Dear Khalsa Ji,
Here, through this post, I share what I understand from the 6th Pauri of 4th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
First the Summary:
Guru Sahib in this Pauri has appealed to the common sense of the humans to pass on truth to them. He has used the knowledge which we all possess based on our experience in life to impart his teachings. Guru Sahib in this Pauri tells us that capabilities are required to evolve to live a life appropriate for humans and not to sink into the desire driven, attachments directed worldly life. He has stated that these capabilities can be acquired through guidance. Finally, he himself seeks such help from ‘The Absolute’ to remain afloat at the required level of evolution.
1. suin AMDw kYsy mwrgu pwvY ] sun anDhaa kaisay maarag paavai.
By listening how can a blind man can find path.
2. kru gih lyhu EiV inbhwvY ] kar geh layho orh nibhaavai.
By holding the blind person’s hand another can guide her/him to the destination.
My Understanding:
The meaning is clear. The mental faculty - hearing - that has received the inputs (words) explaining the physical path to be followed does not possess the capability to search, decide and then correctly command the locomotive functions of the body to guide the person on the correct path. For the person to follow the path as explained to him in words, vision is needed. The person under reference lacks vision. Without vision, on her/his own the person cannot tread on the intended path. Yet, this person can seek assistance from some entity that has the needed ability to reach the intended destination. This way Guru Sahib conveys that with help, one can evolve to a level need for living proper human life.
3 khw buJwriq bUJY forw ] kahaa bujhaarat boojhai doraa.
How can a riddle be understood by the deaf?
4. inis khIAY qau smJY Borw ] nis kahee-ai ta-o samjhai bhoraa.
Say dusk, and he thinks you said dawn'.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib now takes another sense – hearing – through which we human receive the inputs to be processed by the brain. The riddle that one explains to the audience cannot be heard correctly by the person whose hearing is impaired. Such a person cannot perceive the elements of the riddle the way they are said. There cannot be one to one correspondence between what is said and what is understood by the person having impaired hearing abilities. The problem resulting from lack of capabilities is emphasized by Guru Sahib.
5. khw ibsnpd gwvY guMg ] kahaa bisanpad gaavai gung.
How can the mute sing the Songs of the Lord?
6. jqn krY qau BI sur BMg ] jatan karai ta-o bhee sur bhang.
He may try, but his voice will fail him.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib now explains that the person who has problem in speaking cannot give proper verbal expression to her/his inner urge to sing the praises of ‘The Sat’.
7. kh ipMgul prbq pr Bvn ] kah pingul parbat par bhavan.
How can the crippled person roam around in mountains?
8. nhI hoq aUhw ausu gvn ] nahee hot oohaa us gavan.
He simply cannot go there.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib tells that the person who has lost the effectiveness of limbs cannot roam around in the mountains; in fact such a person cannot reach the mountain at all.
9. krqwr kruxw mY dInu bynqI krY ] kartaar karunaa mai deen bayntee karai.
O’ The doer, in compassion, the humble prays
10. nwnk qumrI ikrpw qrY ]6] naanak tumree kirpaa tarai. ||6||
Nanak: by Your Grace, please save me. ||6||
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib prays that with the grace of “The Sat’ he may not sink into the worldly life and remain afloat spiritually to reach the destination meant for life in human form.
Elaboration:
First I explain what I mean by spirituality and how it differs from religiosity.
Spirituality does not mean other-worldliness alone. It is the mental disposition which seeks truth in life. The person’s worldly life of spiritual person reflects her/his achievements in this domain. Such a person lives spiritually, experiencing this world fully and effectively.
Progressively, as the person conceptualizes and grasps the deeper truth, her/his mental disposition intensifies and the person keeps evolving in the domain of spirituality.
Just by being religious alone (following the religious practices and its dogma) one does not become spiritual. This is because religiosity and spirituality are not synonymous – they do not have the same meaning. Religiosity makes the individual follow the truth discovered by someone else. While spirituality makes the person seek truth on her/his own. The pinnacle of religiosity is beginning of spirituality. Religiosity conditions the person’s being for the onward journey to spirituality. Religion is a path way to spirituality, while spirituality is path way to divinity.
