Dear Khalsa Ji,
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share my understanding of 2nd Pauri of 7th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib with you.
Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the sentence, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.
First the Summary:
As done in the previous Pauri of this Ashtapadee, 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 qualify 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 Agocru imlY ] saaDh kai sang agochar milai.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, one is able to know what cannot be perceived by senses i.e. ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib has drawn our attention to the fact that ‘The Sat’ cannot be perceived through any or all the senses put together. Yet we know the divines do experience ‘The Sat’. As I understand, the spiritually evolved pure people are able to experience ‘The Sat’ all the time because of the awareness that arises in their functioning brain that results from purity of their being, this leads to the experience of experience ‘The Sat’ that was and is within them all the time.
This awareness cannot be transplanted. It is like fertility of the soil which one can improve by working on it but cannot be transferred from one soil to the other. The question that now needs to be answered, how to develop this awareness, Guru Sahib has already answered it – by Saadh-Sangat. The mechanics of how this happens in Saadh-Sangat, as understood by me, I share with you.
When we live in the company of spiritually evolved pure people and try to emulate them it results in change in our brain formatting. The being of the person starts moving from where she or he is towards where the environment created by the Saadh- Sangat leads it.
How this happens I explain now.
Please keep in mind (i) humans are spiritual beings, which very often loose this natural disposition when their being is captivated by the pleasure seeking senses; and (ii) imitation is the first stage of assimilation. It is by this process we learned to speak the language of our mother and learn to walk.
Living in the company of spiritually evolved pure people, we tend to follow their ways. We adopt their values and beliefs their way also accept the concepts they create to understand the abstract entities. In short I say we try to imitate them in all respect. Imitation as we all know is superfluous, but when done continuously over a long period of time, it percolates down to the deeper layers of our functioning brain. The brain accepts that and thus gets reformatted. The same then gets reflected in our being. This state of being brings purity in us and helps us to evolve spiritually. The dust that had accumulated on the primary source of our consciousness, which was illuminated by ‘The Sat’ within us, gets removed. Our being gets directly illuminated by ‘The Sat’; our thoughts, speech and actions become ‘The Sat’ like; the vices leave us and our being becomes Godly. With this linkage getting established, the person always experience ‘The Sat’ in and around. In my considered opinion it is this happening which corresponds to opening of the ‘Dasam Dwaar’ i.e. the tenth door. Please keep in mind that all the scripture points to the Dasam Dwaar being in the topmost part of the skull, where the brain is and is not visible to the eyes. This clearly points that the Dasam Dwaar opens in the brain and it is intangible in nature thus cannot be perceived by senses.
This is how I understand what Guru Sahib has said in the above sentence of this Pauri. The truth in what Guru Sahib has said is very clear to me and the same I have tried to convey to you.
2. swD kY sMig sdw prPulY ] saaDh kai sang sadaa parfulai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people one keeps blossoming for ever.
My understanding:
We are born as innocent animal in this world. Given proper training we coat our animality with humanness; the coating falls apart under stressful environment. As we evolve further and realize the futility of the animality in us, we move to become purer and purer human. Finally we succeed in dissolving our animality and become human; from here the spiritual evolution becomes prominent in us, compassion, kindness, mercy etc come to the fro under the illumination received from ‘The Sat’. Progressively we become a perfect instrument of ‘The Sat’ living and working for the creation of ‘The Sat’ of whom we are a part, protect what is achieved so far and strive for its further evolution. A stage comes in our blossoming where we become divine.
All this happens under the influence of the environment created by the people who are ahead of us in this path. As we advance we get into the company of those who are still more advanced that us in this domain. All this is Saadh-Sangat.
This ever enhancing blossoming not only applies to this life but to the subsequent lives also. This is what I understand from this sentence of Guru Sahib.
3. swD kY sMig Awvih bis pMcw ] saaDh kai sang aavahi bas panchaa.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the five senses are tamed.
My understanding:
The ‘Panch’ referred here, as I understand are the five senses. It is the gratification sought by these senses that is the cause of the resulting passion. These senses influence the brain formatting over a period of time and if not tamed in time develop the passions that drive the person towards not very good end. The object on which the senses alight depends very much on what the person is seeking. What the person seeks depends very much on what is valued in the company of the people she or he lives in. What is value by this group depends on the environment that is created in the group by the mental level of the different individuals constituting that group.
