In the Following shabdas, Guru Nanak elaborates the causes behind the mortals’ spiritual failure. As we need some skills for any job, the Guru points out about those skills that help us in progressing spiritually to become one with the Creator. He starts with the mind, which remains a target of the Maya attractions, which lure it and eventually enslave it forever. Here is the shabda on 222, SGGS:
ਗਉੜੀ ਗੁਆਰੇਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
ਨਾ ਮਨੁ ਮਰੈ ਨ ਕਾਰਜੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
ਮਨੁ ਵਸਿ ਦੂਤਾ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਦੋਇ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨੈ ਗੁਰ ਤੇ ਇਕੁ ਹੋਇ ॥੧॥
Ga-oṛī gu-ārerī mėhlā 1.
Nā man marai na kāraj ho-e.
Man vas ḏūṯā ḏurmaṯ ḏo-e. Man mānai gur ṯe ik ho-e. ||1||
Raag Gaurhi Guareri, the bani of First Nanak.
In essence: Under the influence of evil passions and duality, the mind doesn’t detach itself from Maya; therefore, the goal of praising Akalpurakh remains incomplete; however, when the mind is convinced to get changed through the Guru, it becomes one with the Creator.
The first step is to focus the mind on the Creator by contemplating on His creation, blessings and power; during this practice, the mind is counseled not to lose its focus on Him by remembering Him with His any name or feeling His all flowing light around. This practice subsides the unstoppable stream of thoughts of the mind eventually.
ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਰਾਮੁ ਗੁਣਹ ਵਸਿ ਹੋਇ ॥
ਆਪੁ ਨਿਵਾਰਿ ਬੀਚਾਰੇ ਸੋਇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Nirguṇ rām guṇah vas ho-e.
Āp nivār bīcẖāre so-e. ||1|| Rahā-o.
The formless Ekankar is pleased through the virtues; one should contemplate Him by effacing one’s self-conceit. Pause.
The word “ਵਸਿ/Vas” doesn’t mean “under control,” it means “pleased”. When efforts are done to obtain virtues, Ekankar’s blessings glow in, but to have His blessings, one should get rid of one’s self-conceit. As we walk on our life-road, we encounter many choices of picking on the virtues or the vices. At every chance, if we chose virtues, we get changed totally.
ਮਨੁ ਭੂਲੋ ਬਹੁ ਚਿਤੈ ਵਿਕਾਰੁ ॥
ਮਨੁ ਭੂਲੋ ਸਿਰਿ ਆਵੈ ਭਾਰੁ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨੈ ਹਰਿ ਏਕੰਕਾਰੁ ॥੨॥
Man bẖūlo baho cẖiṯai vikār.
Man bẖūlo sir āvai bẖār. Man mānai har ekankār. ||2||
As long as the mind remains astray, it thinks about vice. As long as the mind remains astray, it takes the load of bad deeds. When it is persuaded by Ekankar, it becomes one with Him.
To be one with Ekankar, one needs to be ready for Him without a slightest doubt in one’s mind. The path to have union with Ekankar is very hard. It has no place for doubts or a divided mind.
ਮਨੁ ਭੂਲੋ ਮਾਇਆ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਕਾਮਿ ਬਿਰੂਧਉ ਰਹੈ ਨ ਠਾਇ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਭਜੁ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਰਸਨ ਰਸਾਇ ॥੩॥
Man bẖūlo mā-i-ā gẖar jā-e.
Kām birūḏẖa-o rahai na ṯẖā-e. Har bẖaj parāṇī rasan rasā-e. ||3||
By going astray, the mind falls for Maya and remains absorbed in lust; therefore, it doesn’t remain stilled. Oh mortal! Remember Har and enjoy His love nectar.
If the mind is in doubts and it believes in other entity than Har, it will continue chasing Maya. It will remain inclined toward vice; consequently, it can never ever be at peace. It may go one step further to treat the Creator as a toy. It will perform worship with a special technique to demand something in return. It is very important to relate with the Creator in His love
ਗੈਵਰ ਹੈਵਰ ਕੰਚਨ ਸੁਤ ਨਾਰੀ ॥
ਬਹੁ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਪਿੜ ਚਾਲੈ ਹਾਰੀ ॥ ਜੂਐ ਖੇਲਣੁ ਕਾਚੀ ਸਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Gaivar haivar kancẖan suṯ nārī.
