DUKH DAAROO -
Suffering Is The Medicine
Suffering is (or becomes) the medicine, and Sukh (or pleasure becomes cause of) the disease;
but if (the Real - spiritual or ਆਤਮਕ) Sukh (is experienced or Realized),
then (no Dukh remains) (sggs 469).(sggs 469).
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"ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ" - "Suffering is the medicine". This is the edict of the Gurbani. How can suffering
(Dukh or Dukha) be the medicine (Daaroo)? We are further told by the Gurbani
that: "Pleasure is the disease"! How can pleasure (Sukh or Sukha) be the disease—suffering?
What a paradox! To an ordinary person full of desires, fears, agitation, excitements,
passion, unkindness, animal-nature, and so on, such scriptural statements may
indeed sound paradoxical. However, their mystic meaning, subtler in import and
graver in suggestion, can be grasped if we try to think with a cool (Sahaj)
mind.
- ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ ਸੁਖੁ ਰੋਗੁ ਭਇਆ ਜਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਤਾਮਿ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥: Dukh daaroo sukh rog bhaiaa jaa sukh taami n hoee: Suffering is (or becomes) the medicine, and Sukh (or pleasure becomes cause of) the disease; but if (the Real - spiritual or ਆਤਮਕ) Sukh (is experienced or Realized), then (no Dukh remains) (sggs 469).
As repeatedly mentioned in the scriptures, man's psychological ego (Haume)
is his chronicle disease, the cause of all his Dukha, mental and physical.
And if we can give it up, there will be no grief and suffering! What is this psychological
ego? It is simply accepting the body-mind-intellect as Immortal Soul. When one
comes to fully understand that he is not this body-apparatus and is the Eternal
Self, then he comes to his Real Ego.
- ਮਨ ਰੇ ਹਉਮੈ ਮੋਹੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਭਾਰੀ ॥: O mind,
egoism and attachment are such heavy loads of pain (sggs 1260).
- ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਵਡਾ ਸੰਸਾਰਿ ॥: The world is
suffering from the terrible disease of egoism (sggs 1278).
- ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗ ਕਠਿਨ ਤਨਿ ਪੀਰਾ ॥: The body is
afflicted with the terribly painful illness of egoism (sggs 1172).
The Real Ego, Pure Consciousness, is untouched by the pair of opposites such as
Dukha and Sukha, and so on. It is the pseudosoul or false ego that
suffers the consequences of deluded mentality (Haume) that we cultivate
for ourselves. When sun rays get refracted at the prism, the colors are perceived.
Similarly, when Pure Consciousness gets refracted at the prism of false ego-center,
the duality or the sense of distinction and separation is perceived. Which, in
turn, gives rise to a perceiver of objects, a feeler of emotions and a thinker
of thoughts. In other words, when the Unconditioned Consciousness looks out upon
Itself through the spectacles of Its own matter-envelopments, It identifies with
the limited and becomes the pain-pleasure man.
- ਹਉਮੈ ਸਭੁ ਸਰੀਰੁ ਹੈ ਹਉਮੈ ਓਪਤਿ ਹੋਇ ॥:
Ego is within all bodies; and through ego beings are born (sggs 560).
- ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਮਾਨੁਖ ਕਉ ਦੀਨਾ ॥: Mankind
is afflicted with the disease of egoism (sggs 1140).
- ਦੁਖੁ ਹਉਮੈ ਪਾਪ ਕਮਾਇ ॥: Man suffers
pain by practicing sin in ego (sggs 511-3).
Pain and pleasure are of the deluded mind ( psychological ego-center): nothing
created by God is responsible for either. What gives one Sukha may give
someone else Dukha. Also, what gives Sukha in one situation may
give Dukha at another, depending upon the context in which one has it.
Thus, by the working of the human mind, the same object appears as a source of
pain or pleasure to different persons and in different contexts. Therefore, it
can be said that Sukha and Dukha are the same feeling but the difference
is in the point of view from which we look at it. The bottom line is: if one gets
what he craves for, he feels Sukha. To the contrary, if he does not get
what he craves for, he gets frustrated and feels Dukha. Thus, bewildered
by wrong ideas, our mind with its false ego-center desires gains and fears loss;
experiencing Dukha and Sukha in the process.
- ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੧ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਆਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜੰਮਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੁਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਦਿਤਾ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਲਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਖਟਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਚਿਆਰੁ ਕੂੜਿਆਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਪਾਪ ਪੁੰਨ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਨਰਕਿ ਸੁਰਗਿ ਅਵਤਾਰੁ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਹਸੈ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਰੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਭਰੀਐ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਧੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਤੀ ਜਿਨਸੀ ਖੋਵੈ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੂਰਖੁ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਿਆਣਾ ॥ ਮੋਖ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਕੀ ਸਾਰ ਨ ਜਾਣਾ ॥ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮਾਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਛਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਜੰਤ ਉਪਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਤਾ ਦਰੁ ਸੂਝੈ ॥ ਗਿਆਨ ਵਿਹੂਣਾ ਕਥਿ ਕਥਿ ਲੂਝੈ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਲਿਖੀਐ ਲੇਖੁ ॥ ਜੇਹਾ ਵੇਖਹਿ ਤੇਹਾ ਵੇਖੁ ॥੧॥ ..:
Salok M: 1. In ego (man) comes, and in ego (man) goes. In ego (man) is born, and in ego (man) dies. In ego (man) gives, and in ego (man) takes. In ego (man) earns, and in ego (man) loses. In ego (man thinks of) Paap and Punn. In ego (man) experiences heaven
or hell. In ego (man) laughs, and in ego (man) weeps. In ego (man) becomes dirty,
and in ego (man) is washed clean. In ego (man) loses social status and class.
In ego (man) is ignorant, and in ego (man) is wise. (man) does not know the value
of salvation and liberation. In ego (man) loves Maya, and in ego (man) is kept
in ignorance by it. Living in ego, (man) is born again and again. When (one) understands ego (Haumai), then (one) knows the (Tenth or God's) Gate. Without spiritual wisdom, (man) babbles and argues
||1|| (sggs 466).
If we look at ourselves in our moments of Sukha or Dukha, we will
consistently observe that it is not the object in itself that is Sukha-giving
or Dukha-giving, but the circumstance and condition of which it is a part.
In other words, if the situation is acceptable, we feel pleased. To the contrary,
if the situation is unacceptable, we suffer.
Now, first, let's try to understand why pleasure (Sukha) is said to
be the disease. The Realized Beings and the scriptures tell us that pleasure
puts us to sleep — it makes us forget our True Nature as Unconditioned Consciousness.
Pleasure thus kills the Spirit per se, not to mention the body. As told in the
scriptures, we are nothing but "Joti Savroop", the Pure Self,
which is free from pain and pleasure. However, pleasure deludes us away from
this Truth, causing separation where there is none.
- ਦੂਖੁ ਤਦੇ ਜਦਿ ਵੀਸਰੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਚਿਤਿ ਆਏ ॥ ਸੰਤਨ ਕੈ ਆਨੰਦੁ ਏਹੁ ਨਿਤ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਏ ॥: Pain comes, when one forgets
Him. Peace comes when one remembers God. This is the way the Saints are in
bliss — they continually sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord (sggs 813).
- ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਤੇ ਭੁਲਿਆਂ ਵਿਆਪਨਿ ਸਭੇ ਰੋਗ ॥:
Forgetting God, all sorts of illnesses are contracted (sggs 135).
- ਮੈ ਵੇਦਨ ਪ੍ਰੇਮੁ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਰਹੁ ਲਗਾਈ ਜੀਉ ॥:
I am consumed with the pain of separation from God's Love (sggs 175).
While intoxicated with mundane pleasures, we care less about the Spiritual matters.
For example, when inflicted with Dukha (a serious illness, economical or
legal problems, etc.), we start showing up at religious places begging for relief.
Once the problem goes away, our religious mood also disappears like horn of a
donkey! Sukha, thus, creates separateness between man and his Real Source.
Consequently, it paves the way to Dukha. In other words, in every Sukha
there is Dukha disguised.
- ਤੁਧੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਨਾਲਿ ਉਪਾਇਆ ਲੇਖੁ ਕਰਤੈ ਲਿਖਿਆ ॥
: You created pain along with pleasure;
O Creator, such is the writ You have written (sggs 787).