When a person lives in the company of pure and spiritually evolved individuals, the brain formatting that takes place in such environment, causes the senses to alight on objects that support their ‘Satvika’ tendencies and the inputs received by the brain gets processed in a Satvika manner. For example; if the person sees a lady, the spiritually evolved person will see her as a human, such person has risen above the genders, another person who is evolved to a much higher level may see ‘The Sat’ in the person of that lady. Such processing by the functioning brain has the positive feedback effect on the brain formatting, which intensify the progress of the person in spiritual domain; the person gets elevated further and further.
This is the way the five senses get tamed and serve the being of the person to progress in her or his life. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to us through this line, as I understand.
4. swDsMig AMimRq rsu BuMcw ] saaDhsang amrit ras bhunchaa.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the person experiences the essence of immortality.
My understanding:
The word Amrit is composed of A+mrit. Mrit means dead and A in front of it negates this meaning and the word the composite word has come to mean a fluid which when drunk make the person immortal. If this meaning was physically true, then we must have lots of individuals living with us today, who, in the mythological stories, had the chance of drinking Amrit. We all know this has not happened.
The word Amrit needs proper study to understand the true meaning of what Guru Sahib has said.
If we study the etymology of this word ‘Amrit’, then we find that in ancient time it was to do not water which was pure and good for drinking i.e. on drinking it the person did not became sick and died. Later on this word was used to covey immortality and is used in to mean the same even today and so was the case when Guru Sahib included it in Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Sahib knew all this; this fact gives me direction to ponder over the meaning of this Tuk. What I conclude is elaborated below.
I first elaborate my understanding of what death is and fear is; as it forms my basis for understand of the above Tuk.
When we sleep, we loose consciousness of our existence. We sleep because we are sure that we will get up again. Death is a permanent sleep for the body. We know that with death all our attachment to this world will cease; we will not be able to enjoy the worldly pleasures and not be able to do things which we still wanted to do. We also do not know what will happen to us after death.
Fear is a feeling that engulfs our being because of unknown. Darkness is feared because we do not know what is around.
The possibility of death brings in the fear of unknown in addition to the knowledge of the fact that all what worldly is will disappear for the person. This fear is artistically depicted in the picture of the conceptual God of death - Yam Raja - and the environment around its figure.
So I as I understand, death is a fear resulting from the combination of the knowledge that what is will disappear and what will be is not known.
With this background I explain my understanding of the above Tuk.
When we live in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, we realize the worldly living is not the purpose of being born in human form. We are instruments of ‘The Sat’ who are born to protect and help in evolution of the creation of ‘The Sat’. We have a role to play and like an artist in the drama, plays her or his role and go back, we to will go back to our source ‘The Sat’. Such a frame of mind is free from ego and attachments to worldly pleasures and relations or possessions – living this world has no meaning for such a person – she or he know her or his role is over. It is something similar to our feeling that it is night and so it is time to sleep. There is no fear; and thus for such a person there is no death. Such a person knows that she of he has ‘The Sat’ within which she or he will be after leaving the body; ‘The Sat was always there and always will be and so will be her or his essence. This knowledge gives the person a feeling of immortality even when she or he is alive. This feeling is the Rasa (the juice or essence) of immortality with which the person lives in this world. All this happens in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people.
This is my understanding of the above Tuk.
5. swDsMig hoie sB kI ryn ] saaDhsang ho-ay sabh kee rayn.
In the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, the person becomes like dust of all.
My understanding:
Very aptly Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Dust’ in a metaphoric manner to convey his teaching. Guru Sahib does not mean any debasement of this person in the company of spiritually evolved pure people. I elaborate on what I understand.
The dust has extremely small particles; as such it cannot form any shape on its own. As the person walks over it, it adjusts itself to accept the impression that the persons shoe or feet impress on it. It conveys a lot. It means that the person, in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, learn all that these people can teach her or him. As the dust does not resist the formation of the impression so is the person does not resist the teachings that she or he gets from those who are more advance on the spiritual path; her or his mental resistance to the teachings being imparted is zero; this the essential condition for effective and total transfer of knowledge.
Metaphoric use of the word ‘Dust’ also conveys that the person in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people her or his Ahamkara is naturally dissolved; the person’s being does not have a form of its own just as the dust does not have.
There is further to it, as the dust does not attach to any object and can be flow away by a small wind, so is the case who has evolved in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people – the person has no attachments.
The person becomes very humble as the dust.
This is what Guru Sahib is conveying to his disciples.
6. swD kY sMig mnohr bYn ] saaDh kai sang manohar bain.
In the company of pure spiritually evolved people the speech of the person becomes attractive.
My understanding:
In this Guru Sahib has pointed out a human attribute that change in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people. Our words that we use in conversation convey to the listener what the character of the person is. The being of the person who lives in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people becomes very simple. This person’s verbal utterances become sweet, polite and direct. There is nothing more beautiful and attractive then simplicity, which gets reflected in the speech of such a person; naturally it becomes attractive for any one.
