Hukam

[arshdeep88]

Hukam is the fundamental concept being talked so much about in Guru Granth Sahib.The realization of the "HUKAM" is being of utmost importance to PEACE.

"Kiv Sachiae Hohiye Kiv Kude Tute Paal
Hukam Razai Chlna Nanak Likeha Naal"

Hukam ,walking In the way of the will of god ,HIS Commandis being talked off here by Guru Nanak Dev Ji Mahraj In Japji Sahib on ANG 1 od Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Nanak ji often talks about HUKAM quite a lot in other shabads tof course we can do lot of other things around us,do open heartedly sewa , countless number of paaths and nitnem but if we fail to realize the "HUKAM" you have missed a key concept.

Yes Its easy isnt it? you just have to understand the HUKAM and thats it,understanding over and you mastered the life..
Nopes ,the toughest part is this realization of the "HUKAM and accepting it and then driving ourselves to work according to the will.

Moreover the defination of HUKAM will change from person to person according to the circumstances he/she is in and the situation of his/her life.So the HUKAM for me might not be the HUKAM for the other(quite obviously if you first realize and accept it ,which is the most difficult part).Living a life in tune with the truth is one thing which i can think of being close to realization of HUKAM is,ofcourse lies are just illusion which only take you away from reality and "HUKAM"

What are you views about "HUKAM'? how does it work for you ,what you think keeps us astray from hukam and what keeps us on the path of realizing it.
More shabads opening up "hukam" from sri guru granth will be much appreciated from all.

again all your views are as always very much precious and appreciated.

Thank You

 

[Luckysingh]

Re: "Hukam"

Hukam to me is the divine order or will that controls and manages EVERYTHING !
His Hukam can override and supersede anything that we may 'believe' to be our will.
Our own self-will or our own courses of action cannot ever override Hukam.

You mentioned that you driving to work involves your own action or will to such affect.
This is correct, but for you to be driving you have to be breathing and properly functioning !- We foolishly take this for granted !!
You may now realise that it is in fact His Hukam that authorizes and controls your breathing and function. Therefor, the Real will and power in control of the whole driving situation is His Hukam !

 

[arshdeep88]

Hukam becomes tough to realize in hard and difficult situations..
with it question of faith too comes up which can deteriorate but ultimately can we just say that is the HUKAM only?

so all on all can we say everything happening in one's life,circumstances around is well planned and in accordance to the well used quotes saying "everything happens for a reason"? so nothing is in vain ? everything is frutile?
Winner winning and a looser loosing all are in win win situations according to their life circumstances ?

you me conversing with each other,a criminal indulging in crime all are part of the HUKAM you think ?
am i thinking from the right prospective or if there is something i am missing?
for some reason i have been stuck on ANG 1 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, one moment it gives answers another moment it amazes me and at other moment you enter a question paper of never ending questions and at some moment it confuses , thats why i feel personally its really tough to relate HUKAM and understand it

just to make it a bit light lets see according to the HUKAM who posts and answers next ...

 

[angrisha]

Hukam becomes tough to realize in hard and difficult situations..
with it question of faith too comes up which can deteriorate but ultimately can we just say that is the HUKAM only?

so all on all can we say everything happening in one's life,circumstances around is well planned and in accordance to the well used quotes saying "everything happens for a reason"? so nothing is in vain ? everything is frutile?
Winner winning and a looser loosing all are in win win situations according to their life circumstances ?

you me conversing with each other,a criminal indulging in crime all are part of the HUKAM you think ?
am i thinking from the right prospective or if there is something i am missing?
for some reason i have been stuck on ANG 1 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, one moment it gives answers another moment it amazes me and at other moment you enter a question paper of never ending questions and at some moment it confuses , thats why i feel personally its really tough to relate HUKAM and understand it

just to make it a bit light lets see according to the HUKAM who posts and answers next ...

I think the idea of Hukam and where free will comes in is something that maybe we can only intellectually understand....

For me, Hukam is the equivalent of spiritual surrender where you can get really comfortable with the idea of divine guidance. In the sense that, whatever happens in your life is guided by "God". You put complete faith in the idea that everything you need is already provided for you. This doesnt mean you sit around waiting for something to happen, you just stop forcing situations and them flow naturally.

