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Sukhmani Sahib:7th Ashtapadee:3rd Pauri:My Understanding

Amarpal

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Jun 11, 2004
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Dear Khalsa Ji,

With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share my understanding of 3rd Pauri of 7th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib with you.

Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the sentence, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.

First the Summary:

As done in the previous Pauri of this Ashtapadee, Guru Sahib is conveying to his disciples the effect that the company of pure and spiritually evolved people will have on their being. This is the positive factor of such association.
This can also be used as the criteria to determine the persons who will qualify for Saadh-Sangat. If in the company of a person, whom one presume to be a pure and evolved, these positive changes in do not start manifesting in your being, than there are good chances that the person is not a pure and spiritually evolved person. This way Guru Sahib is protecting us from possible deception.

1. swDsMig dusmn siB mIq ] saaDhsang dusman sabh meet.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people the enemies become friends.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib has stated the natural consequence of spiritual evolution that takes place in the person in the company of spiritually evolved pure people. Most of the enmities result from greed, excessive desire to possess, improper social interaction, jealousy for some reason etc. all if these impact on ego which feels hurt. In the company of spiritually evolved pure people ego gets dissolved, there is no I-ness that can get hurt. Thus there is no enemy. Spiritually evolved people see ‘The Sat’ in each entity of the creation of which they too are a part. The teachings of Guru Sahib one one-ness of all get realized. When all are one, then there is no other to fight with. This way the duality – friends and enemies get dissolved and only ‘one’ remains. Thus all become friend a part of one’s own existence.

2. swDU kY sMig mhw punIq ] saaDhoo kai sang mahaa puneet.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the person becomes such that she or he cannot become impure, no matter what happens.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Puneet’ This word needs to be understood. The word ‘Pavitra’ means pure. Puneet means beyond this level of evolution. Pavitra (pure) can become impure by intrusion of impurities, but Puneet means which can never become impure, it rejects the impurities in a natural way. This happens in nature too. When the molten metal solidifies the grains get formed. In the process of formation they reject the impurities in a natural way. The impurities have no alternative but to remain on the outer boundaries of the grain as the grain does not accept impurities. In the melt large numbers of grains get formed simultaneously, each does the same – keep rejecting the impurities. The result is the impurities get trapped at the boundaries between two adjacent grains. The persons who evolve naturally under the influence of and in an environment created by spiritually pure people, the brain formatting of the young becomes such that it always and naturally rejects the impure inputs that are received by the brain as input. Such a person i.e. Puneet even cleanse others that come in contact with her or him.

3. swDsMig iks isau nhI bYru ] saaDhsang kis si-o nahee bair.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, no enmity cease to exists


My understanding:

Guru Sahib has pointed a natural effect of selflessness which included egoless nature. A person of such brain formatting can only have a mind which sees ‘The Sat’ and thus herself or himself in all that exist. How can this person have enmity or hatred towards anyone? There is no other to hate or fight with. In fact there are not many for him – all are one – duality and plurality all get fused into one. Guru Sahib points to us that such state of being develops in the company of spiritually evolved pure people.

4. swD kY sMig n bIgw pYru ] saaDh kai sang na beegaa pair.
In the company of the spiritually evolved pure people, one does not bend her or his step (step wrongly).


My understanding:

What Guru Sahib has said about feet, that the feet of the spiritually evolved pure person remain steady and contact the ground is proper flat position and never in bent position as it happens with us occasionally.
As I understand, this statement of Guru Sahib does not refer the physical state of the person who has evolved in the company of pure spiritual people, but refers to the mental state. What is said just does not apply to feet alone, it applies to all the five Karmendriyas (tongue, hands, feet, organ of excretion and organ of reproduction). When Guru Sahib speaks about the steady nature of evolved person’s feet, by implication it means that it is being used in the way nature wants us to use it, using it for the purpose for which this faculty to act has been provided for means the steady nature of the Karmendriyas. When for some reason we step with the bent feat and even sprain our ankle, it means the control of our functioning brain over this Karmendriya was some what lacking. The person living in the company of spiritually evolved pure people have all the Karmendriyas trained to remain steady, they never go astray. Such a person knows what its brain is thinking and what action it is commanding to the Gyanendriyas and Karmendriyas. This is what is meant by total awareness.

