Gems of Gurbani

Guru Granth Sahib

Sukhmani Sahib 42

God is forever there and by reciting on His Name we get enlightenment to be in His presence (Ashtapadi 18).

Shlok: He who has realized the True Lord, is called True Guru. Sing the praises O Nanak because with his association His disciple gets emancipated.

Ashtapadi 18 begins: The True Guru is ever protecting his disciple and he is always merciful towards him. Guru washes off the filth of evil thoughts from the mind of his disciple and he starts repeating the Name of God. All the bondages are removed once the disciple comes in to the sanctuary of the True Guru and he stops all evil deeds. The True Guru gives the wealth of God’s Name to his disciple. The True Guru makes not only this life but the next one as well worth for his disciple. The True Guru is the slave of the God and Nanak ever worships him and remains in His feet (pad 1).

The one who has come to live in the house of the True Guru loves to obey the command of the Guru and doesn’t like to show his own importance (remember the humble personality of Bhai Lehna ji who came to live with Guru Nanak ji at Kartarpur and was accepted by Guru Nanak to carry forward the House of Nanak or thought of Nanak ji and thus became Guru Angad the second Master). In his mind he shall ever meditate on His (Lord’s) Name and sell off his soul to the Guru and such a slave of Guru is taken care of by the Guru himself and all his affairs are set. He obtains the Lord because he pleases Him by giving the service. He absorbs all the instruction given by the Guru and thus gets all the grace of Guru showered on self O Nanak (pad 2).

The God’s servant who makes his Guru fully sure of his devotion has actually understood the concept of Supreme Being. Because a True Guru has only one God in his heart and I sacrifice myself again and again to such a Guru because he is the treasure of everything and he is provider of new lease of life to mankind all remain absorbed in His Transcendent Name all eight watches of the day. The Saint abides in the Lord and the Lord abides in his Saints. One may become very clever and overly smart and search thousands of ways to find Him (God). Nanak says only by great fortune such Guru is obtained (pad 3). (I strongly believe this pad has been written for Guru Nanak ji by the fifth Master).

A man’s life is complete and purified if he gets a sight of the True Guru and his life gets blot-less if he gets the chance to touch his feet. In the company of a True Guru and singing His praises one can reach the court of the Supreme Being. On hearing the words of Guru the ears get sated, the mind gets contentment and the soul is won over. Perfect is the Guru and eternally true are his instructions. His ambrosial glance is enough to make a Saint out of Simple person. Infinite are his virtues and their worth cannot be measured. Nanak says whoever pleases Him so much He unites him to self (pad 4).