japji of kirpal singh

8/9/2019 JapJi of Kirpal Singh

1/226

INTRODUCTION

Kirpal Singh, California, 1963


2/226

THE JAP JI


3/226

INTRODUCTION

THE JAP JI

By

Krpal Sngh

Mans only duty is to be ever grateful to God

for His innumerable gifts and blessings.


4/226

v

THE JAP JI

about the translator . . .

Krpal Sngh, a modern Sant n the drect lne of Guru

Nanak, was born n 1894 n the Punjab n Inda (now part

of Pakstan). Hs long lfe, saturated wth love for God and

humanity, brought peace and fulllment to approximately

120,000 dscples, scattered all over the world. He taught the

natural way to nd God while living; and His life was the

embodment of Hs teachngs. He made three world tours,

was Presdent of the World Fellowshp of Relgons for four-

teen years, and convened the World Conference on Unty

of Man n February 1974, attended by relgous, socal andpoltcal leaders from all over the world. He ded on August

21, 1974, in his eighty-rst year, stepping out of his body in

full consciousness; His last words were of love for His dis-

cples. Hs lfe bears eloquent testmony that the age of the

prophets is not over; that it is still possible for human beings

to nd God and reect His will.


5/226

v

INTRODUCTION

THE JAP JI

The Message of Guru Nanak

Literal Translation from the Original Punjabi Text

with Introduction, Commentary, Notes, and a

Biographical Study of Guru Nanak

By

Krpal Sngh

A RUHANI SATSANG BOOK

RUHANI SATSANG

DIVINE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL


6/226

v

THE JAP JI

I have written books without any copyrightno rights

reserved because it is a Gift of God, given by God, asmuch as sunlight; other gifts of God are also free.

from a talk by Krpal Sngh, wth the author of a book

after a talk to students of relgon at Santa Clara Unversty,

San Jose, Calforna on November 16, 1972.

The text of this book is the same as what was published

durng the lfetme of Master Krpal Sngh. Asde frompunctuaton and captalzaton correctons, no changes

have been made to the text. It is exactly the same as what

was approved by Master Krpal Sngh.

Frst publshed by Ruhan Satsang, Delh, 1959

Second Edton, 1964

Thrd Edton, 1967Fourth Edton, 1972

Ffth Edton, 1976

Sixth Edition 1981

Seventh Edton, 1995

Ths Edton publshed n 2008 by:

RUHANI SATSANG

Dvne Scence of the Soul250 H Street, #50

Blane, WA 98230-4018 USA

www.RuhanSatsangUSA.org

Tel: 1 (888) 530-1555

ISBN 978-0-942735-85-7

Prnted n the Unted States of Amerca

by Prnt Graphcs Pros (949) 859-3845


7/226

v

INTRODUCTION

Kirpal Singh 1894-1974


8/226

v

THE JAP JI

Sawan Singh 1858-1948


9/226

ix

INTRODUCTION

Dedicated

to the Almighty God

working through all Masters who have come

and Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj

at whose lotus feet

the translator imbibed sweet elixir

of Holy Naam the Word


10/226

x

THE JAP JI

Sant Krpal Sngh passed on from ths earth n 1974.

As such, He s no longer takng on new people to gudeout of ths world and back to God. He left many books

that explain, as much as can be in a worldly language, the

meanng of lfe. The books and the Ruhan Satsang web-

ste http:/ /www.RuhanSatsangUSA.org are mantaned

to help str an nterest n God and to help people know

what to look for n ther search for the way back home.

When asked about a successor, we can only offer ths

quote from the Master:

Today there is a great awakening beginning. Some

have got the answer, some have not, but the search

to solve the mystery of life has been born all over the

world. The day that question arises in the mind is thegreatest day of ones life, for once it is born, it does

not succumb until it is satised.

So, make your life an example of the teachings you

follow live up to them.

If you have a strong desire to get it, then God Him-self will make the arrangements for you.

[Excerpts from a talk published in the January 1971

issue of SAT SANDESH]


11/226

xi

INTRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ....................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION WHAT ISJap Ji.......................................... 3

RELIGION: OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE ............................ 4

DIVINE WILL HOW IS IT REVEALED ............................... 12

THE OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS

OF NAAM ........................................................................... 13

EVIDENCES FROM THE VARIOUS RELIGIONS ................... 14

() Chrstanty ........................................................................ 14

() Hndusm........................................................................... 15

() Mohammedansm ..............................................................16

SOUND DIFFERENTIATED ................................................... 24

(i) Misery and Pleasure Dened .............................................27

() Advantages Accrung from Inner Communon of the Soul

wth NAAM or Surat Shabd Yoga ..................................... 28

SIMRAN WHAT IT MEANS AND ITS USES ....................... 36

THREE GRAND DIVISIONS AND THEIR FEATURES .......... 41


12/226

xii

THE JAP JI

() Man Is an Eptome of the Three Grand Dvsons of

the Creaton ......................................................................44

() Possblty of Communon of the Mcrocosm wth

the Macrocosm Regons ................................................... 45

() Concentraton of Sprt Current Is Necessary Before

It Can Rse Into Hgher Sprtual Planes .......................... 46

(v) Uses of the Three Restrctons and ther Process ............. 49

GOD-MAN ................................................................................... 55

() Wthout a God-Man, the Mystery of Soul s Never

Revealed ........................................................................... 55

() Three Essentals for the Progress of Soul to the

Lord Explained................................................................. 55

(iii) Qualications of a God-Man............................................56

(v) Scrptures Unable to Awaken Sprtualty ........................ 59

(v) Necessty of a God-Man...................................................61

(v) Who Is the Guru ............................................................... 62

(v) God-Man Is the Only True Frend .................................... 68

(v) How to Know a God-Man ................................................ 71

TRINITY IN RELIGION .............................................................. 87

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE ............................................................. 89


13/226

xiii

INTRODUCTION

TEXT ENGLISH VERSION AND COMMENTARY

(Words shown in italics are added for reference to rst line

of each stanza in original text.)

Stanza Page

PROLOGUE In Prase of the Almghty..................93

1. (Soche soch Futlty of mental endeavors

na hovayi) and observances to know the

Dvne Wll ......................................952. (Hukmi hovan How the Dvne Wll works .............95

aakaar)

3. (Gaave ko Dvne Wll holds the creaton

taan) n Its control......................................96

4. (Sacha The paradox of salvation:

Sahib) Human effort and Dvne Grace .......97

5. (Thapya na Greatness of the Holy Word

(jaye) and of the Word personied..............98

6. (Tirath Salvaton comes through Grace

naavaan) and worthness .................................99

7. (Je jug To wn goodwll of God, yogc

chhare) practces are not enough .................100

8. (Suniye siddh

pir)

9. (Suniye Isar

Brahma)

10. (Suniye sat

Santokh)

11. (Suniye saragunan)

Fruts of communon wth

the Holy Word:

At-one-ment wth the Dvne Wll

wth all honor and glory ..... 102-103


14/226

xiv

THE JAP JI

Stanza Page

12. (Manne kigat)

13. (Manne

surat)

14. (Manne

maarag)

15. (Manne

pave)

16. (Panch In prase of Sants and the

parvaan) Power of the Word whch s all

pervadng and mmanent n all forms,

upholdng the unverse wth all

theren ............................................107

17. (Asankh Good deedsper se fal to gvejap) God-vson .....................................108

18. (Asankh World abounds wth the

moorakh) mpous ...........................................109

19. (Asankh Hs manfold beauty and vast

naao) creation bafe all description ......... 110

20. (Bhariye hath Communon wth the Word

pair) puries the mind and frees the

soul from bondage ..........................112

21. (Tirath tap Ingress nto the Tl s the

daya) hghest of vrtues ........................... 113

22. (Paataala Vastness of Gods creaton s

paataallakh) beyond human comprehenson ...... 117

23. (Saalaahi Love of God s the greatest gft ...... 117

saalaah)

The Holy Word is an expression

of the Dvne Wll.

The Power of the Word s great

and he who practces the Word

s truly blessed..........................104-105


15/226

xv

INTRODUCTION

Stanza Page

24. (Ant na Exalted is the Holy Word andsifti) still more exalted is the Divine

Grace that quckens t .......................118

25. (Bahuta All share Hs bountes equally:

Karam) But the bounty of the Eternal

Song s Hs Greatest Gft ................119

26. (Amul gun amul Gods attrbutes and Hs Regents

vaapaar) are equally unque and peerless........120

27. (So dar All bow n holy reverence unto

keha) Hm and sng Hs prases .................121

28. (Munda Inner dscplne and catholc

santokh) outlook and not adherence to codes

of outer rtuals can brng about

transformaton ..................................12429. (Bhugat gyan Inner sprtual dscplne

dayaa....) explained ..........................................125

30. (Ekaa maaee The prncples on whch Gods

jugat) creaton works .................................126

31. (Aasan loye Gods plan s nfallble and

loye) eternal ..............................................127

32. (Ik dujibho Smran or constant remembrance

lakh) leads Godwards and salvaton comes

through efforts coupled wth

Hs Grace and Wll ...........................128

33. Aakhan jor Dvne Wll s the be-all and end-all

chupe) n all thngs ncludng salvaton .......129

34. (Raati ruti thiti Descrpton of the realms through

vaar.... ) whch the soul journeys Godwards..130


16/226

xvi

THE JAP JI

Stanza Page

35. (Dharam Khand ()Dharam Khand, Realm ofKa) Acton: Earth and ts nhabtants ... 131

36. (Gian Khand () Gian Khand, Realm of

men) Knowledge: Its godly dwellers

and manfold nature ...................... 132

() Sarm Khand, Realm of

Ecstasy; Its beauty and

strangeness...................................... 133

37. (Karm Khand (v) Karm Khand, Realm of

Ki Bani) Grace: Word s all n all here

and nothng else.

