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The Gurmukh Never Grows Old!

HUKAMNAAMAA

The Gurbani manifested from the Divine Hukam. Accordingly, it soars to the vivid heights of subtlety. When the Divine Hukam expresses through the true and the wise ones (God-Realized Beings), it becomes Bani or Gurbani.

The Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) makes it very clear that Hukam, Shabad, Guru, God, Naam (Lord's Name), Divine Light, Word,  etc., are virtually synonymous. Further, the Gurbani makes it very clear that Hukam, Shabad, or Naam pervades the entire creation. It permeates the universe as butter in the milk, and fire in the wood. It is the unstruck celestial sound current that vibrates, creates, guides, controls, directs, sustains, and animates every particle of the cosmos.

The Gurbani declares that everything and everybody in the universe is controlled by God's Hukam or Eternal Law. None can escape it. What it means is that to be in His Hukam is the same as to be connected to His Shabad or Naam. To put it otherwise, the intuitive understanding of God's Hukam is the realization of His Shabad or Naam. Therefore, the Shabad is Hukam and the Hukam is Shabad (or Naam).

As such, each and every word of the Gurbani is Waheguru's Hukam, otherwise it would not have been included in the SGGS. If a particular Shabad is called Hukamnama - pronounced Hukamnaamaa - of the day, does it mean that rest of the Gurbani is not Hukamnaamaa for that day?

Hence, as we can see, to call a particular Shabad selected by randomly opening a page a "Hukamnaamaa" is a fallacy. This is how the simpletons are led by the Pujaaree group (priests) to perform rituals and cermonies from which Baabaa Nanak tried to free us. The fact is that each and every Word or Shabad of SGGS is Hukamanaamaa; for it is given to all of us to hear and read, to perceive and believe, and than contemplate and become one with it.

Unfortunately, we expect everything ready-made, including sublime thing such as Hukam (i.e., Naam, Shabad, God Realization etc.). For example, instead of doing Kirtan ourselves, we like some one else to do it for us (e.g., hired Raagees or Bhais, etc.); instead of doing Path - pronounced Paath - ourselves (reading of SGGS), we like to hire Pathi - pronounced Paathees (professional readers of the SGGS) - to do it for us; or instead of reading Gurbani ourselves, we like some one else to read it and then pass it on to us as a ready-made package; and so on.

The great ones tell us to remember one thing: If we want something as sublime as God Realization and want it cheaply in the form of a "ready-made" package, we put ourselves in a position to be cheated and fooled!

The purpose of reading or listening to the scriptures is to develop Divine Understanding, and then act upon it. If that does not happen, then, according to the the Gurbani, there is no difference between a human being engaged in reading or listening to scriptures and a beast engaged in filling its belly.

In addition to the Divine Grace - which is ever oresent within all of us - personal efforts (Uddam) are must for spiritual realization. If some one does not know Gurmukhi, the SGGS has been written and traslated into many languages. The Gurbani is Gian-Kalaa (source of Knowledge). The ultimate purpose of reading the Gurbani must be then attaining its intuitive understanding, without which, as the Gurbani says, one cannot re-discover his relationship with the Timeless Reality.

Therefore, with utmost love and devotion we must read the SGGS ourselves, we must do the Kirtan ourselves, we must do the Paath ourselves, and the same time try to understand it! The important thing is not how much we read or how many Akhand Paaths we perform or participate in, rather, the important thing is how much we understand! And then live it (implementation - ਅਮਲ). The Sikhi is the Way of the Soul, Sahaj Maarag; not stubborn mindedness!

Today, technology is helping bring the Gurmat into the homes of millions of people, Sikhs and otherwise. There is a blessing in all this of course, but there is a real danger that one will fall under the impression that owning a holy book or having a database (on the computer or internet) is equivalent to having a true understandingbeing of the Gurbani. Therefore, it goes without saying that the database on the internet or computer discs is merely a tool, and not a substitute for learning, Karnee and Amal.

For some reason, if someone is absolutely in no position to read the SGGS oneself or for some reason you have no access to SGGS at all, a few cyber links are provided below.