Salok.
Kaam krodh ar lobh moh binas jaa-ay ahanmayv.
Nanak prabh sarnaagatee kar parsaad gurdayv. 1.
Dhan Dhan Shri Guru Arjun Dev Ji is very kindly giving us the divine wisdom about the Mahima of GurKirpa and GurParsaad in this Astpadi. The very base of our life is the GurKirpa. Under GurKirpa everything happens in our life for the best. Because of the GurKirpa we can win over the Panj Doots.
The Karams we have done under the influence of the Panj Doots in this life and in past lives greatly effect our fortune, behavior and performance in the remainder of this life and future lives. So we can see how important it is to win over the Panj Doots.
Let us talk about a few ways to get rid of the negative influence of our past actions on our present life. First of all, what is the aim of our life? We want to become a truthful person, a Sachyara, a person full of Truth – “Kiv sachyara hoiaa. Kiv kuray tutay paal.”
The Sachyaar (True One) – Paar Braham Parmeshwar, lives only in a Sachyara. A Sachyara is a soul and mind which is:-
· beyond the three aspects of Maya,
· beyond the shackles of Maya,
· a Jivan Mukt,
· a truthful person – a person full of Truth,
· the one who serves the Truth and delivers the Truth,
· the one who sees the difference between Truth and non-Truth,
· the one who speaks the Truth,
· always truthful in their actions and reactions,
· truthful from inside and outside, and
· completely absorbed in Eternal Truth.
Secondly, we know that everyday our life is being influenced by what we have sown in the past. All of our actions, decisions, reactions, the way we conduct our self in daily activities, the way we interact with others, our habits, our character, our way of communicating with others, our outlook for others, our intelligence level, our bent of mind, our preferences and priorities are all greatly influenced by the way we have been behaving, acting, doing, speaking, living, interacting, performing in the past of this life and more importantly in past lives.
The actions and reactions are carried under the direct control of our mind and for a normal person, the mind works under the direct control of Panj Doot – Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Ahankaar. These are Tamo aspects of Maya. Asa, Trishna, Mansha are Rajo aspects of Maya that also influence the mind.
When we are trying to be truthful and avoid all of the Asat Karams, the untrue deeds in our current life, we still get effected by our previous habits, good or bad – Sanskars. Our habits are not just a result of our present environment in which we have been raised, but are also more greatly influenced by our previous lives.
Our wisdom is based on our own instincts, experiences, the rules of the society, the norms of the society, and the environment in which we operate. This in turn greatly influences our mind’s behavior. Our mind is reflected in our actions and deeds.
In order to understand the mechanism of how we come to perform good or bad actions in our daily life please read the following text very carefully. We will show how the different parts of our body come together to perform various deeds, actions and reactions in our daily life.
How We Perform An Action
A. ELEMENTS OF THE PHYSICAL BODY
Panj Karam Indrees (five physical parts)
These are the parts of our physical body with which we physically perform our deeds. Namely:-
1. arms and hands,
2. legs and feet,
3. tongue and mouth,
4. anus and
5. sex organ.
The creation of a human being is the most beautiful creation of the Almighty. Look at these five super divine powers given to us to make use of our physical body and be a part of the creation and participate in the process of creation.
Panj Gyan Indrees (five organs of perception)
These five organs are used by the five senses which a human is blessed with to interact with the rest of the creation and enjoy the creation. These are:-
1. eyes – vision,
2. ears – hearing,
3. nose – smell,
4. skin – touch, and
5. tongue – taste.
These are super divine powers that are given to us by Akal Purakh to live this life and enjoy nature in its correct perspective and in accordance with the divine wisdom – GurMat.
Panj Doots (five Thieves)
These are the most powerful emotions within us. They are:-
1. Kaam (lust),
2. Krodh (anger),
3. Lobh (greed),
4. Moh (selfish attachment), and
5. Ahankaar / Haumai.
The power behind these Panj Doots is Trishna (strong desire) and its lesser forms Asa (hopes) and Mansha (wishes). For example, we desire to be rich, but instead of working honestly, we become greedy and Lobh controls us. Someone may hurt us and we desire revenge, so anger runs us.
Trishna drives our Panj Doots which determine the actions we take. In fact, these Doots and desires prompt us to misuse our Panj Karam Indrees and our Panj Gyan Indrees. We forget they were meant to be used for good as they are the super divine gifts, the super divine powers, the super divine blessings given to us by Akal Purakh. Misusing them is how we get trapped in Maya. This is where GurParsaad is essential to breaking free.
Dimaag (Brain)
Our brain stores our own wisdom. Our own wisdom is based on our formal education, our education through our family and friends and our education from society. All of these wisdoms are considered operating under the three aspects of Maya.
Munn (Mind)
GurBani says that our mind, just like the body, is born from Panj Tat, the five essential elements:-
1. water,
2. fire,
3. air,
4. Earth and
5. sky (space/etther).
From that perspective the mind resides in every cell of the body. The mind directs the body.
B. HOW THE PHYSICAL BODY PEFORMS AN ACTION, A KARAM
1. The five sense organs send electrical signals to our brain.
2. The five thieves and desires feed our brain.
3. Past wisdom is stored in the brain.
4. Parts 1+2+3 results in the brain thinking.
5. The Mind processes the thoughts and decides what action to take.
6. The Mind directs the brain by sending it thoughts.
7. The Brain sends electrical signals to the body parts to perform the action.
The input comes from the senses, the wisdom comes from brain, the decision is taken by the mind based on desires, the action is performed by the body. As long as the decisions taken by our mind are based on the information it receives from our brain’s wisdom, we are operating under the influence of the three aspects of Maya. That is the main reason for the instability of the mind. Instability means a continuous speaking of the mind through a never ending series of thoughts.
So how do we make our mind stable? We need to understand our spiritual body.
C. ELEMENTS OF THE SPIRITUAL BODY
Jyot
This resides inside our body. It is the base for the divine wisdom. Our life is due to this divine Jyot. Our life element is our Atma – soul. It is a divine element. Our breath and life are due to the presence of this eternal light, Jyot, inside us. We were born due to this divine light, Jyot, inside. When this divine light is withdrawn from our body, we die. The problem here is that we become absorbed in an attitude of “me, my and mine.” We forget about this divine light inside. This is due to Haumai. This division between the divine light and our mind is Haumai. Haumai is nothing but Maya.
Suksham Sareer/Dehi (astral body)
The Suksham is part of the soul. It is the source of life energy and power that keeps the physical body in senses and operation. All of the energy and breathing process, running of blood in the veins, and all other operations of the organs of the body are all run by this life energy which comes from these seven sources of spiritual energy. These are called Sat Sarovars in GurBani. Sat Sarovar is the true divine definition of these Chakras. Sat Sarovar means seven sources of spiritual energy – or seven sources of life energy, or seven integral parts of the soul, this life energy is called Amrit.
Some people think that the Sat Sarovars are part of the physical body, that they can be mapped to points in the nervous or endocrine systems. These nerves and glands are physical parts of the body, whereas the Chakras have no physical existence. They are all in Suksham. They are part of the soul. The Sat Sarovars are located within the Suksham Sareer in the areas at the top of the head, third eye, throat, Hirda, navel, sex organ and Kundalini. Some people say Solar Plexus instead of Sex organ, but that is not correct.
D. HOW DO WE MAKE OUR MIND STABLE?
Our Panj Karam Indrees are responsible for our actions or deeds or Karams. The Panj Karam Indrees are directed by our brain, the control centre. The brain is directed by the decisions of the mind. And remember, our mind bases its decisions on the wisdom stored in the brain. Our own wisdom is a combination of self wisdom, worldly wisdom and DurMat – bad wisdom. All three of these wisdoms are a result of our experiences whilst living in Maya.
Our own wisdom is a result of our life lived under the Panj Doots and desires. That is why all of our daily Karams fall under either Panj Doots or desires. This is how the decisions of the mind are controlled by Panj Doots and desires.
But, there is a way to be free. Above our mind resides the Param Jyot. However, this has lost connection with our mind. This Param Jyot is the super divine power which is basically, running our breath and gives us life. However, our mind doesn’t recognize this super divine power, the Param Jyot. Our mind has decided that it is the one in charge and the one that is deciding everything. By doing this, our mind is trapped in Maya and is therefore, operating under Maya and not directly under the Param Jyot. So our mind is the culprit. It is stubbornly refusing to recognize the Param Jyot that is running our breath and giving us an opportunity to recognize and realize this Param Jyot.
What is the remedy? How do we eliminate this stubborn mind? The elimination of the mind will provide a direct connection to Param Jyot with the Panj Gyan Indrees and Panj Karam Indrees. By eliminating our mind we come out of the trap of Maya. We realize the real divine power within us. Our body, thoughts and actions are now run completely by that real divine power and not by desires and Doots.