7. swD kY sMig n kqhUM DwvY ] saaDh kai sang na katahooN Dhaavai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the mind becomes steady.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib has drawn our attention to another benefit of the environment that gets created in the company of spiritually evolved pure people. In such environment one learns that she or he is an instrument of ‘The Sat’ and serving ‘The Sat’ is purpose of one’s life. With the purpose clearly enunciated, the senses tamed, the fickleness of the brains function fades away; sense of purpose of life permeates all aspects of the person’s being; a sense of direction come in life; it person stops drifting.
8. swDsMig AsiQiq mnu pwvY ] saaDhsang asthit man paavai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people the mind becomes stable.
My understanding:
As I understand, with the senses tames, they function in accordance with the needs of the pure brain. As the desire for worldly pleasure leaves the person, the functioning of the brain becomes focused and that result in a very stable mind.This is what guru sahib is pointing out to us in this Tuk.
9. swD kY sMig mwieAw qy iBMn ] saaDh kai sang maa-i-aa tay bhinn.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the person gets rid of Maya.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells us that the environment that exists in the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the mind of the person becomes pure, the dualities get resolved and the functioning of the person become free from any attachment or other vices that cloud the thinking of the person earlier, keeping the person under the sway of Maya. The state of the person’s being and thus the functioning of his brain become free from Maya; the person see the truth of the issue as it is and not as tinted by the sway of Maya.
10. swDsMig nwnk pRB supRsMn ]2] saaDhsang naanak parabh suparsan. ||2||
In the company of the spiritually evolved pure people, ‘The Sat’ is overwhelmingly pleased.
My understanding:
As I understand, Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Suparsan’ i.e. overwhelmingly pleased in a metaphoric sense. Here it means that the state of person’s being such that the grace of ‘The Sat’ flows to the person in a very natural way. In other words, it means that from the person’s side all the impediments to such a flow of grace get removed and thus the benefits of the grace of ‘The Sat’ naturally accrue to the person. Guru Sahib tells himself and conveys the same to us.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share my understanding of 2nd Pauri of 7th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib with you.
Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the sentence, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.
First the Summary:
As done in the previous Pauri of this Ashtapadee, 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 qualify 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 Agocru imlY ] saaDh kai sang agochar milai.
In the company of pure and spiritually evolved people, one is able to know what cannot be perceived by senses i.e. ‘The Sat’.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib has drawn our attention to the fact that ‘The Sat’ cannot be perceived through any or all the senses put together. Yet we know the divines do experience ‘The Sat’. As I understand, the spiritually evolved pure people are able to experience ‘The Sat’ all the time because of the awareness that arises in their functioning brain that results from purity of their being, this leads to the experience of experience ‘The Sat’ that was and is within them all the time.
This awareness cannot be transplanted. It is like fertility of the soil which one can improve by working on it but cannot be transferred from one soil to the other. The question that now needs to be answered, how to develop this awareness, Guru Sahib has already answered it – by Saadh-Sangat. The mechanics of how this happens in Saadh-Sangat, as understood by me, I share with you.
When we live in the company of spiritually evolved pure people and try to emulate them it results in change in our brain formatting. The being of the person starts moving from where she or he is towards where the environment created by the Saadh- Sangat leads it.
How this happens I explain now.
Please keep in mind (i) humans are spiritual beings, which very often loose this natural disposition when their being is captivated by the pleasure seeking senses; and (ii) imitation is the first stage of assimilation. It is by this process we learned to speak the language of our mother and learn to walk.
Living in the company of spiritually evolved pure people, we tend to follow their ways. We adopt their values and beliefs their way also accept the concepts they create to understand the abstract entities. In short I say we try to imitate them in all respect. Imitation as we all know is superfluous, but when done continuously over a long period of time, it percolates down to the deeper layers of our functioning brain. The brain accepts that and thus gets reformatted. The same then gets reflected in our being. This state of being brings purity in us and helps us to evolve spiritually. The dust that had accumulated on the primary source of our consciousness, which was illuminated by ‘The Sat’ within us, gets removed. Our being gets directly illuminated by ‘The Sat’; our thoughts, speech and actions become ‘The Sat’ like; the vices leave us and our being becomes Godly. With this linkage getting established, the person always experience ‘The Sat’ in and around. In my considered opinion it is this happening which corresponds to opening of the ‘Dasam Dwaar’ i.e. the tenth door. Please keep in mind that all the scripture points to the Dasam Dwaar being in the topmost part of the skull, where the brain is and is not visible to the eyes. This clearly points that the Dasam Dwaar opens in the brain and it is intangible in nature thus cannot be perceived by senses.
