Dear Khalsa Ji,
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share my understanding of 7th Pauri of 9th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib with you.
Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the text of the Tuk of Siri Guru Granth Sahib under reference, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.
First the Summary: In this Pauri, Guru Sahib tells us that the inner-self of the person who has evolved spiritually and has internalised the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, its life a living testimony of these teachings; such a person becomes Jeewan Mukta i.e. liberated person while living. Guru Sahib eplains that the dualities of worldly life stand totally dissolved for from the mental make-up of such a person
1. pRB kI AwigAw Awqm ihqwvY ] parabh kee aagi-aa aatam hitaavai.
[/FONT]The person who has become the living expression of the instructions of ‘The Sat’,
My understanding:
As I understand we are born in this world in human form to (i) discharge our negative Karmas of our past i.e. to pay for them and exhaust them; (ii) to evolve spiritually (iii) to do the work of ‘The Sat’ as its instrument. The first two aspects are for the individual and the third is the mission of ‘The Sat’ to preserve, protect and help the evolution of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The third aspect, as I understand, is the instruction (Aagyaa) of ‘The Sat’. When we have exhausted our negative karmas and evolved spiritually to the highest level, there is nothing left in our inner self except the third aspect i.e. Aagyaa. The person then becomes the living expression of this Aagyaa as the person has no self fish motive in its life, it only executes what ‘The Sat’ wants; this person is Godly.
2. jIvn mukiq soaU khwvY ] jeevan mukat so-oo kahaavai.
[/FONT]Such person is referred to as Jeewan Mukta [/FONT]i.e. liberated or free from any bondage while living its earthly life.
My understanding:
As said in the previous paragraph, the person is totally selfless, which makes it desire-less free from all attachments and vices of this worldly life. This way this virtuous person is free to do what its inner self i.e. says, which is imbued with love of ‘The Sa’ and is its instrument. This person to, as is the case with ‘The Sat’ becomes free from the impact of Karmic cycle and thus is free from all the bondages. Its life is freed from all the fetters of the life of this earth. This person is Jeewan Mukta i.e. liberated while living in this world of temptation.
3. qYsw hrKu qYsw ausu sogu ] t[/FONT]aisaa harakh taisaa us sog.
[/FONT]As is joy, so is sorrow to him.
My understanding:
The Jeewan Mukta has no selfishness. This person understands the meaning of true love; it gives all what it can in order to serve the creation of ‘The Sat’ without any expectation of any return. Since this person has no self interest, it ceases to have any yardstick to measure of evaluate the happenings in this world. When there is no yardstick there are no extremes of the measuring scale. The person considers joy and sorrow only as a transient feeling which are part of nature and living and is not swayed by them. Only when the person uses the yardstick and calls one feeling as good or desirable then the opposite of the same becomes bad and thus undesirable; this creates the two extremes of the scale. He knows that the sense of feeling that we experience in our mind are only a creation of the functioning brain; they are not real; they are person place and time dependent; they are result of our worldly living which is not absolute but is relative. For example, during winter we prefer hot water but the same is not what we want during summer, then we prefer cold water, this is time dependency; one person’s joy may be other person’s sorrow, this is perception dependence. But if the person does not have craving for the so call desirable which are pre-conceived feeling and abhorrence for the opposite of that then, the two becomes just feelings or events.
Realising all this, for the person who has realised the truth, sorrow and joy both are the same and the person does not react to them in any particular way.
4. sdw Anµdu qh nhI ibEgu ] sadaa anand tah nahee bi-og.
[/FONT]It is never detached from ‘The Sat’ and lives in a state of perpetual bliss.
[/FONT]
My understanding:
A newly born child, who has no knowledge of this world or experience of its present life, it still smiles; grown ups also smile, but their smile is based on some experience in there life. This is a difference between these two smiles. The child’s smile results from feeling of bliss, since the child is still not sold to the world and its sensual pleasures or temptations; a grown up person comes from worldly experience and thoughts.
Jeewan Mukta has its memory of past but does use it as a source for feeling but only for self preservation and good of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The memory is a base for actions and not for feelings– positive or negative - or prejudices.