I actually read a great explanation of hukam in article if I can find it again, i will post a link. The idea of criminals etc is free will... the choices we make is our own, on a daily bases however the consequences of those decisions are not. Meaning, you can choose to break the law or you dont, if you get caught (or dont) those are the consequences beyond your control.

What I think of on a daily bases, whenever you are doing anything... any decision or action you are taking you already know which would be the best path for you. In a sense this is intuition, and some people will even say its "God" telling you the right direction to go....

The hardest part for the idea of hukam for me is that as i ve learned more and actually practiced more my idea and understanding is constantly changing. Letting go of my own ideas has been a challenge, and it requires a lot of patience.

 

[angrisha]

Heres that article I read, actually it was SPNADMIN Ji that brought my attention to this series of articles it is a very good read from the beginning .

http://sikhbulletin.com/Bulletins/SikhBulletinNovDec2008.pdf

Read Understanding Japji

 

[arshdeep88]

what if the choice of the free will of Ours is also the HUKAM?
The consequence the circumstances that leads to the practice of free will also according to the hukam?

Thanks for the link Spn admin Ji Had given me this link before,in fact i had two of such links discussing hukam.
studied one but couldn't studied the other due to my own personal career studies ,which is the one you mentioned above though will study it too

 

[angrisha]

what if the choice of the free will of Ours is also the HUKAM?

Ill be honest, I don't really know how to answer that question... its one I've asked in the past as well.

I think the fact that we have free will is apart of hukam.... and everything that we is within that as well.... so there is nothing outside it.... but our choice on a moment to moment basis is to either meet in line with that hukam or not.... so we are given that choice, and if we choose not to at the time maybe it means we need to go through more lessons...

So basically, I dont know.....

On a side note, when I went the Gurdwara today... this was apart of the katha (not completely addressing your question, but along these lines)...

 

[Harry Haller]

Heres that article I read, actually it was SPNADMIN Ji that brought my attention to this series of articles it is a very good read from the beginning .

http://sikhbulletin.com/Bulletins/SikhBulletinNovDec2008.pdf

Read Understanding Japji

this was an excellent read

 

[Harry Haller]

Until I read this, I always thought Hukam was too similar to the concept of fate and that there must be more to it, this article together with the something my wife said have helped me understand Hukam better than before, someone once said to me, 'harry, you make things happen', and they were right, I do, it just so happens that the things I make happen normally come round and bite me on the behind, but the point remains, when you are constantly battling, fighting, dealing, ducking and diving, you do tend to ask yourself, where does Hukam come into all this, could I not today just have a rest, maybe I won't be up all night looking at the ceiling trying to think of new and inventive ways to turn an honest penny, I was musing this to my wife the other night, when she looked at me and said 'has it ever occurred to you that it is Hukam you have to live like this because of seeds sown in the past, the best thing you can do is accept that and keep going till good seeds come through'

Ahh, I see so it is not to accept the bad things, but to accept the fight to make it better.

I understand now, well at least I hope I do!

 

[angrisha]

Ahh, I see so it is not to accept the bad things, but to accept the fight to make it better.

I understand now, well at least I hope I do!

I read your comment a few days ago, and Ive been mulling it over a bit. Mostly the fight concept..... Which I think I probably confused your words.

Im like you, Hukam to me is something thats taking me and long time to fully understand, and I KNOW I still don't fully get it...

But what you said makes sense, because Ive equated hukam with surrender...not so much fate... in the sense that, to let go of the resistance to what life situation your in, and understanding that your right where your suppose to be, uncomfortable or not.... So rather than a 'fight' I see it as letting go (not sure if this is making any sense)

So accepting the fight as you put it, if I understand you correctly is your own personal fight with the not so good moments?

