Sat Naam
Every word or Bani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) has one or two lines which have “Rahau” written at the end of them. “Rahau” means “Take a pause”. If you want to understand the central idea of the entire word or baani, then, understand the meaning of lines which have “Rahau” at the end” There are some lengthy baanis such as Ashatpadi’s, Sidh Goshat, Dakhani Oankaar and Sukhmani etc which have “Rahau” lines just in the beginning. The same rule applies here, the lines containing “Rahau” have the central idea of the bani.
Sukhmani has 24 Ashtpadi’s. The “Rahau” lines at the end of first pauri of first ashatpadi have the central idea of the entire bani and all the 24 ashatpadi’s are detailed description of the central idea. The “Rahau” lines are as following:
Sukhmani – Peace of Mind- is attained from the Amrit Name of God.
SGGS 262
It means, Gurparsadi Naam is the basis of all the pleasures and it resides in the hearts of True Saints. This idea is expanded upon through the 24 ashatpadi’s as described below:
First three ashatpadi’s teach that meditating on God’s Gurparsadi Naam is the greatest of all religions and all benevolent actions preached by the religions. Ashatpadi’s 4 through 6 preach that it is with Almighty’s blessings that one gets blessed with Gurparsadi Naam. Ashatpadi’s 7 through 9 teach that with the blessing of Almighty that the spirituality seeker gets the company of Saints and he or she develops a passion for Naam. All those Gurmukhs who have been respectfully called Sadh, Sant, Brahmgiani and Satguru in Gurbani, are in a continuous and constant state of delight and are jeevan mukat (freed from the cycle of reincarnation). They belong to all religions and the entire humanity.
The 10th and 11th ashatpadi’s preach that all living forms are constantly praising the omnipresent God and they are getting subsistence from God. Ashatpadi’s 12 and 13 teach that the persons who meditates on Naam, should be humble and believe in forgiving others. He or she should not slander anybody because the slandering by itself will keep them in the cycle of reincarnation.
Ashatpadi’s 14th and 15th teach that one should depend on God only because God knows what is going on in everybody’s heart and he is the only one who can fulfill everybody’s needs. Ashatpadi’s 16 through 18 preach that God is free from the bondage of Maya (Illusion of Material world) and is eternal. God’s pure light can shine in somebody’s heart only by taking refuge at the feet of a Satguru.
The 19th and 20th ashatpadi’s preach that it is only through prayer that you obtain the wealth of Gurparsadi Naam. Ashtpadi’s 21 through 23 reiterate that nirgun God (form of God that is purely light, Param jyot, without physical attributes) has created this play of his sargun sarup (the form that has physical attributes) in the form of this world. And God himself is absorbed in all his creation, is a part and parcel of everything he created. The fact that God is all pervasive, can be realized only by surrendering your wisdom to the Sant Satguru. The last ashatpadi teaches that all virtues are contained in God. All these virtues can be obtained by doing Naam simran. So his Gurparsadi Naam liberates you from the cycle of reincarnation (the greatest pain and suffering) and is the key to all pleasures and eternal state of delight. The Naam resides in the Truthful hearts of Bhagats.
Hence, the 24 ashatpadi’s of Sukhmani teach that simran of God’s name is highest of all religious deeds. Gurparsadi Naam, after a while starts residing in the Hirda of the worshipper. Eventually, it stays in the Hirda forever. As the spiritual people touch higher levels of spirituality, they are referred to as Sadh, Sant, Brahmgiani and Satguru. At the end, the God himself resides in their Hirda completely and they become inseparable from God. In the gurbani, this stage (Param Padvi) is described as:
There is no difference between the Lord
and the humble servant of the Lord;
O Nanak, know this as true. ||29||
SGGS 1428
But the preacher class has mislead the sangat. To fulfill their vested desires, they ask the sangat to have Sukhmani paths done at their residences to get their material desires fulfilled. Across the entire globe, the sangat is overwhelmed with this false notion. In every city there are Sukhmani societies, with the impetus on Sukhmani paaths to achieve worldly pleasures and materials. Generous donations are collected from the sangat to arrange big gatherings for the purpose.
But this conduct of the preachers is not appropriate according to the central idea of Sukhmani, rather it is a gross misrepresentation of the bani and injustice to the cause for which it was written. According to the central idea of the bani, the divine nectar form of the Gurparsadi Naam , is the source of all pleasures and delights. It resides in the hearts of spiritual people who meditate and do simran of Gurparsadi Naam. Its simran has alleviated several spiritual people from the cycle of reincarnation. The simran should be done without any worldly desires otherwise you do not achieve any spiritual benefit, the mind won’t quit wandering, you won’t be able to attain a state of meditation and you won’t feel connected with God.
