SatNaam
We always refer about holy scriptures written in SGGS as Bani/Gurbani. Let us see how Bani is defined or described in the SGGS.
Jo pekẖā so sabẖ kicẖẖ su▫āmī.
Jo sunṇā so parabẖ kī bānī. page 1080
Whatever I see, all/everything is Lord/God.
Whatever I hear, is the Bani of God.
Sagal bānī mėh amriṯ bānī.
Har ko jas sun rasan bakẖānī. page 266
Of all the speeches/spoken words,
the most ambrosial speech
is to hear and sing/do the Lord’s Praise.
Har kā sanṯ saṯgur saṯ purkẖā jo bolai har har bānī.
Jo jo kahai suṇai so mukṯā ham ṯis kai saḏ kurbānī. page 667
Lord’s Saint, ‘The True Guru’, ‘The True Being’,
whatever he speaks/chants is the Bani of the Har, Har Lord.
Whatever the Guru chants/speaks, whosoever listens to it,
is liberated and forever we sacrifice to him.
Sanṯ janā kī ūcẖī bānī.
Simar simar ṯare Nānak parānī. page 1300
The words spoken by the Saints are divine/true.
Nanak ji says by Naam meditation the beings are carried across.
So we can see that whatever one speaks constitutes bani, however, the words spoken by the saints or spoken in the praise of Lord are sweet, nectar, true and pure. The power is in the word spoken by the Holy Beings not in the holy scriptures, statues, places of worship etc. When Guru Nanak ji said about Mardana that he won’t die (marda na) the words had the power. When Baba Budha ji said that Bibi ji will give birth to a Son who will smash the head of enemy like a onion they were the words of a Saint. The words come from the heart in which the God resides i.e. have manifested itself.
The holy places/scriptures can be destroyed but the God does not disappear. Lord exists in each and everything, in transition, never gets old and is always new. The blessings will come from the living heart. How one gets blessed, by serving the creation as Guru Gur.
Pekẖai bolai suṇai sabẖ āp.Saḏā sang ṯā ka▫o man
jāp.Sanṯ parsāḏ bẖa▫i▫o pargās.page 183
He Himself, sees, speaks and hears, So meditate on the One who is always with you.
By the Grace of the Saints, the Lord is revealed/manifests Itself.
Pāṯẖ paṛai mukẖ jẖūṯẖo bolai nigure kī maṯ ohai. page 1013
One reads the scriptures, but tells lies;
that is the one who is without a Guru.
Gur parsādī viḏi▫ā vīcẖārai paṛ paṛ pāvai mān.
Āpā maḏẖe āp pargāsi▫ā pā▫i▫ā amriṯ nām. page 1329
By Guru’s Grace, read, study & understand the Bani/spiritual knowledge
so that one can be honoured/blessed
with the Ambrosial Naam/Name of the Lord within oneself.
Once it is spoken it is a clarification/an explanation for others, it does not have the embedded power. You have been reading/listening/singing the Bani/holy scriptures for years, where is your longing/yearning/affection for the Gur Guru. Have you ever been passionate for a glimpse of your guru desperate to hear him speak. You just read it, never believed or never acted over it. Never practised what it says, how you expect to realize God.
People always say they get offended by some things, do they ever think why. God residing inside you never feel offended, although you even deny its existence. He still provides you with the breath, pumps your heart, still feed you. The power lies in the word spoken by the Holy Beings, ones belief in it and the subsequent action. Look at the lives of first four Gurus. Once they came to the Guru, they never looked back. They gave up their family, all the relatives/property and completely surrendered to their Guru. What have you surrendered, where is your belief when have you asked for the forgiveness. What you expect in the return. You think you are doing the meditation. You are just making the effort, trying to submit, rest is all up to the Guru Gur. Remember no surrender/give-ups, no meditation/bhagti.
We are nothing, all is with the blessing of Guru Gur. Just keep us at your feet, keep forgiving because we can do nothing without you. We are full of bad, not even one good.
(Rajinder Chahal rajinderschahal@yahoo.com )