In this Pauri, Guru Sahib has spoken to the common person; using the examples of defective Gyanendriyas and Karmendriyas, he has explained to his audience that inadequate abilities prevent the individual to do what is expected from a normal human.
What all Guru Sahib has said in the above eight tuks applies to the world of spirituality – the Gyanendriyas and Karmendriyas referred to in fact where just tools Guru Sahib has used to convey this fact.
The person, who has no sense of what spirituality is, can only tread on the path of spirituality through some guidance from an evolved entity.
Why we reach this helpless state? I explain below.
Our struggle to acquire the means for sustaining our lives starts right from our birth. When we are born, we even do not know that we exist, but the compulsion to sustain live is strong and built into our physical being. The child cries to express discomfort and the care takers provide what probably can help overcome the child’s distress. Here we see that though the child is totally ignorant yet nature has programmed it to seek what is needed to sustain life.
As we grow, the struggle to sustain life takes a different form. We are taught and trained to acquire skills to earn and to sustain our lives. All this time we are trained to equip ourselves with ways and means to earn livelihood. Our up-bringing, in this way, makes us worldly and material centric. Lessons on spirituality are not the natural part of this process. There are no compelling reasons for the person to become spiritual. For spirituality to take roots in the person’s being, special efforts are needed. To break into the domain of spirituality guidance is needed from some evolved entity.
I come back to my understanding of what Guru Sahib has said. As we all religiously and spiritually blind at birth, we need some one’s assistance to help us evolve to reach the intended destination. Mother is the first Guru, then the father and other family members, then the peer group and environment. When the child acquires capabilities to read, then onwards, for we Sikhs, it is Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Saadh-Sangat is where we can discuss our understanding and learn from others. All these are helping hands for the religiously blind person to walk to reach the stage where spiritually starts. Religion prepares the person mentally for onward spiritual journey – seeking ones own truth. At physical level, spiritual journey is very lonely journey; only the knowledge acquired from Siri Guru Granth Sahib and sages is your companion. One has to realize one’s own self, in all its purity.
These are the helping hands in our journey from birth through religion and spirituality to the ultimate destiny divinity. All achieve living our worldly life as a householder.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
Here, through this post, I share what I understand from the 6th Pauri of 4th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib.
First the Summary:
Guru Sahib in this Pauri has appealed to the common sense of the humans to pass on truth to them. He has used the knowledge which we all possess based on our experience in life to impart his teachings. Guru Sahib in this Pauri tells us that capabilities are required to evolve to live a life appropriate for humans and not to sink into the desire driven, attachments directed worldly life. He has stated that these capabilities can be acquired through guidance. Finally, he himself seeks such help from ‘The Absolute’ to remain afloat at the required level of evolution.
1. suin AMDw kYsy mwrgu pwvY ] sun anDhaa kaisay maarag paavai.
By listening how can a blind man can find path.
2. kru gih lyhu EiV inbhwvY ] kar geh layho orh nibhaavai.
By holding the blind person’s hand another can guide her/him to the destination.
My Understanding:
The meaning is clear. The mental faculty - hearing - that has received the inputs (words) explaining the physical path to be followed does not possess the capability to search, decide and then correctly command the locomotive functions of the body to guide the person on the correct path. For the person to follow the path as explained to him in words, vision is needed. The person under reference lacks vision. Without vision, on her/his own the person cannot tread on the intended path. Yet, this person can seek assistance from some entity that has the needed ability to reach the intended destination. This way Guru Sahib conveys that with help, one can evolve to a level need for living proper human life.
3 khw buJwriq bUJY forw ] kahaa bujhaarat boojhai doraa.
How can a riddle be understood by the deaf?
4. inis khIAY qau smJY Borw ] nis kahee-ai ta-o samjhai bhoraa.
Say dusk, and he thinks you said dawn'.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib now takes another sense – hearing – through which we human receive the inputs to be processed by the brain. The riddle that one explains to the audience cannot be heard correctly by the person whose hearing is impaired. Such a person cannot perceive the elements of the riddle the way they are said. There cannot be one to one correspondence between what is said and what is understood by the person having impaired hearing abilities. The problem resulting from lack of capabilities is emphasized by Guru Sahib.
5. khw ibsnpd gwvY guMg ] kahaa bisanpad gaavai gung.
