THE KNOT

(O fool) your mind is tied with the rope of egotism (ਪੈਖੜੁ-ਢੰਗਾ, a rope tied to the rear legs of an animal,
which does noe let the animal run!) (sggs 1189). In all sorts of ways, Maya has cast the net (ਜਾਲੀ, ਫਾਹੀ, etc.);
its knot cannot be escaped ||1|| (sggs 1302). When the knot of the three qualities of Maya is untied,
then the Tenth Gate opens up, and the mind becomes intoxicated, O brother (sggs 1123).
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A mouse cannot enter its hole with a basket tied around its waist. A balloon anchored with ropes to the ground cannot take off either. Further, just as a man cannot run with his feet tied, or talk with his mouth closed; similarly, he cannot attain mental purity or liberation with his mind tied to diverse knots of deceptive Maya. The mind tied to Maya's knot suffers from threefold tendencies — Taamas (stupor ignorance), Raajas (passion or greed), and Saatav (goodness). The false ego, which is the root of material tendencies or passions, flourishes in the externalized and differentiating consciousness caused by the three qualities of deceptive Maya.

What is this knot? This knot is none other than the false ego-sense — Spiritual ignorance, forgetfulness of the Self, mental delusion, fruitive Karma (worldly entanglements or Karamkaand), desires, hypocrisy, evil-mindedness, doubts, skepticism, emotional attachment, lust, anger, greed, self-conceit, envy, stubborn mindedness, falsehood, crookedness, the cycle of repeated birth and death, corruption, rituals, predispositions, the spell of bewitching worldliness, Hridaya Granthee, Gandh, and so on. To put it otherwise, the knot symbolizes a Manmukh (the materiallistic person) who has his mind tied to egoism. The Manmukh's delusions, enlightened existence and Vaasnaas (the vicious and age-long mental tendencies, memory or subtle impressions of the past) constitute his knot. To the contrary, through Self-realization, the one who has cut asunder this knot symbolizes Gurmukh (Spiritual Being). In the process, such Spiritual Being (the Gurmukh) has all his doubts dispelled and the bondage of Karma destroyed. So far we have looked at the "tree", per se. Let's try looking at the entire "forest" now! With the help of the Divine Guide of the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS), if we inquire further into the ego's knot, the Gurbani would reveal to us a fantastic mystery.

However, to solve this mystery, we must solve the following riddle of the Gurbani. There is one merchant, who trades his merchandise with five traders. Ten bags filled with this merchandise are held by nine poles and carried by twenty-five oxens. However, the carriage these twenty-five oxens are trying to carry is tied by seventy-two ropes. Now, who is this merchant? Who are the five traders? What is the merchandise they trade with? What are the nine poles and ten bags? What are the twenty-five oxens? What is the carriage? And, what is the seventy-two ropes?

The one merchant is none other than the crooked mind. The five traders it trades with are lust, anger, greed, emotional attachment, and self-conceit. To put it otherwise, the five traders are five cognitive senses who trade with the merchandise of sense-objects or pleasures — touch, seeing, smell, taste, and hearing. All of them being bound in the frame work of time, space and causation, the merchant is false, the traders are false, and the merchandise is false — temporary or perishable!

The one merchant has this false merchandise packed in ten bags of ten senses. Five of which are known as instruments of perception (skin, eyes, nose, tongue, and ears), and the remaining five are called the instruments of action (legs, hands, tongue, anus, and genital). The nine poles holding these ten bags are nine gates or Nau Darvaaje (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one genital, and one anus). Likewise the merchant and the five traders, these nine poles and ten bags are also false!

The carriage is nothing but the body, which is loaded with the ten senses (bags) and nine holes (poles). The twenty-five oxens that try to carry it are twenty-five principles of creation. These include five subtle elements, five manifested elements, ten senses, and five Praanaas or life force. Through the aggregate of these elements evolves the human body, which is also known age Kshetra or Khet (field) of actions. Since the body is time-bound as well, it is false too!