The remembrance of God is the highest and most exalted of all.
SGGS 262
By doing simran of this invaluable gem of Naam, the wall of illusion (koor) shatters and your heart becomes pure and sanitized. The simran leads to stability in the mind and the opportunities of higher spiritual stages develop. By simran, Prabh jyot (the form of God that is pure light) eventually resides in the heart and you achieve the level of Khalsa (the pure one).
Puran Jyot Jagey Ghat Meh Tab Khalas, Tahi Nakhalas Jaaney.
The one in whose heart shines for the God’s Light is the Khalsa,
all others are not Khalsa.
And that is why Guru Gobind Singh Ji has said:
Atam Ras Jeh Janye So Hi Khals Dev,
Prabh Meh Moh Meh Taas Meh Ranchak Nahin Bhed.
The one who experiences soul bliss “Atam Rus” is the Khalsa,
There is no difference between the Khalsa and me and God.
By doing simran, you achieve oneness with God. The last shalok of Sukhmani describes this stage, which is the pinnacle of spirituality.
I worship and adore the Perfect Lord God. Perfect is His Name.
O Nanak, I have obtained the Perfect One; I sing the Glorious Praises of the Perfect Lord. ||1||
SGGS 295
So, the sangat is requested, that keeping in view the meaning of the Sukhmani, they should get Gurparsadi Naam from Sant Satguru and do the simran of Naam. Naam simran societies should be formed in all cities, across the globe and Naam simran samagams should be arranged. Sangat should not wait for the samagams to happen rather they should do simran all the time, around the clock. Well researched lectures on Naam should be arranged and literature on the subject should be distributed to the sangat . Gurduaras and all religious bodies should be requested to give preference to Naam Simran in their daily programs. This is the way several spirituality seekers will benefit and get alleviated from the cycle of reincarnation. Satguru and Parbrahm Parnmeshar will be very happy with this. People will be able to improve their life before and after death. This is the meaning of Sukhmani bani. Rather this is the meaning of the entire Guru Granth Sahib. Like:
Nanak’s home (mind & body) is filled only with the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||4||4||
SGGS 1136
Summary of Sukhmani Bani:
Parbrahm Parmeshwar’s Gurparsadi Naam is the source of all pleasures and it resides in the Truthful hearts of spiritually elevated people. In the Sukhmani bani the spiritually elevated people have been referred to as Sadh, Sant, Hari Jan, Brahmgiani, Poora Guru (Complete Master) and Satguru etc. Sukhmani bani is the praise of Brahmgiani and is robes of Brahmgiani. This bani contains the indescribable description of invaluable gem “Gurparsadi Naam-Satnaam”. Following this Naam means you are going to live under God’s will. The Naam is the weighing machine, the measuring weight and the weighed. After finishing the Sukhmani recitation, one should ask God for the blessing of Gurparsadi Naam and devotional worship only. The prayer to achieve worldly pleasures is a big disgrace because only spiritual pleasures are supposed to be talked about. Like:
One who performs selfless service, without thought of reward,
shall attain his Lord and Master.
He Himself grants His Grace;
O Nanak, that selfless servant lives the Guru’s Teachings. ||2||
SGGS 286
Satnaam is the primal name of God.
SatNaam – the name “Truth”- is the Giver of peace.
Nanak has obtained true faith from the Guru. 6.
SGGS 284
The one whose seeds of bhagti from previous lives germinate, they choose to pursue and finish the spiritual journey and achieve Attal Padvi. God himself plants the invaluable gem of “Satnam” in their hearts and gives them the level of Sant Satguru. Only these Sant Satguru’s can give Naam to others and nobody else. This Naam is given by the way of blessings from Sant Satguru. Gurbani says:
Your Saints are very fortunate; their homes are filled with the wealth of the Lord’s Name.
SGGS 749
Who ever has previous seeds of spirituality, have spiritual journey destined on their foreheads. As the right time comes, God makes these people meet Sant Satguru. The spirituality seeker gets Gurparsadi Naam from the Sant Satguru and then completes his spiritual journey under the surveillance of the Sant Satguru. This is call the Gurparsadi khed (the divine play).
When the seed of the karma of past actions sprouted, I met the Lord;
He is both the Enjoyer and the Renunciate.
SGGS 204
This article has been written because of the blessings of Parbrahm Parmeshar and Sant Satguru. This is a Gurparsadi article.
Lowest of the Low.