This is how I understand what Guru Sahib has said in the above sentence of this Pauri. The truth in what Guru Sahib has said is very clear to me and the same I have tried to convey to you.
2. swD kY sMig sdw prPulY ] saaDh kai sang sadaa parfulai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people one keeps blossoming for ever.
My understanding:
We are born as innocent animal in this world. Given proper training we coat our animality with humanness; the coating falls apart under stressful environment. As we evolve further and realize the futility of the animality in us, we move to become purer and purer human. Finally we succeed in dissolving our animality and become human; from here the spiritual evolution becomes prominent in us, compassion, kindness, mercy etc come to the fro under the illumination received from ‘The Sat’. Progressively we become a perfect instrument of ‘The Sat’ living and working for the creation of ‘The Sat’ of whom we are a part, protect what is achieved so far and strive for its further evolution. A stage comes in our blossoming where we become divine.
All this happens under the influence of the environment created by the people who are ahead of us in this path. As we advance we get into the company of those who are still more advanced that us in this domain. All this is Saadh-Sangat.
This ever enhancing blossoming not only applies to this life but to the subsequent lives also. This is what I understand from this sentence of Guru Sahib.
3. swD kY sMig Awvih bis pMcw ] saaDh kai sang aavahi bas panchaa.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the five senses are tamed.
My understanding:
The ‘Panch’ referred here, as I understand are the five senses. It is the gratification sought by these senses that is the cause of the resulting passion. These senses influence the brain formatting over a period of time and if not tamed in time develop the passions that drive the person towards not very good end. The object on which the senses alight depends very much on what the person is seeking. What the person seeks depends very much on what is valued in the company of the people she or he lives in. What is value by this group depends on the environment that is created in the group by the mental level of the different individuals constituting that group.
When a person lives in the company of pure and spiritually evolved individuals, the brain formatting that takes place in such environment, causes the senses to alight on objects that support their ‘Satvika’ tendencies and the inputs received by the brain gets processed in a Satvika manner. For example; if the person sees a lady, the spiritually evolved person will see her as a human, such person has risen above the genders, another person who is evolved to a much higher level may see ‘The Sat’ in the person of that lady. Such processing by the functioning brain has the positive feedback effect on the brain formatting, which intensify the progress of the person in spiritual domain; the person gets elevated further and further.
This is the way the five senses get tamed and serve the being of the person to progress in her or his life. This is what Guru Sahib has conveyed to us through this line, as I understand.
4. swDsMig AMimRq rsu BuMcw ] saaDhsang amrit ras bhunchaa.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the person experiences the essence of immortality.
My understanding:
The word Amrit is composed of A+mrit. Mrit means dead and A in front of it negates this meaning and the word the composite word has come to mean a fluid which when drunk make the person immortal. If this meaning was physically true, then we must have lots of individuals living with us today, who, in the mythological stories, had the chance of drinking Amrit. We all know this has not happened.
The word Amrit needs proper study to understand the true meaning of what Guru Sahib has said.
If we study the etymology of this word ‘Amrit’, then we find that in ancient time it was to do not water which was pure and good for drinking i.e. on drinking it the person did not became sick and died. Later on this word was used to covey immortality and is used in to mean the same even today and so was the case when Guru Sahib included it in Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Sahib knew all this; this fact gives me direction to ponder over the meaning of this Tuk. What I conclude is elaborated below.
I first elaborate my understanding of what death is and fear is; as it forms my basis for understand of the above Tuk.
When we sleep, we loose consciousness of our existence. We sleep because we are sure that we will get up again. Death is a permanent sleep for the body. We know that with death all our attachment to this world will cease; we will not be able to enjoy the worldly pleasures and not be able to do things which we still wanted to do. We also do not know what will happen to us after death.
Fear is a feeling that engulfs our being because of unknown. Darkness is feared because we do not know what is around.
The possibility of death brings in the fear of unknown in addition to the knowledge of the fact that all what worldly is will disappear for the person. This fear is artistically depicted in the picture of the conceptual God of death - Yam Raja - and the environment around its figure.
So I as I understand, death is a fear resulting from the combination of the knowledge that what is will disappear and what will be is not known.
With this background I explain my understanding of the above Tuk.
