent Spirit, unknowable otherwise to the human mind. Nam is the source of creation and like God is allpervasive. At the same lime, nam is coextensive with creation; there is no space where nam is not jetd kitd tetd ndu vinu ndvai ndhi ko ihdu: all that Thou hast created is Thy Name, i.e. manifestation; there is no place where Thy Name does not pervade (GG, 4).
This manifestation of nam is orderly; its operation conforms to a fixed plan.
From this point of view nam. is identifiable with HUKAM, the divine Ordinance, and is closely connected with divine Will (razd) and divine Grace (prasdd), which are further aspects of the divine Ordinance (hukam). Nam reflects the immanence of the Transcendent One in creation, which does not exist apart from His conscious Will. The word nam is normally discussed in association with the terms SHABAD (Skt. sabdd)VLnd guru, and it is also closely linked to the word hukam. In many instances nam and shabadwe used interchangeably; in other cases, however, they can be separated. "From shabad has originated nam" (GG, 644), which implies that the Truth as mediated by the Guru is the shabad (Word), whereas Truth as received by the believer is nam. The Guru is the `voice` (bdni) of AkalPurakh speaking the `Word` (shabad) which communicates the truth of the Name (nam). He who cognizes shabad shelters namm his heart. BHAIGurdas, in his Varan, 1.37, says that Guru Nanak set in motion the wheel of satinam or the vision of Holy Reality. Here nam refers to the doctrine or teaching of Guru Nanak. This doctrine is traced by Guru Nanak to his preceptor who is none other than God.
"In whose heart is embedded the Name of the Lord is the true preceptor" (GG, 287).
He it is who illumines the mind of the devotee with the nam. The mysteries of nam are indeed manifold; at several places in Guru GRANTH Sahib it is called nidhdn or the treasurehouse of riches (GG, 29,522); without it everyone is poor (GG, 1232). It is called the light, joti (jyoti) which dispels all darkness (GG, 264). In Sikhism, the concept of ndm represents a whole religious way, a discipline leading to Godrealization. But one cannot cognize ndm without divine Grace. Words commonly used in this context are nadar, dayd, prasdd, krpd, etc., variously translated as `grace` or `mercy`. Deluded by his haumai (egocentricity), man remains blind to the ndm which lies all around him, and by the act of grace will be put in the path to realizing it. By the favour of AkalPurakh he meets the holy Guru who makes him aware of ndm. The person who pursues and glorifies ndm and, in obedience to the Guru, lives a life which conforms to it, will eventually achieve the blissful serenity of union with the Divine. The actual obligations of a life of obedience find expression in the regular, disciplined practice of the various forms of ndmsimaran, individually as well as in SANGAT, and in acts of approved piety. Faithful cultivation of ndm lifts the disciple to that sublime condition known as mystic experience by far transcending the power of expression. It is this experience which frees him forever from the cycle of transmigration and confers on him the gift of eternal bliss.
1. Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. AMRITSAR, 1969
2. Jodh SINGH, GURMAT Nimaya. LAHORE, 1932
3. Sher Singh, Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
4. Avtar Singh, Ethics of the SIKHS. PATIALA, 1970
5. Nripinder Singh, The Sikh Moral Tradition. Delhi, 1990
NAM | Philosophy, Spirituality and Ethics
NAM (lit. name), a collection of sounds possessing the capacity to signify a person, place, thing or idea, is a key term in SIKH theology, embodying a concept of central importance. It subsumes within it the revelation of God`s being, the only fit object of contemplation for the individual, the standard to which his life must conform, and the essential means of purification and liberation.
Nam translates easily and accurately into the English word `Name`, but this does not provide an actual understanding of its full import as a conceptual category in SIKHISM.
Even as commonly understood, a name is not a mere label. It expresses something of the nature of whatever it designates, or at least points towards that nature.
As used in the compositions of the Gurus, the word nam is a summary expression for the whole nature of AkalPurakh (God).
Anything which may be affirmed concerning AkalPurakh is an aspect of nam. Because He is all powerful, it follows that omnipotence is part of nam. Because He knows all things, omniscience is similarly a feature of nam. The many and varied qualities which may be attributed to AkalPurakhHis timelessness. His transcendence and immanence, even His manifestation in the form of the created world of time and spaceare all to be regarded as aspects of nam. And because AkalPurakh is infinite, so too is His Name. This stress upon nam as an expression of the inherent nature of AkalPurakh should not imply that it is essentially passive. In the Sikh belief, it is crucial that individuals should understand its active role. Nam is the bringer of liberation.
The means to release from the circuit of birth and death are enunciated by the GURU, and the message thus communicated by him enjoins all people to bring their lives into harmony with the divine Name. By means of regular devotion, coupled with strict virtues, each person can develop a pattern of living which accords with the nature of AkalPurakh as expressed in his Name. By bringing one`s being and personality into evercloser conformity with the being of AkalPurakh as affirmed by the Name one shall obtain liberation from the cycle of transmigration. The task is not an easy one, but persistently pursued it leads to the ultimate harmony. For some people this condition of perfect peace can be attained while they are yet living this life. The person who wishes to appropriate the benefits conferred by a discernment of the divine Name must undergo the discipline of nam simaran, remembrance, i.e. constant awareness of the Name. The act of simaran (smarana) is on the one hand related to the act of surati (sruli), hearing or listening to the Word (nam, sabda), and on the other to the function of smriti, i.e. consciousness which means retention in one`s awareness of what has been heard. The notion of nam simaran is thus similar to that of suratisabda. At one level this involves the practice of namjapand or repeating the Name, a longestablished convention whereby merit is acquired by devoutly repeating the sacred word. This helps the devotee to internalize the meaning of the word he may be uttering and in this sense the practice is explicitly enjoined in the Sikh faith. Further, the discipline must be practised in a corporate sense with devotees gathering as a fellowship (satsang) to sing hymns of praise (fdrtan).
A third level which is also required of the loyal disciple is meditation. AkalPurakh, as expressed in the Name, is to be remembered not merely in the repeating of auspicious words or the singing of inspired hymns but also in deep contemplation of the divine mystery of the Name. All three practices constitute legitimate and necessary forms of nam simaran; and all serve progressively to reveal the divine Name to the person who earnestly seeks it. As Guru Ram Das, NANAK IV, says in Sdrangki Vdr,
"Name incorruptible is beyond our comprehending. At the same time, it is our constant companion and pervades all creation. The true Guru discloses it unto us and lets us perceive it in our hearts. It is through God`s grace that we meet with such a Guru" (GG, 1242).
According to Guru ARJAN, God`s Name is the key to emancipation (MUKTI) and the means of attaining it (jugati); God`s Name is the fulfilment (tripati) and enjoyment (bhugaii). He who repeats God`s Name suffers no setback. God`s Name is the devotee`s distinction. Repeating God`s Name the devotee wins honour (GG, 26465).
In Sikhism, nam`is an ontological category, a term denoting the Divine presence, a proper name for the Reality, an epithet of the Truth which does not exist apart from or in addition to the Truth, but is Truth by itself. Ndwthus means AkalPurakh, the Creator who is beyond time.
The word is sometimes used in compounds such as satinam and harinam, the Name of God. Occasionally, it is also used as a prefix as in namnidhdn (the treasure of now) and namras(szip or essence of nam). In Sikh usage, nam is not mere name, but the Ultimate Reality itself. Nam is that Omnipresent Existence which manifests itself in the form of creation and is the source and sustenance of all beings and things (GG, 284).
In other words, nam is the manifest form of the Transcendent Spirit, unknowable otherwise to the human mind. Nam is the source of creation and like God is allpervasive. At the same lime, nam is coextensive with creation; there is no space where nam is not jetd kitd tetd ndu vinu ndvai ndhi ko ihdu: all that Thou hast created is Thy Name, i.e. manifestation; there is no place where Thy Name does not pervade (GG, 4).
This manifestation of nam is orderly; its operation conforms to a fixed plan.
From this point of view nam. is identifiable with HUKAM, the divine Ordinance, and is closely connected with divine Will (razd) and divine Grace (prasdd), which are further aspects of the divine Ordinance (hukam). Nam reflects the immanence of the Transcendent One in creation, which does not exist apart from His conscious Will. The word nam is normally discussed in association with the terms SHABAD (Skt. sabdd)VLnd guru, and it is also closely linked to the word hukam. In many instances nam and shabadwe used interchangeably; in other cases, however, they can be separated. "From shabad has originated nam" (GG, 644), which implies that the Truth as mediated by the Guru is the shabad (Word), whereas Truth as received by the believer is nam. The Guru is the `voice` (bdni) of AkalPurakh speaking the `Word` (shabad) which communicates the truth of the Name (nam). He who cognizes shabad shelters namm his heart. BHAIGurdas, in his Varan, 1.37, says that Guru Nanak set in motion the wheel of satinam or the vision of Holy Reality. Here nam refers to the doctrine or teaching of Guru Nanak. This doctrine is traced by Guru Nanak to his preceptor who is none other than God.
"In whose heart is embedded the Name of the Lord is the true preceptor" (GG, 287).
He it is who illumines the mind of the devotee with the nam. The mysteries of nam are indeed manifold; at several places in Guru GRANTH Sahib it is called nidhdn or the treasurehouse of riches (GG, 29,522); without it everyone is poor (GG, 1232). It is called the light, joti (jyoti) which dispels all darkness (GG, 264). In Sikhism, the concept of ndm represents a whole religious way, a discipline leading to Godrealization. But one cannot cognize ndm without divine Grace. Words commonly used in this context are nadar, dayd, prasdd, krpd, etc., variously translated as `grace` or `mercy`. Deluded by his haumai (egocentricity), man remains blind to the ndm which lies all around him, and by the act of grace will be put in the path to realizing it. By the favour of AkalPurakh he meets the holy Guru who makes him aware of ndm. The person who pursues and glorifies ndm and, in obedience to the Guru, lives a life which conforms to it, will eventually achieve the blissful serenity of union with the Divine. The actual obligations of a life of obedience find expression in the regular, disciplined practice of the various forms of ndmsimaran, individually as well as in SANGAT, and in acts of approved piety. Faithful cultivation of ndm lifts the disciple to that sublime condition known as mystic experience by far transcending the power of expression. It is this experience which frees him forever from the cycle of transmigration and confers on him the gift of eternal bliss.
1. Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. AMRITSAR, 1969
2. Jodh SINGH, GURMAT Nimaya. LAHORE, 1932
3. Sher Singh, Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
4. Avtar Singh, Ethics of the SIKHS. PATIALA, 1970
5. Nripinder Singh, The Sikh Moral Tradition. Delhi, 1990
NAM | Philosophy, Spirituality and Ethics
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SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE
SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE
Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48).
Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm.
Walking on the Eternal Path, all pains are taken away (sggs 201).
Listen, O my companions: let?s join together and make the effort,
to surrender to our Husband Lord.
Renouncing our pride, let's charm Him with the potion
of devotional worship, and the word of the Holy Saints (sggs 249).
Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord.
O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you will obtain total peace,
and your pains, troubles, and doubts will depart (sggs 456).
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Religion and the theory of Karma is used by the wily to exploit the spiritually ignorant masses. The result is fatalistic belief and behavior. Accordingly, people begin to believe and think that it is the outside agency namely divine dispensation or fate (God) that has determined their present situation, not actions of their own self-effort. Apparently, as evident, the Karma, divine will or fate seems to be much misunderstood.
The very definition of God reveals that He is without enmity towards anybody (Nirvair) and that he is impartial (Sam-Drishtee). Therefore, it is not divine will or fate that makes, for example, one snake and the other a saint. If the God or fate is the ordainer then it would imply that the divine will or fate was friendly and partial to the soul who became a saint, and on the contrary, He was enemy and impartial to the soul who became a cobra. Fate or divine will is merely a convention repeatedly used by the realized souls to teach us the Truth. If the divine will or God is the ordainer of everything in the universe then any action (Karma) has no meaning. For that then there is no need for teachers and teaching, Naam Simran, meditation, Kirtan, self-knowledge, devotion, self-control, Satsang, and so on. But, that's not the case!
.Uddam karo badbhaagee ho simrahu Hari Hari rai......:
. Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you shall obtain total peace, and your pains and troubles and doubts shall depart (sggs 456).
The scriptures thus roar that man is not the creature of his circumstances. He can change his activities if he wants to. Thereby, he can change the results of his actions if he wants to. Choice is in his hands as he is the architect of his own fate. Hs is given this life (opportunity) to rebel against the wrong. Everyone of us in this human form is given the invitation to end the pains, troubles, and doubts arising out of our mental delusion.
. Jehaa beejai so lunai karma sandraa khet:
.As the man sows so does he reap. Such is the field of actions (sggs 134).
Thus, the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) thunders against fatalism. It emphatically rejects fatalistic thinking, belief or behavior, and warns those who use it as just another device to exploit people. One who blames circumstances, divine will or fate for the situation he is in is a fool. The scriptures emphasize the need for self-effort for both one's material needs and spiritual progress. The Gurbani declares that:
.Daddai dos na deyoo kisai dos krammaa aapanyaa. Jo mai keeyaa so mai paayaa dos na deejai avar janaa:
.Do not blame anyone else; blame instead your own actions. Whatever I did, for that I have suffered; I do not blame anyone else (sggs 433).
.Dukh sukh deeyaa jehaa keeyaa so nibahai jeeya naale:
.The Lord bestows pain and pleasure, according to the deeds done; the record of these actions stays with the soul (sggs 581).
The Gurbani takes the ball out of God's court and places it firmly in our own. For our pain and pleasure, we can blame neither God nor a devil, or some other outside agency. Simply put, our past thoughts and actions are responsible for the present life. Similarly, our present thoughts and actions will determine the life that we will live tomorrow. Whether we want to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions or not, that's what we are doing every step of the way. We are the architect of our own fate or destiny: Every thought and action builds our future experience. Accordingly, the scriptures declare that man is the master of his own destiny. In this regard, self-effort called Uddam in the Gurbani is very essential. In fact, our self-effort is the best help we can count on! In the Divine Light of the Gurbani, this article will attempt to reflect on the following in this context:
. The meaning of self-effort, divine will, and fate
.Renouncing fatalism
.Impure self-effort
.Pure self-effort
The Meaning Of Self-Effort, Divine Will, And Fate Inactivity is death. Only a corpse is inactive; everything else in this universe is active through mind, speech, or body. Such activities yield appropriate results which determine the future of one's soul. Scriptures assert that this life is a field (Khet) of actions, in which whatever we sow so do we reap. To put it otherwise, as is the effort so is the fruit. Therefore, what is called divine dispensation or fate is none other than the fruits of past actions of our self-effort. This is the meaning of self-effort, divine will or fate.
.Beej bovas bhog bhogahi keeyaa appnaa pavaye:
.As are the seeds one plants, so are the fruits; he receives the consequences of his own efforts (sggs 705).
The cosmic order (Ilaahee Hukam) people reffer to as divine law or ordain or fate ensures that one's every effort is blessed with appropriate fruition. This cosmic order is maintained by the Infinite Consciousness that revels everything (Inner-Knower). Those who say "Divine dispensation is directing me", or those who say "I am performing so and so act because my fate is impelling me to do so" are unwise (Manmukh or Moorakh). They use such fallacious expressions for mere self-satisfaction. In fact it is the fruits of one's past self-effort that manifest as tendencies. Therefore, self-effort alone is another name for divine will or fate.
.Karnee kaagad man masvaan buraa bhalaa dui lekh pae. Jiyu jiyu kirat chalaae tiyu chaleeai tayu gun naahee ant hare:
.Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord (sggs 990).
In general, there are two types of efforts: that of past births and that of present birth. The fate or destiny we experience in this present life is shaped by the self-effort of our past incarnations; also called Praalabdh. Therefore, fate or destiny is none other than the self-effort of past births.
.Karma upper nibrai je lochai sabh koyi:
.According to the Karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky (sggs 157).
The self-effort of present life determines the future destiny of our soul. In other words, the fruits in the form of debits (unrighteous acts) and credits (righteous acts) created by the self-effort of this birth will be reaped in future births. Upon death of this body, only thing that goes with the soul is actions of our self-effort.
.Sanjogee aayaa kirt kamaayaa karnee kaar kamayee:
.By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future (sggs 75).
The impressions or tendencies brought forward from the past efforts are also of two types: pure and impure. Pure or good tendencies will lead one towards pure efforts in this present life (mode of goodness / liberation), and the impure or bad tendencies will invite bad efforts and laziness (the mode of passion and ignorance / trouble).
Renouncing Fatalism
Simply put: Renouncing fatalism is applying self-effort (Uddam). The self-effort of present life effectively counteracts the reactions incurred by the self-effort of past births. As a result, there is an on-going battle between these two in our present life; and that which is more powerful wins. Thus, one can overcome fate by present efforts. Or, at least we can make the beginning.
.Uddam keeyaa karaayaa arambh rachaayaa. Naam jape jap jeevnaa gu mantar driraayaa:
.I made the effort; I did it, and made a beginning. I live by chanting and meditating on the Naam; the Guru has implanted this Mantra within me (sggs 399).
Evidently, the present efforts are infinitely more potent than the past efforts. Those who are fatalists are simply satisfied with the fruits of their past self-effort; which they regard as Divine will, fate or destiny. Consequently, in this foolish frame of mind, they waste the present life by not engaging in self-effort now. In fact, according to the scriptures, the appropriate self-effort of this life can erase the effects of countless past efforts. How can one claim this to be true? Here is the proof.
.Gur ka Shabad kaatai koti karam:
.The Shabad eradicates the Karma of millions of past actions (sggs 1159).
Without self-effort or exertion one cannot even jump over the footprint of an animal. The Uddam alone determines for whatever we attain here. Therefore, the wise seeker (Gurmukh) knows that the fruits of his actions are commensurate with the intensity of his self-effort now. Accordingly, he also knows that neither divine will or fate can ordain it otherwise. For example, if one is hungry, he can appease his hunger by taking food. If he does not make effort to take food, or if he just sits there on account of his fate (fatalism), he is sure to die of starvation!
Grieving over inevitability is fatalism. For example, knowing that the death is inevitable, a fatalist will daily worry and grieve it. The Gurbani emphasizes for persistently applying self-effort that leads to spiritual wisdom. Upon acquiring wisdom one realizes that this self-effort is not without its own end, but an indispensable means to the end ? the direct realization of the eternal good or the truth. Thus, the wise one (Gurmukh) knows what is attainable by self-effort and what is not. As such, he will renounce the fatalism. To the contrary, a spiritually ignorance (Manmukh) will name an outside agency (divine will or fate or God) for his suffering. For example, when someone is in suffering and unhappiness, to console him people will suggest that it is his fate!
.Uddam karat hovai man nirmal naachai aap nivaare. Panch janaa le vasgat raakhai man mahi ekkankare:
.Making the effort, the mind becomes pure; in this dance, the self is silenced. The five passions are kept under control, and the One Lord dwells in the mind (sggs 381).
Everything is achieved by self-effort, and not by sitting idle. Even the mighty lion has to go out and hunt! No prey falls into its mouth if it stays idle. An ant goes a long distance as it keeps moving. Even mighty eagle can not make any progress if he does not get up and move! Similarly, no one can attain Yoga (union with God) by mere daydreaming!
.Galleen Yoga na hoyee:
.The Yoga is not attained by mere words (sggs 730).
.Arise, awake, know the Truth from sages (Katha Upanishada: I:iii:14).
.Uplift yourself by yourself! Do not let yourself down! You are your own best friend. If you do not care properly, you are yourself the worst enemy of your own (Geeta, 6-5).
Impure Self-Effort
Impure efforts increase material attachment to this world. In such bondage, our love is false, our acts are false, and we become fully engrossed in falsehood. As a result, we become a display of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, mental stubbornness, and enviousness. This is what the Gurbani calls collecting of "poison".
. Bin naavai hor dhan naahee hor bilhiyaa sabh shaaraa:
. Without God?s Name, there is no other wealth. Everything else is just poison and ashes (sggs 141).
.Uddam kare suaan kee niyaai chaare kunta ghokhaa.....:
.He makes efforts and runs around like a dog, searching in the four directions.
