Meditation Times Nov 2011

TM

A DOWNLOADABLE E-MAGAZINEVol IV * NOVEMBER 2011 * Issue XI

Meditation leads to Ultimate Flowering

Introducing various Masters & Dimensions of Spiritual Sojourn

www.taoshobuddhameditations.com

MEDITATION#k Aae<mkar o

neness

i Taoshobudhha Meditations Meditation Times

MEDITATION TIMES A Downloadable Monthly E-Magazine

A PRODUCTION OF www.taoshobuddhameditations.com

Published by: www.taoshobuddhameditations.com

Country of Origin: Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies.

Chief Editor/Graphics Layout & Design: Swami Anand Neelambar

Editorial Team: Taoshobuddha, Swami Anand Neelambar

International Contributors: Hadhrat Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi, Lars Jensen

In This Issue

Editorial

Enlightenment of Nanak

Prelude to Japji

Gurudwara Janam Asthan

Gurudwara Bal Lila

Guru Nanak – a biographical sketch

The Mool Mantra

Guru Granth Sahib

Authors of Guru Granth Sahib

Recent Publications of Taoshobuddha

Hukum the cosmic law

Japji Sahib – the epitome of Nanak’s Awareness

Aadi Sachu Jugadi Sachu

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ONENESS

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ii Taoshobudhha Meditations Meditation Times

MEDITATION TIMES Published by Taoshobuddha Meditations

Trinidad, West indies

EDITORIAL

he world of the Sikhs is ordinary and simple. It is not based on any miracles.

This is one for the very few paths founded by a Master that is does not rely of

any miraculous phenomenon for its origins and existence.

Guru Nanak is one of the four persons that I have identified as changing the direction of

the new world. It was no wonder that Christopher Columbus discovered a new continent and called it the New World. This

new world was outer. But Guru Nanak discovered a new inner world. This is the

world of the Sikhs. The both discoveries were made around the same time in opposite parts of the world – East and West.

We have delved into the world of the Sikhs in

previous issues of Meditation Times. We again take a plunge into this world and explore the many wonders it has to offer. Nanak is very

dear to us. He called his place of worship as Gurudwara, which literally means the door to

the beyond. It can be considered a „stargate‟ a portal that transports the meditator to realms beyond the dimensions of the mind.

It should be noted that what Nanak

discovered was not new; just like what Columbus discovered was not new. It always existed. They just made it known to the world

that had forgotten about it.

Japuji is the fragrance of the ultimate flowering of Gurudev Nanak. After Nanak attained the dissolution of his being and

transcendental merger into the cosmos, the first words he uttered was “ek omkar

satnam”. In this simple yet profound declaration is the foundation for the entire

edifice of the Sikh religion.

The words seem simple enough but the words are not the message. One needs to delve deeper to extract the hidden mysteries within

the words.

Krishna says in Gita that there is only one mantra. This mantra is Om Tat Sat. This Om

Tat Sat was interpreted by Nanak as Ek Omkar Satnam. They mean the same thing.

Ek – means one. Not one as opposed to two or many but simply one because there is only

one. He alone exists. Nothing else exists. Omkar – means the resounding existential

sound. All creation emanates from sound vibration. This sound vibration is OM.

Through the utterance of Om He becomes the creation and is involved in the cosmic Lila.

Sat – means that which exists eternally. It is the sacchidananda of Vedanta; the rit of

Veda; the dhamma of Buddha; the dharma of Puranas.

Nam – means the world of infinite plurality; the world of names and forms; the entire

creation. Ek omkar satnam means there is only one

existential sound resounding through all creation.

All the verses of Nanak were sung. His way was through singing. This is Bhagavad Gita –

the celestial song. Singing was the invisible silk thread that Nanak used to ultimately link

with the invisible cosmic umbilical cord that emanates from Him.

T

Meditation Times November 2011 Volume IV Issue XI

Publications of Taoshobuddha Meditations – Trinidad Page 1

#k Aae<mkar - Oneness

sitnamu - Existential



krta puéo inr_av inrbEr

Akal mUrit AjUnI sE_a<g



gué prsad – Master’s Grace

jp – Meditate

#k Aae<kar stnam !!!



Enlightenment the embodiment of Compassion

In Sikh religion the word Enlightenment does not exist. Whether the word

exists or not does not matter. The experience of inner oneness, harmony

and dissolution exists. Indeed Enlightenment is the embodiment of

Compassion, Awareness, Harmony, and Oneness.



Manifestation of Inner Light

Nanak is unique. And he is unique in many ways. Nanak happened before

Tulsidas. Social values were declining. Politically that was the beginning of a

new era. The message of the masters was losing its inner fabric. Nanak‘s

role was to resurrect all these. Nanak came like a fresh breeze.

These are the words of the one who has known. When a master uses certain

words there is certainly a difference. In fact it is the master who gives his

fragrance to these words. Each word that Nanak has used echoes his

fragrance and his being. Nanak experienced his beloved and out of that

experience these words overflow. In the hands of the master words become

alive and pulsating with his fragrance.

Nanak had the first experience of Satori when he was 16 or 17 years of age.

After the first satori Nanak had several other satoris that became prelude to

his enlightenment and the emergence of the message of Japji Sahib.

One dark rainy night in the month of Bhadaun (The Indian Name for the

rainy month)! Thunder! In between lightening! Periodic pangs of rain. The

entire village was asleep. Only the lamp is lit in Nanak‘s room. Thunder!



Lightening! In between the sound of rain drops falling on the roof breaks the

stillness of the night. An indrawn Stillness continues! Total silence!

Amidst such indrawn stillness only the melody of Nanak echoes. Until late

that night Nanak continued singing. Night entered the third quarter. Nanak‘s

mother feared. She gave a gentle knock at the door. Mother Tripta said,

‗Son, go to sleep now. The night is about to disappear. It is almost day

break, son go to sleep now.‘

Nanak got silent. Same time amidst the dark stillness of the night a bird

papeeha echoed the sound PIHU PIHU…. Nanak drew the attention of his

mother towards this sound, and said, ‗mother are you listening to the sound

of this bird. This bird is not asleep as yet. Its song – the Clarian call

continues. The bird continued the lament of separation with its beloved. I

am in competition with this bird. The sound of the bird in midst of dark

stillness of night something happened. The song of the bird sent Nanak in a

state of Satori – first glimpse into enlightenment.

Nanak reminded his mother the bird is calling to its beloved. Then how can I

be silent. I will continue to sing as long as this bird continues to call. Its

beloved is close by. But my beloved is far. Even if I continue for lives only

then I can reach. In love one does not count days.‘ And thus Nanak

continued singing. Nanak reached to the Ultimate through singing. Like a

deja vu the remembrance of the ultimate happened.

Nanak‘s path is full of songs. Nanak‘s search is unique. Remember Nanak did

no Yoga! No Tap! No Dhyana! Nanak simply sang. And thus attained to

oneness with the Ultimate! Nanak sang with so much totality that his song

became ‗dhyana‘ (meditation). Song became Yoga! Also song became tap or

austerities.

Nanak is the one who drank the mystical wine to immeasurable quantum!

Nanak continued to sing the rest of the life. Such songs are not the songs of

an ordinary singer. These are the songs of one who has known Truth. These

songs echo the ultimate experience of Truth or Oneness. These songs reflect

the very Being of Parmatma or God or ‗Rab‘ as Nanak calls Him. Having

drunk Nanak is now overflowing that which cannot be put into words.



Only an enchanting heart can feel Nanak and His ENERGY FIELD. The energy

of Nanak cannot be destroyed by any means. Only an Enchanting heart can

become a medium of communion.

The dark night of rainy season I spoke of earlier, and then Nanak was about

16‐17 years old. When Jap Ji was born or enlightenment happened to him

Nanak was 36years, 6 months and 15 days old. The night that I spoke of

earlier Nanak was an aspirant.

That night when he was in search of his beloved he got the first experience

of Satori. Search has just begun. The call for the beloved is continuing—

PIHU, PIHU… The bird was still calling. Union had not yet happened. The

flower has not yet blossomed. But the bud has its beauty fragrance and aura

as well.

Whenever an individual does any act with so much totality that alone

becomes the path! Anything done halfway! Be it meditation, cannot lead to

ultimate flowering!! If you sing with your whole being! Dance totally!

Certainly you will reach. It matters not what you do? What really matters

how you do? The question is of your totality.

But Nanak has harnessed the energy field of consciousness for the

transformation of human being! Feel it! Be it!!! Nanak‘s effort is the birth of

a new man out of you! The integrated, harmonized, and blissful!!! One who

lives life beyond duality!!!

JAPJI is the announcement of Nanak‘s union with God. The bird is now

united with its beloved. Nanak became enlightened. The lament of PIHU,

PIHU is over now. After this solemn union with his beloved JAPJI is Nanak

message. Nanak‘s compassion overflows through JAPJI as the outburst of

Samadhi. There after the entire life is guided by this experience of harmony

and oneness.

Japji is the Being of Nanak. Japji is the Fragrance of the Samadhi that Nanak

attained. Therefore, in the message of Nanak JAPJI occupies a very

significant place. Most sublime of Nanak‘s message is Japji. Japji is the most

authentic, sublime, and the recent message from the UNKNOWN AND

UNKNOWABLE.

JAPJI is the first words that overflowed through Nanak after the Union with

his beloved.



After the first experience of Satori there wa anguish and intense yearning to

attain to oneness. Neither marriage, nor work, worldly life nor anything else

could distract Nanak from his path.

Prelude to Japji

In the darkness of the night! On the bank of the river! Nanak remained

sitting till late in the night along with his disciple and attendant Mardana.

The moment of the ultimate happening was drawing near. Nanak was utterly

silent, indrawn yet totally aware of all that was happening. All of a sudden

Nanak took off his clothes. Without a single word Nanak entered the river.

Mardana followed. And kept on asking, what are you doing? Night is cold and

dark. Far he went in the river. Nanak took a dive. Mardana thought in a few

moments Nanak will come out. Nanak did not come out of the river.

As Nanak took the dive the ultimate experience of Samadhi happened.

Nanak had remained in that state for three days.

For five to ten minutes Mardana waited. Then he started searching for

Nanak. He started calling. Then he started sprinting along the shore. Where

are you? Respond! Mardana felt as if each wave is responding. Have

patience! Wait a little longer! But there was no trace of Nanak. Mardana ran

to the village. Midnight he woke up every one. Crowd gathered. Everyone

loved Nanak dearly. People saw a rare possibility in Nanak. A possibility of

blossoming!

In the presence of Nanak everyone felt a different aura. A new fragrance!

Flower has not yet blossomed! Yet still the bud has its beauty! And fragrance

too! Entire village started crying. People gathered. They searched the entire

river. But found no trace of Nanak.

Nanak remained in the state of Samadhi. The state continued for three days.

It was the state of utter bliss. Something that Nanak was waiting for lives

finally happened. He was totally indrawn and was oblivious of the world of

duality, conflict and misery. Three days passed. It was accepted either

Nanak drowned or some animal has eaten Nanak. It was accepted that

Nanak died. There seemed to be no possibility of Nanak coming back.

Sudden demise of Nanak was accepted.



Three days after Nanak appeared from the river suddenly. As Nanak

appeared JAPJI is his first message. Nanak made this announcement. Such

is the story. I say a story! A story means it is true and not true at the same

time. It indicates truth. And it is not true because it indicates in symbols.

And deeper the message is one has to search for deeper and more subtle

symbols.

When Nanak disappeared in the river for three days, the story says Nanak

appeared in front of his beloved – God. Nanak experienced Totality – the

state of Samadhi. He came face to face with God. Found his beloved in front

of his eyes. One whom Nanak called day and night through his songs found

in front of his eyes. For whom all his songs were addressed! One who was

his heart beat! One who was the cause of his existence! Found right in front

of his eyes! Nanak is fulfilled. God said, ‗Now you go back. All that I have

bestowed upon you, Share the same with people.‘ Returning from this

communion, JAPJI is the offering of Nanak.

When I said Nanak disappeared in the river for three days he appeared in

front of his beloved. This is the final state of satori. This is Samadhi. Found

the beloved in front of his eyes! One for whom he sang! One for whom he

spent sleepless nights! One that existed within him like a deep thirst! Now

found him in front of his eyes! Eyes are overflowing with joy. Insatiable

quest is fulfilled now! His beloved asked him now to return and share all that

He has filled him with. JAPJI is the first offering of Nanak to humanity.

After this communion with his beloved JAPJI IS THE FIRST WORDS THAT

EVOLVED OUT OF NANAK! Japji is the ecstasy of Nanak! Nothing is more

sublime in the message of Nanak than Japji! Japji is the being of Nanak! His

fragrance!

This is a story. And I say this is a story. Try to understand its symbols. Until

you disappear there can be no communion. What is this paradox! Until you

disappear! And if I disappear then who will meet! Who will be in front of

God! This you need to understand. You are not what you ought to be. You

are not one. You are divided. There is utter confusion and conflict within.

You cannot see that a seed is a flower. All this happens because of the false

center-Ego.

So when I say until you disappear it refers to the disappearance of ego. Ego

has to dissolve. Only then your real face will appear. And remember this is



the first criterion. How does this ego disappears it matters not. It is

insignificant whether you disappear in the river, or mountains or forests.

None of these really matter. What really matters is that you disappear.

Where and how you disappear matters not. Your very presence is the

obstruction. You are the china wall. This is the reason that story says Nanak

disappeared in the river. So too you have to disappear. Your ego has to

vanish. This takes minimum three days.

This is the reason when someone dies we celebrate ‗Teesara‘ or the third day

ceremony. For the process of death to complete minimum it takes three

days. That much time is needed. So too ego never dies instantaneously.

Slowly and slowly it dissolves. And it takes three days. This is the reason

there is gap of three days. Nanak disappeared in the river for three days.

Nanak remained in the river for three days. It was the state of Samadhi. Ego

dissolved completely. Man exists as ego alone. Ego feels happy, sad, etc. All

that you do is the outcome of ego. This happens until ego dissolves

completely.

Thereafter a new journey begins. Family, friends, and relatives can only see

ego. If you are not operating as ego you do not have any existence.

Sometimes you would have observed this happening to you as well. We do

not have the eyes to see the soul. So it was considered that Nanak drowned

or died.

Whenever one begins the inward journey he becomes futile for the outer

world. Now he is no more. He does not behave as you are. There is a

discontinuity. Past is no more. New is now born. This is the reason that the

story has the gap of three days. The symbol of three days! Three days after

Nanak returned.

On the inward path whoever begins the journey certainly returns. But

returns as refurbished, as new, as reborn! Certainly whoever moves on this

path ultimately returns to the world of beings. He returns to share all that he

has experienced through this commune. On his way he was thirsty. His

quench is satiated now. He was a beggar while he was going. But he returns

as an emperor. Emperor not of the outer but of the inner! He is now

connected to an unfathomable ocean of bliss.



