'image Of The Guru' Shabad

[GPS]

Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’

PART X

Only naam helps us during a difficulty.

In a situation where no one provides any support and where family and friends abandon us, my Lord Master had mercy and said, “jaa kao muskal ath banay …” [GGS:70] - “When you are confronted with terrible hardship and no one offers you any support; when your friends turn into enemies, and even your relatives have deserted you, when all support has given way, all hope has been lost - if you come to remember the Supreme Lord God, then even the hot wind shall not touch you.”

I knew a dear gurmukh Sikh. He was an engineer in the department of irrigation. He had received a seed of naam from some gurmukh and he had cultivated it quite a bit. But due to some past karam, some officers in his department did not get along with him to the extent that they tried to defame him and get him dismissed by framing him with crime.

His inner support was not yet established. His faith was shaken. Out of fear of disrepute and shame he decided to commit suicide. He went to a canal. But as he took his coat off and was ready to jump into the deep water, the naam surfaced from his inner depth.

When naam moved his lips, he felt the presence of Waheguru. He remembered, “The Guru is with me, always very near to me” [GGS:394]. His mind changed as soon as he remembered this. Our Lord Master, our protector, came along with naam.

When the naam was restored in his heart, he said “I am honest. I have done nothing wrong. Why should I fear?“ He remembered, “Someone who lives in sin lives in fear, one who lives truthfully always rejoices” [GGS: 84].

So, the Singh Sahib started uttering “Waheguru … Waheguru!”

He felt the presence of eternity. His spirit was lifted out of the negativity. The fear that had led him to commit suicide was eliminated. By leaning on naam he became fearless.

He regained his peace. He could then realize his mistake and thanked the true Guru. At the same time, his enemies were also exposed. Their conspiracy did not succeed.

Thus, naam did not let even the hot wind touch him.

Our youth and beauty, wealth and collections, none of these go with us. Only the simran of naam goes with us. After death we find the wealth of naam that we had accumulated here.

There is nothing else like naam. Gurbani and naam are invaluable gifts from Guru Nanak. Gurbani takes us into naam and naam bestows absorption into Waheguru. All learning and all philosophies are left behind when we leave this world.

Prayer for the sake of those who have passed on brings them peace. It helps their soul. This is a spiritual principle. Each departed soul needs prayer from the loved ones who are left behind. Even an enlightened sant benefits from such prayer.

The Third Master, Guru Amar Das, also gave this hukam: 'antay satgur bole-aa mai picchai keertan kareyoh' - “ … When I’m gone, do the immaculate kirtan in praise of the Lord …” [GGS:923].

Translated By Dr Yuktanand singh ji Thanks to him

[WaljinderSingh]

Thanks GPS veerji.

[GPS]

YUKTANAND SINGH

Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’

PART XIII-A

Simran divides our attention into two portions. The outer portion is used to manage worldly engagements while the inner portion remains attached with Waheguru.

Continue to repeat ‘Waheguru, Waheguru’ with our lips, or recite a shabad, or keep repeating even one line from gurbani. When we do so, then various disorders - lust, anger, etc. - start to wane. They come under our control and then become our slaves.

Along with naam simran, we need to engage in kirtan, in His praise and, contemplate on His virtues. Waheguru is the source of all strength and all health. Waheguru is the taste or the essence of all beauty and all wonder.

We should constantly remember, and repeat silently in the heart or utter with our lips, some gurbani verse describing Waheguru’s greatness, for example: “ooch apaar be-ant su-aami .” [GGS:802.16] – “O lofty, incomparable and infinite Lord, who can grasp your greatness?”

Forgetting His praise, if we repeat naam as a dry word then our heart also becomes dry and kind of morbid. When we remember that Waheguru is “sat suhaan sadaa man chaao” [GGS:4.16] - that He is eternal, beautiful, and always full of zeal - then, according to the law that “we become just like the one we serve” [GGS:223.19], our heart is filled with bliss and zeal also.

The virtues sprout naturally in the heart of someone who engages in naam simran. Such a person is not just ostensibly well-mannered. His heart is truly peaceful and anger, etc., have been eradicated or banished.

Naam simran results in transformation of our viewpoint, as if we took another birth. “Being born into the house of the True Guru has ended my wandering” [GGS:940.2]. The worldly qualities are then replaced by divine qualities. This inner state is compared to the cat that sees the meat in front of her, but does not eat it any longer [GGS:898.15].

* * * * *

If we make a mistake, then we must not justify it. First, promise to never repeat it and then pray to the Guru for power to abstain from it. If that mistake is repeated then we must make the same correction and pray in the same manner again, until we have achieved complete control over that habit.

* * * * *

First, naam reserves a spot in our heart. Then, when naam has taken hold within us, various virtues start to emerge spontaneously from inside.

“A brahm-gyani leans on naam for support” [GGS:273.7]. Thus, support of naam is never given up, even after reaching the perfection of a brahm-gyani. All the other organs of a liberated being do not quit their functions. Why then should the lips also not continue their function of uttering naam?

There is a command that, “when spiritual wisdom wells up, then actions are left behind” [GGS:1167.12]. This verse points at religious acts or rituals. Naam is not a ritual. It is life. Our mind stays awake with naam and then it does not get lost in the sleep of maya.

There can be no pinnacle of knowledge or a spiritual state where naam can be dispensable. Naam keeps our company all the way and we need to continue repeating it, even with our last breath.

By repeating naam, our haumai becomes diluted. In the end it becomes thin and transparent, as the wings of a butterfly. When the haumai is removed then Waheguru Himself resides in the vacuum or the empty space thus created.

* * * * *

Just as the entire army salutes an army officer who is wearing a uniform, similarly, those who repeat naam are branded with the mark of acceptance that brings honor after death.

“Baba, write that writing which will serve as a true mark of honor where your account is being examined,” [GGS:16.6].

“O my mind, remain always with the Lord. Stay with the Lord, listen O my mind, and forget all your miseries” [GGS:917.4].

Just as my coat is close to my body, my shirt and undershirt are also close to my body. But the undershirt is right next to my skin. The coat is not. We are to become attached with our Lord as my undershirt is attached to me.

“Rare is the one who drinks the ambrosial essence of the Lord's kirtan. Nanak, as a reward he gets one naam and he becomes alive by repeating it within his heart.” [GGS:400.2]. The wealth of naam is the wages that we receive for doing kirtan and studying gurbani.

* * * * *

When we receive naam, we must repeat it. By repeating it, lust, anger, etc., are spontaneously brought under control. Even then, we must not forsake naam.

If we ever forget to do naam simran then we should pray: ‘O Waheguru, may I always keep calling for you.’

Guru Nanak has said: “O my Guru, teach me just one teaching, that I may never forget the One who is the giver of all the souls” [GGS:2.10]