Our body’s very existence is due to the breath and life provided by the super divine power, the Param Jyot, and not otherwise. So when the mind is eliminated then our Panj Gyan Indrees and Panj Karam Indrees come under direct control of Param Jyot. Once that happens then all of our Karams become Sat Karams. Elimination of mind is the key to success and this is achieved by the GurParsaad of Naam Simran, Naam Ki Kamai, Puran Bandgi and Seva. Puran Bandgi is the stage when the mind gets eliminated and Param Padvi is achieved.
All other methods and techniques are again self wisdom, worldly wisdom or DurMat – and will not take us out of the trap of Maya. Only Puran Braham Gyan, Puran Tat Gyan and Puran Bandgi takes us beyond Maya, where there are no Panj Doots and no desires. Until our mind is eliminated, Ardas for forgiveness is a divine blessing. Let us always be praying like this:-
“Hum maha paapi hain, maha pakhandi hain, maha kaami hain, maha krodhi hain, maha lobhi hain, maha mohi hain, maha ahankari hain… I am a great sinner, a great hypocrite, full of lust, full of anger, full of greed and full of pride. You are kind and forgiving. Please forgive my bad deeds and sins.” Praying like this all through the day and night, whenever we remember, will help us a great deal.
So we become Sachyara when whatever we do is NOT done under the influence of the three qualities of Maya, including Panj Doot. We become Sachyara when our mind is NOT operating under our own wisdom and we are no longer completely separated from the divine wisdom. We become Sachyara when the Divine Light, Jyot, inside us is no longer trapped under the very powerful and dark curtain of Maya.
How To Clean Up Your Past Deeds
The only way this Jyot will become a Param Jyot and unite with the Supreme God, is to go beyond the three qualities of Maya. The Param Jyot gives us the divine wisdom, Braham Gyan. Braham Gyan replaces our own wisdom and hence our mind. In this way all of our deeds, actions and reactions come under the direct control of Param Jyot. Which is the divine wisdom. The Sant and Braham Gyani Maha Purakhs (great souls) don’t have any of their own wisdom. They are under the direct control of divine wisdom which is the Hukam. Their mind is 100% absorbed in Mansarovar, God’s Mind. They are liberated from the shackles of Maya. That is why they are called Braham Gyani because they have realized the essence of the Paar Braham. They have learned the definition and existence of the Param Tat. They have experienced the Infinite. They have felt and experienced the Akath Ki Katha (Indescribable Lord). The existence of Paar Braham Parmeshwar inside them is the reason why they know everything past, present and future. However, this divine wisdom is used only for the good and betterment of humanity. If used for other purpose it will result in loss of this Agami power.
Though it is a very difficult task to eliminate our mind and wisdom, in order to bring us under Hukam, but believe us it can be done. It has been done by the Bhagats, Sants, Gurus and Braham Gyanis, in the past. It is still being done in the present time, and will continue to be done in the future.
We will have to completely clean up inside in order to become completely truthful, to become Sachyara. This is the only way to progress in our spirituality and to reach the level where our mind and our own wisdom is eliminated. Then we obtain the divine wisdom. How will we do it? By receiving GurParsaad, the eternal blessings of Naam, Naam Ki Kamai, Puran Bandgi and Seva. Then work towards accepting responsibility for all of our past misdeeds.
One very important thing to understand here, is that as a new born child we were completely pious, pure and truthful. We were unaffected by the Panj Doot. Our Dassam Duaar was open. All of our actions and reactions were under the direct control of Param Jyot, the Hukam. But, as we grew up a year or so later and started to say, “my mummy, my daddy, my bottle, my toy…” then that is where the Panj Doot showed they had become active. Our habits, our nature and attitude to life we developed were not just down to this life, but greatly influenced by our deeds from our past lives.
If we are able to clear our mind, our Chitter-Gupt (records), from the influence of our past lives then we will be able to clean up our soul from the negative effect of all of the past bad deeds. What we have to do is very simple and easy. We will take one Doot at a time. Let us start with Kaam first of all. It is the easiest one to handle.
Tomorrow morning after doing Ardas and after doing Simran for about 15 minutes to settle the mind down, say:-
“Kirpa kar ke KAAM vas kite sadhe sare gunah sanoo dekha de,
Aasi apne sare gunah kubool karne ha ji –
Please with Your kindness show me all my sins
that I have committed under KAAM in my whole life.”
Then scan through our entire life. You will see all of your sins appear before your eyes, like a film. First of all you will see the most serious or most recent sin. Followed by another one and another. Keep on accepting responsibility for these sins of yours. Ask for forgiveness with your whole heart and it will be pardoned. Keep doing this until you feel completely cleansed. It may take a few hours. It may take a few hours for a few days. It may even take more than a week or even a month. No matter how long it takes, just keep doing it and don’t stop until you are sure that your mind has been completely cleansed.
Then repeat the process for each of the remaining Doots – Krodh, Lobh, Moh, Ahankaar. Deal with only one at a time. It may take a few weeks or even a few months or even longer before you are completely done. But, stick with it. Following that, then stay alert by watching your daily deeds, actions and reactions continuously. Remain focused on the Truth. Make all of our deeds truthful. Every morning after doing Ardas and starting Simran, it is a good idea to scan through all of the previous days deeds to see if they were done under the influence of the Panj Doots. Then to accept responsibility, ask forgiveness and cleanse the mind.
If we want to make it more quick and effective, then confess and accept your misdeeds in front of the Sangat. Even with the best care exercised in our daily routine, you are still bound to make mistakes. To remove the effect of these mistakes you will have to keep on accepting your misdeeds and pray for forgiveness. These prayers should be conducted several times in a day in addition to the one you are doing at the commencement of your morning and evening Naam Simran. The requirement here is to make your Karni a truthful Karni, and once your Karni becomes truthful, then your inside will also be cleaned completely and eventually you become a Sachyara.
This process will work best only if you are dedicated and fully surrendered to the Gur and Guru. You need to be giving Dasvandh to the Guru, ten percent of your time every morning to Naam Simran and also ten percent of your earnings to the Guru and to charity. This process, once complete, will completely change your behavior. You will become very cautious in your daily activities. You will notice the moment a bad thought enters your mind and will stop it right there and then. Believe us, this does wonders for your daily life. Your spiritual journey goes on a fast track. You feel the difference within yourself. Your family sees the change in you too. Your family and friends are also effected for the best with the improvements in your character and behavior.
The key to success is the GurParsaad of Naam, Naam Ki Kamai, Puran Bandgi and Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar. This is granted only when we go to the sanctuary of the Gur and Guru. This is granted only when we go to the Charan Sharan of the Gur and Guru and earn GurBani by practicing it in our daily life. When this happens then the real Bandgi starts and with GurParsaad and GurKirpa, all of the Panj Doots and desires come under our control. Then we no longer remain under their control. This is what is meant by winning over the mind. Then the mind comes under direct control of Param Jyot and all of our senses and body part operate under Puran Hukam of Akal Purakh. There is no self wisdom left, only divine wisdom prevails.
Astpadi.
Jih parsaad chhateeh amrit khaahi.
Tis thaakur ka-o rakh man maahi.
Jih parsaad sugandhat tunn laaveh.
Tis ka-o simrat param Gat paavahi.
Jih parsaad baseh sukh mandar.
Tiseh dhi-aa-ay sada man andar.
Jih parsaad garih sang sukh basnaa.
Aath pahar simrahu tis rasnaa.
Jih parsaad rang ras bhog.
Nanak sada dhi-aa-ee-ai dhi-aavan jog. 1.
When we are under the GurKirpa, the eternal blessings of Akal Purakh, then everything that happens in our daily life is good. When we are under Haumai we say “I am doing it,” or “I am capable of doing it.” When we are under GurKirpa we realise Haumai doesn’t do anything, neither is Haumai capable of doing anything. It is very simple – if He is the Karta Purakh, the only Doer, then how can Haumai, the “I”, be doing anything at all?
We need to reach this understanding that everything good happening in our life is all thanks to God’s grace and not by any other means. Then the sense of self, the “me, my and mine” attitude, will start to disappear from our life. This will kill our Haumai completely. We are eventually relieved of the serious and chronic mental sickness of Haumai. Once this happens there remains no difference between us and the Almighty Himself.
The Panj Doots only exist whilst we have a sense of our own presence, our Haumai. Haumai is the hardest to kill or go. Haumai goes together with Ahankaar. This is pride of yourself, your achievements, your status in society, your name and your wealth. Haumai / Ahankaar is the hardest to win over. But, once we do win over them, we go into to a complete and utmost humble state of mind. This is a mandatory divine quality necessary for the union with God.
