Sukh is generally translated into English as Happiness, Peace, Harmony, Bliss, Joy, and so on. But, what does it really mean as understood by those who were able to truly Realize it? According to the SGGS (Sri Guru Granth Sahib), the real sign, the final verdict (AwKrI inrxw or Aakharee Nirnaa) or discernment (ibbyku or Bibek) regarding the real Sukh is this: it signifies the state of one's Inner Purity comprising one's becoming Immaculate (inrmlu or Nirmal) within. In view of that, the decree, conclusion, ruling or edict of the SGGS is:

• suKY eyhu ibbyku hY AMqru inrmlu hoie ]AigAwn kw BRmu ktIAY igAwnu prwpiq hoie ]nwnk eyko ndrI AwieAw jh dyKw qh soie ]3]: Sukhai ehu bibek hai antar niramal hoi. Agiaan kaa bhram katteeai giaan paraapath hoi. Nanak eko nadaree aaiaa jah dekhaa tah soi ||3||: The discernment of the Sukh is this: one becomes Immaculate (or Pure) within. Doubts (interconnected to) ignorance are eradicated, and spiritual wisdom is obtained (understanding of the spiritual Life or Aatmic-Jeevan). O Nanak, One All-pervading God alone is seen everywhere ||3|| (sggs 947).

This Inner Purity is essentially the same as indicated by many other terms such as attaining Purity of the mind, Purity of the Heart, mental strength, mindfulness, Peace of the mind, Sahaj (Natural State of Being), infant-like innocence, the Vision of Oneness ("Nanak eko Nadaree Aaiaa Jah Dekhaa Tah Soi"), true devotion (Bhagti), Enlightenment, Inner Growth, Self-realization, Gurmukhtaa, Truthful Life, unbroken Shabad- or Naam-Surti, spiritual Beauty, Infinite Wisdom, Supreme State, Freedom from bondage, Freedom from ignorance/doubts/Dukha etc., Freedom from Maya (duality or relativist consciousness), Param Pada or Chauthaa Pada (Turiya), the state of no-ego (no-Haume); understanding of God's Hukam or Will (Bhaanaa Mannanaa etc.); eradication of "Panch" (Bikaars or negative tendencies); and so on.

• hukmY bUJy sdw suKu pwey: Hukamai boojhe sadaa sukh paaye: One who understands God's Hukam finds lasting Sukh (sggs 424).
• haumY mwir sdw suKu pwieAw mwieAw mohu cukwvixAw: Houmai maar sadaa sukh paaiaa Maya mohu chukaavaniaa: Subduing ego, lasting Sukh is obtained, and emotional attachment to Maya is dispelled (sggs 110).
• tUty bMDn jnm mrn swD syv suKu pwie: Toote bandhan janam maran saadh sev sukh paai: The bondage of birth and death is broken and Sukh is obtained, by serving the Holy (sggs 255).
• siB suK hir rs Bogxy sMq sBw imil igAwnu: Sabh sukh har ras bhogane sant sabhaa mil giaan: All Sukh, and the Essence of the Lord, are enjoyed by acquiring spiritual wisdom in the Society of the Saints (sggs 21).
  
• pMc mwir suKu pwieAw AYsw bRhmu vIcwru: Panch maar sukh paaiaa aisaa braham veechaar: The five (Panch: lust, anger, greed etc.) are conquered, and peace is attained; such is the Braham-Veechaar (sggs 1330).
• rUp rMg sUK Dnu jIA kw pwrbRhm morY jwqI: Roop rang sookh dhan jeea kaa paarabraham morai jaatee: The Supreme Lord is my Beauty, pleasure, Sukh, wealth, soul and social status (sggs 681).
• swic rqy suK shij smwey: Saach ratte sukh sahaj samaaeae: Attuned to Truth, one is absorbed in Sukh and Sahaj (sggs 664).
• nwnk rwm Bgiq suKu pwvY: Nanak raam bhagati sukh paavai: O Nanak, Sukh is obtained through Bhgati (sggs 227).
• gurmuiK hovY cauQw pdu cInY rwm nwim suKu hoeI: Guramukh hovai chouthaa pada cheenai raam naam sukh hoee: One who becomes Gurmukh comes to realize the Chautha Pada (fourth state); he finds Sukh through the Name of the Lord (sggs 604).
• nwau pUjIAY nwau mMnIAY AKMfu sdw scu soie: Naaou poojeeai naaou manneeai akhand sadaa sach soi: They (who have Treasure of the Naam within) worship the Naam, and they believe in the Naam. The True One is forever Intact and Unbroken (sggs 17).
• pwieE bwl buiD suKu ry: Paaeiou baal budhi sukh rae: Adopting the innocent mind of a child, I have found Peace (sggs 214).
  

