THE JEWEL OF HAPPINESS
The Sukhmani of Guru Arjan
a commentary by
AJAIB SINGH
Chapter 9
ONLY THREE THINGS MATTER
He who keeps the Naam within himself,
He who sees God in everybody,
He who bows to the Lord moment after moment,
He is Aparas (pure or true) who liberates all,
says Nanak.
Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj asks, Which Mahatma can liberate the
souls? Which Mahatma can liberate the world? What are the qualities
of that Mahatma and what are His signs? The Mahatma Who sees God's
presence everywhere, within Whom God Himself is manifested, and
the Mahatma Who Himself meditates on Naam and makes other people
meditate on Naam - only He can liberate the whole world, by giving
a little spark of the Naam on which He has meditated.
They come from all the gods, and They have love for everybody,
even for the animals and the birds. Why? Because They see God
everywhere - in man and in animals as well.
He whose tongue does not touch falsehood,
He who has the love for the darshan of the Lord always -
The Mahatma does not speak useless words. In His heart He always
has love for God, and He always sees God.
He whose eyes do not see the beauty of others' women,
He who serves the Sadh and loves the Saint -
If any younger woman comes to Him, the Mahatma understands her
as His daughter; if any older woman comes to Him, He understands
her as His mother; if a woman of the same age comes to see Him, then
He understands her as a sister. In His eyes, all women are alike and
He respects and loves all those who come to Him; He has respect for
everybody, and He always loves to serve all the people who come to
Him. And whenever He finds a Saint, He is very pleased to serve the
Saint also.
He whose ears do not hear others' criticism,
He who understands himself as the worst of all -
Mahatmas themselves don't criticize others, and They don't allow other
people to criticize either - because they know that criticism cuts the root
of spirituality. That is why They are always humble and never criticize
other people. Instead, They always say, "I am the lowest of all."
Kabir Sahib says, "When I went out to search for a bad person, I
couldn't find one; but when I looked within myself, I saw that there
was nobody worse than me." It doesn't mean that Kabir Sahib was a
bad person; but in this couplet we can see how humble He was. Even
though He was very pure and high, very noble, He was so filled with
humility that He called Himself the worst of all.
Mahatmas say these things only to show us what we are saying about
ourselves: Mahatmas are all pure, but still They call Themselves the bad
ones; whereas the people of this world are not pure but they are so
full of ego that they do not want to accept that they are bad. Master
Sawan Singh Ji used to say that from every sense organ you get some
taste or pleasure, but by doing criticism you don't get any taste; it is
neither sweet nor bitter. But still everybody is suffering from this
disease. To criticize is bad, and to hear criticism is bad.
He who gives up the poison by the Grace of the Master,
He whose mind's evils vanish from his heart -
What happens when we do the meditation of Shabd Naam and when Master
showers Grace on us? When we meditate on Shabd Naam with the Grace of
the Master all the evils which are within us go away. The bad smells
of lust and anger also go away.
He who conquers the sense organs and remains free
from the five evils -
Such an aparas is one in millions, says Nanak.
One who has controlled the sense organs and lust, anger, greed,
attachment and egoism - there are those who have done that: one out
of millions. If you search for the best ones in this world, you will
find only a few.
He with whom God is pleased is Vaishnav
And He is unaffected by the influence of Maya.
We people form a religion or a community - like the Sikhs have and
the Muslims have and the Christians have - and we think that by joining
that community or becoming a member of that religion we are doing
something for the devotion of God, and because we belong to that
community or religion, we will meet God. In the time of Guru Arjan
Dev Who wrote these words there were those in the community who
were called the Vaishnav or the Pure Ones. But Guru Arjan says, Who
is the real Vaishnav? Only he who lives in this world and still is
unaffected by the mud of the world; who is pure in his heart, on whom
God is gracious, and who always remains happy in the will of God,
only he is a Vaishnav.
