Dear Khalsa Ji,
Today, I share with you, my understanding of the 7th Pauri of the 1st Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
1. pRB kY ismrin kwrj pUry ] parabh kai simran kaaraj pooray.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the tasks get completed.
My understanding:
The person who lives in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is bound to acquire very deep concentration of mind. This is a great asset, and is one of the main ingredients that help in successful completion of work. Being imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’, this individual does no harm to others; when ever any opportunity arises this person helps others. When such a person undertakes any tasks the help from others flow in a natural way. This person’s saintly disposition make other do all what they can for her or him to accomplish the task. All assistance that comes to this person from outside, collectively, we call it divine help. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to me in this sentence.
2. pRB kY ismrin kbhu n JUry ] parabh kai simran kabahu na jhooray.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, one never grieves.
My understanding:
The person who is imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is an instrument of ‘The Sat’. This person is living out that is mean by saying ‘Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh’. Such a person, from the depth of heart and soul belongs to ‘The Sat and so naturally what is achieved through her or him also belongs to ‘The Sat’. In this state of living they person has no ‘I’ or ‘my’. Every thing belongs to ‘The Sat’. How such a person ever grieve. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to me in this sentence.
3. pRB kY ismrin hir gun bwnI ] parabh kai simran har gun baanee.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person’s speech reflects the attributes of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’, the person gradually becomes God-centered. The person becomes a Gurmukh. This person’s attributes and speech reflect what is expected from a Sikh by Gurbani; this person resonates with Gurbani. Every aspect of this person’s life reflects the Saintliness of her or his being. This is what I understand from this sentence.
4. pRB kY ismrin shij smwnI ] parabh kai simran sahj samaanee.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person gets absorbed in simplicity.
My understanding:
The person who lives in remembrance of ‘The Sat’, becoming saintly, will loose all the skew ness of its personality; her or his ways will become simple. The person becomes pure.
Let me share with you what I understand by the word pure.
Pure means the entity is not mixed or contaminated by other entities. We humans are born with consciousness, it its origin our consciousness was pure. As we grew we learned the ways of this world, Kama, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Ahamkara became the driving force behind what we did. This way our consciousness became contaminated; we became impure Maya got hold of us.
The person imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ returns to her or his originally purity and simplicity with which we all are born. This is what the above sentence of Guru Sahib conveys to me.
5. pRB kY ismrin inhcl Awsnu ] parabh kai simran nihchal aasan.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person reaches the unchanging posture.
My understanding:
We all know that our Guru Sahibs were all moving around. From it is clear the posture referred above is not the physical posture. To me it is the mental posture i.e. the mental disposition that results from acquiring back the consciousness and the simplicity (pure) with which ‘The Sat’ has sent us to this world. Once this is achieved, the individual fully lives in this empirical world, enjoys the fruits of material wellbeing yet remain unattached to them. The mind is anchored to the simplicity of the pure consciousness; it is not controlled and driven by the objects for gratification of the five senses nor the person’s being is directed by the five vices – Kama (desires), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (attachments) and Ahamkara (ego). As purity of this person’s mind cannot be affected, the mental disposition remains unchanged. Guru Sahib tells me this through this sentence.
6. pRB kY ismrin kml ibgwsnu ] parabh kai simran kamal bigaasan.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, lotus blossoms.
My understanding:
Here the term ‘Lotus blossoms’ is indicative only; it is not to be taken literally or physically. Here Guru Sahib is asking the readers of Gurbani to live their life like the lotus flower, which grows is muddy waters but never gets wetted by it. Guru Sahib is asking us to life a natural life of a householder without loosing the sight of our mission as a human being. Guru Sahib tells us to live our empirical life with a sense of spirituality – never to get attached to the objects of gratification of senses. The individual lives a truthful life, enjoys and relishes all that life provides, but never become a slave of the worldly entities; never crave for them. When this change takes place then the individual lives like a lotus, she or he is not dirtied by the worldly environment around her or him. This way the individual’s life become analogous to that of the lotus flower. That is why Guru Sahib has said that ‘lotus blossoms’ in her or him. Guru Sahib in this sentence makes it clear that such frame of mind comes from remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
7. pRB kY ismrin Anhd Junkwr ] parabh kai simran anhad jhunkaar.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person vibrates with unstuck sound.
My understanding:
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ restores original purity and simplicity of the mind. The individual lives an empirical life in a truthful way. Spirituality dawns on the person. This person’s being becomes in accordance with the way shown by Gurbani; her or his being is now resonating with the Shabad; the persons life is now vibrating with the ‘Un-struck Sound’ i.e. ‘Anhad Naad’. This is the state which Guru Sahib has referred too in the above sentence as ‘Anhad Jhunkaar’. This comes through remembrance of ‘The Sat’, as said by Guru Sahib in the above sentence.
