Vahiguru Jee Ka Khalsa
Vahiguru Jee Kee Fateh !
I am grateful to Narayan Kaur Jee for kindly supplying information on Sabad and Naam.
However, I have read many such articles and explanations before and they do not quite hit the mark for me. Can it really be that Sabad and Naam mean the same thing? Some people go so far as to say that Bani also means the same, i.e. Sabad=Naam=Bani. I don't see how this can be the case, or how the Guru would would permit such ambiguity for words that are clearly different in their meaning.
The fact is that Sabad=Word, Naam=Name, Bani=Hymn. Let us take an example from panna 687 of the Guru:
DnwsrI mhlw 1 CMq
dhhanaasaree mehalaa 1 shha(n)tha
Dhanaasaree, First Mehla, Chhant:
<> siqgur pRswid ]
ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
qIriQ nwvx jwau qIrQu nwmu hY ]
theerathh naavan jaao theerathh naam hai ||
Why should I bathe at sacred shrines of pilgrimage? The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the sacred shrine of pilgrimage.
qIrQu sbd bIcwru AMqir igAwnu hY ]
theerathh sabadh beechaar a(n)thar giaan hai ||
My sacred shrine of pilgrimage is spiritual wisdom within, and contemplation on the Word of the Shabad.
In two consecutive lines we see Sabad and Naam and the Guru is clear on the distinction (although the Bhai Sant Singh translation is clumsy - to be the subject of a separate post). Naam is the thing that a Sikh must be immersed in (like immersing in a teerath), whereas Sabad is the thing that a Sikh must contemplate in order to attain understanding and thereby Naam.
I believe this deeper understanding of the distinction between Sabad and Naam is crucial. Sabad and Naam are not the same thing. When first introduced to the word "vahiguru" it is a sabad, a word. Your only knowledge of this Sabad is that it means "wonderful Guru", i.e. it causes you to praise the Guru. But further beechar/contemplation of this Sabad - carefully reading the Guru, understanding the meaning, thinking on it, acting on it - gives you more familiarity with the Sabad. You like the Sabad more and more, you come to love the Sabad, to adore the Sabad. No longer is it a Sabad alone, but a Naam. Your increased closeness and familiarity with the Sabad now fills you with deep feeling so that you now refer to it as Naam. Just as the name of your child is not just a word to you, when you hear his/her name it triggers the love you feel for them.
Sabad is therefore most precious, for it opens the door to The One; continual beechar on Sabad makes it Naam, for we are now filled with deep feeling for The One.
- Jitinder Singh
Vahiguru Jee Ka Khalsa
Vahiguru Jee Kee Fateh !