ਜਪੁ ਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਰਲ ਸਟੀਕ

In the first pauri, the ineffectiveness of the ritual practices commonly used for union with the all-pervading Brahm—such as external purification, observing silence, remaining without food, and so on—is established. A question is then posed: “How can one become sachiar, one who is attuned to Truth, and merge in Truth? How can the veil of falsehood, raised through haumai between the self and the Supreme, be broken?” The answer is given at the same time: “By living throughout one's life in the Hukam of the Master of Divine Will—the Hukam written from the Primal Court into the being and karmic record of the individual—the person can become sachiar.” The question-and-answer method is used here as a distinctive way of making a profound philosophical point easy to understand.

This pauri gives a brief but meaningful explanation of Hukam. The entire visible and invisible creation has come into manifestation under the Hukam of the One whose Hukam it is, and the whole process of this wondrous creation continues under Hukam. Hukam applies equally to all living beings; no one, great or small, is outside its sphere. Understanding Hukam is not possible for as long as the individual remains absorbed in haumai.

In reality, the test of having recognised Hukam is that a person gives up the destructive habit of “I, I” and “mine, mine.” Hukam means Divine Will, while haumai means “my will.” These are opposing concepts. When Hukam is understood, haumai disappears.

These pauris describe the means by which haumai is removed and understanding of Hukam is attained: singing and proclaiming the virtues of the all-pervading Brahm. The all-pervading Brahm is the Master of infinite virtues, and therefore the praise of those virtues is also endless. Living beings praise Him from different perspectives and with different devotional feelings, and through this they receive the gifts they desire from the Giver-Lord. Yet the highest gift is the vision of His luminous court and the attainment of His love.

To make the deeper meaning easy to understand, questions are asked: “What goal should be placed before life so that, throughout life, one may behold the court of the True Master? What should one speak with one's mouth that, on hearing it, the True Master may love us?” The answers are also given: make constant care of the ambrosial hours a goal of life, and by reciting His ever-abiding Naam, offer the gift of singing His glory with love and faith. In this way one can surely become worthy of the vision of the Lord and of Divine love.

The all-pervading Brahm is of the nature of Divine Light; He is pure radiance. The whole of nature has come into existence from that Light, while He Himself is self-luminous. To make an image out of the five elements, assume that it is the embodied form of the Formless, and worship it is sheer ignorance. The one means of worshipping the all-pervading Brahm is to sing or listen to the glory of that treasure-house of virtues with complete faith and love.

This successful spiritual practice frees the individual from suffering, grants inner bliss, and gives a dwelling in one's true home.

Because the Guru is one with the all-pervading Brahm at the level of the inner self, the Guru is supreme among the divine, and the Guru's Shabad is supreme among all knowledge—it is supreme knowledge. One who meditates upon the Guru's Shabad no longer depends upon any deity or upon the Vedas or mystical sounds for the attainment of knowledge.

By hearing the Naam-teaching of the True Guru, who is one with the all-pervading Brahm at the level of the inner self, the individual's understanding becomes illuminated with the light of knowledge. Divine virtues like jewels, gems and precious stones enter within, and the inner being becomes pure and immaculate. In this way the individual undergoes, as it were, an inner bathing.

Bathing at external places of pilgrimage cannot purify the soul, and without inner purity it is not possible to be accepted in the Divine glance of grace. The means of inner purification is remembrance of Naam, and one must learn this practice from the Guru moment by moment.

A person may receive an extraordinarily long and pleasant life—equal to four ages, or even forty ages—and may gain worldwide fame, good reputation and material splendour through spiritual powers or worldly wealth. Yet if, amid these priceless gifts of the Giver-Lord, such a powerful and glorious person does not perceive the Giver-Lord, that person is ungrateful, and no one wishes to draw near to such a person. Even someone who is himself guilty of various faults may level the severe charge of ingratitude against such an unthankful person; in other words, an ungrateful person is regarded as exceedingly low.

Only Waheguru has the power to transform one who bears such a severe fault into a virtuous person. This is beyond the capacity of anyone else.

These four pauris describe the glory of listening to the Naam-teaching of the True Guru.

Just as the glory of hearing and accepting Naam is beyond comprehension, so too is the mystery of hearing Naam. In the beginning, according to the Gurmat method of establishing understanding (“Through the Guru one comes to understanding”—730), the seeker hears the Naam-Gurmantra from the Guru. If the longing for spiritual understanding is intense, the Naam-Gurmantra heard through the ears by the Guru's method becomes absorbed into every fibre of the seeker. Thereafter, through unbroken spiritual effort, the Naam-Gurmantra is recited with every breath and morsel, and the Naam that is heard with complete alertness and concentration gradually becomes ajapa-jaap, effortless remembrance.

