Dear Khalsa Ji,
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I have reached the 1st Pauri of 7th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib. I share my understanding with you.
First the Summary:
Guru Sahib is conveying to his disciples the effect that the company of pure and spiritually evolved people will have on their being. This is the positive factor of such association.
This can also be used as the criteria to determine the persons who will qualifies for Saadh-Sangat. If in the company of a person, whom one presume to be a pure and evolved, these positive changes in do not start manifesting in your being, than there are good chances that the person is not a pure and spiritually evolved person. This way Guru Sahib is protecting us from possible deception.
1. swD kY sMig muK aUjl hoq ] saaDh kai sang mukh oojal hot.
In the company of Sadhus (pure and spiritually evolved persons) the face glows.
2. swDsMig mlu sglI Koq ] saaDhsang mal saglee khot.
The interaction with pure and spiritually evolved people helps to remove the filth from ones being.
My understanding:
What Guru Sahib has pointed to us in this sentence is just is our natural consequence of the companies of Sadhus.
If we keep in mind that humans are not worldly entity struggling for spiritual evolution, but humans are spiritual being lost in worldly living, the truth of this statement of Guru Sahib becomes self evident.
‘The Sat’ resided in us. Radiant face is our natural disposition, which gives expression to the presence of ‘The Sat’ in us. In worldly living, the spell of vices and negative attributes make us gloomy, the glow gets covered with the dust and dirt that accumulate on our radiant being because of our not so good Karmas.
The presence of a spiritually evolved person in our midst, in our life, helps us to shrug off the dust that has accumulated on our being because of our not so good Karmas and our natural poise returns – the face becomes radiant.
Here I want to explain what purity of being means to me.
Any entity is said to be pure when it is homogeneous and any part of it, if analyzed, gives the same composition. The being of an individual is reflected in its living. The living consists of the thoughts, the speech and the actions. When all these three elements are fully and totally in agreement with one another and are in perfect harmony with each other, then the being of the person is homogeneous. When this homogeneous being is fully in accordance with the teaching of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, I call it pure. Such a person, as I understand is pure and spiritually evolved person i.e. Sadhu.
3. swD kY sMig imtY AiBmwnu ] saaDh kai sang mitai abhimaan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved persons, the pride, which emanates from Ahamkara (Ego), gets erased.
4. swD kY sMig pRgtY suigAwnu ] saaDh kai sang pargatai sugi-aan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved persons, the positive knowledge expresses itself
My understanding:
Science tells us that our Samskaras (sum total of our tendencies, attributes, beliefs and value system with the associated hierarchy of values) are influenced by the environment in with we grow and live. This environment is influenced by the mental level of the persons with whom we live and interact.
Guru Sahib knew all this and it is this which Guru Sahib is telling his disciples in the Tuks under reference. Guru Sahib says that when we live in Saadh-Sangat i.e. in the company of pure and evolved people, who have already dissolved their Ahamkara, it provides us an environment that enables us to shed our own Ahamkara. These pure and spiritually evolved people live a life that become example for us and such persons become role models for us and we try to emulate them.
Please keep in mind that imitation is first natural stage of assimilation; that is how we learned to walk and speak the language our mother spoke. Living with Saadh-Sangat we stand a good chance of becoming pure and evolving spiritually.
Once the Ahamkara is dissolved and we are freed from its vices, the dirt that had kept our true and natural self in wraps; our self finds it original and natural divine glow, which finds expression in the positive and affirmative being of each one of us. This is what I understand from the above two sentences of Guru Sahib.
5. swD kY sMig buJY pRBu nyrw ] saaDh kai sang bujhai parabh nayraa.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the feeling of ‘The Sat’ being near and around dawns on the person.
6. swDsMig sBu hoq inbyrw ] saaDhsang sabh hot nibayraa.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people all the conflicts get dissolved.