How can the mute sing the Songs of the Lord?
6. jqn krY qau BI sur BMg ] jatan karai ta-o bhee sur bhang.
He may try, but his voice will fail him.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib now explains that the person who has problem in speaking cannot give proper verbal expression to her/his inner urge to sing the praises of ‘The Sat’.
7. kh ipMgul prbq pr Bvn ] kah pingul parbat par bhavan.
How can the crippled person roam around in mountains?
8. nhI hoq aUhw ausu gvn ] nahee hot oohaa us gavan.
He simply cannot go there.
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib tells that the person who has lost the effectiveness of limbs cannot roam around in the mountains; in fact such a person cannot reach the mountain at all.
9. krqwr kruxw mY dInu bynqI krY ] kartaar karunaa mai deen bayntee karai.
O’ The doer, in compassion, the humble prays
10. nwnk qumrI ikrpw qrY ]6] naanak tumree kirpaa tarai. ||6||
Nanak: by Your Grace, please save me. ||6||
My Understanding:
Guru Sahib prays that with the grace of “The Sat’ he may not sink into the worldly life and remain afloat spiritually to reach the destination meant for life in human form.
Elaboration:
First I explain what I mean by spirituality and how it differs from religiosity.
Spirituality does not mean other-worldliness alone. It is the mental disposition which seeks truth in life. The person’s worldly life of spiritual person reflects her/his achievements in this domain. Such a person lives spiritually, experiencing this world fully and effectively.
Progressively, as the person conceptualizes and grasps the deeper truth, her/his mental disposition intensifies and the person keeps evolving in the domain of spirituality.
Just by being religious alone (following the religious practices and its dogma) one does not become spiritual. This is because religiosity and spirituality are not synonymous – they do not have the same meaning. Religiosity makes the individual follow the truth discovered by someone else. While spirituality makes the person seek truth on her/his own. The pinnacle of religiosity is beginning of spirituality. Religiosity conditions the person’s being for the onward journey to spirituality. Religion is a path way to spirituality, while spirituality is path way to divinity.
In this Pauri, Guru Sahib has spoken to the common person; using the examples of defective Gyanendriyas and Karmendriyas, he has explained to his audience that inadequate abilities prevent the individual to do what is expected from a normal human.
What all Guru Sahib has said in the above eight tuks applies to the world of spirituality – the Gyanendriyas and Karmendriyas referred to in fact where just tools Guru Sahib has used to convey this fact.
The person, who has no sense of what spirituality is, can only tread on the path of spirituality through some guidance from an evolved entity.
Why we reach this helpless state? I explain below.
Our struggle to acquire the means for sustaining our lives starts right from our birth. When we are born, we even do not know that we exist, but the compulsion to sustain live is strong and built into our physical being. The child cries to express discomfort and the care takers provide what probably can help overcome the child’s distress. Here we see that though the child is totally ignorant yet nature has programmed it to seek what is needed to sustain life.
As we grow, the struggle to sustain life takes a different form. We are taught and trained to acquire skills to earn and to sustain our lives. All this time we are trained to equip ourselves with ways and means to earn livelihood. Our up-bringing, in this way, makes us worldly and material centric. Lessons on spirituality are not the natural part of this process. There are no compelling reasons for the person to become spiritual. For spirituality to take roots in the person’s being, special efforts are needed. To break into the domain of spirituality guidance is needed from some evolved entity.
I come back to my understanding of what Guru Sahib has said. As we all religiously and spiritually blind at birth, we need some one’s assistance to help us evolve to reach the intended destination. Mother is the first Guru, then the father and other family members, then the peer group and environment. When the child acquires capabilities to read, then onwards, for we Sikhs, it is Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Saadh-Sangat is where we can discuss our understanding and learn from others. All these are helping hands for the religiously blind person to walk to reach the stage where spiritually starts. Religion prepares the person mentally for onward spiritual journey – seeking ones own truth. At physical level, spiritual journey is very lonely journey; only the knowledge acquired from Siri Guru Granth Sahib and sages is your companion. One has to realize one’s own self, in all its purity.
These are the helping hands in our journey from birth through religion and spirituality to the ultimate destiny divinity. All achieve living our worldly life as a householder.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