38. (Jat (v) Sach Khand, Realm of Truth:

Paahaaraa) Seat of the Formless One................134

Fnale (Pavan Brds-eye vew of human lfe,Guru) ts nature, purpose, and salvaton ...135

GURU NANAK AND HIS TEACHINGS

A Bographcal Study ........................................................137

GLOSSARY OF ORIENTAL TERMS ............................. 165

THE JAP JI: ORIGINAL PUNJABI TEXT......................193

BOOKS BY KIRPAL SINGH .......................................... 205


17/226

1

INTRODUCTION

THE PREFACE

The followng verson ofJap Ji, or the message of Guru

Nanak, s sent out nto the world n order to feed hungry

souls and quench ther thrst for true knowledge of the hgher

lfe.

The original Punjabi text of the Jap Ji is exquisitely

wrtten and t s mpossble to translate t wthout some loss.

An effort, however, has been made n these pages to present

a literal translation of the text to the public. Where the reader

mght lose the true mport, recourse has been made to a free

renderng.

The Jap Ji deals wth the practcal aspect of the prob-

lem of sprtualty more than wth mere theory. Nether s t

a mere work of lterature. Earler translatons nto Englshhave tended to gnore ths and have often faled to convey

the true mport of the orgnal. In ths renderng, an effort

has been made to concentrate upon the message that theJap

Ji contains, rather than to indulge in a literary exercise. The

study of ths work wll help all people, rrespectve of the

relgon that they may profess.

True relgous thought s ngraned n the hearts of allbengs. It s nherent and appears n the form of a search after

Peace Everlastng and Joy Supreme. When ths awakenng

comes to man from wthn, he takes to the relgous pursuts

as prescrbed by one or the other form of relgon.

He also begns a keen and a passonate study of the holy

scrptures. These are the elementary steps towards God-real-

zaton and are necessary. But he who does not go beyondths stage, thnkng t to be the be-all and the end-all of rel-

gon, never enters the realm of hgher conscousness. These

THE PREFACE


18/226

2

THE JAP JI

are prmary means. He has to advance a step further to quet

the sprtual unrest sezng hs mnd.

Man has to take to the subjectve sde of thngs, ult-

mately to commune wth Shabd-Ban. Ths Eternal Divine

Music s the Cause of all creaton, and permeates t. Chrst

refers to t as the Word, the Mohammedan sants as Kalma,

Zoroastor as Sarosha, the Hndu scrptures as Shruti, Udgeet,

Nad, or Akash-Bani. The scence of the Word has been prac-

tced and taught by almost all the Sants. It s the quckest,

the easiest and most natural of all the sciences that exist forattanng complete oneness wth the Lord. A study of ths

book wll afford food for the soul that aspres to take a step

further nto the Inner Realm of the sprtual lfe.

These teachngs are addressed to all humanty and no

sectaransm s nculcated. The Master s for all manknd and

for all tmes. Let us hope that ths attempt at translaton wll

gve us a deeper nsght nto the problems of the Self andGod.

Lovng acknowledgement s here made to the teach-

ngs of the Great Masters who came n the past, and to later

writers, like Tennyson, Huxley and others who have been

referred to n the Introducton.

My thanks go to Shr Bhadra Sena and others who took

keen nterest n gong through the manuscrpt and spentmany hours n ths labor of love.

KIRPAL SINGH


19/226

3

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

What is Jap Ji? Jap Ji s the beautful hymn of Guru

Nanak whch appears as a prologue to the Guru Granth

Sahb, the volumnous scrptural treasure of the Skhs,

whch comprses over 1400 pages. The Jap Ji lays down

the basic principles of his teachings and explains the means

to acheve at-one-mentwth the One Beng, the Creator ofall.

The ttle Jap Ji s composed of two words Jap

and Ji.Jap stands for medtaton on a certan object to

a degree that one loses hs conscousness and merges nto

the very object of medtaton. By ths Japa, the medtator

s transformed nto that very object, losng all sense of hs

own separate existence. Here this word conveys the ideaof deep concentraton or nternal repetton of the Word,

to the extent that it will efface the tint of ego in man, let-

ting in Divinity which already exists in him with full expres-

sve effulgence sprtual lfe takng the place of physcal

existence. Ji means a new lfe lfe acheved through

medtaton on the Word whch brngs us n closer com-

munion with the Ever-Existent Source of Life. This title thus

contans wthn tself the soluton of the mystery of lfe. It

s really lfe-gvng True-lfe-gvng by contactng the

Dvne Word wthn.

Only he s alve, O Nanak, who s attuned wth

Him; all else are dead. Majh War M.1

Therefore, f you wsh to have lfe worth lvng, unte

yourself wth the Dvne Word that s already wthn you.

Wthout realzaton of God wthn, the body s but

a bellows that breathes n and breathes out wthout any

THE INTRODUCTION


20/226

4

THE JAP JI

purpose. To lve n communon wth Hm s the chef object

set forth by the Great Master. The Jap Ji commences wth

the basc prncples of lfe and concludes by gvng the

substance of hs teachngs: Equalty of man n the sght

of God, all being endowed with equal privileges; their

approximation and separation due to their respective

actions; their nal emancipation through communion with

the Divine Word, the Eternal Song; and competence of the

Master-soul in raising others to nd the Ever-Active-Will

dffused n the world. It deals wth the vews of dfferentschools of thought; and through questions and counter-

questons, t seeks to establsh the One Realty workng at

the back of all creaton.

Guru Nanak begns by layng down the prncple (n

stanzas I, II and III of the text) that we must make His Will

our own, n order to acheve oneness wth Hm. Commu-

non wth Hs Holy Naam the Dvne Word, whch s anemanaton from the One Beng reveals to us Hs Wll.

The Holy Naam s the Eternal Dvne Song, reverberatng

throughout the whole creaton.

The one thng whch helps communon s Smran, the

constant remembrance of the Lord. Ths, and the elemen-

tary steps ensurng success towards ths end by meetng the

qualications betting an aspirant for taking up the path of

Truth, and the dfferent sprtual planes through whch the

soul has to pass before achevng oneness wth the Lord,

form the subject matter of the thirty-eight stanzas of the text

ofJap Ji.

The Jap Ji s a compendum of the teachngs of the

Master. Guru Granth Sahb, the supreme treasure of Skh

sacred literature is, in a sense, an elaborate exposition of this

prelmnary statement. We wll take up each subject as dealtwith by the Master, in turn, and try to explain how he solved


21/226

5

INTRODUCTION

the riddle of life which has perplexed so many. Let us have

the patence to study t carefully. Then we can see to what

heghts of sprtualty the Master s callng each one of us.

RELIGION: OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE

Relgon, as t s generally understood today, has been

grossly msconceved. Prayers consstng of set phrases,

forced ceremonals, tme-consumng rtuals, adherence to

outward symbols at the sacrfce of ther nner sprtualmeanng and superorty of one creed over another

these and smlar other absurdtes have usurped the ttle

of religion. One religion is waging war against the other;

brothers are ghting with brothers on the plea of differences

of opnon regardng the means to salvaton. Bloodshed,

falsehood, hatred, ntolerance and bgotry have often been

preached in the name of religion while the vital ofces of

relgon, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,are set at naught.

Reason has been banshed altogether, reducng relgon

to a mere professon of creeds and dogmas. Words have

replaced deeds. Relgon no longer seems to be concerned

wth such ennoblng ssues as the knowledge of ones self

and unon wth the dvne orgn. The seekng of God n the

observance of outward means, and the repetton of ver-bal formulae, the hauntng of plgrmages and synagogues

amdst unfeelng hearts reveal the depths to whch relgon

has sunk. Many God-gfted men n the past, when faced wth

smlar stuatons, revolted aganst the fosslzed relgons

and the rtualstc codes of prestcraft.

Is not all ths deplorable? It s a sad spectacle ndeed!

Fortunately, all ths s due to human gnorance of truerelgon whch knows no artfcalty or fabrcaton. The


22/226

6

THE JAP JI

slavery of the prestcraft s not the am of relgon. Its am

s not to bnd but to set man free from ts slavery.

The Master prescrbes a relgon whch teaches the

equalty of Man. Nature does not dstngush between a

Hndu, a Mohammedan or a Chrstan. All belong to the one

humanity on earth. Guru Nanak exhorts us to accept this

the brotherhood of man as the grandest relgon (stanza

XXVIII).