Then every hair of the body becomes, as it were, a tongue, and the wondrous, blissful unstruck sound of Naam arising from every hair is continuously heard by the consciousness of hearing. The seeker remains absorbed in its waves of bliss and wondrous sweetness. This is the mysterious state described as “the hidden Bani becomes manifest”—944; only the one to whom it happens knows its joy.

The spiritually accomplished ones who hear the Naam-teaching are so fortunate that riddhis, siddhis and nidhis continually circle around them in order to serve them, yet even though they are masters of these powers, they remain detached and free of ego. Through the illumination of Naam they become far-seeing, gaining understanding of the three realms. With divine insight they no longer depend upon the Shastras, Smritis or Vedas. Through the gift of virtues such as truth, contentment and knowledge, they themselves become fragrant and make their surroundings pure and fragrant. They remain absorbed in contemplation of Brahm. Through devotion there is continual joy and blossoming within them, and suffering and sin are destroyed naturally.

These four pauris show the importance of accepting and living by the Naam-teaching of the True Guru. The one who accepts the Naam-teaching becomes illumined within. As a result, the person becomes alert to the dangers of the path and snare of Yama, and is protected from attacks by vices and the harassment of the messengers of death. By forming a relationship with Dharma, the person travels without obstruction on the firm, unchanging road of Gurmat and reaches the Lord's court with honour and dignity, where the person is accepted. By accepting the Guru's Guru-like teaching, the individual not only saves himself or herself, but also becomes a means of uplift for the whole family and companions. Becoming a supplicant at the Lord's court, the person is freed from dependence upon every other door. Through the blessing of the Immaculate Naam, the person becomes free from the blackness of Maya.

After hearing and accepting the Naam-teaching, those contemplative and righteous people who become adorned with the title of “Panch” and are accepted at the Lord's court become recognised as “approved” and “foremost.”

It is Dharma that arises from Daya (compassion), and it establishes its foremost virtue, Santokh (contentment), thereby binding the world within moral order. One who understands the secret of Dharma as the sustaining foundation becomes sachiar. Such a person then understands that the earth is not held in place by a mythical bull, but by Dharma.

The person understands that the many living beings moving within the Creator's creation are woven into the thread of the Lord's Hukam. This entire expanse of the universe is the wondrous play of Divine Hukam. Neither the Creator nor His creation can be fully described. Therefore the individual should remain content, in every circumstance, with the Will of the ever-safe and Formless One.

These three pauris describe the countless streams and expressions of consciousness within the Lord's creation. In His many-sided nature there are, on one side, countless meditators, ascetics, lovers, reciters of the Vedas, yogis, devotees, charitable people, warriors and silent practitioners; on the other side are great fools, those who live by wrongdoing, tyrants, murderers, liars, flesh-eating outcasts and slanderers. All these beings are part of His wondrous play of the world.

All of them have been created by Him, and under His Divine arrangement each has been given different work to perform. In themselves, none is absolutely good and none absolutely bad. Blessed be the Creator and His wondrous creation!

Within His creation are countless names and places whose full account is impossible to calculate. If someone, under false understanding, makes estimates and attempts to count them, that is merely human small-mindedness.

Knowledge of the Creator and His creation can be expressed and explained through letters and learning. The account of the destiny written upon the forehead of each being by the Ordainer is likewise described by scholars and astrologers through letters. As the Self-Illuminating One, the Ordainer Himself is free from any written destiny. Neither the Creator nor His creation has an end. Rather than becoming entangled in the attempt to find that end, one should remain content in His Will.

In the journey of life, whatever good or bad actions a person performs, their results must be experienced. This is an unalterable law. Yet human actions, despite their power, are not independent in themselves. Divine Hukam has the final authority over actions, and the consequences of human actions are settled under Divine Hukam.

The terms “punni” (one who performs good deeds) and “paapi” (one who performs sinful deeds) describe opposing ethical qualities, but this is not a matter for empty storytelling. A person does not become good merely by being called good, nor bad merely by being called bad. The basis of being good or bad is the good or bad actions performed and the good or bad intention behind those actions. Just as a dirty cloth or bodily part can be washed with soap and water, so the impurity of sins attached to the human mind can be washed away through love of Naam.