8. suKu pRB ismrn kw AMqu n pwr ] sukh parabh simran kaa ant na paar.
There is no end to the blissful peace that comes through remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
In this sentence Guru Sahib has summarized all that he has said earlier. The positive effects on the life of the individual that result from remembrance of ‘The Sat’ are limitless, one can keep on mentioning, and the list is endless. There is please in peace and truthful living, there is a feeling of bliss and elation in the remembrance of ‘The Sat’. This is what I understand from what Guru Sahib has said in the above sentence.
9. ismrih sy jn ijn kau pRB mieAw ] simrahi say jan jin ka-o parabh ma-i-aa.
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ comes to those who are blessed by ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
For an individual to start living in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ a pure, calm and balanced mind is needed. The process of reaching this state is not unique. It is very complex for those who are controlled by their vices; it is very simple for those who have got over them. Getting over the vices demands reformatting of the mind; it involves a process of unlearning and then relearning. Some times, in life events take place that hastens the process. This happens with those individual who have developed their faculty of ‘Insight’. Reflection on the happening with clear, calm and balanced mind and ability to see the naked truth as it is helps in developing this ability. When this happens, the individual understand that all that is happen to her or him is due to ‘The Sat’, the individual is only a receiver and an instrument of ‘The Sat’. This way ‘I’ in her or him dies the whole mental space is filled with remembrance of ‘The Sat’. Now when this achiever looks back to what has happened to her or him, the individual realizes every thing that has happened to him is due to the blessing of ‘The Sat’. The individual on its own would not have planned the path she or he has treaded; all was due to ‘Gurparsadi’. This is what I understand that Guru Sahib is telling me in this sentence.
10. nwnk iqn jn srnI pieAw ]7] naanak tin jan sarnee pa-i-aa. ||7||
Nanak seeks the sanctuary of such persons.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that he seeks the shelter of such achievers i.e. the individuals who live in remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
This sentence on one side conveys to me the extreme humility of my Guru Sahibs, which I should strive to inculcate in me and on the other side, it indicates what a high level of esteem these achievers are in the views of my Guru Sahibs.
With this I close this post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
Today, I share with you, my understanding of the 7th Pauri of the 1st Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
1. pRB kY ismrin kwrj pUry ] parabh kai simran kaaraj pooray.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the tasks get completed.
My understanding:
The person who lives in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is bound to acquire very deep concentration of mind. This is a great asset, and is one of the main ingredients that help in successful completion of work. Being imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’, this individual does no harm to others; when ever any opportunity arises this person helps others. When such a person undertakes any tasks the help from others flow in a natural way. This person’s saintly disposition make other do all what they can for her or him to accomplish the task. All assistance that comes to this person from outside, collectively, we call it divine help. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to me in this sentence.
2. pRB kY ismrin kbhu n JUry ] parabh kai simran kabahu na jhooray.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, one never grieves.
My understanding:
The person who is imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ is an instrument of ‘The Sat’. This person is living out that is mean by saying ‘Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh’. Such a person, from the depth of heart and soul belongs to ‘The Sat and so naturally what is achieved through her or him also belongs to ‘The Sat’. In this state of living they person has no ‘I’ or ‘my’. Every thing belongs to ‘The Sat’. How such a person ever grieve. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to me in this sentence.
3. pRB kY ismrin hir gun bwnI ] parabh kai simran har gun baanee.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person’s speech reflects the attributes of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’, the person gradually becomes God-centered. The person becomes a Gurmukh. This person’s attributes and speech reflect what is expected from a Sikh by Gurbani; this person resonates with Gurbani. Every aspect of this person’s life reflects the Saintliness of her or his being. This is what I understand from this sentence.
4. pRB kY ismrin shij smwnI ] parabh kai simran sahj samaanee.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person gets absorbed in simplicity.
My understanding:
The person who lives in remembrance of ‘The Sat’, becoming saintly, will loose all the skew ness of its personality; her or his ways will become simple. The person becomes pure.
Let me share with you what I understand by the word pure.
Pure means the entity is not mixed or contaminated by other entities. We humans are born with consciousness, it its origin our consciousness was pure. As we grew we learned the ways of this world, Kama, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Ahamkara became the driving force behind what we did. This way our consciousness became contaminated; we became impure Maya got hold of us.
The person imbued with the remembrance of ‘The Sat’ returns to her or his originally purity and simplicity with which we all are born. This is what the above sentence of Guru Sahib conveys to me.
5. pRB kY ismrin inhcl Awsnu ] parabh kai simran nihchal aasan.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person reaches the unchanging posture.