We should consder all men our equals, rrespectve of

color or creed. Just as n a class, boys of all sects and denom-

natons st together, play together, love each other and

learn the same lessons from one and the same teacher, just

so the whole world should be as one class. No dstncton

of caste or color should be observed. The Fatherhood of

God and the brotherhood of man are the true essence of

relgon. All humanty are alke, no matter f they pose under

the garb of Skhs, Hndus, Mohammedans, Jews, Chrstans,Buddhsts or the materalsts.

All lvng bengs are at Thy Feet, O Lord, Thou

carest for them all,

Whatever pleaseth Thee s good, Nanak beseecheth

Thee n ths wse. Bilawal M.1

The Master loves Nature and conforms to all the laws

of Nature. He knows no articiality or fabrication. Natureis beautiful, except when tormented by man. He therefore

leaves Nature to take care of the outer man and to preserve

t as best t may. The majorty of the sages both n the East

and West Chrst, Buddha, Ramakrshna and others dd

not nterfere n the least wth the bodly form Nature gave

them. There s n fact no hgher relgon than ths. It s one

aspect of religion, the objective side. But there exists alsothe other aspect whch may be termed the subjectve the

nner sde of t of whch we have no knowledge at all. In


23/226

7

INTRODUCTION

ths respect, the Master teaches us to develop the subjectve

lfe by the natural means, whch conssts n lvng n Dvn-

ty and realzng the presence of God n our souls. Ths s the

true nature of relgon. It s not merely an oral professon,

but a hghly practcal and lvng essence.

The first lesson to be learnt is to realize the existence

of the Dvnty n man and to feel, nay see, ts very pres-

ence everywhere. It s an ever-actve and movng prn-

cple dffused throughout creaton that accounts for the

existence of the universe itself. Nature, with her immutablelaws, innity of forms and phenomena, is not a mere edice

of chance. By one Supreme Ruler s ths unverse pervaded,

held n control and kept n order.

Man must reap the frut of what he sows here or here-

after. All are subject to the doman of the Karmas and none

is exempt therefrom. The only competent means for obtain-

ing emancipation from bondage to the inexorable law ofKarmas s communon wth the Holy Naam the Dvne

Word, learnt at the feet of a Gurmukh, a Master. When one

has understood this, one is t enough to take the next step.

All men are equal and carry wth them the spark of the

Dvne Lght, ever effulgent and eternal. The rtes of the

synagogue or the mosque, the Hndu ways of worshp or the

Muslm prayers or the devotonal servces of the Chrstans,are but dfferent ways of offerng love to the one Supreme

Lord.

All of us are playng n the lap of Dame Nature, day

and nght, servng n the capacty of ether male or female,

one the ever-actve and the other passve. All lve on the

same earth, under the same sky, breathe the same ar, drnk

the same water. In a few words, all are nourshed by the

same elements of earth, water, re, air, and ether.

Agan, all enjoy the same prvleges. All have the same


24/226

8

THE JAP JI

eyes to see, the same ears to hear, the same lmbs to move

about and the power of artculaton to speak. None s

deprived of Natures instruments, for Nature extends the

same facltes to all alke and grants equal protecton to

each.

All human bengs here, there and everywhere

are the chldren of one Father, and form the lnks n the

unbreakable chan of Dvnty, lke beads on one strng.

If you try to tamper wth any one of them, you are bound to

affect the whole chan. Therefore, molest not anyone s thenjuncton of the Sants. Baba Fard says n Guru Granth

Sahib:

If thou hankereth after a unon wth the Lord,

torment not the heart of anyone.

Shalok Farid

Guru Nanak would have each one of us breathe afnity

to the whole creaton and look upon the world wth bound-less compasson from the very core of our hearts, wshng

peace unto all. He has set forth the above n beautful

words:

O Nanak, may we rse up on the current of the Holy

Naam the Dvne Word to Thy Presence,

And wsh peace unto all the world, under Thy

Wll.Why, then, does there exist all this variety in the outward

symbols and external observance of the different religions?

This, the Master explains, is due to the different formalities

and customs prevalng n dfferent countres. He says:

Hndu temples and the mosques of the Muslms are

all the same.

The Hndu ways of worshp and theNamaz (Muslmmode of prayer) are all the same unto Hm.


25/226

9

INTRODUCTION

All manknd s but an emanaton from the same

source of lfe.

The dfferences between the men of varous creeds

Turks, Hndus and others are due to the

customs and modes of lvng n ther dfferent

countres.

Guru Gobind Singh

Let us take one nstance: To go about bareheaded s a

sgn of respect n the West, whereas n the East t s takenas dsrespect. Ths evdently changes the outward mode

of worshp of the West from that of the East. The Chrs-

tans conduct ther servces n churches bareheaded, but n

the East devotees perform ther prayers wth ther heads

always covered.

The clmatc nfluences also play a great part n

determnng the mode of rtual. In Araba, the cradle ofMohammedanism, for example, the Arabs, because of the

scarcty of water, performNamaz (offer prayers) after Wazu

(washing of the face, hands and feet); but where water is not

to be found at all, they have to be content wth Tayumum,

whch s the use of sand for cleansng ther lmbs before

sayng prayers. Wth the Hndus n Inda, the use of water s

profuse and a bath s consdered necessary before observng

relgous practces. Such s also the case wth dress and other

smlar matters. These regonal practces were assmlated

into the religions which sprang up there; and it is this which

accounts for the dfferences n the rtuals and customs that

we nd among various religions today. Again, there are

dfferences n temperament of the people n dfferent parts of

the world. When each one has hs own nclnatons and hs

own modes of thnkng, t would be smply cruel f one wereto force the same vews on all. As a result of ths tendency,

we have the dfferent systems or schools of thought as they


26/226

10

THE JAP JI

exist today, and these keep on increasing and multiplying

wth the progress of tme. All are, of course, meant to make

progress n the development of mens ntellects. All men

must therefore choose what s best for themselves, untl at

last they come to the subjectve aspect of relgon, whch s

one and the same for all humanty.

The subjectve or the true relgon, then, refers to

an eternal prncple, not to outer forms and customs, and

s therefore unversal. It nssts on the nternal sprtual

advancement instead of attaching mind to external formulae.It s the one aspect where all relgons meet. The same stran

throbs n the teachngs of all sprtual Masters who vsted

ths earth of ours. We wll see the truth borne out n the

followng pages by gvng llustratons and quotatons to

support ths vew.

There are then two aspects of relgon: the one s the

outer, whch s the shell, and the other the subjectve,whch s the pth or substance. Man has begun to realze

that outer relgon ams at the socal reformaton of a cer-

tan class of people only. Ther advancement n the way

of relgon, each establshng ts own rules and laws for

observance, makes the conduct of lfe easy n weal or woe.

It means gvng up ones all for the servce of that class of

people alone. Ths, of course, s necessary for a man to lve

n the world. Followng outer customs results n the several

societies and communities as they exist today. This may be

dened as social religion.

But the subjectve relgon s qute ndependent of the

socetes and communtes, although they are the super-

structure based on ths sold foundaton. Deteroraton s

the feature of tme. Those who started the socal relgons,

beng fully aware of the subjectve sde, have left tracesof Truth gleamng through ther codes of outer rtes and


27/226

11

INTRODUCTION

observances on whch they were based. As tme wears on,

posterty smply hands down these codes, growng more and

more gnorant of the great and noble truths around whch

they were orgnally bult. In these crcumstances, adherence

to outward rtuals and forms nevtably takes the place of

the nner meanng they once symbolzed. Thus the materal

aspect remans and the essence s lost. Fanatcsm, bgotry,

caste-sm and sectaransm then are the nevtable results, as

the followers of all relgons betray n one form or another n

the conduct of their lives. It is this that explains the corrup-ton that has entered nto the vtals of relgon, makng t not

the bond of unon, but the apple of dscord.

The subjectve aspect of relgon gleams through the

teachngs of all the great scrptures of the world. There s

no relgon wthout a spark of Truth n t. All faths are to

be respected from ths pont of vew. The subjectve sde of

the relgon s what all the Masters taught. It s one and thesame for all. No dstncton s made for any creed or class.

All are welcome to partake of Truth wthout detrment or

nterference wth ther respectve creeds. It s part and parcel

of all the creeds, and affords men a deeper nsght nto ther

partcular faths. Subjectve relgon s not a matter of books.

It is our own experience which stands to prove the truths

taught by the varous relgons.

We will now go on to attempt an examination of this

nner phase of relgon, as conceved by Guru Nanak.

The Master explains the basic principles. There is One

Beng, who s the Creator and the Uncaused Cause of all. He

has created the whole unverse through Hs Ever-Actve Wll

whch s dffused throughout. The scentsts have now come

to nd a unity in the varieties of the worlds great phenomena.

They trace the whole creaton back to the one prmal causefrom whch t evolved. It rresstbly follows that there s one


28/226

12

THE JAP JI

cause alone whch upholds the whole creaton. Lke the Sun,

whch s a responsble agent for the changes of seasons and

growth of the vegetable kingdom, there is such an Existence

responsble for all the phenomena of the world. The Master

speaks of t as There s One Beng. Ths numeral One s

used only to denote the Absolute the Wordless. Snce we

are nite, we express Him in nite terms.