Ritual practices such as bathing at places of pilgrimage, austerities, non-violence and charity are insignificant compared with Naam. By lovingly hearing and accepting the Guru's Shabad, the individual bathes at the inner pilgrimage-place of the soul. Divine virtues are gifts of the Lord. Without the Lord's gift of grace, it is impossible for the individual to perform true devotion to Him.

The Lord is of the nature of Sat-Chit-Anand—Truth, Consciousness and Bliss. These Divine qualities also enter the person who becomes joined to Him.

No one except the Creator-Karta knows when the expanse of the world came into existence. There is no other doer besides Him of the entire visible and invisible creation. All beings act and accomplish things only through the creative power granted by that Creator. If a person foolishly believes himself or herself to be the independent “doer,” this is great folly, for it ultimately leads to shame. A person may consider himself highly intelligent, but no one has the capacity to describe the Creator and His creation in full.

In the infinite creation of the Lord there are countless nether regions and heavens. When a person attempts to account for the Lord's creation, the wings of human intellect fall away and no end can be found. Through the praise of the Praiseworthy Lord, individual consciousness becomes absorbed in Supreme Consciousness and then no separate existence remains, just as rivers and streams lose their separate identity after entering the ocean.

Kings and emperors who possess limitless wealth and claim authority not only over the earth but over the seas cannot equal even the insignificant person who possesses the wealth of remembrance of the Lord.

The Lord and His status are the greatest of the great. His Name is the highest of the high. Naam and the One who is Naam are inseparable. Every aspect of the Great Lord is great, wondrous and priceless. He is the all-capable Giver; all other so-called worldly givers are beggars at His door.

Suffering and hunger too are gifts of the Giver-Lord. The imprisonment of worldly bonds and freedom from them both occur within the Lord's Will. The person who receives from the Giver-Lord the gift of praising His virtues is, as it were, the king above kings.

Scholars learned in the Vedas speak of the priceless virtues of the priceless Lord. Many Brahmas, Indras, Krishnas and Gopis, Shiva and other great yogis, wise beings, deities, demons, and sages and seers continually speak of His virtues. Yet no one is capable of describing the Lord's virtues completely. If an insignificant person makes such a claim, the claim is false, and the claimant is the greatest fool among fools.

What an incomparable court and abode of Truth it is, where one experiences that the whole of nature sings the Lord's priceless virtues and holds Him within consciousness, while the Lord continually cares for all. Air, water, fire, Dharam Rai, Chit, Gupt, Ishar, Brahma, Indra, siddhs, sadhs, celibates, disciplined practitioners, contented ones, mighty warriors, scholars, sages and seers, the beauties of the three worlds, realms, universes and the four sources of life—all continually sing the Lord's virtues in their own ways through the ages. This is only a tiny description of those who sing His virtues; a complete description is impossible. It is only through the Lord's grace that anyone receives the gift of singing His virtues. Those who sing His virtues are dear to Him, because praise of His virtues is itself His Hukam.

The Eternal Truthful Lord has created the many-coloured, moving and unmoving creation and directs it according to His Hukam. To remain content in His Will is the highest action.

For the yoga of Gurmat, it is necessary to adopt inner Divine virtues rather than outward signs adopted for display. The teaching is to wear the earrings of contentment, the begging-bowl of effort, the ash of meditation, and the blanket of awareness of time and mortality. The body should be made “virgin” for union with the Lord—that is, a means for practising the yoga of Gurmat. Firm faith should become the method and staff of this yoga. To regard all humanity as sharing equally in the attainment of Divine wisdom is the distinctive path of Gurmat-yoga. By conquering the mind, it is as though the whole world has been conquered.

The Lord alone is the Master above all masters, who keeps the whole creation moving within the restraint of Hukam. He is the very root and origin of all, beyond form and colour, and forever clothed in Truth. To Him there is eternal obeisance.

For the Gurmukh-yogi, spiritual knowledge is the ideal food. Compassion for living beings is the provision for the spiritual life. The Shabad-sound that continually resounds within everyone is the ideal mystical sound. Riddhi and siddhi are merely a shallow attraction. The Lord of the world carries on the process of the world through Sanjog (the unalterable law of union) and Vijog (the unalterable law of separation). Each person receives what is allotted according to the karmic record written from the Primal Source.

Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh—the three deities—are disciples of the three-guna Maya. This powerful Maya and its three disciples perform only the work assigned to them under the Lord's Hukam.

The abode of the Creator-Lord and His inexhaustible treasures are present within every universe. The Creator continually watches over and cares for His creation.