The lustful, lecherous man desires many women, and he never stops peeking into the homes of others. Day after day, he commits adultery again and again, and then he regrets his actions; he wastes away in misery and greed (sggs 672).
All demoniac tendencies in a man represent his inauspicious efforts. We are not born to live a corrupt life. But this is exactly what happens if one clings to non-eternal things. When there is clinging to non-essential efforts, their is arrogance (the sense of doership and enjoyership or duality) and corrupt desires or ego. In such mental conditioning, there is no true love for God and His creation. This is the veil that conceals the Truth. Scriptures compare such living with animals. In this context, the Gurbani gracefully teaches us as follows:
.Uddam kare anek Hari naam na gaavahi.....:
.He makes all sorts of efforts, but he does not sing the Lord?s Name. He wanders around in countless incarnations; he dies, only to be born again. As beasts, birds and trees
. their number cannot be known. As are the seeds he plants, so are the pleasures he enjoys; he receives the consequences of his own actions. He loses the jewel of this human life in the gamble, and God is not pleased with him at all. Prays Nanak, wandering in doubt, he does not find any rest, even for an instant (sggs 705).
.Uddam kar laage bahu bhantee.......:
.Men are engaged in making efforts many ways. They reflect upon the various aspects of the six Shaastras. Rubbing ashes all over their bodies, they wander around at the various sacred shrines of pilgrimage; they fast until their bodies are emaciated, and braid their hair into tangled messes. Without devotional worship of the Lord, they all suffer in pain, caught in the tangled web of their love. They perform worship ceremonies, draw ritual marks on their bodies, cook their own food fanatically, and make pompous shows of themselves in all sorts of ways (sggs 1389).
By the rise of spiritual ignorance ? also called foolishness in scriptures ? self-binding actions arise. That is considered impure action which is performed with an attached mind. Such actions are performed only for the attainment of sensual experience. As the scriptures tell us, the delight derived from such sense-pleasures is fleeting at its best, and it binds the soul to sorrows.
.Re nar esee karahi iyaanath.....:
.O man, such is the foolishness you practice. Renouncing the Lord, the Support of the earth, you wander, deluded by doubt; you are engrossed in emotional attachment, associating with Maya, the slave-girl.... You do useless deeds, you ignorant person; this is why you are called a blind, mentally deluded Manmukh (sggs 1001).
.Dukh vich jamme dukh vich kaar kamaaye.....:
.In pain he is born, in pain he dies, and in pain he does his deeds. He is never released from the womb of reincarnation; he rots away in manure. Cursed, cursed is the mentally deluded Manmukh, who wastes his life away (sggs 1130).
Pure Self-Effort
The pure self-effort is essential for self-development and self-improvement, which, in turn, leads one to reach the Lord's Temple (Supreme Truth) and the acme of self-perfection. Therefore, the scriptures tell us that we must make self-effort to love and serve the creation with divine compassion, choose righteous actions, perform regular introspection, recharge our life with proper understanding of the scriptures, purify ourselves with enthusiasm for noble acts, identify with the Lord, create firm convictions, learn to lift our mind to a divine attitude, make use of the present to become honest servant of Waheguru, become humble, attain competency and efficiency, stop living in the futility of hypocrisy, keep our life God-centered, become true devotee, be contented in all situations, weed out the evil instincts in ourselves, cultivate the divine qualities in ourselves, learn the art of spiritual living, listen and contemplate, end our false ego, rid of our selfishness, develop integrity in ourselves, forgive and forget, become virtuous in thought and pure in word, discard enviousness, detect faults in ourselves, strive for pure bliss, stop worrying, become peaceful, realize our true nature, and so on.
We constantly accumulate material filth or Mail (mental rubbish) in us. As our hearts are full of such Mail, there is no room for the Lord. Therefore, we must keep on clearing out the mental rubbish accumulating daily in us. This inner "disposing of the garbage" is achieved by the pure self-effort.
.So kish kar jit mail na laagai:
.Make only those efforts by which the Mail or filth (mental rubbish) may not attach to you (sggs 199).
.Uddam krediyaa jeeyu toon kamaavadiyaa sukh bhunch....:
.Make the effort, and you shall live; practicing it, you shall enjoy peace. Meditating, you shall meet God, O Nanak, and your anxiety shall vanish (sggs 522).
The very essence of all scriptures can be summed up in these words: Divert the impure mind to pure endeavor by persistent self-effort. The self-effort which diverts the impure mind to purity is based on the knowledge and teaching of the true scriptures, and one's own Uddam in accordance with these two. Such self-effort brings an inner awakening in the intelligence, which leads mind to make pure decisions, resulting in righteous physical action.
.Uddam karo darsan pekhan ko karam prapat hoe:
.Make effort to see God's vision; it is obtained only by good action (sggs 1223).
Self-effort consists of mental, verbal or physical action. However, the pure self-effort is that which is in accordance with the teaching of the Shabad. So called God's grace is proportional to the intensity of such pure exertion. Moreover, actions performed in conjunction with scriptures instead of the deluded mind become non-actions, thereby non-binding. As such actions are performed for pleasing the Lord only, they become His actions. The individual soul becomes free from their reactions. That's the state of true Bhagti (devotion) and Bhagta (devotee), also known as complete surrender. By the cessation of foolishness (spiritual ignorance), the self-binding actions cease to be.
.jis kaa kaaraj tin he keeyaa manas kiyaa vechaaraa Ram. Bhagat sohan Hari ke gun gaavahi sadaa karahi jai kaaraa Ram:
.It was His job, and He has done it; what can the mere mortal being do? The devotees are adorned, singing God's Glorious Praises; they proclaim His eternal victory (sggs 784).
.Santaa ke kaaraj aap khloyiyaa har kamm kraavan aayaa Ram:
.The Lord Himself has stood up to resolve the affairs of the Saints; He has come to complete their tasks (sggs 783).
.Bissariyo man kaa moorakh dheethaa. Prabh kaa bhaanaa laagaa methaa:
.The stubborn foolishness of my mind is gone; God?s Will has become sweet to me (sggs 387).
Any other self-effort that is not in accordance with the scriptures is motivated by delusion (i.e., impure), hence self-binding. Accordingly, the scriptures tell us that right from the childhood one should make Uddam to promote one's true good by duly reflecting over the Truth or Shabad, by keeping the holy company (Saadh Sangat), by singing God's praises, by meditating on the Naam, by retaining self-discipline, and so on.
.Uddam kar Hari jaapnaa badbhaagee dhan khaat:
.Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48).
.Saadhu sang bhayiaa man uddam naam ratan jas gaayee:
.In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, self-effort welled up in my mind, and I sang the Praises of the jewel of the Naam (sggs 619).
.Uddam karat anand bhayiaa simrat sukh saar. Jap jap naam govind kaa pooran beechaar:
.Make effort to meditate, and contemplate the source of peace, and bliss will come to you. Chanting, and meditating on the Name of the Lord of the Universe, perfect understanding is achieved (sggs 815).
.Sagal uddam mahi uddam bhalaa. Hari ka naam japhu jeeyaa sadaa:
.Of all efforts, the best effort is to persistently chant the Name of the Lord in the heart (sggs 266).
Man's true self-effort and God's Grace are interdependent. Without one, the other is impossible. The Divine is unattainable by ceremonies, rituals, pilgrimage or material wealth; He is attained only by the self-control or conquest of the mind, by the cultivation of divine wisdom. Hence, by persistently treading this path, one can attain the Eternal Good. Fate or divine dispensation does not enter here. Self-effort alone is another name for Divine Will. Accordingly, scriptures roar to renounce fatalism and apply to self-effort.
.Uddam karat seetal man bhaye...:
.Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. Walking on the Lord's path, all pains are taken away. The mind becomes blissful by chanting the Naam. Singing the glorious praises of God, supreme bliss is obtained (sggs 201).
--T. Singh
Self Effort, Divine Will and Fate
SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE
SELF-EFFORT, DIVINE WILL, AND FATE
Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48).
Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm.
Walking on the Eternal Path, all pains are taken away (sggs 201).
Listen, O my companions: let?s join together and make the effort,
to surrender to our Husband Lord.
Renouncing our pride, let's charm Him with the potion
of devotional worship, and the word of the Holy Saints (sggs 249).
Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord.
O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you will obtain total peace,
and your pains, troubles, and doubts will depart (sggs 456).
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Religion and the theory of Karma is used by the wily to exploit the spiritually ignorant masses. The result is fatalistic belief and behavior. Accordingly, people begin to believe and think that it is the outside agency namely divine dispensation or fate (God) that has determined their present situation, not actions of their own self-effort. Apparently, as evident, the Karma, divine will or fate seems to be much misunderstood.
The very definition of God reveals that He is without enmity towards anybody (Nirvair) and that he is impartial (Sam-Drishtee). Therefore, it is not divine will or fate that makes, for example, one snake and the other a saint. If the God or fate is the ordainer then it would imply that the divine will or fate was friendly and partial to the soul who became a saint, and on the contrary, He was enemy and impartial to the soul who became a cobra. Fate or divine will is merely a convention repeatedly used by the realized souls to teach us the Truth. If the divine will or God is the ordainer of everything in the universe then any action (Karma) has no meaning. For that then there is no need for teachers and teaching, Naam Simran, meditation, Kirtan, self-knowledge, devotion, self-control, Satsang, and so on. But, that's not the case!
.Uddam karo badbhaagee ho simrahu Hari Hari rai......:
. Make the effort, O very fortunate ones, and meditate on the Lord. O Nanak, remembering Him in meditation, you shall obtain total peace, and your pains and troubles and doubts shall depart (sggs 456).
The scriptures thus roar that man is not the creature of his circumstances. He can change his activities if he wants to. Thereby, he can change the results of his actions if he wants to. Choice is in his hands as he is the architect of his own fate. Hs is given this life (opportunity) to rebel against the wrong. Everyone of us in this human form is given the invitation to end the pains, troubles, and doubts arising out of our mental delusion.
. Jehaa beejai so lunai karma sandraa khet:
.As the man sows so does he reap. Such is the field of actions (sggs 134).
Thus, the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) thunders against fatalism. It emphatically rejects fatalistic thinking, belief or behavior, and warns those who use it as just another device to exploit people. One who blames circumstances, divine will or fate for the situation he is in is a fool. The scriptures emphasize the need for self-effort for both one's material needs and spiritual progress. The Gurbani declares that:
.Daddai dos na deyoo kisai dos krammaa aapanyaa. Jo mai keeyaa so mai paayaa dos na deejai avar janaa:
.Do not blame anyone else; blame instead your own actions. Whatever I did, for that I have suffered; I do not blame anyone else (sggs 433).
.Dukh sukh deeyaa jehaa keeyaa so nibahai jeeya naale:
.The Lord bestows pain and pleasure, according to the deeds done; the record of these actions stays with the soul (sggs 581).
The Gurbani takes the ball out of God's court and places it firmly in our own. For our pain and pleasure, we can blame neither God nor a devil, or some other outside agency. Simply put, our past thoughts and actions are responsible for the present life. Similarly, our present thoughts and actions will determine the life that we will live tomorrow. Whether we want to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions or not, that's what we are doing every step of the way. We are the architect of our own fate or destiny: Every thought and action builds our future experience. Accordingly, the scriptures declare that man is the master of his own destiny. In this regard, self-effort called Uddam in the Gurbani is very essential. In fact, our self-effort is the best help we can count on! In the Divine Light of the Gurbani, this article will attempt to reflect on the following in this context:
. The meaning of self-effort, divine will, and fate
.Renouncing fatalism
.Impure self-effort
.Pure self-effort
The Meaning Of Self-Effort, Divine Will, And Fate Inactivity is death. Only a corpse is inactive; everything else in this universe is active through mind, speech, or body. Such activities yield appropriate results which determine the future of one's soul. Scriptures assert that this life is a field (Khet) of actions, in which whatever we sow so do we reap. To put it otherwise, as is the effort so is the fruit. Therefore, what is called divine dispensation or fate is none other than the fruits of past actions of our self-effort. This is the meaning of self-effort, divine will or fate.
.Beej bovas bhog bhogahi keeyaa appnaa pavaye:
.As are the seeds one plants, so are the fruits; he receives the consequences of his own efforts (sggs 705).
The cosmic order (Ilaahee Hukam) people reffer to as divine law or ordain or fate ensures that one's every effort is blessed with appropriate fruition. This cosmic order is maintained by the Infinite Consciousness that revels everything (Inner-Knower). Those who say "Divine dispensation is directing me", or those who say "I am performing so and so act because my fate is impelling me to do so" are unwise (Manmukh or Moorakh). They use such fallacious expressions for mere self-satisfaction. In fact it is the fruits of one's past self-effort that manifest as tendencies. Therefore, self-effort alone is another name for divine will or fate.
.Karnee kaagad man masvaan buraa bhalaa dui lekh pae. Jiyu jiyu kirat chalaae tiyu chaleeai tayu gun naahee ant hare:
.Actions are the paper, and the mind is the ink; good and bad are both recorded upon it. As their past actions drive them, so are mortals driven. There is no end to Your Glorious Virtues, Lord (sggs 990).
In general, there are two types of efforts: that of past births and that of present birth. The fate or destiny we experience in this present life is shaped by the self-effort of our past incarnations; also called Praalabdh. Therefore, fate or destiny is none other than the self-effort of past births.
.Karma upper nibrai je lochai sabh koyi:
.According to the Karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky (sggs 157).
The self-effort of present life determines the future destiny of our soul. In other words, the fruits in the form of debits (unrighteous acts) and credits (righteous acts) created by the self-effort of this birth will be reaped in future births. Upon death of this body, only thing that goes with the soul is actions of our self-effort.
.Sanjogee aayaa kirt kamaayaa karnee kaar kamayee:
.By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future (sggs 75).
The impressions or tendencies brought forward from the past efforts are also of two types: pure and impure. Pure or good tendencies will lead one towards pure efforts in this present life (mode of goodness / liberation), and the impure or bad tendencies will invite bad efforts and laziness (the mode of passion and ignorance / trouble).
Renouncing Fatalism
Simply put: Renouncing fatalism is applying self-effort (Uddam). The self-effort of present life effectively counteracts the reactions incurred by the self-effort of past births. As a result, there is an on-going battle between these two in our present life; and that which is more powerful wins. Thus, one can overcome fate by present efforts. Or, at least we can make the beginning.
.Uddam keeyaa karaayaa arambh rachaayaa. Naam jape jap jeevnaa gu mantar driraayaa:
.I made the effort; I did it, and made a beginning. I live by chanting and meditating on the Naam; the Guru has implanted this Mantra within me (sggs 399).
Evidently, the present efforts are infinitely more potent than the past efforts. Those who are fatalists are simply satisfied with the fruits of their past self-effort; which they regard as Divine will, fate or destiny. Consequently, in this foolish frame of mind, they waste the present life by not engaging in self-effort now. In fact, according to the scriptures, the appropriate self-effort of this life can erase the effects of countless past efforts. How can one claim this to be true? Here is the proof.
.Gur ka Shabad kaatai koti karam:
.The Shabad eradicates the Karma of millions of past actions (sggs 1159).
Without self-effort or exertion one cannot even jump over the footprint of an animal. The Uddam alone determines for whatever we attain here. Therefore, the wise seeker (Gurmukh) knows that the fruits of his actions are commensurate with the intensity of his self-effort now. Accordingly, he also knows that neither divine will or fate can ordain it otherwise. For example, if one is hungry, he can appease his hunger by taking food. If he does not make effort to take food, or if he just sits there on account of his fate (fatalism), he is sure to die of starvation!
Grieving over inevitability is fatalism. For example, knowing that the death is inevitable, a fatalist will daily worry and grieve it. The Gurbani emphasizes for persistently applying self-effort that leads to spiritual wisdom. Upon acquiring wisdom one realizes that this self-effort is not without its own end, but an indispensable means to the end ? the direct realization of the eternal good or the truth. Thus, the wise one (Gurmukh) knows what is attainable by self-effort and what is not. As such, he will renounce the fatalism. To the contrary, a spiritually ignorance (Manmukh) will name an outside agency (divine will or fate or God) for his suffering. For example, when someone is in suffering and unhappiness, to console him people will suggest that it is his fate!
.Uddam karat hovai man nirmal naachai aap nivaare. Panch janaa le vasgat raakhai man mahi ekkankare:
.Making the effort, the mind becomes pure; in this dance, the self is silenced. The five passions are kept under control, and the One Lord dwells in the mind (sggs 381).
Everything is achieved by self-effort, and not by sitting idle. Even the mighty lion has to go out and hunt! No prey falls into its mouth if it stays idle. An ant goes a long distance as it keeps moving. Even mighty eagle can not make any progress if he does not get up and move! Similarly, no one can attain Yoga (union with God) by mere daydreaming!
.Galleen Yoga na hoyee:
.The Yoga is not attained by mere words (sggs 730).
.Arise, awake, know the Truth from sages (Katha Upanishada: I:iii:14).
.Uplift yourself by yourself! Do not let yourself down! You are your own best friend. If you do not care properly, you are yourself the worst enemy of your own (Geeta, 6-5).
Impure Self-Effort
Impure efforts increase material attachment to this world. In such bondage, our love is false, our acts are false, and we become fully engrossed in falsehood. As a result, we become a display of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, mental stubbornness, and enviousness. This is what the Gurbani calls collecting of "poison".
. Bin naavai hor dhan naahee hor bilhiyaa sabh shaaraa:
. Without God?s Name, there is no other wealth. Everything else is just poison and ashes (sggs 141).
.Uddam kare suaan kee niyaai chaare kunta ghokhaa.....:
.He makes efforts and runs around like a dog, searching in the four directions.
The lustful, lecherous man desires many women, and he never stops peeking into the homes of others. Day after day, he commits adultery again and again, and then he regrets his actions; he wastes away in misery and greed (sggs 672).
All demoniac tendencies in a man represent his inauspicious efforts. We are not born to live a corrupt life. But this is exactly what happens if one clings to non-eternal things. When there is clinging to non-essential efforts, their is arrogance (the sense of doership and enjoyership or duality) and corrupt desires or ego. In such mental conditioning, there is no true love for God and His creation. This is the veil that conceals the Truth. Scriptures compare such living with animals. In this context, the Gurbani gracefully teaches us as follows:
.Uddam kare anek Hari naam na gaavahi.....:
.He makes all sorts of efforts, but he does not sing the Lord?s Name. He wanders around in countless incarnations; he dies, only to be born again. As beasts, birds and trees
. their number cannot be known. As are the seeds he plants, so are the pleasures he enjoys; he receives the consequences of his own actions. He loses the jewel of this human life in the gamble, and God is not pleased with him at all. Prays Nanak, wandering in doubt, he does not find any rest, even for an instant (sggs 705).
.Uddam kar laage bahu bhantee.......:
.Men are engaged in making efforts many ways. They reflect upon the various aspects of the six Shaastras. Rubbing ashes all over their bodies, they wander around at the various sacred shrines of pilgrimage; they fast until their bodies are emaciated, and braid their hair into tangled messes. Without devotional worship of the Lord, they all suffer in pain, caught in the tangled web of their love. They perform worship ceremonies, draw ritual marks on their bodies, cook their own food fanatically, and make pompous shows of themselves in all sorts of ways (sggs 1389).
By the rise of spiritual ignorance ? also called foolishness in scriptures ? self-binding actions arise. That is considered impure action which is performed with an attached mind. Such actions are performed only for the attainment of sensual experience. As the scriptures tell us, the delight derived from such sense-pleasures is fleeting at its best, and it binds the soul to sorrows.
.Re nar esee karahi iyaanath.....:
.O man, such is the foolishness you practice. Renouncing the Lord, the Support of the earth, you wander, deluded by doubt; you are engrossed in emotional attachment, associating with Maya, the slave-girl.... You do useless deeds, you ignorant person; this is why you are called a blind, mentally deluded Manmukh (sggs 1001).
.Dukh vich jamme dukh vich kaar kamaaye.....:
.In pain he is born, in pain he dies, and in pain he does his deeds. He is never released from the womb of reincarnation; he rots away in manure. Cursed, cursed is the mentally deluded Manmukh, who wastes his life away (sggs 1130).