Thou art beyond all niteness; we, being nite,

praise Thee in nite terms.

How can we know how great Thou art? Sorath M.5

Whoever knows the mystery expressed by numeral

One he becomes one wth Hm.

Ramkali M.1

DIVINE WILL HOW IS IT REVEALED?

To make Hs Wll ones own, s the means to acheve

Him. Will, itself, bafes all description. Still, to give us an

idea of it, Nanak explains it to some extent in stanza 2. It may

be dened as something making and unmaking the universe,

wth a conscous entty at ts back. The Absolute s Wordless,

Imageless and Nameless. When It came nto beng, It was

called Word orNaam whch s the cause of all creaton. The

Word mght be taken as the All-Pervadng Sprt, workngout the worlds great phenomena. The Wll s dentcal wth

ths All-Pervadng Sprt, but we must not magne t as blnd

for t s ntellgent, sentent and purposve. Ths Ever-

Actve Wll, enshrouded by the llusve matter, can only be

revealed by attunng ones wll to t. All other means fal.

Mans ways are all n van. The Master says:

He who gves hmself up to Hs supreme Wll, wnsthe goal; No other actions count in achieving this

end. Ramkali War M.l


29/226

13

INTRODUCTION

The Dvne Wll s revealed unto man by communon

wth the Holy Naam the Dvne Word. The words Naam,

Ban, Akath katha (ndescrbable song), Nad, Shabd, Gur-

mat, have been used by the Master n Hs dscourses for the

one conscious entity workng at the back of all creaton.

THE OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE ASPECTS

OF NAAM

Ths Prncple has two aspects, the one objectve and theother subjectve. The objectve refers to the varous qualtes

pertanng to Hs manfestatons. It has ts own use whch

wll be dealt wth later under the headng of Simran. The

subjectve s the quintessential reality whch s at the core

of all relgous books. Wthout t there can be no creaton,

no sprtual advancement. Wthout t, nothng whatsoever

can come into existence. This can be understood by a simple

example, say that of water. The word water is the name,and not the thng tself whch t represents. Just the same,

Naam or Word, has ts two aspects: one the name and the

second the conscous sprt t represents workng at the

back of all creation. It is very difcult to describe this in

words.

The Naam, or the subjectve Realty or Word, had been

there from the very begnnng, and was there before thecreaton. It was a Nameless-Somethng whch was God,

from whose Conscous Manfestaton a wsh projected,

accompanied by vibration which expressed itself in Sound

and Lght Prncples. As the conscous current flowed

down, t formed sprtual planes. Wth ts further descent, t

became the source of creaton of the sprtual-materal and

the materal planes. Ths Current-Conscousness emanated

from God and s the Creator and Sustaner of all the unverse

wth varous planes and sub-planes. The term Shabd or Word,


30/226

14

THE JAP JI

as used by Nanak, signies that Spiritual Current which

expresses itself in Light Principle and resounds in fullness

n ts subtle sprtual planes.

This Naam or Word helps in the elevation and edication

of sprt, whch beng essentally of the same substance as

Naam, s attracted by the latter, for Sprt s the Breath of

God (Bble). It s the soul of God (Quran). All the

sants of the world who came ether before or after Guru

Nanak, have sung the prases of ths creatve Lfe Prncple

or Word. A few quotatons wll enable the reader to beconvnced of ths basc Truth as gven n all the relgous

books.

EVIDENCES FROM THE VARIOUS RELIGIONS

Christianity: Sant John has stated n hs Gospel:

In the begnnng was the Word, and the Word was wth

God, and the Word was God. The same was n the begnnng

with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him

was not anythng made that was made. St. John 1: 1-3

By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made.

Agan, He spoke and t was done. Psalm 33:6, 9

Upholdng all thngs by the Word of Hs Power.

Hebrews 1:3

The grass withereth, the ower fadeth but the Word of

God shall stand forever. Isaiah 40:8

Forever, O Lord, Thy Word s settled n heaven.

Psalm 119:89

St. Paul sad: For the Word of God s quck (lvng) and

powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, percng

even to the dvdng asunder of soul and sprt and of thejonts and marrow, and s a dscerner of thoughts and nter-

ests of heart. Hebrews 4:12


31/226

15

INTRODUCTION

Hinduism: Accordng to the Hndu theologcal books,

the whole creaton was made through Nad. They also refer to

It as Akash Ban (voce comng down from the Heavens). We

have references to It even n the Vedas, the ancent scrptures

of the world. We read of It n the Upanshads, as for nstance,

the Nad BindUpanishads, whch deal wth the matter n a

very lucd manner. The Hatha Yoga Pradipaka also speaks

of ths Sound Prncple.

He has taken the support of the Word, the melodous

Tune. Chandogya UpanishadLet Yog st on Sdh Asan and whle practcng the

Vasnav mudra, he should hear the sound through hs rght

ear. Nad Bind Upanishad

By communon wth the Word he wll become deaf to

the external sounds, and will attain the Turiya Pad or a

state of equpose wthn a fortnght.

Nad Bind UpanishadFrst the murmurng sounds resemblng those of the

waves of oceans, the fall of ran and the runnng rvulets and

then Bher wll be heard ntermngled wth the sounds of bell

and conch, etc.

Madame Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophcal

Socety, n her book Voce of the Slence, states that sev-

eral sounds are heard when holding communion. The rsts lke the nghtngales sweet voce, chantng a partng song

to its mate. The next resembles the sound of silver cymbals

of the Dhyans, awakenng the twnklng stars. It s followed

by the plan melodes of the oceans sprt, mprsoned n the

conch shell, whch n turn gves place to the chant ofVina.

The melodious ute-like symphony is then heard. It changes

nto a trumpet-blast, vbratng lke the dull rumblng of a

thunder cloud. The seventh swallows all other sounds. They

de and then are heard no more.


32/226

16

THE JAP JI

Mohammedanism: Among the Muslim Sus it is known

as Sultan-ul-Azkar (the kng of prayers). Another order

of Sus calls it Saut-i-Sarmadi (the Divine Song). They

also call t Nda--Asman (the sound comng down from

the Heavens), Kalam--Qadm (the ancent sound) and the

Kalma or Word. The fourteen regons were made by the

Kalma the Word.

Khawaja Haz, a great divine, says:

From the turret of the Heaven a call bds thee Home.

But fallen nto the snares thou lsteneth not.

No one knows where the Manson of the Beloved les,

But sure enough the chmng of the bells proceeds there-

from.

Agan:

Take the stopcock from thy ears, and hear thou the

voce of emancpaton comng to thee.

Attach not to the materal world.

The elixir of life is showering from above.

The beat of love, whle soundng n the Heavens,

Sounds blessngs to the souls of the devotees.

Maulana Rum, n hsMasnavi says:

Grow not skeptcal, but attune thyself to the Sound

comng down from the Heavens.

Thy soul shall have revelatons from afar.

What are these but glimpses of the Unrevealed;

Were I to speak of these sweet melodes,

Even the dead shall rse from ther graves.

Agan:

Rse above the horzon, O brave soul, and hear the

melodous song comng from the hghest heaven.

Prophet Mohammed says:


33/226

17

INTRODUCTION

The Voce of God comes unto my ears as any other

sounds.

Shah Naz, another Muslm devotee, says:

Soul s the Wll and the Secret of God. Its medtaton s

carred wthout the help of tongue and palate. Alas! Thou art

stuck fast n the physcal bondage and do not hear the Holy

Sound of God. My Beloved s speakng to thee all the whle,

but woe to thee for thou heareth not the Voce.

The whole unverse s resoundng wth the Sound, andthou hast only to open the door of thne ear.

For opening the ear, it is sufcient to stop hearing the

outer sounds. If you do ths, you wll hear the perpetual and

unendng Sound. It s nfnte and has no begnnng nor

end, and on account of that, t s called Anhad (wthout

any lmts). Wthout ths Word the Eternal Sound an

innite expression of the Innite, the world could not have

come into existence. Hold communion with the Melodious

Sound and lose yourself n t, O wse man.

Kabr Sahb says:

Wthout the Word, Sound or Eternal Song, the soul sees

not. Where could she go? As she cannot fathom the mystery

of the Word, she s wanderng from place to place.

Kabir

Mind hankereth after evils; through the Word, the

Master restraneth t. Guru Teg Bahadur

Through the medum of Word, soul doth cross the end-

less ocean of matter. Lowly Nanak, therefore, glories His

Naam (the Word). Ram Kali M.1

The Word s both earth and ether. These had ther beng

through the Word. This Word expressed itself in other aspectsas well. The whole creaton sprang up after the Word. O

Nanak, that endless Word s reverberatng n each heart.


34/226

18

THE JAP JI

The all-pervadng Word has attracted all my mnd. What

else have I to thnk of? Communon of the soul wth the

Word creates everlastng Blss. At-one-ment wth the Lord

procures the Essence of Joy and Peace. Shri Rag M.l

I am emancpated. The God-Man has unfettered me.

