GURMUKH AND MANMUKH

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੋਲਹਿ ਸੋ ਥਾਇ ਪਾਏ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਕਿਛੁ ਥਾਇ ਨ ਪਾਈ ॥੨੬॥: Gurmukh bolahi so thaai paae.
Manmukh kishu thaai n paaee ||26|: One who has become the Gurmukh,
what he speaks is approved (by the Guru/God). What the Manmukh says
is not approved (ਪਰਵਾਨ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦਾ). ||26|| (sgss 758).
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The Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) divides all human beings into two categories — ਗੁਰਮੁਖ (Gurmukhs) and ਮਨਮੁਖ (Manmukhs). To say it otherwise, as repeatedly indicated in the SGGS, there are only two different groups of people living together on earth: the Gurmukhs (the Spiritual Beings, the followers of the Truth and the truthful living, ...) and the Manmukhs (the materialists, self-willed, the deniers of the Truth and the truthful living ... ).

Accordingly, these two terms appear again and again in the Gurbani. Like many other terms that appear in the Gurbani, these two names also have been widely misunderstood. Many define them based on their own foolishness or fool-o-sophy, rather than the Gurmat (Divine Knowledge of the SGGS). Consequently, both of these names appear to have a general meaning as understood by the deluded minds, and also a very special and specific meaning as indicated by the Gurmat.

With the help of the Divine Guide of the Gurbani, this Reflection will attempt to briefly reflect on as to how the Gurmukh and the Manmukh is defined in the SGGS. Any other definition of these terms from sources other than the SGGS holds no validity or significance to a true Sikh (seeker of the Truth). The reason being is that, out of curiosity, although a Sikh may compare other scriptures or Granths or writings with the SGGS, however, he will consider it absolutely unnecessary to compare the infallible Divine Knowledge of the SGGS with them.

The Gurmukh

A Gurmukhs is a virtuous type of person whom the Gurbani calls Divine. He is Spiritually positioned, naturally (Sahaj). Throughout the SGGS, the Gurbani defines Gurmukhs as Spiritual Beings who live by Gurmat (the Wisdom of the Shabad-Guru). They exhibit the following Divine Qualities: Self-realization (Chauthaa Pada, Turiyaa Avasthaa or Tenth Gate); Sahaj Avasthaa (natural state of Being); Sunn Samaadhi (Spiritual Silence, ਆਤਮਕ ਅਡੋਲਤਾ, Intuitive Poise, etc.); Undivided Love for the All-pervading Light, Divine Knowledge (Aatam-Giaan); Nirvaana (pronounced Nirvaanaa); Jeevanmukti (liberated from the worldly existence while alive); humility; contentment; mercy and forgiveness; nonviolence; unshakable faith in God; Naam or Shabad-Consciousness; Spiritual Beauty; equanimity; self-discipline (mental control, physical-control, etc.); righteousness; truthful living; discriminating intellect; endurance; contentment; patience; detachment; intense yearning for the Divine; selfless service (Sevaa); bliss (Anand); inner purity; compassion; mercy; forgiveness; unbroken communion in the Divinity within; freedom from duality (Doojaa Bhaav); high moral character; seeing God in everything and every where; in-tune with God's Hukam or Will; true inside as well as outside; Pure Bhagti or devotion; God-centered activities; saintly nature even though they may deal with countless unsaintly people; and so on.

A Gurmukh is a Self-Realized person, completely free of the false ego-sense (Haume) and its menacing faults (Bikaars: lust, anger, greed,attachment, pride and their countless variations).  Since the Gurmukh has killed his false ego-sense (Haume), His mind is Pure (unconditioned; devoid of any "filth" of Bikaars, Maya, ignorance, etc.).

In nutshell, a Gurmukh is a person situated at the platform of Transcendental Consciousness. Hence, he is the Divine Soul, established in his Pure Being (Joti-Svaroopa) within. Internally he has surrendered his false ego-sense to his Pure Self with one hundred percent involvement of his body, mind and intellect. He has all the Divine virtues which are found in a godly or a Holy person.

Thus, a Gurmukh is the Self-realized person: God-realized, Shabad-realized or Naam-realized. Call him a Spiritual Being, Wise Man, a householder, a Holy person, or any other name you like. He may externally appear to be irreligious, not well cultured, or not learned. However, he is one hundred percent established in Truth. As indicated in the Gurbani, such Pure Beings are very rare — one out of millions.

The Gurmukhs lead Spiritual Life (also called Divine or Eternal Life) of non-attachment, purity and contentment. They understand that only by knowing one's True Nature ("Joti-svaroopa") one can overcome material afflictions, and become eternally blissful. Hence, the Gurmukhs with Spiritual outlook spend their time and energy on the Spiritual path (Aatam-Giaan) eradicating "I-am-ness", practicing dispassion and devotion, resorting to acquisition of Self-knowledge (Aatam-Giaan), practicing compassion and love, engaging in selfless service, meditating on the Divine Name, and associating with Sat (Truth) within and outside; without sacrificing the household duties and responsibilities.

A person with such divine qualities is free from doubts, superstitions, material bondage, falsehood, corruption, evil-mindedness, demoniac actions, jealousy and enviousness, false ego, passions, demerits, sinful reactions, lamentation and hankering for material objects, desire and fear, hatred, conflicts, fanaticism, differences, and so on. In essence, he is a living-liberated (Jeevan Mukta). Such pure devotee helps recover other conditioned Jeeva (individual beings) from their delusion as well.  Accordingly, the Gurbani declares that there is no difference in God and a Gurmukh.