Jeewan Mukta returns to the simplicity and purity of the new born child; the state of bliss i.e. ‘Ananda’ and lives all the time based on the teachings of the Shabad (Siri Guru Granth Sahib), the essence of which is ‘The Sat’. This way the body of the Jeewan Mukta lives serving the cause of ‘The Sat’ and mentally remains pure and tuned to ‘The Sat’.
This way, the Jeewan Mukta, lives with ‘The Sat’ in perpetual state of bliss.
5. qYsw suvrnu qYsI ausu mwtI ] t[/FONT]aisaa suvran taisee us maatee.
[/FONT]As is gold so is the dust to Jeewan Mukta.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Gold is more precious compared to dust in our markets and in our worldly lives. It is so because of the perceived stored money value of the gold useful in our worldly life. It is only a perception and accepted commercial fact. Its value depends on the person and its needs.
Jeewan Mukta does not need any stored value. It is not looking for material gains and wealth. Such person has acquired the cosmic wealth of ‘Naam’. Jeewan Mukta does not need any thing more; it has all – ‘The Sat’.
With the above frame of mind for Jeewan Mukta, gold and dust are one and the same; this duality stands dissolved for her/him.
6. qYsw AMimRqu qYsI ibKu KwtI ] t[/FONT]aisaa amrit taisee bikh khaatee.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, poison and nectar both are same.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Guru Sahib is now telling us that the dualities of worldly life get dissolved for the Jeewan Mukta. Such person owns nothing, not even its own life; it belongs to ‘The Sat’. This person is not seeking life for itself; it has already given it up for the service of ‘The Sat’. Amrit i.e. nectar or poison has no meaning for and thus are one and the same for it. This way the duality stand dissolved.
7. qYsw mwnu qYsw AiBmwnu ] t[/FONT]aisaa maan taisaa abhimaan.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, the sense of honour and pride is one and the same.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Sense of honour and of pride, both is creation of the mind. They both feed the individual’s ego and are generated for this purpose by the self-centered brain and deposited in the mind to feel elated. They are one and the same.
8. qYsw rMku qYsw rwjwnu ] t[/FONT]aisaa rank taisaa raajaan.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, there is no difference between a poverty stricken person and King.
My understanding:
For the person who has risen to highest level of spirituality, which Jeewan Mukta has, any of the worldly attributes do not have any significance. For such a person the king and an extremely poor person, both are humans and nothing more. All humans are manifestation of the same, they are one. That is why Jeewan Mukta will not make any distinction between them.
9. jo vrqwey sweI jugiq ] jo vartaa-ay saa-ee jugat.
[/FONT]What ever ‘The Sat’ makes available that is the way.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Jeewan Mukta is fully aware that it is not the doer; the doer is ‘The Sat’. What ever ‘The Sat’ makes available to it is the given resource it has to use in its mission of serving the creation of ‘The Sat’; what ever opening becomes available is the path ‘The Sat wants Jeewan Mukta to avail for the mission; There are no demands from Jeewan Mukta. Jeewan Mukta accepts the life as it comes.
10. nwnk Ehu purKu khIAY jIvn mukiq ]7] naanak oh purakh kahee-ai jeevan mukat. ||7||
[/FONT]O’ Nanak such a person is called Jeewan Mukta.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that the person who in real sense is as described in this Pauri is Jeewan Mukta.
As I understand this Pauri, for such a person all the dualities stand dissolved. All individuals become one i.e. humans; all humans and animals become one i.e. beings; all beings and plants become one i.e. living entities; all living entities and non-living entities become one i.e. creation; creation and creator becomes one i.e. ‘The IK’ i.e. ‘The ONE’, and this alone remain. The ‘IK’ is the one with which the text of Siri Guru Granth Sahib starts and the entire text is elaboration of it along with the explanation of the way to become one with it. This ‘IK’, I refer to in my posts as ‘The Sat’
With this I close the post.
With Love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
Punjab, India.
With the grace of ‘The Sat’, today I share my understanding of 7th Pauri of 9th Ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib with you.