My understanding:
When the person is in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, naturally she of he too will become like one of them. With this purity returning to the individual, the person’s being will experience the full illumination from ‘The Sat’ that was all the time within the person; this did not happen earlier because the dirt and filth of earlier worldly living for sensual pleasure and providing for the ever demanding ‘Ahamkara’ (Ego) was preventing this from happening. The noise of extrovert worldly living had totally engulfed the person and the person had lost its capability to listen to the voice coming from within, i.e. the voice of ‘The Sat’. In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people brought back the original and natural poise of the person’s being, which tuned the person to ‘The Sat’; naturally the person will then feel that ‘The Sat’ is near.
The company of pure and spiritually evolved people we learn that the dualities in our life is because of our relative living, they are not real e.g. we have our own body temperature; we call something hot if its temperature is above that of our body if it is less we call it cold. They are so because they are assessed with respect to our body temperature. This way, our judgment about the entity being cold or hot is with respect to the state of our body; this is relative living. All this is needed, but it only coveys to us the relative nature of our living. Similarly, we call some one good or bad depending on our own beliefs and value system. This too is because of our nature of living which is relative. In fact ours and those of the persons whom we judge to be good or bad, all are states of being at different stages; they are being only. Good and bad, hot and cold, you and I etc are all dualities. When we evolve spiritually as a result of the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, we get elevated and are able to see what lies behind all that we perceive in our worldly life. We realize that enemy of social harmony is Ego and if that is tamed and finally dissolves, one realizes that different forms of the being are all sustained by One and the only One i.e. ‘The Sat’, consequently we all become one; the dualities of forms and ends starts dissolving when this positive knowledge dawns on us. The conflicts in our life start dissolving
This is what I understand from what Guru Sahib has said in the above two sentences.
7. swD kY sMig pwey nwm rqnu ] saaDh kai sang paa-ay naam ratan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the person realizes the precious meaning of ‘Naam’.
8. swD kY sMig eyk aUpir jqnu ] saaDh kai sang ayk oopar jatan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the person’s efforts gets directed to serve ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
‘Naam’ is not just a word for me; for me, it is a way of living, with ‘The Sat’ as the basis. To me, realizing the jewel of ‘Naam’ means: imbuing my own being i.e. soaking it with the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. To me it means, harmonizing my thoughts, speech and actions to conform to the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. The entire knowledge that is enshrined in Siri Guru Granth Sahib is ‘Naam’ to me.
With ‘Naam’ fully assimilated in the being of the person, she or he becomes an instrument of ‘The Sat’. All that such person does is for the common good of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The person’s actions become ‘The Sat’ like; I and mine disappear from her or his being. Such a person lives on Kirt to sustain her or his life and the house hold. Deceit, deception and crookedness leave the person totally; she or he lives a transparent life. All this happens in a natural course, in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people. This is what guru Sahib has said in the above two live, as I understand.
9. swD kI mihmw brnY kaunu pRwnI ] saaDh kee mahimaa barnai ka-un paraanee.
Which living being can describe the greatness of pure and spiritually evolved people?
10. nwnk swD kI soBw pRB mwih smwnI ]1] naanak saaDh kee sobhaa parabh maahi samaanee. ||1||
Nanak says to himself that the greatness of pure and spiritually evolved people is similar to that of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that living beings cannot describe the greatness of the pure and spiritually evolved people. He also tells that it is similar to that of ‘The Sat’. The truth behind what Guru Sahib has said is self evident. The person who has reached the said heights of purity and is spiritually evolved becomes a perfect instrument of ‘The Sat’. Such a person thinks, speaks and acts in accordance with the illumination she or he receives from ‘The Sat’ within its being and thus acts in ‘The Sat’ like manner. It is my understanding that when we are worldly in nature, we have to follow truth, but when the person becomes spiritually evolved and pure as demanded to qualify for being Saadh-Sangat, the truth follows her or him – what this person says (which is always selfless) become realized, it becomes true, it happens. It is in this domain that the boons of evolved people come from.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I have reached the 1st Pauri of 7th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib. I share my understanding with you.