Baho cẖinṯā piṛ cẖālai hārī. Jū-ai kẖelaṇ kācẖī sārī. ||4||
The love (attachment) of elephants, horses, gold, sons, and wife is like a game of gambling. It brings a great deal of anxiety, and the mortal departs from here by losing this game eventually.
One’s getting entangled in materialistic things and remaining deeply attached to one’s relatives trigger anxieties. Then, instead of going on the path leading to the Creator, one’s mind gets detoured to chase the worldly materialistic things; consequently, it remains unable to devote itself to Har. Unlike Har’s devotees, the Maya lovers’ goal is Maya. And, always they remember Maya. Har’s mercy comes as per the goal one prefers to choose.
ਸੰਪਉ ਸੰਚੀ ਭਏ ਵਿਕਾਰ ॥
ਹਰਖ ਸੋਕ ਉਭੇ ਦਰਵਾਰਿ ॥ ਸੁਖੁ ਸਹਜੇ ਜਪਿ ਰਿਦੈ ਮੁਰਾਰਿ ॥੫॥
Sampa-o sancẖī bẖa-e vikār.
Harakẖ sok ubẖe ḏarvār. Sukẖ sėhje jap riḏai murār. ||5||
One gathers wealth and indulges in vice; one experiences sometimes happiness and sometimes pain. Peace and comfort are obtained by remembering Har in the heart intuitively.
It is the inclination of the mind toward the Creator that empowers the intuition of realizing Him within. His presence is not realized as long as the mind remains in the duality; therefore, understanding the oneness of the Creator through out His entire creation leads to a state of liberation from the duality.
ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇ ਤਾ ਮੇਲਿ ਮਿਲਾਏ ॥
ਗੁਣ ਸੰਗ੍ਰਹਿ ਅਉਗਣ ਸਬਦਿ ਜਲਾਏ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਪਦਾਰਥੁ ਪਾਏ ॥੬॥
Naḏar kare ṯā mel milā-e.
Guṇ sangrahi a-ugaṇ sabaḏ jalā-e. Gurmukẖ nām paḏārath pā-e. ||6||
If Ekankar showers mercy on the mortals, He unites them with Him. Through the Guru’s teachings, they abandon demerits and gather virtues. Thus, they obtain His name-wealth through the Guru.
The mortal can only do efforts but the final push is in the hands of the Creator according to the Gurbani.
ਬਿਨੁ ਨਾਵੈ ਸਭ ਦੂਖ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥
ਮਨਮੁਖ ਮੂੜ ਮਾਇਆ ਚਿਤ ਵਾਸੁ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਧੁਰਿ ਕਰਮਿ ਲਿਖਿਆਸੁ ॥੭॥
Bin nāvai sabẖ ḏūkẖ nivās.
Manmukẖ mūṛ mā-i-ā cẖiṯ vās. Gurmukẖ gi-ān ḏẖur karam likẖi-ās. ||7||
Without Har’s name, the mind-slaves remain in miseries. They remain fixed on Maya. Because of the destiny, the Guru’s followers obtain the divine knowledge (how to remain detached to Maya to be with Har).
It is Har’s “will” when we long to be with Him, or we let our minds rest at the Maya-deck. It is the destiny of the Guru’s followers to learn how to be with Har.
ਮਨੁ ਚੰਚਲੁ ਧਾਵਤੁ ਫੁਨਿ ਧਾਵੈ ॥ ਸਾਚੇ ਸੂਚੇ ਮੈਲੁ ਨ ਭਾਵੈ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵੈ ॥੮॥੩॥
Man cẖancẖal ḏẖāvaṯ fun ḏẖāvai. Sācẖe sūcẖe mail na bẖāvai.
Nānak gurmukẖ har guṇ gāvai. ||8||3||
The mercurial mind runs after Maya again and again. The pure Akalpurakh doesn’t like the filth of Maya. Oh Nanak! Through the Guru, his follower sings Akalpurakh’s virtues.