This is what the above Tuk conveys to me.

5. swD kY sMig nwhI ko mMdw ] saaDh kai sang naahee ko mandaa.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure persons, no one seems to be lowly.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib tells us that the brain formatting, of the persons who grow in the company of spiritually evolved people, is such that she or he sees only ‘The Sat’ within the person, thus there is no one lowly for her or him. Further, any person in the worldly nature is classified as high or low base on some criteria – possession, height, social standing, office position etc. Each of such criteria gives rise to duality. For the person who has grown in the company of spiritually evolved pure persons, dualities do not exist. Each person is part of creation of ‘The Sat’, there the matter starts and end; there is no further elaboration – you can see this being practiced by Sikhs in the institution of langar.

6. swDsMig jwny prmwnµdw ] saaDhsang jaanay parmaanandaa.
The person living in the company of spiritually evolved pure persons knows what the supreme bliss is.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib has said the obvious. Only a mother knows what it is to give birth to a baby. Only those who experience the supreme bliss know what it is. It is an abstract feeling which cannot be conveyed to the other person through words or any other form of human expression. The person has to experience it to know what it is.

Guru Sahib tells us that it is in the company of spiritually evolved pure people that one can experience this supreme bliss.

7. swD kY sMig nwhI hau qwpu ] saaDh kai sang naahee ha-o taap.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people the person does not experience heat of any sort.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib is speaking not about the physical environment like temperature etc. but about the state of ones internal being; I have understood ‘Taap which means hot, to mean some cause that gives pain and thus heightens activity.
As I understand, Guru Sahib is pointing to us that in the company of spiritually evolved pure people the being of the person remains calm, the being of the person becomes such that nothing external to the person can disturb this calmness of the person’s being and there is nothing with that can excite the person. Permanent serenity dawns of the person.

8. swD kY sMig qjY sBu Awpu ] saaDh kai sang tajai sabh aap.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people the person’s ‘I-ness’ gets dissolved.


My understanding:

Guru Sahib points to us the natural consequence of the company of spiritually evolved pure people. In such company person’s accent moves from the external form of she or he encounters to the formless within it. This formless is same every where. As the formless is ‘The Sat’ and it pervades every where in the cosmos, it has to be continuous and One only. Naturally when the person learns to focus of ‘The Sat’ that is within, the person doing so will see the continuity and One-ness of it very clearly. Naturally the person will realize that that all are one. With this realization there is no sense of ‘I-ness’ left in the person, which in the worldly existence distinguishes one being from the other. With this dawning realization dawning on the person, every thing merges into ‘1’ – ‘The Ek Ongkar’ – There is no ‘I-ness’ left.

9. Awpy jwnY swD bfweI ] aapay jaanai saaDh badaa-ee.
On her or his own (from within) the person now realizes the greatness of the spiritually evolved pure people.


My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells us, that with the realization that all that is, in fact is ‘One’ and the consequent, permanent and total loss of ‘I-ness’ the person becomes the spiritually evolved pure person. In this state of being, the person thus feels the greatness of spiritually evolved pure people. This as I will call is the person’s graduation to spirituality.

10. nwnk swD pRBU bin AweI ]3] naanak saaDh parabhoo ban aa-ee. ||3||
O Nanak, the spiritually evolved pure people are one with ‘The Sat’.||3||


There is nothing to explain from my side now, the Tuk is clear. Guru Sahib tells to himself and to us that the person with such state of being, who has no ‘I-ness’ has qualified; she on he has become ‘The Sat’ like i.e. the person has become godly – one with ‘The Sat’.

With this I close the post.

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal Singh
 

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