JAPJI is such an offering of NANAK. Never consider this story of Nanak

disappearing in the river or drowning and then appearing in front of God

literally.

If you think so then you are still an infant - juvenile. You have only grown

physically. Consciousness or wisdom is not yet born in you. What to do?

Something sublime has to be communicated.

Language is the only medium. This is the problem with the masters. They

have to choose the words from the language. Words and language has its

limitations. All that he wants to communicate is magnanimous. And cannot

be put into words! Words are incapable to manifest its magnanimity. So this

remains the barrier.

When ego vanishes the entire creation becomes godly. In that inner

harmony and oneness everything and everyone dances in that glory.

Remember God is not a person sitting somewhere and you have to be in

front of him. God is an invisible energy field. Such an understanding comes

out of maturity. How can you appear in front of that invisible energy field?

When this happens you see that invisible energy at work all around. It is this

energy that surrounds you. To say then that the creator is separate from the

creation is wrong and ignorance.

The creator is hidden in the creation. The creation is the manifestation of the

creator. And creator is the unmanifest creation. Precisely creator is the

process of creativity. God is an unmanifest power hidden within you. It is

this power or energy field that knows beyond our finite understanding. And

we are bound to each other by a causeless force. We are not aliens nor as

strangers meet. Instead we are bound to each other by an invisible

causeless force. Such an understanding is the beginning of the inward

journey.

As long as I was, Ego continued to function.

No union with God was possible!

And now that when God is I have disappeared!!

The lanes of love are very narrow!

Two can never dwell simultaneously! The rich or poor; king or the subject

Whoever this appeals can get it!!



Certainly not as he is;

Certainly a price is for this: And what is the price?

Your mind, your thoughts, your conditionings, Your traditions and your dogmas too;

Are the prices for this invaluable inner treasure of love!!!

With ego and vanity how can you be in front of him? Also how can you be in such a presence that is not an ordinary presence? You cannot look towards

the sun attentively. The glare blinds you. Then how can you be in front of that which is thousand times more glowing than the sun.

The day your inner vision opens, you will realize only that energy field

surrounds you. Only you disappear. That is all. This cannot happen as long as you have ego. Ego is like a speck of dust in your eye. With that speck you

cannot open your eye. And with closed eyes you cannot envision. Do not

consider me literally. By opening the eye I mean the disappearance of the speck of ego in your eye. The moment this speck is removed the unknown

and the unknowable becomes visible to you. God is always. There was never a time when he was not and also there will never be a time when he will not

be. This is true of you as well. Only you were not available. Nanak disappeared. God appeared. Now God manifested through his very being,

and his presence! Remember there is nothing except God. But God only appears through his creation and godliness. This is more sublime that God

himself.

Nanak returned as God. The man in him died. And now God is born in Nanak. After this happening whatever Nanak said is precious. Every syllable

is precious than the costliest gem. For each word or syllable even the entire wealth is meaningless. Each syllable then is Scripture. Each syllable is VEDA.

Now try to understand JAPJI:

Ek omkār sat nām kartā purakh nirbhao

Nirvair akāl Murat ajūnī saibhaŉ guru parsād

He is one! His very form is Omkar! The existential! He is Satnam! Embodiment of truth! Truth incarnate! The cosmic doer! Beyond fear!

Beyond prejudice! Beyond time and space is his sublime existence! Born out of his own free will he ever remains unborn! Yet still he is the cause of his

own existence! Such are his attributes Sacred and Sublime!

How can one attain to this presence!!



Certainly not by your own efforts alone! Be assured! By the grace of the

Master! Let this be your trust and certitude as well!!!

All that we see around is many. Wherever you see division is. All around only duality and multiplicity is. You go to the sea shore. Only waves are visible.

Ocean alone is. And waves are on the surface. Yet still you do not see the ocean.

You can see all that is on the surface. This is the only vision that you have.

You do not see beyond the duality! To see beyond the outer you need a different eye. As is your vision so will be the scene. Whatever shade you

have on your eyes will certainly give you the hue. Your awareness can never be deeper than your understanding. This is the reason there are altered

states of awareness. And Sufis call these as various states of Nafs. And when you have the outer eye, then you can only see the waves. And then

you will claim that you have seen the ocean.

Use your intelligence to find the answer yourself. This is not the way to go to

the ocean. From the shore only waves are visible. To know the ocean you have to be in the ocean. This is the reason that Nanak drowned in the river.

He is not lost in the waves. Instead Nanak is deep within the river. Mystically river symbolizes the being of an aspirant. And from the surface whatever

you will say will be false. How can you say that you have been to the ocean? A wave is not ocean. And neither the sum total of waves is ocean. There is a

fundamental difference between the ocean and a wave.

Thereafter Nanak continues in that state of ecstasy. Whenever anyone would ask Nanak he will immediately begin to sing. This is the expression of bliss.

Thus throughout life bliss overflowed and it nothing did matter world or anything else. The collection of Nanak‘s songs is the collection of Japji Sahib

the opening prayer in The Guru Granth Sahib.

Gurdwara Janam Asthaan, the shrine representing the home of Mehta

Kalyan Dass or more popularly Mehta Kaloo and Mata Tripta, father and mother of Guru Nanak Dev, where the Guru was born, was established by

Baba Dharam Chand (1523-1618) son of Baba Lakhmi Das and grandson of Guru Nanak Dev.



The shrine must have been established before the end of the sixteenth

century because Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606) is believed to have visited it. Its present building comprising a square, domed sanctum with a rectangular

pavilion attached to it within a vast walled compound was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab.

Background

A room was first built here by Guru Nanak‘s son, Baba Lakhmi Das, but it was more probably constructed by his grandson, Baba Dharam Chand. The

one room structure was known as ‗Kalu ka Kotha‘, literally ‗house of (Mahita) Kalu‘, - the father of Guru Nanak. Later it came to be known as ‗Nanakayan‘,

literally ‗home of (Guru) Nanak‘.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), at the instance of Akali Phula Singh and Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, constructed the present building, a domed square

sanctum with a pavilion in front standing on a spacious, raised platform, and made an endowment of about 20,000 acres of land for the maintenance of

the Guru ka Langar.

The management remained with Udasi priests until the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took it over after the gruesome events of 20

February 1921. With the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the

migration of Sikh population from the Western part of the Punjab, now part of Pakistan, the management of all Sikh Gurudwaras in the newly created

State, including those at Nankana Sahib, passed to the Waqf Board. The Government of Pakistan later allowed 15 Sikhs to stay in Nankana Sahib to

perform the daily services in the shrines. In 1968 the number was reduced to 5.

In 1980‘s only a granthi (a scripture reader) and a few Sindhi Sikhs stayed

at Gurdwara Janam Asthan. Batches of pilgrims from India were occasionally allowed to visit with special permission from the Pakistan Government.



Gurudwara Janam Asthan, Pakistan



Gurdwara Bal Lila is located in Nankana Sahib in present day Pakistan. The

word Bal Lila implies childhood play. The town is named after Guru Nanak

(1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh faith. Guru Nanak was born in this

town on Baisakh sudi 3, 1526 Bk - 15 April 1469.

About 300 metres south-east of Gurdwara Janam Asthan, marks the field

where Guru Nanak used to play in the company of other children. As is

apparent from the name, this site is related with the wonderful adventure of

the early childhood of the Guru. The Guru in his infancy, used to transport

the enlightenment of the Naam (God's name) to the minds of his friends,

while playing with them.

Nanak and Mata Tripta



The original holy pond Nanaksar with this Gurdwara was built by Rai Bular,

the ruler of Talwandi. Guru Hargobind during his visit to the town is said to

have enlarged the site. Diwan Kaura Mall, a Hindu noble (d. 1752), after his

victory over Multan with the assistance of the Sikhs in 1748, further

enlarged this Gurudwara and brick lined two sides of the nearby tank

originally got dug by Rai Bular.

Gurudwara Bal Lila

During the early 1800s, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had the building renovated

and the tank enlarged and properly lined. Of the land donated by him, about 3,000 acres were allotted to Gurudwara Bal Lila. After the 1921 tragedy at

Gurudwara Janam Asthan, the custodian mahants of this shrine voluntarily handed it over to the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee in

exchange for suitable maintenance allowance for their families.

Before the Saka of 1921, the arrangement of this Gurudwara was in the hands of the Nirmala Singhs. Besides Tirath Singh, the Mahant there were

also 37 other patidaars. The Gurudwara came under the panthic

management at the time of the Gurudwara Sudhar Movement. This Gurudwara remained in the panthic hands up to 1947, but after the

partition, the Pakistan Waqf Board has been serving the Gurdwara.



The sarovar adjacent to the Gurudwara is lying dried up and the Gurdwara is

opened only at the time of visiting to it by the Sikhs. There is no arrangement of Parkasha of Guru Granth Sahib. It is only the building which

is safe and sound.

The present Gurudwara was reconstructed during the 1930's and 1940's under the supervision of Sant Gurmukh Singh Sevavale (1849-1947). The

new building on the bank of the adjoining sarovans is a multistoried domed edifice.

Nankana town is part of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of

Pakistan. This district is adjacent to Sheikhupura district and until 2005 was part of this district.

The old name of town was Talvandi Rai Bhoe Ki or ‗Talvandi of Rai Bhoe‘, a

Muslim Rajput of the Bhatti clan and a retainer of the Delhi rulers of the

early fifteenth century. His descendant, Rai Bular, the chief of Talvandi, was a contemporary of Guru Nanak. The town has nine Gurudwaras including the

Gurudwara Janam Asthan which marks the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev.

GURUDWARA NANKANA SAHAB



GURU NANAK

A biographical sketch

(Born April 15, 1469, Rai Bhoi di Talvandi, near Lahore, India — died 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab)

Birth and early life:

uru Nanak was born in Talvandi on April 15, 1469. He was named Nanak after his elder sister Bebe Nanki. She was married to Jai Ram in 1534.

Jai Ram was employed with Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi of Sultanpur. Nanak was born into a family of the Hindu Bedi Khatri clan, in the village of Rāi

G



Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī. The village is now known as Nankana Sahib and is situated

about fifty miles west of Lahore, the capital city of the Punjab, (Now Pakistan).

His birth place is marked by Gurudwara Janam Asthan or Gurudwara Birth

place. It is known as Gurdwara Nankana Sahab. His father, Kalyan Das Bedi, also known as Mehta Kalu, was the patwari or Revenue Clerk with the

Government of the time or an accountant of crop revenue for the village of Talvandi under the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bular, who was

responsible for collecting taxes. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi. Guru

Nanak is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. He was a born saint.

Mystics claim that when he was born, an astrologer who came to write his horoscope immediately clasped his hands and began to worship Nanak. The

astrologer prophesied that both Muslims and Hindus would worship him. By the time he was five, he had begun to have in-depth conversations on

spiritual and divine subjects. At age seven, his father Mehta Kalu enrolled him at the village school and he was sent to Pandha. However he soon left

school because he showed himself to be proficient. He started to spend most of his time with the religious leaders of his village soaking up all that they

knew.

At an age when children play some normal games, his games were spiritual. When he was nine the parents wanted the Janeu or Upanayan Sanskar

according to Hindu rites. It is after this ceremony the child begins education

both worldly and spiritual. Nanak refused for the ceremony. He was never interested in studies. He used to ask such question that normally puzzled the

teachers.

As a boy Nanak, learned Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. However he had more interest in religion than education. At the age of five years Nanak is

said to have begun to discuss spiritual and divine subjects. Despite his father's efforts to steer him into a bureaucratic or business career, Nanak

remained enchanted with his spiritual quest.

There are two early sources on the life of Guru Nanak, the Janamsākhī and the vārs of the scribe Bhai Gurdas. The most popular Janamsākhī are said to

have been written by a close companion of the Guru Bhai Bala before Nanak died. However, the writing style and language have left scholars such as Max

Arthur Macauliffe certain that these were composed after his death.

Bhai Gurdas, Gurū Granth Sāhib‘s scribe, also wrote about Nanak‘s life in his

vārs. However, these too were compiled after Guru Nanak's death, and are



less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. Sikhs tend to hold Gurdas‘s accounts in

higher Esteem because of the author‘s generally perceived trustworthiness.

The Janamsākhīs explain in minute detail the circumstances of the birth of Nanak. They claim that at his birth, an astrologer who came to write his

horoscope insisted on seeing the child. On seeing the infant, he is said to have worshipped him with clasped hands.

The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to

see Nanak‘s eminence, when the bud blossoms into a flower. Therefore he worshipped Nanak as he should be, not only by Hindus but by Muslims as

well.

In his youth he became familiar with the popular creeds of Muslims and Hindus and gained knowledge of the Quran and Hindu Scriptures. He is

reported to have been displeased with the corruption and indifference of the

learned. A manuscript in Persian mentions that his first teacher was Kabir.

Nanak astonished his teacher when he asked the hidden meaning of the first letter of the alphabet, which is almost straight stroke in Persian or Arabic. It

resembles to the mathematical version of one and denotes unity or oneness of God. Nanak left school early after he had shown his scholastic proficiency.

He then took to private study and meditation.

Numerous Janamsākhīs state that Nanak used to retire to the local forest and also enjoyed the company of the religious men who frequently visited

such places. Several of them were profoundly versed in the Indian religious literature of the age. Nanak thus became acquainted with the latest

teachings of Indian philosophers and reformers.

Teachings of Nanak:

The main teachings of Nanak included faith in one true God, worship and

recital of his name and the necessity of Guru in pursuing the path to God. God, according to him, is imminent and transcendent. Nobody knows the

limits of God. God alone knows how great he is. Nanak compares God to the beloved and says God is in the heart of every individual. Nanak had belief in

a personal and merciful god. Nanak denounced the worship of idols. He put emphasis on the worship of true name. Nanak endeavored to remove the

cloud of ignorance and superstitions from the minds of people. He emphasized:



1. Naam Japan: Chanting the Holy Name and thus remembering God at

all times (often meditation).

2. Kirat Karō: Earning livelihood.

3. Vaṇḍ Chakkō: Sharing with others. These were some of basic

teachings of Nanak

Nanak placed great emphasis on the worship of True Name. Repetition of the

True Name ‗Satnam Vāhigurū’ was to be done with greatest devotion. Nanak

says ‗The name is the God, the God of all Gods. Some propitiate Durga, some Shiva, some Ganesh and some other Gods but the Guru‘s Sikhs

worship the True Name and thus remove all obstacles to salvation‘.

Nanak put emphasis on the importance of Guru for the realization of God. Nanak says ‗Without the Guru, no one can obtain God, however long the

matter is debated‘. With the help of guru, man enjoys divine pleasure; he does not know any sorrow. Guru is the raft or the ladder of the Sikhs. Guru

is found through divine grace. For this an inner preparation is needed.