- ਨਾਨਕ ਬੋਲਣੁ ਝਖਣਾ ਦੁਖ ਛਡਿ ਮੰਗੀਅਹਿ ਸੁਖ ॥
: O Nanak, it is absurd to ask to be spared from
pain by begging for comfort (sggs 149).
- ਜਤਨ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਖ ਕੇ ਕੀਏ ਦੁਖ ਕੋ ਕੀਓ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
: Man makes all sorts of efforts to find happiness;
but none to earn pain (sggs 1428).
- ਸੁਖ ਕਉ ਮਾਗੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਦੁਖੁ ਨ ਮਾਗੈ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਸੁਖੈ ਕਉ ਦੁਖੁ ਅਗਲਾ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਬੂਝ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥: Sukh kaou maangai sabh ko dukh n mangai koi. Sukhai kaou dukh agalaa manmukh boojh na hoi: Every one asks (begs, craves, wishes, etc.) for Sukh (happiness, pleasures, joy, peace, etc) and none asks for Dukh (suffering, misery, etc). But in the wake of Sukh, there comes Dukh. The self-willed Manmukhs do not understand this (sggs 57).
The scriptures and the Men of Light roar that the world and its gross objects
can only give us fleeting pleasure, not Happiness. Because, the true Happiness
flows from within. In other words, Self-realization is the true Happiness. In
the absence of Self-realization it's all Dukha! Still, surprisingly,
man's all efforts are aimed at securing nothing but material pleasures!
- ਮਿਠਾ ਕਰਿ ਕੈ ਕਉੜਾ ਖਾਇਆ ॥: Deeming
it sweet, they eat the bitter (sggs 1243).
- ਮੁਖਿ ਬੇਰਾਵੈ ਅੰਤਿ ਠਗਾਵੈ ॥: In the beginning
Maya seems to please, but in the end, she deceives (sggs 892).
- ਸਭੇ ਵਸਤੂ ਕਉੜੀਆ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਉ ਮਿਠਾ ॥: All
material things are bitter; the True Name alone is sweet (sggs 321).
- ਮੀਠੇ ਕਉ ਕਉੜਾ ਕਹੈ ਕੜੂਏ ਕਉ ਮੀਠਾ ॥: That which is sweet (ਨਾਮ-ਰਸ, the Lord's Name) is said to be bitter, and the bitter (enjoyment of the sense-objects, ਵਿਸ਼ਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਰਸ, which proves to be bitter in the end) is said to be sweet(sggs 229).
Thus, as indicated in the Gurbani, all material pleasures end in pain. But
due to perverted understanding, we are unable to grasp this Truth. Why do scriptures
claim that experiences which are apparently pleasurable are ultimately states
of Dukha? What we perceive as a state of pleasure is nothing more than
a form of relief in comparison to painful experiences. Hence the pleasurable
status is only relative. As we know it, everything around
us keeps changing on a constant basis. Nothing ever stays permanent. Even our
mind renews itself every instant. Accordingly, any happiness experienced from
material objects is also changeable, hence impermanent. Everything being
in the frame work of time-space has a beginning and an end, so does pleasure.
Accordingly, at the end of pleasure there rises Dukha. Therefore, all
sentient beings are said to be bound by these two.
- ਸੁਖੁ ਮਾਂਗਤ ਦੁਖੁ ਆਗੈ ਆਵੈ ॥ ਸੋ ਸੁਖੁ ਹਮਹੁ ਨ ਮਾਂਗਿਆ ਭਾਵੈ ॥: People beg for pleasure, but pain comes instead. I would
rather not beg for that pleasure (sggs 330).
- ਦੁਖਿ ਸੁਖਿ ਏਹੁ ਜੀਉ ਬਧੁ ਹੈ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਮ ਕਮਾਇ ॥ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਬਦੈ ਭਰਮੁ ਨ ਚੂਕਈ ਨਾ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਹਉਮੈ ਜਾਇ ॥੬॥: The beings are bound by pleasure
and pain; they do their deeds in egotism. Without the Shabad, doubt is not
dispelled, and egotism is not eliminated from within. ||6|| (sggs 67).