First the Summary:
Guru Sahib is conveying to his disciples the effect that the company of pure and spiritually evolved people will have on their being. This is the positive factor of such association.
This can also be used as the criteria to determine the persons who will qualifies for Saadh-Sangat. If in the company of a person, whom one presume to be a pure and evolved, these positive changes in do not start manifesting in your being, than there are good chances that the person is not a pure and spiritually evolved person. This way Guru Sahib is protecting us from possible deception.
1. swD kY sMig muK aUjl hoq ] saaDh kai sang mukh oojal hot.
In the company of Sadhus (pure and spiritually evolved persons) the face glows.
2. swDsMig mlu sglI Koq ] saaDhsang mal saglee khot.
The interaction with pure and spiritually evolved people helps to remove the filth from ones being.
My understanding:
What Guru Sahib has pointed to us in this sentence is just is our natural consequence of the companies of Sadhus.
If we keep in mind that humans are not worldly entity struggling for spiritual evolution, but humans are spiritual being lost in worldly living, the truth of this statement of Guru Sahib becomes self evident.
‘The Sat’ resided in us. Radiant face is our natural disposition, which gives expression to the presence of ‘The Sat’ in us. In worldly living, the spell of vices and negative attributes make us gloomy, the glow gets covered with the dust and dirt that accumulate on our radiant being because of our not so good Karmas.
The presence of a spiritually evolved person in our midst, in our life, helps us to shrug off the dust that has accumulated on our being because of our not so good Karmas and our natural poise returns – the face becomes radiant.
Here I want to explain what purity of being means to me.
Any entity is said to be pure when it is homogeneous and any part of it, if analyzed, gives the same composition. The being of an individual is reflected in its living. The living consists of the thoughts, the speech and the actions. When all these three elements are fully and totally in agreement with one another and are in perfect harmony with each other, then the being of the person is homogeneous. When this homogeneous being is fully in accordance with the teaching of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, I call it pure. Such a person, as I understand is pure and spiritually evolved person i.e. Sadhu.
3. swD kY sMig imtY AiBmwnu ] saaDh kai sang mitai abhimaan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved persons, the pride, which emanates from Ahamkara (Ego), gets erased.
4. swD kY sMig pRgtY suigAwnu ] saaDh kai sang pargatai sugi-aan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved persons, the positive knowledge expresses itself
My understanding:
Science tells us that our Samskaras (sum total of our tendencies, attributes, beliefs and value system with the associated hierarchy of values) are influenced by the environment in with we grow and live. This environment is influenced by the mental level of the persons with whom we live and interact.
Guru Sahib knew all this and it is this which Guru Sahib is telling his disciples in the Tuks under reference. Guru Sahib says that when we live in Saadh-Sangat i.e. in the company of pure and evolved people, who have already dissolved their Ahamkara, it provides us an environment that enables us to shed our own Ahamkara. These pure and spiritually evolved people live a life that become example for us and such persons become role models for us and we try to emulate them.
Please keep in mind that imitation is first natural stage of assimilation; that is how we learned to walk and speak the language our mother spoke. Living with Saadh-Sangat we stand a good chance of becoming pure and evolving spiritually.
Once the Ahamkara is dissolved and we are freed from its vices, the dirt that had kept our true and natural self in wraps; our self finds it original and natural divine glow, which finds expression in the positive and affirmative being of each one of us. This is what I understand from the above two sentences of Guru Sahib.
5. swD kY sMig buJY pRBu nyrw ] saaDh kai sang bujhai parabh nayraa.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the feeling of ‘The Sat’ being near and around dawns on the person.
6. swDsMig sBu hoq inbyrw ] saaDhsang sabh hot nibayraa.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people all the conflicts get dissolved.