Last years of Nanak:

Spending the last fifteen years of his life in Kartarpur, the Guru would wake

at dawn and recite his daily prayers. At daybreak, he would address his followers. He worked in the field and earned his livelihood. He worked in

Langar; or community kitchen, where food would be shared by Nanak‘s followers irrespective of their caste or creed.

As the life was coming near Nanak would frequently make a test, for judging

the merits of his followers and sons, for nominating a successor. He was once walking with them on a road and a corpse lay on the side. He ordered

all of them to eat that corpse.

None, but Lehna, later Guru Angad, came forward. He removed the sheet which covered the corpse and found Nanak lying there instead. There were

numerous other such occasions and Lehna never faltered in his faith in Nanak. Later Nanak nominated Lehna as the next Guru saying he was

himself and his spirit would dwell in him. Nanak called him Guru Angad.



#k Aae<mkar sitnamu krta puéo inr_av inrbEr

Akal mUrit AjUnI sE_a<g gué prsad jp

Ek‐omkār saṯ nām karṯā purakẖ nirbẖa‐o nirvair

akāl mūraṯ ajūnī saibẖaŉ guru parsāḏ!

PURPORT: One Universal Creator God! Thy Name Is Truth! Creative Being

Personified! No Fear! No Hatred! Beyond death! And beyond Birth too! Self-

Existent - cause of His existence! How one can attain! Certainly by Guru's Grace

alone!!!

The Mool Mantra - the invocation:

he mool mantra has two parts the Invocation and the Explanation of the

attributes. As is the customary etiquette before one begins the message there is invocation. Invocation comes first. ‗Ek Omkar Satnam‘ is the

Invocation. This is the essence. The entire Sikh religion is condensed in these three words. After this all that Nanak spoke is the explanation. Not

everyone is at the same plain as Nanak is. And if that has been the case then there was no need for Nanak. The explanation is therefore needed.

This is the methodology or Tariqat or the Way of Nanak to bring transformation in you. This is the way for the transformation of human

consciousness. „EK OMKAR SATNAM’ is the remembrance and salutation of that which is. And there can be no better way than remembering the

attributes of that which is. There is a significant difference between the invocation you do and the invocation of Nanak. The words Nanak is using as

attribute are his experience.

These are the words of the one who has known. When a master uses certain words there is certainly a difference. In fact it is the master who gives his

fragrance to these words. Each word that Nanak has used echoes his

T



fragrance and his being. Nanak experienced his beloved and out of that

experience these words overflow.

Before I go into the actual text it is important to know something of the birth of Jap Ji. Only then we will be able to enter the being of Nanak through the

message of Japji.

One dark rainy night in the month of Bhadaun (The Indian Name for the rainy month)! Thunder! In between lightening! Periodic pangs of rain. The

entire village was asleep. Only the lamp is lit in Nanak‘s room. Thunder!

Lightening! In between the sound of rain drops falling on the roof breaks the stillness of the night.

An indrawn Stillness continues! Total silence! Only the melody of Nanak

echoes. Until late that night Nanak continues singing. Night entered the third quarter. Nanak‘s mother feared. She gave a gentle knock at the door.

Mother Tripta said, ‗Son, go to sleep now. The night is about to disappear. It is almost day break, son go to sleep now.‘

Nanak got silent. Same time amidst the dark stillness of the night a bird

papeeha echoed the sound PIHU PIHU…. Nanak drew the attention of his mother towards this sound, and said, ‗mother are you listening to the sound

of this bird. This bird is not asleep as yet. Its song – the Clarian call continues. The bird continued the lament of separation with its beloved. I

am in competition with this bird. It is calling to its beloved. Then how can I

be silent. I will continue to sing as long as this bird continues to call. Its beloved is close by. But my beloved is far. Even if I continue for lives only

then I can reach. In love one does not count days.‘ And thus Nanak continued singing. Nanak reached to the Ultimate through singing.

Nanak‘s path is full of songs. Nanak‘s search is unique. Remember Nanak did

no Yoga! No Tap! No Dhyana! Nanak simply sang. And thus attained to oneness with the Ultimate! Nanak sang with so much totality that his song

became ‘dhyana’ (meditation). Song became Yoga! Also song became tap or austerities. An ecstatic Kabir sings:

surt klarI mtvarI mxuva pI GayI ibn taEle,

SURAT KALARI MATVARI

MADHWA PEE GAYEE BIN TAULE!

Nanak is the one who drank the mystical wine to



immesurable quantum!

Nanak continued to sing the rest of the life. Such songs are not the songs of

an ordinary singer. These are the songs of one who has known Truth. These songs echo the ultimate experience of Truth or Oneness. These songs reflect

the very Being of Parmatma or God or ‗Rab’ as Nanak calls Him. Having drunk Nanak is now overflowing that which cannot be put into words. Only

an enchanting heart can feel Nanak and His ENERGY FIELD. The energy of Nanak cannot be destroyed by any means. Only an Enchanting heart can

become a medium of communion.

The birth of Japji:

The dark night of rainy season I spoke of earlier then Nanak was about 16‐17 years old. When Jap Ji was born Nanak was 36years, 6 months and 15 days old. The night that I spoke of earlier Nanak was an aspirant. That night

he was in search of his beloved. Search has just begun. The call for the beloved is continuing— PIHU, PIHU… The bird was still calling. Union had not

yet happened. The flower has not yet blossomed. But the bud has its beauty fragrance and aura as well.

Whenever an individual does any act with so much totality that alone

becomes the path! Anything done halfway! Be it meditation, cannot lead to ultimate flowering!! If you sing with your whole being! Dance

totally! Certainly you will reach. It matters not what you do? What

really matters how you do? The question is of your totality.

Just as atom cannot be destroyed so too consciousness can never be

destroyed!!!

Scientists have harnessed atomic energy only for destructive purposes so far! But Nanak has harnessed the energy field of

consciousness for the transformation of human being! Feel it! Be it!!! Nanak‟s effort is the birth of a new man out of you! The integrated,

harmonized, and blissful!!! One who lives life beyond duality!!!

JAPJI is the announcement of Nanak‘s union with God. The bird is now

united with its beloved. The lament of PIHU, PIHU is over now. After this solemn union with his beloved JAPUJI is Nanak message. Nanak‘s

compassion overflows through JAPJI. Japji is the Being of Nanak. Japji is the Fragrance of Nanak. Therefore, in the message of Nanak JAPJI occupies a

very significant place. Most sublime of Nanak‘s message is Japji. Japji is the



most authentic, sublime, and the recent message from the UNKNOWN AND

UNKNOWABLE.

JAPJI is the first words that overflowed through Nanak after the Union with his beloved.

Before the birth of JAPJI

In the darkness of the night! On the bank of the river! Nanak remained sitting till late in the night along with his disciple and attendant Mardana. All

of a sudden Nanak took off his clothes. Without a single word Nanak entered the river. Mardana followed. And kept on asking, what are you doing? Night

is cold and dark. Far he went in the river. Nanak took a dive. Mardana thought in a few moments Nanak will come out. Nanak did not come out of

the river. For five to ten minutes Mardana waited. Then he started searching for Nanak. He started calling. Then he started sprinting along the shore.

Where are you? Respond!

Mardana felt as if each wave is responding. Have patience! Wait a little longer! But there was no trace of Nanak. Mardana ran to the village. Midnight he woke up every one. Crowd gathered. Everyone loved Nanak

dearly. People saw a rare possibility in Nanak. A possibility of blossoming!

In the presence of Nanak everyone felt a different aura. A new fragrance!

Flower has not yet blossomed! Yet still the bud has its beauty! And fragrance too! Entire village started crying. People gathered. They searched the entire

river. But found no trace of Nanak. Three days passed. It was accepted either Nanak drowned or some animal has eaten Nanak.

It was accepted that Nanak died. There seemed to be no possibility of Nanak coming back. Sudden demise of Nanak was accepted. Three days after Nanak appeared from the river suddenly. As Nanak appeared JAPJI is his

first message. Nanak made this announcement. Such is the story. I say a story! A story means it is true and not true at the same time. It indicates

truth. And it is not true because it indicates in symbols. And deeper the

message is one has to search for deeper and more subtle symbols.

When Nanak disappeared in the river for three days, the story says Nanak appeared in front of his beloved – God. Nanak experienced Totality. He came

face to face with God. Found his beloved in front of his eyes. One whom Nanak called day and night through his songs found in front of his eyes. For

whom all his songs were addressed! One who was his heart beat! One who



was the cause of his existence! Found right in front of his eyes! Nanak is

fulfilled. God said, ‗Now you go back. All that I have bestowed upon you, Share the same with people.‘ Returning from this communion, JAPJI is the

offering of Nanak.

Birth of Japji:

When I said Nanak disappeared in the river for three days he appeared in front of his beloved. Found the beloved in front of his eyes! One for whom

he sang! One for whom he spent sleepless nights! One that existed within him like a deep thirst! Now found him in front of his eyes! Eyes are

overflowing with joy. Insatiable quest is fulfilled now!

His beloved asked him now to return and share all that He has filled him with. JAPJI is the first offering of Nanak to humanity. After this communion

with his beloved

JAPJI IS THE FIRST WORDS THAT EVOLVED OUT OF NANAK! JAPJI IS THE

ECSTASY OF NANAK! NOTHING IS MORE SUBLIME IN THE MESSAGE OF NANAK THAN JAPJI! JAPJI IS THE BEING OF NANAK! HIS FRAGRANCE!

This is a story. And I say this is a story. Try to understand its symbols. Until

you disappear there can be no communion. What is this paradox! Until you

disappear! And if I disappear then who will meet! Who will be in front of God! This you need to understand. You are not what you ought to be.

You are not one. You are divided. There is utter confusion and conflict

within. You cannot see that a seed is a flower. All this happens because of the false center-Ego. So when I say until you disappear it refers to the

disappearance of ego. Ego has to dissolve. Only then your real face will appear. And remember this is the first criterion. How does this ego

disappears it matters not.

It is insignificant whether you disappear in the river, or mountains or forests.

None of these really matter. What really matters is that you disappear. Where and how you disappear matters not. Your very presence is the

obstruction. You are the china wall. This is the reason that story says Nanak disappeared in the river. So too you have to disappear. Your ego has to

vanish. This takes minimum three days.

This is the reason when someone dies we celebrate ‗Teesara‘ or the third day

ceremony. For the process of death to complete minimum it takes three days. That much time is needed. So too ego never dies instantaneously.



Slowly and slowly it dissolves. And it takes three days. This is the reason

there is gap of three days.

Nanak disappeared in the river for three days. Nanak remained in the river for three days. Ego dissolved completely. Man exists as ego alone. Ego feels

happy, sad, etc. All that you do is the outcome of ego. This happens until ego dissolves completely. Thereafter a new journey begins. Family, friends,

and relatives can only see ego. If you are not operating as ego you do not have any existence. Sometimes you would have observed this happening to

you as well. We do not have the eyes to see the soul. So it was considered that Nanak drowned or died.

Whenever one begins the inward journey he becomes futile for the outer

world. Now he is no more. He does not behave as you are. There is a discontinuity. Past is no more. New is now born. This is the reason that the

story has the gap of three days. The symbol of three days! Three days after

Nanak returned.

On the inward path whoever begins the journey certainly returns. But returns as refurbished, as new, as reborn! Certainly whoever moves on this

path ultimately returns to the world of beings. He returns to share all that he has experienced through this commune. On his way he was thirsty. His

quench is satiated now. He was a beggar while he was going. But he returns as an emperor. Emperor not of the outer but of the inner! He is now

connected to an unfathomable ocean of bliss.

JAPJI is such an offering of NANAK. Never consider this story of Nanak disappearing in the river or drowning and then appearing in front of God

literally. If you think so then you are still an infant - juvenile. You have only grown physically. Consciousness or wisdom is not yet born in you. What to

do? Something sublime has to be communicated.

Language is the only medium. This is the problem with the masters. They

have to choose the words from the language. Words and language has its limitations. All that he wants to communicate is magnanimous. And cannot

be put into words! Words are incapable to manifest its magnanimity. So this remains the barrier.

When ego vanishes the entire creation becomes godly. In that inner

harmony and oneness everything and everyone dances in that glory.

Remember God is not a person sitting somewhere and you have to be in front of him. God is an invisible energy field. Such an understanding comes

out of maturity. How can you appear in front of that invisible energy field?



When this happens you see that invisible energy at work all around. It is this

energy that surrounds you. To say then that the creator is separate from the creation is wrong and ignorance.

The creator is hidden in the creation. The creation is the manifestation of the

creator. And creator is the unmanifest creation. Precisely creator is the process of creativity. God is an unmanifest power hidden within you. It is

this power or energy field that knows beyond our finite understanding. And we are bound to each other by a causeless force. We are not aliens nor as

strangers meet. Instead we are bound to each other by an invisible causeless force. Such an understanding is the beginning of the inward

journey. An ecstatic Kabir says:

jb mE< wa tb hrI nahI<, jb hrI hE< mE< nahI<.

JAB MAIN THA TAB HARI NAHI,

JAB HARI TAB MAIN NAHI!

As long as I was, Ego continued to function. No union with God was possible!

And now that when God is I have disappeared!!

àem glI AtI sa<krI tame du# n sma@,

raja prja jeih écE zIz dE lE ja@.

PREM GALI ATI SSANKRI

TAAMAI DUI NA SAMAI RAJA PRAJA JEHI RUCHE

SHEESH DAI LAI JAI!!!

The lanes of love are very narrow!

Two can never dwell simultaneously! The rich or poor; king or the subject

Whoever this appeals can get it!! Certainly not as he is;

Certainly a price is for this: And what is the price?

Your mind, your thoughts, your conditionings, Your traditions and your dogmas too;

Are the price for this invaluable inner treasure of love!!!



With ego and vanity how can you be in front of him? Also how can you be in

such a presence that is not an ordinary one? You cannot look towards the sun attentively. The glare blinds you. Then how can you be in front of that

which is thousand times more glowing than the sun.

The day your inner vision opens, you will realize only that energy field surrounds you. Only you disappear. That is all. This cannot happen as long

as you have ego. Ego is like a speck of dust in your eye. With that speck you cannot open your eye. And with closed eyes you cannot envision.

Do not consider me literally. By opening the eye I mean the disappearance

of the speck of ego in your eye. The moment this speck is removed the unknown and the unknowable becomes visible to you. God is always. There

was never a time when he was not and also there will never be a time when he will not be. This is true of you as well.

Only you were not available. Nanak disappeared. God appeared. Now God manifested through his very being, and his presence! Remember there is

nothing except God. But God only appears through his creation and godliness. This is more sublime that God himself.

Nanak returned as God. The man in him died. And now God is born in

Nanak. After this happening whatever Nanak said is precious. Every syllable is precious than the costliest gem. For each word or syllable even the entire

wealth is meaningless. Each syllable then is Scripture. Each syllable is VEDA. Now try to understand JAPJI:

Ek omkār sat nām kartā purakh nirbhao Nirvair akāl Murat ajūnī saibhaŉ guru parsād

He is one! His very form is Omkar! The existential! He is Satnam!