My understanding:
We all know that our Guru Sahibs were all moving around. From it is clear the posture referred above is not the physical posture. To me it is the mental posture i.e. the mental disposition that results from acquiring back the consciousness and the simplicity (pure) with which ‘The Sat’ has sent us to this world. Once this is achieved, the individual fully lives in this empirical world, enjoys the fruits of material wellbeing yet remain unattached to them. The mind is anchored to the simplicity of the pure consciousness; it is not controlled and driven by the objects for gratification of the five senses nor the person’s being is directed by the five vices – Kama (desires), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (attachments) and Ahamkara (ego). As purity of this person’s mind cannot be affected, the mental disposition remains unchanged. Guru Sahib tells me this through this sentence.
6. pRB kY ismrin kml ibgwsnu ] parabh kai simran kamal bigaasan.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, lotus blossoms.
My understanding:
Here the term ‘Lotus blossoms’ is indicative only; it is not to be taken literally or physically. Here Guru Sahib is asking the readers of Gurbani to live their life like the lotus flower, which grows is muddy waters but never gets wetted by it. Guru Sahib is asking us to life a natural life of a householder without loosing the sight of our mission as a human being. Guru Sahib tells us to live our empirical life with a sense of spirituality – never to get attached to the objects of gratification of senses. The individual lives a truthful life, enjoys and relishes all that life provides, but never become a slave of the worldly entities; never crave for them. When this change takes place then the individual lives like a lotus, she or he is not dirtied by the worldly environment around her or him. This way the individual’s life become analogous to that of the lotus flower. That is why Guru Sahib has said that ‘lotus blossoms’ in her or him. Guru Sahib in this sentence makes it clear that such frame of mind comes from remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
7. pRB kY ismrin Anhd Junkwr ] parabh kai simran anhad jhunkaar.
Remembering ‘The Sat’, the person vibrates with unstuck sound.
My understanding:
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ restores original purity and simplicity of the mind. The individual lives an empirical life in a truthful way. Spirituality dawns on the person. This person’s being becomes in accordance with the way shown by Gurbani; her or his being is now resonating with the Shabad; the persons life is now vibrating with the ‘Un-struck Sound’ i.e. ‘Anhad Naad’. This is the state which Guru Sahib has referred too in the above sentence as ‘Anhad Jhunkaar’. This comes through remembrance of ‘The Sat’, as said by Guru Sahib in the above sentence.
8. suKu pRB ismrn kw AMqu n pwr ] sukh parabh simran kaa ant na paar.
There is no end to the blissful peace that comes through remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
In this sentence Guru Sahib has summarized all that he has said earlier. The positive effects on the life of the individual that result from remembrance of ‘The Sat’ are limitless, one can keep on mentioning, and the list is endless. There is please in peace and truthful living, there is a feeling of bliss and elation in the remembrance of ‘The Sat’. This is what I understand from what Guru Sahib has said in the above sentence.
9. ismrih sy jn ijn kau pRB mieAw ] simrahi say jan jin ka-o parabh ma-i-aa.
Remembrance of ‘The Sat’ comes to those who are blessed by ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
For an individual to start living in remembrance of ‘The Sat’ a pure, calm and balanced mind is needed. The process of reaching this state is not unique. It is very complex for those who are controlled by their vices; it is very simple for those who have got over them. Getting over the vices demands reformatting of the mind; it involves a process of unlearning and then relearning. Some times, in life events take place that hastens the process. This happens with those individual who have developed their faculty of ‘Insight’. Reflection on the happening with clear, calm and balanced mind and ability to see the naked truth as it is helps in developing this ability. When this happens, the individual understand that all that is happen to her or him is due to ‘The Sat’, the individual is only a receiver and an instrument of ‘The Sat’. This way ‘I’ in her or him dies the whole mental space is filled with remembrance of ‘The Sat’. Now when this achiever looks back to what has happened to her or him, the individual realizes every thing that has happened to him is due to the blessing of ‘The Sat’. The individual on its own would not have planned the path she or he has treaded; all was due to ‘Gurparsadi’. This is what I understand that Guru Sahib is telling me in this sentence.
10. nwnk iqn jn srnI pieAw ]7] naanak tin jan sarnee pa-i-aa. ||7||
Nanak seeks the sanctuary of such persons.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that he seeks the shelter of such achievers i.e. the individuals who live in remembrance of ‘The Sat’.
This sentence on one side conveys to me the extreme humility of my Guru Sahibs, which I should strive to inculcate in me and on the other side, it indicates what a high level of esteem these achievers are in the views of my Guru Sahibs.
With this I close this post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