Pure Self-Effort
The pure self-effort is essential for self-development and self-improvement, which, in turn, leads one to reach the Lord's Temple (Supreme Truth) and the acme of self-perfection. Therefore, the scriptures tell us that we must make self-effort to love and serve the creation with divine compassion, choose righteous actions, perform regular introspection, recharge our life with proper understanding of the scriptures, purify ourselves with enthusiasm for noble acts, identify with the Lord, create firm convictions, learn to lift our mind to a divine attitude, make use of the present to become honest servant of Waheguru, become humble, attain competency and efficiency, stop living in the futility of hypocrisy, keep our life God-centered, become true devotee, be contented in all situations, weed out the evil instincts in ourselves, cultivate the divine qualities in ourselves, learn the art of spiritual living, listen and contemplate, end our false ego, rid of our selfishness, develop integrity in ourselves, forgive and forget, become virtuous in thought and pure in word, discard enviousness, detect faults in ourselves, strive for pure bliss, stop worrying, become peaceful, realize our true nature, and so on.
We constantly accumulate material filth or Mail (mental rubbish) in us. As our hearts are full of such Mail, there is no room for the Lord. Therefore, we must keep on clearing out the mental rubbish accumulating daily in us. This inner "disposing of the garbage" is achieved by the pure self-effort.
.So kish kar jit mail na laagai:
.Make only those efforts by which the Mail or filth (mental rubbish) may not attach to you (sggs 199).
.Uddam krediyaa jeeyu toon kamaavadiyaa sukh bhunch....:
.Make the effort, and you shall live; practicing it, you shall enjoy peace. Meditating, you shall meet God, O Nanak, and your anxiety shall vanish (sggs 522).
The very essence of all scriptures can be summed up in these words: Divert the impure mind to pure endeavor by persistent self-effort. The self-effort which diverts the impure mind to purity is based on the knowledge and teaching of the true scriptures, and one's own Uddam in accordance with these two. Such self-effort brings an inner awakening in the intelligence, which leads mind to make pure decisions, resulting in righteous physical action.
.Uddam karo darsan pekhan ko karam prapat hoe:
.Make effort to see God's vision; it is obtained only by good action (sggs 1223).
Self-effort consists of mental, verbal or physical action. However, the pure self-effort is that which is in accordance with the teaching of the Shabad. So called God's grace is proportional to the intensity of such pure exertion. Moreover, actions performed in conjunction with scriptures instead of the deluded mind become non-actions, thereby non-binding. As such actions are performed for pleasing the Lord only, they become His actions. The individual soul becomes free from their reactions. That's the state of true Bhagti (devotion) and Bhagta (devotee), also known as complete surrender. By the cessation of foolishness (spiritual ignorance), the self-binding actions cease to be.
.jis kaa kaaraj tin he keeyaa manas kiyaa vechaaraa Ram. Bhagat sohan Hari ke gun gaavahi sadaa karahi jai kaaraa Ram:
.It was His job, and He has done it; what can the mere mortal being do? The devotees are adorned, singing God's Glorious Praises; they proclaim His eternal victory (sggs 784).
.Santaa ke kaaraj aap khloyiyaa har kamm kraavan aayaa Ram:
.The Lord Himself has stood up to resolve the affairs of the Saints; He has come to complete their tasks (sggs 783).
.Bissariyo man kaa moorakh dheethaa. Prabh kaa bhaanaa laagaa methaa:
.The stubborn foolishness of my mind is gone; God?s Will has become sweet to me (sggs 387).
Any other self-effort that is not in accordance with the scriptures is motivated by delusion (i.e., impure), hence self-binding. Accordingly, the scriptures tell us that right from the childhood one should make Uddam to promote one's true good by duly reflecting over the Truth or Shabad, by keeping the holy company (Saadh Sangat), by singing God's praises, by meditating on the Naam, by retaining self-discipline, and so on.
.Uddam kar Hari jaapnaa badbhaagee dhan khaat:
.Make the effort, and chant the Lord?s Name. O very fortunate ones, earn this wealth (sggs 48).
.Saadhu sang bhayiaa man uddam naam ratan jas gaayee:
.In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, self-effort welled up in my mind, and I sang the Praises of the jewel of the Naam (sggs 619).
.Uddam karat anand bhayiaa simrat sukh saar. Jap jap naam govind kaa pooran beechaar:
.Make effort to meditate, and contemplate the source of peace, and bliss will come to you. Chanting, and meditating on the Name of the Lord of the Universe, perfect understanding is achieved (sggs 815).
.Sagal uddam mahi uddam bhalaa. Hari ka naam japhu jeeyaa sadaa:
.Of all efforts, the best effort is to persistently chant the Name of the Lord in the heart (sggs 266).
Man's true self-effort and God's Grace are interdependent. Without one, the other is impossible. The Divine is unattainable by ceremonies, rituals, pilgrimage or material wealth; He is attained only by the self-control or conquest of the mind, by the cultivation of divine wisdom. Hence, by persistently treading this path, one can attain the Eternal Good. Fate or divine dispensation does not enter here. Self-effort alone is another name for Divine Will. Accordingly, scriptures roar to renounce fatalism and apply to self-effort.
.Uddam karat seetal man bhaye...:
.Through sincere efforts, the mind is made peaceful and calm. Walking on the Lord's path, all pains are taken away. The mind becomes blissful by chanting the Naam. Singing the glorious praises of God, supreme bliss is obtained (sggs 201).
--T. Singh
Self Effort, Divine Will and Fate
Sukhmani Sahib-Naam and God conscious
SHALOK:
The True One is on his mind, and the True One is upon his lips.
He sees only the One.
O Nanak, these are the qualities of the God-conscious being. || 1 ||
ASHTAPADEE:
The God-conscious being is always unattached,
as the lotus in the water remains detached.
The God-conscious being is always unstained,
like the sun, which gives its comfort and warmth to all.
The God-conscious being looks upon all alike,
like the wind, which blows equally upon the king and the poor beggar.
The God-conscious being has a steady patience,
like the earth, which is dug up by one, and anointed with sandal paste by another.
This is the quality of the God-conscious being:
O Nanak, his inherent nature is like a warming fire. || 1 ||
The God-conscious being is the purest of the pure;
filth does not stick to water.
The God-conscious being's mind is enlightened,
like the sky above the earth.
To the God-conscious being, friend and foe are the same.
The God-conscious being has no egotistical pride.
The God-conscious being is the highest of the high.
Within his own mind, he is the most humble of all.
They alone become God-conscious beings,
O Nanak, whom God Himself makes so. || 2 ||
The God-conscious being is the dust of all.
The God-conscious being knows the nature of the soul.
The God-conscious being shows kindness to all.
No evil comes from the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is always impartial.
Nectar rains down from the glance of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is free from entanglements.
The lifestyle of the God-conscious being is spotlessly pure.
Spiritual wisdom is the food of the God-conscious being.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is absorbed in God's meditation. || 3 ||
The God-conscious being centers his hopes on the One alone.
The God-conscious being shall never perish.
The God-conscious being is steeped in humility.
The God-conscious being delights in doing good to others.
The God-conscious being has no worldly entanglements.
The God-conscious being holds his wandering mind under control.
The God-conscious being acts in the common good.
The God-conscious being blossoms in fruitfulness.
In the Company of the God-conscious being, all are saved.
O Nanak, through the God-conscious being, the whole world meditates on God. || 4||
The God-conscious being loves the One Lord alone.
The God-conscious being dwells with God.
The God-conscious being takes the Naam as his Support.
The God-conscious being has the Naam as his Family.
The God-conscious being is awake and aware, forever and ever.
The God-conscious being renounces his proud ego.
In the mind of the God-conscious being, there is supreme bliss.
In the home of the God-conscious being, there is everlasting bliss.
The God-conscious being dwells in peaceful ease.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being shall never perish. || 5 ||
The God-conscious being knows God.
The God-conscious being is in love with the One alone.
The God-conscious being is carefree.
Pure are the Teachings of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is made so by God Himself.
The God-conscious being is gloriously great.
The Darshan, the Blessed Vision of the God-conscious being,
is obtained by great good fortune.
To the God-conscious being, I make my life a sacrifice.
The God-conscious being is sought by the great god Shiva.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is Himself the Supreme Lord God. ||6 ||
The God-conscious being cannot be appraised.
The God-conscious being has all within his mind.
Who can know the mystery of the God-conscious being?
Forever bow to the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being cannot be described in words.
The God-conscious being is the Lord and Master of all.
Who can describe the limits of the God-conscious being?
Only the God-conscious being can know the state of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being has no end or limitation.
O Nanak, to the God-conscious being, bow forever in reverence. || 7 ||
The God-conscious being is the Creator of all the world.
The God-conscious being lives forever, and does not die.
The God-conscious being is the Giver of the way of liberation of the soul.
The God-conscious being is the Perfect Supreme Being, who orchestrates all.
The God-conscious being is the helper of the helpless.
The God-conscious being extends his hand to all.
The God-conscious being owns the entire creation.
The God-conscious being is himself the Formless Lord.
The glory of the God-conscious being belongs to the God-conscious being alone.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is the Lord of all. || 8 || 8 ||
SHALOK:
The True One is on his mind, and the True One is upon his lips.
He sees only the One.
O Nanak, these are the qualities of the God-conscious being. || 1 ||
ASHTAPADEE:
The God-conscious being is always unattached,
as the lotus in the water remains detached.
The God-conscious being is always unstained,
like the sun, which gives its comfort and warmth to all.
The God-conscious being looks upon all alike,
like the wind, which blows equally upon the king and the poor beggar.
The God-conscious being has a steady patience,
like the earth, which is dug up by one, and anointed with sandal paste by another.
This is the quality of the God-conscious being:
O Nanak, his inherent nature is like a warming fire. || 1 ||
The God-conscious being is the purest of the pure;
filth does not stick to water.
The God-conscious being's mind is enlightened,
like the sky above the earth.
To the God-conscious being, friend and foe are the same.
The God-conscious being has no egotistical pride.
The God-conscious being is the highest of the high.
Within his own mind, he is the most humble of all.
They alone become God-conscious beings,
O Nanak, whom God Himself makes so. || 2 ||
The God-conscious being is the dust of all.
The God-conscious being knows the nature of the soul.
The God-conscious being shows kindness to all.
No evil comes from the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is always impartial.
Nectar rains down from the glance of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is free from entanglements.
The lifestyle of the God-conscious being is spotlessly pure.
Spiritual wisdom is the food of the God-conscious being.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is absorbed in God's meditation. || 3 ||
The God-conscious being centers his hopes on the One alone.
The God-conscious being shall never perish.
The God-conscious being is steeped in humility.
The God-conscious being delights in doing good to others.
The God-conscious being has no worldly entanglements.
The God-conscious being holds his wandering mind under control.
The God-conscious being acts in the common good.
The God-conscious being blossoms in fruitfulness.
In the Company of the God-conscious being, all are saved.
O Nanak, through the God-conscious being, the whole world meditates on God. || 4||
The God-conscious being loves the One Lord alone.
The God-conscious being dwells with God.
The God-conscious being takes the Naam as his Support.
The God-conscious being has the Naam as his Family.
The God-conscious being is awake and aware, forever and ever.
The God-conscious being renounces his proud ego.
In the mind of the God-conscious being, there is supreme bliss.
In the home of the God-conscious being, there is everlasting bliss.
The God-conscious being dwells in peaceful ease.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being shall never perish. || 5 ||
The God-conscious being knows God.
The God-conscious being is in love with the One alone.
The God-conscious being is carefree.
Pure are the Teachings of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is made so by God Himself.
The God-conscious being is gloriously great.
The Darshan, the Blessed Vision of the God-conscious being,
is obtained by great good fortune.
To the God-conscious being, I make my life a sacrifice.
The God-conscious being is sought by the great god Shiva.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is Himself the Supreme Lord God. ||6 ||
The God-conscious being cannot be appraised.
The God-conscious being has all within his mind.
Who can know the mystery of the God-conscious being?
Forever bow to the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being cannot be described in words.
The God-conscious being is the Lord and Master of all.
Who can describe the limits of the God-conscious being?
Only the God-conscious being can know the state of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being has no end or limitation.
O Nanak, to the God-conscious being, bow forever in reverence. || 7 ||
The God-conscious being is the Creator of all the world.
The God-conscious being lives forever, and does not die.
The God-conscious being is the Giver of the way of liberation of the soul.
The God-conscious being is the Perfect Supreme Being, who orchestrates all.
The God-conscious being is the helper of the helpless.
The God-conscious being extends his hand to all.
The God-conscious being owns the entire creation.
The God-conscious being is himself the Formless Lord.
The glory of the God-conscious being belongs to the God-conscious being alone.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is the Lord of all. || 8 || 8 ||
The Sikh religion is truly the answer to the problems of the Modern Man. And it is the only Living Faith that gives the Healing outlook of LIFE." ---E.A.Bittencourt.
Guru Granth Sahib Jee vividly highlights GOD and GURU.
God is your Husband; He is Handsome and True. He is obtained by reflecting upon the Guru. ||1||Pause||
pir parabh saachaa sohnaa paa-ee-ai gur beechaar. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Page 38, Line 1 -- Guru Amar Das
The True Guru is the Giver of the Name of the Lord. God Himself causes us to meet Him.
satgur daataa har naam kaa parabh aap milaavai so-ay.
Page 39, Line 18 -- Guru Ram Das
The True Guru understands the Lord God. There is no other as Great as the Guru.
satgur har parabh bujhi-aa gur jayvad avar na ko-ay.
Page 39, Line 18 -- Guru Ram Das
The Guru is the Transcendent Lord, the Supreme Lord God. The Guru lifts up and saves those who are drowning. ||2||
gur parmaysar paarbarahm gur dubdaa la-ay taraa-ay. ||2||
Page 49, Line 17 -- Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Granth Sahib vividly highlights GOD and GURU
Guru Granth Sahib Jee vividly highlights GOD and GURU.
God is your Husband; He is Handsome and True. He is obtained by reflecting upon the Guru. ||1||Pause||
pir parabh saachaa sohnaa paa-ee-ai gur beechaar. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Page 38, Line 1 -- Guru Amar Das
The True Guru is the Giver of the Name of the Lord. God Himself causes us to meet Him.
satgur daataa har naam kaa parabh aap milaavai so-ay.
Page 39, Line 18 -- Guru Ram Das
The True Guru understands the Lord God. There is no other as Great as the Guru.
satgur har parabh bujhi-aa gur jayvad avar na ko-ay.
Page 39, Line 18 -- Guru Ram Das
The Guru is the Transcendent Lord, the Supreme Lord God. The Guru lifts up and saves those who are drowning. ||2||
gur parmaysar paarbarahm gur dubdaa la-ay taraa-ay. ||2||
Page 49, Line 17 -- Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Granth Sahib vividly highlights GOD and GURU
"Realization of Truth is higher than all else.
Higher still is Truthful Living." ( Page 62 SGGS Ji )
SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL: In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord places you in the womb. You meditate on the Lord, and chant the Lord's Name, O my merchant friend. You contemplate the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. Chanting the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, and meditating on it within the fire of the womb, your life is sustained by dwelling on the Naam. You are born and you come out, and your mother and father are delighted to see your face. Remember the One, O mortal, to whom the child belongs. As Gurmukh, reflect upon Him within your heart. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the first watch of the night, dwell upon the Lord, who shall shower you with His Grace. || 1 ||
In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the mind is attached to the love of duality. Mother and father hug you close in their embrace, claiming, "He is mine, he is mine"; so is the child brought up, O my merchant friend. Your mother and father constantly hug you close in their embrace; in their minds, they believe that you will provide for them and support them. The fool does not know the One who gives; instead, he clings to the gift. Rare is the Gurmukh who reflects upon, meditates upon, and within his mind, is lovingly attached to the Lord. Says Nanak, in the second watch of the night, O mortal, death never devours you. || 2 ||
In the third watch of the night, O my merchant friend, your mind is entangled in worldly and household affairs. You think of wealth, and gather wealth, O my merchant friend, but you do not contemplate the Lord or the Lord's Name. You never dwell upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, who will be your only Helper and Support in the end. This wealth, property and Maya are false. In the end, you must leave these, and depart in sorrow. Those whom the Lord, in His Mercy, unites with the Guru, reflect upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. Says Nanak, in the third watch of the night, O mortal, they go, and are united with the Lord. || 3 ||
In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord announces the time of departure. Serve the Perfect True Guru, O my merchant friend; your entire life-night is passing away. Serve the Lord each and every instant - do not delay! You shall become eternal throughout the ages. Enjoy ecstasy forever with the Lord, and do away with the pains of birth and death. Know that there is no difference between the Guru, the True Guru, and your Lord and Master. Meeting with Him, take pleasure in the Lord's devotional service. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the fourth watch of the night, the life-night of the devotee is fruitful.
Page 76-77 SGGS Ji
SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL: In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord placed your soul in the womb. In the tenth month, you were made into a human being, O my merchant friend, and you were given your allotted time to perform good deeds. You were given this time to perform good deeds, according to your pre-ordained destiny. God placed you with your mother, father, brothers, sons and wife. God Himself is the Cause of causes, good and bad - no one has control over these things. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the first watch of the night, the soul is placed in the womb. || 1 ||
In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the fullness of youth rises in you like waves. You do not distinguish between good and evil, O my merchant friend - your mind is intoxicated with ego. Mortal beings do not distinguish between good and evil, and the road ahead is treacherous. They never serve the Perfect True Guru, and the cruel tyrant Death stands over their heads. When the Righteous Judge seizes you and interrogates you, O madman, what answer will you give him then? Says Nanak, in the second watch of the night, O mortal, the fullness of youth tosses you about like waves in the storm. || 2 ||
In the third watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the blind and ignorant person gathers poison. He is entangled in emotional attachment to his wife and sons, O my merchant friend, and deep within him, the waves of greed are rising up. The waves of greed are rising up within him, and he does not remember God. He does not join the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and he suffers in terrible pain through countless incarnations. He has forgotten the Creator, his Lord and Master, and he does not meditate on Him, even for an instant. Says Nanak, in the third watch of the night, the blind and ignorant person gathers poison. || 3 ||
In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, that day is drawing near. As Gurmukh, remember the Naam, O my merchant friend. It shall be your Friend in the Court of the Lord. As Gurmukh, remember the Naam, O mortal; in the end, it shall be your only companion. This emotional attachment to Maya shall not go with you; it is false to fall in love with it. The entire night of your life has passed away in darkness; but by serving the True Guru, the Divine Light shall dawn within. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the fourth watch of the night, that day is drawing near! || 4 || Receiving the summons from the Lord of the Universe, O my merchant friend, you must arise and depart with the actions you have committed. You are not allowed a moment's delay, O my merchant friend; the Messenger of Death seizes you with firm hands. Receiving the summons, people are seized and dispatched. The self-willed manmukhs are miserable forever. But those who serve the Perfect True Guru are forever happy in the Court of the Lord. The body is the field of karma in this age; whatever you plant, you shall harvest. Says Nanak, the devotees look beautiful in the Court of the Lord; the self-willed manmukhs wander forever in reincarnation.