Embodiment of truth! Truth incarnate! The cosmic doer! Beyond fear! Beyond prejudice! Beyond time and space is his sublime existence! Born out

of his own free will he ever remains unborn! Yet still he is the cause of his own existence! Such are his attributes Sacred and Sublime!

How can one attain to this presence!!

Certainly not by your own efforts alone! Be assured! By the grace of the

Master! Let this be your trust and certitude as well!!!



All that we see around is many. Wherever you see division is. All around only

duality and multiplicity is. You go to the sea shore. Only waves are visible. Ocean alone is. And waves are on the surface. Yet still you do not see the

ocean.

You can see all that is on the surface. This is the only vision that you have. You do not see beyond the duality! To see beyond the outer you need a

different eye. As is your vision so will be the scene. Whatever shade you have on your eyes will certainly give you that hue. Your awareness can

never be deeper than your understanding. This is the reason there are altered states of awareness. And Sufis call these as various states of Nafs.

And when you have the outer eye, then you can only see the waves. And then you will claim that you have seen the ocean.

Use your intelligence to find the answer yourself. This is not the way to go to the ocean. From the shore only waves are visible. To know the ocean you

have to be in the ocean. This is the reason that Nanak drowned in the river. He is not lost in the waves. Instead Nanak is deep within the river. Mystically

river symbolizes the being of an aspirant. And from the surface whatever you will say will be false. How can you say that you have been to the ocean?

A wave is not ocean. And neither the sum total of waves is ocean. There is a fundamental difference between the ocean and a wave.

Wave is short-lived. One moment before it was not! Next moment it

appears. And then the following moment it no more again! This is transitory.

Such cannot be the taste of God. Can it be? Certainly not!

Once there was a mystic, a Sufi master! His name was JUNNAID. He loved his son dearly. Suddenly, one day the son died in an accident. Junnaid

cremated the son. This baffled his wife. Wife always thought that Junnaid could never bear the agony of separation with his son. It appeared as if

nothing has happened to Junnaid. It appeared son has not yet died. Junnaid remained unaffected. By evening everyone left expressing their condolences.

An amazed wife enquired if he did not feel the agony. You loved your son so dearly that I thought you may break apart with this.

Junnaid‘s response is significant. It reflects the understanding of a master,

one who has known how to be. For a moment I was taken aback by the sudden demise. The same time I remembered something. There was a time

when the son was not and I was happy. And then the son came, happiness

remained. Now that the son is no more then why lament. Happiness is there still. You think happiness increases or decreases. Happiness is not

quantitative. Happiness is the quality of your being. In that state it is Bliss.



Happiness is an inner functioning. It has nothing to do with the outer. I am

blissful because of a different reason. When the son was not yet I was not unhappy. Then how can I be unhappy when the son is no more. Between

these two happenings was a dream.

Children are born through you. Not from you. You are the door. You are the mechanism that a child is conceived. A child is the gift from the unknown.

Give them your love. Mind they will have of their own. And once you have given them your love certainly something will evolve from within.

That which comes and disappears is dream. That which attains form and

dissolves is dream. Waves are dream like. Waves are numerous. Ocean is one. We can only see many. As long as we will not see oneness wandering

will continue. Misery and despondency too will continue. TRUTH IS SOLITARY. Nanak sings:

Ek omkār sat nām kartā purakh nirbhao Nirvair akāl Murat ajūnī saibhaŉ guru parsād.

EK OMKAR SATNAM!



On Baisakhi day in 1699 there emerged the Holy Scripture whose Oceanic presence encompassed the sublimity of all the existing traditions of the

cosmos. Thus was born the Khalsa Path – the path of Purity, Sublimity and Bliss. The scripture came to be known as The Guru Granth Sahib.

The Bible is only Christian, Bhagavad-Gita is only Hindu, Dhammapada is

only Buddhist, Jin Sutras only Jaina; but Guru Granth Sahib is the only book in the world contents of which are taken from all the sources possible. It

contains solemn message from Hindu, Mohammedan, Jaina, Buddhist, and Christian. Such openness and no fanaticism are found nowhere. The Guru

Granth Sahib is unique.

Several months before March 1699, Guru Gobind Singh invited his followers from all over India to a special congregation at Anandpur on Baisakhi Day,

30 March 1699. As a result, on that particular day many hundreds of

devotees and onlookers had gathered at Anandpur Sahib. Many had come as a sign of respect for the Guru and in accordance to his invitation while some

had just come out of curiosity. On the appointed day, the Guru addressed the congregants with a most stirring oration on his divine mission of

restoring their faith and preserving Dharam (righteousness). That day the tradition of living masters came to an end. Instead there emerged the Holy



Scripture whose Oceanic presence encompassed the sublimity of all the

existing traditions of the cosmos.

The title Guru Granth means ‗the book of the masters,‘ or ‗the master book.‘ In it you will find Kabir, Nanak, Farid, and a long line of mystics belonging to

different traditions, different schools, as if thousands of rivers are meeting in the ocean.

Guru Granth is like an ocean wherein the water of myriad rivers has merged. All these masters and mystics have given their awareness

to Guru Granth Sahib.

I will translate only one sentence of Nanak. He is the founder, so of course his words are compiled in Guru Granth in the beginning as first location or

mahala. He was the first master of the Sikhs. Nanak was followed a line of nine other masters. Sikhism was produced by ten masters. It is a rare

religion because every other religion was created by only a single master.

Nanak says: The truth, the ultimate truth is unspeakable. Nanak did not

speak about it instead he only sang it. And he sang with so much totality that the song became his tap, jap and everything. Whenever, anyone does

anything with so much totality that alone becomes the path. If you can understand the language of music, then perhaps a chord in your heart may

be touched. The transmission of the lamp is beyond words.

Guru Granth Sahib…the Sikhs call it Sahib because of their respect the book

so much, almost as if it is alive, as if it were the very spirit of the master.

But a book is a book, and the moment the masters depart the book is dead, the word is dead. So they are carrying a beautiful corpse, just as all the

other religions are doing.

Remember religion is alive only once in a while. Indeed religion is

alive only in the presence of a master. When the master is no longer alive it becomes a creed, and a creed is an ugly thing.

In the Gurudwaras in front of the Holy Scripture that is revered as alive,

people engage in all kinds of gossip and socializing. In reality if the master was indeed alive sitting in the Gurudwara no one can dare to engage is

gossip and socializing. And we go on considering The Holy Scripture as the Living Master.

They bow to the scripture but their reverence if fake, unconscious, and not emerging from the deepest core of the being. Deep down they know the



scripture is not alive. They literally throw the money in front of the scripture

and the act of obeisance does not seem to have any meaningful respect.

A religion exists only when a master is breathing. His breath is what religion is made of. His works are manifested all around us but most people are blind

to it. They enquire, ‗Where is God? Who is the creator?‘ Seeing the creation around them, they are blissfully unaware of the creator! They persist in

asking, ‗Is there a hand behind all this creation? Who could it be?‘ They are stone-blind they cannot visualize the hand that has produced this vast

creation. The irony is that in other respects they accept and believe blindly.

To date no one has seen the electron with the naked eye. Science says that

the electron is the last particle of electricity. As the basis of the world of matter, its various combinations have given rise to the earth. But so far no

one has seen the electron, nor is there any hope of seeing it. Then how can scientists believe in the electron? They say that its effects, its results, prove

its existence.

The cause is subtle, the effect is gross. We cannot see the hand of God, but

we can see his works. We believe in the existence of electrons because we see the results. Yet we deny the existence of God whose proof lies all around

us. The flower opens; some hidden hand must make it bloom, or else how can it? The seed breaks but someone must break it; when the hard shell

cracks the tender plant appears bearing delicate flowers.

Everywhere we see his handwriting, but not the hands. The hand is not visible because there is a balance between the subtle and the gross. The

cause is always subtle and the result is always gross. We cannot see the cause. God is the highest cause, but his handiwork is evident all around us.

So there are three types of people – the three types of horses according to Buddha. First are those who cannot even see his handiwork, they are so

blind! They ask: ‗What is God? Who is the creator? What proof is there?‘ If the vast creation all around us is not enough for them, and they cannot see

his hand behind all creation, what else will make them understand?

What greater proof is there than that life moves in a consecutive and

balanced order? There is no disjunction anywhere within this enormous leela, this play. It is a continuous flow. Night and day the music of creation

plays its enchanting melody. Everything happens as it should. The universe is not a chaos, but a cosmos; it is not happening by chance but by a well-

determined law working all the time.



This law is referred to as dhamma or dharma. Lao Tzu calls it Tao, the way;

Nanak calls it hukum, divine order. When Nanak says hukum do not imagine that he is standing somewhere issuing orders. Hukum means the universe is

an order, not a chaos. Things do not happen here haphazardly. An ordering hand is in everything, providing a purpose behind each event. All happenings

are directed towards their ultimate development.

Guru Granth Sahib is the present Guru of the Sikhs. The Holy Scripture is

referred to as the ‗Shabad Guru‘. The word Shabad implies ‗The Divine Word

– the Unheard and Uncreated Existential message of oneness, and harmony‘ and the Guru implies the spiritual guide or teacher who dispels the darkness

of ignorance‘.

The sacred scripture was compiled by the Sikh Gurus themselves. First edition was compiled in August 1604 AD by the 5th Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji

and the second edition was prepared in 1705 AD by the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Three days before His heavenly abode in 1708 AD, Guru

Gobind Singh Ji instructed the Sikhs that the succession of the human Gurus was to end with Him. He ordained the Sikhs to look upon the Granth Sahib

as their Guru and constant spiritual guide. Guru Gobind Singh Ji bestowed

the Guruship to Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

Uniqueness of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib is composed and compiled by the Sikh Gurus themselves.

Therefore, the message contained in it is original & authentic. No miss-interpretation exists.

Sikh Gurus honored the saints and masters even from the low classed and untouchable sects belonging to different faiths by including their hymns and



utterances in Guru Granth Sahib. Thus message and practice of Universal

fatherhood of One God and love for the humankind irrespective of their cast and creed became the essence of Sikh religion.

Guru Granth Sahib contains the Hymns of praise of the Lord Waheguru (the

Creator). It further reveals the purpose of human life - to attain re-union with Waheguru and advises on how to attain to this.

Guru Granth Sahib emphasizes on the truthful living through exercising virtues like total devotion to the Creator & the creation, kindness,

contentment and self-control.

Guru Granth Sahib totally discards the false rituals, baseless customs and practices. Certainly those will not help to attain oneness with God but only

the true devotion to Waheguru will help.

Guru Granth Sahib promotes equality amongst all castes, creeds and

genders as all originate from ONE God.

The fundamental principles and facts about the creation including its origin and growth are given but one is advised not to waste time and effort in

impossible task of discovering limits of infinite creation of God.

Guru Granth Sahib is not autobiographical sripture of any of the Gurus or the

Sikh history rather contains Hymns to teach one to attain spiritual oneness and harmony.

All the Hymns are written in poetic form using a total of 31 musical melodies

i.e. Raags. Reciting Hymns with musical melodies has a soothing effect and helps to develop devotion for Waheguru (God).

The Hymns are written in a particular order with unique numbering system in order to prevent any additions or subtractions at later date.

Although, the original copy of Guru Granth Sahib is written in GURMUKHI

script, the message reads in the spoken dialect of the region the Sikh Gurus preached. Now a day, copies transcribed and translated in English, Hindi and

French and many other regional and international languages are available. The translation in French has been released in year 1999 - 2000 upon

request from the French religious authorities.

Guru Granth Sahib recognizes entire humanity as creation of one father God

and hence contains message for the whole humanity.



The word GURU GTANTH SAHIB comes from three independent words ‗Guru‘, ‗Granth‘ and ‗Sahib‘.

Guru has two syllables ‗Gu‘ implying inner light of the Being. This precedes

in two steps first the experience of the inner harmony and oneness. This is arduous and takes time. The second step is somewhat easy. When the inner

flowering happens of inner light emerges the the inner beauty and fragrance

emerges as the Eternal Message beyond Time and Space. And the second syllable ‗Ru‘ – implies to begin the process of dispelling darkness of

ignorance. Thus ‗Guru‘ implies ‗Spiritual teacher‘ who dispels the ignorance.

‗Granth‘ implies a ‗Scripture containing divine knowing as Awareness.‘

‗Sahib‘ is added as a mark of respect, which literally means ‗The Master or

The Lord‘.

A ‗Sikh‘ simply implies a ‗follower‘ or a ‗learner‘ who has enormous quest for the truth through the teaching of Guru Granth Sahib.

The Sikh place of worship is called ‗Gurudwara‘. The word Gurudwara comes

from two syllable ‗Guru‘ and ‗Dwara‘. Guru implies inner light. He is the one

capable of bringing transformation in the one who has developed quest. And the second syllable ‗Dwara‘ has two meanings and both are relevant. The

first implies ‗through‘. This meaning is quite relevant because through the master alone one can attain to inner harmony and oneness. And the second

meaning implies ‗Door‘.

This is even more relevant. Indeed master is the door to the beyond. A door can lead you to inside something and also it can show you the way outside

as well. Master is both. He is the threshold. In a way he looks like you. And in another way – the deepest he is more than you. He has discovered the

inner treasures. He has the key to inner harmony. The master is the way.

Master is the form through whose presence the formless manifest. He is the

confluence of the form and the formless. Through his form you taste his formless cosmic oneness.



Historic Composition of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism, was born in 1469 in the village of Talwandi now in Pakistan since the partision of India on 15th August 1947.

His mission was to show the humanity a true way of life and teach the oppressed to fight against tyranny and injustice. Nanak traveled around in

India and the world including Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Lahore, Karachi, Baloochistan, Tibet, Kabul, Kandhar, Baghdad, Mecca, Iran etc. on foot with

his companions Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala for the benefit of the misled humanity. He made four major journeys and hardly spent time with his own

family. His preaching was based on the Truth as ordained by God, which was

conveyed to the people in their local dialect in a poetic form. The preaching was God sent message and therefore, it was termed as ‗Dhur Ki bani‘ and

also Gurbani - Guru‘s or God‘s message.

Guru Nanak‘s message was continued by the 9 successor Gurus who were carefully selected by the predecessor Guru. Despite their different physical

appearances and time, all the ten were in fact ‗ONE‘ by way of inner oneness and harmony. The Enlightenment, that happened to Guru Nanak, was

passed on to the 9 successors regarded as the ‗Gurus‘ which means that the guiding, supervising and driving force behind Sikhism was that of Guru

Nanak. And the remaining Gurus were the instruments of the All Pervading

Oneness. Now this Enlightenment lies within the ‗Word Guru‘ The Guru Granth Sahib.

