This head of the lowest of the lowest bows at the feet of everyone.
GURMAT
Gurmat means to follow the Divine knowledge of the GURU. Before we explore if one has gurmat or not let us ask ourselves if we have a GURU. Please close your eyes and put these questions to your mind :
Who is Guru?
Do I have a Guru?
Do I follow the path of my Guru?
Open up your mind, look at the big picture and examine it thoroughly. Most of you will say that my GURU is Guru Nanak Dev Ji and/or Guru Gobind Singh Ji and/or Shri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS}Ji. Some might say that he has ten Gurus. Let us look into the divine wisdom of Great Dhan Dhan Guru’s and Bhagat’s compiled in SGGS regarding who is the Guru, how one meets the Guru etc.
Meeting Him, the mind is filled with bliss. He is called the True Guru.
SGGS 268
All the beings and creatures which God has created –
on their foreheads, He has written their destiny.
The True Guru implants the Naam within.
The Divine True Guru is the Embodiment, the Image of the Lord;
He utters the Ambrosial Word.
He alone is said to be the True Guru,
who realizes God, and proclaims the Sermon of the Lord.
SGGS 1263
Blessed, blessed is the father; blessed, blessed is the family;
blessed, blessed is the mother, who gave birth to the Guru.
SGGS 310
One who tastes the sublime essence of the Lord is the Lord’s humble servant.
He himself is liberated, and he liberates others as well.
SGGS 664
I wash Your Lotus Feet, and drink in this water,
O my True Guru, O Merciful to the meek. ||3||
SGGS 749
Yoga – Union with the Lord God – is not obtained by wearing religious robes;
the Lord is found in the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, and the Guru’s Teachings.
The humble Saints throw the doors wide open. ||1||
SGGS 1297
Without the Guru, the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence is not found,
and the Naam is not obtained.
Seek and find such a True Guru,
who shall lead you to the True Lord.
SGGS 30
Meditation, austere self-discipline and self-restraint are all obtained from the Guru;
the Naam, the Name of the Lord, comes to abide within the heart.
SGGS 602
saajun bu(n)dhh sumithru so har naam hirudhai dhaee ||
aougun sabh mittaae kai puroupukaar kuraee ||3|| Page: 218
He is a companion, a relative, and a good friend of mine,
who implants the Lord’s Name within my heart.
He washes off all my demerits, and is so generous to me. ||3||
SGGS 218
From the above mentioned few quotes written in SGGS, it is clear that Guru
- is a living human being who has realized the Omnipresent from within
- is giver of Mukt( liberation) and Jugt( shows you the way)
- has treasure of the lake of Naam Amrit which brings peace andcoolness to the place, mind & body
- can and does implant the Naam in your heart chakra ( hirdhey)
- has controlled and know how to control five vices( doots)
- blesses so that one’s emotional attachments, doubts( dubhida/duality), influence of materialism (maya), sins etc. are eradicated or vanishes
- guides or helps on the path of meditation( bhagti), self-analysis, self-restraint etc.
- is not bound by religion and practices truth
- helps/blesses that one can win over the mind
It is very hard to put into words what a Guru/ Sant-Satguru/ Self-Realized/ Brahmgyani can do for you. Factors such as service (sewa) using body, mind and worldly possessions to Guru and Sangat, love from heart, obeying the Guru’s word, total faith & commitment etc. comes into picture.
We all say or know that Parbrahm Parmeswar (Supreme Lord) has no shape, form or color. He needs a human body to communicate on this Earth. The Guru is the medium through which the Lord represents or speaks, communicates and interacts with His creation. Serving the Guru, one is actually doing service to the Parbrahm. There is no difference between God and Servant.
The five vices are living entities and they know who created them. To exercise control over them it is a must that one be united with Parbrahm Permasher. Only Guru who already knows and is one with the Gur (God’s Light), who lives by His word, has a illuminated mind, bright and radiant face, has a body of Naam nectar can unite the chosen ones. That is why it is emphasized time and again in SGGS that Naam simran is a Guru blessed game. Although based on the bhagti/meditation in the previous lives their are few that are blessed with Naam from birth, for the rest the divine law of self-realization through Guru is applicable.
Among millions, O Nanak, there is scarcely anyone,
who keeps the Lord in his consciousness.
SGGS 1427
It is because of the above SGGS was compiled so that an ordinary person can understand the basic principle of meditation for salvation. Going to gurudwara, bowing to SGGS, reciting Gurbani morning and evening, doing a few noble things etc. a Sikh thinks that he is practicing religion. However SGGS says:
The way of the Saints is the ladder of righteous living,
found only by great good fortune.
SGGS 621
Hundreds of thousands of divine understandings,
hundreds of thousands of divine wisdoms
and meditations and readings of the Vedas and the Puraanas
before the Creator who created the creation,
and who ordained coming and going,
O Nanak, all these things are false.
True is the Insignia of His Grace. ||2||
SGGS 467
Spiritual wisdom and meditation all come from the Guru.