Please note that the English sentence after the Transliteration is not the exact literal translation of the text of the Tuk of Siri Guru Granth Sahib under reference, it is the meaning of the tuk as understood by me.
First the Summary: In this Pauri, Guru Sahib tells us that the inner-self of the person who has evolved spiritually and has internalised the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, its life a living testimony of these teachings; such a person becomes Jeewan Mukta i.e. liberated person while living. Guru Sahib eplains that the dualities of worldly life stand totally dissolved for from the mental make-up of such a person
1. pRB kI AwigAw Awqm ihqwvY ] parabh kee aagi-aa aatam hitaavai.
[/FONT]The person who has become the living expression of the instructions of ‘The Sat’,
My understanding:
As I understand we are born in this world in human form to (i) discharge our negative Karmas of our past i.e. to pay for them and exhaust them; (ii) to evolve spiritually (iii) to do the work of ‘The Sat’ as its instrument. The first two aspects are for the individual and the third is the mission of ‘The Sat’ to preserve, protect and help the evolution of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The third aspect, as I understand, is the instruction (Aagyaa) of ‘The Sat’. When we have exhausted our negative karmas and evolved spiritually to the highest level, there is nothing left in our inner self except the third aspect i.e. Aagyaa. The person then becomes the living expression of this Aagyaa as the person has no self fish motive in its life, it only executes what ‘The Sat’ wants; this person is Godly.
2. jIvn mukiq soaU khwvY ] jeevan mukat so-oo kahaavai.
[/FONT]Such person is referred to as Jeewan Mukta [/FONT]i.e. liberated or free from any bondage while living its earthly life.
My understanding:
As said in the previous paragraph, the person is totally selfless, which makes it desire-less free from all attachments and vices of this worldly life. This way this virtuous person is free to do what its inner self i.e. says, which is imbued with love of ‘The Sa’ and is its instrument. This person to, as is the case with ‘The Sat’ becomes free from the impact of Karmic cycle and thus is free from all the bondages. Its life is freed from all the fetters of the life of this earth. This person is Jeewan Mukta i.e. liberated while living in this world of temptation.
3. qYsw hrKu qYsw ausu sogu ] t[/FONT]aisaa harakh taisaa us sog.
[/FONT]As is joy, so is sorrow to him.
My understanding:
The Jeewan Mukta has no selfishness. This person understands the meaning of true love; it gives all what it can in order to serve the creation of ‘The Sat’ without any expectation of any return. Since this person has no self interest, it ceases to have any yardstick to measure of evaluate the happenings in this world. When there is no yardstick there are no extremes of the measuring scale. The person considers joy and sorrow only as a transient feeling which are part of nature and living and is not swayed by them. Only when the person uses the yardstick and calls one feeling as good or desirable then the opposite of the same becomes bad and thus undesirable; this creates the two extremes of the scale. He knows that the sense of feeling that we experience in our mind are only a creation of the functioning brain; they are not real; they are person place and time dependent; they are result of our worldly living which is not absolute but is relative. For example, during winter we prefer hot water but the same is not what we want during summer, then we prefer cold water, this is time dependency; one person’s joy may be other person’s sorrow, this is perception dependence. But if the person does not have craving for the so call desirable which are pre-conceived feeling and abhorrence for the opposite of that then, the two becomes just feelings or events.
Realising all this, for the person who has realised the truth, sorrow and joy both are the same and the person does not react to them in any particular way.
4. sdw Anµdu qh nhI ibEgu ] sadaa anand tah nahee bi-og.
[/FONT]It is never detached from ‘The Sat’ and lives in a state of perpetual bliss.
[/FONT]
My understanding:
A newly born child, who has no knowledge of this world or experience of its present life, it still smiles; grown ups also smile, but their smile is based on some experience in there life. This is a difference between these two smiles. The child’s smile results from feeling of bliss, since the child is still not sold to the world and its sensual pleasures or temptations; a grown up person comes from worldly experience and thoughts.
Jeewan Mukta has its memory of past but does use it as a source for feeling but only for self preservation and good of the creation of ‘The Sat’. The memory is a base for actions and not for feelings– positive or negative - or prejudices.