 

[Harry Haller]

But what you said makes sense, because Ive equated hukam with surrender

surrender fails the litmus test in my opinion, the Gurus at no point adopted this attitude, they fought when they had to fight

So accepting the fight as you put it, if I understand you correctly is your own personal fight with the not so good moments?

yes, I believe that fight, struggle is where accepting comes in

 

[spnadmin]

harry ji

Surrender need not mean "giving up" or adopting a fatalistic attitude. That was not my impression of angrisha's comments. There is something called "ineluctable reality" which cannot be fought because it is ineluctable. Perhaps a clear-cut example of hukam at work is the tornado. Under certain weather conditions and given a known set of landscape characteristics, tornadoes are more likely in some parts of the world, not others. They cause widespread devastation. How does one fight either a tornado or the personal destruction one endures afterward? Science can live within the reality, continuing its efforts to predict and now even prevent the extent of destruction, and science is doing that. But struck by the ineluctable, we bow our heads and then pick ourselves up to begin again. We learn to learn to go on with life within the circle of something that is greater than our personal will.

Many analogies for tornadoes are possible. Let me just give a somewhat humorous example. For many years an eccentric neighbor living just behind me would barbecue meat outdoors for a picnic on Memorial Day (a national holiday in the US coming at the end of May). More than half of the time it storms on Memorial Day in the mid-Atlantic region. He would be out there nevertheless. I would spy him from my kitchen window, stoking the red-hot coals and flipping the steaks, under an umbrella --- but also shrieking and waving his fists at the sky. We all have options within the reality of "stormy weather" on any day of the year. You could say he was a fighter. Now he has passed. That is my memory of him.

"Great Walls of America Could Stop Tornadoes" http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26492720

So far America 0; Hukam wins every time.

 

[Sherdil]

In the first pauree, Guru Nanak tells us that we can break the illusion of falsehood by walking willingly with Hukam. He elaborates on Hukam here:

This Shabad is by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Jap on Pannaa 1

hukamee hovan aakaar hukam n kehiaa jaaee ||
By His Command, bodies are created; His Command cannot be described.

hukamee hovan jeea hukam milai vaddiaaee ||
By His Command, souls come into being; by His Command, glory and greatness are obtained.

hukamee outham neech hukam likh dhukh sukh paaeeahi ||
By His Command, some are high and some are low; by His Written Command, pain and pleasure are obtained.

eikanaa hukamee bakhasees eik hukamee sadhaa bhavaaeeahi ||
Some, by His Command, are blessed and forgiven; others, by His Command, wander aimlessly forever.

hukamai a(n)dhar sabh ko baahar hukam n koe ||
Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command.

naanak hukamai jae bujhai th houmai kehai n koe ||2||
O Nanak, one who understands His Command, does not speak in ego. ||2||

 

[Sherdil]

ਸਹਸ ਸਿਆਣਪਾ ਲਖ ਹੋਹਿ ਤ ਇਕ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਨਾਲਿ ॥ सहस सिआणपा लख होहि त इक न चलै नालि ॥
Sahas si▫āṇpā lakẖ hohi ṯa ik na cẖalai nāl.
Hundreds of thousands of clever tricks, but not even one of them will go along with you in the end.

ਕਿਵ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ ਕਿਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁਟੈ ਪਾਲਿ ॥ किव सचिआरा होईऐ किव कूड़ै तुटै पालि ॥
Kiv sacẖi▫ārā ho▫ī▫ai kiv kūrhai ṯutai pāl.
So how can you become truthful? And how can the veil of illusion be torn away?

ਹੁਕਮਿ ਰਜਾਈ ਚਲਣਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ॥੧॥ हुकमि रजाई चलणा नानक लिखिआ नालि ॥१॥
Hukam rajā▫ī cẖalṇā Nānak likẖi▫ā nāl. ||1||
O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will. ||1||


This is taken from the last part of the first pauree of Jap ji Sahib. Written by Guru Nanak.


It is the first time we are introduced to Hukam. I feel sianpa has been erroneously translated. It should say "wise thoughts".

Perhaps Guru ji is saying that understanding Hukam is not an intellectual endeavor. "Hukmi hovan aakaar, Hukam nah kaeha jahi" - By His command bodies are formed, His command cannot be described.