Page 77-78 SGGS ji
Our Life Cycle
Higher still is Truthful Living." ( Page 62 SGGS Ji )
SIREE RAAG, FOURTH MEHL: In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord places you in the womb. You meditate on the Lord, and chant the Lord's Name, O my merchant friend. You contemplate the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. Chanting the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, and meditating on it within the fire of the womb, your life is sustained by dwelling on the Naam. You are born and you come out, and your mother and father are delighted to see your face. Remember the One, O mortal, to whom the child belongs. As Gurmukh, reflect upon Him within your heart. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the first watch of the night, dwell upon the Lord, who shall shower you with His Grace. || 1 ||
In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the mind is attached to the love of duality. Mother and father hug you close in their embrace, claiming, "He is mine, he is mine"; so is the child brought up, O my merchant friend. Your mother and father constantly hug you close in their embrace; in their minds, they believe that you will provide for them and support them. The fool does not know the One who gives; instead, he clings to the gift. Rare is the Gurmukh who reflects upon, meditates upon, and within his mind, is lovingly attached to the Lord. Says Nanak, in the second watch of the night, O mortal, death never devours you. || 2 ||
In the third watch of the night, O my merchant friend, your mind is entangled in worldly and household affairs. You think of wealth, and gather wealth, O my merchant friend, but you do not contemplate the Lord or the Lord's Name. You never dwell upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, who will be your only Helper and Support in the end. This wealth, property and Maya are false. In the end, you must leave these, and depart in sorrow. Those whom the Lord, in His Mercy, unites with the Guru, reflect upon the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. Says Nanak, in the third watch of the night, O mortal, they go, and are united with the Lord. || 3 ||
In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord announces the time of departure. Serve the Perfect True Guru, O my merchant friend; your entire life-night is passing away. Serve the Lord each and every instant - do not delay! You shall become eternal throughout the ages. Enjoy ecstasy forever with the Lord, and do away with the pains of birth and death. Know that there is no difference between the Guru, the True Guru, and your Lord and Master. Meeting with Him, take pleasure in the Lord's devotional service. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the fourth watch of the night, the life-night of the devotee is fruitful.
Page 76-77 SGGS Ji
SIREE RAAG, FIFTH MEHL: In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Lord placed your soul in the womb. In the tenth month, you were made into a human being, O my merchant friend, and you were given your allotted time to perform good deeds. You were given this time to perform good deeds, according to your pre-ordained destiny. God placed you with your mother, father, brothers, sons and wife. God Himself is the Cause of causes, good and bad - no one has control over these things. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the first watch of the night, the soul is placed in the womb. || 1 ||
In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the fullness of youth rises in you like waves. You do not distinguish between good and evil, O my merchant friend - your mind is intoxicated with ego. Mortal beings do not distinguish between good and evil, and the road ahead is treacherous. They never serve the Perfect True Guru, and the cruel tyrant Death stands over their heads. When the Righteous Judge seizes you and interrogates you, O madman, what answer will you give him then? Says Nanak, in the second watch of the night, O mortal, the fullness of youth tosses you about like waves in the storm. || 2 ||
In the third watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the blind and ignorant person gathers poison. He is entangled in emotional attachment to his wife and sons, O my merchant friend, and deep within him, the waves of greed are rising up. The waves of greed are rising up within him, and he does not remember God. He does not join the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and he suffers in terrible pain through countless incarnations. He has forgotten the Creator, his Lord and Master, and he does not meditate on Him, even for an instant. Says Nanak, in the third watch of the night, the blind and ignorant person gathers poison. || 3 ||
In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, that day is drawing near. As Gurmukh, remember the Naam, O my merchant friend. It shall be your Friend in the Court of the Lord. As Gurmukh, remember the Naam, O mortal; in the end, it shall be your only companion. This emotional attachment to Maya shall not go with you; it is false to fall in love with it. The entire night of your life has passed away in darkness; but by serving the True Guru, the Divine Light shall dawn within. Says Nanak, O mortal, in the fourth watch of the night, that day is drawing near! || 4 || Receiving the summons from the Lord of the Universe, O my merchant friend, you must arise and depart with the actions you have committed. You are not allowed a moment's delay, O my merchant friend; the Messenger of Death seizes you with firm hands. Receiving the summons, people are seized and dispatched. The self-willed manmukhs are miserable forever. But those who serve the Perfect True Guru are forever happy in the Court of the Lord. The body is the field of karma in this age; whatever you plant, you shall harvest. Says Nanak, the devotees look beautiful in the Court of the Lord; the self-willed manmukhs wander forever in reincarnation.
Page 77-78 SGGS ji
Our Life Cycle
Guru's advice
moo-ay ka-o kaho maaray ka-un. nidray ka-o kaisaa dar kavan.
sabad pachhaanai teenay bha-un.
"Tell me, who can kill someone who is already dead? What does he fear? Who can frighten the fearless one? He recognizes the Word of the Shabad, throughout the three worlds."-pg 221
dar dar martay jab jaanee-ai door, dar chookaa daykhi-aa bharpoor
"I was scared, scared to death, when I thought that He was far away. But my fear was removed, when I saw that He is pervading everywhere."-pg 186
roorho jih basi-o rid maahee. u-aa kee rhaarh mitat binsaahee
"When the Beautiful Lord abides within the heart, conflict is erased and ended."-pg 260
sarab bhoot aykai kar jaani-aa chookay baad bibaadaa. kahi kabeer mai pooraa paa-i-aa bha-ay raam parsaadaa.
"I look upon all beings alike, and my conflict and strife are ended. Says Kabeer, when the Lord showed His Favor, I obtained Him, the Perfect One."-pg 483
dar ghar ghar dar dar dar jaa-ay. so dar kayhaa jit dar dar paa-ay.
tuDh bin doojee naahee jaa-ay. jo kichh vartai sabh tayree rajaa-ay.
daree-ai jay dar hovai hor. dar dar darnaa man kaa sor.
"Place the Fear of God within the home of your heart; with this Fear of God in your heart, all other fears shall be frightened away. What sort of fear is that, which frightens other fears? Without You, I have other place of rest at all. Whatever happens is all according to Your Will. Be afraid, if you have any fear, other than the Fear of God. Afraid of fear, and living in fear, the mind is held in tumult."-pg 151
bhai kaahoo ka-o dayt neh neh bhai maanat aan.
kaho naanak sun ray manaa gi-aanee taahi bakhaan.
"One who does not frighten anyone, and who is not afraid of anyone else - says Nanak, listen, mind: call him spiritually wise."-pg 1427
ki-aa daree-ai dar dareh samaanaa.
pooray gur kai sabad pachhaanaa.
"Why should we fear, when fear is dispelled by the Fear of God? Through the Shabad, the Word of the Perfect Guru, I recognize God."-pg 154
jee-a jugat jaa kai hai haath. so simrahu anaath ko naath.
parabh chit aa-ay sabh dukh jaa-ay. bhai sabh binsahi har kai naa-ay.
bin har bha-o kaahay kaa maaneh. har bisrat kaahay sukh jaaneh. rahaa-o.
jin Dhaaray baho Dharan agaas. jaa kee jot jee-a pargaas.
jaa kee bakhas na maytai ko-ay. simar simar parabh nirbha-o ho-ay
"Our way of life is in His Hands; remember Him, the Master of the masterless. When God comes to mind, all pains depart. All fears are dispelled through the Name of the Lord. Why do you fear any other than the Lord? Forgetting the Lord, why do you pretend to be at peace? He established the many worlds and skies. The soul is illumined with His Light; no one can revoke His Blessing. Meditate, meditate in remembrance on God, and become fearless."-pg 184
bhai meh rachi-o sabh sansaaraa. tis bha-o naahee jis naam aDhaaraa.
bha-o na vi-aapai tayree sarnaa. jo tuDh bhaavai so-ee karnaa.
"The whole world is engrossed in fear. Those who have the Naam, the Name of the Lord, as their Support, feel no fear. Fear does not affect those who take to Your Sanctuary. You do whatever You please."-pg 192
Guru's Advice
moo-ay ka-o kaho maaray ka-un. nidray ka-o kaisaa dar kavan.
sabad pachhaanai teenay bha-un.
"Tell me, who can kill someone who is already dead? What does he fear? Who can frighten the fearless one? He recognizes the Word of the Shabad, throughout the three worlds."-pg 221
dar dar martay jab jaanee-ai door, dar chookaa daykhi-aa bharpoor
"I was scared, scared to death, when I thought that He was far away. But my fear was removed, when I saw that He is pervading everywhere."-pg 186
roorho jih basi-o rid maahee. u-aa kee rhaarh mitat binsaahee
"When the Beautiful Lord abides within the heart, conflict is erased and ended."-pg 260
sarab bhoot aykai kar jaani-aa chookay baad bibaadaa. kahi kabeer mai pooraa paa-i-aa bha-ay raam parsaadaa.
"I look upon all beings alike, and my conflict and strife are ended. Says Kabeer, when the Lord showed His Favor, I obtained Him, the Perfect One."-pg 483
dar ghar ghar dar dar dar jaa-ay. so dar kayhaa jit dar dar paa-ay.
tuDh bin doojee naahee jaa-ay. jo kichh vartai sabh tayree rajaa-ay.
daree-ai jay dar hovai hor. dar dar darnaa man kaa sor.
"Place the Fear of God within the home of your heart; with this Fear of God in your heart, all other fears shall be frightened away. What sort of fear is that, which frightens other fears? Without You, I have other place of rest at all. Whatever happens is all according to Your Will. Be afraid, if you have any fear, other than the Fear of God. Afraid of fear, and living in fear, the mind is held in tumult."-pg 151
bhai kaahoo ka-o dayt neh neh bhai maanat aan.
kaho naanak sun ray manaa gi-aanee taahi bakhaan.
"One who does not frighten anyone, and who is not afraid of anyone else - says Nanak, listen, mind: call him spiritually wise."-pg 1427
ki-aa daree-ai dar dareh samaanaa.
pooray gur kai sabad pachhaanaa.
"Why should we fear, when fear is dispelled by the Fear of God? Through the Shabad, the Word of the Perfect Guru, I recognize God."-pg 154
jee-a jugat jaa kai hai haath. so simrahu anaath ko naath.
parabh chit aa-ay sabh dukh jaa-ay. bhai sabh binsahi har kai naa-ay.
bin har bha-o kaahay kaa maaneh. har bisrat kaahay sukh jaaneh. rahaa-o.
jin Dhaaray baho Dharan agaas. jaa kee jot jee-a pargaas.
jaa kee bakhas na maytai ko-ay. simar simar parabh nirbha-o ho-ay
"Our way of life is in His Hands; remember Him, the Master of the masterless. When God comes to mind, all pains depart. All fears are dispelled through the Name of the Lord. Why do you fear any other than the Lord? Forgetting the Lord, why do you pretend to be at peace? He established the many worlds and skies. The soul is illumined with His Light; no one can revoke His Blessing. Meditate, meditate in remembrance on God, and become fearless."-pg 184
bhai meh rachi-o sabh sansaaraa. tis bha-o naahee jis naam aDhaaraa.
bha-o na vi-aapai tayree sarnaa. jo tuDh bhaavai so-ee karnaa.
"The whole world is engrossed in fear. Those who have the Naam, the Name of the Lord, as their Support, feel no fear. Fear does not affect those who take to Your Sanctuary. You do whatever You please."-pg 192
Guru's Advice
Concept Of Guru and naam
An article "The Guru In Gaudiya Vaisnava And Sikh Traditions", by J.S. Narula (Canada), was published in the journal. The following are the extracts of the Article
**********************************************************************
Introduction
-----------------
The guru is one of the oldest institutions in the Indian religious traditions. Gurus are still attracting a large number of followers from the east and the west, which is the evidence of the continuing interest in this institution. All Indian religions acknowledge that ultimate Truth transcends intellectual comprehension. The institution of guru is, a result of this acknowledgement. Religious truth itself is manifested through the continuing presence of the guru, he (or she) a paragon of wisdom, good character and purity, who shows the right way and unfolds the meaning of life. For the community, the guru is a teacher, guide, father (or mother), leader and in a sense, divine personality. For an individual he or she is personal mentor, a guide to the development of one's spiritual life.
This article deals with the concept of guru as set forth in the scriptures of two major religious traditions of India, Gaudiya Vaisnava (Hindu) and the Sikh. Focus will be on certain theological and doctrinal emphasis which are central to the concept of guru. Both traditions have given the guru extreme importance and believe that for self-realization help of the guru is imperative. However, the two traditions differ in one major respect. The Vaisnavas emphasize the individual personal character of guru, whereas the Sikh emphasize a more universal, non-personal (or transcendent) character of guru. Vaisnavas tend to identify the human gurus with God, Krisna. The Sikhs give guruship a more impersonal character. For them, Guru encompasses a single spiritual being displaying itself in a succession of ten different historical personalities but not identifying itself with these. This depersonalisation of the guru has been a major factor in the evolution of Sikhism as a distinct and separate religion. This parting of
the ways in the evolution of the guru tradition derives from both differing interpretations of the sacred writings as well as differing historical developments of the Hindu and Sikh religions.
Guru In Sikhism
----------------
Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh tradition laid much emphasis on the central position of the Guru in Sikh theology. For him, the Guru is the ladder, Guru the boat, Guru the raft[1] by means of which one reaches God. Nanak said:
"Take him as Guru who shows the path of truth, who tells you of the one of whom nothing is known; who tells you of the Divine Word."[2]
Sikhism made a major modification to the traditional doctrine of the Guru. Guru Nanak did not believe in 'human Guru'. Nanak used the word Guru for God, the Enlightener in the sense of divine Word. He regarded the Guru as an essential medium for spreading divine Truth. The nine successors of Nanak fully agreed with Nanak by reiterating the same doctrines. It was Nanak and his nine successors who crystalized guruship as an institution. In doing so, they added a new dimension to the concept of the Guru in the Indian tradition.
W.Owen Cole explains the concept of guruship of Guru Nanak and his followers in this manner:
"They considered themselves Gurus, but only as messengers of God whom they frequently called Sat Guru (The True Guru)."[3]
They also saw themselves as God's servants. "Me, the worthless bard, the Lord has blest with (His) service."[4] "We are but beggers at Thy door. O God, bless us with Thy bounty."[5] Thus was Guru Nanak's description of himself. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, commanded: "Recognise me as God's servant only."[6] Nanak believed that serving Guru in all lowliness was the road to wisdom. He stated: "I am sacrifice to my Guru a myriad times a day."[7] This attitude was accepted by all Sikh Gurus. The avatara of the Hindu tradition was replaced by a new definition of the role of a guru.
Further, the term guru was given a considerable range of meaning than in Hindu theology. For example, Guru refers to the manifest form of which God takes as a preceptor of mankind so that he can be described as Sat-Guru. It also applies to the ten human Gurus through whom the Sat-Guru communicates. It refers also to the book in which the message ("Bani") has been recorded, the Guru Granth Sahib. Finally, Guru may also refer to the "Panth"[8] (community of the enlightened) which grew up in response to these teachings.
In the Guru Granth Sahib, the term Guru stands for God Himself. In the Mulmantra, the Supreme Being is given the attribute of Guru. The formula is "Ek Onkar, Satguru Prasad[9] (by the Grace of the one individual Supreme Being, the Eternal Reality). The scriptural word here translated as Reality is Guru.
Guru Nanak himself did not have a human guru as an instructor. As Bhai Jodh Singh says: All of the human gurus who roam about now-a-days have taken instruction from som person or other. Guru Nanak's Guru, however, was not a person.[10] One Sakhi (i.e. hagiographic testimony) that deals with the Vein river incident clearly mentioned that Guru Nanak received the cup of Name ("Naam") from the True Court (of God). Nanak himself wrote:
The Immaculate Lord, the essence of all things, pervades all,
and he is not separate from me.
And it is Him I have met, the transcendent Lord, our infinite
and Supreme God, who is our only Guru.[11]
Guru Arjan declared:
"For my Guru is God, my Guru is the Transcendent Lord; He is the God of Glory. The Guru is God, unknowable and mysterious."[12]
These traditional Sikh statements make clear that Nanak and his successors considered God as their Supreme Guru. This concept is reinforced in the hymns of the Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh's clearl warnings[13] against the popular belief of human gurus being identified with God, shows that Sikh Gurus were opposed to the deification of the human guru.
However, to define the concept of Sikh Guru, it is necessary to examine the nature of this identification of Guru and God. Many verses in the Adi-Granth[14] show a clear distinction between God and the Guru. As, for instance:
And Him, whom we sought in all the three worlds, we saw.
Yea, Nanak, it is Guru through whom we attain to our
union with the Lord.[15]
The God is All-too-near, but seems not so:
It is through the True Guru that I see Him thus.[16]
These excerpts make clear the contrast between God the object of Revelation and Guru the agent. This conclusion suggests that our initial identification of the Guru and God needs some qualification. A strict definition requires us to identify the Guru not with God Himself, but with the voice or message of God. The Sikh Gurus laid much emphasis upon the message, the Bani[17]. Nanak used the word bani for the words he received from God, words which he transcribed in the form of hymns. Perhaps a strict definition requires us to identify Guru not with God Himself, but with the Voice of God, with the means whereby God imparts His message to human kind. Nanak, however, taught that Nirgun[18] Brahman, self-manifested as Word and became Guru. The Guru is in fact the Shabad (Word). Hence, when the Nath yogis asked Nanak to name his Guru, he replied:
The Word is the Guru;
and the mind attuned (to the Word) the disciple.
I remain detached, being attached to the ineffable Gospel
(of the Word).
Yea, my God is the Guru, age after age.
It is the Guru's word through which one reflects
on the Gospel of the Lord.[19]
These excerpts from the Adi Granth suggest that the Word (Sabad)[20] in Nanak's connotation means Revelation as well as the vehicle of Revelation of God which is regarded as the only proper object of man's contemplation. The Word's function is to provide the only means whereby man may secure salvation and attain union with god. By the Guru's guidance an aspirant is no longer bound to the wheel of transmigration. By meditating on the Word, by repeating the Name of God, he is saved.[21]
In the Sikh theology, the 'Word' (Shabad) is the intermediary between God and creation, between Guru and disciple. According to Tarlochan Singh:
"On the metaphysical plane Shabad is the only pervading and illuminating principle of the Transcendent God, the only active principle of Creation. It is the doctrine of Will ("Hukam") and 'Word' which completely eliminates the metaphysical separation and distinction between the Transcendent God and Immanent Shabad is also called the essence of knowledge (Shabad brahmjnan) through which man comprehends and becomes one with the Truth."[22]
Nanak used the term 'Guru' clearly in three senses. The Guru is God; the Guru is the Voice of God; and the Guru is the Word, the Truth of God.[23] These three senses (God, Guru and Guru's Word) are ultimately inseparable.
Clearly related to the notion of Word (Sabda) is the notion of 'Name' ("Naam").[24] Naam indeed is the pivot around which the Sikh faith revolves. That word Naam occurs 5999 times in the Adi Granth shows the importance of this word in Sikh theology. For all practical purposes, Naam would seem equivalent to Shabad (Word). As the Adi Granth mentions:
Yea, without the Lord's Name you are emancipated not
and through ignorance waste yourself away......
But where is emancipation without the Guru's Word:
For without the Lord's Name, one is involved to death.[25]
'Name' and 'Word' are here used almost interchangeably. In some cases the identity of the two is even more striking.
How is one to be ferried across the sea of existence
without the Guru's word?
For without the (Lord's) Name, the world is afflicted
by the malady of duality and this sinks the fortunes of all men.[26]
Though functionally equivalent as the means of revelation and salvation, Word and Name seem to be related as whole to part, or general to specific and essential. Word may be considered the totality of Divine Revelation, with Name being a part. But Divine Name is not partial in any negative sense, for it is the most essential, most crucial part, that which most immediately reveals the divine and most directly affects salvation.
In a few cases a certain distinction is made? If one dwells on True Name, through the Guru's word:
(i) Then one is a true Gurmukh, abjudged True at the Lord's court.[27]
(ii) By means of the Word one enshrines the Name in one's heart.[28]
In such cases, truth as communicated by Guru is referred to as Word, whereas Truth received and meditated upon by the believer tends to be expressed in terms of name. The distinction is very delicate and normally determined by the context. Adi Granth Kosa mentions no difference in these two terms. Wherever the meaning of Naam is encountered in the Adi Granth, there is the meaning of the Shabad.[29] However, both 'Name' and 'Word' are expressions of the total being of God. Both are objects of contemplation, the standard to which the individual life must conform. As the Adi Granth says:
And make the Lord's Name thy conduct and works.[30]
In Sikh teachings, the concept of Guru also plays a major role in interpreting "Gurprasadi" (by the grace of the Guru he is known)[31] The meaning of grace ("Nadar")[32] in Guru Nanak's teachings is to be determined by examining his own personal experience. For Nanak, grace meant something peculiar as a result of his own experience and is to be regarded as God's sovereign act of self-disclosure. God, the only source and totality of power and grace expresses Himself in Word and He Himself as Guru bestows the gift of grace. (Sikhism - " Concept Of Divine Grace ".....3(end))
It should be noted that in Nanak's teachings, human guru, though considered as messenger to communicate the message (Word) of God to the Sikh (disciple) is not a least participant directly or indirectly in the power of grace. Whereas in Vaisnava tradition, guru being the instrument, is partially participant in the power of grace. Evidently the spiritual master in Vaisnava tradition (being a media) has been magnified to the point that he had become an object of devotion, and without his grace a devotee cannot make even an approach to Krsna. Human guru in the Vasnava tradition is the vital link, the essential mediator of God. But Nanak did not accept any human mediator.
