Vichaar Japji Sahib - Pauree 1

by Giani Tarjit Singh (Translated in English from Audio Vichaar Session)

Shabad is omnipresent, body is present. My body is currently present here, if you go search for me outside, you will not find me. Guru’s shabad is present everywhere, it is omnipresent.

When we asked our Guru that after they leave this earth, with who will we share our worries? who will help us resolve our agony? Maharaj said, “I will be connecting you with that guru who will never die, who will be present anywhere and everywhere at any time”. That is our Guru Granth Sahib and we celebrate the Prakash Purab in every corner of the world today.

Baani is infinite, till today no one has been able to measure its vastness and its depth. It is an infinite ocean of wisdom. By the Guru’s grace, we can gain some knowledge from it, some may take a handful, some may take more and some may be blessed to go to deeper realms of that wisdom, it is only by His grace that we are enabled. Just like the bird that can fly in the sky but cannot measure the vastness of the sky, and like the fish who can swim in the ocean but has no clue how big is the ocean, similarly, we can be blessed with some capability to understand Guru Granth Sahib. However, there is no one who can understand or measure the depth of the Guru’s Baani. The more you read and try to understand the deeper it gets.

All the religions, and faiths in the world begin with a name. There is nothing wrong with it. All religions and faiths are respectable and have value. By trying to extinguish the light of one lamp the other lamp cannot make the light shine brighter. You cannot gain respect by disrespecting others.

All religious books are respectable and due for worship. Guru Granth sahib includes excerpts from many other religions like Hindu, Islam peers, etc. It is an ocean. All faiths are like rivers going towards the ocean and submerging within its vastness. Guru Granth Sahib has brought all these rivers together along with their preaching into explaining the vastness and oneness of this ocean “One Divine”. Some call it Raam, some Allah, some Murari, or Beethal, but all are going toward that one ocean. Guru Nanak has named it ‘Ik’. That One Divine, one ocean that contains all these rivers. That is why Guru Nanak has used the number ‘1’. All forms are leading to that ‘One’.

Sat Naam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhao....Ajooni, Saibhang.

When reciting the Mool Mantar pause between Ajooni and Saibhang. These are two separate words. Ajooni, that who does not fall into the cycle of birth and death. Saibhang is who is created from its own light. The Sun and the moon don’t have a light of their own. Some reflect light, others source the light from the universal power (God’s creation). Every form of light is either reflected or passed on, only the divine is Saibhang, who was created from himself, not from another source. “Thapeya na jaye kita na hoye”.

Gur prasad is a Sanskrit word and means grace, through the grace of the guru. We need to discover it, just discover it.

One who has come will definitely go. One who is born will inevitably die. What is created, one day will be destroyed. The Divine has not come and will not leave, and neither has he been created. If he has not come, then why will he leave? if he is not born then how will it die? and if he has not been created then how will it be destroyed?

This world is the achievement of the achiever and Nirankar is the discovery of the seeker. Implying that anyone can achieve or gain worldly materialistic things in this world. But the Divine can only be discovered by a true seeker, He has always been there. It’s not that God is there today and tomorrow it won’t be there; it is always there, it is pervading everywhere, and just needs to be found. The one who discovers it recognizes it, you can call that person, a devotee or a simple being.

The Mool Mantar is till ‘Gur prasad’, why?

In religious ceremonies, mangla charans or salutations are written and sung. Hinduism has two mangla charans or salutations, one for Lord Ganesha for wealth and prosperity. For intelligence, they worship the goddess Saraswati. Success and power are needed to prosper in the world, and intelligence is needed to gain knowledge and wisdom. Intelligence is needed so that the mind can gain wisdom with the grace of the Divine.

Lord Ganesha is a creation of God, and so is Saraswati. Guru Nanak has been very gracious, he is not praising the creation, but the creator itself. Satguru says that we should praise the creator of all things. This is the reason why it is called the Mool Mantar, it is the ‘Mool’; the source. but, people pay less attention to the source. They observe the carpet, walls, and ceilings of the gurudwaras, but none pay attention to the foundation of the building. We see what is visible, the form, but not the source behind it.

In this kalyug Guru Sahib has left us with a message. “Unless you meditate on the Naam, you will not be able to connect with the Divine” No matter how much you preach, no matter how much kirtan (sing hymns from Guru Granth Sahib) you do, no matter how much you donate to charities. Nothing will work unless you meditate, do Naam Simran. This is the supreme master’s grace and mercy.

What does the word ‘Jap’ mean? In Punjabi it means ‘cheta’; to remember. In Urdu it means ‘yaad’; to reminisce, and in Sanskrit, it means ‘smrati’; to meditate. Just like we memorized the tables of multiplication by repetition, and we still remember it, the practice of repetition has engraved it in our memory. Similarly, by repeating the Naam, the divine presence is engraved within us.

In the following paurees Guru Sahib is explaining to us how to meditate.

Aad sach Jugadh sach, hai bhi sach, nanak, hosi bhi sach”

Today we are aware of three types of tenses - past, present, and future. In this pauree guru sahib mentioned the era when the measurement of time was not figured out. When nothing existed, no earth...not even the universe.

“sochey soch na hovai, je sochi lakh vaar”

Guru Sahib says that you may wash your body as many times as you want, you cannot clean your mind. Guru Amardas Sahib explains this in the shabad:

“Mann mailey har kisch mailey, tann dhotey haccha na hoi...”

The reason to go on pilgrimage and dip in the holy water was so that the mind grows, intelligence grows and the soul grows. Those did not change. One can bathe thousands of times but the mind will not be cleaned without jap, and without naam.

By being in silence and not talking, the mind cannot be silenced. It constantly chatters inside.

Even if one obtains all the materialistic wealth from the world, one cannot subside the desire within. The hunger for these desires cannot be vanquished.

Sehaj syanpaan lakh hovey, taan ik na chaley naal

All the cleverness of your mind can be used for convincing and manipulating the people in this world. This cleverness will be of no use in the court of the Divine. All the degrees that you have earned by gaining worldly knowledge, will have no use once you leave this world.

Kiv sacheyara...

Satguru has raised a question. He asks that if neither by going on pilgrimages nor by taking holy baths, being silent, fasting, or gaining knowledge we cannot be pure then how do we obtain the state of piousness?

The legacy of Guru Nanak teaches us to be an embodiment of honesty and integrity. If the action doesn’t reflect honesty, and if the actions don’t take you toward the path of truth, Satguru says those deeds are superficial rituals.

How should we be truthful? How can we demolish the wall of falseness inside us? How to remove the veil of illusion?

How do we remove the veil of illusion and ignorance from inside us? Guru Sahib tells us in the following lines…

“hukam razai chalna nanak likheya naal”

Razai is an Arabic word that means ‘will’ or ‘command’. Living by the will of the Guru, waking up at amrit vela, following the rehat (code of conduct), however we don’t follow his will, then how will the wall of illusion fall?

Guru guides us towards something but we follow something else, how will that work? Guru says, “ Rehat pyari mujhko, sikh pyara na hai.” Then how will the wall of illusion fall?

“Hukam razai chalna”

Guru Sahib says to follow His will by walking on his path.