He who does the good karmas, but remains detached:
The religion of such Vaishnav is true.
What kind of Vaishnav is good? He who is working selflessly with no
ulterior motive, and who does the devotion of God for its own sake
with no thought of reward.
He who has no desire for the fruits or rewards,
He who is attached only to devotion and singing praises
of God -
The devotee of God has no desire within him; he has only the desire
for meditation. Day and night he is involved in hearing the Sound of
God which is resounding within him. But what is our condition? When
we do meditation, we bring all of our desires and our needs and the
comforts of our body and we put all that in front of the Master to
fulfill it. We meditate for ten minutes but we spend half an hour in
praying for all the things which we desire. Just think: who is bringing
all these desires? That is your mind. Your mind is creating desires for
getting worldly things. And from whom are you trying to get your desires
fulfilled? That is from the Satguru. It means you are not doing the
devotion of the Satguru, but you are doing the devotion of the mind;
instead of understanding the Master as the Husband, Master as the Lord
of everything, you are understanding your mind as the lord. That is
why you pray for whatever the mind wants in front of the Master. You
do not do the devotion of God; you do the devotion of mind. Instead
of getting understanding ourselves, we are trying to make God
understand; we are trying to make God work as we want.
He who remembers the Lord in his mind and body,
He who is gracious on all -
The Mahatma is doing Simran day and night; He has no enemies, and He
is without enmity; He comes in this world to give, and day and night
He is showering grace on the people.
He who Himself meditates on Naam and makes others
also meditate,
Is a true Vaishnav, and he gets the highest status,
says Nanak.
Now such a Mahatma has, by His determination, made God manifested
within Him. And He tells other people also, "Brother, if you will do
as I have done, you can also make God manifest within you." Guru
Arjan says that only he is the real Vaishnav who is doing meditation
with determination and who is making other people meditate.
He is the devotee of God, who is colored
in the color of devotion
And who gives up all bad company -
Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj describes the qualities of the devotees
or the satsangis. He says that the devotee is one who is always colored
in the color of God and who has given up the company of bad people; only
one who always remains in the company of good people is the real devotee.
Farid Sahib has said, "If you give up bad company, it will be your
bravery; and when you go to the court of God your face will be brightened,
and you will go there stainless."
Who removes all illusions from his mind,
Who worships the Almighty Lord everywhere -
Now what does mind do within those who are the thieves of meditation,
who do not want to meditate? Mind creates illusion in them, and brings
many doubts in them. So that is why Master says, "You do your meditation,"
and if you do, then no doubts or illusions will come into your mind. As
long as you have any doubts or any illusions, then God will never open
His door.
Who loses the dirt of his sins in the company
of Sadhus,
The wisdom of such a devotee is the best.
Which devotee's intellect, or understanding, is good? He who comes
in the company of the Master and who has removed the dirt of sins
from his soul - only that devotee's intellect is good. What is the place
where we can remove the dirt of our sins? Satsang, or the company
of the Master, is the only place where we can do that. Satsang is the
only place where the drunkard gives up his wine and the meat-eaters
give up their meat. Satsang is the only place where people come and
give up their bad habits. Guru Ramdas Ji said, "O proud man! No matter
how many deeds you do, without Satsang, whatever you are doing is
taking pure water and putting it in the dirt."
He who always serves the Lord,
He who sacrifices mind and body for the love of God -
The devotee is always in the devotion of God - he is always in the
company of God - and that is why he has sacrificed his mind and his body,
and whatever he has, he understands that it is all of God.
He who makes the Feet of the Lord dwell in his heart-
Such a devotee realizes God, says Nanak.
The devotee who manifests the Feet of Master, the Feet of God, in his
heart - only such a devotee gets glory and respect in the court of God.
God resides in the human being, and His Feet are at the eye center.
So when we collect our attention and get to the eye center, when we
bow down at the Feet of God which are within, then God holds us and
embraces us.