Sukh is basic to human life. We all want to be Happy; for we humans are the part-and-parcel (Ansh) of the Supreme or Eternal Happiness, Peace, Bliss etc. called God. In other words, being in everlasting Sukh is the very basic Nature of the Soul. No surprising that all human efforts and activities are aimed at seeking and yearning Sukh, and avoiding Dukha. Consequently, all human resources are aimed at and all endeavors are motivated by the impulse to seek Sukh and eradicate Dukha — it can be an object, a person, a place or a situation.

• jqn bhuq suK ky kIey duK ko kIE n koie: Jatan bahut sukh ke keeye dukh ko keeyo na koye: Man makes all sorts of efforts to find happiness; but none to earn pain (sggs 1428).
• suK kau mwgY sBu ko duKu n mwgY koie ]suKY kau duKu Aglw mnmuiK bUJ n hoie: Sukh kayu maangai sabh ko dukh na mangai koyi. Sukhai kaou dukh agalaa manmukh boojh na hoi: Every one craves for happiness and none asks for misery. But in the wake of happiness, there comes great suffering. The self-willed Manmukhs do not understand this (sggs 57).
  

But do the vast majority of us (over 99.9 percent category) look for Sukh in the right place? The SGGS says no. From the moment of birth, till death, most of us (Manmukhs) generally become preoccupied with our security in worldly life, thereby becoming entangled with the worldly obsessions forgetting the Inner Self ("Joti-Svaroopa") or the real purpose of the human birth. As a result, while attending to security concerns, we end up with other problems in life. Education, successful career, good job, overabundance of material possessions, money, power, health, high social status, titles, devoted family etc. are considered the common currencies of Sukh in the world. For that reason, the vast majority of us pursue them thinking they will give them Eternal Sukh. But they cannot and don't, for our definition of the true Sukh is flawed (i.e., contrary to what the SGGS says). There are people who have these and more but yet they are unhappy (Dukhee). The SGGS repeatedly indicates that with flawed, illogical or irrational thinking that Sukh is contained in external conditions, it's not possible to experience the true Sukh in life. In other words, without the parallel Inner Growth (Inner Purity), all human engagements undertaken for the pursuit of the everlasting Sukh become counterproductive.

• mnmuK krm kry AhMkwrI sBu duKo duKu kmwie: Manmukh karam kare ahankaaree sabh dukho dukh kamaai: The self-willed Manmukh does deeds in egotism; he earns (nothing but) all Dukha (sggs 87).
  

Then how, as indicated by the SGGS, can we be Happy (or Sukhee)? The SGGS explains that the true, Eternal Sukh is beyond the gratification or satisfaction of the senses. It's contained within ourselves. The indisputable aim of human birth — whether one is aware of this or not — is to obtain Absolute Happiness or Peace, Infinite Wisdom (Aatm-Giaan), spiritual Beauty, freedom from bondage etc.: Self-realization.