All the Gurbani was recorded and subsequently passed on to the successor

Gurus who also composed Hymns to address the issues at the time. The Gurbani was compiled in the form of the Holy Granth termed as Guru Granth

Sahib.

Guru Nanak‘s mission was completed in His tenth physical form as Guru

Gobind Singh. It took 230 years when in 1699 He gave final shape to the Sikhs and called them the Khalsa (The Pure i.e. spiritually Enlightened

Ones).

A code of conduct (Rehat) was defined and outlined the physical appearance through 5K‘s as essential part of the uniform for the Sikhs. The guruship was

entrusted in 1708 to Guru Granth Sahib Ji “The Word Guru” and not to the human guru. Khalsa was to lead life like a Saint and a soldier (Sunt –

Sipahi).



The 2 Editions of the Guru Granth Sahib:

First Edition: Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev compiled the hymns of the previous four Gurus including his own composition and hymns of other Hindu

and Muslim saints. Bhai Gurdas Ji, his Mamma (Uncle), helped in inscribing (with handwriting) the Gurbani.

The compilation work was performed on the bank of Ramsar Sarowar - The Holy Tank in Amritsar. The Shabads from other saints were carefully

scrutinized for authenticity by Guru for inclusion in the Granth. He himself instilled his awareness into 2312 verses of Gurbani.

The first Granth was named as the Adi Granth also called ‗Pothi Sahib' in

1604 that took approximately one year to complete. It is remarkable that Guru Arjan Dev paid so much respect to the ‗Gurbani‘ - The Divine Word in

that He always slept on the floor placing the ‗Pothi Sahib‘ on a higher place. Guru Nanak Dev in His fifth form as Guru Arjan Dev re-iterated the message

of focusing our life around the Divine WORD or Righteousness. The Gurbani

should be respected as it helps us to realize the Divine Word.

First Prakash (Opening Ceremony):

Upon completion of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), the 5th Guru, Guru

Arjan Dev asked the Sikhs not to worship any picture or idol instead sing God‘s praises by reciting and meditating upon the Shabad Guru.

In fact, the Sikhs were expecting Guru Arjan Dev himself to sit on the throne in Harmandir Sahib but to everyone‘s surprise Guru announced that the Adi

Granth was going to grace the throne and all the Sikhs should honor and practice the message therein to attain to eternal peace. After the

compilation of Adi Granth, Baba Bhudhaa was appointed head Granthee or head priest of Harmandir Sahib for management of the daily services.

The Adi Granth Sahib was rested on the Manji Sahib inside the Harmandir Sahib in August 1604 and Hukamnama was taken after the prayer (Ardas)

by Baba Bhudhaa Ji. The first Hukamnama read as follows:

Soohi Mahalla 5 || Suntaa ke karj aap khloyeya har kum kraavan ayeyaa raam (Page 783)



Which meant that The Lord Waheguru Himself has stood up to

resolve the affairs of the Saints; Waheguru has come to complete their tasks.

The first edition contained 975 pages and 5751 Shabads, or Hymns written

in 30 Raags. This version is still kept at Kartarpur Gurdwara in Punjab, India.

Unapproved Copy:

Guru Arjan Dev sent Pothi Sahib through Bhai Bano for hard binding. He made a copy of Pothi Sahib without permission of Guru for himself. He

added his own favourite extra Shabads making a total of 5757 Shabad. But, Guru Arjan Dev called it as unapproved version. This copy has non-standard

page size and therefore makes up to 467 pages only. This copy is still with Bhai Bano‘s family. It is important to note that Gurus did not allow

unapproved additions so that the authenticity of the message could be maintained. Even, it is a lesson for us all today that we do not change

wording of Gurbani Hymns to suit our taste as it will deprive us of Guru's

blessing.

Second and Final Edition:

Guru Gobind Singh set out to prepare the final edition of Granth Sahib in

1705 AD at „Sabo-Ki Talwandi‟, now known as „Dam Damma Sahib‟. He asked for the Adi Granth from the Dhir-Maliye Gurus own family members

who had the possession. But, they refused to give the Adi Granth to Guru

and challenged him re-write it Himself if he was the true Guru. Nothing stopped Guru Gobind Singh, after prayers, He started the work of

compilation. As Guru uttered the Hymns through His Awareness, Bhai Mani Singh performed the work of inscribing. He also added the Shabads

composed by the 9th Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur and finally brought it to completion. Upon completion He thanked Waheguru for imparting Him the

power to complete it.

The final version, which is the authorized version in use at present, has 1430 pages and contains a total of 5867 Shabad in 31 Raags. Extra Raag called

‗Jaijawanti‘ composed by Guru Tegh Bahadur was also included.



Guruship to Shabad Guru

Three days before his heavenly abode in 1708 at Hazoor Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh told the Sikhs that the succession of the human Gurus was to

end with him. He ordained the Sikhs to look upon the Adi granth as their Guru and constant spiritual guide. Guru Gobind Singh bestowed the

Guruship on the Pothi Sahib and named it Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

Command for the Sikhs:

1. The Khalsa Panth has been founded through Akal Purakh‘s - Immortal God‘s order and all the Sikhs should follow and practice teachings of

Guru Granth Sahib. The Divine Light, which was sparkled into Guru Nanak Dev, resides in the Shabad Guru, Guru Granth Sahib. Anyone

who has quest to attain inner oneness with Waheguru, should seek guidance from the WORD contained in ‗Guru Granth Sahib‘.

2. The concept of Only ONE Guru as ‗Shabad Guru‘ was preached by Guru Nanak, who upon questioning who His Guru was, quoted that the

Divine WORD - Shabad is my Guru and my consciousness is the disciple - not my body. The WORD is the ‗Will of Waheguru‘ or

‗Waheguru‘s consciousness or righteousness – the Hukum‘.

Shabad Guru surat dhun chelaa ...

(Guru Granth Sahib Page 943)

3. Although, all the ten Gurus appeared to have different physical

appearance but all of them preached through One Waheguru‘s consciousness. In the end ordained the Sikh to follow the Divine Word

righteousness?

Authors of Guru Granth Sahib:

It is the only scripture that contains within its sacred covers, the hymns and utterances of the Sikh Gurus and wide variety of saints, scholars and poets

from different religions, low classed, untouchable. This proves fatherhood of God and equality amongst the humankind i.e. no distinction between low or

high, and touchable or untouchable. The number of Shabads and other compositions contributed by them is as follows:



Author Number of Hymns

1. Guru Nanak 947

2. Guru Angad Dev 63 3. Guru Amar Das 869

4. Guru Ramdas 638 5. Guru Arjan Dev 2312

6. Guru Tegh Bahadur 115 7. Guru Gobind Singh 1

8. Sant Kabir 534 9. Sant Farid 123

10. Sant Namdev 62

11. Sant Ravidas 40 12. Sant Trilochan 5

13. Sant Beni 3 14. Sant Dhanna 4

15. Sant Jaidev 2 16. Sant Bhikhan 2

17. Sant Sain 1 18. Sant Pipaa 1

19. Sant Sadhnaa 1 20. Sant Ramanand 1

21. Sant Parmanand 1 22. Sant Surdas 2

23. Sant Sunder 6 24. Sant Mardaanaa 3

25. Sant Sattaa 8

26. Bhatts 123

Total 5867

Note: The names of all the Sikh Gurus are preceded by the word „GURU‟ meaning master while the name of the other masters are preceded by the word „Bhagat‟ meaning devotees. This is against the Sikh principles of equality among the entire creation of God. I have therefore retained the word „Guru‟ before the names of Sikh Masters. And subsequently I

have replaced the word „Bhagat‟ with the word „SANT‟ to maintain the Sikh Tenet of equality among God‟s Creation – there is no one lower and no one higher.

Language of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib represents devotional poetry of the highest order. The

language principally employed was the language understood by the people. The written language is GURMUKHI script developed by 2nd Guru which is

similar to Punjabi but has unique grammar designed understanding of the words used.



Devotional Poetry of Guru Granth Sahib

The Gurbani is composed in total of classical 31 Raags (melodies) as follows. Each of the raags is sung at certain time of the day. The Gurbani when sung

in raags gives a very soothing effect and helps the listener to concentrate and develop devotion for the Waheguru:

1. Sri Raag 2. Maajh

3. Gauri 4. Asaa

5. Gujri 6. Dev-gandhaari

7. Bihagraa 8. Wad-hans

9. Sorath 10. Dhanasari

11. Jaitsari 12. Todee

13. Bairaree 14. Tilang

15. Suhee

16. Bilaawal 17. Gaund

18. Raamkali 19. Nat

20. Maligauraa 21. Maroo

22. Tukhaari 23. Kedara

24. Bhairon 25. Basant

26. Sarang 27. Malaar

28. Kanrha 29. Kalyaan

30. Prabhaati

31. Jaijaawanti

It is worthwhile mentioning here that the Gurbani is not only for the benefit of the Sikhs but also for the Humankind. Its language is people‘s, its truth is eternal and will be true for all ages like the almighty Akal Purakh Waheguru.



When Sikhs visit Gurdwara, they bow to Guru Granth Sahib to show utter

respect and express commitment to practice the message contained therein to attain the blessing & Divine knowledge.

Waheguru has no form, outline and color and cannot be perceived through 5

senses (see, smell, hear, taste and touch). The Words of Guru Granth Sahib provide guidance on how to form relationship with the un-perceivable God

and finally merge with Infinite Lord. This is the only objective of human life. Guru Granth Sahib teaches one to pray humbly to Waheguru, just like a

child, for freedom from the worldly bonds which keep us away from Waheguru. With merciful glace of the Waheguru, one attains the union &

permanent peace finally by taking guidance from the Divine WORD that is

realised through Gurbani.

We should take out as much time as possible from your daily routine and enlighten ourselves with the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib. Try to

understand and practice the Gurbani rather than reading the Gurbani as formality as ritual. Each word is mathematically arranged to create a

symphony and synergistic harmony. As slight variation in reciting changes the entire effect.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.



Recent Publications of Taoshobuddha

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Gems from the Ocean of the Being

Every moment life presents many situations, problems, circumstances.

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But man is unconscious, although he believes he is conscious. That very belief protects his unconsciousness. Man is ignorant, although he believes he

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SABHNA JIYA KA EK DAATA SONGS OF NANAK

He is the master of the entire creation This I may never ever forget!

Scientists have harnessed atomic energy only for destructive purposes so far! But Nanak has harnessed the energy field of consciousness for the

transformation of human being! Feel it! Be it!!!



Nanak‘s effort is the birth of a new man out of you! The integrated,

harmonized, and blissful!!! One who lives life beyond duality!!!

The effort in this work is to harness and present truth is its sublime and nascent form beyond religions and duality.

Nanak is unique. And he is unique in many ways. Nanak happened before

Tulsi. Social values were declining. Politically that was the beginning of a new era. The message of the masters was losing its inner fabric. Nanak‘s

role was to resurrect all these. Nanak came like a fresh breeze.

Anyone with linear consciousness or one track mind and understanding cannot understand Nanak. Only a master whose consciousness has reached

its pinnacle! Or has merged with the ultimate can explain various systems of transformation of human consciousness as interwoven through various

Pauris of Japji.

One dark night when Nanak entered the river Bain he disappeared for three days. The Sadhana of many lives attained fruition. Nanak came face to face

with his beloved one for who his each breath was and one for who he spent many a sleepless night singing and lamenting the saga of separation.

Three days after Nanak appeared from the river. And then Japji Sahaib is his

first message.

This particular title Sabhana Jiya ka Ek Daata is a line from one of the Pauris. It carries the core of the message. If you really understand the

essence of this line alone your life will be transformed.

Just feel the essence or the message of Nanak. The entire line is Sabhana

Jiya Ka Ek Daata so Main Busur Na Jaai….

He is the master of the entire creation. This is a statement. This is truth. None else is the master of the entire

creation. And the second line is the prayer a supplication.

This I may never forget even for a moment. This should be the part of our consciousness.

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Hukum Rajai Chalna... Hukum Rajai Chalna Nanak Likhiya Naal is the essence of meditativeness!

The essence of Nanak‘s message is Hukum – the cosmic law. Nanak again

and again speaks of this cosmic law. Before I go into the message of Nanak it is relevant for me to speak to you of Nanak as a mystic. If you look at

Nanak only as in historical perspective or as a social reformer you will miss

the essence of Nanak.



Nanak goes on emphasizing the way of surrender. Surrender cannot come

without understanding the essence of the cosmic law, or Hukum, its attributes and then flowing with the essence. Only then life becomes a

benediction, a joy full of harmony.

He is one! His very form is Omkar! The existential! He is Satnam! Embodiment of truth! Truth incarnate! The cosmic doer! Beyond fear!

Beyond prejudice! Beyond time and space is his sublime existence! Born out of his own free will he ever remains unborn! Yet still he is the cause of his

own existence! Such are his attributes Sacred and Sublime!

How can one attain to this presence!! Certainly not by your own efforts alone! Be assured! By the grace of the Master! Let this be your trust and

certitude as well!!!

With a crystal clarity and command of language and understanding

Taoshobuddha explains this and thus takes you within the energy field of Nanak. Allow a few drops of this nectar ooze into being so that the inward

journey may continue until fruition happens.





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Manne Ki Gati – the Invincible Mind

Flights of the mind are invincible. Nothing can ever be said about this. Ponder and introspect a myriad time before you say anything. Nanak

admonishes through his eternal message.

The nature of the mind cannot be explained in words. Whoever does try, will

certainly have to repent afterwards. No paper! No pen! Also no writer either to reflect on such a mind! Only Maraqba can really take you beyond mind.

This can be realized only by one‘s faith and love! Trust and understanding awakens the mind to higher consciousness. Introspection and Maraqba

unfolds the mysteries of the Cosmos. Obedience wards off all disgrace



inflicted upon and the fear of death. Faith and trust annihilates. This can

only be realized by one‘s faith and awareness! Faith is awareness!

Anyone with linear consciousness or one track mind and understanding cannot understand Nanak. Only a master whose consciousness has reached

its pinnacle! Or has merged with the ultimate can explain various systems of transformation of human consciousness as interwoven through various

Pauris of JapJi. Beyond dualities, conditioning, and your beliefs lays the realm of No mind. Nanak has not only attained to this Oneness with that

which is, instead has harnessed this energy field for the transformation of human consciousness. Japji is the expression of Truth as envisaged by

Nanak. And this present work is such an effort of Taoshobuddha to bring the fragrance of Nanak.

Allow a few drops of this nectar to ooze into your being. Allow this fragrance

to sanctify and waft an aura of bliss in your inner being. Life will attain a

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The Mool Mantra the Essence of Sikh Religion

‗Ek Omkar Satnam‘ is the Mool Mantra - the Invocation. This is the essence.

The entire Sikh religion is condensed in these three words. After this all that Nanak spoke is the explanation. Not everyone is at the same plain as Nanak

is. And if that has been the case then there was no need for Nanak. The explanation is therefore needed.