"Hukam rajai chalna"-Willingly walk in His command. Therefore, accepting Hukam is an act of letting go.

Perhaps others will be willing to offer input.

 

[Sherdil]

I often think of Hukam when people wonder why Sikhs don't cut their hair. Everyday we shave, and everyday it grows back. Stop fighting it. Just let it grow. It's meant to be there. Walk with Hukam.

 

[spnadmin]

In the first pauree, Guru Nanak tells us that we can break the illusion of falsehood by walking willingly with Hukam. He elaborates on Hukam here:

Sherdil ji

I agree with your conclusion above, and also would add that too often hukam is viewed as a kind of force that has the universe on automatic pilot. Sometimes one forgets that "hukam" is a liberating force because, once glimpsed, it does break the illusion of falsehood when taken willingly.

The translation however - and I do dislike being one of those who pick apart translations - makes it seem as if there is a "He" for whom hukam is "His." The invention of 'someone.' The ideas behind the translation turn hukam into a kind of force of personality. Who does "hukam" belong to?

Could it, does it, belong to any specific personality? I don't agree that it does because in my opinion Guru Nanak is telling us that "hukam" embraces all creation. It is unifying of "all." It is a property of the ik oankaar, of the eternal reality that creates, destroys and sustains everything.

"Hukam" always stands on its own grammatically in Shabadguru, without use of the personal pronoun "his."

 

[Sherdil]

Sherdil ji

I agree with your conclusion above, and also would add that too often hukam is viewed as a kind of force that has the universe on automatic pilot. Sometimes one forgets that "hukam" is a liberating force because, once understood, it does break the illusion of falsehood when taken willingly.

The translation however - and I do dislike being one of those who pick apart translations - makes it seem as if there is a "He" for whom hukam is "His." The invention of 'someone.' The ideas behind the translation turn hukam into a kind of force of personality. Who does "hukam" belong to?

Could it, does it, belong to any specific personality? I don't agree that it does because in my opinion Guru Nanak is telling us that "hukam" embraces all creation. It is unifying of "all." It is a property of the ik oankaar, of the eternal reality that creates, destroys and sustains everything.

"Hukam" always stands on its own grammatically in Shabadguru, without use of the personal pronoun "his."

I agree with you. A lot gets lost in translation. Like you said, I don't think there is a man in the sky who is giving commands.

I think "Ik Oankaar" is a better word than "He" or "His".

How does one translate "Ik Oankaar" into the English vernacular? I don't think there is a single word in English that would suffice.

 

[spnadmin]

sherdil ji

Now having read your second and third comment to follow the pauree:

We may disagree on the answer to the question, Where is there a "his" in the shabads you have quoted? The introduction of a "his" presumes there is also a "mine." By implication hukam would be "his" and not "mine."

Hukam doesn't belong to anyone or anything.

Hukam is what unifies us; it does not separate us into his, mine and yours. Hukam is what erases high and low, in the words of the shabad.


My own conclusion is that as long as we personify hukam and assign an owner, a "his," then we are missing a fundamental insight of Guru Nanak.

 

[spnadmin]

How does one translate "Ik Oankaar" into the English vernacular? I don't think there is a single word in English that would suffice.

Guru Nanak has answered the question in the Mool Mantar. I agree that a single word would not suffice in English. But neither would it suffice in Punjabi. That is why the mantar describes the oankaar in 12 words.

 

[Sherdil]

sherdil ji

Now having read your second and third comment to follow the pauree:

We may disagree on the answer to the question, Where is there a "his" in the shabads you have quoted? The introduction of a "his" presumes there is also a "mine." By implication hukam would be "his" and not "mine."

Hukam doesn't belong to anyone or anything.

Hukam is what unifies us; it does not separate us into his, mine and yours. Hukam is what erases high and low, in the words of the shabad.


My own conclusion is that as long as we personify hukam and assign an owner, a "his," then we are missing a fundamental insight of Guru Nanak.

"His" appears in the English translation. I am saying "His" is inaccurate.

Perhaps my response was unclear. I apologize for that.

I put forth the shabad as per request of OP. Perhaps it will further the discussion.