As made clear by the Gurbani, Dukha is the price of Sukha; for every
Sukha ends in Dukha. It is our unending search for worldly pleasures
which makes us suffer; bodily as well as mentally. All suffering is born of desires,
and desires prompt us to perform volitional or selfish actions, resulting in rejection
(pain) or acquisition (pleasure).
- ਆਸਾ ਵਿਚਿ ਅਤਿ ਦੁਖੁ ਘਣਾ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਇਆ ॥ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਭਏ ਨਿਰਾਸ ਪਰਮ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥: In desire, there is very great pain; the
Manmukh (material being) focuses his consciousness on it. The Gurmukh (spiritual
being), becomes desireless and attains the Supreme Happiness (sggs 1249).
- ਨਾਰਾਇਣ ਨਿੰਦਸਿ ਕਾਇ ਭੂਲੀ ਗਵਾਰੀ ॥ ਦੁਕ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਸੁਕ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਥਾਰੋ ਕਰਮੁ ਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥: Naaraain Nindas kaai bhoolee gavaaree. Dukrit sukrit
thaaro karam ree ||1||Rahaaou||: Why do you slander God, O deluded and ignorant. Pain
and pleasure are the result of your own actions ||1||Pause|| (sggs 695).
- ਨਾਨਕ ਦੁਨੀਆ ਚਾਰਿ ਦਿਹਾੜੇ ਸੁਖਿ ਕੀਤੈ ਦੁਖੁ ਹੋਈ ॥:
O Nanak, the world lasts for only a few days; indulging in pleasures, pain
is produced (sggs 1286).
How can Dukha be the medicine? If Sukha puts us to deep sleep of
illusion, Dukha awakens us! It makes us patient and humble and takes us
closer to the Supreme Truth; the source of real Happiness or Bliss. It is the
messenger to remember God. It is our reformer and benefactor in disguise—the "Dandaa"
(stick) of the Eternal Law of Karma. To put it otherwise, every Dukha that
enters our body and mind pulls us towards Bliss Absolute. For example, if we look
at ourselves in our moments of Dukha, we will invariably find that we not
only think of God a lot during those moments, but also do so with more intensity
and faith! Dukha thus revive the Divine Consciousness dormant in us. Hence
the recognition that the state of our unenlightened existence is suffering acts
as catalyst of the Spiritual quest. In short, Dukha pulls us towards God,
and thus His Divine Name becomes medicine for all our ailments!
- ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਏਹੁ ਲਾਏਹੁ ॥:
God's Name is the Nectar (Amrit), take this healing medicine (sggs 554).
- ਦੁਖੁ ਤਦੇ ਜਾ ਵਿਸਰਿ ਜਾਵੈ ॥: Upon forgetting
God, one suffers in pain (sggs 98).
- ਨਾਮ ਵਿਸਾਰ ਸਹਹਿ ਜਮ ਦੂਖ ॥: Forgetting
the Naam, one has to endure the pain of death (sggs 226).
Therefore, Dukha is preferable if it is a step towards fulfilling the life's
Higher Goal—Realization of the Self. In the process, Dukha may destroy
the physical body but it certainly glorifies the Self! Sincere devotees, accordingly,
accept suffering as God's blessing in disguise, for they reason that their suffering
will increase their Devotion (Bhagti) and bring them ultimate Spiritual
Realization.
- ਦੁਖੁ ਦਾਰੂ ....: Suffering is the medicine ...
(sggs 469).
- I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we
could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer
see repeated births and deaths (Bhaagvat, 1.8.25).
- I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow and called out "it tastes sweet, does
it not?" "You have caught me", grief answered, "and you have ruined my business,
how can I sell sorrow when you know it's blessing?" (Sufi Rumi).
- Heartache can never find me without laughter—I call the pain the "cure".
Nothing is more blessed than heartache, for its reward has no end (Sufi
Rumi).
- The falls of our life provide us with the energy to propel ourselves to
a higher level (Kabbalah, a mystical text of Judaism).
Why are sentient beings in a state of Sansaar (place of repeated birth
and death) or suffering? The scriptures have diagnosed the actual disease of the
conditioned beings, and found that our suffering is due to our attachment to material
things. Under the control of ignorance or negative Karma, delusion, afflictive
emotions and thoughts, we are tightly tied or bonded to the world of gross objects.
This is our present state, the unenlightened existence, encased in the snare of
false ego and self-grasping, tossed around aimlessly by the waves of fluctuating
painful experiences.