This is the methodology or Tariqat or the Way of Nanak to bring

transformation in you. This is the way for the transformation of human consciousness. ‗EK OMKAR SATNAM‘ is the remembrance and salutation of



that which is. And there can be no better way than remembering the

attributes of that which is. There is a significant difference between the invocation you do and the invocation of Nanak. The words Nanak is using as

attribute are his experience.

These are the words of the one who has known. When a master uses certain words there is certainly a difference. In fact it is the master who gives his

fragrance to these words. Each word that Nanak has used echoes his fragrance and his being. Nanak experienced his beloved and out of that

experience these words overflow.

Nanak‘s path is full of songs. Nanak‘s search is unique. Remember Nanak did no Yoga! No Tap! No Dhyana! Nanak simply sang. And thus attained to

oneness with the Ultimate! Nanak sang with so much totality that his song became ‗dhyana‘ (meditation). Song became Yoga! Also song became tap or

austerities.





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ENLIGHTENMENT THE ULTIMATE FLOWERING Enlightenment is the disappearance of ego, desires, and all that is tangible and connected with mind. Enlightenment is the state of no mind. It is a state

when drop has merged into the ocean.

Thought is mind in motion. No-thought is mind at rest. Samadhi is witnessing of both. It is transcendence.

Masters speak of enlightenment so that the seekers will get the first glimpse.

And this first far away glimpse is relevant for the seekers.

A satori is a state of the person becoming enlightened. When satori gets

crystalized your inner space is full of light. This crystalized state of inner



light is Enlightenment. This is the stage when drop merges into the ocean.

This is the near shore of enlightenment. The river of enlightenment needs the other shore for the river bed – for the enlightenment to flow like

undercurrent.

Samadhi happens when the other shore too is found. And not only your inner incandescence guides your emotions, intelligence and intellect instead

the whole existence has become enlightened through you.

Samadhi is the ultimate in enlightenment. In fact it is the state beyond enlightenment. First you become one from many and then become zero from

one. This is the whole mathematics of spirituality. From many to one and from one to nothingness you attain to utter emptiness within.

As a result for your inner search to attain a new impetus I am speaking to

you on various aspects of enlightenment and also experience of the masters

who have attained to enlightenment.





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ISBN-10: 1466278005 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality

Upanishad is indeed a unique way of communion between the master and the disciple – the one who knows and the one who aspires. Upanishad is the

journey of togetherness.

The word Upanishad comes from Sanskrit language. The word Upa is verb

that mean to sit. The word sit is not used in an ordinary meaning. The word ‗to sit‘ will be meaningless if it is not followed by an adverb. It is adverb that

can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers

questions such as ‗how,‘ ‗when,‘ ‗where,‘ ‗how much‘. Therefore the second



word ‗ni‘ adds the dimension of innerness. This dimension is the essence of

master disciple relationship. It means ‗closeness‘. Indeed it defines the verb and adds another dimension to the act. And finally the word ‗Shad‘

completes the meaning.

Indeed Upanishad is the way of inward journey without which inner flowering is impossible and the seeker does not attain fruition. Upanishad is the way a

disciple flows and merges in the unfathomable ocean of Totality – the Enlightened One – Master.

Indeed I am happy to write this foreword for the works of my beloved friend

and disciple Swami Anand Neelamber for his efforts to edit these intimate talks between master and disciple.

Thus ‗Taoshobuddha Upanishad Volume 1 – The Goose was never in‘ is the

beginning of a new series of master disciple talks edited and presented by

Swami Anand Neelamber. For this future humanity will always remember him.

I have known Swami Anand for the last twenty years when he was directed

to me for his Interest in Sri Aurobindo and Yoga. The association began. Every week he would visit my business place where along with worldly

business I used to undertake the work of transformation of human consciousness.

Each time he came with questions and thus began the process of inner

transformation. Then one day when as he stood at the office door there was no diary in his hand. I asked him for the question he had none. This was the

beginning of Sanyas and a new journey.

Later one day he expressed the desire to be initiated. He got his initiation in

the Naqshbandi Sufi order in the name of a Master Sufi Brij Mohan Lal. I gave him a new name Swami Anand Neelamber. It was a new beginning, a

complete discontinuity with the past and the beginning of an inward journey.

His new name meant one who is the master of bliss or anand which is divine in nature and vast like the blue sky. A new being entered him. He remained

in my association both for worldly and the inner transformation. And this process still continues.

He edited and compiled some of my talks and compiled as ‗Meditation the

way to self-realization‘ and others. Because of his command on language,



the understanding and insights he was given the assignment – of Chief

Editor of Taoshobuddha Meditations.

Under his guidance Taoshobuddha Meditations publishes the following free E Magazines and Journals.

1. Meditation Times – Monthly Publication now in the fourth year of its

publication with circulation worldwide.

2. Quarterly Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat This is dedicated to Sufi doctrine – the Naqshbandi Tariqat.

3. Quarterly Journal of Gita Dhyan Sadhana dedicated to bring insights into

The Bhagavad Gita.

4. Quarterly Journal of Rama Vigyan Sarovar dedicated to insights in the

portrayal of Sri Rama.

All this drew him closer to the source. He is the author of Hanuman Chalisa – Mystical Dimension available from Amazon‘s Kindle store.

And now this publication marks the new beginning of his insights. This is the

first in this series. Soon other works of this series will be available as the intimate process of master –disciple relationship.

These are meant for the transformation of human consciousness.

May you continue through your inward journey.

Love

Taoshobuddha





List Price: $27.00

6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)

Black & White on White paper

360 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1466464001 (CreateSpace-Assigned)

ISBN-10: 1466464003

BISAC: Religion / Mysticism

TAOSHOBUDDHA UPANISHAD VOL 2

Taoshobuddha says. ―When this title ‗A Religion without God‘ was chosen it

was an important breakthrough from the God Oriented organized religions

that all have failed to deliver the essential core of innerness. The emphasis

in no more on God instead it has shifted to man who has all along been

sitting of the periphery and God remained the center. When man is the

center and the periphery he has no more excuses. All responsibility of

transformation is his. The master plays an important role in this process by

providing direction that he remains on track.‖



The word Upanishad is very beautiful and sacred. It carries a great meaning

within. It simply means sitting down close to a Master. Upanishad is a

communion. The Master is living in wholeness herenow. Indeed he is

pulsating herenow. His life has a music his life is manifestation of joy, silence

of immense depth. His life is full of light and the light overflows in myriad

ways.

Just to sit silently by the side of a Master is enough, because the presence of

a Master is contagious. The presence of the Master is overwhelming. His

silence starts reaching to your very heart as the words overflow. His

presence becomes a magnetic pull on you. And it pulls you out of the

quagmire of the past and the future. It brings you into the present.

Upanishad is a communion, not a communication. A communication is head-

to-head and a communion is heart-to-heart. This is one of the greatest

secrets of spiritual life, and nowhere else, at no other time, it was

understood so deeply as in the days of the Upanishads.

Upanishads are sacred and pure because these are the statements of truth

experienced by the sage and these he shares with the disciples.

Indeed religion without God is the real religion. And the rest are all pseudo-

religions. All the religions of the east and the west are God oriented religions

excluding the religions that evolved around meditation. These are ritual

based. Remove God these religions fall flat on the ground. On the surface or

circumference you can only move round and round and round in circles.

In the east Buddha and Mahavira gave the religion without God. These are

the religions without God. Zen and Taoism are religions based in meditation.

A new jump indeed Buddha was quantum leap that made the entire cosmos

intoxicated with meditation whose echoes continues to linger even after

twenty-five centuries.

God that is the center of the religions in fact lies outside you. This is

superfluous. The outside God is on the circumference. In all such religions

God remains outside and there is no room for inward movement.





Hukum is the essence of Nanak‘s message. Hukum refers to the cosmic law.

Philosophy is a game for people who are not thirsty. Religion is the journey of those who are thirsty. Therefore philosophy plays with words; not so

religion. Religion takes cognizance of the hints the words give and follows them. When the quest is for the lake, what can the word lake do? When the

search is for life, the word life alone sounds hollow.

Let us understand a little about a profound question facing the philosopher.

A tourist comes to India and he is given a map of India. What is the relationship between India and the map? If the map is the same as India

then it must be as vast. If it is exactly like India, it would be useless, because you could not carry it in your car, much less put it in your pocket. If

it is not like India, how can it still be useful?

The map is a symbol. It is not like India and yet through its lines, it conveys useful information about India. You may roam the whole of India without

ever seeing a map of India. Wherever you go you will find India; the map is nowhere to be seen. But if you have the map with you and understand it and

use it, the journey will be made easier. By either keeping the map in your pocket, or by looking at the map and never leaving your room, you will not

learn a great deal. Both together make for the fullest understanding of the

experience.

Religious people the world over hold the maps to their chests as if the maps were real and all that is needed. Scriptures, holy books, images, temples -

all contain hidden pointers that keep the maps from being just a burden. The Hindu is carrying his load of maps in the form of the scriptures, the Muslims

his, the Christian his. The maps have become so numerous that the journey is now almost impossible. The maps should be short, abridged, and they are

not to be worshipped in themselves, but to be utilized on the journey.

Nanak drew his essentials from both the Hindu and the Mohammedan religions. He cannot be called Hindu or Mohammedan. He is both or neither.

It was very difficult for people to understand Nanak. There was a saying: ‗Baba Nanak is the king of the fakirs. He is the guru of the Hindus and the

saint of the Mohammedans.‘



He is both. Two of his special disciples, Mardana and Bala, were Hindu and

Muslim. Yet Nanak has no place in the Hindu temple or in the Mohammedan mosque. Both doubt his position and do not know where to place him. Nanak

is the confluence of the two rivers Hinduism and Islam. He harvested the essence from both. Therefore the Sikh is neither Hindu nor Mohammedan.

Now it is difficult to understand this confluence. When there is a river on the

map it is clear-cut, but here two rivers have become one. Some words relate to Islam while others reflect Hinduism, and together they became hazy, but

gradually the fog clears when you enter into the experience. If you keep Nanak‘s words on your chest as you do with other scriptures, it becomes like

any other holy book - and we do find the Sikh worshipping his words as if they were the guru. Does it not astonish how we repeat our mistakes?

Nanak went to Mecca. The priests there told him to be careful not to point

his feet toward Kaaba while he slept. As the story goes, Nanak‘s reply was

that they should turn his feet where God was not, and, it is said, the holy stone of Mecca turned wherever they turned his feet. The symbolism means

only this: wherever you turn your feet, there God is. Where will you put your feet if He is omnipresent?

Nanak was against all kinds of foolishness. However when the master is no

more and man and his unconsciousness is the custodian we go on repeating the same mistakes in many different ways. Man‘s foolishness is the same

everywhere.

Whatever Buddha says, his followers paint with their own brush to suit them. And so also is the case with Nanak. The same web is woven once a master

has pronounced his words, because man‘s foolishness has not changed, nor has his deafness improved. He hears, but he draws his own individual

conclusions which he then follows accordingly, never putting into practice

what he actually hears.

Nanak says, no matter how many songs are sung about the lord, nobody has covered it completely. Different people sing different songs because there

are many paths to reach Him. However antithetical their songs may seem there is no contradiction anywhere because they all contain the same

message. The Vedas say exactly what the Koran says, but the method by which Mohammed reached is different from Patanjali‘s approach. Buddha

also says the same thing but his method is entirely different.

Infinite are the gates to His abode. Whichever way you go leads to His gate. Once arrived, you can begin to define the gate through which you entered,



and describe the path you have trodden. Another person will likewise

describe his own door and his road. Besides, it is not only the path that differs, but your understanding, your perception, your emotional attitude all

play a significant part.

When a poet enters a garden, he sings in ecstasy. An artist would paint a picture. If a flower-merchant comes along, he will think in terms of sale and

profit. A scientist will analyze the flowers or soil to find out their chemical composition and why they grow. A drunkurd will be oblivious to the beauty

around him, he will not even know that he went through a garden. Whatever you see passes through the windows of your own eyes which impose their

own color on everything.

Says Nanak: Some sing the praise of His power - He is all powerful, omnipotent. Some sing of His benefaction and munificence - He is the

supreme giver. Some sing of the glory of His attributes, His beauty and that

He is the most beautiful. Some call Him truth, others call Him Shiva, and some call Him the beautiful."

Rabindranath found Him in beauty. This says nothing of God; rather, it tells

of Rabindranath. Gandhi saw him as truth and truth is God for him. This speaks of Gandhi rather than of God. Rabindranath is a poet. For a poet God

resides in beauty, supreme beauty. Gandhi was no poet, he is practical, and it is natural that such a mind sees God as truth. From the point of a lover He

is the beloved. How we see Him reflects our insight. He is everything simultaneously and also - none of these.

In this context Mahavira‘s reflection is wonderful. He says,

‗Unless and until your sense of vision drops, you cannot know Him.‘

For whatever you will know, you will know through your own seeing; it will be your view of knowing. Mahavira calls his method no-view. Seeing only

occurs when all vision drops.

But then you will lapse into silence, because how will you speak without a viewpoint? When you are freed of your vision, you will become like Him;

because you will be so extensive, and so comprehensive, that you will be one with the open skies. How will you speak then? You will no longer be

separate unto yourself, but one with the absolute. A viewpoint means that you stand apart from what you see; to have a viewpoint means that you are

separate from Him.



Therefore Nanak says that all the viewpoints are correct but none is

complete; when the partial is proclaimed as complete and perfect, the illusions begin. Any sect or organization claims one particular incomplete

vision as perfect. One sect stands against another, whereas all sects are different aspects of religion, and no one sect is a religion. If we were to

amalgamate all possible sects that have been, that are and that will be, then religion would be born. No sect on its own can be called religion.

The word for sect in Hindi, sampradaya, also means the path, that which

takes you to the goal; whereas religion, dharma, means the destination. The destination is one, the paths, many.

He is Omkar

He is one he is Omkar, the supreme truth.

He is the creator, beyond fear, beyond rancor.



His is the timeless form.

Never born, self-creating

He is attained by the guru‘s grace.

He was truth before the ages and as time ran its course.

Nanak says, now is he truth eternal, and forever will he be.

We cannot comprehend him though we think a million times;

Nor quiet the mind by silence, however long we sit;

Nor a mountain of bread appeases the hunger of the soul;

Nor one hundred thousand feats of mind achieve unity with him.

How can truth be attained

And the veil of falsehood torn

Nanak says, by submission to the divine order which is preordained.

By Divine Order



By Hukum or divine order all form was created,

but his order cannot be described.

Hukum has created all life, and by it all greatness bestowed;

by divine order are some high and some low, and pain and pleasure granted;

by his order do some attain salvation, or endlessly wander through cycles of death and birth.

All are subject to his order; none is beyond his reach.

Nanak says, he who understands his Hukum

becomes freed from his self. Those who know power will sing of his might.

Knowing charity, some sing of his bounty as the sign.