To experience that, as repeatedly indicated in the SGGS, we need to give life a total overhaul — unlearn what we have wrongly learnt and understand how to annihilate the mind (False ego-sense or Haume). The SGGS says that Enlightenment is indescribable. Therefore, every human being must realize himself. With the exception of the human beings, this spiritual evolution in nature is unconscious. Humans are vested with Viveka (discerning intellect) and freedom so they can consciously open up to the Higher Self (Pure Consciousness, "Joti-Svaroopa" etc.) within. This freedom becomes a torture when life is lived in Manmukhtaa — perverse or compulsive lifestyle. However, the SGGS promises us that it is possible to direct the course of one's further spiritual evolution by exercising one's choice consciously and using Viveka properly.

By maintaining an unbroken Self Awareness, we will be able to experience the true Sukh. To this end, the SGGS highlights the importance of the followings. Meeting the Satguru; attuning to Naam-Simran (meditation); cultivating Divine Virtues within (contentment, humility, compassion, selfless love, and so on); Joining and keeping the Holy Company or Saadh-Sangat (Gurmukhs, Saints, Mahaatamaas etc.); giving up Manmukhtaa (worldly or material consciousness); becoming the Gurmukh (spiritual Being); practicing Bhagti (devotion) with the Guru; listening to the Lord's sermons; and so on. As indicated in the SGGS, all these spiritual practices coupled with actually living them correctly (Karanee) help one in removing the subtle impurities (inner "Mall" or filth), in turn, leading him to the experience of the true Sukh within.

• siqguir imilAY sdw suKu ijs no Awpy myly soie: Satigur miliai sadaa sukh jis no aape mele soi: Meeting the Satguru, everlasting (Eternal) Sukh is obtained. (But it's with God's Grace that one meets (the Satguru) (sggs 947).
• ibnu gur Bgiq n pweIAY jy locY sBu koie: Bin gur bhagati na paaeeai je lochai sabh koe: Without the Guru, Bhagti (devotion) is not obtained, even though everyone may long for it (sggs 31).
• nwim rqy sy inrmly gur kY shij suBwie: Naam ratte se niramale gur kai sahaj subhaai: Those who are attuned to the Naam, the Name of the Lord, are immaculate and pure; through the Guru, they obtain Sahaj: Natural State of Being (sggs 32).
• gux AMqir nwhI ikau suKu pwvY mnmuK Awvx jwxw: Gun antar naahee kiou sukh paavai Manmukh aavan jaanaa: With no virtue within, how can (the Manmukh) find Sukh? The self-willed Manmukh comes and goes in reincarnation (sggs 76).
• muMDy guxhIxI suKu kyih: Mundhe gunheenee sukh kehi: (O soul-bride) without virtue, what Sukh can there be? (sggs 56).
• mnmuiK suKu n pweIAY gurmuiK suKu suBwnu: Manmukh sukh na paaeeai Gurmukh sukh subhaan: The self-willed Manmukhs find no peace, while the Gurmukhs are wondrously in Sukh (sggs 21).

• swDU kY sMig mhw punIq: Saadhhoo kai sang mahaa puneet: In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, there is great Purity (sggs 271).

• swDU sMgiq inrmlw ATsiT mjnwgw: Saadhoo sangat niramalaa athasath majanaagaa: In the Company of the Holy, become immaculate; it's as bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage (sggs 965).
• swDsMgiq hoih inrmlu bhuiV join n Awau: Saadhasangat hohi niramal bahurr jon na aaou: In the Company of the Holy, you will become Immaculate; (consequently) you will not come to be reincarnated again (sggs 1220).
• inrmlµ swD sMgh jpMiq nwnk gopwl nwmM: Niramalam saadh sangah japanti Nanak gopaal naamam: Meditating on the Naam in the Company of the Holy, O Nanak, mortals become Immaculate (sggs 1357).
• koit jnm ky iklibK nwsih ismrq pwvn qn mn suK: Koti janam ke kilabikh naasahi simarat paavan tann mann sukh: The sins of millions of lifetimes are erased, by meditating on the Lord; becoming Pure, my mind and body finds Sukh (sggs 717).
• suix hir kQw auqwrI mYlu: Suni har kathaa outaaree mail: Listening to God's sermon, (inner) pollution gets washed away (sggs 178).

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org