Through the lifestyle of Truth, the True Lord comes to dwell in the mind.
SGGS 831
The karma of actions, the Dharma of righteousness,
social class and status, are contained within Your Name.
SGGS 154
naam dhrirraavai naam jupaavai thaa kaa jug mehi dhhurumaa ||1||
He implants the Naam, and inspires us to chant the Naam;
this is Dharma, true religion, in this world. ||1||
SGGS 680
From the above it is clear that you have the true religion if you have NAAM. Only an enlightened and living human Guru can implant Naam in your heart chakra (hirdha). Hirdha is located at lower limit of your chest bone where Parbraham resides. Reciting/vibrating on a Naam without the blessings of Guru brings no nectar or peace to mind/body, it is a temporary pleasure.
Serving the True Guru, eternal peace is obtained, and one’s light merges into the Light.
Such a person remains blissful forever, day and night. Meeting the Beloved, peace is found.
SGGS 31
Gurbani is the Light to illuminate this world;
by His Grace, it comes to abide within the mind. ||1||
Naam Dayv the printer, and Kabeer the weaver,
obtained salvation through the Perfect Guru.
The Pandits, the religious scholars,
read and argue and stir up controversies,
but without the Guru, they are deluded by doubt.
In the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation,
the Name of the Lord wells up, when the True Guru unites us in His Sublime Love.
God is close at hand;
He dwells deep within the hearts of all.
And all of new and How rare are those who, as Gurmukh, know Him.
SGGS 67
If you do not have the priceless diamond Naam then you can not meditate fully, You can not be librated because you would not be able to control the Five Doots. As per SGGS only a Guru has the treasure of Naam and only with His blessings it can be installed in you. The SGGS further says that you meet Guru only if it is inscribed on your forehead. Did you meet any of the ten Guru’s? Bhai Lehna met Guru Nanak Dev Ji and become Guru Angad. Amru Nithavan met Guru Angad Dev Ji and became Guru Amar Das and so on with all Gurus and bhagats. They physically met the living Guru of their time and place and they got blessed with Naam.
Every Sikh bows to SGGS but do they God in their lifetime? Did any of your ancestors become a sant by just bowing to SGGS? Do you think they you be ferried across just the way you are – without having to sacrifice anything? If you believe only SGGS can save you then what happened to the people who came before Ten Gurus and SGGS? You can’t say that none of them got liberated. Furthermore Shabad has been in the universe since its creation. Ved, Puran, Koran, Bible has been in existence for centuries, can they alone lead you to salvation?
But when the Lord God Himself becomes merciful to him, then the True Guru comes to meet him.
In this world, the Saints earn the wealth; they come to meet God through the True Guru.
SGGS 1092
Suk-deva and Janak meditated on the Naam; following the Guru’s Teachings,
they sought the Sanctuary of the Lord, Har, Har.
Dhroo, Prahlaad and Bidar the slave-girl’s son,
became Gurmukh, and through the Naam, crossed over.
SGGS 995
He alone finds shelter, who has met the Perfect Guru.
SGGS 44
O Nanak, through the Guru, one becomes the Guru; behold,
His Wondrous Will. This deed was done by the Creator Lord; one’s light merges into the Light.
SGGS 490
By the Grace of the Divine Guru, one meets the Lord.
By the Grace of the Divine Guru, one is carried across to the other side.
By the Grace of the Divine Guru, one swims across to heaven.
SGGS 1166
Do you ever think:
- Why we have ten Guru’s, one or two could have been enough?
- Why Guru Nanak Dev Ji went to Saints, sought dust of their feet, served food etc?
- Why Bhai Lehna, Amru Nithavan served their respective Guru by sacrificing everything they had?
- Why Guru Ram Das Ji offered His beard for dusting the feet of Baba Shri Chand Ji?
- Why the Fifth Guru Arjun Dev Ji sent Mata Ganga Ji to Babba Budha Ji to get blessed for son. He was Guru Himself, SGGS was already on the throne and was a disciple of Guru Ram Dass Ji?
- Why Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji sat in samadhi/meditation in bunker for twenty six years with both living and Shabad Guru SGGS in existence?
- Why Tenth Guru used a arrow to bow to Samadh of Peer?
- Why we had living Guru’s After Guru Arjun Dev Ji when Ad Granth was already on the throne ?
- Why all the Bhagats/Saints served their respective Gurus:
- Bhagat Fareed Ji went to house of a prostitute to get fire for warming water so that his Guru can take a bath and offered his eye
- Fakeer Buleh Shah Ji danced in front of congregation wearing anklets to please His Guru
- Bhagat Kabeer Ji went and laid himself on the ground so He can Get Naam so on
Guru Gobind Singh Ji sent us to SGGS so that we can gain the knowledge required to achieve the forever bliss or salvation. Gurus, Bhagats and Saints give us a total or comprehensive package of living with actual deeds and the paths to be followed. They were living examples of how a disciple becomes a Guru and vice versa, how this act plays itself. The Gurus and Bhagats all bowed to Saints. The importance of serving the true Guru, necessity of receiving and reciting Naam, truthful living, sacrificing yourself, always staying lowest of the lowest (dasaan dass), practicing equality etc. is well documented.
