Dear Khalsa Ji,
Today, I share with you what I understand from the 2nd Pauri of 1st Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
1. suKmnI suK AMimRq pRB nwmu ] sukhmanee sukh amrit parabh naam.
Sukhmani is serene joy the God’s Naam is nectar
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that when the person understands ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ the feeling of serene joy descends on the person. The ‘Naam’ librates the individual from the worldly bonds in which the individual was entangled. These bonds are in the domain of time and space; an individual freed from such fetters acquires the attributes of the timeless. I understand that with this happening she or he becomes ‘Gurmukh’. It is equivalent to imbibing ‘Amrit’ i.e. Nectar.
2. Bgq jnw kY min ibsRwm ] rhwau ] bhagat janaa kai man bisraam. rahaa-o.
The devotees’ minds come to rest. Pause.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib in this line makes it clear that when the intended understanding of ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ is incorporated by the individual into her or his being, then the individual is able to see through the events of life and all the confusion and uncertainties that exist in the mind of the individual causing riots of thoughts in mind get dissolved and serenity comes to his mind. The mind comes to a state of rest as all the dualities of empirical world (worldly life) get resolved.
3. pRB kY ismrin griB n bsY ] parabh kai simran garabh na basai.
By remembering ‘The Sat’ one does not have to enter the womb again.
My understanding:
This is very straight forward statement from Guru Sahib. It tells me that when one always keeps ‘The Sat’ in mind, she or he will never enter into any sinful act. The purity of such person will free her or him from being born again.
4. pRB kY ismrin dUKu jmu nsY ] parabh kai simran dookh jam nasai.
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ the fear of death disappears.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me the by remembering ‘The Sat’ one comes to realization that there is nothing is her or his own; all belongs to ‘The Sat’; the ‘I’ in such person gets fully erased. I understand that such a person become God-centered in all what she or he does. In this state of being the person looses any fear of death and the mental agony associated with that is dispelled.
5. pRB kY ismrin kwlu prhrY ] parabh kai simran kaal parharai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the death is won over.
My understanding:
As I understand, this sentence in metaphoric. It cannot be taken literally. We know every one who is born has to die. In this sentence, the death is stated as it means to world-centered person. This person wants to avoid death. But the God-centered person accepts it as ‘Hukam’ from ‘The Sat’ and departs happily from this world as willed by ‘The Sat’. To God-centered person death means nothing; our ten Gurus have demonstrated the same over 240 years. Our Guru Sahib lived the live in accordance with what they preached to their disciples.
6. pRB kY ismrin dusmnu trY ] parabh kai simran dusman tarai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the enemies are repelled.
My understanding:
As I understand, the word ‘enemies’ is a metaphor. It does not refer to enemies in person. I come to this conclusion because, thought our Guru Sahibs lived in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ yet, Guru Sahibs had enemies in the form of persons (Chandu, Jahangir, Aurangzeb, the hill Rajas and many more) they had to be repelled by use of force. As I understand, the word ‘enemies’ here means those enemies, which create evil tendencies in me - my vices and attachments. I know, with remembrance enlightenments come and these enemies stand repelled. The process is the same as darkness disappears when the light comes. The right word ‘repelled’ is used because these vices are always around, if the person does not remain vigilant, they again invade her or him.
7. pRB ismrq kCu ibGnu n lwgY ] parabh simrat kachh bighan na laagai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, no obstacle afflicts the person.
My understanding:
The person whose mind is imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is so large in her or his personality that what comes in the way of progress, she or he takes them as tasks to be performed or the problems to be solved and not as irritants or obstacles. They are just merged into the on going process of evolution from ‘Manmukh’ to ‘Gurmukh’. The God-centered person knows that the life in this world demands efforts (Karam Khand Ki Bani Jor) and extracts the cost for her or his evolution; these are just natural. This way the obstacles are removed or overcome and taken care of without considering them as some sort of affliction and getting perturbed by them.
8. pRB kY ismrin Anidnu jwgY ] parabh kai simran an-din jaagai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ one remains awake all the time – day and night.
My understanding:
We all know that we have to sleep during certain hours, it is biological requirement forced on us by nature. This makes me think that the word ‘awake’ cannot be taken to mean not to be in the state of sleep.