My understanding:
When the person is in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, naturally she of he too will become like one of them. With this purity returning to the individual, the person’s being will experience the full illumination from ‘The Sat’ that was all the time within the person; this did not happen earlier because the dirt and filth of earlier worldly living for sensual pleasure and providing for the ever demanding ‘Ahamkara’ (Ego) was preventing this from happening. The noise of extrovert worldly living had totally engulfed the person and the person had lost its capability to listen to the voice coming from within, i.e. the voice of ‘The Sat’. In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people brought back the original and natural poise of the person’s being, which tuned the person to ‘The Sat’; naturally the person will then feel that ‘The Sat’ is near.
The company of pure and spiritually evolved people we learn that the dualities in our life is because of our relative living, they are not real e.g. we have our own body temperature; we call something hot if its temperature is above that of our body if it is less we call it cold. They are so because they are assessed with respect to our body temperature. This way, our judgment about the entity being cold or hot is with respect to the state of our body; this is relative living. All this is needed, but it only coveys to us the relative nature of our living. Similarly, we call some one good or bad depending on our own beliefs and value system. This too is because of our nature of living which is relative. In fact ours and those of the persons whom we judge to be good or bad, all are states of being at different stages; they are being only. Good and bad, hot and cold, you and I etc are all dualities. When we evolve spiritually as a result of the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, we get elevated and are able to see what lies behind all that we perceive in our worldly life. We realize that enemy of social harmony is Ego and if that is tamed and finally dissolves, one realizes that different forms of the being are all sustained by One and the only One i.e. ‘The Sat’, consequently we all become one; the dualities of forms and ends starts dissolving when this positive knowledge dawns on us. The conflicts in our life start dissolving
This is what I understand from what Guru Sahib has said in the above two sentences.
7. swD kY sMig pwey nwm rqnu ] saaDh kai sang paa-ay naam ratan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the person realizes the precious meaning of ‘Naam’.
8. swD kY sMig eyk aUpir jqnu ] saaDh kai sang ayk oopar jatan.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people the person’s efforts gets directed to serve ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
‘Naam’ is not just a word for me; for me, it is a way of living, with ‘The Sat’ as the basis. To me, realizing the jewel of ‘Naam’ means: imbuing my own being i.e. soaking it with the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. To me it means, harmonizing my thoughts, speech and actions to conform to the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. The entire knowledge that is enshrined in Siri Guru Granth Sahib is ‘Naam’ to me.
With ‘Naam’ fully assimilated in the being of the person, she or he becomes an instrument of ‘The Sat’. All that such person does is for the common good of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The person’s actions become ‘The Sat’ like; I and mine disappear from her or his being. Such a person lives on Kirt to sustain her or his life and the house hold. Deceit, deception and crookedness leave the person totally; she or he lives a transparent life. All this happens in a natural course, in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people. This is what guru Sahib has said in the above two live, as I understand.
9. swD kI mihmw brnY kaunu pRwnI ] saaDh kee mahimaa barnai ka-un paraanee.
Which living being can describe the greatness of pure and spiritually evolved people?
10. nwnk swD kI soBw pRB mwih smwnI ]1] naanak saaDh kee sobhaa parabh maahi samaanee. ||1||
Nanak says to himself that the greatness of pure and spiritually evolved people is similar to that of ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that living beings cannot describe the greatness of the pure and spiritually evolved people. He also tells that it is similar to that of ‘The Sat’. The truth behind what Guru Sahib has said is self evident. The person who has reached the said heights of purity and is spiritually evolved becomes a perfect instrument of ‘The Sat’. Such a person thinks, speaks and acts in accordance with the illumination she or he receives from ‘The Sat’ within its being and thus acts in ‘The Sat’ like manner. It is my understanding that when we are worldly in nature, we have to follow truth, but when the person becomes spiritually evolved and pure as demanded to qualify for being Saadh-Sangat, the truth follows her or him – what this person says (which is always selfless) become realized, it becomes true, it happens. It is in this domain that the boons of evolved people come from.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