To attain oneness with the Lord, remembrance must take place not merely with the tongue but with every hair of the body. Yet the gift of ajapa-jaap cannot be obtained through one's own effort or cleverness; it can be received only through the Lord's gracious glance of grace. The boast of ajapa-jaap or “flying through the heavens” made by ego-ridden people who lack understanding of the Gurmat principle of Nadar is simply false.

Every human being is like a puppet in the Lord's hands. In speaking and remaining silent, in living and dying, in asking and giving, in focusing consciousness and contemplating knowledge, a person does not have independent control. Everything is within the Lord's hands, and He moves all living beings according to His Divine arrangement. In themselves, none is high and none is low.

This pauri describes the Divine mint. A mint is an institution authorised by a government where the currency of a country is produced. In a mint, with the help of a furnace, anvil, hammers, fire, bellows and crucible, a goldsmith shapes approved coin from metal; once the royal seal is placed upon it, the coin becomes officially accepted. Using this metaphor, the pauri describes the method by which the Shabad—or, in this context, the human mind—is formed in the Divine mint. The necessary equipment for this Divine formation is given as follows:

Worldly mint: furnace, goldsmith, anvil, hammer, bellows, fire, crucible, required flux/material, metal. Divine mint: restraint/discipline, patience, understanding, Veda (Guru-knowledge), Divine awe, arduous spiritual practice and service prescribed by the Guru, love, Amrit-Naam, and Shabad (the mind that forms intentions).

Note: Here “Shabad” does not mean Guru-Shabad; here “Shabad” means the mind—the one that forms intentions.

No one naturally has either the inclination or sufficient capacity to form the mind in this unique way. The wondrous and distinctive work of shaping the mind is granted to those fortunate people upon whom the Karta Purakh casts His gracious glance. Those whose minds are shaped in the Divine mint are blessed by the Grace-filled Lord with abundant grace and favour.

The human personality has two principal aspects—the body and the soul. Just as breath is the glorious vital element for the outward-facing aspect of human personality, the body, and just as water has the importance of a father and earth the importance of a mother, so for the inward-facing aspect, the soul, the Guru-Shabad is the Guru, while water (the water of Naam) and earth (patience and humility) are important.

“Air is the Guru; the Guru's Shabad is the sound through which Waheguru is taught. Water is the father, made pure, and the Gurmukh is led along the path of humility. Earth is the mother; honoured greatly, it forms the bonds woven through all.”

(Vaar 6, Pauri 5, Bhai Gurdas Ji)

The two portions of time, day and night, fulfil the role of a caring mother and nurse for the comfort and rest of living beings. The whole world, enjoying comfort in the lap of these bringers of ease, plays the game of life.

In the game of life, every action of a human being—good or bad—is certainly accounted for in the presence of Dharam Rai. According to each being's own good or bad actions and conduct, each receives nearness to or distance from the Divine.

The chief purpose of human life is to recite and remember Naam. Those who remember Naam are the ones who make the truly successful effort. They receive honour and fulfilment in both this life and the life hereafter. And it does not end there: through their spiritual effort, countless beings are freed from the cycle of coming and going.

Dhuni means sound. Language (speech) is built from sounds. Sound-symbols are used to represent sounds, and in script these are called "akhar" (letters) or "varan". The overall system of symbols used to give a language written form is called "lipi" (script).

Among the thirty-five letters of the Punjabi script, the three — "ੳ, ਅ, ੲ" — are regarded as vowel-letters (the remaining thirty-two are called consonants). Attaching fixed marks (lagan) to these vowel-letters produces the following ten vowels: ਅ (mukta), ਆ, ਇ, ਈ, ਉ, ਊ, ਏ, ਐ, ਓ, ਔ.

When these vowels attach to consonant letters, the vowel-letter itself disappears and only the mark (lag) is used with the consonant. For example — ਸੀਸ, ਕੀਮਤ, ਚੀਤ, ਜੀਤ (the full form of the vowel is "ਈ"; when used with a consonant, "ੲ" drops away and only the mark "ੀ" is attached).

(Note — since these marks come into use only when attached to letters, they are called "lagan". Sounds in whose articulation no two organs of the throat or mouth touch one another are called vowel-sounds. Mukta, ਇ and ਉ are short vowels, while ਆ, ਈ, ਊ, ਏ, ਐ, ਓ and ਔ are long vowels.)