Some sing of his virtues and his greatness. Some sing of his knowledge, when scholarship is their bent.

Some sing that he creates the body and turns it back to dust.

Some sing that the life he takes will again be reborn. Some sing that he is far, far away.

Some sing that he sees all and is everywhere.

There is no end to his attributes, though a million describe him in a million ways.

The giver gives eternally, though the receiver tires of receiving;

since the beginning of time have they subsisted on his endless bounty.

He is the ordainer and by his order does the universe turn.

Says Nanak, he is without a care, endlessly blissful



He alone is everything

The lord is truth. Truth is his name. His praises are sung in endless ways.

Even while praising they ask for more and more, and the lord keeps on giving.

Then what offering can

we make to gain a glimpse of his court? And what language shall we speak to endear us to him?

Nanak says, remember the true name and meditate on its glory in the ambrosial hour.

Through your actions you receive this body, and by his grace the door to salvation opens.

Nanak says know then his truth, because he alone is everything.

He cannot be installed in any temple, nor fashioned by any skill.

The faultless one exists unto himself. Those who serve him attain the glory.

Nanak says sing his praises, lord of all attributes. Sing and hear only of him; engrave him in your heart.

So banish sorrow and suffering, and make bliss your abode.

The guru's word is the sound of sounds, and the vedas too. The lord abides in his words.

The guru is Shiva, the destroyer; the guru is Vishnu, the sustainer;

the guru is Brahma, the creator; he is the trio of goddesses -- Parvati, Laxmi and Saraswati.



However well i know him, he cannot be described.

He cannot be expressed by words. The guru is the secret that solves the riddle.

He is the benefactor of all. Let me never forget him.

He makes the worthless worthy

If i have succeeded in attaining his pleasure, i have bathed in all the holy rivers.

And if i fail to please him, why should i bathe and adorn myself?

In this whole created universe, nothing is attained without actions;

but he who listens to but one teaching of the guru, his understanding becomes like a precious jewel.

He is the benefactor of all.

Let me never forget him. Were you to live through four ages,

or even ten times more, were you known on all nine continents,

and were to gain universal following, were you to earn fame and praise from all of mankind,

if you have not his grace, nothing will save you.



You are like the lowliest worm;

even the worst of sinners may point the finger at you. Says Nanak, he makes the worthless worthy,

and showers the gifted with more gifts. None but god can bestow such excellence.

Through listening

Through listening occult powers and saintliness are gained, heaven and earth are made stable,

and the world and lower worlds revolve. Through listening death does not touch.

Nanak says, through listening devotees attain bliss, and sin and sorrow are destroyed.

Through listening Vishnu, Brahma and Indra came into being, the most sinful will sing his praises,

and the secrets of yoga and mysteries of the body are revealed.

Through listening all the scriptures and teachings are known.

Nanak says, through listening devotees attain bliss, and sin and sorrow are destroyed.

Through listening all truth and contentment are attained, and the virtue of bathing at the

sixty-eight holy places is gained, and through listening again and again honor is earned

through listening spontaneous meditation happens.



Nanak says, through listening devotees attain bliss,

and sin and sorrow are destroyed. Through listening the highest virtues are acquired,

sage, saint and king come into being, and the blind find the path.

Through listening the fathomless is fathomed. Nanak says, through listening devotees attain bliss,

and sin and sorrow are destroyed.



Through contemplation

The state of contemplation cannot be expressed; whoever attempts it will afterwards repent.

There is no paper, no pen, no writer, that can penetrate such a state.

The name of the flawless one is such

that only contemplating can know it. Through contemplation is remembrance born in mind and intellect, and

awareness of the universe acquired. You cease to repent your words,

and gain freedom from the god of death. The name of the flawless one is such

that only contemplating can know it. Through contemplation the path is cleared of all obstacles,

and a man departs with dignity and honor; one is saved from wandering astray,

and connection to religion is established. The name of the flawless one is such

that only contemplating can know it. Through contemplation alone

the door to liberation is attained,

and the family can be saved; through it the guru is delivered



and helps his disciples across;

they need no longer beg for alms. The name of the flawless one is such

that only contemplating can know it.

You are the formless

Five are the tests and the ministers; they gain shelter and respect at his door;

they decorate the king's court.

Attention is the guru of the five. Whatever you will say, consider well first,

for the doings of the doer are impossible to assess. Religion upholds the earth and is born of compassion.

Establish contentment and create the balance. Whoever understands becomes the truth

and knows the burden religion bears there are many worlds and many more beyond them;

what power assumes their weight? Creatures of all forms and colors are created by his writ,

but only few know the rule to tell it.



Can anyone write the account of this mystery?

If it were written how great it would be. What strength and power!

How beautiful his appearance! How great his charity;

who can conceive it? His single word creates this vast expanse --

infinite mountains and rivers, the animate and inanimate. How shall i think about it?

However much i offer myself could never be enough! Whatever pleases you, o lord, is best for me.

You are the formless, the almighty -- you who abide forever!

How shall I praise Him

There are myriad ways to repeat his name and express devotion,

countless ways of worship and purification There are countless scriptures

and countless mouths to recite them, countless ways of yoga to make the mind dispassionate.

There are countless devotees who contemplate his virtues and knowledge,

countless who are virtuous and generous.



There are countless brave men

who risk their lives because him, countless who vow to silence and meditate on him.

Nanak says, how shall i praise him? However much i offer myself could never be enough!

Whatever pleases you, o lord, is best because me. You are the formless, the almighty -- you who abide forever!

There are countless ignorant fools and countless who are blind,

countless thieves and shirkers. There are countless numbers

who ruled by force before they departed, countless murderers who earn only by murder.

There are countless sinners who commit nothing but sin, countless liars who live by their lies.

There are countless barbarians eating only filth because food,

countless fault-finders who fill their heads with scandal. Thus Nanak ponders on the wicked and the low.

However much i offer myself could never be enough! Whatever pleases you, o lord, is best because me.

You are the formless, the almighty -- you who abide forever! Countless are the names and the places where you dwell,

countless worlds that have never been reached. To say countless is to burden the mind.

Through the letter comes the name, and all the prayers. Through the letter is all knowledge and songs in his praise.

Through the letter is all writing and speaking, through the letter are all events destined.

All destiny has already been written, but he who writes is beyond destiny.

All creation is his name;

there is no place that is not his name. Nanak says, how shall i praise him?

However much i offer myself could never be enough! Whatever pleases you, o lord, is best because me.

You are the formless, the almighty - you who abide forever!



He is the Ultimate

The Ultimate

If the body is covered with dirt, water can wash it away.

If the clothes are soiled and polluted, soap and water can wash them clean.

Even if mind is filled with evil, love for his name can dye you in his hue.

Saint or sinner are no empty words; all our actions have been recorded.

Man sows and he himself reaps the harvest. Nanak says,

by divine order are some saved and others reborn. By visiting holy places,

austerities, compassion, and good deeds, you may gain respect from others;

but he who listens to god and meditates on his name,

his heart is filled with love and he is deeply cleansed. All virtues are yours, o lord. Nothing is in me.

Without virtuous actions, no true devotion exists.



Yours is the only true word. You are the sound.

You are brahma. Your power is magnificent and self-directing. What was that time, what date, what season,

what month when you assumed form and creation began? The pundits knew it not,

or they would have written it in the holy books; neither did the Kazis know,

or they would have put it in the Koran; nor did the yogis know the day, the time,

the season and month when it happened. The creator who creates all creation,

he alone knows. How should one praise him

and express his greatness? How can one know him?

He is supreme.

His name is great. Everything happens as he ordains.

Whoever credits himself as worthy, gains no honor before him.

He is the greatest of the great



There are millions of underworlds

and infinite skies above. The Vedas say millions have searched and searched,

only to end in exhaustion. The holy books claim eighteen thousand worlds

but only one power behind all creation. If anything could be written we would keep the account,

but all estimates are destructible. Nanak says, he is the greatest of the great.

He alone can know himself. Those who worship praise him,

but have no remembrance of him, as rivers and streams know not the ocean

into whose vastness they fall. Even kings and emperors of great domains,

who possess enormous treasures,

cannot compare with the lowly ant with remembrance of god in his heart.

He is the king of kings

There is no end to his virtues,

nor to their narration.



There is no end to his works and his bounty,

and endless what he sees and hears. There is no knowing the secrets of his mind;

there is no beginning or end to it. So many struggle to know his depth,

but none has ever achieved it. No one has ever known his limits;

the further you look, the further beyond he lies. The lord is great. His place is high,

and higher even is his name. Nanak says: one only knows his greatness

when raised to his heights, by falling under the glance

of his all-compassionate grace. His compassion is beyond all description.

The lord's gifts are so great he expects nothing in return.

However great a hero or warrior, man keeps on begging. It is difficult to conceive

the countless numbers who go on asking. They indulge themselves in desires and dissipate their lives.

And others receive, yet deny it. They go on suffering from their hunger,

yet will not take to remembrance O lord, these too are your gifts.

Your order alone gives freedom or bondage. Nobody can debate this fact.

He who indulges in useless babble realizes his folly when struck in the face.

He alone can know himself, and only the rarest can describe him;

he bequeaths the quality of his state

to whomever he chooses. Nanak says, he is the king of kings.



He cannot be described

Priceless are his qualities, and his trading, too;

priceless are his salesmen, and his storehouses; priceless is he who comes to take, and what he takes;

priceless his feelings, and his Samadhi, too; priceless his divine justice, and his courts;

priceless the weights and balance to judge man's actions;

priceless his bounty, and the symbols which distinguish it; priceless his grace and his order, too;

he is the priceless of the priceless; he cannot be described. Many fall, lost in meditation,

even while reciting his attributes. The Vedas talk of him,

and Puranas study him; and learned ones describe him;

so also Indra and brahma; the Gopis and Krishna speak of him,

and Vishnu and the siddhas; and many, many buddhas; and demons and deities too.

Men and sages and those who serve, they all sing his praise. Many there are who can express it, and many die before completing the

task.



He will bring even more to this existence.

No one can predict his actions. Whatever he feels - so it happens.

Whoever knows this, he himself is truth. If someone boasts of knowing him,

then he is the fool of fools.

Says the wise



He is the true lord

Truth awareness and light

Where is that door? What mansion is it

where you sit and overlook your creation? Infinite sounds are ringing, and infinite are the players;

infinite the singers, and infinite the melodies they sing. Water, fire and wind sing your glory,

and the god of death sings at your door; Chitragupta, Shiva, Brahma, Devi -- all sing your glory;

and Indra on his throne and all the deities,

and holy men in meditation, and realized beings in their Samadhi,

and ascetics, chaste women, contented people and warriors, and pandits, rishis, and their Vedas through the ages,

and beautiful maidens of heaven, and fishes that dwell in the depths,

and the fourteen gems created by you, and the sixty-eight sacred places,



heroes and great warriors, and creatures of the four kingdoms sustained by

you, all continents, all spheres, and the entire universe,

those in your favor and deeply immersed in you, such delightful devotees,

they all sing your praises! And how many more, i cannot conceive or infer.

He and only he is the true lord. He is truth - Satnam.

He is and always will be. Though all vanish his reality will never leave.

He created Maya - things of various colors and emotions and dispositions.

He creates all things and watching over them, he also gives them greatness.

He does what pleases him.

None can interfere with his order. Nanak says, he is the king of kings.

Abide by his will.



He is the Primal Being

Oh yogi, assume the posture of contentment and modesty.

Pick up the carrying bag of dignity and honor, and apply the sacred ash of meditation.

Establish death as your bedroll; make a maiden of your body. Let experience be your staff of liberation,

and consider the unity of all as your first principle.

To conquer the mind is to conquer the world. If you must bow, bow to him.

He is the primal being, pure, without beginning or end. He is the unstruck sound.

He is immutable through all time. Make knowledge your pleasure

and compassion your storehouse. Make a conch shell of the eternal music

playing in every being. He alone is a master in whom all beings are intertwined,

while the search for supernatural powers is a false path. The law of union and separation governs all things,

and destiny determines our just inheritance.



If you must bow, bow to him.

He is the primal being, pure, without beginning or end; he is the unstruck sound.

He is immutable through all time.

He is the true reality

By skillful means one Maya

has given birth to three disciples: brahma, the creator;

Vishnu, the sustainer;

and Shiva, the destroyer. God directs them by his will and his order.

He watches them but they cannot see him; that is the wonder of wonders.

If you must bow, bow to him. He is the primal being,

pure without beginning or end. He is the unstruck sound.




All the worlds are his abode, and all worlds his storehouse.

He has them filled for all time with all worth attaining. The creator creates, and oversees it all.

Says Nanak, he is the true reality and all his works are true. If you must bow, bow to him.

He is the primal being, pure without beginning or end. He is the unstruck sound.


The wise Proclaim



The real power to blossom lies in his hands

If my single tongue becomes a hundred thousand,

and this hundred thousand becomes twenty times more, with each tongue would i sing a hundred thousand times

the only name of the master of the world.

These are the steps of the name of the lord.

By following them does one become twenty-one. Hearing them speak of heaven's glory,

even those who are like lowly worms become ambitious to emulate them.

Nanak says, he is attained only by his grace.

But the false claimants spread their boastful tales.

The power lies neither in speaking nor in silence; the power lies neither in asking nor in giving;

the power lies neither in living nor in dying; the power lies neither in the wealth of kingdoms

nor the resolves of the mind; the power lies neither in remembrance

nor in knowledge of the divine; the power lies neither in the world

nor in the devices to be rid of samsara.



The real power lies in his hands

who creates and keeps on watching. Nanak says, no one is high and no one is low before him

Says Blissful Nanak

Each is ranked by his glance



Having made night and day, the seasons, and the dates;

and air, water, fire and the underworlds; having made all of this,

he established the earth as a Dharmashala. In it he created

countless creatures of many colors and forms. Their names are infinite.

Each is considered according to his own deeds. God is true, and all his court is true.

Only before the lord is each one tested; each is ranked by his glance.

There the raw is sifted from the ripe. Nanak says, one who is raw will dissolve away.

He cannot be spoken of in words

The supreme law expresses the realm of religion.

Now to understand the conditions of the realm of knowledge: so many winds, waters, and fires;

so many Krishnas and Shivas; so many brahmas,

so many of his creations of so many colors and forms;



so many fields of action and sacred mountains;

so many polar stars and so many sermons; so many Indras, and moons and suns,

and galaxies, and continents; so many enlightened ones, and buddhas,

and masters, and goddesses; so many gods and devils, and Munis;

so many jewels, so many oceans; so many species and tongues, so many kings and emperors;

so many remembrances, so many devotees; Nanak says, there is no end to it, no end.

Knowing is the expression of the realm of knowledge. There is music and mirth and frolic and bliss.

Modesty is the expression of the realm of shame. The experiences that take place are beautiful and incomparable.

He cannot be spoken of in words.