When we live in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, we realize the worldly living is not the purpose of being born in human form. We are instruments of ‘The Sat’ who are born to protect and help in evolution of the creation of ‘The Sat’. We have a role to play and like an artist in the drama, plays her or his role and go back, we to will go back to our source ‘The Sat’. Such a frame of mind is free from ego and attachments to worldly pleasures and relations or possessions – living this world has no meaning for such a person – she or he know her or his role is over. It is something similar to our feeling that it is night and so it is time to sleep. There is no fear; and thus for such a person there is no death. Such a person knows that she of he has ‘The Sat’ within which she or he will be after leaving the body; ‘The Sat was always there and always will be and so will be her or his essence. This knowledge gives the person a feeling of immortality even when she or he is alive. This feeling is the Rasa (the juice or essence) of immortality with which the person lives in this world. All this happens in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people.
This is my understanding of the above Tuk.
5. swDsMig hoie sB kI ryn ] saaDhsang ho-ay sabh kee rayn.
In the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, the person becomes like dust of all.
My understanding:
Very aptly Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Dust’ in a metaphoric manner to convey his teaching. Guru Sahib does not mean any debasement of this person in the company of spiritually evolved pure people. I elaborate on what I understand.
The dust has extremely small particles; as such it cannot form any shape on its own. As the person walks over it, it adjusts itself to accept the impression that the persons shoe or feet impress on it. It conveys a lot. It means that the person, in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people, learn all that these people can teach her or him. As the dust does not resist the formation of the impression so is the person does not resist the teachings that she or he gets from those who are more advance on the spiritual path; her or his mental resistance to the teachings being imparted is zero; this the essential condition for effective and total transfer of knowledge.
Metaphoric use of the word ‘Dust’ also conveys that the person in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people her or his Ahamkara is naturally dissolved; the person’s being does not have a form of its own just as the dust does not have.
There is further to it, as the dust does not attach to any object and can be flow away by a small wind, so is the case who has evolved in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people – the person has no attachments.
The person becomes very humble as the dust.
This is what Guru Sahib is conveying to his disciples.
6. swD kY sMig mnohr bYn ] saaDh kai sang manohar bain.
In the company of pure spiritually evolved people the speech of the person becomes attractive.
My understanding:
In this Guru Sahib has pointed out a human attribute that change in the company of pure and spiritually evolved people. Our words that we use in conversation convey to the listener what the character of the person is. The being of the person who lives in the company of spiritually evolved and pure people becomes very simple. This person’s verbal utterances become sweet, polite and direct. There is nothing more beautiful and attractive then simplicity, which gets reflected in the speech of such a person; naturally it becomes attractive for any one.
7. swD kY sMig n kqhUM DwvY ] saaDh kai sang na katahooN Dhaavai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the mind becomes steady.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib has drawn our attention to another benefit of the environment that gets created in the company of spiritually evolved pure people. In such environment one learns that she or he is an instrument of ‘The Sat’ and serving ‘The Sat’ is purpose of one’s life. With the purpose clearly enunciated, the senses tamed, the fickleness of the brains function fades away; sense of purpose of life permeates all aspects of the person’s being; a sense of direction come in life; it person stops drifting.
8. swDsMig AsiQiq mnu pwvY ] saaDhsang asthit man paavai.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people the mind becomes stable.
My understanding:
As I understand, with the senses tames, they function in accordance with the needs of the pure brain. As the desire for worldly pleasure leaves the person, the functioning of the brain becomes focused and that result in a very stable mind.This is what guru sahib is pointing out to us in this Tuk.
9. swD kY sMig mwieAw qy iBMn ] saaDh kai sang maa-i-aa tay bhinn.
In the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the person gets rid of Maya.
My understanding:
Guru Sahib tells us that the environment that exists in the company of spiritually evolved pure people, the mind of the person becomes pure, the dualities get resolved and the functioning of the person become free from any attachment or other vices that cloud the thinking of the person earlier, keeping the person under the sway of Maya. The state of the person’s being and thus the functioning of his brain become free from Maya; the person see the truth of the issue as it is and not as tinted by the sway of Maya.
10. swDsMig nwnk pRB supRsMn ]2] saaDhsang naanak parabh suparsan. ||2||
In the company of the spiritually evolved pure people, ‘The Sat’ is overwhelmingly pleased.
My understanding:
As I understand, Guru Sahib has used the word ‘Suparsan’ i.e. overwhelmingly pleased in a metaphoric sense. Here it means that the state of person’s being such that the grace of ‘The Sat’ flows to the person in a very natural way. In other words, it means that from the person’s side all the impediments to such a flow of grace get removed and thus the benefits of the grace of ‘The Sat’ naturally accrue to the person. Guru Sahib tells himself and conveys the same to us.
With this I close the post.
With love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