He who awakens his mind is the pundit,
And He searches for the Naam of the Lord within.
Now when Guru Sahib wrote this writing, there were many learned people,
or pundits, in India, and they used to be the priests at the temples.
And they used to say that without them nobody could do the devotion
of God and nobody could read the sacred writings, etc. So Guru Arjan
describes the quality of the pundit: Who is the real pundit? Only he
is the real pundit who makes his soul free from the clutches of mind,
and who takes his soul to God.
He who drinks the nectar of Naam -
The world lives by the teachings of such a pundit.
The teaching of the pundit who always makes his soul drink the Nectar
of Naam is always beneficial. What is the teaching of such a pundit?
His teaching is that your soul is thirsty for the Nectar of Naam from
birth after birth, and you should make your soul drink that Nectar of
Naam.
He who makes the Story of God dwell in his heart -
Such a pundit does not come back in the body.
Guru Nanak has called that Power by different words in His writings:
at some places He has called It Shabd or Naam; sometimes He has called
It Hari Kirtan, or the Song of God; sometimes He has called It the
Hari Katha, the Story of God. So here Guru Arjan says that the pundit
who tells the Story of God - one who does the devotion of God and
who merges himself in God - doesn't have to come back in this world,
because he becomes one with God.
He who understands the essence of the Vedas,
Puranas and Smritis,
And understands that the physical is in the astral -
No matter if the Master is illiterate and doesn't know about books; still
He knows what is the real thing to grasp in all the holy scriptures
written by the past Masters. He knows that only three things matter in
the holy books, and only three things are talked about: that is, Naam,
Perfect Master, and Satsang. All the other things in the holy scriptures
are written only to make us understand how to take advantage of Satsang,
Naam, and Satguru. So it doesn't matter if the Master is illiterate; He
knows what is the real thing in the holy books. He knows that without
Satsang we cannot introspect ourselves and come into the good company;
and without coming into Satsang, we cannot get to the Perfect Master;
and without meeting the Perfect Master, we cannot get the Naam. He is
fully aware of the essence of the holy books, and that's why it is said
that it makes no difference whether the Master is illiterate, or learned.
Guru Nanak used to call the intellectual people as "the businessmen
of the Vedas," or the businessmen of the holy books. He used to say,
"O Nanak, all these businessmen of the books will not carry any of
those books with them when they go."
Kabir Sahib says, "O madman, you have come to me quoting from
books. You are taking something from this book and something from
that book. How long are you going to survive, eating from other people's
dishes?"
Man is the mother of all knowledge; and all the knowledge and all
books have come out from man. But instead of reading his own Self, this
book of six feet which he himself is carrying, he is reading the other
books. But it is a pity that he is not looking within himself, at his
own book.
He who gives teachings to all the four castes -
Nanak says, Always bow to such a pundit.
Only he is a pundit who manifests that Naam within him. And only
he can be called a pundit who gives his knowledge to people of all four
castes - to everyone in this world; whether a man or a woman, rich person
or poor person, whether from India or from America or Africa. Only if
he gives the knowledge to everyone can he be called a pundit. In front
of such a pundit I lay down my mind and I bow down.
Everyone can have the knowledge -
Anyone in any caste who meditates on Naam.
Everyone in this creation has a right to meditate on the Naam of Love.
People of all four castes can meditate on Naam. The Naam of Love
can be meditated upon by man or woman - old or young - anyone who wants
can do the meditation of Naam.
Those who meditate get liberation;
Rare are the souls who get the company of the Sadh.
Here there is no question of any particular country, caste, or religion.
Those who come in the company of the Master and meditate on Naam
can get liberated.
It can be a man belonging to any religion, it can be a sinner or a
good man; but one who meditates on Naam will definitely get liberated.
Kabir Sahib says, "When the Naam is made to dwell in the heart, it works
like a fire." As fire burns dry grass, the Naam in one's heart burns all
his sins.