Hence, according to the Gurbani, a Gurmukh is not a question of heredity, family of birth, ancestry, race, region, social status, caste, creed, education, titles, religion, or any peculiar external appearance of a person; it is a question of Self-realization! Undoubtedly, to be Gurmukh is like standing in a fire without getting burnt!

The Manmukh

The Manmukh is the opposite of a the Gurmukh. 

Hence, a Manmukh is a material being (egoistic or unenlightened person) as opposed to a Spiritual Being, who does not have natural inclination for Gurmat and Spirituality - he is the mind-willed. People with such materialistic outlook — referred to as Manmukhs in the Gurbani — assert that everlasting happiness is attainable only in acquisition of sense-objects, persuing passions, etc. In other words, a Manmukh is ruled by his conditioned and corrupt sense-blind mind instead of Soul Consciousness. Simply stated, a Manmukh is an ego-being with the following faults: lust, anger, greed, material attachment, pride, envy, stubborn mindedness; along with numerous variations of these. Having conditioned (polluted or filthy) consciousness, he has no understanding of the Naam, Shabad, Hukam (Will), Self, God, Spirit or the Sat Guru. Consequently, he has no understanding of the ultimate purpose of life, his relationship with God, and the Way of God (Gurmat). In this madness and illusion and "I-am-ness", he cultivates the life of a faithless cynic called Saakat — an unwise and an untrue being.

In nutshell, anyone who has not realized the true Self within (God, Truth, Shabad or Naam, Joti-Svaroopa, etc.) alone is a Manmukh. Opposite to a Manmukh is a Gurmukh who has realized the Shabad. Here Gurbani provides us with a very clear definition as to what constitutes a Manmukh and a Gurmukh. Those in the Shabad, Naam or God Consciousness are true Gurmukh, whilst the rest of us (over 99.9 percent) are just hypocrite, faithless cynics or Manmukhs engrossed in unenlightened existence of worldly attachments, evil passions, hatred, selfishness, falsehood, meaningless rituals, corruption, frauds, deception, greed, lip worship and varieties of other superficial religious or reactionary spirituality. In this world, everyone is either a servant of Maya (illusion, delusion, etc.) or a servant of the Truth. Those who serve Maya are called Manmukhs or demons (Truth deniers, etc.), and those who serve the Truth (God) within are called Gurmukhs or Divine. Thus, a Manmukh regardless of how advanced he may be in material qualifications by education and culture, lacks in Divine qualities; consequently, does not know the essence of the Reality that is contained within himself. Such individuals fail to attain Spiritual Perfection or Intuitive Understanding of the Shabad, Naam, God, Spirit, Truth, Self or the Satguru; for their intellect is dimmed by material contamination. as indicated in the SGGS, instead of seeking holiness, they chase after Maya and, as a result, wander in this dense forest of material existence like a beast in human garb. As the Manmukh or demons take shelter in material corruption, they are called the lowest of mankind despite their advancement in material education, science and politics. Association with such material beings is called Kusang (false or bad association). By its very nature, such association separates an individual from the Truth, and makes him forgetful of his True Nature, which is Pure Consciousness (or "Joti-svaroopa").

A Manmukh lifestyle is void of humility, contentment, compassion, and spiritual wisdom. Such lifestyle exhibits nothing but undesirable qualities in a person. To make us aware of Manmukhs and their conduct, the Gurbani has provided us with numerous symptoms of such material beings caught in the vertex of unenlightened existence. Some of these symptoms include: egoism, ignorance, selfishness, duality, bondage, evil-mindedness, falsehood, violence, untruthfulness, doubts, superstitions, uncontrolled senses, identification with the feeling of "I, me, mine, your", lust, anger, greed, attachment, self pride, self-conceit; jealousy and enviousness, stubborn mindedness, hatred, fanaticism, conflicts, lack of contentment, material hankering and lamentation, lack of mental control and inner peace, self-centered, full of quarrel and contentions, lack of faith, extroverted ness, ritualistic, unhappy, always interested in taking instead of giving, affinity for bad association, lack of self-discipline, mental agitation, unceasing wandering (rat-race), begging material things from God, complaining, finding faults in others, unable to bear pains and sorrows of life, love for material world instead of the Self within, corruption, fraud, larceny and swindling, bribery, cheating, lying, plundering, stealing, fond of mental speculations and material logic, attachment to material world, deceitful nature, fearful, unceasing desire for sense objects, cynicism, hypocrisy, always wanting to control the world, always wanting to be appreciated, unceasing hunger for name and fame, love for titles and honor, divisiveness, prejudices, cruelty, bigotry, unnatural diet, indulgence in worldly pleasures, illusion, delusion, wrong identity, stupor, obstinate error, love of Maya or worldliness, crookedness, animosity, and so on.

Hence, according to the Gurbani, a Manmukh is not a question of heredity, family of birth, ancestry, race, region, social status, caste, creed, education, titles, religion or any peculiar external appearance of a person; it is a question of unenlightened existence, cynicism, egoism, ignorance, hypocrisy, bondage, mental delusion, body-consciousness, mistaken identity, and so on!  The Gurbani sums it up as follows:

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Sunday, August 7, 2011 10:06 PM (PST)

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