Gurbani tells everyone do not be a hypocrite. Read, understand and implement or bring me into your life. Merely reciting it day and night serves no one.
Collecting the poison of Maya, people think of all sorts of evil.
But peace is found only by vibrating and meditating on the Lord;
with the Saints, in the Sangat, the Society of the Saints, meet the true Guru, the Holy Guru.
SGGS 1297
The Guru has given me the medicine of the inexhaustible treasure of the Naam.
SGGS 522
Waaho! Waaho! Blessed and Great is the True Guru, the Primal Being,
who has realized the True Lord. Meeting Him, thirst is quenched,
and the body and mind are cooled and soothed.
SGGS 1421
If just listening to few stanza of Gurbani from Bibi Amro, a normal person Amroo can go to seek Guru and Himself become Guru Amar Dass Ji by serving a true Living Guru Angad Dev Ji why not you? Need is to have the longing for it, to go out and find one. Don’t be restricted by your worldly religion because you do not know whose name is written on your forehead. It may take years to happen but surely Parbrahm will unite you with the Guru who will ferry you across.
The True Guru is my Friend; if I meet Him, I will offer this mind as a sacrifice to Him.
He has shown me my Beloved Lord, my Friend, the Creator.
Through the destiny written on my forehead, I have found the Holy Guru; my mind and body are imbued with the Guru’s Word.The Lord God has come to meet me; I have found peace, and I am rid of all the sins
SGGS 984
Become pleasing to your True Guru, and you shall be totally beautified;
otherwise, there is no place of rest.
O Nanak, what is the character of the happy soul-bride?
Within her, is Truth; her face is bright and radiant,
and she is absorbed in her Lord and Master. ||1||
SGGS 785
I am a sacrifice to that most wonderful time when I came to Your Door.
God has become compassionate to Nanak; I have found the Perfect True Guru.
SGGS 55
Nanak has found the Guru, O my dear beloved;
such was the destiny inscribed upon his forehead.
SGGS 452
Searching and examining my mind and body,
I have found that God, whom I longed for.
I have found the Guru, the Divine Intermediary,
who has united me with the Lord God. ||1||
SGGS 313
Naam resides in the hirdha of the saint and they can bless the others with it. The majority of religious preachers and priests including a lot of today’s punj pyaras , Granthis and Raagis do not have it so they can not give it to you(go ask them if they have it).
SGGS tell us without the Naam you can not get rid of your evils and only a Guru can implant in you. In the begining of SGGS it is inscribed:
One, the Creator and the Creation. Satnaam(His Name which Is Truth).
Creative Being who has No Fear, No Hatred, Beyond Death and Birth,
Self-Existent(a brief description). By Guru’s Grace, Chant And Meditate.
SGGS 1
And near the end it says:
The Naam remains; the Holy Saints remain; the Gur, the Lord of the Universe, remains.
Says Nanak, how rare are those who chant the Guru Mantra in this world.
SGGS 56
Meeting the Saintly True Guru, I have found peace and tranquility.
Sins and painful mistakes are totally erased and taken away.
SGGS 1198
Meeting with the True Guru, one comes to know;
by this meeting, one comes to chant the Name.
Without the True Guru, God is not found;
all have grown weary of performing religious rituals.
SGGS 72
The Saint is a revealed body of SGGS. Every page of says seek the dust of the Charan/feet of those higher being’s because they will unite you with the Creator. Guru’s could have easily put their Name or SGGS in place of Guru/Satgur if that was case, Instead They put their spiritual experiences in writing about what happened when they met the Guru. Unfortunately Sikh’s forgot the necessity of a living( pargati jyote/revealed) Guru and wasting time in wilderness of worldly religion by merely reciting Bani, visiting religious places, listening/singing Kirten, going after the hypocrite saints(who does not have Naam), etc..
O my friend if after reciting Bani for years, visiting Gurudwara daily, having Amritpaan(five K’s) for decades, saying Wahiiguru day and night or running after so-called saints you have not found the everlasting happiness, you do not feel the Naam nectar in your body/mind/hirdhey, still keep asking questions & seeking answers, a stanza of Bani/kirten does not hit you like a bullet or intoxicate you Something is definitely wrong.
This article is written based on the personal experiences and with the blessings of my great Sant Satguru Baba Ji. Dass personally went through the above for almost two decades. Meeting my Guru this slave has found the true happiness, being united with the Parbrahm. Now the real meaning of Gurbani comes automatically, Could not understand it before because the real thing Naam was missing. SGGS’s Bani was written by the Higher Being’s who had Naam nectar.
Neechan da neech, Dog of His door
Dass