The Guru sums up the idea that Ekankar does not appreciate hypocrisy and indulgence in vice; therefore, one should be pure and honest and through the help of the Guru, one should sing His praise. To merge with Him, one should be free of the Maya-filth. People out there, who boast loudly about their family lineage, sir names, education and establishments or even about their knowledge of the Gurbani, are clearly displaying their conceit that builds a wall between Ekankar and them. There is nothing to learn from them as per the Gurbani. By surrendering to the Guru and Ekankar, one stops making a show of one’s establishments and remembers His name simply; then humbleness blooms in one’s heart.
The Guru continues telling us how a giddy path we create for ourselves by becoming slaves of anger, conceit, lust and other Maya pursuits in the following shabda on 223, SGGS:
ਗਉੜੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
ਦੂਜੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਜਗਤ ਚਿਤ ਵਾਸੁ ॥ ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਬਿਨਾਸੁ ॥੧॥
Ga-oṛī mėhlā 1.
Ḏūjī mā-i-ā jagaṯ cẖiṯ vās. Kām kroḏẖ ahaʼnkār binās. ||1||
Raag Gaurhi, the bani of First Nanak.
In essence: The heart of the world is in Maya, and because of that, it gets ruined in lust, wrath, and conceit.
The Maya-entanglements block us from reaching to Har, and the weapons of Maya like conceit, anger, and lust ruin us spiritually. We should also check it out if we are also in the same boat. If we are, do we admit it? Do we believe in it?
We cannot realize it, because we are into this mess. Some of us deem these entanglements as an important part of their lives forgetting the difference between living in the bonds and living without them. It will be easy to analyze our positions in this context. In other words, by analyzing the situations we are in, we can find out on whose side we are standing. Do we stand by the side of Maya or our Guru? There is a line drawn here: on one side, there is indulgence in Maya and at the other side, there is belief of living life right in this Maya but free from its bonds.
ਦੂਜਾ ਕਉਣੁ ਕਹਾ ਨਹੀ ਕੋਈ ॥ ਸਭ ਮਹਿ ਏਕੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ḏūjā ka-uṇ kahā nahī ko-ī. Sabẖ mėh ek niranjan so-ī. ||1|| Rahā-o.
How can I say there is another one? There is none other than Akalpurakh; only He, the immaculate one, permeates all. Pause.
Total devoid of the duality is expressed in the above verses.
Here is the mystery: Akalpurakh is immaculate; He is present in all the beings even though some of them are inflicted with the Maya influences. Another reality about the Creator we need to understand is that there is none other than Him regardless the claims made by people of different ideologies about His being away from His Creation. First Nanak has expressed His presence in His creation in very beautiful way, let us have a look on that too here; it is on 411, SGGS, Asa Mehla 1:
ਜਲ ਮਹਿ ਉਪਜੈ ਜਲ ਤੇ ਦੂਰਿ ॥ ਜਲ ਮਹਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਭਰਪੂਰਿ ॥
ਕਿਸੁ ਨੇੜੈ ਕਿਸੁ ਆਖਾ ਦੂਰਿ ॥ ਨਿਧਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਹਦੂਰਿ ॥੭॥
Jal mėh upjai jal ṯe ḏūr. Jal mėh joṯ rahi-ā bẖarpūr.
Kis neṛai kis ākẖā ḏūr.
Niḏẖ guṇ gāvā ḏekẖ haḏūr. ||7|| {SGGS-411}
In essence: The light of the Sun (or the moon) shines in the pool of water, but in reality, the Sun remains very far away; in the same way, the light of Ekankar permeates His creation. I cannot tell to whom He is close or from whom He is far away (His presence is in all); however, beholding Ekankar, who is a treasure of virtues, very much present in all, I sing His praise.
Some interpreters refer to “lotus” while interpreting the above verses, but that doesn’t sound right in the context of “Jal te duur-far away from water” because the lotus remains in the water, at least the existence of lotus is not separated from the water. So I agree with Dr. Sahib Singh’s interpretation that refers to the light of the Moon (it could be of the Sun too).
Let us continue with the shabda on 223, SGGS.