Prior to the gift of grace, a Sikh must need a gift of perception, which comes by God's grace. If He gives it, then the Word may be perceived, and if He does not, there is nothing a man can do. But if a man accepts this proffered gift, this does not mean automatic salvation. For salvation is not which is given, this must be attained through the individual's own efforts. This gift of perception is the prerequisite for salvation and the means to be followed to attain it. As the Adi Granth mentions:
Yea, on whosoever is Thy Grace, he dwells upon Thy Name.[33]
Thus, salvation depends both upon God's Grace, which is expressed by the Guru in the Word, and upon the individual's own effort to conform to the Truth.
Like Vaisnava, Sikh tradition also believes that God communicates himself through his chosen, but in the Sikh teachings the chosen ones (human Gurus) are neither the incarnations nor manifestations of God. They (historically the ten masters) were the instruments through whom the Guru's Word ("Gurbani") became audible. It is through Gurbani that man knows His mystery:
Through the (Guru's) Word, wells up the Lord's Name within us;
through the Word is our union with the Lord....
and through the Guru is it received.[34]
God, in His self-manifestation as Guru remains the essential mediator, but no longer a human link. Sikh teachings insist that Word (Gurbani) and not the body is the Guru. The light of the Word within their (Gurus) heart was their real personality. W.O. Cole says that
"the Word is so much that the position of the Guru in Sikhism might seem, to the casual observer to be one in which complete reverence has given way to complete indifference."[35]
In fact, the Sikh Gurus were quite conscious about the human deification in Hinduism and totally repudiated any human link between God and man. Despite such efforts of the Sikh Gurus, Sikhism succumbed to the influence of deification as in the Hindu tradition. However, this should be viewed as an intense emotional reaction to the strong impression made by the powerful religious personality. It does not actually mean the ritual worship of a human being identified with God.
According to Taran Singh, God is consciousness or "jnana"[36] (knowledge). The Sikh (human) Guru is the communicator of the jnana. He is like a prophet, who, for the reconstruction of the personality and of society, inspires humanity. He is the leader of his community and helps the community according to its spiritual and mundane needs.
Sikh Guruship, in contrast to Vaisnava, displays an impersonal or non-personal character. The idea is stressed repeatedly in the Sikh writings. For example, Bhai Gurdas describes the succession of the second Guru, Guru Angad[37], as lighting one lamp from another. Same is the expression by Rai Balwand and Satta.[38] Guru Gobind Singh himself said:
The holy Nanak was revered as Angad,
Angad was revered as Amar Das....,
The pious saw this, but not the fools...[39]
'They were all one', the Guru added, 'as one lamp is lit from another', so also the light of one Guru blended at his death with that of his successor. The underlying principle was that 'the personality of the Guru was detached from the Guruship which was to be regarded as one, indivisible and continuous.'
The institution of human Guruship in Sikhism is to be interpreted as an institution of 'Divine Light'. This institution lasted for more than two hundred years but the "jot" (light) was the same, from one human Guru to the next. Ultimately, the light was transformed into Guru Granth Sahib.
The institution of Guruship took a new direction under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh. On the eve of his death he declared to his disciples that they should regard Guru Granth Sahib as their own Guru (alongwith the panth). He therefore placed the spiritual leadership atleast beyond the grasp of any human being. However, even this move was not completely new. It had been anticipated by Guru Arjan Dev when he installed the Adi Granth at Harminder Sahib at Amritsar. Guru Arjan compiled it, bowed before it and instructed the Sikhs to follow his example. He declared:
"The Book is the abode of God."[40]
So, the institution of human Guru came to an end. The institution of Guru Granth as a Guru, while in one sense originating at the time of his death, continued the belief that Guru is symbolically embodied within the Sikh community.
There were several reasons for Guru Arjan to take this step. First, Sikhism is essentially a religion of Naam (Name). A Sikh, in the religious context is to sing Lord's name, excluding all other rituals. In order to standardize the Gurus recitations Guru Arjan recorded their exact words in a single volume. Second, Guru Arjan wanted to establish a clear distinction between the human Gurus and God's message that they imparted. Third, historically perhaps, Sikhs needed a separate religious book to assure their identity as distinctive from Hindus and Muslims as well.
However, eventually Guru Gobind Singh was responsible for confering Guruship on the Adi Granth which came to be regarded as a spiritual guru. This development could be effected given the impersonal character of Guruship and mystic identification of the Guru with the Word (Shabad), the core belief of Sikhism since its inception.
Under the direction of Guru Gobind Singh the institution of Guruship acquired qualitatively a new character. As all the major institutional developments of Sikhism took place in the reign of Guru Gobind Singh, which is considered an evolutionary course of the Sikh movement, inherent in Nanak's doctrine of "bhakti" and "shakti".[41] In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh established the foundation of Sikhism by declaring that henceforth the "khalsa"[42] were his form, limb of his limb and breath of his breath. He received baptism from the five worthy Sikhs called "panj Pyaras" (the beloved five). He asserted:
The Khalsa is the Gurua and the Guru is the Khalsa. There is no difference between you and me. As Guru Nanak seated Angad on the throne, so have I made you also the Guru.[43]
To the khalsa he imparted Guruship because the Sikhs had already been exalted equal to the Guru. Thus the Guru Granth became the spiritual Guru and the Khalsa treated as the inheritor of the Guruship in its temporal aspect. As Guru Gobind Singh stated:
I have infused my mental and bodily spirit into the Guru Granth and the Khalsa.[44]
In the Sikh context the unity of the temporal ("miri") and spiritual ("piri") aspect refers to a new concept of religion as a state symbolising a unique correlation of the temporal and spiritual authority.
The brief survey makes it quite evident that the concept of Guruship lies at the heart of Sikhism. The human gurus, the Guru Panth and finally the Guru Granth Sahib forged the present religion. However, in the scriptural teachings, Guru refers to Guru shabad (Word). God in His manifestation as Word becomes the essential Guru-mediator through whom he can be realized. God's message (word) is communicated to and through the human Gurus (the ten teachers), but they are not a 'link' in any sense. God is the source of everything, material and spiritual, of wisdom and of the universe. He is the one who as Guru takes the initiative without which there can be nothing but the darkness of ignorance. The Guru thus plays a central role in the Granthian conception of bhakti (devotion) to the supreme. The disciple was asked to walk in the path of God, to remain ever content with his will and to obey His commands. But in these matters, as in every thing else, Guru was to point out the right path.
To the Sikh (disciple), the Guru is everything. While Guru Arjan in his hymns called "Bawan Akhari", literally - fifty two letters, sums up Guru as the
Transcendent Lord; the God of gods.[45]
A comparison of the Guru concept in the Vaisnava (Hindu) and the Sikh tradition leads to several conclusions. In the first place, to Sikhs the term Guru ultimately refers to the supreme being in His revelatory and saving relationship to human beings. Human individuals, the Scripture, and the whole community may function as Guru but do so as media for transmitting the Gurus teachings of the divine, rather than, as distinct teaching/saying entities themselves. For Vaisnavas, the term guru may refer to the divine in the avatara form or to a devotee who is considered a manifestation of God.
The second and most distictive feature of Sikhism is that it stressed that Gurbani, Word or Shabad, a well established doctrine in Indian tradition be venerated as a part of Brahman. This doctrine holds that probably not the only embodiment but the most fundamental of an essentially formless, incomprehensible Reality is the holy 'Word'. The continuity of the Word is unbroken to the Sikhs:
There is but one Word, uttered by the only Guru; so reflect thou on His Word.[46]
The Word is the Voice and the Will of the Supreme.
Another important and distinctive feature of Sikhism is that the Sikh Gurus made 'Guruship' an institution which ultimately ensured unity and strengthened the solidarity of Sikhism. Thus, indeed 'Guruship' in Sikhism became a highly centralised institution.
Further, the Sikh Guru concept became unique within the bhakti tradition in that it raised the dignity of the Guru by elevating the 'Book' to the status of Guruhip and abolished temporal Guruship. The abolition of temporal Guruship ended all possibilities of human worship. In Vaisnavism human worship prevailed. There is a great theoretical difference between the Brahmanical man-worship as guru worship and Sikh ideal of Guru-worship through God-worship.
Although, in theory and ideal, the Sikh concept of Guru is quite impersonal, in practice a personal element emerged. Indeed the Guru in Sikhism became a central figure not only in religious affairs but in the daily life of the Sikh as well. Sikh tradition is very eloquent on this point, for instance, Bhai Gurdas writes:
"The Sikh who receiveth the Guru's instruction is really a Sikh. To become a disciple one must be like a purchased servant, fit to be yoked to any work which may serve his Guru."[47]
Love for the Guru became superior to all other relations. As it is said:
Love none but the Guru; all other love is false.[48]
The result of such teachings raised the unquestioning devotion of the Sikhs to their human Gurus. But A.C. Baneerjee argues that this development did not create a community depending upon autocratic leadership. The ideal of brotherhood was an active principle from the very begining of the Sikh community. The Gurus usually respected the wishes of their disciples in most matters. In fact, the individual Sikh was elevated to a position almost equal to Guru himself, as Guru Ram Das explains:
To those who obey the will of the Guru, I am ever a sacrifice...
I am ever a sacrifice to those who serve the Guru.[49]
Historical developments also affected the change in the Sikh Guru-disciple relationship. The establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh was the culmination of the Guru-Sikh relationship. Undoubtedly the Guru always had high regard for his Sikh but thereafter with a difference. Henceforth the Guru was ready to make great sacrifices for his Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh's strong sense of obligation to do his best for his Sikhs is significantly expressed in one of his "Hazare-Shabads", which proves that the common Sikh was raised almost to the dignity of the Guru.
All the battles I have won against tyranny
I have fought with the devoted backing of these people;
Through them only have I been able to bestow gifts,
Through their help I have escaped from harm;
The love and generosity of these Sikhs
Has enriched my heart and my home.
Through their grace I have attained all learning,
Through their help, in battle, I have slain all my enemies;
I was born to serve them, through them I reached eminence.
What would I have been without their kind and ready help?
There are millions of insignificant people like me?
True service is the service of these people:
I am not inclined to serve others of higher castes;
Charity will bear fruit, in this and the next world,
If given to such worthy people as these.
All other sacrifices and charities are profitless,
From top to toe, whatever I call my own,
All possessions, I dedicate to these people.[50]
The guru-disciple relationship is the essential feature in the structure of some, if not all, religious traditions. This relationship is a matter of feeling and inner emotion; at some level of experience, a complete surrender to the guru.
Yet, the guru-disciple relation can also be impersonal in its fusion of the mind with the sacred 'Word', a fusion creating mystic unity between the two through which the disciple could discover his own inner identity. Discipleship not only fosters the discovery of deeper truth, but calls for transformation of character. The experience of revelation is the goal of the devotee in his relation with the guru. The tunnel through which the devotee receives revelation in his constant devotion to the guru. This submission opens the channel along which the guru can pass his own conviction, if guru be understood in personal terms, or along which the principle of divine self-manifestation, the Word, can effect religious transformation of the disciple, if guru be considered of, in less personal terms.
Finally, in comparison with gurus in Vaisnavism and Indian religious traditions in general, the Sikh Gurus were generally much more socially and politically active. They were keenly aware of the impact of social ills and politics on the common man's life, and took active roles in these areas. Hence, they became not only spiritual preceptors but social reformers, soldiers, philosophers and scholars as well.
NOTES & REFERENCES
[1] SGGS p.17
[2] A.C. Bannerjee, "Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh", Rajesh Publications, New Delhi.
[3] W.O.Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, "The Sikhs"
[4] SGGS p.150
[5] SGGS p.982
[6] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vols.4-5
[7] Asa-di-Var, Sloka 1, SGGS p.463
[8] The concept of the (Guru) Panth somehow described the belief that Guru is symbolically embodied within the community. Tradition says that it was conferred upon the panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 when he created the Order of the Khalsa. But there had been extremely early evidence for the doctrine of Guru Panth in the hymns of Guru Nanak and his successors. For instance, Guru Nanak says: "My salvation is the Lord, my only God, the True One, the Infinite..."; "When one meets with the Guru-saint, one attains to Truth and then spontaneously one is blest with glory."(Siddha Ghosti); "In the society of the saints one gathers the Lord's Essence."(SGGS p.598)
[9] Japji, AG p.1
[10] Jodh Singh, "Gurmati Nirnay".
[11] SGGS p.599
[12] SGGS p.864
[13] Macauliffe, "The Sikhs", Vols4-5
[14] Adi Granth: Literally, "First Book".
[15] SGGS p.20
[16] SGGS p.1274
[17] Literally: Speech. It signifies the word of self-expression (used synonymously with Word ("Shabad") spoken by God. Guru nanak preferred to use the term "Gurbani". "Gur" and "Bani" are inseparable, otherwise the Bani would become lifeless. Today, the term Gurbani is synonymous with 'scripture' being used by the Sikhs and refers to Guru Granth Sahib.
[18] Nirguna: Without attributes or qualities. Used to say that God is ultimately incomprehensible and beyond description.
[19] SGGS p.943
[20] Shabad: Word, the divine self-expression; often the Word Shabad stands by itself and often it is linked with the word Guru. Guru may be considered as the characteristic form, and the shabad by itself normally assumes its relation with the Guru. The form may be Guru-ka-shabad, Guru's Word, or it may be Guru-Shabad, the Guru's Word(Dhanasari Ast I(8) AG p.686; Ramkali 10 AG p.879). Sabad: Word; in Sikh usage a hymn of the Adi Granth.
[21] Siddha Goshti, AG p.944-45
[22] "Sikhism", Ed. Punjabi University, patiala. 1969, p.66
[23] God is identified with the Word. "Thou art the Word and Thou art the expression." (Bilavalu 3, AG p.795)
[24] Naam: Literally Name. The Divine Name; the expression of the nature and being of God in terms comprehensible to the human understanding.
[25] SGGS p.1127
[26] Bhairau 2. AG p.1125)
[27] Asa-di-Var, AG p.355
[28] Prahabati Ast I(7), AG p.1242
[29] Adi Granth Kosa, Vol.3 (Amritsar 1950)
[30] Asa-di-Var, MI, AG p.355
[31] Japji, AG p.1
[32] Nadar: Literally the gracious glance.
[33] Var Majah, Sloka 1 Pauri 19, AG p.147
[34] SGGS p.644
[35] W.O.Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, "The Sikhs"
[36] Taran Singh, "The Nature of Guruship in Guru Granth", ed. McMullen, Delhi 1976
[37] Angad: Guru Givenn name was Lehna. By givinf Lehna the name Angad, Guru Nanak was designating him as his successor and asserting that his teachings will live on in him. The meaning of the renaming of Lehna is well given by Bhai Gurdas: Before he died he installed Lehna as his successor and set the Guru's canopy over his head merging light in Guru Angad's light, the sat Guru changed his form. None could comprehend the mystery. A wonder of wonders he revealed: changing his body he made Guru Angad's body his own. (Var 1)
[38] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.5
[39] I.B. Banerjee, "Evolution of the Khalsa", Calcutta, 1936, Vol.1, pp.211-214
[40] SGGS p.1226
[41] The implication of Nanak's concept of bhakti and shakti can be realised in Babur-vani.
[42] The Khalsa symbolically meant the transferring of temporal Guruship to the Panth.
[43] W.Owen Cole, "The Guru In Sikhism".
[44] M.A. Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.5
[45] SGGS p.250
[46] SGGS p.646
[47] S.S. Gandhi, "History of the Sikh Gurus".
[48] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.4
[49] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.2
[50] "Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs", George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 1960.
An article "The Guru In Gaudiya Vaisnava And Sikh Traditions", by J.S. Narula (Canada), was published in the journal. The following are the extracts of the Article
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Introduction
-----------------
The guru is one of the oldest institutions in the Indian religious traditions. Gurus are still attracting a large number of followers from the east and the west, which is the evidence of the continuing interest in this institution. All Indian religions acknowledge that ultimate Truth transcends intellectual comprehension. The institution of guru is, a result of this acknowledgement. Religious truth itself is manifested through the continuing presence of the guru, he (or she) a paragon of wisdom, good character and purity, who shows the right way and unfolds the meaning of life. For the community, the guru is a teacher, guide, father (or mother), leader and in a sense, divine personality. For an individual he or she is personal mentor, a guide to the development of one's spiritual life.
This article deals with the concept of guru as set forth in the scriptures of two major religious traditions of India, Gaudiya Vaisnava (Hindu) and the Sikh. Focus will be on certain theological and doctrinal emphasis which are central to the concept of guru. Both traditions have given the guru extreme importance and believe that for self-realization help of the guru is imperative. However, the two traditions differ in one major respect. The Vaisnavas emphasize the individual personal character of guru, whereas the Sikh emphasize a more universal, non-personal (or transcendent) character of guru. Vaisnavas tend to identify the human gurus with God, Krisna. The Sikhs give guruship a more impersonal character. For them, Guru encompasses a single spiritual being displaying itself in a succession of ten different historical personalities but not identifying itself with these. This depersonalisation of the guru has been a major factor in the evolution of Sikhism as a distinct and separate religion. This parting of
the ways in the evolution of the guru tradition derives from both differing interpretations of the sacred writings as well as differing historical developments of the Hindu and Sikh religions.
Guru In Sikhism
----------------
Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh tradition laid much emphasis on the central position of the Guru in Sikh theology. For him, the Guru is the ladder, Guru the boat, Guru the raft[1] by means of which one reaches God. Nanak said:
"Take him as Guru who shows the path of truth, who tells you of the one of whom nothing is known; who tells you of the Divine Word."[2]
Sikhism made a major modification to the traditional doctrine of the Guru. Guru Nanak did not believe in 'human Guru'. Nanak used the word Guru for God, the Enlightener in the sense of divine Word. He regarded the Guru as an essential medium for spreading divine Truth. The nine successors of Nanak fully agreed with Nanak by reiterating the same doctrines. It was Nanak and his nine successors who crystalized guruship as an institution. In doing so, they added a new dimension to the concept of the Guru in the Indian tradition.
W.Owen Cole explains the concept of guruship of Guru Nanak and his followers in this manner:
"They considered themselves Gurus, but only as messengers of God whom they frequently called Sat Guru (The True Guru)."[3]
They also saw themselves as God's servants. "Me, the worthless bard, the Lord has blest with (His) service."[4] "We are but beggers at Thy door. O God, bless us with Thy bounty."[5] Thus was Guru Nanak's description of himself. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, commanded: "Recognise me as God's servant only."[6] Nanak believed that serving Guru in all lowliness was the road to wisdom. He stated: "I am sacrifice to my Guru a myriad times a day."[7] This attitude was accepted by all Sikh Gurus. The avatara of the Hindu tradition was replaced by a new definition of the role of a guru.
Further, the term guru was given a considerable range of meaning than in Hindu theology. For example, Guru refers to the manifest form of which God takes as a preceptor of mankind so that he can be described as Sat-Guru. It also applies to the ten human Gurus through whom the Sat-Guru communicates. It refers also to the book in which the message ("Bani") has been recorded, the Guru Granth Sahib. Finally, Guru may also refer to the "Panth"[8] (community of the enlightened) which grew up in response to these teachings.
In the Guru Granth Sahib, the term Guru stands for God Himself. In the Mulmantra, the Supreme Being is given the attribute of Guru. The formula is "Ek Onkar, Satguru Prasad[9] (by the Grace of the one individual Supreme Being, the Eternal Reality). The scriptural word here translated as Reality is Guru.