Through the communon of soul wth the Word, I have

ganed the resplendent seat of honor: O Nanak, the all-per-

vadng Naam or the Word dwelleth n the hearts of all. The

company of the Gurmukhs procures communon wth It.

Malar M.l

Far off on the other shore s my Beloved. The God-

Mans Word, alone, carres the soul across. In the company

of sants, man s n clover and never repents.

Tukhari M.1

How can the gnorant get to the prncple of unon of

soul wth the Word? Wthout communon wth the Word,

soul comes and goes. O Nanak, the Gurmukh who s hmselfemancpated, meets by the mercful Wrt of the Lord.

Maru M.l

The creaton and the ultmate dssoluton of the un-

verse s caused through the Word. Agan, through Word, t

takes its existence anew. Magh M.3

By good luck, the Lord consort has become ours. The

Endless Song (the Word), resoundng everywhere, gves aclue to Hs Court. Bilawal M.5

The Word made all the earthly and heavenly systems.

Gauri M.5

Tuls Das says:

He s the true sant, who talks about the secret of the

Dvne Word (the Eternal Song). Havng scrutnzed the

Unknowable and the Unthnkable, He has realzed the Ban

(the Eternal Song).


35/226

19

INTRODUCTION

Doolan Sahb speaketh:

Word s the lock and Word s the key thereto,

Wth the chans of the Word, all are bound.

The Lord resideth in the form of the Word; I bow my

head at Its Feet.

Charan Dass speaks:

Ever snce I heard the lmtless Dvne Song (Anhad),

reverberatng throughout,

The Indrayas (organs) have become tred of gong out,

And the mind has shed all its ramications,All desires have been satised. Like a mad man, I have

lost myself n the Word, and obtaned complete oneness

wth It.

Swam Shbdayal Sngh J descrbes the Word as:

The Sound or the Word s the prme cause of all. It s

also the be-all and the end-all. The three regons and the

fourth were made by It. The Word and the sprt are of thesame orgn and both sprng from the essence of the Name-

less One. It s both the cause and the effect, and all were

created by It. The Word s the preceptor, as well as the

dscple, and s resoundng n the heart of everyone. The

Word is water and It is the sh also. Kabir spoke only of this

Word. Nanak and Tuls proclamed the same Truth. The kng

and the minister, both are Word personied. Radha Soami(the Lord of the Sprt) says: My brave son, lsten to It.

The Word (Sound) s echong and re-echong n the

whole of creaton. There s no place wthout It. It s resound-

ng n the lvng temple of the human body.

The Word forms a connectng lnk between man and

God. Thus each body s the abode of the Almghty. Ths s

Holy Naam the Word permeatng through all the poresof our bodes. Wth the help of It, we have to trace back our


36/226

20

THE JAP JI

steps to the source from whch we emanated. Ths s truly

the only way back to God. There s no other way.

The Master says:

By takng to countless outward formulares and rtuals,

we cannot escape the inner res of attachment and lust, etc.

Mllons of ways you may adopt and countless forms you

may make, but not one s acceptable at Hs Court.

The Word wthdraws us from the outer connectons

and recedes back nto Its Orgn. It s the way that GuruNanak taught, and so dd the nne Skh Gurus after hm.

Namdev, Ravdas, Kabr and others whose compostons

have found place n the Guru Granth Sahb, were one and all

the teachers of the Surat Shabd Yoga, or the scence of com-

munon of the soul wth the Word. There have been others

too, such as Dhruva Prahlad, Tuls, Shamas Tabrez, Mulana

Rumi, Haz Shirazi, and Christ, who practiced the Word.

Dadu, Paltu and Soam Shb Dayal Sngh, each taught thesame Truth, n hs own tme.

The Holy Naam, or Word, can be practced by all

alke wthout the agency of tongue or palate. It does not

requre adherence to the outward observances of the socal

relgons. Ths Word may be defned as the sprt-current

whch emanates from the One Beng. It forms all the spr-

tual and materal planes as It comes down from plane toplane, reverberatng n and out of all of them. As the lower

planes are less subtle and more materal than those above,

the Word accordngly changes n sound as It comes down.

Since It has to pass through ve planes, It takes on ve dif-

ferent sounds. These are ve aspects of the one and the same

Word. Guru Nanak deals wth ths at full length n stanza XV

of theJap Ji.

The whole of the Guru Granth Sahb s flled wth

beautful pen-pctures, llustratve of the Word. There s


37/226

21

INTRODUCTION

Kirpal Singh, Rome, 1972


38/226

22

THE JAP JI

Kirpal Singh 1894-1974


39/226

23

INTRODUCTION

no hymn whch does not speak of It. A few quotatons

will suffice here. For exhaustive references, the reader is

requested to refer to the volumnous treasure house tself.

Through the wrt of the Ever-flowng Pen of the

Creator, we were attuned wth the Lord, accordng to the

instructions of the Master. We heard the ve Sounds, sound-

ng n Hs Presence and thus rejoced at our unon wth the

Lord. Mali M.5

Day and nght, I am n communon wth the Lord, wth

my mnd fully convnced. The temple of my body has thus

been beautied. The ve Sounds of the limitless Music

the Word are resoundng. O, the Lord has entered my

body.

Suhi M.1

The ve Sounds become audible through the instruc-

tions of the Gurmukh the Personied Word. Great is the

luck of hm who hears Them. The source of Joy and Peace(Word), I see as pervadng everywhere. Through the Word,

the Lord made Hs appearance and became manfest.

Kanra M.4

The ve Sounds of the Limitless Music (Word) are

resoundng wthn me. I am attracted to Them, as the Sarang

or the sea-brd s attracted by the sght of water. Thy bonds-

man, Kabir, thus glories in Thee, O Lord, the Unknowableand above all human ken. Parbhati Kabir

The Lord, revealing Himself in ve Sounds of the

Word, has come.

Guru Nanak speaketh:

He s the true Preceptor who shows the real Home

within the temple of the body wherein ve different Sound

Currents are resoundng and gves a clue of the Holy Naam.

Malar War M.1


40/226

24

THE JAP JI

Word s the Guru. Soul s the dscple of the Word

the melodous song. Ramkali M.1

All the handmaids that meet the ve Sounds, become

the Gurmukh (or the devoted dscples) and reach ther True

Home within. Whoever by practice of the Word nds out his

True Home, Nanak shall serve hm truly.

Malar War M.1

Bha Gurdas, a Skh sage, tell us n no ambguous terms:

These ve Sounds are heard when we rise above the body

made of ve elements.

When the sphere of ve elements is transcended,

you hear the ve Sounds in all their sweet and powerful

melody.

The other sants have lkewse spoken on the same theme

as wtness the followng:

Everyday there are the ares of ve drums at HisThreshold, proclamng Hs Greatness. One who hears that

drum-beat, he s freed from egotsm and envy and passes

beyond nite existence. Shamas Tabrez

Silence thyself and listen thou to the melody of the ve

trumpets comng down from Heaven the Heaven that s

above all the skes overhead. I lad the ears of my soul at the

threshold of my heart and heard the shrouded mystery but

dd not see anyone openng hs mouth. Haz Sahib

SOUND DIFFFERENTIATED

There are many knds of sounds echong and re-echong

n the varous regons of the creaton and may, for conve-

nience, be classied into two categories:

(1) Sounds proceedng from the left sde. These arenegatve and materal sounds and are connected wth the


41/226

25

INTRODUCTION

respectve ngraned seeds of nner passons. The devotee

s wlly-nlly attracted by these sounds. If one s fasc-

nated by any one of these sren-songs on the left, one

may fnd oneself hurled down nto the deepest depths

of the abysmal chasms of the passon to whch the par-

tcular sound relates, for such sounds have a pull that s

outward and downward. In such a sad predcament, the

labor of years becomes of no aval and odds go aganst the

plgrm-soul. These are, therefore, to be avoded scrupu-

lously, for they lead one astray from the sprtual Path.(2) Next there are sounds that proceed from the right

sde. These are sounds from the sprtual planes and as such

are postve n character and purely sprtual, wth a charac-

terstc pull that s nward and upward.

These two knds of sounds are so very smlar and so

closely resemble each other that one can hardly dstngush

between them. Maulana Rum, therefore, warns us to becareful n dfferentatng the rght type of sounds. He says:

There are sounds of a lower nature whch very much

resemble those of the hgher,

Yet they have a downward pull and drag one to ones

doom.

The partcular sounds that have an upward pull are

fve n number, as stated by the varous Sants, and maybe apprehended through ther grace and contacted n ther

company. Such Sounds carry wth them the effect of the

sprtual planes from whch they proceed and n turn pro-

duce the same effect on hm who comes n contact wth

them. They have ther own heavenly melodes, the rapturous

strans of whch depersonalzes the soul by freeng t from

the chans of mundane lfe.Whoever comes near the re gets warmth, no matter


42/226

26

THE JAP JI

whether he does so of hs own accord or not. So the Holy

Naam or the Divine Song, cannot but inuence you when

you come n contact wth It, whether you wll t or not and

are n tme or out of tme. The Power of God cannot but

inuence you, should you get in touch with It.