ਦੂਜੀ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਆਖੈ ਦੋਇ ॥ ਆਵੈ ਜਾਇ ਮਰਿ ਦੂਜਾ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Ḏūjī ḏurmaṯ ākẖai ḏo-e. Āvai jā-e mar ḏūjā ho-e. ||2||
It is the bad-intellect that causes the mortal to say that Akalpurakh’s creation is separate from Him; because of that bad thinking, the mortal comes and goes and remains separated (from Him).
Above, it is made clear that those ones, who think that the Creator is totally separate from His creation, are in the duality. It is the duality or faith in other than the Creator that puts the mortal on a wrong path. To understand the above idea, let’s understand the word, “ਦੋਇ/Doe”. It is explained in the following:
ਧਰਣਿ ਗਗਨ ਨਹ ਦੇਖਉ ਦੋਇ ॥ ਨਾਰੀ ਪੁਰਖ ਸਬਾਈ ਲੋਇ ॥੩॥
Ḏẖaraṇ gagan nah ḏekẖ-a-u ḏo-e. Nārī purakẖ sabā-ī lo-e. ||3||
I don’t see any other than Him on the earth or in the sky; Akalpurakh permeates the women, the men, and the entire universe.
ਰਵਿ ਸਸਿ ਦੇਖਉ ਦੀਪਕ ਉਜਿਆਲਾ ॥ ਸਰਬ ਨਿਰੰਤਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮੁ ਬਾਲਾ ॥੪॥
Rav sas ḏekẖ-a-u ḏīpak uji-ālā. Sarab niranṯar parīṯam bālā. ||4||
I see the light of the Sun and the Moon, but I see the young (ever fresh and evergreen) beloved Akalpurakh present in all.
Throughout this Shabda, the Guru keeps identifying Him in all: everything and everywhere. His part, the life energy/force is in us and all over.
ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਇਆ ॥ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਮੋ ਕਉ ਏਕੁ ਬੁਝਾਇਆ ॥੫॥
Kar kirpā merā cẖiṯ lā-i-ā. Saṯgur mo ka-o ek bujẖā-i-ā. ||5||
As Ekankar has showered mercy on me, I am attached to Him, and I have realized Him through the Satiguru.
ਏਕੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਾਤਾ ॥ ਦੂਜਾ ਮਾਰਿ ਸਬਦਿ ਪਛਾਤਾ ॥੬॥
Ėk niranjan gurmukẖ jāṯā. Ḏūjā mār sabaḏ pacẖẖāṯā. ||6||
Through the Guru Ekankar, the immaculate one, is known and the concept of “two” (the Creation is away from Him) is eradicated.
ਏਕੋ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਵਰਤੈ ਸਭ ਲੋਈ ॥ ਏਕਸੁ ਤੇ ਸਭ ਓਪਤਿ ਹੋਈ ॥੭॥
Ėko hukam varṯai sabẖ lo-ī. Ėkas ṯe sabẖ opaṯ ho-ī. ||7||
Alone Har’s ordinance is prevalent in all the worlds, and from Him, all have emanated.
ਰਾਹ ਦੋਵੈ ਖਸਮੁ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੁ ॥ ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥੮॥
Rāh ḏovai kẖasam eko jāṇ. Gur kai sabaḏ hukam pacẖẖāṇ. ||8||
There are two ways: the worldly way and the spiritual way. The master of both ways is Akalpurakh (both ways do exist as per His “will”); through the Guru’s shabda, understand Akalpurakh’s ordinance of both ways.
ਸਗਲ ਰੂਪ ਵਰਨ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ ॥ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਏਕੋ ਸਾਲਾਹੀ ॥੯॥੫॥
Sagal rūp varan man māhī. Kaho Nānak eko sālāhī. ||9||5||
Oh Nanak! Say this: I praise only Akalpurakh, who is in the all forms, castes, and the minds of all (because there is no other than Him in all, period).
Once the mystery of the duality created by the Maya attractions is understood, the seeker jumps into a pool of liberation where no one other is seen separate from the Creator. One also understands that the duality appears just because of various forms that are in existence in His show; however, it is His oneness that truly exists. The sense of the duality which one feels disappears as the sense of His oneness with His creation is truly realized. Then as the Gurbani advises, one realizes that by living like a guest in the world, one remains in bliss forever.
Wishes
Gurdeep Singh
