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Sukhmani Sahib: Shalok That Preceedes 10th Ashtapadee: My Understanding

Amarpal

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Dear Khalsa Ji,

With the Grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share with you my understanding of the Shalok that precedes 10th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib of Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the text of the Tuk of Siri Guru Granth Sahib under reference, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.

1. ausqiq krih Anyk jn AMqu n pwrwvwr ] ustat karahi anayk jan ant na paaraavaar.
Numerous individuals perceive and pray in different ways, yet none of these encompass the totality of ‘The Sat’.

My understanding:

Guru Sahib in this Tuk is telling us that we are very limited. We cannot grasp the totality of ‘The Sat’. Whatever we perceive and conceptualise ‘The Sat’ and express about it will remain incomplete in great measure. Our understanding is similar to what the five blind men thought the elephant to be. The story is well known to all of us.

2. nwnk rcnw pRiB rcI bhu ibiD Aink pRkwr ]1] naanak rachnaa parabh rachee baho biDh anik parkaar. ||1||
O’ Nanak, ‘The Sat’ created its creation using different ways and with variety in it.

My understanding:
We all know that plants have leaves functionally they are similar as far as the plant is concerned but each plant has different leaves. The flowers are of different types thought for the plant, functionally the serve the same purpose. Take roses, so many variety of roses are there, different colours and configuration, some have fragrance other do not have that much fragrance. The same plant rose can be propagated using a cutting from the plant, it can be propagated from seed also.

Life exists in plants and animals. The embodied soul is the same but form is different.

Scripture of the land says that there are forms of life which we cannot perceive with our senses which are just like illuminate beings and have no weight, they can move around in the universe with ease.

Scripture also says that we are on earth which is in one particular dimension, yet there are other dimensions which we cannot perceive.

All this is to say that ‘The Sat’ has many ways of creating what it wants and the the variety that ‘The Sat’ creates is endless.

From this I conclude that ‘Plurality’ is the way of ‘The Sat’ and we must respect it when it come to living our lives. Ahamkara takes us away from this principle of ‘The Sat’; dissolving Ahamkara brings us close to ‘The Sat’

This is what I understand from this shalok of Guru Sahib.

With this I close the post.

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal Singh
 

Ambarsaria

ੴ / Ik▫oaʼnkār
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Dec 21, 2010
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Amarpal ji Sat Sri Akal and thanks for the post. I have the following based on Professor Sahib Singh ji's Guru Granth Darpan with my own translation of the essence or "arth" in English,

ਸਲੋਕੁausqiq krih Anyk jn AMqu n pwrwvwr ] nwnk rcnw pRiB rcI bhu ibiD Aink pRkwr ]1] {ਪੰਨਾ 275}

pdArQ:- ausqiq—vifAweI [ krih—krdy hn [ AMqu n pwrwvwr—pwr Avwr dw AMq n, pwrly aurly bMny dw AMq nhIN, (guxW dy) pwrly aurly bMny dw A^Ir nhIN (l`Bdw) [ pRiB—pRBU ny [ rcnw—isRStI; jgq dI bxqr [ bhu ibiD—keI qrIikAW nwl [ pRkwr— iksm [ ibiD—qrIkw [

ArQ:- AnykW bMdy pRBU dy guxW dw izkr krdy hn, pr auhnW guxW dw h`d-bMnw nhIN l`Bdw [ hy nwnk! (iehI swrI) isRStI (aus) pRBU ny keI iksmW dI keI qrIikAW nwl bxweI hY
[1[
Many people describe God’s virtues, but one cannot find any limits and boundaries. Hai Nanak, God has created this universe with many varieties and through many methods.

An alternative connotation can also be taken as:

  • God being of unlimited virtues, neither the totality of His creation, nor the makings of His creation can possibly be fully described by anybody.
Just a humble submission for learning discourse.

Sat Sri Akal.
 
Aug 28, 2010
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AMARPAL Ji,

In the SLOK it is very clear that the creation is by PRABH.

Sat is a reference for the quality of the CREATOR.Therefore it would be important to know what the PRABH is.

Prakash.S.Bagga
 

Amarpal

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Jun 11, 2004
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Dear Prakash.S.Bagga Ji,

In many of my earlier posts I have mentioned that for me creator and creation in one. we are all one. 'The Absolute' is the essence of creation. as all of us know that essence in language of this land is 'Sat'. Guru Sahib has give this name to 'The Absolute' through the word 'Sat Nam" in the Mool Mantra itself. When I want to refer to this 'Absolute' in the context of Sikhi, I use thesame word which Guru Sahib has used - 'The Sat'.

For me Prabh is no differnt from 'The Sat' we can create any number of words the essence remain the same. The source is the same, no mater if it is in any form Plant or animal, living or non-living, in physical dimension or in some other dimension which we cannot perceive through our senses - all are one. They are all part of creation which come from the creator and finally is destined to merge with its source 'The Sat'.

The first entity of Siri Guru Granth Sahib uses the numeral 'IK' The subsequent text is elaboration if of 'IK' and advice to us how to live a life to meet the goal of this birth in human form to go back to the souce i.e. merge with 'The Sat'.

With love and respect for all

Amarpal Singh

With love and respect for all.
 
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