- ਨਾਨਕ ਦੁਖੀਆ ਸਭੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥ ਮੰਨੇ ਨਾਉ ਸੋਈ ਜਿਣਿ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਅਉਰੀ ਕਰਮ ਨ ਲੇਖੈ ਲਾਇ ॥: O Nanak, the whole world is suffering.
He alone is victorious, who believes in the Lord’s Name. No other action is
of any account (sggs 954).
- ਫਰੀਦਾ ਮੈ ਜਾਨਿਆ ਦੁਖੁ ਮੁਝ ਕੂ ਦੁਖੁ ਸਬਾਇਐ ਜਗਿ ॥ ਊਚੇ ਚੜਿ ਕੈ ਦੇਖਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਘਰਿ ਘਰਿ ਏਹਾ ਅਗਿ ॥: Fareed, I thought that
I was the only one suffering; in fact the whole world is suffering! When I
looked around from a vantage point, I saw this fire in each and every home
(sggs 1382).
Once this truth that the "whole world is suffering" is understood, one will
find the urge and energy to awaken the Spiritual Center within to go beyond
suffering. In other words, if we recognize and accept our present state as Dukha,
unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, painful experiences and frustration, only then
we will wish to look into the causes and conditions that give rise to it.
For example, if a sick person wishes to get well, the first step is that he
must recognize that he is ill, otherwise the urge to be cured will not arise.
The reason scriptures laid so much emphasis on recognizing the state of suffering
we are in, as well developing insight into the nature of it, is that there is
a way out! This is very strongly demonstrated by the lives of many Enlightened
Beings. For example, it is said that when Buddha caught sight of a sick person,
an old person and a dead person, the impact of seeing this suffering led him
to search for cure.
- ਇਹੁ ਜਗੁ ਜਰਤਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਕੈ ਭਇਓ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਉਦਾਸੁ ॥:
Seeing the world burning, Kabeer has become neutral (sggs 1366).
- ਕਲਜੁਗਿ ਰਥੁ ਅਗਨਿ ਕਾ ਕੂੜੁ ਅਗੈ ਰਥਵਾਹੁ ॥੧॥: Kaljug rath agan kaa koorr aggi rathavaah ||1||: This
age of Kali Yuga is the chariot of fire, and falsehood is the charioteer ||1|| (sggs
470).
If the dependence on conditions and situations is the cause of Dukha, then
independence from them must be the cure. We are urged by the Gurbani to change
Dukha into Sukha and fear into fearlessness. Those who remain patient,
steadfast, and unshaken in Spirit throughout the periods of adversities and comforts
are called the people of Truth. Both Dukha and Sukha are like waves
on the surface of the ocean of the Self. However, deep down this Ocean is calm—Blissful.
In other words, both Dukha and Sukha are transient, our Real Self
is not. When we transfer our sense of identity to our true Being, the Real Self,
we realize that all Dukha is unreal. Then we no longer imagine the state
of pain and fear.
- ਦੁਖੰ ਭਯੰਤਿ ਸੁਖ੍ਹੰ ਭੈ ਭੀਤੰ ਤ ਨਿਰਭਯਹ ॥:
Pain is changed into pleasure, and the fearful become fearless (1357).
- ਫਰੀਦਾ ਚਿੰਤ ਖਟੋਲਾ ਵਾਣੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਬਿਰਹਿ ਵਿਛਾਵਣ ਲੇਫੁ ॥ ਏਹੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਜੀਵਣਾ ਤੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਚੇ ਵੇਖੁ ॥: Fareed, anxiety is my bed,
pain is my mattress, and the pain of separation is my blanket and quilt. Behold,
this is my life, O my True Lord (sggs 1379).
- ਦੁਖਿ ਸੁਖਿ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਤੁਧੁ ਧਿਆਈ ॥: In
suffering and in comfort, I meditate on You, O my Beloved (sggs 99).
We think or search in order to escape from Dukha. But, in fact, our very
deluded thinking or searching gives rise to it! The state of Pure Happiness is
outside of the false ego's realm. Deluded mind (ignorance, false ego, duality,
Maya, conditioning, and so on) is the cause of our suffering, and the concentrated
or purified mind is the liberation from it.