Jeewan Mukta returns to the simplicity and purity of the new born child; the state of bliss i.e. ‘Ananda’ and lives all the time based on the teachings of the Shabad (Siri Guru Granth Sahib), the essence of which is ‘The Sat’. This way the body of the Jeewan Mukta lives serving the cause of ‘The Sat’ and mentally remains pure and tuned to ‘The Sat’.
This way, the Jeewan Mukta, lives with ‘The Sat’ in perpetual state of bliss.
5. qYsw suvrnu qYsI ausu mwtI ] t[/FONT]aisaa suvran taisee us maatee.
[/FONT]As is gold so is the dust to Jeewan Mukta.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Gold is more precious compared to dust in our markets and in our worldly lives. It is so because of the perceived stored money value of the gold useful in our worldly life. It is only a perception and accepted commercial fact. Its value depends on the person and its needs.
Jeewan Mukta does not need any stored value. It is not looking for material gains and wealth. Such person has acquired the cosmic wealth of ‘Naam’. Jeewan Mukta does not need any thing more; it has all – ‘The Sat’.
With the above frame of mind for Jeewan Mukta, gold and dust are one and the same; this duality stands dissolved for her/him.
6. qYsw AMimRqu qYsI ibKu KwtI ] t[/FONT]aisaa amrit taisee bikh khaatee.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, poison and nectar both are same.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Guru Sahib is now telling us that the dualities of worldly life get dissolved for the Jeewan Mukta. Such person owns nothing, not even its own life; it belongs to ‘The Sat’. This person is not seeking life for itself; it has already given it up for the service of ‘The Sat’. Amrit i.e. nectar or poison has no meaning for and thus are one and the same for it. This way the duality stand dissolved.
7. qYsw mwnu qYsw AiBmwnu ] t[/FONT]aisaa maan taisaa abhimaan.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, the sense of honour and pride is one and the same.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Sense of honour and of pride, both is creation of the mind. They both feed the individual’s ego and are generated for this purpose by the self-centered brain and deposited in the mind to feel elated. They are one and the same.
8. qYsw rMku qYsw rwjwnu ] t[/FONT]aisaa rank taisaa raajaan.
[/FONT]For Jeewan Mukta, there is no difference between a poverty stricken person and King.
My understanding:
For the person who has risen to highest level of spirituality, which Jeewan Mukta has, any of the worldly attributes do not have any significance. For such a person the king and an extremely poor person, both are humans and nothing more. All humans are manifestation of the same, they are one. That is why Jeewan Mukta will not make any distinction between them.
9. jo vrqwey sweI jugiq ] jo vartaa-ay saa-ee jugat.
[/FONT]What ever ‘The Sat’ makes available that is the way.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Jeewan Mukta is fully aware that it is not the doer; the doer is ‘The Sat’. What ever ‘The Sat’ makes available to it is the given resource it has to use in its mission of serving the creation of ‘The Sat’; what ever opening becomes available is the path ‘The Sat wants Jeewan Mukta to avail for the mission; There are no demands from Jeewan Mukta. Jeewan Mukta accepts the life as it comes.
10. nwnk Ehu purKu khIAY jIvn mukiq ]7] naanak oh purakh kahee-ai jeevan mukat. ||7||
[/FONT]O’ Nanak such a person is called Jeewan Mukta.[/FONT]
My understanding:
Guru Sahib says that the person who in real sense is as described in this Pauri is Jeewan Mukta.
As I understand this Pauri, for such a person all the dualities stand dissolved. All individuals become one i.e. humans; all humans and animals become one i.e. beings; all beings and plants become one i.e. living entities; all living entities and non-living entities become one i.e. creation; creation and creator becomes one i.e. ‘The IK’ i.e. ‘The ONE’, and this alone remain. The ‘IK’ is the one with which the text of Siri Guru Granth Sahib starts and the entire text is elaboration of it along with the explanation of the way to become one with it. This ‘IK’, I refer to in my posts as ‘The Sat’
With this I close the post.
With Love and respect for all.
Amarpal Singh
Punjab, India.