The outer musc has a marvelous effect on all lvng

bengs. It shakes off the grevous burden of the oppressve

sorrow and unrest under whch one ncessantly groans, and

drves away all thoughts. It washes away the drt of every-

day lfe by ts melodous tunes and captvates the soul. Itwthdraws the mnd from the tumultuous hubbub of the

objectve world. It concentrates the mnd, naturally, wthout

havng recourse to any fabrcated methods. Musc, ndeed,

has ever been the art of sants.

What passon cannot musc rase or quell. Dryden

How marvelous is the effect of the external music! What

then wll be the charm of the nternal Dvne Melody? Ithas its own inimitable fascination. It is exuberant with the

sprtual vtalty whch takes man above all the pans and lls

to which the esh is heir. In times of storm and stress, one

may harmonze ones self wth the nternal tunes and pass

off unscathed from the pnchng effects of worldly lfe.

These sprtual sounds are ads on the sprtual path. A

competent Master, at the tme of ntaton, gves full nstruc-tons on how to dfferentate between them from plane to

plane, as well as how to catch hold of them on the onward

march to the hghest sprtual realm. Heren then les the

need for a Master-soul, for He s the nsprer of Har Naam

the Dvne Word, n the depths of ones soul. Wthout

Hm, the Eternal Song ever remans a shrouded mystery

with no access thereto. As Music personied, it is within His

competence to manfest t, make t audble and thus lead one

to the seat of the Almghty.


43/226

27

INTRODUCTION

A Gurmukh (Sant) can free mllons of souls by the

quickening inuence of His life-impulse (the Holy Naam).

Sorath M.5

Misery and Pleasure Dened: It s a matter of com-

mon experience that we lose ourselves when we are fully

engrossed n anythng. Ths blessed state of self-forget-

fulness comes only with the fixity of attention, and the

moment we are forced out of t we become senstve to our

surroundngs and feel upset even wth the trvaltes of

lfe. Snce all our lves we have been seekng pleasure nworldly pursuts and objects, we have become dentfed

wth them. Thus, we know nothng of the real and perma-

nent blss that les far from them, n the depths of ones own

self or soul. We cannot possbly wean ourselves from the so-

called pleasures of the world untl we are made to ntrovert

and taste somethng better wthn.

The whole world s gong astray n ts search for thecenter of true happness or blss. Materal objects cannot

gve us blss on account of the constant change to whch,

by ther very nature, they are subject every moment of ther

existence. Again, external objects per se have no pleasure

n themselves, but t s our attachment to them that gves

us pleasng sensatons. But these objects, on account of

ther ephemeral nature, have to follow the changng pan-

orama of existence. By these kaleidoscopic changes, the

mnd naturally gets bewldered, dstracted and very often

feels mserable. Everlastng Blss or True Happness can be

had only by attachment to somethng that s permanent,

unchangng and eternal. The evanescent charms of Dame

Nature cannot afford man any happness n the true sense

of the word.

Guru Nanak says:

Whosoever searches for Joy Eternal, let hm seek


44/226

28

THE JAP JI

that n All-Pervadng Sprt (Naam). Shalok M.9

To releve the mnd from the outgong senses, t must beattuned to the sweet symphones of the nner Musc of the

soul, the Word, reverberatng n and through all. As ths s

eternal, so also wll be our attachment to It and we wll know

no change and no pan. The mnd wll no longer wander

away to external objects once it gets steeped in the strains of

the Eternal Song. Wth Its help, the world-weary soul rses

nto the hgher sprtual planes. The Word has Its own nnate

effulgent Lght and Song neffable and sweet. Wherethere is vibration, there is sound. It is a scientic truth. Light

s also the nevtable result of vbraton as both lght and

sound go hand n hand.

Where there s scntllatng Lght, there the Lmtless

Song s soundng. Sorath-Namdev

Guru Nanak has dealt with the countless benets that

accrue from communon wth the nternal Sound theWord from stanzas VIII to XV ofJap Ji.

Advantages Accruing from Inner Communion of the Soul

with Naam or Surat-Shabd-Yoga. These benets may be

grouped under physcal, moral, mental and sprtual aspects

of the nner communon.

Naam keeps the mnd and body n a state of equpose.Peace reigns supreme in its devotee; the ramications of

mnd are done away wth forever. All lusts cease to have ther

hold on the mnd. The bran gets a soothng balm. It puts an

end to wasteful hurry, and wth t go all nervous tensons and

mental strans and stress. Naam gves one mmunty from all

bodly and worldly pans and troubles. By wthdrawng the

attenton wthn, the mnd s stlled and the soul s freed ofall mental conicts. Even the sense of egotism itself the

most ancent malady loses tself nto ary nothng and


45/226

29

INTRODUCTION

wth t, the perpetual dance of comng n and gong out of

the world comes to an end. The process of transmgraton of

the soul s but the natural concomtant of the self-assertve

wll or egotsm.

Guru Nanak says:

Whenever one asserts the lttle ego, I, as dong thngs,

one assumes the unendng role of an ever-actve agentresponsble for hs actons and s caught n the ntrcate

net of transmgraton. Gauri Sukhumani M

.5The elmnaton of egosm s, then, the only remedy for

lberaton from the unendng cycle of brths and deaths. It s

a clear test of those who have realzed at-one-ment wth the

Ever-Existing Divinity the spiritual current diffused in

the world. All labor undergone for total self-effacement s an

effort n the rght drecton. It s called dsmprsonment of

the soul from the facts of lfe or dsenfranchsement from all

that s worldly. In a word, the secret les n depersonalzng

the soul of all that s personal n t, for then one strkes at

the root of all evl. The many recpes for ths losng of the

I-consciousness, that ood the world today, fail to gain

for us the goal of lberaton. For wth such methods, the ego

feeds tself and grows from strength to strength and s not

effaced. Unless one becomes a conscous co-worker wth the

Divine Plan, he cannot become seless.The very fact that we exist makes us want to understand

the process of lfe. How and whence have we come nto

existence and what happens after death? The discovery of

the theory of evoluton by modern scence, does not fully

satsfy us for t deals wth the physcal sde only and does

not account for the hgher planes of manfestaton whch

are the sprtual ones. The ancent sages realzed that therecould be no evoluton wthout nvoluton. The fact that


46/226

30

THE JAP JI

somethng cannot come out of nothng proves that nvolu-

ton must precede evoluton. To know the latter we must

understand the former, just as to know the effect we must

know the cause. The two are nseparable.

The gross body s not all. It has two other subtle

bodes nsde, the astral and the mental, whch are composed

of ner and less destructible materials. These bodies consist

of mnd or ntellect and the sense of the lttle ego I. In

them are stored up the mpressons gathered n varous lves.

Only by studyng the nner man, the mystery of evolutons understood. The soul s perpetually strugglng to cast off

the bondage of the matter and of the mnd and soar upwards

to God from whom t emanated. Ths struggle s ended only

when t rses above the three regons: physcal, astral and

causal, and loses all sense of egosm, the cause of transm-

graton.

Huxley posited:Lke the doctrne of evoluton tself, that of transm-

gration has its roots in the realm of reality;

None but hasty thnkers wll reject t on the ground of

nherent absurdty.

Self-effacement can he acheved by no other means

except communion with the Shabd the Word, as will be

evnced from the sayngs of the Master.He says:

(1) O Nanak! through the favor of the Guru, we were

saved and the ego was consumed n communon wth the

Shabd (Word). Wadhans War M.3

(2) In egosm, the peoples of the world are beng

consumed they go round the endless cycle of brths and

deaths. The gnorant (those attached to the crngng nature


47/226

31

INTRODUCTION

of the mnd), do not realze the Shabd. They wll go to the

other world as dshonored. Siri Rag M.3

(3) The whole world s gong astray n the egostc

asserton of I-ness. Wthout the Shabd (Word), there can be

no release from the ego. O, Nanak, by communon wth the

Naam, the ego s effaced and oneness wth the True Lord s

acheved. Asa M.3

(4) In msery and pleasure, the whole world s stuck

fast. All ther dongs are drected by asserton of egotsm.

Wthout the Shabd (Word), superstton cannot be ended,

and the ego cannot be lost. Siri Rag M.3

(5) All desres and attachments get snged by the Shabd.

A Gurmukh nds the Heavenly Light within.

Ramkali M.1

True renuncaton wthn comes through communon

wth the Shabd alone. Nature wth all her evanescent charms

ceases to have attracton for the renouncer. By renouncng

everythng, one penetrates nto the all-pervadng sprt. Hs

attachment to the envronments s done away wth and hs

bondage to matter s ended. Thus, no more brths and deaths

awat hm. Hereafter the lfe of the senses and the glamour of

the world fascnates hm not, on hs way to the Lord.

The Master says:

By saturaton wth the true Shabd (Word), man truly

renounces the world and hs comng and gong s ended.