When something good happens, most people under the influence of Haumai, will take the credit for it and don’t thank the Almighty for His grace. They don’t recognize that He has been very kind on them and have given them everything they need to live a good life. Instead, they engage themself in self praise or self recommendation. This is all Ahankaar as a result of Haumai.
Conversely, when anything bad happens in your daily life, under Haumai, people start complaining to God and hold God responsible for it. They blame God for all of the bad things that have happened in their life. In some cases they will curse their fate and blame God for writing that destiny for them. The Truth is that whatever happens is a result of their own Karni in the past and previous lives.
The way to deal with Haumai is this – whenever something good happens thank God for His kind grace. But, whenever something bad happens, just accept responsibility and see it as something you can learn from. By blaming God, they forget that God is very kind and never does bad to anybody. But, it is their own Karma that is teaching them again and again when bad thing happen that they should stop doing Asat Karams and start doing Sat Karams. By planting good deeds your future is trouble free.
By taking credit for all of the good and cursing God for all of the misfortune people become deeply drenched in the scum of ego. They fall victim to the deep mental sickness of Haumai. This is the main reason for their soul reincarnating through birth and death.
Guru Pancham Patshah Ji is very kindly giving us Braham Gyan that allows us to eliminate Ahankaar from our head. This will free us from the deepest mental sickness of Haumai and allow us to be one with God.
Guru Sahib Ji is very kindly reminding us that whatever good happens in our daily life is only due to the divine grace. We should remember and practice thanking God in our daily life. By doing so, whatever delicacies we eat become Amrit. By thanking God for His grace we become blessed to remember God continuously. We never forget Him and eventually He goes into our mind. This replaces our ego mind with Paar Braham Parmeshwar, the Param Jyot, Puran Parkash. We go into a state of Ajapa Jaap (automatic) Naam Simran. The mind becomes Param Jyot itself.
Due to the divine grace of the Almighty, we have products to keep our physical body clean and smelling good. But, how do we clean our Suksham Sareer, astral body? By firmly believing in the grace of God and remembering Him continuously. We reach that level of spirituality where our astral body becomes pure like 24 carrot gold, Kanchan Suksham Dehi. The Amrit keeps on flowing continuously. Naam vibrates over the entire body continuously. When this happens then we reach the Param Gat stage. This is Param Padvi, GurParsaad of Param Pad is achieved.
The One by whose grace we have been given a nice place to live and all of the facilities to enjoy our human life, should be kept in our mind all of the times. We should never forget that whatever we have is all due to the grace of God. The One by whose eternal grace we enjoy all of our relationships, we should always keep His Naam on our tongue. This means whilst living with the comforts of this world, we should always keep the Giver of all of these luxuries and comforts close to heart. We should keep on thanking Him continuously.
The One who gives us all of the things to eat, and life to live and enjoy should always be remembered. He is the only One who is taking care of all of our needs and His grace should always be recognized and praised. He is the only One we can trust and depend on. This is worth everything and keeps us going. So never forget that He is the foundation of our very existence and survival.
Jih parsaad paat patambar hadhaaveh.
Tiseh ti-aag kat avar lubhaaveh.
Jih parsaad sukh sayj so-eejai.
Man aath pahar taa ka jas gaaveejai.
Jih parsaad tujh sabh ko-oo maanai.
Mukh taa ko jas rasan bakhaanai.
Jih parsaad tayro rahtaa dharam.
Man sada dhi-aa-ay kayval Paar Braham.
Prabh jee japat dargeh maan paavahi.
Nanak pat saytee ghar jaaveh. 2.
Guru Patshah Ji is very kindly continuing to remind us about the eternal grace of the Almighty. With the grace of God people wear beautiful and expensive clothes, but forget that they have already been blessed with more than they deserve. Due to theirr greed they need to constantly decorate their physical body. Hence, they always go after more and more. They are never satisfied with what they already have and long for more.
To accumulate more than you need is a very dangerous mental sickness. The urge, or the desire, to accumulate more and more is a deep mental sickness. The entire life is spent on doing this without any spiritual gains. Desires are the basic reason for unhappiness, sorrows and pains. If fulfilled they may bring a short lived happiness, but if not fulfilled they bring sorrows and pains. The accumulating effect of desires is mental depression, mental sickness and physical ailments.
We should always remain contented with our belongings and possessions and remain thankful to the Almighty for whatever He has given. Only contentment in Truth, Sat Santokh, can bring an end to our desires and hence and end to all of our pains and sorrows.
We should always keep deep inside our Hirda that it is only by the grace of the Almighty we get to sleep on cosy beds. He is the only One who takes care of us at all times. When we do so then we will always be in a remembrance stage. Remembering God is the Simran. That is what Guru Patshah Ji is telling us to do. To remember the Giver of everything continuously. When we do so, then eventually the Simran goes into an autopilot mode inside our Hirda and mind. Meaning that Simran happens without our conscious efforts. Then it goes into each and every cell, the Rom Rom. This all happens with GurParsaad. Nothing is possible without His GurKirpa, eternal grace.
All of the respect we achieve from the society we live in, is only by the grace of God. We need to remember that are just nothing. A worthless creature on the face of this Earth. He is the only Doer and Giver. He takes care of all of our needs, so we need to always keep on praising Him by all means. Only by His grace are we able to walk on the path of religion. The real path of religion is the path of Truth. The Shabad Dharam has a very deep, divine and eternal meaning. Please read the following explanation for understanding the Shabad Dharam.
The Real Divine Meaning Of The Shabad Dharam
Let us pray to Paar Braham Parmeshwar (Supreme Transcendent God) who is:-
· Agam (Unreachable),
· Agaadh (Immeasurable),
· Agochar (Beyond the five senses),
· Aprampar (Dimensionless),
· Anant (Without Limits),
· Beant (Infinite),
· Param Dyalu (Supremely Compassionate), and
· Param Kirpalu (Supremely Merciful),
and the Guru for their GurKirpa (Eternal Mercy) and GurParsaad (Eternal Blessings). To make us all capable of understanding the true and divine meaning of the Shabad (divine word) Dharam. This has been grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted by religious circles, Sikh society and hence, by the masses all around the globe. Let us try to understand and remove the confusion about Dharam based on:-
· divine wisdom – GurMat,
· the Dargahi (God’s Court) definition,
· the presence of the eternal essence in the word Dharam,
· presence of the Param Tat – Sat Tat (Supreme Truth Essence)
· and what was understood, exercised, explained, written and promoted by the Guru Sahibs, Sants, Bhagats and Braham Gyanis.
Each and every Shabad of GurBani tells us a Divine Truth (Sat) about the Param Tat Paar Braham Parmeshwar (essence of Supreme God):-
· either His Naam, or
· His praise, or
· the praise of Sants, Bhagats, Braham Gyanis or SatGur.
Each and every Shabad of GurBani removes the darkness of our mind and soul. It gives us the divine light through the divine wisdom present in every Shabad. By such virtues each Shabad of GurBani is called a Shabad Guru. The word Dharam is also a Guru. Each word:-
· contains the presence of Param Tat Puran Braham Gyan (Supreme God’s highest divine wisdom) hidden in it,
· has the dimensions and the depth of Akal Purakh Himself,
· is unlimited and infinite like Paar Braham Parmeshwar, and
· is an integral part of the Almighty Himself.
The word Dharam represents all of the divine essence of Paar Braham Himself. A Sant Hirda is the person who follows the word Dharam and brings into Himself:-
· its essence,
· the Eternal Truth hidden in it, and
· the Braham Gyan hidden in it.
By practicing Dharam in His daily life He becomes:-
· a Pargateyo Jyot, (God’s Light manifests inside him)
· one with Almighty, and
· merges in the Almighty.
To most people the word Dharam means religion and heavily influences their:-
· particular group – normally what they are born into,
· sacred language,
· dress,
· customs, and
· eating habits and so on.
To most people Dharam defines a particular group’s rules and regulations. These are used to govern an individual’s social values, religious behavior and lifestyle. A person is born into a family and will be raised in the cultural set up of the environment surrounded by his own family. The family in turn operates under the umbrella of the particular sect of the society. That is what is responsible for building the values and concepts of an individual as far as the character, behavior, the outlook, the religious values and other social behavior patterns are concerned. For example, a baby born into a Sikh family is given a Sikh Dharam. If the same baby had been born into a Hindu family he would have been called a Hindu. Then the baby would have been brought up with the family’s religious values and practices. The baby would grow up with the particular group’s:-
· social behavior,
· social values,
· language,
· eating habits, and
· dressing patterns and so on.
