Dear Khalsa Jee,
I share with you what I understand from the 1st Pauri of ‘Anand Sahib’.
Preface:
Anand Sahib is the verbal expression of Guru Sahib who has realised ‘The Sat’. It reflects the inner feelings of the one who has been graced by ‘The Sat’, when the Gurmukh becomes divine.
Guru Sahib has given expression to his blissful experience by using lots of metaphors. Guru Sahib has chosen this way because there are no words to express this unique experience. Language being utilitarian has words only for those entities, which are in common knowledge or experience. Being one with ‘The Sat’ is extremely rare event; language has no words to describe this experience. The implied meaning of these metaphors alone needs to be taken in understanding ‘Anand Sahib’ and not the dictionary meaning.
It is important to keep in mind that the experience of one individual cannot be transplanted to another individual; it stays with the one who has experienced it. Words, with all their limitations, cannot convey what that experience is and what the words convey cannot generate the intense feelings associated with the experience. Guru Sahib has done the best, which can be done through words, to introduce us to his divine experience. To know exactly what this experience is, the individual has to strive and seek ‘The Sat’ and wait for ‘Gurparsadi’. What I say in this post is only my understanding of what Guru Sahib has said and nothing beyond that.
With this preface, we commence our journey.
1. Anµdu BieAw myrI mwey siqgurU mY pwieAw ] anand bha-i-aa mayree maa-ay satguroo mai paa-i-aa.
O’ my mother I am in ecstasy, I have found ‘The Sat Guru’.
My understanding:
In this sentence, Guru Sahib is conveying to his mother that he is feeling the ecstasy of realising ‘The Sat’.
As I understand, ‘The Sat’ alone is ‘The Sat Guru’. All others, at their best, can only be human gurus - they are ‘Akaar’; they are born and will die; they may be aware but they not the source; they are only the channels and not the contents; they do ‘Karmas’ and are subjected to ‘Hukam’, they are dependent; they are many, they are not One – ‘Ek Ongkar’.
‘The Sat’ is ‘Nirakaar’ and is independent of time and independent of all the rest; this ‘Sat’ watches ‘Karmas’ and hands down the ‘Hukam’; this ‘Sat’ in One – ‘Ek Ongkar’, they is no duality in it; this ‘Sat’ is the ultimate guru as it is the ultimate knowledge i.e. it is the content and not just a route. Based on all this, I understand that ‘The Sat’ is ‘The Sat Guru’.
There is another element of learning in this sentence.
Guru Sahib has conveyed his experience to his mother and not to his father. This way Guru Sahib has shown his preference. It is right. Even ‘The Sat’ has chosen the mother to bring life into this world. It is the mother through which ‘The Sat’ gave me this ‘Akaar’. It is through mother that ‘The Sat’ provided me the nourishment during the early days of my life in this world. Mother is the chosen one by ‘The Sat’ for my being. No wonder Guru Sahib too has chosen his mother to share his blissful joy of being graced by ‘The Sat’ and of being the recipient of ‘Gurparsadi’. In this way Guru Sahib has told me that in hierarchy of my being, mother is next to ‘The Sat’ and so is worthy for my special reverence.
This special respect and consideration that ‘The Sat’ and Guru Sahib has shown towards ‘The Mother’ applies to the entire women as a group because each woman is a mother and each girl is a potential mother, her position is just next to ‘The Sat’. This awareness must come to my mind every time I recite this sentence of ‘Anand Sahib’. Respect for all women of all ages including young girls should become part of my nature.
Based on all this, in my understanding, showing disrespect to any woman or girl in any manner is contrary to Sikhi i.e. the teachings of my Gurus – it is a sin. This is my considered view.
2. siqguru q pwieAw shj syqI min vjIAw vwDweIAw ] satgur ta paa-i-aa sahj saytee man vajee-aa vaaDhaa-ee-aa.