When one of the above vowels attaches to the last letter of a word, it is called the "antla-svar" (final vowel), for example:

• In words like ਵਡਿਆਈਆ, ਖੰਡਾ, ਗੁਣਵੰਤਿਆ, ਭਗਤਾ, ਪੰਚਾ, ਗਲਾ, the mark "ਆ" ( ਾ) is the final vowel.
• In words like ਮੂਰਤਿ, ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ, ਹੁਕਮਿ, ਦਾਤਿ, ਕੋਟਿ, "ਿ" is the final vowel.
• In words like ਕੋਟੀ, ਅਖਰੀ, ਪੰਡਤੀ, ਮਤੀ, ਸਬਦੀ, "ੀ" is the final vowel.
• In words like ਘਰਹੁ, ਸਿਰਹੁ, ਦਿਲਹੁ, ਹਥਹੁ, the aunkar mark is the final vowel.
• In verb-forms like ਕਰਹਿ, ਬੋਲਹਿ, ਸੁਣਹਿ, ਵੇਖਹਿ, "ਿ" is the final vowel.
• In words like ਨਾਉ, ਬਾਉ, ਕਾਉ, ਸਾਉ, "ਉ" is the final vowel.

Within Gurbani, the grammatical marks attached to the final letters of words follow fixed, consistent rules. Where they carry deep significance for meaning, they are equally an inseparable part of correct pronunciation.

When, in pronunciation, the sound of a consonant or vowel is released through the nostrils, or the voice carries an anusvar (the sound of a tippi or bindi), such pronunciation is called "nasal".

When a particular letter within a word is pronounced with special stress on its sound, or by doubling that sound, this is called "dutt pronunciation". In present-day Punjabi, an addhak ( ੱ ) is placed above, between the letter whose sound is to be doubled and the letter before it — for example: ਮਸਕਤਿ (ਮਸ਼ੱਕਤਿ), ਸਰਬਤ (ਸਰਬੱਤ), ਉਚਕਾ (ਉਚੱਕਾ), ਕੁਸਤ (ਕੁਸੱਤ), ਸੁਚਜੀ (ਸੁਚੱਜੀ), ਮੁਕਦਮ (ਮੁਕੱਦਮ), ਮਸਲਾ (ਮੁਸੱਲਾ), ਸਵਲੀ (ਸਵੱਲੀ), ਦੁਲਭ (ਦੁਲੱਭ), and so on. Close attention to the pronunciation of such words shows that the letters on either side of the addhak are both affected by stress — somewhat more on the letter to its right, somewhat less on the letter to its left.

(a) A pair of two letters written one above the other is called a "dutt". In pronunciation, the sounds of both letters of a dutt are blended together softly. Any mark (lag) attached to the dutt is pronounced with the letter that appears as the foot-sign.

(b) The alternate vowel-sound of the semi-vowel "ਵ", when used as a foot-sign, is (ਉ - ਅ), while the alternate vowel-sound of the semi-vowel "ਯ" is (ਇ + ਅ).

Five letters of the Punjabi script (ਸ, ਖ, ਗ, ਜ, ਫ) each carry two sounds. One sound of these letters is the original one; to indicate the second, "special sound", present-day Punjabi script places a dot beneath these letters (ਸ਼, ਖ਼, ਗ਼, ਜ਼, ਫ਼). Pronouncing these letters together with the dot beneath them is what is meant by their "special sound".

In words like "ਸਹਜ", "ਸਹਸਾ", "ਜਹ", "ਕਰਹ", the letter "ਹ" is mukta (unmarked), but it is commonly, and incorrectly, pronounced as if it were "ਹਿ". The sound of mukta "ਹ" should be firm and upright.

When the letter "ਹ", in its small symbolic form, is used as a "dutt-akhar" at the foot of another letter, the sound of that letter becomes heavier as a result. So "pronunciation with stress" means pronouncing the letter together with the vowel-sound carried by the foot-sign ( ੍ਹ ).

When two separate words, without any addition to or omission from their preceding or following parts, are joined in their own form into a single combined word-pair, this is called a "samasi shabad" (compound word); for example — ਗੁਰ-ਬਾਣੀ, ਨਾਮ-ਰਸ, ਗੁਰ-ਸਿਖ, ਹਰਾਮ-ਖ਼ੋਰ, ਬੋਲ-ਵਿਗਾੜ, ਗਾਲ-ਵਢ, ਆਤਮ-ਗਿਆਨ, ਧਰਮ-ਖੰਡ, ਗਿਆਨ-ਖੰਡ, ਸਰਮ-ਖੰਡ, ਕਰਮ-ਖੰਡ, ਸਚ-ਖੰਡ, and so on. Pronouncing such word-pairs together brings their meaning out clearly.