The baby has been taught to become part of one particular group. His practices and beliefs will be different to other groups. Each group gives themselves a name e.g. Hindu religion, Sikh religion, Christian religion, Islam and so on. These divisions of society, or to be more accurate, these divisions of humanity into various sects are just man-made creations. These divisions are never present in Divinity and divine wisdom. Divine wisdom says, “Manas Ki Jaat Sabhey Ek Hi Pechanbo.”
In the real sense of Divinity and spirituality, in the real sense of GurMat – the divine wisdom, there is no eternal Truth in the man-made boundaries. The only eternal Truth is that humanity or the human race or the human life is the most precious and most beautiful creation of the Creator. The eternal Truth is that we are all human beings born from the same Jyot – Light of God, “Ek noor theh sabh yug upjiaayaa.”
Ek Noor means that the One Light is the Creator and all of us are born from the same Creator. So why have divisions based on the sects of society when the Creator created us all as human beings? Why have different religions all over the world, when the Creator has created only one race – the Human Race? When the Creator recognizes us all as one Jaat (race), “Manas Ki Jaat” meaning human race, then why are there divisions into different religions or Dharams?
There is only one religion, there is only one Dharam and that Dharam is the Almighty Himself. And He is the One who creates the rules and laws under which the human being is required to exist, live, perform, act and react.
His constitution is the divine Commandments, which are the divine laws framed by Him for us “THE HUMAN RACE.” The foundation of His Kingdom or the foundation of Himself, or the foundation of this most beautiful and precious creation of His – Human Race is the Eternal Truth – Sat. He is Sat Roop because He Himself is the Eternal Truth. He is the only one who is the Truth. Absolutely everything else is perishable and is just a part of Maya. Only He is the One who is beyond the three aspects of Maya, “Trihu Gun Tey Parey.” All His divine rules and laws direct the Human Race to be absorbed in the Eternal Truth, to stay as His “Sat Saroop” and nothing less than that. To stay beyond the three aspects of Maya, to be like Him. This is the true and divine meaning of Dharam.
To be like Him is the Dharam. To be Truthful is the Dharam. To be a Sachyara is the Dharam. To be able to see, speak, hear, deliver and serve the Truth is the Dharam. To stay as a human being in its eternal true essence is the Dharam. To always stay as one with Him is the Dharam. To remain merged in Him is the Dharam and this is the religion in eternal reality. The true religion exists in that soul and mind which is beyond the three aspects of Maya. The word Dharam therefore, signifies that Akal Purakh Himself is the definition of Dharam. This is the Sat Tat – the Eternal Truth behind the meaning of Dharam. To follow Dharam we therefore need to become like Him, become a Sachyara – completely truthful person:-
· from inside out,
· without any hypocrisy,
· no duality,
· no Pakhand,
· no animosity, and
· single vision.
The real and divine meaning of Dharam is to follow the real divine religion of becoming a Sat Saroop (Embodiment of Truth) and that is the soul and mind where the Almighty resides.
In light of the above discussion, the divine meaning of Dharam is to follow the divine wisdom direct from God, and not the man-made divisions of religion. The eternal essence (Sat Tat) of the word Dharam is a set of rules, regulations and divine laws for us to remain under the:-
· unlimited kingdom of the Almighty,
· the kingdom of Eternal Truth,
· the kingdom of spirituality, and
· the kingdom of Divinity.
These divine laws have been here from the beginning. They are here now. And they will remain here forever. Anybody who follows these laws of Eternity will be able to enjoy this kingdom of Akal Purakh. They will be able to enjoy the eternal blessings and the real eternal Dharam, the real religion. These divine laws are very clearly and well defined in GurBani. They were exercised by the Guru Sahibs, Sants and Bhagats and promoted to be used by the masses. They were compiled in the form of a “Constitution of Eternity’s Kingdom” in Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
The whole of GurBani is the definition and very detailed description of these divine laws. For ease of understanding and without getting into the details of the entire GurBani, we have written down some of these divine laws as formulated and kept in the Mansarovar – unlimited sea of Divine Light – Puran Param Jyot Puran Param Parkash. These divine gifts are available to everyone around the entire creation. They are same for all of us. They never change. They will remain intact forever, and they are listed below:-
· Full and complete belief, trust, faith, Shardha and Preet (devotion with unconditional love) and commitment in and to the Gur, Guru and GurBani.
· Full and complete surrender to the Gur and Guru, “Tunn, Munn Dhann Sabh Tera”; “Tunn, Munn Dhann Sabh Saup Guru Ko”. The Guru is great and very kind, if we give 10% of our time and earnings to the Guru and follow His words, He will pay for the remaining 90% from His own pocket.
· Giving 10% of our time to the Guru. Spend this time in Amrit Vela (early hours) to do Naam Simran, “Prabh Kaa Simran Sabh Tey Oochaa.” This is the highest service of the Almighty and this is the only means of cleaning us up from inside and keep us like that and eventually take us beyond the three aspects of Maya. This is the only way we can win over our mind. Win over the five thieves and desires and win over Maya completely.
· Always pray for GurParsaad. Nothing can be done by us. Everything that happens is in Hukam. The will of God prevails no matter what happens. Only by having GurParsaad can we live under the Will of God without any issues. The GurParsaad will bring Naam inside us. It will take us to Jivan Mukti – salvation.
· Always see, speak, hear, deliver and serve the Truth. This is the highest service to Almighty.
· Exercise utmost humbleness in our communication with others. Consider our self the lowest of the lowest, “Aapas ko jo janey neecha so hi ganye sabh tey oocha.” Consider everybody else as being above us. Concentrate on self-reformation. Don’t point fingers at others. Keep the finger firmly pointed at our own self. Humbleness is the only weapon to kill our Haumai. Utmost humbleness and humility – Gareebi Ves Hirda. Utmost Nimrata (humilty) inside is the key to the kingdom of Akal Purakh – Dargah of Akal Purakh.
· Delete “me, mine and my” from our conversations and communications. Always keep in mind that our existence is due to the life element inside us. And this is due to the Eternal Jyot inside us. There is God inside us. Always keep this Eternal Jyot element which is the Sat Tat and the Param Tat above us. Use “we, ours and us” in our communications by keeping this divine element recognized all of the time inside us.
· Accept our sins and bad deeds. Open confession in the Sangat is the way to wash our sins and clean us up from inside. To make us truthful and take us closer to the Creator.
· Do not involve our self in any kind of negative criticism, gossip and jealousy.
· Do not hurt anybody’s Hirda. Unconditional love for all His creations will determine how much we love Him. There is no place for hatred for anybody in the Mansarovar – Amrit Sagar Nirgun Saroop. Unconditional love with devotion and sacrifice is the language of Almighty. Only love, sacrifice and service with devotion can bring us closer to the Almighty.
· Don’t crave for anything. Thank the Almighty for everything He has given us and keeps on giving us. Remain contented in whatever we have and whatever we are getting. Desires are the root cause of all of the problems.
· Exercise forgiveness in our day to day communications with others. This is the way to control our anger. Wherever there is forgiveness there is God. Forgiveness is a divine quality and brings kindness inside us. Together these divine qualities make our heart very vital. We have no hatred or animosity with anyone. This makes us single vision – Ik Drisht. We become Nirvair which is one of the most vital qualities of Divinity. Forgiveness makes us anger free. Anger and ego are complementary to each other. Anger comes due to ego and ego brings in anger. So both of these mental sicknesses become our slaves, they no longer hurt us.
· When we give 10% (Dasvandh) of our earnings to charity, we eventually become free of greed. The feeling of greed which then prompted untrue deeds starts to diminish. Our heart becomes kind, loving and self-sacrificing. We serving the poor and needy. This eventually relieves us of the deep mental sickness of greed.
· Consider our family and friends, our parents and children as a Sangat and serve them with the same feeling and in the same way we serve the Gur Sangat. Love them and respect them the same way we do in Gur Sangat. This removes Moh from within us and converts it to the real deep, divine love with compassion, full of sharing, selflessness and sacrifice in our Hirda.
· Other than our wife, respect every women as either our sister, mother or daughter. Other than our husband, respect every male as either brother, father and son. This removea the feeling of Kaam from within. This is a deep mental sickness and is cured by exercising this rule.
· Delete the past, don’t think about the future and seize the current moment. Be truthful in this current moment. Engage our self in truthful and only truthful deeds in each moment. Once our current moment is truthful our future will be truthful. Eventually this will erase all of the negative effects of the past from our Karni. Truthful deeds are the key to shape our own destiny. To shape our own future. When our present is truthful our future will eventually come very rewarding.