Maru M.3

Detachment n attachment s also attaned only wth the

ad of Shabd. Whatever he does, he does just wth a sense

of duty wth no attachment to the frut thereof. The root

cause of msery les n the fact of ones attachment. We

are caught by whatever we do n our nablty to detach

ourselves from everythng. We must reserve the power of


48/226

32

THE JAP JI

remanng detached from all thngs, however precous they

may be, or however much one may yearn for them.

Work constantly. Work, but be not attached to ts frut.

Thus learn ye the secret of work. Gita

What s t that ads n acqurng the power of detachng

ourselves? None else but the communon wth the Shabd.

The Master speaks of ths so beautfully:

Unattached s only he, who communes wth the

Shabd. Majh M.5Agan:

Soul comes to be lled to the brim with the ow of

lfe from the Fountanhead of all, whch makes her ncreas-

ngly subtle from day to day. Ths enables her to rse nto the

hgher sprtual planes untl she reaches her Dvne Goal

n Sach Khand. Here, above the bounds of annhlaton n

Pralaya (dssoluton), and Maha-Pralaya (grand dssolu-ton), she attans complete unon wth the Formless One.

Man s now endowed wth all hgher and supernatural

powers. He knows the sprt of the scrptures, the secret of

communon, the mystery of Self and of God, and becomes

the abode of all vrtues. He s overjoyed at the tme of death,

unlke others who are n dre agony at that tme, snce he

has been accustomed to wthdraw lfe-currents from the

body at wll. He s saved from all the msery that attends the

death process.

Ths process of wthdrawng the sprt from the physcal

body s what s enjoned by all the sants, and s absolutely

necessary for a probatoner to have access nto the hgher

planes.

Guru Nanak stated:

The home you have to get to after death, reach there


49/226

33

INTRODUCTION

by wthdrawng your sprt from the body, n your lfetme.

Siri Rag M.1

Nanak, die (withdraw your spirit) while you are alive;

such a Yoga you should practce. Suhi M.1

Dadu afrmed:

Dadu, de (wthdraw your sprt) before you are dead.

All men de n the usual course.

Learn to de so that you may begn to lve. Bible

De (wthdraw your sprt) before you are dead. Quran

Maulana Rumi has well dened what this death means.

He averred:

De, O frend, before you are dead, f you want ever-

lasting life;

Through such a death alone, Adrs (a Sant) reached

heaven before us.

You have strven very hard, but stll the vel of matter

s not rent asunder, because the death whch was real you

could not attan.

So long as you do not de, your comng and gong cannot

be ended. Untl you ascend to the hghest rung of the ladder,

you cannot get to the roof.Just as f a man ascends only 98 out of 100 rungs of a

ladder, he cannot reach the roof.

Or just as a man who has only 99 yards of cord, cannot

get water n the bucket from a well 100 yards deep.

So long as you do not completely wthdraw your sprt

from the body, the cycle of deaths and births is extended.

Let the aming light of your candle (soul) lose itself into thelght of the Morn.


50/226

34

THE JAP JI

So long as our stars are not hdden, rest assured, the sun

also remans out of sght.

Just the same, O wse man! the Lord does not make Hs

appearance unless the vel of matter s rent asunder.

Therefore, choose the death, and n ths way rend

asunder the vel.

Ths death s not the death that carres you to the grave.

It s only a wthdrawal of the sprt a change to gve you

a lfe upwards.Mustafa has sad to the seeker of Truth, He wants to see

you dead so that you may have everlastng lfe.

So that whle alve you may move on earth and when

dead, your soul may y into the heavens.

The soul has her home n the Hgh Heavens. If once t s

wthdrawn, no transmgraton awats t.

Because he has learnt to wthdraw hs sprt whle alve,ths death cannot be conceved of as a possblty.

So long as you do not die, what benet can you derive?

Go and de, so that you may reap the frut of your earthly

lfe.

The mystery of dyng before death s ths, that through

such a death, the Grace of the Lord descends.

Kabr stated:

Death, from whch the whole world shrnks, s welcome

unto me,

I rejoce as t s a harbnger of perfect peace and joy.

Shalok Kabir

Such a lberated one goes to meet death more than half

way. At the tme of departure from the body, he hmself joy-

ously wthdraws the sprt currents wthn, as he has been


51/226

35

INTRODUCTION

accustomed to do so as a matter of hs daly routne. Such a

death s unattended by any knd of pan or msery that awats

all others at the last moment. The Hndu scrptures descrbe

the pan at leavng the body to be as that of a thousand scor-

pons stngng together at one tme. The Muslms compare

t to the angush that would be felt on passng a thorny bush

through the almentary canal rght from the rectum to the

mouth. Of course, everybody has at one tme or another been

an eye wtness to the death pangs at a deathbed. Lastly, one

gans access to the Manson of God. He s thus saved throughcommunon wth the Shabd and made competent to help

many another to attan the hghest heghts of Sprtualty.

The applcaton of ths practce s called the Surat Shabd

Yoga Yoga of the Sound-Current the communon wth

the Dvne Lord. It s the only effectve means prescrbed

by Guru Nanak, for the lberaton of the soul from the bond-

age of the mnd and matter, and for the ultmate completeoneness wth the Lord. He says:

Lve thou, uncontamnated n the world, just lke a

lotus ower with its head above the muddy pool, or like

a sea-fowl that sprngs nto the ar wth wngs unaffected

by the water. O Nanak! Surat Shabd Yoga (communon of

the soul wth the Word) s the only means whereby one can

safely cross over the endless ocean of matter attune ye

wth t.

Wthout contact wth the Shabd (Word), ye cannot

meet the Lord God and thy comng nto the world goes n

van.

Wthout the Shabd none can ford over to the Dvne

Goal.

All efforts put n for securng communon wth theShabd (Word) are efforts n the rght drecton. Guru Granth

Sahb amply bears ths out:


52/226

36

THE JAP JI

When Shabd s communed wth, the Lord s met. All

of mans efforts n ths drecton are crowned wth success.

There s no other way but ths.

SIMRAN WHAT IT MEANS, AND ITS USES:

Communon wth the Word the Eternal Musc s

possble wth a lfe of Smran, or the constant remembrance

of the Lord. It does not mean mere mechancal mutterng,

which is discarded by the Master. Kabir afrmed:Whle the rosary moves n the hand and the tongue

wags in the mouth, the mind is concentrated on external

effects. Ths s no Smran.

Agan:

Once the rosary quarrelled wth me, sayng: Why, O

man, dost thou moveth me round and round? Just turn

the bead of thy mnd, and I wll ntroduce thee to the all-pervadng God.

Thou shalt not take the name of God n van, but take

t wth some purpose n vew. The constant remembrance of

the Lord s but another form of love. Whom you love dearly

you thnk of always. Ths constant thought of the Lord

is what the Master exhorts all to do, for as you think so you

become.Smran s the remembrance of the Lord done mentally

(wth the tongue of thought), wth the heart flled wth

devoted love, concentratng on a partcular center n the

body. It s an act of centerng the self and occupyng the

mnd wth the constant dea of the Lord, castng out all

deas of the objectve world. The constant dwellng on our

envronments has so taken hold of the mnd that we cannot

even for a sngle moment drve away the thoughts of

external objects. From infancy onwards, this practice has


53/226

37

INTRODUCTION

been gong on n full swng, and t has now grown nto a

regular habt of our lves.

Habt s sad to be the second nature of man. It s at

this stage rather difcult to extricate the mind from exter-

nal objects. The more you try to do so, the more t becomes

restve and the more t runs out nto the mundane affars of

life. It has formed a strong alliance with all that is external.

It is always thinking of what is foreign and exotic and is

carred away by the glamour and fascnaton of the world.

Whatever habt we have formed, we can unmake t as well.The thoughts of the world and of all that s worldly s the

source of bondage to outsde thngs. The Master too uses the

same means nwardly as does Dame Nature to bnd us to the

external world, and makes the mind purely one-pointed. The

constant thought of the Lord, by mentally dwellng on the

Holy Naam, brngs the mnd back from the world and holds

t to one place. At the outset t s dffcult to concentrateas t takes tme to brng the mnd under control. But there

s nothng to be dsheartened about. Falures are steppng

stones to success. Where there s a wll, there s a way. We

must stck to the process untl the mnd s channeled. The

glory of Naam always remnds one of the hghest deal of

human lfe. It soothes the mnd and prevents t from gong

astray.

The constant remembrance of Naam wthdraws the mnd

from the outer objects and concentrates t on the Dvne and

the supernatural. It makes the mnd self-centered so that

desres fal to draw t out, and the sren songs of the world

lose all ther magc attracton. Ths part of the practce s

techncally termed by Guru Nanak as Simran. It further

helps n the wthdrawal of the sprt-current from the body

to ts seat, stuated at the ganglon between and behnd thetwo eyes, called Ajana Chakra. Unless the soul-current s


54/226

38

THE JAP JI

wthdrawn completely at one focus, further ascent of the

soul s not possble. Ths process of wthdrawal from the

body s the one thng that s absolutely necessary n sprtual

advancement. It s acheved through the smple prelmnary

method of Smran. Wth the help of a Gurmukh Master, the

process of nverson and self-analyss becomes qute easy

and natural to practce.