He who tries repents later. Memory, mind, understanding,

and intelligence are all formulated here; and the consciousness of gods and Enlightened Ones.



In the realm of truth the formless abides

Manifests as Awareness

Power is the expression in the realm of grace; except this, there is nothing else.

In it are the great warriors and heroes; There Rama abides in his fullness.

And in its glory also Seeta abides, whose form is beyond words.

Those in whose heart Rama abides

Never die nor can be cheated. There live many devotees of many different worlds;

keeping the true name in their hearts they enjoy bliss. In the realm of truth the formless abides.

He creates the world and exults in it with his vision. With him are the continents, the suns, the universes;

and they all defy description. There are worlds upon worlds, and creations upon creations.

All works according to his order. Seeing all this and thinking of it, he flowers in happiness,

Nanak says, to describe him is like chewing on iron.



Exalted by his compassionate look

Epilogue wind is the guru;

water is the father; the great earth is the mother;



night and day are midwife and groom;

and the whole world is playing with them. Good and bad deeds are read

out in his court by dharma, and our own actions determine

whether we are near to him or far. Those who meditate on his name

and labor sincerely earn merit; their faces are radiant with success,

and many others are liberated by contact with them Self-restraint is the furnace;

patience is the goldsmith; intellect is the anvil;

knowledge is the hammer; fear is the bellows;

austerity is the fire;

feeling is the crucible into which the nectar falls. the coinage of the word is cast in the mint of truth.

only those receiving his grace can succeed in it. nanak says, one becomes exalted by his compassionate look



‘Aadi Sachu Jugadi Sachu…’

SLOKA:

Aaid scu jugaid scu.

hE -I scu nank haesI -I scu.1.

Ad Sach, Jugad Sach

Hai Bhi Sach

Nanak Hosi Bhi Sach

PURPORT: True before creation! True through all ages! True also today says Nanak! True He shall eternally be beyond time and space!

PAURI: I

saecE saeic n haev$ je saeic lo bar.

cupE cup n haev$ je la# rha ilv tar.

-uioya -uo n %trI je b<na puirya -ar.

shs isAa[pa lo haeih t #k n clE nail.

ikv sicAara hae$@ ikv kUfE tuqE pail.

hukum rja$ cl[a nank ilioAa nail.1.

Soche Soch Na Hovai Je Sochi Lakh Var Chupe Chup Na Hovai Je Lai Raha(n) Liv Tar

Bhukhia(n) Bhukh Na Utari Je Banna(n) Puria(n) Bhar Sahas Sianpa Lakh Hohi Ta Ik Na Chale Nal

Kiv Sachiara Hoiai Kiv Kurai Tute Pal Hukam Razai Chalna Nanak Likhiya Nal

PURPORT: Thinking leads not belief! Even if one thinks a million times! Prolonged silence and meditation does not quieten the mind! Hunger

(Greed) cannot be satisfied even with all the food (wealth)! At the time of death intellectual smartness also stays behind! How can then we realize

the Truth and destroy fibs. Nanak says live with His Divine Will! Be within the existential law! A new meaning will arise!



e is the only truth. He is true in the beginning. He is true in the

end. He is truth now. He will be truth forever. His truth is beyond time and space. For this you have to move from the realm of the

mind to another realm. Of this you know not. Neither by thinking can you attain. Also by your constant thinking you have missed the

essence. Inner chattering continues unabated. And there seems no way to cease this chattering. How and when will the veil of

ignorance and „koor‟ or illusion vanish? And when will Truth manifest? The methodology comes: „Hukum rajai chalna Nanak

likhiya naal.‟

What is the definition of truth and non-truth? What does a master like Nanak understand by truth? How to make you understand this? May be a problem

with you! It is bound to be. However such is not the case with Nanak. Having drunk the life‘s elixir words are simply flowing effortlessly out of

Nanak. It seems as if words are coming not from the mind. Although mind mechanism is working to continue the message but the words are forming

from the deepest core of Nanak-the infinite, unfathomable realm of harmony, and oneness. Nanak sings:

Aadi sachu jugadu sachu,

He is the only truth. He is true in the beginning. He is true in the end. He is

truth now. He will be truth forever. His truth is beyond time and space. Such is the only definition of truth. That which is now but not later is transient.

That cannot be God. God is eternity. This is the definition of truth and

untruth. Untruth is that which is ephemeral, short-lived, something that goes on changing.

Untruth is that cease to exist at the two shores. Look at the dream. Before

you went to sleep it was not and when you wake up again it is not there. A dream exists only between these two shores of waking, and dreaming states

of awareness. And these states are not permanent. Not in your control either until you are totally awake. And when you are awake totally then you will

remain awake even in your sleep and dreaming state as well. Then dreams are more. And thus disappears the veil all that beclouds the manifestation of

truth. The veil of ignorance and illusion as well!

The dreams are when you are dreaming. In the morning it disappears. On waking you know the dream cannot be true. It was not there in the evening

and again this morning this no more.

H



One day your body was no more. And one day again it will be no more

again. Your body is false. Truth is that which exists beyond time and space. This is the definition of Nanak and all other mystics.

One moment there is anger and the next moment it is no more. This is

dream like. Nanak says when you allow this understanding to sink in you will be transformed. Do not be too much concerned with mind and its

mechanism of veiling truth. Nanak says search that which never dies and is never born. That which is beyond change!

What is that within that never changes? Seek that alone, says an ecstatic

Nanak. Certainly that lies within you veiled by your vision and cognition. And all changes happen around that eternal alone. Try to understand this. A

wheel moves. How does this happen? The wheel moves around an axle. The axle remains fixed-unmoved. You remove the axle. The wheel falls apart

immediately. Without the axle the wheel can no more revolve. The change in

the movement of the wheel happens around the fixed axle. So too the axle of soul remains ever fixed and body revolves around this axle of soul! Nanak

echoes incessantly:

Aadi sachu Jugadi sachu Hai bhi sachu Nanak Hosi bhi sachu!!

That alone is true. How can that alone be true? Because nothing else exists

except that eternal, and immutable! All the rest is dream-like. This veils the manifestation of truth. Now the methodology:

When anger plagues your consciousness! Hate inflicts you! Allow the words

of Nanak echo in you like the dissolving notes of an enchanting melody or an intoxicating awareness. Remember:

Aadi sachu Jugadi sachu Hai bhi sachu Nanak Hosi bhi sachu!!

Be a witness. You will realize slowly and slowly all that is futile will certainly

begin to vanish. The essential will begin to evolve. The world will begin to disappear.

Nanak says you cannot attain to this awareness or witnessing by thinking.

And through thinking alone you have lost your serenity. Nanak says God is not and conclusion of any hypothesis. Also he is not the conclusion of logic.

God is eternal truth. The way is not through thinking. What will you gain through thinking? By thinking you have lost. Through thinking you are lost in



the forest of words and duality. You have to attain eyes to see the essential.

When your eyes are full of thoughts you will remain blind. Your eyes need to be ‗nirvichar‘ or thoughtless.

Zen calls this ‗no mind‘. Kabir calls this as ‗unmani dasha‘ or the state of

awareness. Patanjali calls this as ‗nirvikar samadhi‘. All these are different ways to explain the same state of awareness. This refers to a state when all

thoughts, opportunities, and alternatives are no more.

Neither by thinking nor by a forced silence can you attain this. By thinking inner silence is not attained. Thinking is effort. You cannot fall asleep

through effort. All efforts have to drop. And then suddenly you realize that you have fallen asleep. Your effort alone will become an obstruction in

attaining inner silence. You can become statue like outwardly but inner dialogue and disturbance will continue. You will be like the one sitting on a

volcano- ready to explode any moment.

It happened once Nanak was the guest at the house of a Muslim chief

(Nawab). Nanak is beyond religion. One who has known he is not bound by finiteness of caste, creed and religion. Knowing this the chief invited Nanak

for Friday ‗Salaat‘ or prayer. Nanak agreed for the prayer only on one condition. He said I will certainly offer prayers, if you are going to offer the

prayers. The chief could not understand this condition. He was going to offer prayer anyways.

Entire village gathered. Hindus and Muslims gathered. Everyone wants to

know what Nanak is doing. Hindus lamented as they thought Nanak is going to be a Muslim. Muslims rejoiced that a man like Nanak has now got senses.

We see things as we are. And fear remains the guiding force of all our thinking and approach to life.

Nanak entered the mosque. Prayer began. Nanak stood behind the chief for the prayer. The chief was angry as Nanak just remained standing. Somehow

the prayer finished. How can you pray or fool a Nanak? And when you are full of anger there can be no prayer. The chief was angry with Nanak and

complained that he did not fulfill his promise of offering prayers. At this Nanak reminded the chief of the condition. The condition was Nanak will

definitely offer prayers only if the Nawab offered the prayer.

At this chief responded, ‗Are you in senses? Everyone knows that I offered the prayers. People are witness to my claim.‘ Nanak replied, ‗I am not

concerned with all your understanding or the witness. I am concerned with all that is happening deep within. You were in fact buying horses in Kabul.



And your priest or Imam was busy cutting the crop in the fields. Now tell me

how I can offer the prayers when you did not.‘

This surprised both the chief and his Imam. The most important and prestigious horse had died. And the chief was filled with agony. And he was

wandering how to go to Kabul and buy another horse. And as far as the Imam is concerned his crop is ready. There is shortage of labor. This worried

him. And he was cutting the crop. ‗How can I offer prayers when neither you nor your priest offered prayers?

Prayer is a state of awareness. It springs out of your inner serenity. Prayer,

meditation etc., cannot be forced. It is not important what you do. What is more important what is going on deep within? You can be statue like. You

can hold and discipline your body easily but not the mind.

This is what happens when people go into meditation. More thoughts arise

on the inner sky. Whenever you go to your religious place your inner disturbance surfaces! When you are engaged in work there is not much

energy left for disturbance. And when you sit in meditation or prayers your energies are not divided. There is total energy available and disturbances

surface.

Thus when you are in a theatre or a part, or a discotheque you remain peaceful. However in meditation and prayers you remain twisting and

turning-disturbed.

Why does this happen? Theatre, discothèques are all associated with your desires. There all that is being provoked which is part of your deep

unconsciousness. This resonates with you. Hence there is enjoyment. And you are never bored. Whatever happens in temples does not resonate with

you. This is why such things remain boring.

Nanak says even by plasticizing silence you cannot attain. You may continue

to meditate nothing will happen. The hunger of the senses will not vanish even if the mountain of foods is provided for. The hunger for God is not an

ordinary hunger. Nothing can satisfy this.

How can we be truthful? And how can this veil of ignorance and falsehood are removed. Nanak says; ‗Hukum‘ is the only way. This is very significant

statement.



Hukum Rajai Chalana

„Hukum Rajai Chalna Nanak Likhiya Naal.‟ What is Hukum? Literally it means the order or the command. Nothing will happen by your doing. When

you are false then all that evolves will definitely be false as well. It matters not if you are speaking truth. To Nanak Hukum implies the cosmic law, the

synergetic harmony. Before I explain this, an anecdote:

Once Nanak stayed in a village! The chief of the village had a religious function. Entire village was invited. Nanak was also invited. Nanak did not

go. Instead he stayed at the place of a poor carpenter Laloo. Several times the chief send the message for Nanak. But he did not go. Ultimately the

chief came himself. At his request Nanak accompanied him to his place. However Nanak refused the pure sanctified food. The food was prepared by

the chefs who took a bath with holy waters before starting the cooking.

At this Nanak said now that you insist bring your food and he asked Laloo to

bring his dry rotis or bread without any vegetables.

It is said Nanak took the dry food of Laloo in one hand and in another hand he took the delicious food of the chief and squeezed. It is said from Laloo‘s

food the stream of milk came out; whereas from the food of the chief blood came out. This is symbolic. I do not know it if happened this way or not. It is

significant. If you are dishonest it does not matter if you bathe or wash the vegetable in pure and holy water. If your life is that of dishonesty,

falsehood, exploitation and torture then every grain of your food is soaked in blood.

It is not important if this really happened or not. However the anecdote is

very significant. And gives an important message! Nanak Says nothing will

happen on your own. When you are dishonest this will become part of you. You will speak truth only if this benefits your dishonesty. Even your truth will

harm others.

Nanak says leave everything on him. Let Thy will prevail. Whatever condition or state he keeps you remain pleased. His commandment or way becomes

your way. Accept all that is happening. Flow with life. Life is given by God. Only he knows what is good and what is not. Be in harmony. Behind every

happening there is a cosmic law, a meaning, a secret. Thy wish is my command.



Then you will find that suddenly an inner harmony, oneness and silence

begins to descend. No more worries. You are the part of this cosmic harmony.

What is the worry? The worry is that you are not in harmony with all that is

happening. The only sutra of peace in the East from Lau Tzu to Nanak is ‗TOTAL ACCEPTABILITY.‘

Omar Khayyam says: Moving finger writes and having writ moves on. Nanak

says:

Hukum Rajai Chalna Nanak Likhiya Naal.

There is a law the cosmic law. Everything happens according to this cosmic law. Flow with this cosmic law. You can float in the sky that Nanak calls as

‗Ek Omkar Satnam.‘ And there is only one methodology-the Hukum the wish

of God.

Once it happened. In Bulkh there was chief Ibrahim. He had a slave who was very vibrant and loving. Ibrahim brought him home. Because of his ways

Ibrahim fell in love with the slave. Ibrahim enquired how he wants to remain, what would he like to eat etc. It is said the reply of the slave was

beautiful. The slave replied, ‗My wish does not matter. Whatever the master wants really matters. I am your slave and you are my master.‘

It is said with this reply Ibrahim‘s life transformed. He bows down to the

slave. Ibrahim got the secret that he had been searching for so long.

This is ‗hukum rajai chalana Nanak likhiya naal.‘ This is Nanak‘s methodology to attain inner oneness, harmony and bliss. Thus Nanak

blocked all doors for ego. First Nanak emphasizes the ‗Guru kripa or parsad‘

and now he gave the next one: ‗hukum rajai chalana Nanak likhiya naal.‘

Be within the existential law! Flow with the Ultimate will! He alone knows what is right!

When you look at the entire creation there is a synergistic harmony. The

plants, the river, and the seasons everything moves in harmony. Each season unfolds into another. During autumn leaves turn gold and fall from

the tree. The tree remains bare. There is a reason in it. Autumn is followed by winter and snowfall. The bare tree helps the snow to slide from the tree.

This is followed by spring. New foliage begins to grow. There is harmony in



the scheme of the existence. Only man is not in harmony with all that is or is

happening.

Bliss or benediction is the outcome of flowing in harmony with the existence. A river flows towards ocean out of harmony. A man fights with the river.

There is lack of harmony. This brings struggle and despondency.

Nanak emphasizes the Hukum. Flowing with ‗Hukum‘ is the way of surrender.

This is the way of surrender!

Meditation Times Nov 2011

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