· Practice GurBani in our daily life. Whatever little bit we understand, please bring that eternal essence inside our self right away by practicing it in our daily life. GurBani is an eternal prescription for all of our problems and mental and physical ailments. By doing Naam Ki Kamai and practicing GurBani we eliminate all of these sicknesses from our mind, soul and body. This make them absolutely clean of the scum of Maya. Watch our daily deeds in light of GurBani and keep on reforming it forever. There is no end to the divine qualities. By practising them we bring these priceless jewels of Divinity within us. This reforms us completely from inside and out. Eventually we become a Puran Sachyara (completely Truthful one) and the Sachyaar (True One) comes inside our Hirda forever.
· Involve our self in Seva with devotion and love. Do selfless service for the benefit of others. Serve the poor and needy. Serve the orphans. Serve the sick. Serve our own family with love and devotion.
Always remember that the highest service to the Almighty is Naam Simran. And all of the above points when exercised with Naam Simran bring tremendous rewards and results and make our life:-
· sublime,
· full of eternal enjoyment,
· full of happiness,
· full of eternal blessings, and
· eventually our spiritual dreams come true.
We then become a Sant Hirda. We become Jivan Mukt and achieve our objective of this life by being one with Almighty and this is the real Dharam. This can only happen with the grace, GurParsaad, of Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar.
Jih parsaad aarog kanchan dayhee.
Liv laavhu tis raam sanayhee.
Jih parsaad tayraa olaa rahat.
Man sukh paavahi har har jas kahat.
Jih parsaad tayray sagal chhidar dhaakay.
Man sarnee par thaakur prabh taa kai.
Jih parsaad tujh ko na pahoochai.
Man saas saas simrahu prabh oochay.
Jih parsaad paa-ee darulabh dayh.
Nanak taa kee bhagat karayh. 3.
Guru Pancham Patshah Ji is very kindly giving us the divine wisdom about the “Arog Kanchan Dehi” – the body free of all mental sicknesses. These mental sicknesses are the Rajo and Tamo aspect of Maya, namely the Panj Doots and desires.
The human body is considered to be a pot to collect Amrit, but the Panj Doots and desires act as holes in this pot. Whatever Amrit is collected is drained out through these holes. In addition to these holes in the pot, there is the karmic dirt of sins sticking to it forever. The net effect is that Amrit collected by doing Sat Karams does not last long as it is eaten up by the dirt and the holes.
The holes in the pot are chronic in nature and can only be repaired by the GurParsaad of Naam, Naam Ki Kamai, Puran Bandgi and Seva – Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar. Only after getting the GurParsaad of Naam and Bandgi can we go into Samadhi (Liv Lagee – union of Shabad and Surat) and Sunn Samadhi. Meaning only with the GurParsaad of Naam can we go into meditation and deep meditation. Then Naam goes into the Surat (mind) and Hirda. Only then do these Doots leave our body, leaving our body free of these mental sicknesses. Only then does the pot get cleaned and the holes filled by Naam. This is why GurBani says that Naam is the cure for all of the diseases. GurBani is the prescription for curing these chronic mental ailments and filling these holess in the pot and make it worthy of collecting Amrit.
When we win over the Panj Doots and desires we become completely clean inside and out. We become a Sachyara to house the Sachyaar inside this Hirda. Sachyaar, meaning Akal Purakh, the Param Jyot, the Puran Parkash, the Nirgun Saroop lives only in a Sachyara. This cleaning process of the human body, mind and soul happens only with GurParsaad and doing Naam Simran in Samadhi.
When the GurParsaad of Naam and Samadhi comes to us only then is our Bhagti account opened in the Dargah of Akal Purakh. The real Bandgi only starts with GurParsaad of Samadhi and Sunn Samadhi. This happens when we are accepted by God into Karam Khand (Realm of grace). This is just one step before Sach Khand. The astral body starts to become an Arog (disease free) Kanchan (golden) Dehi (astral body) in Karam Khand and becomes complete in Sach Khand. Guru Pancham Patshah Ji has touched on a very important part of Bandgi in these divine words. He is telling us that if we follow these divine words then we can reach that stage. We can be relieved of all of the chronic mental sicknesses and be one with God.
When we become the lowest of the low on the face of the Earth, when we become very humble and full of humility, then we are respected in the Dargah of Akal Purakh. Achievement of utmost humbleness results in the death of Haumai. This is the spiritual achievement of the highest order. Utmost humbleness takes us to the heights of spiritual world. Becoming the Charan Dhool of the entire creation and seeing none as lower than us, seeing our self as the lowest of the low, as the slave of the slaves – Sagal Ki Reena, takes us to the continuous GurParsaad of the Atam Ras – the highest Amrit. It takes us to the Dargah of Akal Purakh and we become very highly respected in the Dargah of Akal Purakh.
The highest level of humbleness results in the death of Haumai. This happens only with GurParsaad. The One and only One who gives us this GurParsaad of the highest order, should always be remembered and praised. By doing so we reach that level of Bandgi where we are blessed with the GurParsaad of utmost humbleness. We become Sagal Ki Reena and by doing so we reach the Param Padvi.
When we take permanent refuge at His Charans and saturate our Hirda with only His Charans the Almighty becomes so happy with us. He comes and lives in our Hirda by making the Jyot inside us a Param Jyot. He then takes care of us completely. Everywhere He is our saviour. He keeps us above all pains and sorrows. He saves our honor and respect. With His eternal grace nobody can go against us. Nothing goes against us. Everything falls in place for us. All of this happens only by doing Naam Simran continuously.
In fact, the Maha Purakhs who reach this level are on an autopilot mode. They are always doing Naam Simran. Naam goes on in the entire body at all of the times. Anhad Naad – divine music is heard in the Dassam Duaar continuously. Amrit keeps on flowing throughout the body continuously. All of this only happens with GurParsaad. So keep on praying for the GurParsaad of Naam, Naam Ki Kamai, Puran Bandgi, Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar.
This human life is a priceless gift because only in this human life do we have the ability to unite with the Almighty. The very birth of ours in this human life is GurParsaad in itself. We have already been most fortunate to be given a chance to be one with Almighty. So why waste this human life when it was very hard to get? God has given us the GurParsaad of this human life and He has also given us the chance to be united with Him. This can only be achieved by doing Puran Bandgi so let us all dedicate ourselves to Puran Bandgi and make our life sublime.
Jih parsaad aabhookhan pehreejai.
Man tis simrat ki-o aalas keejai.
Jih parsaad asav hasat asvaaree.
Man tis prabh ka-o kabhoo na bisaaree.
Jih parsaad baag milakh dhanaa.
Raakh paro-ay prabh apunay manaa.
Jin tayree man banat banaa-ee.
Oothat baithat sad tiseh dhi-aa-ee.
Tiseh dhi-aa-ay jo ayk alkhai.
Eehaa oohaa nanak tayree rakhai. 4.
Guru Pancham Patshah Ji is very kindly continuing to give us the divine wisdom about how can we eliminate our own self completely and be one with the One who is beyond description and Infinite. Let us dive a little deeper into the Mansarovar and try to get a glimpse of this unique quality of the Almighty.
It is of prime importance for a person to develop an understanding about the process of human life and death. Here is an outline:-
· our soul left the Origin, “Ik Oankaar Sat Naam” – the One God named “Truth.”,
· sooner or later our soul entered and remained in the human mother’s womb for nine months,
· took birth,
· entered the world of Maha Kaal, Kal Yug – the Dark Age,
· involved itself in the game of Maya (Maya Da Khel),
· burned in the fire of desires,
· became controlled and run by the Panj Doots – Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Ahankaar,
· spent its whole life in the illusion of Haumai and other chronic mental sicknesses,
· became totally over powered by Maya and fell far from the Origin,
· physical death came and the soul went back either into the 8.4 million life-forms (Lakh Charasee Juni), or to reborn as a human depending upon the deeds during the previous life.
By understanding this cycle of life and death we can learn how to escape from it. This cycle of life and death has been defined as the worst sorrow in GurBani. We have all been going through this for ages. By learning how to escape from this cycle of life and death, we can be free from this highest sorrow forever. Let us try to understand the entire process in more detail.
In the beginning our soul came from the Origin, the Mool, as defined in the Mool Manter, “Ik Oankaar Sat Naam”, the Braham (God), the Param Jyot, the Puran Parkash, the Ik Ras (One Amrit – Infinite Divine Power), the Atam Ras, the Amrit. Therefore, to begin with, our soul was part of the Origin. If we consider the moment of original departure from the Origin, we see there was no difference in purity between our soul and the Braham. Since it was a part of the Braham so it is like Him. Our soul was like the Param Atma, the Eternal Truth. Being part of the Origin, our soul still has all of the divine qualities of the Origin, the Paar Braham, although they maybe dormant at the moment as those qualities have not been used.