As I understand, Guru Sahib is referring to the deeper layers of my mind which remain functional even when I go to sleep; they remain fully functional day and night. These layers are not under the control of my conscious part of the brain; it is here that all my dirt is. Guru Sahib tells me that through remembrance of ‘The Sat’ even these layers of the mind get awakened to the truth and become purified. This way, remembrance of ‘The Sat’ will remove the filth from my being and I will evolve spiritually.
9. pRB kY ismrin Bau n ibAwpY ] parabh kai simran bha-o na bi-aapai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the person is never filled with fear.
My understanding:
In this line Guru Sahib tells me that the person who all the time keeps remembering ‘The Sat’ is never fearful. It is natural; the person who is imbued with such remembrance will always act in accordance with the will of ‘The Sat’ in a God-centered way. Such individual will never do any thing wrong for which he has to be afraid. Fear will not be part of her or his psyche.
10. pRB kY ismrin duKu n sMqwpY ] parabh kai simran dukh na santaapai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person is not impacted by sorrow.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that the person who remembers ‘The Sat’ does not suffer from sorrow. The ration of this statement is very clear to me. The sorrow comes as a result of loss of some item or belonging. Gurmukh knows that what all is with her or him belong to ‘The Sat’; she or he is just a temporary custodian and allowed to properly use these gifts from ‘The Sat’ in her or his life; in real sense she or he owns nothing. Such person is never attached to the items which she or he uses in her or his life. The same applies to the person in her or his social life. This being the frame of mind, any loss will not be the cause of sorrow for such person.
11. pRB kw ismrnu swD kY sMig ] parabh kaa simran saaDh kai sang.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ in the company of Holy persons.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib now tells me how to train myself in remembering ‘The Sat’. Guru Sahib tells that the company of God-centered individuals is the proper environment to develop this ability. This is clear; we become what company we keep. Company of God-centered people will keep us on track of spirituality.
12. srb inDwn nwnk hir rMig ]2] sarab niDhaan naanak har rang. ||2||
All treasures O’ Nanak, are being imbued with love of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells that once the person is imbued with the love of ‘The Sat’, that is more than all the treasures of the universes.
With this I close my post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh.
Today, I share with you what I understand from the 2nd Pauri of 1st Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
1. suKmnI suK AMimRq pRB nwmu ] sukhmanee sukh amrit parabh naam.
Sukhmani is serene joy the God’s Naam is nectar
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that when the person understands ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ the feeling of serene joy descends on the person. The ‘Naam’ librates the individual from the worldly bonds in which the individual was entangled. These bonds are in the domain of time and space; an individual freed from such fetters acquires the attributes of the timeless. I understand that with this happening she or he becomes ‘Gurmukh’. It is equivalent to imbibing ‘Amrit’ i.e. Nectar.
2. Bgq jnw kY min ibsRwm ] rhwau ] bhagat janaa kai man bisraam. rahaa-o.
The devotees’ minds come to rest. Pause.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib in this line makes it clear that when the intended understanding of ‘Sukhmani Sahib’ is incorporated by the individual into her or his being, then the individual is able to see through the events of life and all the confusion and uncertainties that exist in the mind of the individual causing riots of thoughts in mind get dissolved and serenity comes to his mind. The mind comes to a state of rest as all the dualities of empirical world (worldly life) get resolved.
3. pRB kY ismrin griB n bsY ] parabh kai simran garabh na basai.
By remembering ‘The Sat’ one does not have to enter the womb again.
My understanding:
This is very straight forward statement from Guru Sahib. It tells me that when one always keeps ‘The Sat’ in mind, she or he will never enter into any sinful act. The purity of such person will free her or him from being born again.
4. pRB kY ismrin dUKu jmu nsY ] parabh kai simran dookh jam nasai.
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ the fear of death disappears.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me the by remembering ‘The Sat’ one comes to realization that there is nothing is her or his own; all belongs to ‘The Sat’; the ‘I’ in such person gets fully erased. I understand that such a person become God-centered in all what she or he does. In this state of being the person looses any fear of death and the mental agony associated with that is dispelled.
5. pRB kY ismrin kwlu prhrY ] parabh kai simran kaal parharai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the death is won over.
