PLEASURES OF THE WORLD ARE FALSE

False is the king, false are the subjects; false is the whole world.
False is the mansion, false are the skyscrapers; false are those who live in
them. False is gold, and false is silver; false are those who wear them. False
is the body, false are the clothes; false is incomparable beauty. False is the husband,
false is the wife; they mourn and waste away. The false ones love falsehood, and
forget their Creator. With whom should I become friends, if all the world will pass away?
False is sweetness, false is honey; through falsehood, boat-loads of people have drowned.
Nanak speaks this prayer: without You, Lord, everything is totally false ||1|| (sggs 468).
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The SGGS reminds us that the gross objects of the world are fleeting, ephemeral or temporary, and perishable; thus ultimately false ("Koorh"). Hence, any pleasure derived from them is also temporary at best and ultimately flawed. As such, the sensory world can never give us any lasting or infinite satisfaction, contentment, happiness, peace, joy or blessed life. It's not that no happiness is gained from the objects of the world, but any happiness developed from them is not only fleeting but also minuscule or microscopic portion of the Infinite Bliss (Anand) of God.

A person's false ego-sense or Haume may not like to hear such words that remind us of the impermanence of all that we call our own, and at the same time one may lack guts to say this Truth to others. Only a Fearless Being (Self-Realized) such as Baabaa Nanak can say these words of Truth. So, in the foregoing Shabad, he unflinchingly declares that this whole world and everything seen in it is totally false, including this very body we were born with and we are so proud of! Here he is telling us this Truth so that we do not wait for a major shock in our lives in order to realize it. We can gain this conviction by simply reflecting on these words with courage.

The Mahaatamaans never speak empty words. These words of Baabaa Nanak contain the authentic strain of power vibrating in them, impacting our flawed thinking that fancies infinitesimal pleasures derived from the fleeting objects of this world to be immeasurable, permanent and perfect. These words stir and inspire detachment (Bairaag) in the hearts of many, because dispassion arises when the nature of worldly pleasures is understood to be only as delusive as water in the mirage and hence insubstantial. Thus these words of Baabaa Nanak hammer the Supreme Truth into many heads that an impermanent object cannot give permanent pleasure or happiness. However, on account of delusion or doubts, the majority of us in Manmukhtaa (materialistic consciousness) wishfully think otherwise — we try to find everlasting joy in the never-lasting objects. The SGGS questions the craziness of such twisted logic, "How long can this go on?"

The SGGS indicates that from the false pleasures arise diseases — physical, mental, and psychological — leading to suffering (Dukha) as one tends to forget Supreme Self when enslaved by the sensuousness. Rooted in false ego-sense (Haume) and the sensuousness is desire for the prolongation of one's life in the body, improving health, amassing of wealth, indulging in worldly pleasures, and so on. These desires debilitate one's behavior and personality, followed by confusion, doubts, frustration, delusion, and bewilderment of the mind, giving rise to the feeling of "I, me, mine, you" causing one lose his Divine Freedom, and experiences grief and fear in return.

In other words, when perverted ego (Haume) identifies with Vaasnaas — undigested desires, conditionings, latent memories, innate tendencies, dispositions, or subtle impressions of the past existing in our bosom — it gets entangled in the pursuit of the fleeting pleasures of the world, and thus one loses sight of his Pure Self ("Joti-Svaroopa"). Vaasnaas produce thoughts, and thoughts produce actions. The ultimate consequence of this advertence is suffering.

In nutshell, as indicated in the scriptures and the teachings of the Gurmukhs (Mahaatamaas), the root cause of all human sorrows is the mistaken self-identity. This mistaken self-identity with the false "I" (false ego-sense or Haume) arises in beings as soon as life takes a form. As a result, one identifies with his body-mind-intellect personality instead of with the true Self ("Joti-Svaroopa") within. It's this attachment to the false ego-sense (Haume) that is at the bottom of one's entanglement to the fleeting worldly objects and pleasures thereof, ultimately leading him to sorrows.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

To read Gurbani verses in Gurmukhi, click here to download Gurmukhi font.

Updated on Saturday, August 2, 2008 1:20 PM (PST)

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