As our soul departed from the Almighty it made the transition into this world of Maya. As our soul is a part of the Creator, it may live in any form of creation. It is not known, or at least not known to us, nor explained anywhere in GurBani as to what the first form the soul was born in. It is unknown what sequence the creation followed or whether the entire creation was created at the same time. This is all infinite, there is no beginning or end. So how can we or anybody say that how was it done or who was created first. It is impossible to find an answer to this question, because it is infinite. Where, when and what happened or happens is unknown to us and only known to Akal Purakh.
After leaving the Origin, whether we came directly into the human mother’s womb or went through various other life cycles is unknown. But, it is true that our soul is a part of the Creator, the Sargun Saroop of the Paar Braham Parmeshwar Ji. Sooner or later it is has come through the womb of the human mother.
At the time of departing and also during its stay in the womb of the mother, the soul pledged to Paar Braham Parmeshwar that it would perform deeds according to the mandatory divine laws during its stay in the world. The soul was like a clean piece of paper, the soul was as clean as Braham Himself. Our soul promised Braham that during its stay in this world, it would:-
· stay as pure as Him during our stay in the world,
· remain free from the distractions of Maya,
· keep control over the Panj Doots,
· abide by all of the divine laws,
· perform all its worldly duties without being affected by their outcome,
· keep to all of the divine qualities of the Braham,
· perform deeds according to the will of God,
· perform all actions and reactions under Puran Hukam,
· work to serve humanity
· try and unite the rest of the population with the Almighty,
· live a Puran Sachyari Rehat,
· see the Truth,
· speak the Truth,
· hear the Truth and serve the Truth,
· remain absorbed in the Almighty,
· move and stay on the path of Truth, Seva, Simran and Parupkaar.
By keeping our promise, when the end comes and our soul leaves the body, it will be as clean as it was at the time of original separation. The Almighty will accept it back and absorb it in Himself and give it a place at His feet in the Dargah. Such a clean soul will always remain at the Charans of Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar. By virtue of such divine qualities such a soul is called a Pargateyo Jyot Puran Braham Gyani, a Puran Sant SatGuru.
These are some of the infinite qualities of Dhan Dhan Shri Akal Purakh. We should have remained absorbed in the Infinite part of Himself. This was the destination of our soul. This was how we should have performed and remained. This was how we should have lived our life. This was how we should have remained one with Almighty, but instead what happened to our soul?
As soon as we were born and our soul entered into this new body, the Maha Kaal, Ghore Kal Yug, Dark Age surrounded us. What is prevalent in this Dark Age? The deadly and negative forces of Maya and the resulting deep mental sicknesses. Even in our own family, our own parents, brothers and sisters, those who are not absorbed in the Almighty, are absorbed in the Panj Doots and desires. These are the deceiving and cheating illusions. They appear sweet and attractive, but they are not so in the real sense, because they are responsible for taking our soul away from the Almighty.
The entire environment is polluted with these mental sicknesses, so how could we survive these deadly and poisonous mental viruses floating around us? When we were born, we were considered to be the Roop (form) of Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar. As we progressed in living in Maya, our soul started disassociating from the Braham Jyot – Divine Light.
Maya’s servants are the Panj Doots, Asa, Trishna, Mansha, Raj, Joban, Dhan, Maal, Roop, Ras and Gandh. Until we become Sant Hirda, we operate under the control and influence of these thugs. They cheat and delude us. This part of the Infinite God is called the Infinite Loop Of Maya, because our soul keeps reincarnating around in birth and death infinite times within this loop, with seemingly no escape. The mathematical symbol of infinity is a good way to visualise the Infinite Loop of Maya that all souls are reincarnating through:-
Outside of this loop is the Infinite God, the Braham, Puran Parkash, Param Jyot. This is called the Nirgun Saroop of Braham. Our soul was originally part of the Nirgun Saroop and entered into the Sargun Saroop – a soul. When the soul received a body, it entered into the Infinite Loop of Maya.
The Nirgun Saroop is outside the Infinite Loop of Maya. The closed loop is Maya. Outside the loop is Braham and is in Puran Hukam. But, the closed loop is being run by three aspects of Maya. Maya is not the Sargun Saroop. The matter is Maya. The life element, the divine power, that keeps the creation together is the Sargun Saroop. For example, the life element in us is the Sargun Saroop. Our soul, which keeps our breath and blood running, is the Sargun Saroop. All of the Sat Sarovar in our soul is Sargun Saroop. But, our physical body is Maya, it is matter, so it is Maya. Anything that is visible to the naked eye is Maya, so Maya is visible and the Sargun Saroop is not visible.
As long as we operate under the three aspects of Maya and don’t know the Braham part of our existence, then our body is running under the influence of the three aspects of Maya. This is the Infinite Loop of Maya. As soon as we achieve the Braham Gyan and become Jivan Mukt, we no longer remain under the influence of the three aspects of Maya and hence we go outside the Infinite Loop of Maya. Then we go and merge in the Infinity and become a part of the Infinite One. This is when Nirgun and Sargun become one, when the soul and God become one.
When we were born our Dassam Duaar was open. Our soul was in direct contact with the infinite part of Braham. Overtime we were overpowered by Maya and the Dassam Duaar closed. Our soul came under the complete rule of Maya. The closing of Dassam Duaar normally happens between the second and third year after birth. If we can keep the child absorbed in GurBani, by playing Kirtan and GurBani by His side continuously, then the child can be saved for longer from the effect of Maya.
However, once our soul has been overpowered by Maya, getting out becomes very difficult. This is exactly the situation with most people. Almost the entire population is operating under the control of Maya. Only a few rare souls which are eternally blessed are not under the control of Maya. In fact, Maya is under their control, Maya comes to serve them. These rare souls are the Puran Sant SatGurus, the Puran Braham Gyanis. They remain one with the Almighty. They are served by Maya and Maya remains at their feet. This is because there is no difference between the Almighty and them. The Almighty is greater than Maya. The Creator is always greater than His creation.
Whilst your soul remains under the control of Maya, it keeps reincarnating in the Infinite Loop of Maya forever. That is true for everyone except the Braham Gyani. All souls that are not in Sach Khand, remain either in Heaven, Hell or Lakh Charasee Juni (8.4 million life-forms). Swarag (heaven) is the place where the Devi-Devtas (demi-gods) reside. It is one step below the Dargah, Sach Khand – Realm of Truth. Narak (hell) is where those souls who did really bad deeds go to bear the results before they are sent back to the Juni (life-form). Lakh Charasee Juni are the creations with life in the universe. Reincarnation takes place into life bearing creations and not stones. Stone and other materials are part of the Earth. However, trees and plants are life bearing creations so souls can be reincarnated there.
We have all been through this reincarnation process many times. For example, this Kookar (dog) of Gur, Guru and Gur Sangat has been reincarnated 236 times just in human lives and unknown number of times through the Lakh Charasee Juni. The most important questions to ask now are:-
· What is the solution to this problem?
· How we can break out of this Infinite Loop of Maya?
· How does Maya’s control over our soul go?
· How do we break the barriers of Maya?
· How do we win over Maya and go back to the Origin, the infinite part of the Braham and obtain salvation – Jivan Mukti?
Let us try to find an answer to this question, because the answer to this will determine the fate of our soul, so please listen carefully. This Kookar of the Gur, Guru and Gur Sangat will give some solutions to this very serious issue facing all of us. These solutions are not just mere words. They are based on our actual physical and spiritual experiences under the Agam, Anant, Apaar, Beant, GurParsaadi, GurKirpa of Dhan Dhan Shri Paar Braham Parmeshwar and Guru.
The solution to coming out of the Infinite Loop of Maya is GurParsaad. But, everyone cannot be eternally blessed immediately, because it is all predestined depending upon our deeds in previous lives. The Gur, Akal Purakh, is pleased when we have accumulated enough good deeds, Punn Karams. This is when our GurParsaadi Game begins. This is when Akal Purakh Himself eternally blesses us. Some very, very special souls like Guru Nanak Patshah Ji were blessed directly by Akal Purakh. Most others though receive GurParsaad through GurParsaadi Gur Sangat of a Puran Sant Puran Braham Gyani. Just like Bhai Lehna Ji was blessed by Akal Purakh through the Gur Sangat of Dhan Dhan Guru Nanak Patshah Ji. With GurParsaad He became Guru Angad Dev Ji. Only such a Puran Sant SatGuru can:-
· give us the GurParsaadi Naam,
· eternally bless us,
· open our Bajjar Kapaats,
· enlighten us with GurParsaadi Prabh Jyot,
· make us Suhaagan and Sada Suhaagan,
· help us complete our Bhagti,
· bless us with Braham Gyan by opening of the Dassam Duaar,
· help us achieve salvation,
· show us how to win over Panj Doots,
· lead us to eventually winning over Maya completely,
· helps us to obtain the Param Padvi,
· break us out of the Infinite Loop of Maya, and
· take us back into the Infinite Braham.