Guru Nanak himself did not have a human guru as an instructor. As Bhai Jodh Singh says: All of the human gurus who roam about now-a-days have taken instruction from som person or other. Guru Nanak's Guru, however, was not a person.[10] One Sakhi (i.e. hagiographic testimony) that deals with the Vein river incident clearly mentioned that Guru Nanak received the cup of Name ("Naam") from the True Court (of God). Nanak himself wrote:
The Immaculate Lord, the essence of all things, pervades all,
and he is not separate from me.
And it is Him I have met, the transcendent Lord, our infinite
and Supreme God, who is our only Guru.[11]
Guru Arjan declared:
"For my Guru is God, my Guru is the Transcendent Lord; He is the God of Glory. The Guru is God, unknowable and mysterious."[12]
These traditional Sikh statements make clear that Nanak and his successors considered God as their Supreme Guru. This concept is reinforced in the hymns of the Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh's clearl warnings[13] against the popular belief of human gurus being identified with God, shows that Sikh Gurus were opposed to the deification of the human guru.
However, to define the concept of Sikh Guru, it is necessary to examine the nature of this identification of Guru and God. Many verses in the Adi-Granth[14] show a clear distinction between God and the Guru. As, for instance:
And Him, whom we sought in all the three worlds, we saw.
Yea, Nanak, it is Guru through whom we attain to our
union with the Lord.[15]
The God is All-too-near, but seems not so:
It is through the True Guru that I see Him thus.[16]
These excerpts make clear the contrast between God the object of Revelation and Guru the agent. This conclusion suggests that our initial identification of the Guru and God needs some qualification. A strict definition requires us to identify the Guru not with God Himself, but with the voice or message of God. The Sikh Gurus laid much emphasis upon the message, the Bani[17]. Nanak used the word bani for the words he received from God, words which he transcribed in the form of hymns. Perhaps a strict definition requires us to identify Guru not with God Himself, but with the Voice of God, with the means whereby God imparts His message to human kind. Nanak, however, taught that Nirgun[18] Brahman, self-manifested as Word and became Guru. The Guru is in fact the Shabad (Word). Hence, when the Nath yogis asked Nanak to name his Guru, he replied:
The Word is the Guru;
and the mind attuned (to the Word) the disciple.
I remain detached, being attached to the ineffable Gospel
(of the Word).
Yea, my God is the Guru, age after age.
It is the Guru's word through which one reflects
on the Gospel of the Lord.[19]
These excerpts from the Adi Granth suggest that the Word (Sabad)[20] in Nanak's connotation means Revelation as well as the vehicle of Revelation of God which is regarded as the only proper object of man's contemplation. The Word's function is to provide the only means whereby man may secure salvation and attain union with god. By the Guru's guidance an aspirant is no longer bound to the wheel of transmigration. By meditating on the Word, by repeating the Name of God, he is saved.[21]
In the Sikh theology, the 'Word' (Shabad) is the intermediary between God and creation, between Guru and disciple. According to Tarlochan Singh:
"On the metaphysical plane Shabad is the only pervading and illuminating principle of the Transcendent God, the only active principle of Creation. It is the doctrine of Will ("Hukam") and 'Word' which completely eliminates the metaphysical separation and distinction between the Transcendent God and Immanent Shabad is also called the essence of knowledge (Shabad brahmjnan) through which man comprehends and becomes one with the Truth."[22]
Nanak used the term 'Guru' clearly in three senses. The Guru is God; the Guru is the Voice of God; and the Guru is the Word, the Truth of God.[23] These three senses (God, Guru and Guru's Word) are ultimately inseparable.
Clearly related to the notion of Word (Sabda) is the notion of 'Name' ("Naam").[24] Naam indeed is the pivot around which the Sikh faith revolves. That word Naam occurs 5999 times in the Adi Granth shows the importance of this word in Sikh theology. For all practical purposes, Naam would seem equivalent to Shabad (Word). As the Adi Granth mentions:
Yea, without the Lord's Name you are emancipated not
and through ignorance waste yourself away......
But where is emancipation without the Guru's Word:
For without the Lord's Name, one is involved to death.[25]
'Name' and 'Word' are here used almost interchangeably. In some cases the identity of the two is even more striking.
How is one to be ferried across the sea of existence
without the Guru's word?
For without the (Lord's) Name, the world is afflicted
by the malady of duality and this sinks the fortunes of all men.[26]
Though functionally equivalent as the means of revelation and salvation, Word and Name seem to be related as whole to part, or general to specific and essential. Word may be considered the totality of Divine Revelation, with Name being a part. But Divine Name is not partial in any negative sense, for it is the most essential, most crucial part, that which most immediately reveals the divine and most directly affects salvation.
In a few cases a certain distinction is made? If one dwells on True Name, through the Guru's word:
(i) Then one is a true Gurmukh, abjudged True at the Lord's court.[27]
(ii) By means of the Word one enshrines the Name in one's heart.[28]
In such cases, truth as communicated by Guru is referred to as Word, whereas Truth received and meditated upon by the believer tends to be expressed in terms of name. The distinction is very delicate and normally determined by the context. Adi Granth Kosa mentions no difference in these two terms. Wherever the meaning of Naam is encountered in the Adi Granth, there is the meaning of the Shabad.[29] However, both 'Name' and 'Word' are expressions of the total being of God. Both are objects of contemplation, the standard to which the individual life must conform. As the Adi Granth says:
And make the Lord's Name thy conduct and works.[30]
In Sikh teachings, the concept of Guru also plays a major role in interpreting "Gurprasadi" (by the grace of the Guru he is known)[31] The meaning of grace ("Nadar")[32] in Guru Nanak's teachings is to be determined by examining his own personal experience. For Nanak, grace meant something peculiar as a result of his own experience and is to be regarded as God's sovereign act of self-disclosure. God, the only source and totality of power and grace expresses Himself in Word and He Himself as Guru bestows the gift of grace. (Sikhism - " Concept Of Divine Grace ".....3(end))
It should be noted that in Nanak's teachings, human guru, though considered as messenger to communicate the message (Word) of God to the Sikh (disciple) is not a least participant directly or indirectly in the power of grace. Whereas in Vaisnava tradition, guru being the instrument, is partially participant in the power of grace. Evidently the spiritual master in Vaisnava tradition (being a media) has been magnified to the point that he had become an object of devotion, and without his grace a devotee cannot make even an approach to Krsna. Human guru in the Vasnava tradition is the vital link, the essential mediator of God. But Nanak did not accept any human mediator.
Prior to the gift of grace, a Sikh must need a gift of perception, which comes by God's grace. If He gives it, then the Word may be perceived, and if He does not, there is nothing a man can do. But if a man accepts this proffered gift, this does not mean automatic salvation. For salvation is not which is given, this must be attained through the individual's own efforts. This gift of perception is the prerequisite for salvation and the means to be followed to attain it. As the Adi Granth mentions:
Yea, on whosoever is Thy Grace, he dwells upon Thy Name.[33]
Thus, salvation depends both upon God's Grace, which is expressed by the Guru in the Word, and upon the individual's own effort to conform to the Truth.
Like Vaisnava, Sikh tradition also believes that God communicates himself through his chosen, but in the Sikh teachings the chosen ones (human Gurus) are neither the incarnations nor manifestations of God. They (historically the ten masters) were the instruments through whom the Guru's Word ("Gurbani") became audible. It is through Gurbani that man knows His mystery:
Through the (Guru's) Word, wells up the Lord's Name within us;
through the Word is our union with the Lord....
and through the Guru is it received.[34]
God, in His self-manifestation as Guru remains the essential mediator, but no longer a human link. Sikh teachings insist that Word (Gurbani) and not the body is the Guru. The light of the Word within their (Gurus) heart was their real personality. W.O. Cole says that
"the Word is so much that the position of the Guru in Sikhism might seem, to the casual observer to be one in which complete reverence has given way to complete indifference."[35]
In fact, the Sikh Gurus were quite conscious about the human deification in Hinduism and totally repudiated any human link between God and man. Despite such efforts of the Sikh Gurus, Sikhism succumbed to the influence of deification as in the Hindu tradition. However, this should be viewed as an intense emotional reaction to the strong impression made by the powerful religious personality. It does not actually mean the ritual worship of a human being identified with God.
According to Taran Singh, God is consciousness or "jnana"[36] (knowledge). The Sikh (human) Guru is the communicator of the jnana. He is like a prophet, who, for the reconstruction of the personality and of society, inspires humanity. He is the leader of his community and helps the community according to its spiritual and mundane needs.
Sikh Guruship, in contrast to Vaisnava, displays an impersonal or non-personal character. The idea is stressed repeatedly in the Sikh writings. For example, Bhai Gurdas describes the succession of the second Guru, Guru Angad[37], as lighting one lamp from another. Same is the expression by Rai Balwand and Satta.[38] Guru Gobind Singh himself said:
The holy Nanak was revered as Angad,
Angad was revered as Amar Das....,
The pious saw this, but not the fools...[39]
'They were all one', the Guru added, 'as one lamp is lit from another', so also the light of one Guru blended at his death with that of his successor. The underlying principle was that 'the personality of the Guru was detached from the Guruship which was to be regarded as one, indivisible and continuous.'
The institution of human Guruship in Sikhism is to be interpreted as an institution of 'Divine Light'. This institution lasted for more than two hundred years but the "jot" (light) was the same, from one human Guru to the next. Ultimately, the light was transformed into Guru Granth Sahib.
The institution of Guruship took a new direction under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh. On the eve of his death he declared to his disciples that they should regard Guru Granth Sahib as their own Guru (alongwith the panth). He therefore placed the spiritual leadership atleast beyond the grasp of any human being. However, even this move was not completely new. It had been anticipated by Guru Arjan Dev when he installed the Adi Granth at Harminder Sahib at Amritsar. Guru Arjan compiled it, bowed before it and instructed the Sikhs to follow his example. He declared:
"The Book is the abode of God."[40]
So, the institution of human Guru came to an end. The institution of Guru Granth as a Guru, while in one sense originating at the time of his death, continued the belief that Guru is symbolically embodied within the Sikh community.
There were several reasons for Guru Arjan to take this step. First, Sikhism is essentially a religion of Naam (Name). A Sikh, in the religious context is to sing Lord's name, excluding all other rituals. In order to standardize the Gurus recitations Guru Arjan recorded their exact words in a single volume. Second, Guru Arjan wanted to establish a clear distinction between the human Gurus and God's message that they imparted. Third, historically perhaps, Sikhs needed a separate religious book to assure their identity as distinctive from Hindus and Muslims as well.
However, eventually Guru Gobind Singh was responsible for confering Guruship on the Adi Granth which came to be regarded as a spiritual guru. This development could be effected given the impersonal character of Guruship and mystic identification of the Guru with the Word (Shabad), the core belief of Sikhism since its inception.
Under the direction of Guru Gobind Singh the institution of Guruship acquired qualitatively a new character. As all the major institutional developments of Sikhism took place in the reign of Guru Gobind Singh, which is considered an evolutionary course of the Sikh movement, inherent in Nanak's doctrine of "bhakti" and "shakti".[41] In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh established the foundation of Sikhism by declaring that henceforth the "khalsa"[42] were his form, limb of his limb and breath of his breath. He received baptism from the five worthy Sikhs called "panj Pyaras" (the beloved five). He asserted:
The Khalsa is the Gurua and the Guru is the Khalsa. There is no difference between you and me. As Guru Nanak seated Angad on the throne, so have I made you also the Guru.[43]
To the khalsa he imparted Guruship because the Sikhs had already been exalted equal to the Guru. Thus the Guru Granth became the spiritual Guru and the Khalsa treated as the inheritor of the Guruship in its temporal aspect. As Guru Gobind Singh stated:
I have infused my mental and bodily spirit into the Guru Granth and the Khalsa.[44]
In the Sikh context the unity of the temporal ("miri") and spiritual ("piri") aspect refers to a new concept of religion as a state symbolising a unique correlation of the temporal and spiritual authority.
The brief survey makes it quite evident that the concept of Guruship lies at the heart of Sikhism. The human gurus, the Guru Panth and finally the Guru Granth Sahib forged the present religion. However, in the scriptural teachings, Guru refers to Guru shabad (Word). God in His manifestation as Word becomes the essential Guru-mediator through whom he can be realized. God's message (word) is communicated to and through the human Gurus (the ten teachers), but they are not a 'link' in any sense. God is the source of everything, material and spiritual, of wisdom and of the universe. He is the one who as Guru takes the initiative without which there can be nothing but the darkness of ignorance. The Guru thus plays a central role in the Granthian conception of bhakti (devotion) to the supreme. The disciple was asked to walk in the path of God, to remain ever content with his will and to obey His commands. But in these matters, as in every thing else, Guru was to point out the right path.
To the Sikh (disciple), the Guru is everything. While Guru Arjan in his hymns called "Bawan Akhari", literally - fifty two letters, sums up Guru as the
Transcendent Lord; the God of gods.[45]
A comparison of the Guru concept in the Vaisnava (Hindu) and the Sikh tradition leads to several conclusions. In the first place, to Sikhs the term Guru ultimately refers to the supreme being in His revelatory and saving relationship to human beings. Human individuals, the Scripture, and the whole community may function as Guru but do so as media for transmitting the Gurus teachings of the divine, rather than, as distinct teaching/saying entities themselves. For Vaisnavas, the term guru may refer to the divine in the avatara form or to a devotee who is considered a manifestation of God.
The second and most distictive feature of Sikhism is that it stressed that Gurbani, Word or Shabad, a well established doctrine in Indian tradition be venerated as a part of Brahman. This doctrine holds that probably not the only embodiment but the most fundamental of an essentially formless, incomprehensible Reality is the holy 'Word'. The continuity of the Word is unbroken to the Sikhs:
There is but one Word, uttered by the only Guru; so reflect thou on His Word.[46]
The Word is the Voice and the Will of the Supreme.
Another important and distinctive feature of Sikhism is that the Sikh Gurus made 'Guruship' an institution which ultimately ensured unity and strengthened the solidarity of Sikhism. Thus, indeed 'Guruship' in Sikhism became a highly centralised institution.
Further, the Sikh Guru concept became unique within the bhakti tradition in that it raised the dignity of the Guru by elevating the 'Book' to the status of Guruhip and abolished temporal Guruship. The abolition of temporal Guruship ended all possibilities of human worship. In Vaisnavism human worship prevailed. There is a great theoretical difference between the Brahmanical man-worship as guru worship and Sikh ideal of Guru-worship through God-worship.
Although, in theory and ideal, the Sikh concept of Guru is quite impersonal, in practice a personal element emerged. Indeed the Guru in Sikhism became a central figure not only in religious affairs but in the daily life of the Sikh as well. Sikh tradition is very eloquent on this point, for instance, Bhai Gurdas writes:
"The Sikh who receiveth the Guru's instruction is really a Sikh. To become a disciple one must be like a purchased servant, fit to be yoked to any work which may serve his Guru."[47]
Love for the Guru became superior to all other relations. As it is said:
Love none but the Guru; all other love is false.[48]
The result of such teachings raised the unquestioning devotion of the Sikhs to their human Gurus. But A.C. Baneerjee argues that this development did not create a community depending upon autocratic leadership. The ideal of brotherhood was an active principle from the very begining of the Sikh community. The Gurus usually respected the wishes of their disciples in most matters. In fact, the individual Sikh was elevated to a position almost equal to Guru himself, as Guru Ram Das explains:
To those who obey the will of the Guru, I am ever a sacrifice...
I am ever a sacrifice to those who serve the Guru.[49]
Historical developments also affected the change in the Sikh Guru-disciple relationship. The establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh was the culmination of the Guru-Sikh relationship. Undoubtedly the Guru always had high regard for his Sikh but thereafter with a difference. Henceforth the Guru was ready to make great sacrifices for his Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh's strong sense of obligation to do his best for his Sikhs is significantly expressed in one of his "Hazare-Shabads", which proves that the common Sikh was raised almost to the dignity of the Guru.
All the battles I have won against tyranny
I have fought with the devoted backing of these people;
Through them only have I been able to bestow gifts,
Through their help I have escaped from harm;
The love and generosity of these Sikhs
Has enriched my heart and my home.
Through their grace I have attained all learning,
Through their help, in battle, I have slain all my enemies;
I was born to serve them, through them I reached eminence.
What would I have been without their kind and ready help?
There are millions of insignificant people like me?
True service is the service of these people:
I am not inclined to serve others of higher castes;
Charity will bear fruit, in this and the next world,
If given to such worthy people as these.
All other sacrifices and charities are profitless,
From top to toe, whatever I call my own,
All possessions, I dedicate to these people.[50]
The guru-disciple relationship is the essential feature in the structure of some, if not all, religious traditions. This relationship is a matter of feeling and inner emotion; at some level of experience, a complete surrender to the guru.
Yet, the guru-disciple relation can also be impersonal in its fusion of the mind with the sacred 'Word', a fusion creating mystic unity between the two through which the disciple could discover his own inner identity. Discipleship not only fosters the discovery of deeper truth, but calls for transformation of character. The experience of revelation is the goal of the devotee in his relation with the guru. The tunnel through which the devotee receives revelation in his constant devotion to the guru. This submission opens the channel along which the guru can pass his own conviction, if guru be understood in personal terms, or along which the principle of divine self-manifestation, the Word, can effect religious transformation of the disciple, if guru be considered of, in less personal terms.
Finally, in comparison with gurus in Vaisnavism and Indian religious traditions in general, the Sikh Gurus were generally much more socially and politically active. They were keenly aware of the impact of social ills and politics on the common man's life, and took active roles in these areas. Hence, they became not only spiritual preceptors but social reformers, soldiers, philosophers and scholars as well.
NOTES & REFERENCES
[1] SGGS p.17
[2] A.C. Bannerjee, "Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh", Rajesh Publications, New Delhi.
[3] W.O.Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, "The Sikhs"
[4] SGGS p.150
[5] SGGS p.982
[6] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vols.4-5
[7] Asa-di-Var, Sloka 1, SGGS p.463
[8] The concept of the (Guru) Panth somehow described the belief that Guru is symbolically embodied within the community. Tradition says that it was conferred upon the panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 when he created the Order of the Khalsa. But there had been extremely early evidence for the doctrine of Guru Panth in the hymns of Guru Nanak and his successors. For instance, Guru Nanak says: "My salvation is the Lord, my only God, the True One, the Infinite..."; "When one meets with the Guru-saint, one attains to Truth and then spontaneously one is blest with glory."(Siddha Ghosti); "In the society of the saints one gathers the Lord's Essence."(SGGS p.598)
[9] Japji, AG p.1
[10] Jodh Singh, "Gurmati Nirnay".
[11] SGGS p.599
[12] SGGS p.864
[13] Macauliffe, "The Sikhs", Vols4-5
[14] Adi Granth: Literally, "First Book".
[15] SGGS p.20
[16] SGGS p.1274
[17] Literally: Speech. It signifies the word of self-expression (used synonymously with Word ("Shabad") spoken by God. Guru nanak preferred to use the term "Gurbani". "Gur" and "Bani" are inseparable, otherwise the Bani would become lifeless. Today, the term Gurbani is synonymous with 'scripture' being used by the Sikhs and refers to Guru Granth Sahib.
[18] Nirguna: Without attributes or qualities. Used to say that God is ultimately incomprehensible and beyond description.
[19] SGGS p.943
[20] Shabad: Word, the divine self-expression; often the Word Shabad stands by itself and often it is linked with the word Guru. Guru may be considered as the characteristic form, and the shabad by itself normally assumes its relation with the Guru. The form may be Guru-ka-shabad, Guru's Word, or it may be Guru-Shabad, the Guru's Word(Dhanasari Ast I(8) AG p.686; Ramkali 10 AG p.879). Sabad: Word; in Sikh usage a hymn of the Adi Granth.
[21] Siddha Goshti, AG p.944-45
[22] "Sikhism", Ed. Punjabi University, patiala. 1969, p.66
[23] God is identified with the Word. "Thou art the Word and Thou art the expression." (Bilavalu 3, AG p.795)
[24] Naam: Literally Name. The Divine Name; the expression of the nature and being of God in terms comprehensible to the human understanding.