The total number of arteries (Naarhees) in the human body is numbered by the Men of Light and the scriptures to be as many as 72,000. The senses are strung upon these seventy-two thousand ropes. The underlying principle is that, when the senses and Naarhees are tied in tight knot, the senses seek for sense-pleasures. On the other hand, when this knot becomes loose or untied, the senses cease to seek out their objects.

According to the Gurbani, man's tasks will be accomplished only when he merges in his True Being by dispelling his doubts (ignorance or false ego). However, the heavy stone of corruption or falsehood tied around his neck is the obstacle. With this load on man's head, he cannot cross over the vast open ocean of desires and fear. Engrossed in passions and Spiritual ignorance, the man has thus turned his eyes away from the Truth. In such conditioned state, it's impossible even to raise the head above the water of the vast, impassable sea of bewitching worldliness; let alone crossing it!

The arm is broken when it is pulled from both sides. Also, the love breaks when the speech goes sour. Similarly, the knot between the Soul and the deluded mind (egoism) is tied when one defies the nature's law; resulting in sorrows of life. How can we untie this knot? The Gurbani asks us to simply follow this edict: "Do not trade in the false merchandise". Hence the Gurbani reminds us that Vaasnaas, physical senses, mind and intellect should not be allowed to carry on this trade because they deplete one's Spiritual Capital. The Gurbani further urges us not to let the feeling of likes and dislikes, and mixer of these two dictate our actions. If allowed, it will result in scattering of the mind and loss of the True Spiritual Wealth. Imagine standing at the edge of the river bank, and your body's shadow falling in the water. Notice that, even though the body's shadow is in the water, however, your body does not feel any wetness. The body would feel wet only when you jump in the water. In the same way, as long as we play our part in life without attachment, and stand aside and witness the passing show as a passing show (Cosmic Play or "Jagat Tamaashaa"), the Maya's knot is absent. On the other hand, by sticking to the play (or objects) and identifying with the actor and the role he is playing, one becomes tied to it. The person in the state of eternal witness (Saakshee Bhaav) lives in this material world just like the bird that flies in the sky; without leaving any footprints or mark behind, or like a lotus flower who grows in the mud but remains untouched by it! For more understanding, we can also look at the analogy of the honey-filled cup and the fly. So long the fly remains seated on the edge of the cup's rim and tastes the honey, it will be all right. However, the moment it becomes greedy and jumps into the cup, it gets entrapped in the honey and die! Just as without a farmer, the land is not planted; without a thread, the beads are not strung; without a mother or father there is no child; without the water, the clothes are not washed; without a horse, there can be no rider; without the music, there is no dancing; just so, without the Naam-consciousness or Shabad-Surti (God-consciousness or Intuitive Wisdom), without the Good Friendship (Sat or Truth), without the love and longing for God, or without becoming a Gurmukh (Spiritual Being) the mortals cannot untie the knot of Maya. The Lighter, who lights up the dark chambers of our inner Home, the Self, is the Intuitive Understanding of the Gurbani. When by sincere meditation (Jap or Naam-Simran), the mind is purified, the inner Light begins to shine forth. When the knot of ignorance is broken, the Sun of our Soul shines forth in all its glory. The world-dream comes to an end, and with it comes the end of dreams of pain and pleasure (likes, dislikes and mixer of these two).

One's present actions determines the future course of his Soul. Therefore, the sincere devotee seeks out the unwholesome areas within himself, endeavoring to expose and rid himself of each knot of Karma. This can be accomplished through sincerely witnessing our reactions and responses to thoughts, situations and things during the day. By carefully observing, we reveal to ourselves what we need to work with, or what knots of Karma are yet to be untied or loosened, so we can be freed of them. With this comes the mastery of the mind.

In the beginning it is not going to be a pleasant experience, as our inner mind will reveal to us our shocking crookedness, perversions, and weaknesses. Overwhelmed by these shocks, majority of the seekers may shrink from even continuing the Spiritual practice, as the inner Self plays back unhappy thoughts on the screen of our mind. However, diligent attempt, consistent self-effort (Uddam), and continuous mental alertness is the key to the conquest.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

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Updated on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 10:21 AM (PST)

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