This is how we will be able to break free from the Infinite Loop of Maya and merge into Dhan Dhan Shri Paar Braham Parmeshwar. So how do we begin to please Akal Purakh so that He will be pleased and bless us with GurParsaad? We need to:-
· pray to the Almighty to eternally bless us with His GurParsaadi GurKirpa,
· keep on doing Naam Simran,
· keep listening to GurBani,
· make efforts to understand GurBani,
· start practicing GurBani in our daily life,
· earn humbleness,
· follow all of the mandatory divine laws, and
· completely surrender to the Guru.
In this way we will accumulate enough Punn Karams to definitely be blessed one day with GurParsaadi Game. We will be blessed with GurParsaadi Gur Sangat. And with that Gur Sangat of the Puran Braham Gyani we will receive the GurParsaadi Naam.
In the end it is our most humble and earnest request at the Charans of the Gur Sangat, to evaluate ourselves in light of the above divine wisdom. To look inside and find out exactly where we stand. If we are already a part of GurParsaadi Game, then we are very fortunate and are on our way to break the Infinite Loop of Maya. Otherwise, we should concentrate and do whatever we can do, to make our life truthful. Start by practicing GurBani and doing Simran, Seva and Parupkaar. We will definitely be getting closer to GurParsaadi Game by doing so.
The above words have given us a glimpse of the Shabad “ayk alkhai.” This shows us how deep the meaning of a Shabad of GurBani can go. This is just a glimpse and if we practice what Sukhmani says then we physically experience this state of “ayk alkhai.” We become Dhan Dhan. It cannot be explained, it can only be experienced. But, still we have made an attempt to give a glimpse of the depth of the Mansarovar.
Everything we have is by the grace of the Almighty. He has been very kind on us and given us this human life. Only by His eternal grace was the human being created. Only by His eternal grace can we:-
· decorate ourselves,
· use facilities to make our life comfortable,
· have land, gardens and properties,
· replace our limited mind with His Param Jyot Puran Parkash,
· bring our mind under control,
· win over Maya and go under the Puran Hukam and unite with Him,
· be saved and respected in the Dargah.
Everything that happens to make us comfortable is only by His eternal grace. So understand that His eternal grace is very important. Realize that everything that happens in our life to make us happy is all His eternal grace. By doing so we realize that we need to dedicate ourselves to His service. Such a deep and loving devotion that He Himself comes and lives in our Hirda, mind and Rom Rom. Such a deep and loving devotion is be achieved by complete surrender at His Charans. Give Tunn, Munn and Dhann back to Him. Absorb ourselves in His Bandgi, Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar. By doing so we become the Shabad “tiseh Dhi-aa-ay.”
Jih parsaad karahi punn baho daan.
Man aath pahar kar tis ka dhi-aan.
Jih parsaad too aachaar bi-uhaaree.
Tis prabh ka-o saas saas chitaaree.
Jih parsaad tayraa sundar roop.
So prabh simrahu sada anoop.
Jih parsaad tayree neekee jaat.
So prabh simar sada din raat.
Jih parsaad tayree pat rahai.
Gur parsaad nanak jas kahai. 5.
Guru Pancham Patshah Ji is continuing to give us the divine wisdom about the unlimited eternal grace of the Almighty. The Almighty is the One who has very kindly given us this human life for achieving our most important objective. Which is to reach the salvation stage, to come out of the Infinite Loop of Maya and to go back and unite with the infinite part of Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar.
Our human life is considered to be the most beautiful creation of the Almighty. Why? Because this is the only opportunity:-
· given to a Jiv Atma (living being’s soul) to unite with God,
· for to us for reaching salvation,
· given to us by the Almighty to reach the Param Padvi,
· to attain a respectful status in the Dargah of Akal Purakh,
· when we can win over Maya completely and make her a servant of ours,
· for us to become a Sant Hirda, a Sada Suhaagan and fill our Hirda with all of the divine qualities,
· for us to reach the Tat Gyan – the highest level of Braham Gyan,
· for us to become Apras Aparas, meaning to be able to help others unite with the Almighty,
· when we can get GurParsaad of Gyan, Dhyaan and Ishnaan and complete our internal pilgrimage,
· we have been given by the eternal grace of God when we can win over the Panj Doots and our desires,
· to reach the highest level of peace and happiness,
· we have been given by the grace of God when we can absorb ourselves completely in Naam Ki Seva, Akal Purakh Ki Seva, Sat Ki Seva,
· we can serve the Truth and deliver the Truth to the masses and make their lives also sublime.
This is why this human life has been called Sundar Roop (beautiful form) and Neekee Jaat (sublime form). All this can happen only with GurParsaad. Everything we have and everything that happens for our benefit and comfort is the eternal grace of God. We are not capable of doing anything at all. We are all just worthless creatures on the face of this Earth. With His grace we have been born as human beings and given a chance to worship Him continuously. A chance to give everything back to Him, to dedicate ourselves 100% to Him and to do Naam Simran, Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar .
All of the Punn Daan we do happens only with the grace of God. All of our Sat Karams and our daily chores are performed due to His grace only. All of the respect we command and everything good that happens in our daily life is due to the eternal grace only. Nothing happens without the grace of God. When we get this understanding that everything that happens is under the Hukam and grace of Almighty then our ego vanishes and we become very humble and full of humility. This takes our Surat, mind and soul into the depths of the Mansarovar and we become a swan – Hans – a Sant Hirda. And a Hans can only reside by the Mansarovar so we are absorbed in the Mansarovar continuously. We enjoy the Atam Ras continuously and this is what is the meaning of Shabad “Dhyaan.”
We will never be deprived of the divine grace – GurParsaad. We will always be absorbed in the Seva of Akal Purakh. This will put an end to our reincarnating in the cycle of birth and death and we will become Jivan Mukt.
Jih parsaad suneh karan naad.
Jih parsaad paykheh bismaad.
Jih parsaad boleh amrit rasnaa.
Jih parsaad sukh sehjay basnaa.
Jih parsaad hasat kar chaleh.
Jih parsaad sampooran faleh.
Jih parsaad param Gat paavahi.
Jih parsaad sukh sehaj samaaveh.
Aisaa prabh ti-aag avar kat laagahu.
Gur parsaad nanak man jaagahu. 6.
When we want to learn or achieve anything in our life the best way is to pray to the Almighty. So let us pray to the Almighty now so that we may understand and get a glimpse and feel the depth of the Mansarovar. With GurParsaad let us all thank countless times with every breath of ours the Primal Being, the One Supreme Lord, the Agam, Agochar, Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar and the Dhan Dhan Guru. Let us thank them with pressed palms, with our head at their lotus feet and with complete surrender. Let us thank them:-
· countless times for their unlimited eternal blessings,
· with full and complete belief, commitment, trust and full faith in their existence,
· for their unlimited spiritual powers, love, devotion, kindness, humility and all of their divine qualities, their Divinity and their divine wisdom,
· for their sacrifices and patience,
· for their forgiveness of our misdeeds,
· for blessing us with GurParsaad Naam, Bandgi and Seva, their Gur Sangat and Amrit Bachans (divine Words), and
· for the wealth of this human life.
With all this Agami GurParsaad let us try to understand the most complicated yet, very simple mechanism behind the existence and operation of our mind. “Our” doesn’t just mean our physical body, it means our soul, the Atma, the Jyot, the Parkash. Let us understand the most powerful enemy and cheat known as “THE MIND” and what happens when the condition of “Gur parsaad nanak man jaagahu” is achieved and how it is achieved.
The mind is a non-visible part of the physical body of a person. The mind is like a distorted mad horse. It is very difficult to control. Just like a mad horse jumps around and keeps on doing so. This means that the mind is very unstable. It moves around at a very high speed. It never stops as there is a continuous stream of thoughts, good and bad. These keep the mind running and jumping around like a mad horse continuously.
Another way to understand the operation of mind is as follows. Consider our physical body is a chariot which is being pulled by the five horses. These five horses represent the five senses. The reins of these five horses are being held in the hands of the driver of the chariot. The driver is mind. The reins represent the nerves, body and brain that carry and process the signals. Ultimately, the driving directions of this chariot are being given by the mind.