[25] SGGS p.1127
[26] Bhairau 2. AG p.1125)
[27] Asa-di-Var, AG p.355
[28] Prahabati Ast I(7), AG p.1242
[29] Adi Granth Kosa, Vol.3 (Amritsar 1950)
[30] Asa-di-Var, MI, AG p.355
[31] Japji, AG p.1
[32] Nadar: Literally the gracious glance.
[33] Var Majah, Sloka 1 Pauri 19, AG p.147
[34] SGGS p.644
[35] W.O.Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi, "The Sikhs"
[36] Taran Singh, "The Nature of Guruship in Guru Granth", ed. McMullen, Delhi 1976
[37] Angad: Guru Givenn name was Lehna. By givinf Lehna the name Angad, Guru Nanak was designating him as his successor and asserting that his teachings will live on in him. The meaning of the renaming of Lehna is well given by Bhai Gurdas: Before he died he installed Lehna as his successor and set the Guru's canopy over his head merging light in Guru Angad's light, the sat Guru changed his form. None could comprehend the mystery. A wonder of wonders he revealed: changing his body he made Guru Angad's body his own. (Var 1)
[38] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.5
[39] I.B. Banerjee, "Evolution of the Khalsa", Calcutta, 1936, Vol.1, pp.211-214
[40] SGGS p.1226
[41] The implication of Nanak's concept of bhakti and shakti can be realised in Babur-vani.
[42] The Khalsa symbolically meant the transferring of temporal Guruship to the Panth.
[43] W.Owen Cole, "The Guru In Sikhism".
[44] M.A. Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.5
[45] SGGS p.250
[46] SGGS p.646
[47] S.S. Gandhi, "History of the Sikh Gurus".
[48] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.4
[49] Macauliffe, "The Sikh Religion", Vol.2
[50] "Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs", George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 1960.
Naam and Sukhmani Sahib
SHALOK:
Unapproachable and Unfathomable is the Supreme Lord God;
whoever speaks of Him shall be liberated.
Listen, O friends, Nanak prays, to the wonderful story of the Holy. || 1 ||
ASHTAPADEE: In the Company of the Holy, one's face becomes radiant.
In the Company of the Holy, all filth is removed.
In the Company of the Holy, egotism is eliminated.
In the Company of the Holy, spiritual wisdom is revealed.
In the Company of the Holy, God is understood to be near at hand.
In the Company of the Holy, all conflicts are settled.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains the jewel of the Naam.
In the Company of the Holy, one's efforts are directed toward the One Lord.
What mortal can speak of the Glorious Praises of the Holy?
O Nanak, the glory of the Holy people merges into God. || 1 ||
In the Company of the Holy, one meets the Incomprehensible Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, one flourishes forever.
In the Company of the Holy, the five passions are brought to rest.
In the Company of the Holy, one enjoys the essence of ambrosia.
In the Company of the Holy, one becomes the dust of all.
In the Company of the Holy, one's speech is enticing.
In the Company of the Holy, the mind does not wander.
In the Company of the Holy, the mind becomes stable.
In the Company of the Holy, one is rid of Maya.
In the Company of the Holy, O Nanak, God is totally pleased. ||2 ||
In the Company of the Holy, all one's enemies become friends.
In the Company of the Holy, there is great purity.
In the Company of the Holy, no one is hated.
In the Company of the Holy, one's feet do not wander.
In the Company of the Holy, no one seems evil.
In the Company of the Holy, supreme bliss is known.
In the Company of the Holy, the fever of ego departs.
In the Company of the Holy, one renounces all selfishness.
He Himself knows the greatness of the Holy.
O Nanak, the Holy are at one with God. || 3 ||
In the Company of the Holy, the mind never wanders.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains everlasting peace.
In the Company of the Holy, one grasps the Incomprehensible.
In the Company of the Holy, one can endure the unendurable.
In the Company of the Holy, one abides in the loftiest place.
In the Company of the Holy, one attains the Mansion of the Lord's Presence.
In the Company of the Holy, one's Dharmic faith is firmly established.
In the Company of the Holy, one dwells with the Supreme Lord God.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains the treasure of the Naam.
O Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Holy. || 4 ||
In the Company of the Holy, all one's family is saved.
In the Company of the Holy, one's friends, acquaintances and relatives are redeemed.
In the Company of the Holy, that wealth is obtained.
Everyone benefits from that wealth.
In the Company of the Holy, the Lord of Dharma serves.
In the Company of the Holy, the divine, angelic beings sing God's Praises.
In the Company of the Holy, one's sins fly away.
In the Company of the Holy, one sings the Ambrosial Glories.
In the Company of the Holy, all places are within reach.
O Nanak, in the Company of the Holy, one's life becomes fruitful. || 5 ||
In the Company of the Holy, there is no suffering.
The Blessed Vision of their Darshan brings a sublime, happy peace.
In the Company of the Holy, blemishes are removed.
In the Company of the Holy, hell is far away.
In the Company of the Holy, one is happy here and hereafter.
In the Company of the Holy, the separated ones are reunited with the Lord.
The fruits of one's desires are obtained.
In the Company of the Holy, no one goes empty-handed.
The Supreme Lord God dwells in the hearts of the Holy.
O Nanak, listening to the sweet words of the Holy, one is saved. || 6 ||
In the Company of the Holy, listen to the Name of the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, do not forget Him from your mind.
In the Company of the Holy, you shall surely be saved.
In the Company of the Holy, God seems very sweet.
In the Company of the Holy, He is seen in each and every heart.
In the Company of the Holy, we become obedient to the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, we obtain the state of salvation.
In the Company of the Holy, all diseases are cured.
O Nanak, one meets with the Holy, by highest destiny. || 7 ||
The glory of the Holy people is not known to the Vedas.
They can describe only what they have heard.
The greatness of the Holy people is beyond the three qualities.
The greatness of the Holy people is all-pervading.
The glory of the Holy people has no limit.
The glory of the Holy people is infinite and eternal.
The glory of the Holy people is the highest of the high.
The glory of the Holy people is the greatest of the great.
The glory of the Holy people is theirs alone;
O Nanak, there is no difference between the Holy people and God. || 8 || 7 ||
Sukhmani Sahib
SHALOK:
Unapproachable and Unfathomable is the Supreme Lord God;
whoever speaks of Him shall be liberated.
Listen, O friends, Nanak prays, to the wonderful story of the Holy. || 1 ||
ASHTAPADEE: In the Company of the Holy, one's face becomes radiant.
In the Company of the Holy, all filth is removed.
In the Company of the Holy, egotism is eliminated.
In the Company of the Holy, spiritual wisdom is revealed.
In the Company of the Holy, God is understood to be near at hand.
In the Company of the Holy, all conflicts are settled.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains the jewel of the Naam.
In the Company of the Holy, one's efforts are directed toward the One Lord.
What mortal can speak of the Glorious Praises of the Holy?
O Nanak, the glory of the Holy people merges into God. || 1 ||
In the Company of the Holy, one meets the Incomprehensible Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, one flourishes forever.
In the Company of the Holy, the five passions are brought to rest.
In the Company of the Holy, one enjoys the essence of ambrosia.
In the Company of the Holy, one becomes the dust of all.
In the Company of the Holy, one's speech is enticing.
In the Company of the Holy, the mind does not wander.
In the Company of the Holy, the mind becomes stable.
In the Company of the Holy, one is rid of Maya.
In the Company of the Holy, O Nanak, God is totally pleased. ||2 ||
In the Company of the Holy, all one's enemies become friends.
In the Company of the Holy, there is great purity.
In the Company of the Holy, no one is hated.
In the Company of the Holy, one's feet do not wander.
In the Company of the Holy, no one seems evil.
In the Company of the Holy, supreme bliss is known.
In the Company of the Holy, the fever of ego departs.
In the Company of the Holy, one renounces all selfishness.
He Himself knows the greatness of the Holy.
O Nanak, the Holy are at one with God. || 3 ||
In the Company of the Holy, the mind never wanders.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains everlasting peace.
In the Company of the Holy, one grasps the Incomprehensible.
In the Company of the Holy, one can endure the unendurable.
In the Company of the Holy, one abides in the loftiest place.
In the Company of the Holy, one attains the Mansion of the Lord's Presence.
In the Company of the Holy, one's Dharmic faith is firmly established.
In the Company of the Holy, one dwells with the Supreme Lord God.
In the Company of the Holy, one obtains the treasure of the Naam.
O Nanak, I am a sacrifice to the Holy. || 4 ||
In the Company of the Holy, all one's family is saved.
In the Company of the Holy, one's friends, acquaintances and relatives are redeemed.
In the Company of the Holy, that wealth is obtained.
Everyone benefits from that wealth.
In the Company of the Holy, the Lord of Dharma serves.
In the Company of the Holy, the divine, angelic beings sing God's Praises.
In the Company of the Holy, one's sins fly away.
In the Company of the Holy, one sings the Ambrosial Glories.
In the Company of the Holy, all places are within reach.
O Nanak, in the Company of the Holy, one's life becomes fruitful. || 5 ||
In the Company of the Holy, there is no suffering.
The Blessed Vision of their Darshan brings a sublime, happy peace.
In the Company of the Holy, blemishes are removed.
In the Company of the Holy, hell is far away.
In the Company of the Holy, one is happy here and hereafter.
In the Company of the Holy, the separated ones are reunited with the Lord.
The fruits of one's desires are obtained.
In the Company of the Holy, no one goes empty-handed.
The Supreme Lord God dwells in the hearts of the Holy.
O Nanak, listening to the sweet words of the Holy, one is saved. || 6 ||
In the Company of the Holy, listen to the Name of the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, do not forget Him from your mind.
In the Company of the Holy, you shall surely be saved.
In the Company of the Holy, God seems very sweet.
In the Company of the Holy, He is seen in each and every heart.
In the Company of the Holy, we become obedient to the Lord.
In the Company of the Holy, we obtain the state of salvation.
In the Company of the Holy, all diseases are cured.
O Nanak, one meets with the Holy, by highest destiny. || 7 ||
The glory of the Holy people is not known to the Vedas.
They can describe only what they have heard.
The greatness of the Holy people is beyond the three qualities.
The greatness of the Holy people is all-pervading.
The glory of the Holy people has no limit.
The glory of the Holy people is infinite and eternal.
The glory of the Holy people is the highest of the high.
The glory of the Holy people is the greatest of the great.
The glory of the Holy people is theirs alone;
O Nanak, there is no difference between the Holy people and God. || 8 || 7 ||
Sukhmani Sahib
Naam in Sikhism and ‘Mahapurushiaism’
Dr. Ratul Chandra Borah*
* Professor & Head, Deptt. of Biochemistry & Agri Chemistry, A.A.U. Jorhat. 785 013. Assam.
E-Mail: rcborah@aau.ac.in
Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1568 AD) and Sat Guru Nanak Deva (1469- 1539 AD) are two universal spiritual Gurus who reformed the society on the basis of new religious cultures according to their individual thesis. The religion established by Guru Srimanta Sankaradeva is known as Eka Sarana Hari Nama Dharma (in short, Nama Dharma) which is also known as Mahapurusha Dharma (Mahapurushiaism). The religion founded by Guru Nanaka is known as Sikhism. “In fact Sikhism has often been called the Naam Marga or the way of Naam”. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
Ajoni: Both the religions are monotheistic in nature and Nirguna Brahma is the ultimate object of realization. In Mahapurushiaism, Nirguna Brahma is realized through Saguna Brahma. However, in Sikhism incarnation of God is not accepted. According to the Guru Granth Sahib, (religious scripture of the Sikhs on which Sikhism is based), God does not incarnate, He does not come into the human form and is not born. In the Mul Mantra of the Guru Granth Sahib, God has been mentioned as one who never takes birth or form. The Sikh Gurus have repeatedly emphasized, as also stated in the very opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib, that God is one, Ek Onkar and no second entity. The same God is Sarguna and Nirguna, Nirankar and self absorbed. “But it would be highly inappropriate to confuse the Gurus’ concept of Saguna and Nirguna (i.e. Translucent cum Immanent God) with the Advaitic connotation of these terms as also of Ishvara. The Gurus never accepted the Advaitic concepts of Saguna and Nirguna”. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
Sangat: However, in Mahapurushiaism, the basis of which are the Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, accepts the incarnation of God in different forms, the most important among them is Krishna who is both Saguna Brahma as well as Nirguna Brahma at the same time. In fact Krishna is the perfect incarnation of God, manifesting as Saguna Brahma whose name attributes are innumerable. Through the Kirtana (chanting) and Shravana (listening) of the Naam (name) as well as attributes of Saguna Brahma (Krishna), one (the devotee) attains the Nirguna Brahma (Krishna). In fact the Naam Dharma of Srimanta Sankaradeva is based on the four principles, i.e. Guru (Srimanta Sankaradeva), Deva (Krishna), Naam (attributes of Krishna) and Bhakata (Devotee of Krishna). The four principles lead to realization of the Nirguna Brahma (Krishna) in the Satsanga or the company of pious people or devotees of Krishna. However, hearing and chanting of Naam is the main principle of Sadhana for attainment of Nirguna Brahma through devotion to one and only one God i.e. Krishna. So, Naam and attributes of Krishna and Krishna (Hari) is synonymous.
In Mahapurushiaism, the modes of worship are Shravana (listening which is meditative) and Kirtana (chanting) of the name and attributes of Krishna in the Satsanga or in the company of the devotees of Krishna. Therefore Naam is central to the Nama Dharma.
Shadba-Guru: There are similarities in many aspects between Sikhism and Mahapurushiaism. In both the religions, it is the scripture which is placed on the altar (Thapana or Guru Asana in Mahapurushiaism) of worship. In Sikhism the Gurdwara is the place of community worship where Guru Granth Sahib is placed for worship as the living Guru. The 10th Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh died in 1708 AD. But before his death, he passed on the Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib. (Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996). Guru Granth Sahib is regarded as the “Living jurisprudence” (accepted by the Supreme Court of India) and accepted as the living Guru of the Sikhs in the form of “Gurus’ word” (Shabad Guru). In the Nama Dharma of Srimanta Sankaradeva, it is the Naamghar where community worships, prayers are performed in addition to various cultural and social activities at the village level. In the Naamghar or Gurugriha the Bhagavata (the main scripture of Mahapurushiaism) is placed on the Guru Asana or Thapana (altar) inside the Manikut (sanctum sanctorum). An abridged version (a gist of the Bhagavata) called Gunamala is placed instead of the complete book of Bhagavata in the Guru Asana or Thapana. The Mahapurushiasm consider the Guru Asana as the symbol of living God and Guru (Srimanta Sankaradeva). God (Krishna) and Guru are synonymous, since the Mahapurushias accept Srimanta Sankaradeva as the partial incarnation of lord Krishna. Here Srimanta Sankaradeva is regarded as the sole Guru who is Supreme Guru (Parma Guru) and there is none other than Him any second Guru (Naam Ghosa, verse No. 375, Mahapurusha Madhavadeva). No other image or idol is worshipped by the Mahapurushias. No gods other than One Supreme Absolute God is worshipped in Mahapurushiaism.
In Sikhism, Naam Simran is the main mode of worship which is synonymous with Naam Kirtana. Like Mahapurushiaism, there is no caste or ascetic austerity in Sikhism. It believes in one God, Ek Onkar. Singing His praise is the best way of devotion.
The glory of Naam has been explained and exemplified throughout the Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly, in all the writings of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva as well as of Madhavadeva, Naam occupies the central position.
Place of Naam in Sikhism:
In Sikhism, the principle of Naam (Shabad) includes meditation, contemplation and reflection and the principles of Shabda (Hymns) includes praising and glorifying God earnestly with focused and attentive mind. Naam is God’s name and Simran means remembering. There can be many names of God and He is to be remembered constantly through word, thought and deed. Although the word, ‘Waheguru’ is the most appropriate word according to Gurubani, the purpose behind this is to select a word comfortable to mind for perpetual remembrance of God. “Naam- Simran is at the center of Guru Nanak’s teachings. The whole message of Guru Nanak as contained in the Guru Granth Sahib revolves around Naam. The first chapter in the holy Granth is devoted to differentiation between the meaning of Naam Simran and Bhakti. Simran is beginning, Bhakti is the end. Simran is the seed, Bhakti is the fruit. (Kulwant Singh, 2002). This seed, when sown in the soil of mind, sprouts in the form of the live of God, to fructify. “In Kaliyug, vice predominates, and as a result the human mind has lost much of its luster. Since Naam is the only detergent that can cleanse the mind, it alone has the capability to change the Yug. It functions at all levels, from micro to macro. There are two ways to live a human life – by treading the path of Bhakti (devotion to God) and by following the path of Maya (worldly attachments). The path of Bhakti leads to rewarding life, peace, happiness, bliss and union with God. The path of Maya ends in pain and suffering. (Sri Gurbax Singh, 1999). “Thus Naam – Simran is an inseparable part of a Sikh’s life. In fact, Sikhi is synonymous with Naam Simran.” (Kulwant Singh, 2002). Simran is a meditative prayer within; God’s name is respected lovingly in short phrases. “Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru Ji/Sat Naam, Sat Naam, Sat Naam Ji” is prelude to Naam-Simran, the recitation of God’s name. In Simran, God is revered. God’s name is God’s praise. God’s name is a portal, a vessel, its repetition an act of humility.
The recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib is an essential part of daily prayer in any Gurdwara. Guru Granth Sahib is a compilation of the messages of the Sikh Gurus. It accommodates even Hindu Gurus who are basically preachers of Bhakti culture. There are messages from Sufi poets and the message of Kabir – the great preacher of Bhakti philosophy in medieval India. There are a total of 31 Raagas in the Guru Granth Sahib. (Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996). It needs training to recite of this holy scripture, for which persons are trained from a very young age.
The Guru Granth Sahib highlights the glory of Naam and its utility in human life. The dictum “Sarab rog ka aukhad Naam” heralds a great truth. It is a great truth, which when fully grasped has the power to overcome all physical and mental illness. It can be induced to harness the earthly resources for the benefit of mankind. Guru Granth Sahib rejects all ritualism, formalism and symbolism. All the Braministic intermediaries and cadres of priesthood exploiting the masses in the name of religion, have been castigated as self serving and hypocritical. Guru Granth Sahib advocates the equality of all human beings, irrespective of birth and gender. The woman is, in no way, inferior to man. The Guru Granth Sahib presents a balanced combination of action (Karma), devotion (Bhakti) and knowledge (Jnan). It is essentially a religion of devotion whereas the body has to work for the well-being of the family and society, the mind has to remain in tune with the Lord. Service is, thus, the motto of an adherent of Guru Granth Sahib. The best service towards the Guru and the Lord is the remembrance of the Naam. (Harkirat Singh, 2003).
Spiritual meaning of Naam:
“According to Gurbani “Ek Onkar” denotes both Sagun (manifested) (it is written as Sargun in Guru Granth Sahib) and Nirgun (un-manifested) stages of ‘Akal Purakh’ Waheguru. In its pure form it is a musical sound – word, arising out of ‘Sunn’ (soundless state). It is pure knowledge giving rise to the energy and worldly order. The ‘Word’ is pervasive every where and is creator, protector and destroyer of all physical forms of life and lifeless. ‘He’ has countless attributes but all are ‘His’ manifested qualities. The real one is beyond comprehension, languages and words. One can get tuned to the ‘Word’ in the heart through the mind with ‘His’ grace through the words of a true ‘Guru’ and can actually listen and see its manifestation. For that he has to surrender to the Guru with full faith, carry out his commands in toto and recite ‘Guru mantra’ repeatedly all the time. ‘Guru mantra’ is one of the manifested names of ‘Ek Onkar’ which has the capacity to link the disciple (Sikh) with ‘Word’. (Dilbagh Singh, 2004).
“It is stated in the Guru Granth Sahib that as we start understanding the depths of the Guru’s word and chant ‘Guru mantra’ we start getting a kind of bliss after due course of time according to the purity/impurity/hardness/mellowness of our mind and heart, brought about by our deeds (Karma). This irrigates our mind and body (perhaps through the nervous system) cleaning them of our ego, five vices and illusionary ‘Maya’. Side by side, Godly virtues get cultivated in our heart. It is a life long process and while doing so one does not eye the fruit but awaits grace. It is ‘His’ grace, which finally tunes in the Gursikh to ‘Ek Onkar’ where he actually sees and listens to the ‘Word’ i.e. Nirgun stage through a different eye. Here the Sikh, Guru and Waheguru are and the same. This stage may be attained while living or after leaving the body. This is the stage where Guru Nanak Ji and all other Gurus and Saints described ‘Ek Onkar’ through Gurbani.” (Dilbagh Singh, 2004).