Graciously He puts Naam within us;
He liberates animals, ghosts, fools and even stones.
When God showers His grace, and the Master puts His Naam in anyone -
whether it is animal or man - he gets liberated. If Master wants, he
can even liberate the stones.
Bhai Gurdas has said, "My Satguru has liberated animals, ghosts,
and even the stones: How can the man who comes to the Master not
get liberation? "
Naam is the medicine for all the diseases.
It is the form of benefit, happiness and the
praise of God.
Naam is the remedy for all diseases, and Naam is the Power which works
for our benefit. The king who rules over the entire world can be unhappy;
but one who meditates on Naam is always happy.
We cannot achieve it by any practice or religion;
Nanak says, He in whose fate it is written gets it.
If it is not written in someone's fate to get Naam, he will not get Naam,
no matter which religion he enters or what he does. Just as happiness,
pain, poverty and wealth are written in our fate, in the same way, if
Naam is written in our fate, only then we can get it. If it is not written
in our fate, we will never get it.
Within whose mind Parbrahm dwells,
His name is truly Ramdas.
Now Guru Arjan Dev praises his Master. He says, "The name of the one
within whom God has manifested right now, is Ramdas. Truly speaking, God
is now called Ramdas." If we call our Master Kirpal as our God, there is
no harm in doing that because Master and God are one and the same thing.
All the Saints who have reached Sach Khand see no difference between their
Master and God.
He has seen the Lord of the Souls;
He achieves Him by becoming the servant of servants.
"My Lord Ramdas has seen the Lord of the souls, and he is so humbled
that he calls himself the servant of the servants." Guru Ramdas was very
humble, and he had a long beard, and when Sri Chand, son of Guru Nanak,
came to him in Amritsar he asked him, "O man, why have you grown such a
long beard?" At that time Guru Ramdas didn't get upset because he was
very humble. He replied, "I have grown this beard only to wipe the shoes
of dear souls like you," and started wiping the shoes of Sri Chand. Sri
Chand began to weep and said, "Only because of this humility have you
people taken the gaddi (the successorship) from us.
He who understands the Lord as always near him -
Such a servant is accepted in the court of the Lord.
Who is accepted in the court of God? Only he who has faith that Master
is always present near him, and Master is doing everything in him. Only
the one who has this much faith is accepted in the court of God. No
matter if Master is always present with the disciple and from behind
the curtain He is always helping and working for the disciple; until
we have complete faith and love for the Master, we cannot see Him
working for us. So those who have this faith in Master - that He is
always with them - only they are accepted in the Court of God.
He Himself showers grace on his servant.
Such a servant becomes aware of everything.
Master has everything in His hand. And the one on whom Master is
gracious, he becomes aware of all things: he knows what is good for
him and what is bad for him, what is happening now and what is going
to happen. The one on whom God is gracious, he gets the awareness
of everything.
Even in the company of everything one remains sad -
Such is the practice of Nanak and Ramdas.
Now Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj says, "The practice of my Master, Ramdas,
is such that even after living in this world and doing everything in
the world, still, the person who is practicing the practice of my Master
remains sad. Why? Because he cannot be happy with anything of this
world and he always wants to go and see his Master, his God.
He who abides with the orders of God,
Is called the one who has liberation while living.
Who can get liberation while living? Only he who accepts everything
which comes in the will of God. Whether happiness or pain comes, whether
people criticize or praise him, no matter what comes to him - only he
who gladly accepts the will of God can get liberation while living.
As is the happiness, so is the pain -
He is always happy and never has any separation.
For the Mahatma, it makes no difference whether what comes is pain
or happiness; he treats pain as he treats happiness. And that is why
he always remains happy. A Master does not get nervous when a few
people come up and start criticizing Him, and He doesn't give up his
meditation when a few people come and start praising Him. He never
gives up the Path; He never weeps and goes away from the Path when
He is criticized and people talk against Him. It makes no difference
to Him whether pain or happiness comes, because He always has the
support of God. In all conditions he catches hold of God, so he is
never unhappy.