Now, under the influence of Maya, the five sense-horses get bombarded by worldly attractions. The mind-driver receives these signals from the sense-horses via the reigns. The mind-driver becomes instantly active, decides how to react and forms the thoughts that trigger a physical action. The five mad sense-horses are responsible for a continuous stream of thoughts in the mind. In order to relieve the mind-driver from these thoughts, all five sense-horses will have to be controlled.
The owner of this chariot is the Sleeping Giant. This is the Jyot – the Divine Light with the soul, the Atma. The power of the owner, the Sleeping Giant, is immensely more than the driver of the chariot. The power of the owner is beyond description. It is a part of the Braham. It is the Divine Light. It is the life element in the body which keeps the body breathing and alive. It is the divine entity. It is the Amrit. But, since it is not activated, the Sleeping Giant is sleeping under the curtain of darkness. This is created by the mind being prompted by these five mad horses. The mind-driver doesn’t let the Sleeping Giant do anything. The mind-driver lets Maya take its toll forever and keeps itself separate from the Nirgun, the Paar Braham Parmeshwar.
If we are fortunate and our deeds from previous lives are good. Which means that if we have accumulated some Sat Karams, and if we have done some Bandgi in the past, then this Sleeping Giant will start feeling the pinch of the darkness. This means the soul will start to wake up. Now and again at first, but then more frequently. The soul will feel the importance of controlling these five mad sense-horses. Then by accumulating more Sat Karams a breakthrough happens. We receive the eternal blessings, GurParsaad. This can only be given either directly by the Almighty, or by the Almighty through a SatGur, a Braham Gyani or a Puran Sant. This is why GurBani says, “Ik Oankaar Sat Naam GurParsaad.”
When the Sleeping Giant is awakened more often and for longer it receives more and more GurParsaad. This is in the form of Seva, Simran and Parupkaar. The soul keeps on accumulating Amrit. It gains more and more Divinity, divine wisdom and divine awareness. Eventually, the Bajjar Kapaats and the Sat Sarovars are activated. Then a direct and continuous contact is established with the Nirgun Saroop of Akal Purakh. The Anhad Shabad is received as GurParsaad continuously. The Sleeping Giant goes into the full awakened state. The Jyot grows to become a Param Jyot.
The soul becomes very powerful and at this point the driver of the chariot – the mind, is put aside. It is eliminated practically and the soul, the Param Jyot takes over the reins of the five mad horses and obtains the full control over these mad horses. These mad horses then don’t remain mad anymore, they become the servants of the Soul, servant of the Param Jyot. This stage has been described in GurBani as, “Munn jeetey jug jeet.”
The key here is to exercise Sat Karams, to do Naam Simran, Seva and Parupkaar, and receive GurParsaad. The GurParsaad is the only way. There is no other way to have control over the mind, to win over it, to defeat it and to replace it with the Param Jyot. The soul that is constantly awake is in the awakened stage known as the “Param Gat.” This is also known as Param Padvi, or Puran Braham Gyan Awastha, or the Sehaj Awastha, or the Puran Sukh Awastha. It is the stage of complete silence, complete eternal happiness, no thoughts and always absorbed in the Mansarovar. The rewards at this stage are beyond description. The physical and practical experiences are beyond description and are very surprising. Some examples are:-
· seeing Divine Light – Puran Parkash,
· telepathically communicating with plants and animals,
· hearing divine music continuously,
· having Guru Darshans and Darshans of Sants and Bhagats, and
· having Paar Braham Parmeshwar Darshans.
When one reaches this stage then whatever He speaks is called Amrit Bachans, the complete Eternal Truth. Whatever that person says will definitely happen. His words will always come true. That is why they are called Amrit Bachans.
All of these things happen with GurParsaad of Akal Purakh. So why do keep ourselves deprived of all of these eternal treasures by drowning ourselves in the scum of Maya? We should all work towards the awakening of our soul and stay in this awakened stage continuously. In this way we help ourselves achieve the benefits of this highly spiritual stage.
Jih parsaad too pargat sansaar.
Tis prabh ka-o mool na manhu bisaar.
Jih parsaad tayraa partaap.
Ray man moorh too taa ka-o jaap.
Jih parsaad tayray kaaraj pooray.
Tiseh jaan man sada hajooray.
Jih parsaad too paavahi saach.
Ray man mayray too taa si-o raach.
Jih parsaad sabh kee Gat ho-ay.
Nanak jaap japai jap so-ay. 7.
God is the Origin, the Mool, of the creation. Everything has come from the Almighty. The basis of the entire creation is Naam and so is the basis of the human life. The life element in the human is God element. The Jyot keeps the five elements of the physical body held together. These five elements are – air, water, fire, Earth and sky (space/ether). They are held together by the divine Jyot.
When the Jyot leaves the body, the physical body dies and the five elements go back to nature. When we keep the divine basis of the creation, Naam, in our mind, then eventually it replaces the mind with its full presence which is the Param Jyot. When this happens the soul reaches the heights of the spiritual world. God himself appears in the world in the form of a Puran Sant, a Puran Braham Gyani, a Puran Khalsa.
The person who is blessed with the GurParsaad of Naam will try and keep Naam in His mind continuously. This means when He starts doing Naam Simran, Naam goes into His mind, Surat, Hirda and then Rom Rom. All Sat Sarovars are activated within the body. All of the Bajjar Kapaats open, and a permanent connection is formed between the soul and the Mansarovar. This is the benefit of keeping Naam in the mind so let us all practice it.
The meaning of the Shabad “prabh ka-o mool” is the GurParsaad of Naam. God first created Himself and then created His Naam, which became the Mool (Origin). Naam forms the basis of the creation. Everything has originated from Naam. It is so powerful that it contains all of the eternal treasures. Once Naam replaces our mind then we become the custodian of all of these eternal treasures. Then our Wadyaaee (praise) spreads all over starting from the Dargah of Akal Purakh. All of our tasks are done successfully, when God comes and lives in our Hirda. God lives in a Sant Hirda. There remains no difference between God and a Puran Braham Gyani. There remains no difference between God and a Puran Sant. A Puran Khalsa is a Nirankaar Roop. By virtue of achieving the highest status of spirituality a Puran Sant is authorized to deliver the Truth, to deliver the GurParsaad of Naam to others. A Puran Sant is authorised because He has achieved the complete Eternal Truth by practicing it in His daily life. A Puran Sant is absorbed in the Sat, the Eternal Truth, the Nirgun Saroop of Dhan Dhan Paar Braham Parmeshwar forever.
There is only one thing that can save every one of us and that is for a Puran Sant to bless us with the GurParsaad of Naam, Naam Ki Kamai, Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar. Then we can attain Jivan Mukti.
Aap japaa-ay japai so naa-o.
Aap gaavaa-ai so har gun gaa-o.
Prabh kirpa tay ho-ay pargaas.
Parabhoo da-i-aa tay kamal bigaas.
Prabh suparsan basai man so-ay.
Prabh da-i-aa tay mat ootam ho-ay.
Sarabh nidhaan prabh tayree ma-i-aa.
Aaphu kachhoo na kinhoo la-i-aa.
Jit jit laavhu tit lageh har naath.
Nanak in kai kachhoo na haath. 8.6.
Guru Pancham Patshah Ji has very kindly summed up the divine wisdom in this Pauri. We are told that our spiritual progress is due only to the grace of God. It is only GurParsaad, eternal blessings, that elevate our spiritual levels and eventually take us back to unite with Him. Naam Japna, Naam Simran, Naam Ki Kamai, Naam Ki Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar happens only with the GurKirpa, the eternal blessings, GurParsaad. The Tat Gyan and the Braham Gyan come only with GurParsaad. Enlightenment comes only with GurParsaad. Sift Salah (praise) of Akal Purakh is an eternal blessing to us.
God is only pleased with us if He gives His own eternal blessings. Activation of the Sat Sarovars in our body is only due to the eternal blessings and grace of the Almighty. Blossoming of the Hirda Kamal, the lotus of the heart and lotus of the belly button, Nabhi Kamal only happens with His eternal blessings. All of the Bajjar Kapaats, the divine doors, only open with His eternal blessings. Dassam Duaar only opens with His eternal blessings. Anhad Naad – divine music is heard only with His divine and eternal blessings. Our Hirda becomes a house for all of the divine qualities and makes us a Sada Suhaagan only with the eternal blessings of Akal Purakh. All of the eternal treasures are achieved only with His eternal blessings and grace. There is nothing that we as human beings can take credit for. All spiritual progress is by His grace and eternal blessings.
In summary, we human beings have nothing in our hands. There is only one Doer and He does everything for us and around us. We should all engage in Naam Simran, Naam Ki Kamai, Naam Ki Seva, Parupkaar and Maha Parupkaar. By doing so we will be able to get all of these GurParsaads and achieve the objective of our human life – Jivan Mukti.