I have found the ‘Sat Guru’, with intuitive ease; my mind resonates and feels the expansion.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib has made it clear to me that ‘The Sat’ cannot be realised dialectically - the way we deal with the worldly issues. Guru Sahib has said that ‘The Sat’ is realised with ease through intuition. How one can reach this state where one acquires these intuitive capabilities, Guru Sahib has not yet mentioned.
As a result of the individual being graced by ‘The Sat’, this individual resonate with divinity and feels the bliss of real freedom. The individual with this experience is no longer remains bound to self-interests, but feels the unlimited blissful mental expansion.
3. rwg rqn prvwr prIAw sbd gwvx AweIAw ] raag ratan parvaar paree-aa sabad gaavan aa-ee-aa.
Heavenly entities (paree-aa) of the family of best of musicians (raag ratan) came to sing ‘Shabad’
My understanding:
This sentence has metaphors. We know there are no Parees; these heavenly entities are mentioned in the mythology of our land, they are conceptual entities. The mythology tells that they possess divine beauty.
Guru Sahib in this sentence tells me what are his inner experiences. To convey this feeling Guru Sahib have to use words, which have meaning in common knowledge. To understand implied meaning that Guru Sahib wants to convey to me, I forget the ‘Akaar’ part of the Parees - the women in them - and take only the ‘Nirakaar’ aspect of this conceptual heavenly entity – the serene divine beauty in them. (Please note that Parees are not to be confused with Apsaras, the two are different)
Guru Sahib has conveyed to me that he is feeling the serene divine beauty all around. This alone does not give expression to the intense but blissful feeling that Guru Sahib experienced. Guru Sahib has given additional attributes to these conceptual heavenly entities – Parees. Guru Sahib has said that this serene divine beauty is from the family of musicians who have reached the ultimate perfection in raga (raag ratan parvaar).
In short, Guru Sahib has told me that, within him, he experienced the ultimate melody of Shabad in the perfectly serene and divinely beautiful environment.
4. sbdo q gwvhu hrI kyrw min ijnI vswieAw ] sabdo ta gaavhu haree kayraa man jinee vasaa-i-aa.
Sing the Shabad of the ‘The Sat’ whom you have settled in your mind.
My understanding:
In this sentence Guru Sahib has told me that I must settle ‘The Sat’ in my mind. The question that comes to my mind is that ‘The Sat’ is ‘Nirakaar’, ‘Infinite’ and ‘Totally Independent’; my mind has ‘Akaar’, it is limited, it is dependent on my life experiences and will die one day. How can I settle ‘The Sat’ in my mind? After pondering on this issue, the answer that comes to me is that my mind should become pure. Still I need another answer: what is pure mind? Thinking over it, I come to the conclusion that if I want to get back to my source i.e. ‘The Sat’, I must become what ‘The Sat’ made me originally; I must return to my natural innocence with which I came to this world. It means I must get rid of all that I have collected in my memory in the worldly life. It means I should be aware and knowledgeable (as I have grown-up and able to think), but remove the strangle hold of past good and bad experiences from my mind – the biases and prejudices; I must get rid of my feeling of ‘I’ i.e. my Ahamkara. Every time I must see every thing in my life as fresh without my memory interfering with my thinking. I must master my thoughts. My thought should be guided by virtues. I should cast off my vices. Love, compassion, sharing, caring and truthfulness should be natural to me and flow out from my thought to speech and actions for all. I should be free form Desires, Anger, Greed, Attachments and Ahamkara. When I reach this stage ‘The Sat’ who is already in me will glow with ease, as this is natural to ‘The Sat’. I think it is for this reason Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Sahj’ i.e. easy in the second sentence of this Pauri. To me it appears that this is what Guru Sahib meant in the word Vasaa-i-aa in this sentence of the Pauri; I have to rehabilitate ‘The Sat’ in my mind by creating the right environment there.
5. khY nwnku Anµdu hoAw siqgurU mY pwieAw ]1] kahai naanak anand ho-aa satguroo mai paa-i-aa. ||1||
Says Nanak, I am in ecstasy for I have realised ‘The Sat Guru’
With this I close.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal
