Sunday, October 27, 2019

NARRATIVE ON TULSI SAHIB GHAZAL –AE TAKKI TAKTE RAHO



NARRATIVE ON TULSI SAHIB GHAZAL –AE TAKKI TAKTE RAHO
TULSI SAHIB—(1763-1843) of the 19th Century AD   was the eldest son of the Peshvas (administrative ruler) of Pune in Maharashtra. He was a Brahmin whose real name was Shyam Rav and the eldest son in the family.  His spiritually inclined father wanted to renounce his position in his favour, in order to spend the rest of his life in devotion. Shyam Rav, himself averse to life at court, fled the palace the day before his investiture, probably disguised as a sadhu. He led a wandering life for many years until he settled in Hathras, where he became known as Tulsi Sahib.
In Hathras, he was also known as Dakhani Baba (sage from the south). Among his disciples were Swami Shiv Dayal Singh and his family who laid the foundation of Sant Mat as Radha Soami Satsang at Agra.  His writings indicate that he taught the path of the mystic Name (Nam) or Word (Shabd), but when and where he met his Master and who his Master is unknown.
१. अरे ऐ तकी तकते रहो , मुर्शिद ने यह(दस्त) पंजा दिया//
Oh Sheikh Takki, the Living True Guru has bestowed upon you the blessing of Nam for the inner journey of self-realization. You should now abide by his prescription of meditative way of life with intense concentration.
२. बेहोश हो मत छोड़ियो, गर चाहे तू जलवा पिया//
Be oblivious of this world, but let your focus on His form (धयान) not waver if you yearn for His Luminous radiance—(नूर –ऐ- खुदा)
३. होगा फज़ल दर्गाह तक, खोफ़ो खतर की जा नहीं//
His grace will lead you into His very door steps, devoid of all dangers or fears along the way.
४. सीधे चले जाना वंहा, मुर्शिद ने यह फतवा दिया//
True living Master’s Hukam—the power of his blessed Nam-- will make you walk into (realize) His presence.
५. मंसूर, सरमद, बूअली और शम्ज़ मौलाना हुए//
Mystics like Mansur, Sarmad, Buali, Shamz Tabriz and Maulana Rumi arrived in this world.
६. पहुंचे सभी इस राह से  जिस ने कि दिल पुख्ता किया//
They all travelled this path with conviction and were blessed with Realization.
७. यह राहे मंजिल इश्क है , पर पहुंचना मुश्किल नहीं//
This very path and its destination are of Ishq, of Love—इश्क हकीकी and it is not difficult to tread this track.
८. मुश्किल कुशा हे रूबरू, जिस ने तुझे पंजा दिया//
Your mentor, true Master’s (grace of Nam) is with you for resolution of any hindrances in this journey.
९. तुलसी कहे ऐ तकी, यह राज़े बातिन है जुदा//
Says Tulsi Sahib, Hear me O Takki, the inner secret is unlike anything you have known before.
१०. रखना हिफाज़त से इसे. तुझ को निशां ऊचा दिया//
Treasure this grace with love and care in your heart because you have been conferred with degree (stamp) of the highest order.


१)      अरे ऐ तकी तकते रहो , मुर्शिद ने यह(दस्त) पंजा दिया
The above is the literal translation of Tulsi Sahib’s ghazal—full of Roohaniyat, spiritual wisdom. Apart from an apparent explanation or translation--- the verses, shabads or ghazals of any mystic carry a deeper connotation for the path of God realization. This ghazal of Tulsi Sahib is intertwined with inter-se relationship between the seeker, The Master (Murshid) and the process of Nam Bhakti, stressing the prerequisite of Love, or Ishq as the only medium to experience oneness with the Lord.
Sheikh Takki, a devout Muslim, after performing pilgrimage of Hajj, comes in contact with Tulsi sahib. Since Takki has Islamic profile Tulsi Sahib elaborated the concept of attaining totality of consciousness in terms of Sufi traditions.  
First let us understand what Hajj is. The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca the holiest city for Muslims, and that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions of heightened consciousness for self-realization.   The one who has performed Hajj is known as Hajji
Tulsi sahib is mentoring the Hajji, Sheikh Takki that for self-realization the external journey to religious places has very limited benefits. The real Hajj or the real spiritual path of Self-realization can be attained within this human body by elevating consciousness from the senses of mind to the spiritual centre located at the Shahrag, which is a Persian word—also known as the royal vein or Sushmana (known to Indian mystics) or Til in Gurbani (page 4 SGGS) alluding to a point where Brahmins/Hindus apply Tilak on the forehead). From this point of eye centre-- the consciousness-- which generally flows down the body is pulled up by the mystic word/shabd or Nam to its Divine source.  The word or shabd or nam has attributes of subtle sound and subtle light which can be experienced at higher level of consciousness above the eye centre.
In another ghazal addressed to Sheikh Takki, Tulsi sahib advises--
क्यों भटकता फिर रहा तू ऐ तलाशे यार में//
रास्ता शाह रग में है दिलवर को जाने के लिए//
मुर्शिदे कामिल से मिल सिदक और सबूरी से तकी//
जो तुझे देगा फहम शाह रग के पाने के लिए//

Oh Takki do not wander aimlessly in the search of the Lord. But to pursue the path of Shahrag or Sushmana the grace of a True Living Master is needed. Such a Master blesses the technique of remembrance of the Lord by meditation through Five Names and Dhayan, for focusing attention on the form of the Master. His teachings also mandate a life style consistent with the requirements of Santmat and abiding it with total obedience. In satsang we often call them as “Karni” and “Rehni”. 
पंजा- Panja as indicated in the verse by Tulsi sahib suggests five names while दस्त पंजा implies-that Master has firmly gripped your hand, signifying, that he has taken the seeker under His spiritual guidance and protection. In Hindi we call पंजीकरण or registration when we own any property or vehicle etc.
What is to be understood by the term –तकते रहो? It means that “Once such a Visa or Panja or registration for the mystical journey is stamped (on the soul) by the Grace of the living Master, then the seeker has to pursue the path of intensive and focused meditation.
Hazur would often say that Meditation is a way of Life (in Sant Mat) that has to be complied 24x7 with greatest diligence and caution. Briefly  तकते रहो – is unflinching compliance with humility, surrender, love and affection for meditative way of life commencing from shahrag.
Tulsi sahib continues—
गोशे बातिन हो कुशादा जो करे कुछ दिन अमल
ला इलाह अल्लाहू अकबर पै जाने के लिए
 A few days practice will prompt opening of inner ears or surat or listening faculties of the soul and your journey to reach Allah the great will become smooth.  In short, the way is within and not without, in external pilgrimages or fasting or ceremonies.
 Hazrat Sultan Bahu, another Sufi says— that this human body is the abode of the True Lord. Seek Him within; don’t pray at old tombs or burial places of Pirs because the Amrit or spiritual nectar-- for the life eternal-- is within you.
एह तन रब सचे दा हुजरा , विच पा फकीरा  झाती हू//
न कर मिन्नत खवाज खिजर** दी , तेरे अंदर आब हयाती हू//
( **an old Pir whose tomb is worshipped)

Even Guru Nanak Sahib supports identical procedure of Self-realization leading to God realization. He says
घर मह घर देखाई दे सो सतगुरु पुरख सुजान//
पांच शब्द धुन्कार धुन तह बाजे शब्द नीसान//
सुखमन के घर राग सुन सुन्न मंडल लिव लाये//  (page 1291 SGGS)
True or perfect living Master or Guru is He who makes you experience Divinity—the eternal abode-- within the temporary home of this human body-- where the celestial music of spheres of Five Shabd is resonating. Listen to that music of Sunn region--—that is beyond mind and maya or where mind and maya is numbed-- in the sushmana or shahrag of your body.
This too validates that Sant Mat and Sufism are on identical page on the mystical path.


२)बेहोश हो मत छोड़ियो, गर चाहे तू जलवा पिया//
BE-HOSH (बेहोश) means unconsciousness and HOSH (होश) means consciousness. A true seeker’s effort is to diminish his involvement and engagement in this world of change and phenomenon. Obliviousness from this transient world is to be understood as Behoshi. Tulsi Sahib says that a devotee should remain insulated or unconscious from the flickering temptations, fickleness and infatuations of mind and senses, if there is yearning for experiencing the Divine radiance or the Light of the Beloved Lord. That is be-hoshi.
The greatest single change that a person experiences after being initiated by the Master is that one feels a sense of loneliness in this world. The feeling of loneliness is the inclination of the soul towards its real self.  Shah inayat , the Master of Baba Bulleh Shah uttered—ओह बुल्लेहा रब दा की पाना एथों पुट के ओथे लाना. Directional shift of mind from Duniya to Deen is a vital mutation in the human psyche which is again a Divine blessing.
Sufis call this attribute as Toba (तोबा) or getting mentally detached from the world. And any attachment amounts to repentance and regret. Hence, the Sufis believe that a “Sufi is absent from himself and present with God”. The Sufi's refrain from his “self” means absence of human constraints, to experience the Divine presence in his heart.
Tulsi sahib in another ghazal pronounces—
दिल का हुजरा साफ़ कर जाना के आने के लिए
धयान गेरों का उठा उसको बिठाने के लिए
एक दिल लाखों तमन्ना और उसपे ज़यादा हवस  
फिर ठिकाना है कहाँ उसको टिकाने के लिए
The message is of focused attention to the goal of oneness with the Lord and do not be led astray by the hopes, wishes, desires, possessions, acquisitions of temporal tinsels and trinkets. The heart will be left with no space for accommodating the Beloved if it is so filled.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else
he will hold to the one, and despise the other,
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
This makes explicit that a person cannot pursue both material goods and spiritual wellbeing. The two goals are mutually exclusive.

Baba Ji often mentions that “we should try keeping our vessel clean through meditation”. Meditation is feasible if we detach ourselves from the world.  This aptly applies that our devotion and attention should be focussed on Him always. Guru Nanak Sahib describes the multiplicity of pleasures that mind is fond of and questions where the Lord can rest in the heart.
रस सोय्ना रस रूपा कामन रस परमल की वास//
रस घोड़ा रस सेज मंदिर रस मीठा रस मास//
एते रस सरीर के क्या घट नाम निवास// ( page 15 SGGS)
The pleasures of gold and silver, women, fragrance of sandalwood,horses, soft bed in a palace, the  sweet treats and of food of flesh-- are so numerous; how can the Naam, the Name of the Lord, find its dwelling in the heart? ||
The obsession of Duniya is to be shunned for tasting the nectar of immortality otherwise the preciousness of human life is lost.  Hazrat Sultan Bahu says
दुनिया ढून्डन वाले कुत्ते, दर दर फिरे हेरानी हू//
हड्डी उत्ते होड़ उन्हान दी, लड़दियां  उमर विहानी हू//
अक्ल दे कोताह समझ न जानन, पीवन लोड़न पानी हू //
बाझों ज़िक्र रब दे बाहू, कूड़ी राम कहानी हू//
The seekers of this material world squander away their life like dogs running from door to door. Just as dogs bark and fight over bare bones, such people continue to struggle over phony possessions of power and pelf for fulfilment of their wishes and cravings. They continue to suffer in the cycle of transmigration of 84  and fail to grasp the fact that it is the nectar of immortality that they must seek by meditating on Lord’s Nam. For that Behoshi –metaphorical unconsciousness from Duniya is needed.



३) होगा फज़ल दरगाह तक खोफो खतर की जा नहीं
४) सीधे चले जाना वहां मुर्शिद ने यह फतवा दिया

Here Tulsi Sahib has applied Sufi terminology. What is meant by Fazal, Dargah, Khof, khtr, Ja and fatwa? Fazal means grace or blessing; dargah is portal or threshold—though conventionally considered a tomb where past masters are worshipped; khof is fear; khtr represents danger; Ja is place or “jgha”; “fatwa” is obligatory and binding order
The key to Divinity is the grace or “Fazal” of the Master. Islamic blessings are in the form “Allah Fazal karega aapne sohne de vaste or “Khuda da Karm hoyga aapne sohne de vaste ”. Here Sohna stands for the love and adoration of the Murshid (or the Son of God—in Biblical terms)
In Gurbani, Fazal is referred as Kripa, Mehr or Daya. God realization is not possible, say Sufis, unless God Himself redeems us through the Murshid who is “Word made flesh”. Then a seeker, with Master’s grace, reaches at His threshold, Dargah— that is the point of entry into the Divine court. A Sufi considers his own efforts or act of devotion worthless because of his belief in infinite Grace of his Murshid/Master. Tulsi Sahib in yet another ghazal mention—
तुलसी बिना करम किसी मुर्शिद रसीदा के//
राहे निजात दूर है उस पार देखना//
 Unless a True Master bestows His grace, salvation is not feasible and ocean of this cosmic existence cannot be crossed.
Guru Arjan Dev Ji  refer to the same thought process-
किरपा करो दीन के दाता मेरे गुण अवगुण न बिचारो कोई //
माट्टी को क्या धोपे सोअमी मानस की गत एअही//
मेरे मन सतगुरु सेव सुख होई // -----page 882 SGGS
Oh Lord of the humble, please have mercy and don’t make any accounting assessment of my merits or demerits. How can dust be washed? This is the state of mankind. Oh my mind, serve the Guru and be at peace. Serving the Guru means—living the life of daily meditation, lacto-vegetarian diet as defined,  living on earnings by honest means, serving and sharing with others what you have; good moral character.

The Khof or fear, and Khtra or danger, that troubles us is--- the fear of the unknown; fear of loss of our possessions/people to which we are attached and fear of death. In short the future is riddled with fear as we are apprehensive that future will be worse than the present time. Tulsi sahib says when you are blessed with firm faith in the Murshid through meditative way of life, all your concerns here and after death are taken care of.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji assures

सन्तन मो को पूँजी सोपी तऊ उत्त्रेया मन का दोखा//
धर्म राय अब कहा करोगे जाऊ फाटेयो सगलो लेखा// page 614 SGGS

What type of treasure or poonji saints give? It is the treasure of His Grace of Nam/Shabd/Hukam to enable us to abide by His Will- also called Raza or Bhana.  All fears and delusions of my mind are dispelled. The entire karmic paraphernalia or accounting mechanism of Sinchit, Prablabdh and Kiryaman karma, which are blocking our entry into True Home, is taken care of by the Master with the bounty of His forgiveness.

Thus Khof and Khatra or fear of Dharm Rai’s is vanquished. Dharma stands for the law, duty, unalterable religious principles and hence Karmic law. Dharm Rai- the metaphorical power of universal mind ordained by God- is so called because he dispenses justice after death according to karmic law. Generally priestly class clamours that depending upon karmic profile one will either go to hell or heaven or suffer in the cycle of 84 as per the dictates of Dharm Rai. However this concept of hell, heaven and 84 is invalidated for a murid of a Murshid. Guru Arjan Dev Ji (p201 SGGS)—
थिर घर बेस्हो हर जन पियारे, सतगुरु तुमरे काज सवारे//
दुस्त दूत सभ परमेसर मारे , जन की पैज रखे करतारे//
Remain steady in your home, (meaning compliant with the path) then all your affairs will be resolved by the Guru. The transcendent Lord has struck down all that is evil, which means that all that is standing in your progress to the Divinity, to preserve the honor of His devotee.

After getting freedom from the clutches of Dharm Rai, power of mind and maya is rendered dormant. Oh Sheikh Takki --now “Walk the Way” straight –don’t get tempted by beauty and splendour of the regions around you.  The soul has attained its primal purity that can enable it to merge with the Divine as per the fatwa—the ordinance of the Murshid.


५) मनसूर सरमद बूअली, और शम्स मौलाना हुए//
६) पहुंचे सभी इस राह से जिस ने की दिल पुख्ता किया//
Any suggestion or proposition when supported by suitable examples and instances—gets more weightage of acceptability for the sincere seekers especially when it is advised by a perfect mystic. Here names of past Sufis of the highest orders are mentioned—Mansur-al Hallaj of Baghdad (Iraq) of 9th century AD, Sarmad Shaheed of 17th century AD, initially from Iran, but later settled in India during the time of Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, BuAli Kalandar of Panipat of 14th century AD, Shams Tabrizi and Malvana Rumi respectively of Syria and Turkey—both of 13th Century.  

They were all blessed by their Sufi Murshids on the path of Kun or Nam, abandoned the traditional wisdom of Sharia—the conventional ritualism of priestly class in all religions and got intoxicated in the love, “birah”, “Ishq-Hakkee” and “Fnaa”. “Ishq Hakkee” is the love for the Murshid and the Lord while “Ishq –Mizazi” is the love between men and women. Fnaa is sate of self-annihilation-where the self dissolves through love with formless form of the Murshid in Oneness. Duality disappears.

There are many legends about them—of Mansur and Sarmad going to gallows in compliance with the will of Allah; BuAli was blessed by his Bhakti so that the fragrance of Hazrat Ali—(the first Sufi after Prophet Mohammad) springs from his very presence; the inner transformation of Rumi from a preacher and scholar of Koranic law to a mystic Master by surrendering his care of family, ego self, knowledge, societal honour as per the guidance and for the love of his Murshid Shams Tabrizi.  

One legend of Mansur is worth narrating here—
 “Mansur al-Hallaj, in a trance of Divine intoxication, wandered into the central market place of the  Bagdad city surrounded by his followers and shouted the words that were deepest in his heart ana’l-haqq - I am the law, I am God! “I am Reality” or as the Vedas and Upanishads say “Aham Brhamasmi” (I am the Braham). The Sufis say Mansur spoke those words in the state of Fanna- Fil-Allah--a state where a Sufi annihilates his ego self and is attuned with God.
His statement was of course considered blasphemous by the then King, though he was preaching to the masses that God could be discovered within one’s own heart. He was immediately prisoned as his utterings were in contravention to the Islamic law of ‘Sharia’
In the prison there were many other convicts too. He asked them—if they wished to be free, he can set them free. They responded that first he should get rid of his chains. Mansur replied that his contract with Allah is different and he wished to stay in the jail. Other prisoners asked how he can set them free. Mansur’s one glance broke their chains, opened the door of the prisons and they walked away.
According to the legend, Mansur’s disciples were allowed to speak to him as he lay in his prison cell and asked him for his last words. He told them, "The only thing that is important is love." They asked him, “What is Love”. He answered: “You will see it today and tomorrow and the day-after tomorrow.” And that day his hands and feet were cut off, and the next day they put him on the gallows and burnt, and the third day they gave his ashes to the wind. While his body lay dead—the words of  ana’l-haqq kept on resonating loudly all along till his ashes were consigned to the sea.
The meaning of “What is Love” can be best appreciated as follows---
In Love all is meant to be lost---this is the message of Mansur. Love in mystic terminology means annihilation of the self or merging of self with the real SELF—the essence of the Beloved. Jesus went the same way, the fifth master of the Sikhs Guru Arjan Dev and the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Bhagat Pralhad are just a few names in mystic history that one can recall as a paradigm of “what is Love”. There could be many more models of such love. Perhaps history lacks record or cannot appreciate the ecstasy of Divine Love”.
Tulsi Sahib says-- पहुंचे सभी इस राह से जिस ने की दिल पुख्ता किया//
This path requires firmness of mind which means surrendering of body- mind combo to the will of God to realize God. Sufi willingly gives all, the very self, to His Beloved. He is always anxious for removal of that veil which separates Him from Him—just as Mansur did.

७) यह राहे मंजिल इश्क है, पर पंहुचना मुश्किल नहीं//
८) मुश्किल कुशा है रूबरू, जिस ने तुझे पंजा दिया//

Ishq is the thematic essence of Santmat and Sufism. Tulsi Sahib says that an aspirant has to tread the path of Prem, Ishq, which amounts to real Bhakti. Love for the Lord God alone is devotion. Devotion sans love is a deception of devotion. 

Devotion where love is absent may be, at best, a prayer of demands by the mind to the Lord which presumes that Lord is ignorant of our needs. We make prayer a transactional arrangement and confuse it with Bhakti and Love. 

Mirdad proclaims that “Love is the law of God’. Love brings obedience –the virtuosity of living in His will. One can easily attempt to live in His will when one loves Him. Without loving it is not possible to live in His will. Mirdad further adds-- “We love so that we may learn to live. We live so that we may learn to love”. 

What is meant by “learn to live” by loving? In love alone one can abide by His will!! And when one lives that way, Divine love is naturally bestowed!! Loving and living have to be indistinguishable in a manner that all events of life be cheerfully accepted as a gift of God with utmost gratitude.

Guru Nanak Sahib in Jap Ji
किव सचायरा होईये किव कूड़े तुटे पाल//
हुकम रजाई चलना नानक लिख्या नाल/ 

In these two lines Guru Nanak Sahib is himself a querist and the respondent—how can one know the Truth and cast away falsehood-- veil of illusion?? Living in His will as determined by His Hukam or Ordinance is the way to realize Him. Thus Love, Ishq, Bhana and Raza are intimately linked. 
Then again

 साचा साहिब साचा नाऊ बाख्या भाऊ अपार// 
Simran of the True name of the True Lord should be done with utmost Love. 

Soami Ji says that
यह मार्ग है प्रेम भक्ति का, चलना चड़ना सुरत शब्द का//

Paltu Sahib describes the yearning of Ishq---

अम्मा मेरा दिल गया मुझ से रहा न जाये//
मुझ से रहा न जाये बिन साहिब के देखे//
मुझ को भया है रोग जायेगा जीव हमारा//
एकर दारू (medicine) यही मिले जो प्रीतम प्यारा//
The love is generated by the Master by inner and outer Darshan of the Master. Master is Giver of Love. Kabir Sahib says—
सतगुरु तो सत भाव(love)  है जो अस भेद बताई//
धन्य शिश धन भाग जो असी सुध आयी  

Sufi Moinuddin Chishti says that if a forest is to be cleaned it is an act of impossibility. But if fire is lit, forest is charred and nothing remains. Mind is akin to a forest which cannot be cleaned or tamed by any means except that of fire of Love or Prem or Ishq.  Mind which is the greatest impediment in experiencing totality of consciousness is trashed by the fire of Ishq.

The love as understood amongst physical entities is represented in duality of “I and you”. Usually we say “I love you”. If the core and crux of love is oneness, then “I and you” have no relevance in love. Both “I and you” are manifestation of ego self in which God is absent.  Unless “I and “You” cease to exist, solitary intimacy of love with Divine cannot be experienced.
Baba Bulle Shah recites aloud in one of his kafi---- 
जद मैं रमज़ (understanding) इश्क दी पाई, मेंना (means- मैं ) तोता (means-तू) मार गवाई//
अंदरों बाहरो होई सफाई, जिस वल देखां यारो यार//-- 
The duality of you and me has vanished. In Oneness all is Divine.

Hazur Maharaj Ji used to explain the same concept by giving example of Heer and Ranjha---
 राँझा राँझा करदी नी मैं आपे राँझा होई//
सदो नी मेनू दीधो राँझा हीर न आखो कोई// 

The path is made convenient by the Murshid as He is the giver and receiver of the Love and prompts it within you. After the initiation he is present (रूबरू)secretly in the inner chambers of the spiritual heart—the Shahrag—in His astral form to resolve all troubles.  In a humble submission to His beloved Murshid, Khwaja Gulam Farid says (page 71 RSSB publication on Gulam farid).

मेडा इश्क  वी तूं मेडा यार वी तूं //मेडा दीन वी तूं ईमान वी तूं//
मेडा जिस्म वी तू मेडा रूह वी तूं //मेडा क्लब वी तूं जिंद जान वी तूं //
मेडा ज़िक्र वी तूं मेडा फ़िक्र वी तूं//

You are my Love and Beloved----that there is no difference between the lover and the Beloved. You are my religion and faith; you are my body and soul; you are my very heart and my very breath. You are my simran, remembrance, love and fear.  God is Love and Love alone or the absence of the self.

Soami Ji also says भक्ति और भगवंत एक है, प्रेम रूप तू सतगुरु जान// Satguru is named as Yaar BY Sufis.

९)तुलसी कहे सुन ऐ तकी, यह राज़े बातिन है जुदा //
१०)रखना हिफाजत से इसे , तुझ को निशां ऊचा दिया //

In conclusion Tulsi Sahib tells oh Sheikh Takki, the path of inner mystic mystery of Self-realization which you have never known before has been revealed to you. This is way of performing the pilgrimage of spiritual Hajj for attaining totality of consciousness while in human body.  Now follow with full diligence and devotion the instructions imparted by your Murshid. Lovingly apply yourself to simran of Nam as advised. Focus attention/ Dhayan of your Murshid at Shahrag; listen to the celestial music with inner ears that is pulling you to your True Home. Be a good human being by abiding the vows you have taken at the time of initiation and surrender the self to the Lord.

True Master will take your care here and hereafter. With the stamp/visa of His Mercy and Grace—this life of flesh and form will transform itself into fleshless and formless. That will be the real Hajj and pilgrimage of the Soul.  Tulsi Sahib mentions in another ghazal addressed to Sheikh Takki ---- This is the call of Tulsi: O practitioner, do the practice with concentration. The kun [Shabd] described in the Koran, will take you to Allah, the Most High.
यह सदा तुलसी की है, आमिल अमल कर धयान दे//
कुन कुरान में है लिखा अल्लाहू अकबर के लिए//

It is so believed that Sheikh Takki finally got initiation from Tulsi Sahib. But this is the way forward for all of us.
 


MOOL MANTRA OF “JAP JI” --GURU NANAK SAHIB



 THOUGHTS ON MOOL MANTRA OF JAP JI
MOOL MANTRA OF “JAP JI”   
Jap Ji, composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is transcribed at the beginning of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS). Jap Ji begins with a Mool Mantra and is followed by 38 pauris (stanzas) and finishes with a final Salok at the end of this composition. Prime feature of Guru Nanak Sahib’s Mool Mantra is—“what is the nature of God' and “how that spiritual wisdom can be understood”.
The Mool Mantra is--
इकओ सतिनामु करता पुरखु निरभउ निरवैरु
अकाल मूरति अजूनी सैभं गुर प्रसादि।। जप //
NECCESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF MOOL MANTRA
A “Mool (fundamental) Mantra” (chanting) or (Mul Mantra) defines concept of God as experienced by a mystic of the highest order. God is not an entity and neither any entity is God. Since God is not able to communicate with man or any other being directly, it creates many doubts and queries about the power or energy that be or that is felt by any entity, especially the humans, as to the where about and origin of that force.
What was before God? Where He lives? What is His profession? (see box below also) What is the source of that energy and how long will it exist? Whether life and death of any object represents the beginning and the end of that energy? If that energy is named God –is He perfect or imperfect? If perfect, why the creation that is supposed to be created by that power, is not perfect? Why we see so much imperfection around us? What is the definition of perfection or imperfection? Since there are so many disparities in the creation –are they designed that way or are they incomprehensible at our level?  
Many scholars and philosophers have raised these questions from time immemorial but man is as confused today as ever. Since God remains an unknown entity through common perception, these questions are relevant.
God has never stated that He is One or many; nor has God ever claimed to be a treasure of virtues or lacks them; neither God has desired any kind worship or devotion or love from any one or even claimed that He is responsible for the working of this creation. What is God’s state of being is also not stated by Him. God has thus never communicated with us. We do not know God at all, except a belief nurtured by the ego-self and the information conveyed to us by the society ruled by the Sharia or clergy. 
 It will also be difficult to prove that God has revealed Himself through select human beings of His choice to transmit the concept or reality of His existence and also of the Creation manifested by Him. But to those whom the Divine revelation has been blessed, they have expressed about actuality of Divinity in words that can be easily understood by the yearners of mysticism.
Says Kabir sahib—कह कबीर ह्म धुर के भेदी लाये हुकम ह्ज़ूरी// (“I have brought secrets of the Highest Region and commandments of the ALMIGHTY") Likewise Guru Nanak Sahib states—P722 SGGS जैसी में आवे खसम की बानी तेस्डा करी ज्ञान वे लालो –“As the Word of the Lord comes to me, so do I express it –oh Lalo (Lalo is a disciple)”
Mystics who were or are blessed a communion with Him have passed on their experience to serious seekers and also given them the technique of experiencing the Lord. Thus disciples of such mystics have authenticated the experience of their Master Mystic and that has again been re-verified by their followers.
It is through such Saints, Gurus, Messengers of God, Prophets, Pir-o-Murshid, Perfect Masters that we have been informed about the powers and attributes of God. That is why there is Salok in SGGS P262 by the Fifth Guru Arjan dev Ji-- आद गुरु नमह// जुगाद गुरु नमह// सतगुरु नमह //श्री गुरुद्वाये नमह // “I bow to the primal guru, I bow to guru of all ages, I bow to the True Guru—the guru of my Guru, I bow to the greatest my Guru”.  That is why Kabir Sahib has defined the sublime supremacy of the Living Guru—“गुरु गोबिंद दोनों खड़े किस के लागों पाओं, बलहारी गुरु आपने जिस गोबिंद दिया दिखलाये”If I (Kabir) has the option of choosing amongst the Lord and the Guru, then I will elect to undertake self-annihilation for the Guru with whose grace I have been able to experience the Lord”.
Kabir sahib explains P1350 SGGS—अल्लाह अलख न जाये लखेया, गुर गुड़ दीना मीठा //केह कबीर मेरी संका नासी सरब निरंजन डीठा// The Lord Allah is unseen; the guru blessed me with sugary molasses. Says Kabir my doubts are dispelled; I see the immaculate Lord everywhere”.
Briefly—Kabir sahib emphasizes that through my mystic master, I have removed my doubts and imbibed myself the method of experiencing the Lord.
Q&A  between Guru Nanak Sahib(GURU) and Pir-Dastagir (PIR) , Baghdad –Iraq
Questions—
First, what existed before One God?
Second, where He lives?
Third, what is His profession?
------------------------------The Pir-Dastagir (PIR)  was seated on a high decorated throne, preaching to his followers when Guru Nanak Sahib(GURU)    arrived.  The Guru sat humbly on the ground. After a while Pir asks “Oh you Guru, who claim to be a God’s man, answer three questions?  First, if there is only one God, then who comes before Him. Second, where He lives? Third, what is His profession?
For discussions about esteemed Lord, the Guru mentioned, he needs precious and pure stuff like four rubies and a cup of milk. After the needful was done, the Pir is asked to count rubies”.  Pir—“One—two –three—four”. Kindly count again, Guru insisted. Again, response was —one, two, three and four. “What comes before the One?” queried Guru. Pir -- “nothing” comes before the One. And so announced the Guru, even spiritually there is “nothing” and “nothingness” before One. Everything emerges from the One only.
Then Guru asked –“What do you see in milk?” White milk only, was the natural answer. Guru asked, “Do you see butter in milk?” No—but Pir admitted that milk contains butter always. Guru clarified--like butter, God lives and exists, intermingled invisibly in the Creation.
For third enquiry, Guru suggested that Pir may descend from the elevated podium so that sacred profession of Supreme Divinity is proclaimed by him from the high throne.  Pir descended, sat on the floor and Guru moved up. Guru’s response was—“Lord brings down the one on throne and takes lowly one to higher pedestal—just as all of you witnessed now”. He makes kings as beggars and vice versa; fools into pundits; days into nights—He makes the creation move up and down in a circle at His axis- while remaining unaffected.
THE MOOL MANTRA OF GURU NANAK SAHIB gives definition of the Lord and the methodology to understand Him. This mool mantra is an inner experience of God in a highly compressed manner yet expressed in words, but interpreted by other mystics and scholars as per their understanding.


EKO
1              THE FIRST WORD THAT THE GURU MENTIONED WAS EKO—THE ONE (—IN GURMUKHI). There is only one and only one power. Any concept of duality or “Duja” is wrong and misleading. All that exists is Him and the Him alone. The diversity is an illusion. When the Guru spoke about the One –it means absence of two, three, four, and five and so on. “1” or One is not a numerical representation of God. Numbers are relative to each other, the One is absolute without a second.
This “1” or One is symbolic that God is beyond limitations of measurements and evaluation. Another example—in our day to day living we apply mathematical logic say for addition of 4+4=8. But in mystical understanding, that defies logic and we will have to presume 4+4=1. Because each of four things is born out of the action of one that is infinite- अनन्त.  
In an equation the expression would be of “infinite”+ “infinite”= “infinite” and “infinite-infinite”= “infinite”. . Infinity added with anything, or anything subtracted from infinity is still infinity because none of them can still be counted and there is no theoretical end to infinity. Nothing can be added or subtracted from the One that is infinite. It is absolute Oneness of the Divine with no religion, race or gender.  
Endorsing the notion of EKO—Kabir Sahib says—एक कहे तो है नहीं दो कहों तो गार ,जेसे को तेसा कहे, कहे कबीर विचार // Kabir says he is at loss to count Him. He is what he is.
Even Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) also states –“La illah il Allah”. There is no god but God alone. That also evidences Universal Oneness or the unity in diversity. Sufi Hazrat Sultan Bahu—अलिफ़ –अल्लाह चम्बे दी बूटी, मुर्शिद मन मेरे विच लाई हू// “(Alif means-- the One and the only One) Allah’s Kalma of fragrance has been planted in me by my Master”.   
 Likewise Moses stated “You shall have no other gods before me”—signifying the Oneness of the Lord. And Jesus also said-- the Lord our God is one Lord”.
Billions of people, creatures, vegetation, hills and oceans—all that is seen and unseen is a projection of the One. The illusion of many is also an experience projected by the One. For example, if an object is seen in a mirror, it replicates itself as an image. If thousands of mirrors are kept in a room, then one will get reflected as thousands of such images. Thus a single object is transformed into thousands of image. This is just an analogy how one can be many at the same time. Five elements of nature— ether, air, fire, water earth—are made by the One, the EKO. All other things have their origin in them.
On page 736 of SGGS Guru Ram Das Ji elaborates पंच तत कर तुध सृष्टि सब साजी कोई छेवा करियो जे कुछ किता होए you created the entire universe out of five elements. Can anyone ever create the sixth”?
 (Note—from mystical perspective “ether”--- the intelligence came first, then air, thereafter fire, followed by water and earth.  This is how the Creation is said to have evolved. At the time of dissolution of this creation—the process is reversed. Earth gets dissolved in water, water is dried by fire and fire is taken away by the air to the sky/ether.)
To illustrate the oneness various mystics have given other examples—there is no difference between the ocean, drops and waves; sun and rays are together all the time yet they appear different.  Says Saint Chatur Das Jiआपे खेल ते आप खिलाड़ी दूजा कोई तमाशा ना// बूँद बूँद सागर है पानी है एह ज्ञान विनाशा ना //पाक ज़ात ते रूह दे अंदर समझ फर्क इक माशा ना /
“He Himself is the play and He the player—there is no other game that is going on. The drop itself is an ocean {could mean that God (ocean) can be found in each human being- a drop} while this cannot be understood through conventional wisdom. Know that there is no difference between the soul and the Lord”. 
Eko or is also pronounced as Ek Omkar or Onkar— AUM or OM – as the pervading power and suffix kar or kara is added to mean “sound of”.  Omkar implies “sound of OM’. According to certain spiritual beliefs, AUM or OM is the creative sound emanating from the Braham which is the origin of deities Shiva, Vishnu or Brahma—according to Vedas and Upanishads.  If Eko or is mentioned as Ek Omkar, then it negates the essence of Oneness and refers to the trinity of powers that regulate the affairs of this world under the command of God. To avoid such cross-reference or misinterpretation many mystics have uttered as Eko—the one that is beyond all such gods and deities. However it matters little if EK-OMKAR represents the ONE and the only ONE.

















SATNAM
2              THE SECOND WORD IN MOOL MANTRA IS SATNAM. 
Many Indian mystics have named the Lord as Satnam, though He is nameless. A name implies a distinction between the named and the other person who uses that name thus starting a relationship with the Lord. The name is also symbolic of an identity through which a soul or the seeker can develop a personal relationship.
Satnam in the Indian mystical tradition is therefore the starting point of manifestation of the Lord from the un-manifested state. Guru Nanak, Kabir sahib, Ravidas Ji, Soami Ji and many others have used this name.
Kabir Sahib—सतनाम को सुमरिते उधेरये पतित अनेक, कह कबीर न छोडिये सतनाम की टेकby remembrance of Satnam, many down trodden have got redemption. Says Kabir-- never forget the support of Satnam”.
Ravidas p. 694 SGGS-- कह रविदास नाम तेरो की आरती सतनाम है हर भोग तुहारे // “your name is my Aarti, my lamp lit worship service. The True Name, Satnam is the food which I offer You.
Soami Ji says—सतनाम सत्पुरुष का, सतलोक में पूर//सुरत चढ़यो शब्द में दर्शन हाल हुज़ूर // (page 266 Sarbachan). “The name of the God is Satnam which can be realized in the region of the Truth. Merge your attention in Shabd and witness Lord”.  
Satnam is a combination of Sat and Nam, intended to capture the attributes of thing so named.
a)      Sat means perpetual existence without any change called Satya or the Truth. Understanding of Sat is difficult because it is different from truth and untruth as a pair of opposites in our conventional wisdom, because they divide the event or thought as good and bad. The Guru however speaks of that Sat which is self- luminous and self- sufficient. Both truth and untruth do not exist there. It is that Sat which sustains both the Truth and the Untruth, as understood by us.
At our level, mystic Mirdad says that Man is a God in swaddling bands—man’s consciousness (soul) is wrapped in layer of bands of cotton wool that has diminished our understanding. These bands are of time, space, mind and flesh. Says Mirdad of man—“hence his consciousness ever in flux (change/unrest); his understanding is in fog (confused); his life out of balance (up and down). It is confusion thrice confounded (page 43 chapter 4).  
How can a narrow and limited consciousness judge totality of consciousness or the Truth. All of us are limited in time and space. For example—we see the earth not as round but straight. We feel we are stationary when sitting, but actually rotating with earth all the time—both because of rotation of earth around its axis and its motion around the sun. We are unable to infer many forms of light that is beyond our visual power—like infra-red or ultraviolet rays or X rays. Many audio frequencies cannot be heard by us.
Our bodies too are inherently limited. We can eat when hungry and what is digestible. Likewise we can drink liquids in limitations. We fall sick for unknown reasons and then get cured. We don’t know where we come from and where we go after death; events of our own life cannot be rightly deciphered; have no knowledge of past and future; cannot discriminate between good and bad. An imperfect entity cannot sit on judgement of others. Only the perfect one can understand the perfection.
We are thus incompetent to be judgemental about the perfection or imperfection of God. To acquire an understanding about Him, we have to raise our level of understanding. Guru Nanak Sahib says in Japji Pauri 24 एवड ऊचा होवे कोई// तिस उचे कउ जाने सोई only the one in exalted state of greatness as He, can know His lofty state.
From the highest perspective all that is happening or not happening is the Truth. What we see or do not see is the Truth or Sat. From the lowest level we tend to describe events either confused and controversial or as right or wrong, depending upon our state of mind. We live in world of thoughts and actions to the extent of our knowledge. When we say that we know something then we are describing part of what we understand as per our limited intellect and part of our ignorance.  
Thus the question whether God is perfect or imperfect and whether His creation is good or bad can be answered by those mystics who have realized that state of totality of consciousness. When Guru Nanak had an inner vision of Reality he found that the Lord is perfect—the Truth-- in all respects and thus whatever He is doing is also perfection.
b)      “Nam” is the God’s creative power also referred as the Word, the sound current; also called the shabd; the divine unstruck music or power of God that resounds within every human being.   The Sat’s mode of transmission of power to Nature and access back to Him is via Nam.
Nam represents the first creative division that sets out the multiplicity of the creation with the God being the primal factor of Oneness. इस दुनिया के  कण कण में परमात्मा है पर उस परमात्मा को नाम की माला के धागे में प्रयो हुआ है //  Thus beads and the thread are complimentary. This understanding can come by direct mystical experience alone. Guru Nanak Sahib says—आपीन्ये आप साज्यो आपीन्ये रचिओ नाओ// दुई कुदरत साजीयो कर आसन डिठओ चायो // He himself created His own self and the He also produced the power of Nam, with which He fashioned the Nature and with great pleasure He is relishing His own play.
Speaking of parallelism of Nam and True Guru, one can infer when chanting of ---Satnam-Waheguru, Satnam-Waheguru---- is made in some religious places repeatedly. Though chanting of Satnam-Waheguru is sung externally, the crucial relevance is to the inner understanding to mean that there is no difference between the True Nam and the True Guru. Jesus has also referred that True Guru is the “Word made flesh”.
Nam acts through the power of Sat which carries full and final wisdom of the Lord. Nam is Love, truth, consciousness and bliss that can be experienced by human beings within themselves in the form of sound and light.
Nam is the unique principle of existence, the sole means of salvation and the one essence of all. It is the shabd of the Gurus, the Logos of ancient Greeks, the Word, Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost and the Comforter of the New Testament of Christians; Anhad bani of Sikhs, Kalam, Kun, Bang-I-Asmani, Nida-I-Sultani and so forth of Sufis.; the Nad, Nam, Ram Nam, Ram Dhun and so forth of Hindus. Nam creates and sustains all things. Nam is vibrating in all beings all the time. Taking the form of True Guru, Nam makes “Jivas” (souls incarnated in human bodies) “conscious” of their connectivity to “Itself” through them and blesses experience of oneness with God. Third Guru Amar Das Ji says page 763- SGGS
नामे ही ते सब कुछ होया, बिन सतगुर नाम न जापे// गुर का शब्द महा रस मीठा बिन चखे साद न जापे //
“Everything is ordained by Nam or comes from Nam, the name of the Lord; without true Guru, Nam is not experienced. Guru’s shabd is the sublime and sweet in essence, but without tasting it, its flavor cannot be experienced.”
Kabir sahib says-
कोट नाम संसार में ता ते मुक्त न होय / आद नाम जो गुप्त जप भूजे बिरला कोई //
There are millions of names of God in this world, but not one leads to salvation. Few are aware of primal name (adi Nam) for it is a secret repetition; known only to a rare one—(means the satguru).
Then Kabir Sahib mentions the supremacy of Nam-
नाम जप्त कोड़ी भला, चोए चोए पड़े जिस चाम / कंचन देह किस काम की जो मुख नाहीं नाम//
Even a leper who is attuned to Nam is better than, the one who has a body of gold (meaning full of worldly possessions)





















KARTA PURAKH
3)            THE THIRD WORD IN THE MOOL MANTRA IS KARTA PURAKH
Karta means the DOER. PURAKH means the power of doing by any person or entity what we call Pursharth (पुरषार्थ). The second Guru –Arjan Dev Ji on his role as the Karta says (page 475 SGGS)--आपे साजे करे आप जाई भी रखे आप// तिस विच जंत उपाए के देखे थापे उथाप// किस नू कहिये नानका सब कुछ आपे आप // “He himself fashions (designs) and creates the world and keeps it in order. Having created beings within it, he oversees their birth and death. None can speak or question Him—He is the doer of all”. Third Guru also mentions (P 39 SGGS) –हम कीया हम करहगे हम मूर्ख गावार// करने वाला विसरया दूजे भाए प्यार – (I have done this and I will do that—I am an idiotic fool for saying this. I have forgotten the DOER of all because I am caught in the Love of duality).
For doing any work force/power/energy is needed. In elementary physics, the work done equals to force multiplied by distance or W (work) =F (force) x D (distance). If force applied does not translate into a distance/movement, then work done is nil. However, the Lord as the Doer has the strength for performance of any “work”-- both seen and unseen. The Creation is the work done by Him.  There is one major difference –He himself is “the Doer and the Done”—Omnipotent and Omnipresent also.
The term “Doer and the Done” needs to be explained. For example, in a movie there is a script writer, director, actor, actress, villain, many others supporting actors, camera, light, sound etc.—as many doers while the movie is the end product or work done. But in Lord’s film He is the One who plays all roles and the Movie is His own projection; He himself is the audience that enjoys the movie’s projection in Cosmic Hall. It matters little whether He is awarded any Oscar award or not. Yet He is blissful in His own way. Elaborating this concept of His doing third Guru Amar Das Ji says (P1043 SGGS)--हुकमी सहजे सृष्टी उपाई //कर कर वेखे अपनी वडयाई// (By the command of His Hukam/Nam He effortlessly (सहजे) created the universe. Creating the creation, He gazes upon His own greatness.)
Since He has enormous power, unimaginable at the level of our intellect, He is an “effortless Doer”.
To illustrate the point of “effortless Doer” we may consider the paradigm of energy. Energy and matter are convertible scientifically. Assuming  that God is an energy which is not apparently visible in any matter, then such energy can be converted into mass or matter under certain conditions and vice versa. Hazur often explained that if know the method of scratching wood with another wood or rubbing a stone with another, it gives sparks of fire. This is simple proof of matter embedded with energy. When we eat food, calories or energy is produced within the body. Energy too can be converted into matter under special circumstances and technique. At the time of dissolution of this creation, all matter is converted into energy of light and sound.
The energy generated equivalent to one atom bomb called “Little Boy” dropped in Hiroshima in 1945 was (64x1016 Joules). Thus about 0.70 kg of mass of matter (uranium in this case), is required to carry out explosive destruction which is said to come out of 15500 tons of TNT (tri nitro toluene—an explosive). This illustrates how much energy is stored in the matter, if converted atomically. 
It is therefore mind boggling that how much power is made available by the Lord for sustaining this creation. Lord is Omnipotent in all respects. He has done all that is to be done. He need not act in phases or parts because He is always empowered for doing and the done. That is why He is an effortless doer. The movie is already made and we are watching it in the conundrum of time and space.  
(Even if theoretically Einstein equation  of e=mc2 is applied for the energy (e) generated where (m) is the mass say of 1 kg and (c) is the speed of light of 300,000,000 m/sec (300 million meter per second)  then energy generated is 90,000,000,000,000,000(90x1016)) Joules/second, or 90000 trillion joules /second or  90000 lakh crore Joules/second. Since 1 Joule/second= one watt, it equals 90000 trillion watts or 90000 lakh crores watts.) For greater simplified understanding a 100 watt electric lamp can stay lighted for 28.5 million years—though the process of converting mass into energy with 100% efficiency is not that simple—but it gives an idea of energy packed by the Creator in one kg. of matter. Conversely a lot of energy is required to produce a small amount of matter m= e/c2)  
The term Karta Purakh is a potent and polite reminder to men to shed self-conceited ideas of ego of their doing or applying any effort. He has (and is) provided infinite energy in running this cosmos. The very breath, the body and its shape and environment around us is fashioned by the Lord.  
God is also named as KARTAR (करतार) by seekers and devotees for the same reason as the Doer (कर) and the Redeemer (तार -तारने वाला).




















NIRBHAO
4)            THE FOURTH WORD IN MOOL MANTRA IS “NIRBHAO”—FEARLESS, IMPLYING THAT GOD IS FEARLESS.
“The lord alone is fearless because he is Eko (). Guru Nanak Sahib says-Page 464 SGGS—सगलिया भाऊ लिखिया सिरि लेख//नानक निरभाओ निरंकार सच एक //God has inscribed or written the writ of fear on heads of all. The true formless Lord alone is fearless.”
First let us understand “why and what” of fear.
Human beings are born with an instinct of fear both in a state of awareness and unawareness. In awareness we are conscious of the thought or action or shortcoming of such a fear, and, when unaware we too react, as unexpected event occurs externally or within our mind. The fear of death of self and with whom we are attached, or the fear of unknown or the fear of loss of what we have or collective combination of such ideas, troubles us.
Thus, the very thought of future being worse than the present time and our helplessness to manage the imagined or coming situations are the factors generating fear. The quantum, momentum and duration of such dread depends on faith, belief and trust in some superior power who can anchor our grief. If we get the support of the power or an instrument that can share or resolve our problems, then the anxiety and distress diminishes or vanishes.
All such ideas arise when we feel and believe that we are separate from Him—the Lord. Our sense of duality (दूजा भाव) creates a false sense of ego of tackling inner and outer problems. Since we are limited in thought, action, mind, body, space and time as compared to the Omnipotent God, we are stuck in the conundrum of confusion. More over our karmic profile is made of good and bad karmas too drive us randomly into state of happiness and misery from time to time. The crux of above narrative is our inherent limitation in all respects—even with Vivek—that is superior to all other beings, we still cannot control the events of life. 
The One who has all the wisdom, all the power, none equal to Him; devoid of all perversions of mind and the mind itself, the Only (unchangeable) Truth; with no likes and dislikes; Ocean of Love and  blissfulness; has no competition or competitor; effortless doer; beyond time and space; Nature at His command; perfect in all respects—is therefore Fearless.
Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh writes in Philosophy of Masters 4-- “That One is without fear because He is the most powerful being and creator of all. Everything else has been created by Him. They are not His equals, so He has no fear. No god or goddess or incarnation can be His equal----by contemplating on Him, the devotees also become fearless”.






NIRVAIR
5)             THE FIFTH WORLD OF MOOL MANTRA IS NIRVAIR –God is “foe-less” and has no enemy or enmity with any one.
Logically when He is the One and the Only One; the only Doer; capable of doing as per His will; with no questions asked from any one; has full knowledge and everything is contained within Him. From His point of view, the creation is nothing but waves of His love.  By establishing a loving relationship with Him, then we can also rid of feeling of enmity or jealousy towards others.
 Hazur Maharaj Sawan Singh writes in Philosophy of Masters 4—“He could have feelings of enmity only if He had others like Him. But He Himself is the warp and woof of the universe, then against whom He can He feel enmity. Those who praise that one become devoid of enmity and hatred.”
Thus two attributes “always loving and none other exists” make Him un-inimical or Nirvair.
Note—generally the prime factor of man’s misery is the Hoame—Ego, which gives us a feeling of separation or duality or division from the Lord. One can be fearless (Nirbhao) and without enmity (Nirvair) only in the absence of Hoame. God exists without any EGO—because He himself is the cause of injecting element of ego in His creation so that all beings acquire an experience of being an individual entity. God is neither an entity nor any entity is God. Guru Nanak Sahib later on says P 1009, SGGS—होअमे बिख पाया जगत उपाया सब्द वसे बिख जाये “Injecting the poison of egotism, the world was created; with the shabd enshrined within, this poison is eliminated”.















AKAL MOORAT
6)            THE SIXTH WORD OF MOOL MANTRA IS AKAL MOORT – BEYOND CHANGE, LIFE AND DEATH BUT HAVING EXISTENCE.
Kal means time and space. Akal means beyond time space, life and death. Moorat means existence. Moorat is also said to convey the idea of Mahoorat (महूरत)—an auspicious, date time and space. Akal Moorat implies eternal existence devoid of date, time and space. This is natural corollary of "Sat”.   God is thus not bound by limitations of law of Karma or "action and result" theory.  But the Lord is responsible for creation of time and space for this universe through the instrumentality of mind.  Guru Arjan, Fifth Guru says P 1076 SGGS-- खंड पताल दीप सब लोआ// सब काले वस् आप प्रभ कीया //निहचल एक आप अबनासी, सो निहचल जो तिसहे धियांदा // “All continents, nether world, islands and worlds (all beings therein), God has handed over to Kal—the power, that controls time, space, change, production and destruction.  The One Lord alone is imperishable, unmoving and unchanging. Meditating upon Him, one becomes unchanging.”
Where do you exist —even Guru Nanak Sahib wonders—सो दर केहा सो घर केहा जित बह सरब समाले //--“Where is that gate, where is the dwelling, in which you sit and take care of all?”
Even if we are unaware of His whereabouts, Mirdad says – “God’s Word is time untimed and space unspaced. Was there a time when you were not with God?  Is there a place when you were not in God?” Man’s core and crux is God “unlimited” while we experience limitations of time and space—which is an illusion like a dream.
What is time and space? Generally mystics relate to timelessness and absence of space where the very thought ceases to exist. In a deep sleep, mind is dormant. We lose awareness of thoughts and existence of time but the eternal life force remains connected. Upon awaking, we are back in the zone of time and space. It can be inferred that both time and space are derivatives of mind.
When we see a movie in a hall, time and space are forgotten, because we have fallen in love with story projected on the screen. We hardly realize that three hours have passed in the darkness of a concrete structure.  “Love is the law of God”, says Mirdad. Time and space vanish in Love.
Thus thoughts of past, present and future create time; recollection of the objects/ideas-- far and near refers to the space. Forgetfulness of ego self and falling in Love eliminates time and space.
Soami Ji says that so long as we live in realm of thoughts we cannot know the Truth. Swami Ji says जहाँ मिलोनी तहां विचार, हमारा  देश  इक  सतनाम , वहां  विचार  का  कुछो  ना  काम. “ In the amalgamated region of mind matter, time and space thoughts  exist. Our home is region of Satnam where thoughts cease”.
Sat or God or Akal Moorat exists beyond the region of mind, time and space. That is the abode of the Lord.




AJOONI SAIBHANG
7              THE SEVENTH WORD IN MOOL MANTAR IS AJOONI SAIBHANG (अजूनी सैभंग)—THAT WHICH IS UNBORN AND SELF-SUSTAINED.
Guru Nanak Sahib P 1036 SGGS sums up--ता का अंत न जाने कोई // पूरे गुर ते सोझी होई// “No one knows His limits. This understanding comes from the Perfect Guru”.
Ajooni is Punjabi format of “ayoni” in Sanskrit which means without beginning, without source and without any cause. Lord remains unaffected by such phenomenal events because He is eternal. 
All living beings and non-living entities of this universe remain within the cycle of come and go; birth, death, change and then rebirth followed by decay. This is the mandated circle. Depending upon the level of consciousness such beings experience pain, pleasure, emotions, bliss and remorse in the circle of time. But the Creator is absolutely insulated from this phenomenon. Living creatures are subdivided into four prime categories—a) “andj” (अंडज) —those born out of eggs like hen and birds; b) “jeraj” (जेरज)-those born out of covering of membrane or from a womb, like men and animals; c)“setaj” (सेतज)—those created by change in seasons, temperature, moisture etc.—mosquitos, flies etc. d) “utbhuj”(उतभुज)—such as vegetation like vegetables, fruits, grass etc. produced out of ground or hills or sea.  Similarly a large numbers of non-living items like earth, rivers, stones, oceans and planets also come into existence, are exposed to change and finally, either, get destroyed or altered by nature and man.
The question is if living and non-living beings are perishable or when the inner being or soul quits bodies, then how God, which is dynamic power responsible for them, survives. The answer is-- It is the body that disappears while the soul and God remain insulated from birth and death. An anecdotal illustration is given—“Assuming there are many or say a million earthen pitchers filled with water, kept in a desert; sky is clear and sun is shining.  Sun will be reflected in each pitcher. If sun is deemed God and the reflection of rays in the pitcher as the soul, then God and soul are experienced simultaneously. If any of the pitchers breaks, water spills on the ground and the reflection of the sun disappears. The act of disappearance of image or ray is akin to the soul having quit the body which is a pitcher. Thus God as the sun and soul as the ray is eternal. Rays of sun are the souls that are intertwined with its prime source. Guru Nanak sahib himself endorses this fact page 1153, SGGS आत्म में राम राम में आत्म चीनस गुर विचारा// “The Lord is in the soul and the soul is in the Lord. This can be realized through by meditating as per Guru’s teachings” There is no difference between the soul (s) and God. The production and destruction is of the body (pitcher) of five elements which merge into their elemental forces.  As “Karta Purakh” He fashions this creation as per His Will and Wisdom, but He is not exposed to any cycle of Come and Go and has attributes of Ajooni.
SAIBHNG सैभंग is derived from the word “swaym bhu”-- स्वयं भू – that which is self- illuminated and self- existence has no dependency of any kind. It is very difficult to imagine as something that has no source of energy. But this is the cosmic Truth. Even mystics have lost words in the land scape of description.




GUR PARSAD JAP
8)            THE EIGHTH WORD OF MOOL MANTRA IS “GUR PARSAD JAP’’. IT MEANS --THAT TO EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTAND THE DIVINE CONCEPT AS DEFINED IN MOOL MANTRA- GRACE OF GURU IS A PRE-REQUISITE FOLLOWED BY PRESCRIBED MEDITATION.
“Gur” means Guru--a person incarnated as “Word made flesh” Who can rid us from the darkness and ignorance of illusion and then lead us to the path of Light –the enlightenment or God realization. “Gu” refers to darkness and “Ru” means light. The Shanti Mantra-- तमसो मा जोय्तिर गम्या refers to the same idea of leading from darkness to light.

 An identical message is given by the Fifth Guru, Arjan Dev Ji P 293 SGGS ज्ञान अंजन गुरु दिया अज्ञान अंधेर बिनास, हर किरपा ते संत भेटया नानक मन परगास”. The Guru has given the healing ointment of spiritual wisdom, and dispelled darkness of ignorance. By Lord’s Grace, I have met the Saint; O Nanak, my mind is enlightened.
Baba Bulle Shah says—बिन मुर्शिद कामिल बुलया तेरी ऐवें गई इबादत कीती // “Without a perfect master, all forms of worship for Divine realization is not helpful”.

Hazrat Sultan Bahu—अलफ़ अल्ला चम्बे दी बूटी मुर्शिद मन मेरे विच लाई हू// नफी अस्बात दा पानी मिल्या शाह रगे हर जाई हू// “My Master, Murshid, has planted Allah’s fragrant shrub of jasmine—true Nam-- in my heart. It is watered by self-negation resulting into presence of Allah all around which is felt by me within my shah rag (Sushmna vein at the eye centre)”.  

The fourth Guru also enumerates at P1324 SGGS-- मेरा ठाकुर वडा वडा है सोअमी हम किओ कर मिलह मिलीज्ये // नानक मेल मिलाये गुर पूरा जन कोयो पूर्ण दीजये //--- My Lord and Master is glorious and great!! How can I experience Oneness with Him? Oh, Nanak the Perfect Guru bestows realization of Oneness to his humble servant and blesses perfection”.

Guru Nanak Sahib also Says—सचे शब्द सची पत होई, बिन नामे मुक्त न पाए कोई//बिन सतगुर कोई नाम न पावे प्रभ ऐसी बनत बनाई है // “Truth can be realized through the true Shabad, which is Nam. That is the way of redemption from the cycle of 84. Without a True Master none can access the technique of Nam, because that is the Divine Ordinance”.

The obvious question that now needs to be dealt with why there is a need for ‘discipleship’ and a ‘Master’. Who is a ‘disciple ‘and who is the ‘Master’. Mind is the disciple and the Supreme Self is the Master.  But mind needs a ‘living body’ to follow and understand. The Supreme Self too needs a ‘living body’ to communicate. Man already has a soul, mind and body that wish to learn the mystery of the Supreme Self. When a man is ready to be a seeker, the Lord in his grace and compassion wears a ‘cover’ of a Master-Satguru in a soul, mind and body to reveal the path that may enable the seeker to access Him. The Lord’s human form is meant to give ‘guidance’ as man cannot acquire such instructions by his own endeavor. Mind, in a man, is lost in illusion and is ‘blind’ to the Reality, and a ‘blind’ cannot lead the ‘blind’.

                    
                                WHO IS THE SATGURU CAPABLE OF BLESSING US?
a)      Such a Guru cannot be found. It is through the grace of the God that He finds us. Fifth Guru Arjan Dev Ji says— 
भाग होया गुर संत मिलाया// प्रभ अब्नासी घर में पाया // page 97 (SGGS)
With great fortune one meets the True Master with whose grace I have found the immortal Lord within the home of my own self—that within my body.
सतगुरु दाता हर नाम का प्रभ आप मिलावे सोई //
सतगुर हर प्रभ भुजेया गुर जेवड अवर ना कोई//
हो गुर सारणी डेह पवा कर दया मेल प्रभ सोई//  page 39 (SGGS)
Then again—
जिस को पूरब लिख्या तिन सतगुर सरन गहे
Those with pre-ordained destiny are sheltered by the Satguru.
b)       A Satguru shows us the way within the human body. Guru Nanak Sahib says--- 
घर मह घर देखाई दे सो सतगुरु पुरख सुजान//
पांच शब्द धुन्कार धुन तह बाजे शब्द नीसान//
सुखमन के घर राग सुन सुन्न मंडल लिव लाये//  (page 1291 SGGS)
True or perfect living Master or Guru is He who makes you experience Divinity—the eternal abode-- within the temporary home of this human body-- where the celestial music of spheres of Five Shabd is resonating. Listen to that music of Sunn region--—that is beyond mind and maya or where mind and maya is numbed-- in the sushmana or Shahrag of your body. Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, explains the same to a Hajji, named-- Sheikh Taki
क्यों भटकता फिर रहा तू ऐ तलाशे यार में//
रास्ता शाह रग में है दिलवर को जाने के लिए//
मुर्शिदे कामिल से मिल सिदक और सबूरी से तकी//
जो तुझे देगा फहम शाह रग के पाने के लिए//)      

c)            His teachings are of meditation or Simran- Dhayan which pertain to the words of remembrance of Lord सिमर सिमर सिमर नाम जीवां मेरा तन मन होये निहाला; how to focus attention at the eye centre and to hear the transcendental musical sound vibrations and experience the astral light or Noor of Allah within--- (पंचे शब्द अनहद बाजे संगे सारंगपानी , कबीर दास तेरी आरती कीनी निरंकार निरबानी//  If thine eye be single then your whole body will be full of light—Jesus—referring to the Third eye and seeing the light within).

The prescription includes daily meditation for two and half hours, adherence to a life style of
ü  Lacto vegetarianism and avoiding drugs and intoxicants, (कबीर भांग माछली, सूरा पान जो जो प्राणी खाए, तीर्थ बरत और नेम किये सभी रसातल जांए/ P1377 SGGS “Kabir, those mortals who consume marijuana, fish and wine/intoxicants---no matter what pilgrimages, fasts and rituals they follow, they will go to hell.
ü  Honest living (हक पराया नानका ओह सूर ओह गाय// गुरु पीर हामा ता भरे जे मुरदार न खाए// to take what is rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork and a Hindu eating beef; our spiritual mentor stands by us only if we do not eat dead animals i.e. their carcasses.   
ü  Disciples should have a good moral character; serve others with humility without any reward or expectation-----having a good moral character.  In short to be a good human being. सच ता फिर जानिए जे सिख सची ले , दया जाने जी की कुछ पुन दान करे, “One knows the truth only when He receives true instructions , showing mercies to others, he makes donations to charities.”
ü  This above is also termed as Karni and Rehni of a disciple.
d)    The other vital attribute of a perfect Master is that He Himself is the Greatest Giver, lives by honest means, serves others freely physically, mentally and spiritually. Guru Nanak Sahib mentions in unequivocal terms—
गुर पीर सदाए मंगन जाये, ता के मूल न लगे पाए
घाल खाए किछ  हथों दे, नानक राह पछाने सो //Don’t serve the one who begs for living. One who works honestly for his living and gives                    some of what he has—he knows the path.गुरु नहीं बूखा तेरे धन का, उन पर धन है भक्ति नाम का //पर तेरा उपकार कराएं भूखे प्यासे को दिलवायं//उनकी मैहर तुम  मुफ्त में पायं//


“Parsad implies Grace –Guru’s mercy or रहमत, which is His Will and blessing of Nam.  Blessing or initiation into Nam Bhakti is not a matter of right but compassion of the Lord transmitted through the Guru. In all prayers of SGGS, the opening words are –EKO SATGUR PARSAD. These three words are the quintessence of spirituality and mysticism.  That One can be realized by the grace of Satguru.
Tulsi Sahib –तुलसी बिना करम किसी मुर्शिद रसीदा के// राहे निज़ात दूर है उस पार देखना // “Without the grace or Parsad of perfect master, the path of redemption is far off and inaccessible”.   

 JAP---“जप”-- The very name of Guru Nanak Sahib combined recitation of Mool Mantra, 38 stanzas and the Salok is called JAP JI. Jap means remembrance in contrast to Chanting. “JI” stands for the being or “जीय” or “oh man”. Remember the Lord, Oh, Man.

Another aspect is that God represents all that is true, pure, noble, good, loving, compassionate, forgiving, fearless, foe less. Hazur would remark that by doing His simran or being in His remembrance all noble qualities emerge just like cream floats on the surface of the milk. The adage that you become what you think fits very appropriately. When God becomes man’s mental companion, man’s thought and conduct receive the same noble vibrations that emanate from the Supreme Lord.

At a higher level “Jap”, is the meditative concentration of the Nam to understand the spiritual wisdom contained in the Mool Mantra. Gurbani elaborates—“ऐसा ज्ञान जपो मन मेरे, होवे चाकर साचे केरे // “Meditate on such spiritual wisdom, oh my mind and be a slave of the True Lord”.

Some individuals may consider “slave” word objectionable as if Lord wants us to serve Him. In our daily life we are enslaved by our senses and mind for the worldly goods and relationship. The intent of such slavery is to shift attention towards the Lord and to defocus from the prioritization of world. Infact the Lord is serving us all the time for our existence and we need to be grateful for His grace.

Jap may start from the simran(Zikr) or remembrance with love, with a tongue, then with the mind and then the soul-- that are respectively defined by Sufis as Zikr-e- Zuban, Zikr-e-Kalb, Zikr-e-Ruh.  A mystic’s meditation (Jap) is not limited to a few hours. Hazur would say that real meditation is to live by a “meditative way of life”. This includes adherence to the principles of daily life and keeping “Fikr” (fear of God/Master), Tasuver (Dhyan), and Riyazat (constant practice without missing it for a moment).

Though God is fearless, the seeker must have Bhae (भय) or fear of God, so as not to act in any manner that is contrary to the path defined by His Master, even though God or the Guru is not visible to the naked ideas. The idea is to feel His presence all the time.

The next step in Jap is to have Dhyan or focusing on the form of the Guru, who has blessed a seeker with the technique of “Jap”. At the end of Guru Nanak Sahib Bani of Jap Ji sahib, there is a sloke that reads “जिनी नाम धयेआ गये मसकत घाल // नानक ते मुख उजले कीती छुटी नाल // Those who have meditated on the name of the Lord-- that is focused on the form of “word made flesh” (Guru), their efforts are fruitful; they have effaced the burden of karmic bondage from the surface of soul and experienced Oneness with the Lord; also helped others in Divine realization”.

The constancy in Jap is called Riayzat—the daily practice. Both the Master and seeker do His remembrance daily, without fail as per the teachings of their Guru/Murshid.   



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