After the 10th Guru Gobind Singh there is no loving Guru in Sikhism and Guru Gobind Singh asked the Sikhs to follow Guru Granth Sahib as the sole Guru and to follow its preaching as guide (Guru Granth Ji maneo, pargat gurah kee deh, jo prabh ko millvo chahai, khoj shabad mein leh,” - meaning – Guru Granth Sahib is one Guru and it represents philosophy (body) of all the Gurus, only Shabad will connect us with akaal purkh (Dasam Granth, p. 248). In Sikhism, the Khalsa panth was established by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Guru before three hundred years ago. Khalsa – the family of pure ones, to which a Sikh may belong through receiving baptism or initiation (Amrit/Khande di pahul). Therefore, every Khalsa is a Sikh, but every Sikh is not a Khalsa, unless he/she receives baptism.
The basic definition of Naam is contained in the Sukhmani and some quotations from the Guru Granth Sahib are cited hereunder. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
i) Naam sustains all religions and universes, all thought, knowledge and consciousness, all skies and stars, all forces and substances, all continents and spheres. Naam emancipates those who accept it in their heart.
ii) Naam is the creator of everything. To be divorced from Naam is death. All is created by Naam. Naam gives form to everything and through Naam comes all wisdom or light.
iii) Naam extends to all creation.
iv) Naam, is the ‘Nine Treasures’ and nectar (Amrita). It permeates the body.
v) Naam, the immaculate, is unfathomable. How can it be known? Naam, is within us, how to get it? The perfect Guru awakens your heart to the vision of Naam. It is by the grace of God that one meets such an enlightener.
There are numerous verses in the Guru Granth where Naam and God have been described synonymously. Therefore, Naam is dynamic immanence of God, which is making and readily sustaining the manifest world of force and form.
Guru Nanak on Naam:
“According to Guru Nanak everything in the universe is created by the power of Divine Name (Naam) and without the Divine Name there is no way (The Japji). He explains that all the visible forms are held by the Divine Name, everything takes its rise from the Divine Name and is again absorbed in it …. The Divine Name is synonymous with the Divine Word or Shabad.” (R. M. Chopra, 2000).
Guru Nanak said,
Hearkening to the Name bestows Truth, divine wisdom, contentment, To bathe in the joy of the Name is to bathe in the holy places.
It is held by Guru Nanak that God is anaam (nameless), yet He is possessed of infinite names. “Numberless, Thy Names and numberless Thy places” (The Japji, Pauri, 19). “In fact, Guru Nanaka took many prevailing attributive names of God for One Absolute Reality such as Vishnu, Brahma, Govinda, Gopal, Hari, Keshava, Krishna, Narayana, Parameswara, Ram, etc. from Hindu pantheons and Muhammadan names like Allah, Haq, Rahim, Khaliq, Khuda, Rahim, Rabb, etc. from Muslim Holy books. All these Names stand for the same God. To these names more names have been added by the Sikh Gurus such as, Piara, Pritam, Mittar, Sajjan, Satguru, Waheguru, etc.” (R.M. Chopra, 2000).
“Japu ta Eko Naam”:
Contemplate thou only the Naam. This expression is found in Guru Granth Sahib, Rag, Suhi Mahala I. The meaning of the technical terms ‘Japu’ and Naam, expressed in the Guru Granth Sahib is as follows:
“Japu means prayer, meditation, Naam means the Spirit within, figuratively the Naam also means Amrita or nectar of immortality.”
Sikhism, like Mahapurushiaism, prescribes Naam Simran in the company of Satsang or devotees (Bhakta). Literally Satsang means the Sang (Company) of Sat (Naam, Guru and God). Thus, Sikhism and Mahapurushiaism have the basic similarity of Guru, Deva (God), Naam, and Satsang (Bhaktas). The entire conception of the Ultimate Being is regarded as Naam or the ‘Holy Name’. God is considered as Nama-Rupa in Mahapurushiaism.
In all the writings of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, Naam occupies the Supreme place along with Deva. The Naam of Hari (Krishna) is synonymous with Deva.
Thus, both Mahapurushiaism and Sikhism glorify the Naam in their respective religions and Naam finds the supreme place of attaining devotion that is Nirguna Brahma.
q
1. Daljeet Singh, 1998, Essential of Sikhism, Singh Bros, Amritsar.
2. Kulwant Singh, 2002, Naam-Simran, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 10.
3. Sri Gurbux Singh, 1999, Naam-Simran and Bhakti in Sikhism.
4. Harkinat Singh, 2003, University of Guru Granth Sahib: A comparative study, in The Sikh Review, vol. 51, No. 20.
5. Dilbagh Singh, 2004, Sublime significance of Ek Onkar, in The Sikh Review, Vol. 52, No. 5.
6. R.M. Chopra, 2000, Naam – The language of Divine Power, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 4.
7. Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996, Guru Granth Sahib – An Analytical study, Singh Bros., Amritsar.
8. Debabrata Das, 2002, The Meta Physics of Naam, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 11.
Naam in Sikhism and ‘Mahapurushiaism’
Dr. Ratul Chandra Borah*
* Professor & Head, Deptt. of Biochemistry & Agri Chemistry, A.A.U. Jorhat. 785 013. Assam.
E-Mail: rcborah@aau.ac.in
Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1568 AD) and Sat Guru Nanak Deva (1469- 1539 AD) are two universal spiritual Gurus who reformed the society on the basis of new religious cultures according to their individual thesis. The religion established by Guru Srimanta Sankaradeva is known as Eka Sarana Hari Nama Dharma (in short, Nama Dharma) which is also known as Mahapurusha Dharma (Mahapurushiaism). The religion founded by Guru Nanaka is known as Sikhism. “In fact Sikhism has often been called the Naam Marga or the way of Naam”. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
Ajoni: Both the religions are monotheistic in nature and Nirguna Brahma is the ultimate object of realization. In Mahapurushiaism, Nirguna Brahma is realized through Saguna Brahma. However, in Sikhism incarnation of God is not accepted. According to the Guru Granth Sahib, (religious scripture of the Sikhs on which Sikhism is based), God does not incarnate, He does not come into the human form and is not born. In the Mul Mantra of the Guru Granth Sahib, God has been mentioned as one who never takes birth or form. The Sikh Gurus have repeatedly emphasized, as also stated in the very opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib, that God is one, Ek Onkar and no second entity. The same God is Sarguna and Nirguna, Nirankar and self absorbed. “But it would be highly inappropriate to confuse the Gurus’ concept of Saguna and Nirguna (i.e. Translucent cum Immanent God) with the Advaitic connotation of these terms as also of Ishvara. The Gurus never accepted the Advaitic concepts of Saguna and Nirguna”. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
Sangat: However, in Mahapurushiaism, the basis of which are the Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, accepts the incarnation of God in different forms, the most important among them is Krishna who is both Saguna Brahma as well as Nirguna Brahma at the same time. In fact Krishna is the perfect incarnation of God, manifesting as Saguna Brahma whose name attributes are innumerable. Through the Kirtana (chanting) and Shravana (listening) of the Naam (name) as well as attributes of Saguna Brahma (Krishna), one (the devotee) attains the Nirguna Brahma (Krishna). In fact the Naam Dharma of Srimanta Sankaradeva is based on the four principles, i.e. Guru (Srimanta Sankaradeva), Deva (Krishna), Naam (attributes of Krishna) and Bhakata (Devotee of Krishna). The four principles lead to realization of the Nirguna Brahma (Krishna) in the Satsanga or the company of pious people or devotees of Krishna. However, hearing and chanting of Naam is the main principle of Sadhana for attainment of Nirguna Brahma through devotion to one and only one God i.e. Krishna. So, Naam and attributes of Krishna and Krishna (Hari) is synonymous.
In Mahapurushiaism, the modes of worship are Shravana (listening which is meditative) and Kirtana (chanting) of the name and attributes of Krishna in the Satsanga or in the company of the devotees of Krishna. Therefore Naam is central to the Nama Dharma.
Shadba-Guru: There are similarities in many aspects between Sikhism and Mahapurushiaism. In both the religions, it is the scripture which is placed on the altar (Thapana or Guru Asana in Mahapurushiaism) of worship. In Sikhism the Gurdwara is the place of community worship where Guru Granth Sahib is placed for worship as the living Guru. The 10th Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh died in 1708 AD. But before his death, he passed on the Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib. (Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996). Guru Granth Sahib is regarded as the “Living jurisprudence” (accepted by the Supreme Court of India) and accepted as the living Guru of the Sikhs in the form of “Gurus’ word” (Shabad Guru). In the Nama Dharma of Srimanta Sankaradeva, it is the Naamghar where community worships, prayers are performed in addition to various cultural and social activities at the village level. In the Naamghar or Gurugriha the Bhagavata (the main scripture of Mahapurushiaism) is placed on the Guru Asana or Thapana (altar) inside the Manikut (sanctum sanctorum). An abridged version (a gist of the Bhagavata) called Gunamala is placed instead of the complete book of Bhagavata in the Guru Asana or Thapana. The Mahapurushiasm consider the Guru Asana as the symbol of living God and Guru (Srimanta Sankaradeva). God (Krishna) and Guru are synonymous, since the Mahapurushias accept Srimanta Sankaradeva as the partial incarnation of lord Krishna. Here Srimanta Sankaradeva is regarded as the sole Guru who is Supreme Guru (Parma Guru) and there is none other than Him any second Guru (Naam Ghosa, verse No. 375, Mahapurusha Madhavadeva). No other image or idol is worshipped by the Mahapurushias. No gods other than One Supreme Absolute God is worshipped in Mahapurushiaism.
In Sikhism, Naam Simran is the main mode of worship which is synonymous with Naam Kirtana. Like Mahapurushiaism, there is no caste or ascetic austerity in Sikhism. It believes in one God, Ek Onkar. Singing His praise is the best way of devotion.
The glory of Naam has been explained and exemplified throughout the Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly, in all the writings of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva as well as of Madhavadeva, Naam occupies the central position.
Place of Naam in Sikhism:
In Sikhism, the principle of Naam (Shabad) includes meditation, contemplation and reflection and the principles of Shabda (Hymns) includes praising and glorifying God earnestly with focused and attentive mind. Naam is God’s name and Simran means remembering. There can be many names of God and He is to be remembered constantly through word, thought and deed. Although the word, ‘Waheguru’ is the most appropriate word according to Gurubani, the purpose behind this is to select a word comfortable to mind for perpetual remembrance of God. “Naam- Simran is at the center of Guru Nanak’s teachings. The whole message of Guru Nanak as contained in the Guru Granth Sahib revolves around Naam. The first chapter in the holy Granth is devoted to differentiation between the meaning of Naam Simran and Bhakti. Simran is beginning, Bhakti is the end. Simran is the seed, Bhakti is the fruit. (Kulwant Singh, 2002). This seed, when sown in the soil of mind, sprouts in the form of the live of God, to fructify. “In Kaliyug, vice predominates, and as a result the human mind has lost much of its luster. Since Naam is the only detergent that can cleanse the mind, it alone has the capability to change the Yug. It functions at all levels, from micro to macro. There are two ways to live a human life – by treading the path of Bhakti (devotion to God) and by following the path of Maya (worldly attachments). The path of Bhakti leads to rewarding life, peace, happiness, bliss and union with God. The path of Maya ends in pain and suffering. (Sri Gurbax Singh, 1999). “Thus Naam – Simran is an inseparable part of a Sikh’s life. In fact, Sikhi is synonymous with Naam Simran.” (Kulwant Singh, 2002). Simran is a meditative prayer within; God’s name is respected lovingly in short phrases. “Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru Ji/Sat Naam, Sat Naam, Sat Naam Ji” is prelude to Naam-Simran, the recitation of God’s name. In Simran, God is revered. God’s name is God’s praise. God’s name is a portal, a vessel, its repetition an act of humility.
The recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib is an essential part of daily prayer in any Gurdwara. Guru Granth Sahib is a compilation of the messages of the Sikh Gurus. It accommodates even Hindu Gurus who are basically preachers of Bhakti culture. There are messages from Sufi poets and the message of Kabir – the great preacher of Bhakti philosophy in medieval India. There are a total of 31 Raagas in the Guru Granth Sahib. (Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996). It needs training to recite of this holy scripture, for which persons are trained from a very young age.
The Guru Granth Sahib highlights the glory of Naam and its utility in human life. The dictum “Sarab rog ka aukhad Naam” heralds a great truth. It is a great truth, which when fully grasped has the power to overcome all physical and mental illness. It can be induced to harness the earthly resources for the benefit of mankind. Guru Granth Sahib rejects all ritualism, formalism and symbolism. All the Braministic intermediaries and cadres of priesthood exploiting the masses in the name of religion, have been castigated as self serving and hypocritical. Guru Granth Sahib advocates the equality of all human beings, irrespective of birth and gender. The woman is, in no way, inferior to man. The Guru Granth Sahib presents a balanced combination of action (Karma), devotion (Bhakti) and knowledge (Jnan). It is essentially a religion of devotion whereas the body has to work for the well-being of the family and society, the mind has to remain in tune with the Lord. Service is, thus, the motto of an adherent of Guru Granth Sahib. The best service towards the Guru and the Lord is the remembrance of the Naam. (Harkirat Singh, 2003).
Spiritual meaning of Naam:
“According to Gurbani “Ek Onkar” denotes both Sagun (manifested) (it is written as Sargun in Guru Granth Sahib) and Nirgun (un-manifested) stages of ‘Akal Purakh’ Waheguru. In its pure form it is a musical sound – word, arising out of ‘Sunn’ (soundless state). It is pure knowledge giving rise to the energy and worldly order. The ‘Word’ is pervasive every where and is creator, protector and destroyer of all physical forms of life and lifeless. ‘He’ has countless attributes but all are ‘His’ manifested qualities. The real one is beyond comprehension, languages and words. One can get tuned to the ‘Word’ in the heart through the mind with ‘His’ grace through the words of a true ‘Guru’ and can actually listen and see its manifestation. For that he has to surrender to the Guru with full faith, carry out his commands in toto and recite ‘Guru mantra’ repeatedly all the time. ‘Guru mantra’ is one of the manifested names of ‘Ek Onkar’ which has the capacity to link the disciple (Sikh) with ‘Word’. (Dilbagh Singh, 2004).
“It is stated in the Guru Granth Sahib that as we start understanding the depths of the Guru’s word and chant ‘Guru mantra’ we start getting a kind of bliss after due course of time according to the purity/impurity/hardness/mellowness of our mind and heart, brought about by our deeds (Karma). This irrigates our mind and body (perhaps through the nervous system) cleaning them of our ego, five vices and illusionary ‘Maya’. Side by side, Godly virtues get cultivated in our heart. It is a life long process and while doing so one does not eye the fruit but awaits grace. It is ‘His’ grace, which finally tunes in the Gursikh to ‘Ek Onkar’ where he actually sees and listens to the ‘Word’ i.e. Nirgun stage through a different eye. Here the Sikh, Guru and Waheguru are and the same. This stage may be attained while living or after leaving the body. This is the stage where Guru Nanak Ji and all other Gurus and Saints described ‘Ek Onkar’ through Gurbani.” (Dilbagh Singh, 2004).
After the 10th Guru Gobind Singh there is no loving Guru in Sikhism and Guru Gobind Singh asked the Sikhs to follow Guru Granth Sahib as the sole Guru and to follow its preaching as guide (Guru Granth Ji maneo, pargat gurah kee deh, jo prabh ko millvo chahai, khoj shabad mein leh,” - meaning – Guru Granth Sahib is one Guru and it represents philosophy (body) of all the Gurus, only Shabad will connect us with akaal purkh (Dasam Granth, p. 248). In Sikhism, the Khalsa panth was established by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Guru before three hundred years ago. Khalsa – the family of pure ones, to which a Sikh may belong through receiving baptism or initiation (Amrit/Khande di pahul). Therefore, every Khalsa is a Sikh, but every Sikh is not a Khalsa, unless he/she receives baptism.
The basic definition of Naam is contained in the Sukhmani and some quotations from the Guru Granth Sahib are cited hereunder. (Daljeet Singh, 1998).
i) Naam sustains all religions and universes, all thought, knowledge and consciousness, all skies and stars, all forces and substances, all continents and spheres. Naam emancipates those who accept it in their heart.
ii) Naam is the creator of everything. To be divorced from Naam is death. All is created by Naam. Naam gives form to everything and through Naam comes all wisdom or light.
iii) Naam extends to all creation.
iv) Naam, is the ‘Nine Treasures’ and nectar (Amrita). It permeates the body.
v) Naam, the immaculate, is unfathomable. How can it be known? Naam, is within us, how to get it? The perfect Guru awakens your heart to the vision of Naam. It is by the grace of God that one meets such an enlightener.
There are numerous verses in the Guru Granth where Naam and God have been described synonymously. Therefore, Naam is dynamic immanence of God, which is making and readily sustaining the manifest world of force and form.
Guru Nanak on Naam:
“According to Guru Nanak everything in the universe is created by the power of Divine Name (Naam) and without the Divine Name there is no way (The Japji). He explains that all the visible forms are held by the Divine Name, everything takes its rise from the Divine Name and is again absorbed in it …. The Divine Name is synonymous with the Divine Word or Shabad.” (R. M. Chopra, 2000).
Guru Nanak said,
Hearkening to the Name bestows Truth, divine wisdom, contentment, To bathe in the joy of the Name is to bathe in the holy places.
(The Japji, Pauri, 10)
“Japu ta Eko Naam”:
Contemplate thou only the Naam. This expression is found in Guru Granth Sahib, Rag, Suhi Mahala I. The meaning of the technical terms ‘Japu’ and Naam, expressed in the Guru Granth Sahib is as follows:
“Japu means prayer, meditation, Naam means the Spirit within, figuratively the Naam also means Amrita or nectar of immortality.”
Sikhism, like Mahapurushiaism, prescribes Naam Simran in the company of Satsang or devotees (Bhakta). Literally Satsang means the Sang (Company) of Sat (Naam, Guru and God). Thus, Sikhism and Mahapurushiaism have the basic similarity of Guru, Deva (God), Naam, and Satsang (Bhaktas). The entire conception of the Ultimate Being is regarded as Naam or the ‘Holy Name’. God is considered as Nama-Rupa in Mahapurushiaism.
In all the writings of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, Naam occupies the Supreme place along with Deva. The Naam of Hari (Krishna) is synonymous with Deva.
Thus, both Mahapurushiaism and Sikhism glorify the Naam in their respective religions and Naam finds the supreme place of attaining devotion that is Nirguna Brahma.
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References
2. Kulwant Singh, 2002, Naam-Simran, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 10.
3. Sri Gurbux Singh, 1999, Naam-Simran and Bhakti in Sikhism.
4. Harkinat Singh, 2003, University of Guru Granth Sahib: A comparative study, in The Sikh Review, vol. 51, No. 20.
5. Dilbagh Singh, 2004, Sublime significance of Ek Onkar, in The Sikh Review, Vol. 52, No. 5.
6. R.M. Chopra, 2000, Naam – The language of Divine Power, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 4.
7. Surinder Singh Kohli, 1996, Guru Granth Sahib – An Analytical study, Singh Bros., Amritsar.
8. Debabrata Das, 2002, The Meta Physics of Naam, in The Sikh Review, vol. 50, No. 11.
Naam in Sikhism and ‘Mahapurushiaism’
Sik80 ji
This essay is a winner. It is chuck full of things that are brand new to me. Makes the unique message of Sikhism all the more clear and strong. Thank you for this treat for brain, heart and soul.
I think the common plane between these two paths is clear in this article. But now -- the differences?
This essay is a winner. It is chuck full of things that are brand new to me. Makes the unique message of Sikhism all the more clear and strong. Thank you for this treat for brain, heart and soul.
I think the common plane between these two paths is clear in this article. But now -- the differences?
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