- ਬਾਹਰਿ ਢੂਢਤ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਘਰਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਘਟ ਮਾਹੀ ਜੀਉ ॥: O my mind, remain steady, and do not wander away.
By searching around on the outside, you will only suffer great pain; the
Ambrosial Nectar is found within the home of your inner being (sggs 598).
- ਸੋਚੈ ਸੋਚਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜੇ ਸੋਚੀ ਲਖ ਵਾਰ ॥:
By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds
of thousands of times (sggs 1).
What is that medicine which will satisfy the ego-mind? The Gurbani says: "Through
the mind itself, the mind is subdued" because "ego is a chronic disease,
but it contains its own cure as well". How can such attitude be developed? "By
seeing both the Dukha and Sukha as one and the same" and "making
the mind die in the Divine Name"; says the Gurbani. In other words, Shabad-Surti
or God-consciousness is the only medicine for our suffering. Therefore, we must
take it and be eternally happy.
- ਸੁਖ ਦੁਖ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਣੀਅਹਿ ਸਬਦਿ ਭੇਦਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਹੋਇ ॥੫॥: Sukh dukh sam kar jaaneeahi Sabad bhed sukh hoi ||5||:
Both pain and pleasure are to be known as one and the same; (real) Bliss is experienced when (the mind is) pierced
through by the Shabad ||5|| (sggs 57).
- ਹਉਮੈ ਦੀਰਘ ਰੋਗੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਭੀ ਇਸੁ ਮਾਹਿ ॥:
Ego is a chronic disease, but it contains its own cure as well (sggs 466).
- ਅਕੁਲ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਸਿਉ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨਿਆ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਤੇ ਮਨੁ ਮੂਆ ॥: Akul niranjan siou manu maaniaa man hee te manu mooaa:
Through the mind itself, the mind iands killed (i.e., the mind turns away from the wanderings of Maya, etc.), when the mind becomes pleased and appeased with the Lord, who is Immaculate (beyond the influence of Maya) and who has no ancestry (sggs 1127).
- ਮਨੁ ਮਾਰੇ ਧਾਤੁ ਮਰਿ ਜਾਇ॥ਬਿਨੁ ਮੂਏ ਕੈਸੇ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਇ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਰੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਜਾਣੈ ਕੋਇ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਸਬਦਿ ਮਰੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਨੁ ਸੋਇ ॥: When someone
kills and subdues his own mind, his wandering nature is also subdued. Without
such a death, how can one find the Lord? Only a few know the medicine to kill
the mind. One whose mind dies in the Shabad, understands Him (sggs 159).
- ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਮਨਿ ਵਸੈ ਸਭ ਦੂਖ ਵਿਸਾਰਣਹਾਰੁ ॥:
With God dwelling in mind, all suffering departs (sggs 423).
Haume gradually runs away from the mind engaged in deep meditation (Jap
or Naam-Simran). Beyond Haume there is no suffering; because the
Spirit Soul is Transcendental to all Dukha. Suffering lasts as long we
take ourselves of a limited form or relative consciousness. The moment one realizes
his "Joti Savroop", duality disappears (Dukha and Sukha,
and so on). In other words, the moment one transcends the erroneous idea of separateness
from the Self, he knows that the true Self is eternally free of any pairs of opposites.
After the true Self is rediscovered, one sees everything existing in Pure Being;
nothing besides Him.
- ਜਹ ਅਨੰਦੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਦੂਰਿ ਪਇਆਨਾ ॥ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨਕੁ ਲਿਵ ਤਤੁ ਲੁਕਾਨਾ ॥: Pain runs far away from that place where there is Bliss.
The jewel of the mind is focused and attuned to the essence of reality (sggs
1349).
- ਜਮ ਕੀ ਤ੍ਰਾਸ ਮਿਟੀ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਨਿਕਸੀ ਹਉਮੈ ਪੀਰ ॥: Whoever has You for support, has the fear of death removed;
peace is found, and the disease of egotism is taken away (sggs 978)
- ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਹਰਿ ਸਹਜਿ ਸਮਾਧਿ ਲਗਾਈਐ ॥: I am cured of the disease of egotism, and I have found
peace; I have intuitively entered into the state of Sahaj Samaadhi (sggs
1179)
- ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਸਦ ਮੀਠੀ ਲਾਗੀ ਪਾਪ ਵਿਕਾਰ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥ ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ਭਉ ਭਾਗਾ ਸਹਜੇ ਸਹਜਿ ਮਿਲਾਇਆ ॥: With the ever sweet Gurbani,
I have eradicated the sinful residues from within. The disease of egotism
is gone, fear has left, and I am absorbed in celestial peace (sggs 773).
