"HUKAM"

Everyone is subject to Hukam; no one is beyond (exempt or outside of) Hukam.
O Nanak! One who understands Hukam, does not speak in
ego (i.e., that person does not live in Haumai or ego) (sggs 1).
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In simplistic terms, "Hukam"  simply means Divine Command, Divine Will, Eternal Law, Cosmic Order, Divine Dandaa (or Danda) etc. Other aspects of the Divine "Hukam" as revealed in the Gurbani include 1) It is all prevailing; 2) It is beyond any mundane description; and 3) It is driven by one's Karma, 4) and therefore, we are urged to submit to the Divine "Hukam". But how can one do God's "Hukam" or Will ("Bhaanaa Mannanaa" )? To be abided in "Hukam" is accepting life as it presents to oneself. It is simply saying "Yes, I accept". In other words, it is just accepting one's all joy and suffering as God's Will.or Bhaanaa.

The thought of "Hukam" (Divine Order, Command, Will, Eternal Law...) is very essential part of the teachings of the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) or Gurmat. Accordingly, Baabaa Nanak made it very clear in the outset of the SGGS that everything and everybody is subject to this Divine "Hukam". And whosoever understands this Truth will be freed from the false ego-sense (Haume).

During "Sidh Gosti" (also spelt Sidh Gost etc.), Sidhas posed many questions to Baabaa Nanak (ਰਾਮਕਲੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ਸਿਧ ਗੋਸਟਿ, 938-946). Specifically, he was asked "Who are you?". His answer was, "I came from the Celestial Lord; I go wherever He orders me to go. I am Nanak, forever under His Will."

The Divine "Hukam" prevails all equally and It is driven by one's own Karma, regardless of one's social position in life. "As we sow, so we reap", says the Gurbani. We cannot blame anybody else for our predicaments in life but our own Karma. If each one of us has turned out to be differently, it is because of our individual Karma. God shows an equal love, care and concern towards all of us who are His children. Per Gurbani, there is no doubt that God controls the world and human beings as well. One is tempted to raise the following doubt that if everything happens because of His "Hukam", what is the role of human beings who are endowed with free will and are capable of exercising restraint or choosing to act according to their whims and fancies? The answer is we can chose to do whatever we want to do, but God the charioteer drives all of us horses, with the reins of our individual Karma.

So the Gurbani's emphasis is to submit to the Divine "Hukam" - "Bhaanaa Mannanaa". But the man fails to realize that everything revolving around him is God's handiwork. To get out of the cycle of repeated suffering, the baggage of Karma has to be shed. This is Mukti or liberation that the soul has to aspire for. The Gurbani says that the whole creation exists and functions due to the Divine "Hukam". But we human beings forget this Truth in our day-to-day lives. Only when one's plans go awry does he start doing self-introspection and learn a lesson from bitter experience. The Lord is ever eager to help the suffering beings who wish to be liberated from the miseries of the mundane world. He promises to free us from this bondage, if the Jeeva (individual being) unconditionally surrenders his false ego-sense (Haume) and accepts its inability to fight the forces of Karma on its own, and reposes absolute faith in the Divine Grace.

The Gurbani says that the man leaves wearing two robes: Dukha (pain and suffering) and Sukha (comfort or happiness). And also God knows completely the condition of each and every mind; and therefore, "who else could we go to tell of it?" He is the Great Giver of everything. Therefore, since "the whole world is suffering", only God's support is said to be the eternal, not a mortal's support. God can also purify us and make us his pure instrument, forever. God cannot let us, His children, suffer eternally. For He is Merciful. Therefore, He will give us a fresh start. But, again, as we are time and again reminded by the Gurbani, the key is to surrender our ego (Haume). We can pray to Him as follows:

Also called God's "rod" or "Dandaa", Karma is the ultimate discipliner. Man, with his superior intelligence, and who is endowed with the rare faculty of discrimination to distinguish between the right and the wrong, however, feels frustrated when confronted with problems in his daily life. When unpleasant things happened in our lives we cry out "Why me, what have I done to deserve this?" Unfortunately, we do not remember all of our Karma, especially the past Karma. In the midst of worldly activities, it is no doubt, difficult to maintain equanimity. Then what are we supposed to do? When we are sick, to lessen the pain, we see a doctor and take medicine as he prescribes. Similarly, we can lessen the pain of Karma by becoming Gurmukhs. The Gurbani Doctor shows us the way out. But first we must admit we are sick. Our disease is egoism (Haume), which is described in the Gurbani as "great" and "chronic" sickness. By Becoming the True and Wise ones (Gurmukhs), we can learn the Truth without undergoing the trouble of suffering from such setbacks in life by Naam-Simran, diligent study of the Gurbani that bestows Self-knowledge (Aatam-Giaan) upon us, etc. With the Self-knowledge and Naam-Simran comes an end to instinctive mind and fruitive or reactionary Karma.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 11:03 AM (PST)

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