As is God, so is the dust;
As is nectar, so is the bitter poison.
In the eyes of the Mahatma, gold and dust are alike. He doesn't get
excited and happy when he gets gold and he doesn't become sad when
he gets dust or sand. In the same way, for Him nectar and poison are
alike: it makes no difference to Him whether he gets one or the other.
When Mirabai was given the cup of poison and was told it was nectar,
even though there was one attendant who told her that it was not nectar
but poison, still she said, "Since they have called it nectar, then
maybe it is nectar." She didn't worry if it was poison; she drank it.
It makes no difference to the Saints if it is nectar or poison.
As is glory, so is criticism;
As is the poor man, so is the King.
In the eyes of the Master, kings and the poor are alike; and the critics
and those who love Him are also alike. He loves all of them.
He who practices all these things -
Nanak says, Such a person is called "The one Who has
achieved liberation while living."
Whatever happens in the life of the Master, whether people slander
him or people praise him, he understands it as the will of God. He takes
that, thinking, "Whatever is happening is the best for me, and it is God
Who is doing all these things to me." So the Mahatma Who has made
up his mind like this and who has this attitude - we should understand
Him as the one liberated while living.
Everywhere is the place for Parbrahm to reside,
The soul is named according to the place where it is kept.
God is residing in everybody, in enemies as well as in friends. He even
resides in the animals. Wherever the soul gets birth, he is called that:
if the soul takes birth as a cat or dog, it gets the name of dog, or cat,
according to the body it has received. But truly speaking, it is God Who
is present everywhere.
He Himself is the doer and does all things,
Only what He wills happens.
All this is the play of God, and all happens in the Will of God. He
knows and He Himself brings some people to meditate on Naam; and
He knows and He doesn't bring other people to the path of Naam; He
Himself makes people criticize and He Himself makes people do good
things. He knows about everything, and He Himself is responsible for
all happenings. Sitting within everyone, He is making them do all things.
He Himself expanded, becoming different waves;
No one can understand the ways of Parbrahm.
How can the poor souls understand God? We are all like bubbles which
form on the surface of the water of the ocean: when air comes and
fills the bubble, the bubble remains there, but as soon as the air is
withdrawn the bubbles are gone, and they again become the water. In the
same way, as long as it is the Will of God we remain in this world,
and when He withdraws Himself from within us, we again become one
with God.
Guru Sahib says that we have one Father, and we are the children
of the same Father. But because we obey our minds, we fight with each
other and we say that one person is bad and another is good. But truly
speaking, we are all children of the same Father. I will say that the
children who fight with each other are not pleasing their fathers. And
if we people are fighting with each other, we are not gaining the
pleasure of our Master.
People get enlightened according
to the understanding He gives to them.
Parbrahm is the doer who is indestructable.
God gives understanding to the people in whatever way or degree He
wants. His light is everywhere.
Kabir Sahib says that some people get understanding from God, some
people ask for understanding from the Master, and some people don't
take understanding even when they are given it. They are just like the
stones in the water. Some people are born with understanding about
God - they are godly-minded; some people come to the Masters and
ask for knowledge about God and get it from Him; and some people
do not become receptive to the knowledge which the Master is giving
to them. Master gives them Naam, but still they are not receptive to
what He is trying to give them. They are like a stone, which doesn't
become wet no matter how much water you pour on it.
Ever, ever, ever, He is gracious:
Nanak says, Do His Simran and flourish.
God has always remained gracious. He was gracious in the Golden Age,
in the Silver Age, in the Copper Age, and now in the Iron Age also
He is gracious. So Guru Nanak says, "Those who do the Simran of
God Who is always gracious, we sacrifice ourselves on them" - and we
are also happy because we are doing the Simran of God. So you should
also do the Simran of God and become happy.
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