The essence of a person fully attuned to the Divine Name sees Dukha and
Sukha both the same, and thus accepts the life in its totality as it comes
(Hukam Mannanaa). He does not suffer because he is friendly with inevitables.
He may be aware of Dukha, but he does not allow it to shatter him — he
lets things take their course because he accepts suffering as "medicine". He takes
Dukha as precious gift from God for there are many secrets in it!
- ਕੇਤਿਆ ਦੂਖ ਭੂਖ ਸਦ ਮਾਰ ॥ ਏਹਿ ਭਿ ਦਾਤਿ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤਾਰ ॥: So many endure Dukh, deprivation and constant abuse. Even these
are Your Gifts, O Great Giver! (sggs 5).
Such acceptance of Dukha takes the earnest seeker into his Inner Being
than any material pleasure can. Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes—which
are sure to happen in all circumstances—a pious person remains undisturbed by
worldly calamities and makes progress in Spiritual Realization, because that is
the mission of human life.
- ਡਿਠਾ ਸਭੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਨ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ॥ ਤਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਹੋਸੀ ਛਾਰੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਕੋਇ ਜਨੁ ॥ ਰੰਗ ਰੂਪ ਰਸ ਬਾਦਿ ਕਿ ਕਰਹਿ ਪਰਾਣੀਆ ॥: I have
seen the whole world; without Name, there is no peace at all. Body and
wealth will return to dust, hardly anyone realizes this. Pleasure, beauty
and tastes are useless; what are you doing, O mortal? (sggs 322).
- ਸੁਖੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਦੋਨੋ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਨੈ ਅਉਰੁ ਮਾਨੁ ਅਪਮਾਨਾ ॥ ਹਰਖ ਸੋਗ ਤੇ ਰਹੈ ਅਤੀਤਾ ਤਿਨਿ ਜਗਿ ਤਤੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੧॥ ਉਸਤਤਿ ਨਿੰਦਾ ਦੋਊ ਤਿਆਗੈ ਖੋਜੈ ਪਦੁ ਨਿਰਬਾਨਾ ॥ ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹੁ ਖੇਲੁ ਕਠਨੁ ਹੈ ਕਿਨਹੂੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਾਨਾ ॥੨॥੧॥ : Sukh dukh dono sam kari
jaanai aour maanu apamaanaa. Harakh sog te rahai ateetaa tini jagi tatu pashaanaa.
Usatat nindaa do-oo tiaagai khojai padu nirabaanaa. Jan Nanak ihu khel kathan
hai kinahoon gurmukhi jaanaa ||2||1||: One who knows that pain and pleasure are both the same, and honor and dishonor as well, who remains detached from joy and sorrow, realizes the true essence in the world ||1||. Renounce both praise and blame; seek instead the state of Nirvaanaa (Aatmic Avasthaa devoid of Vaasnaa). O servant Nanak, this is such a difficult game; only a rare Gurmukh understands it! ||2||1|| (sggs 219).
- ਅੰਤਰਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਰਵਿਆ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਸਗਲੇ ਦੂਖ ਨਿਵਾਰੇ ॥: Antri Sabad raviaa Gur paaiaa
sagale dookh nivaare: The Shabad has permeated my inner Being, and I have
found the Guru; all my sorrows are dispelled (sggs 1249).
The intuitive Realization of the Gurbani (or any other genuine scripture for that
matter) is the fulfillment of the path of right thinking, right understanding
and deep meditation (Jap or Naam-Simran). Linking to our True Nature,
thus, is the art of Self-liberation through Self-understanding.
- ਸਦਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਸਾਚੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਵੀਚਾਰੀ ॥: Lasting
Sukh is obtained by reflecting on the True Shabad (sggs 560).
— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org
Updated on
Sunday, May 1, 2011 5:53 PM
(PST)
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