My understanding:
As I understand, this sentence in metaphoric. It cannot be taken literally. We know every one who is born has to die. In this sentence, the death is stated as it means to world-centered person. This person wants to avoid death. But the God-centered person accepts it as ‘Hukam’ from ‘The Sat’ and departs happily from this world as willed by ‘The Sat’. To God-centered person death means nothing; our ten Gurus have demonstrated the same over 240 years. Our Guru Sahib lived the live in accordance with what they preached to their disciples.
6. pRB kY ismrin dusmnu trY ] parabh kai simran dusman tarai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the enemies are repelled.
My understanding:
As I understand, the word ‘enemies’ is a metaphor. It does not refer to enemies in person. I come to this conclusion because, thought our Guru Sahibs lived in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ yet, Guru Sahibs had enemies in the form of persons (Chandu, Jahangir, Aurangzeb, the hill Rajas and many more) they had to be repelled by use of force. As I understand, the word ‘enemies’ here means those enemies, which create evil tendencies in me - my vices and attachments. I know, with remembrance enlightenments come and these enemies stand repelled. The process is the same as darkness disappears when the light comes. The right word ‘repelled’ is used because these vices are always around, if the person does not remain vigilant, they again invade her or him.
7. pRB ismrq kCu ibGnu n lwgY ] parabh simrat kachh bighan na laagai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, no obstacle afflicts the person.
My understanding:
The person whose mind is imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is so large in her or his personality that what comes in the way of progress, she or he takes them as tasks to be performed or the problems to be solved and not as irritants or obstacles. They are just merged into the on going process of evolution from ‘Manmukh’ to ‘Gurmukh’. The God-centered person knows that the life in this world demands efforts (Karam Khand Ki Bani Jor) and extracts the cost for her or his evolution; these are just natural. This way the obstacles are removed or overcome and taken care of without considering them as some sort of affliction and getting perturbed by them.
8. pRB kY ismrin Anidnu jwgY ] parabh kai simran an-din jaagai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ one remains awake all the time – day and night.
My understanding:
We all know that we have to sleep during certain hours, it is biological requirement forced on us by nature. This makes me think that the word ‘awake’ cannot be taken to mean not to be in the state of sleep.
As I understand, Guru Sahib is referring to the deeper layers of my mind which remain functional even when I go to sleep; they remain fully functional day and night. These layers are not under the control of my conscious part of the brain; it is here that all my dirt is. Guru Sahib tells me that through remembrance of ‘The Sat’ even these layers of the mind get awakened to the truth and become purified. This way, remembrance of ‘The Sat’ will remove the filth from my being and I will evolve spiritually.
9. pRB kY ismrin Bau n ibAwpY ] parabh kai simran bha-o na bi-aapai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ the person is never filled with fear.
My understanding:
In this line Guru Sahib tells me that the person who all the time keeps remembering ‘The Sat’ is never fearful. It is natural; the person who is imbued with such remembrance will always act in accordance with the will of ‘The Sat’ in a God-centered way. Such individual will never do any thing wrong for which he has to be afraid. Fear will not be part of her or his psyche.
10. pRB kY ismrin duKu n sMqwpY ] parabh kai simran dukh na santaapai.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person is not impacted by sorrow.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells me that the person who remembers ‘The Sat’ does not suffer from sorrow. The ration of this statement is very clear to me. The sorrow comes as a result of loss of some item or belonging. Gurmukh knows that what all is with her or him belong to ‘The Sat’; she or he is just a temporary custodian and allowed to properly use these gifts from ‘The Sat’ in her or his life; in real sense she or he owns nothing. Such person is never attached to the items which she or he uses in her or his life. The same applies to the person in her or his social life. This being the frame of mind, any loss will not be the cause of sorrow for such person.
11. pRB kw ismrnu swD kY sMig ] parabh kaa simran saaDh kai sang.
Remembering ‘The Sat’ in the company of Holy persons.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib now tells me how to train myself in remembering ‘The Sat’. Guru Sahib tells that the company of God-centered individuals is the proper environment to develop this ability. This is clear; we become what company we keep. Company of God-centered people will keep us on track of spirituality.
12. srb inDwn nwnk hir rMig ]2] sarab niDhaan naanak har rang. ||2||
All treasures O’ Nanak, are being imbued with love of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells that once the person is imbued with the love of ‘The Sat’, that is more than all the treasures of the universes.
With this I close my post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh.
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