In Smran le the seeds that help n the development

of the soul. Nanak reveals ths secret n the concludng

portons of stanzas V, VI and XXIII, and at full length nstanza XXXIII of the Jap Ji. Fortunate ndeed s the man

who always revels n the blessngs of hs Master.

Attachment to the outer world s the outcome of

constant remembrance whch makes man adhere to hs

envronments, through the law of cause and effect. All

mpressons ngraned n ones mnd must bear frut n due

course. None can escape the result. It s these mpressonsthat we have to nullfy by constant remembrance of the

Lord, and by makng ths the rulng prncple of our lfe. In

transmgraton, man s led to envronments to whch he has

been mostly attached. When you thnk of the Lord all the

time, nothing can bind you to matter; hence you do not have

any rebrths, for t s sad:

Through Smran of the Lord, you do not pass throughthe womb. Gauri Sukhmani M.5

Smran makes man ntrospectve and concentratve.

Extraordinary powers inevitably follow as a result of the

concentraton of mnd n the nner planes, for Rdhs and

Sidhis (extraordinary powers) are the slaves of Naam.

Gauri M.5. The Master, however, warns the probatoner

aganst the use of them, for these lead hm to the outer

pursuts and estrange hm from the goal he has set up before

hm. Smran procures true knowledge, hgh medtaton


55/226

39

INTRODUCTION

and unerrng ntellect. It causes one to lose all sense of

ndvdualty, whch fades away nto the Boundless Beng,

creatng a sort of wakng trance. Ths state s utterly beyond

words but s a sure realty beyond the ken of death. The hold

of the ego s loosened, the sprt currents are wthdrawn and

one rses nto a halo of lght. The body appears as somethng

not of oneself. Ones lfe, as compared to hgher lfe, may be

lkened as a spark to the sun.

Smran washes away the drt of sns from off the mnd.

Gauri M.5

Simran bets a person for receiving and enjoying the

sweet nectar of the Holy Naam. Guru Nanak explains this in

detal by gvng llustratons n stanza XX of theJap Ji.

Lastly, through Smran one hears the sweet musc

of the unendng Song of the Unverse (the Word) and has

experiences ineffable. Gauri M.5

Tennyson, n hs poem The Ancent Sage, gves a

descrpton of what can be acheved by repetton even of

ones own name. In a letter he also refers to the grander lfe

acheved by hm, by medtatng on hs own name. He says:

A knd of wakng trance I have frequently had qute up

from chldhood. Ths has generally come upon me through

repeatng my own name two or three tmes to myself,

slently, tll all at once, as t were, out of the ntensty ofconscousness of ndvdualty, the ndvdual tself seemed

to dssolve and fade away nto Boundless Beng, and ths not

a confused state, but the clearest of the clearest, the surest

of the surest, the wsest of the wsest, utterly beyond words,

where death were an almost laughable mpossblty, the loss

of personalty (f so t were) seemng but the only true lfe. I

am ashamed of my feeble descrpton. Memors byHallivor Tennyson


56/226

40

THE JAP JI

Peter the Great, Czar of Russa, was also accustomed to

ths practce of concentraton. He lost all hs conscousness

of personalty by concentratng upon hs own name. The

Master, however, enjons the Smran of the Lord and not of

ones own name. Medtaton on ones name leads to a dp

nto ones own conscousness whch s small, as compared

to the Hgher Conscousness of God.

There are several ways of performng Smran. When t

s done () wth the help of tongue, t s calledBaikhri, ()

when done n the gullet by touchng the tp of the tonguewth the palate, t s known as Madhama, () when done

n rhythm wth the beat of the heart, t s descrbed as Pash-

hanti and (iv) with the ow of ones breath, it is called Para.

The last method s practced by Yogns. Masters, however,

do not recommend this. The rst three methods also do not

gve complete concentraton, as the mnd more often than

not skps about whle repetton s beng done mechancally.The Master, therefore, advses mental Smran done wth

the tongue of thought termedZikre-i-Ruhi.

The practce of Smran begns wth the repetton of the

Lords objective names slowly with a mental poise. At rst

the process s objectve, but n course of tme t becomes

subjectve. Then the constant thought of the Lord contnues

wthout cessaton. The Master refers to ths when He says:

O Nanak, a Gurmukh starts the repetton of Naam only

once. Gauri Sukhmani M.5

Once ths starts, the remembrance becomes automatc,

contnuous and constant and one never forgets the Lord.

O Kabr, there s a great mystery n the repetton of the

Lords name and one must try to dscover the same:

For many repeat that name, wthout any frut.But others wth wondrous results. Shalok Kabir


57/226

41

INTRODUCTION

Agan, the Master says:

All repeat the name of God, but none can fathom themystery of It.

If through the favor of a God-Man t gets ngraned n

the mnd, only then one reaps the frut thereof.

Gauri M.3

Let us pause, and summarze what been sad before we

proceed further. Accordng to the Master, the purpose of

human lfe s to acheve complete oneness wth the Lord.Aye, we must reunte wth the Source from whence we once

emanated. But how can we reach ths Goal?

Complete at-one-ment wth the Lord comes through

knowng Hs Wll,

And Hs Wll s revealed through communon wth the

Holy Naam. Ths, n turn, s helped by a lfe of Smran.

Non-asserton of egosm or humlty s the way thathelps n knowng Hs Wll through Smran. It has already

been mentoned that Smran helps n the wthdrawal of

sprt-currents from the body. After complete wthdrawal s

acheved, only then the ascent of the soul nto hgher sprtual

planes becomes possble. To understand ths and the mystery

of self and the universe, requires a brief explanation.

THREE GRAND DIVISIONS

AND THEIR FEATURES

Guru Nanak says that creaton s dvded nto three

man Grand Dvsons.

The rst is the Region of Truth and Pure Spirit

unmixed with matter. Ramkali M.5

Here the sprt regns supreme and there s total absenceof matter. Ths s the regon where the Lord Hmself dwells


58/226

42

THE JAP JI

and may be dened as the purely Spiritual Region. This

s free from the haunt of death and destructon. Whoever

reaches ts doman, obtans true salvaton. The Master says:

Once you reach the regon of the Formless, you obtan

the abode of everlastng Joy and Peace. Sorath M.l

Agan:

The Formless dwells n the Pure Sprtual Regon.

Jap Ji, Stanza XXXVII

The Second Grand Dvson conssts of Pure Sprt and

a subtle form of matter combned n varyng degrees. The

upper part of t s called Par Brahmand, wheren the sprt s

more to be compared wth the subtle forms of matter.

In the lower parts called Dasam Dwar, both are n equal

part. Ths s the regon of the unversal mnd and s termed by

various names by various Masters. Here the Spirit is mixedwth matter n ts subtlest form, the latter beng totally

subordnate to the former. Sprt n ths regon predomnates

and s pre-emnently the rulng force.

Ths regon undergoes a change at the destructon of the

unverse n the Grand Dssoluton (Maha Pralaya), and n

Dssoluton (Pralaya). A man n ths doman s safer than n

the one below t.The thrd regon s the Grand Dvson of sprt and

matter n ts grossest form and s called And. It s

comprsed of Trkut and Sahansrar planes. It s the sphere

of Maya or matter.

In ths regon matter has the upper hand and sprt s

subordnate to t, so much so, that the latter feels depen-

dent on the former for ts manfestaton. In ths regon thesprt, on account of ts assocaton wth matter, undergoes

untold mseres and s subjected to the law of transmgra-


59/226

43

INTRODUCTION

ton. Both these dvsons are referred to as Kaal and Maha

Kaal respectvely.

In gong upward, after rsng above the body-conscous-

ness, we frst fnd ourselves hemmed n by matter all around

n the And (the Thrd Grand Dvson). Then we have to

rse nto the Brahmand, the regon of the Unversal Mnd.

There we feel much better, but stll we are not mmune from

danger or destructon. The frst regon or haven of safety s

the Sach Khand, or the Realm of Truth, whch s above the

reach of Maha Kaal or the Grand Dssoluton.

Ths, n bref, s a sketch of the macrocosm the Great

World Universe. These three divisions also exist in man on

a mnature scale. If you want to know about macrocosm,

you must frst know about the mcrocosm.

Guru Nanak says:

In the body tself there s everythng: the sprtual

region, the heavenly plateaux and the material planes.

In the body dwells the Lord Supreme who nourshes

all.

In the body lves the formless, the nconcevable, beyond

the human ken.

Those who have materal eyes only, seek Hm n van, n

outward thngs.

In the body there are the prceless jewels of Dvnty.In the body there are all the materal realms and planes.

In the body s the treasure of the Holy Naam, reached

only through medtaton on the Word of the Master.

In the body are all the gods: the Brahma, the Vshnu and

the Shva, and the whole creaton tself. Rag Suhi M.3

Another sant also has sad the same thng:

Brahmand s n man on a mnature scale, and whoeverseeks it, will nd it.


60/226

44

THE JAP JI

O Ppa, the hghest Truth may be realzed only through

a Master. Dhanasri Pipa

Ths very truth s also enuncated by the Muslm sants

who state:

Macrocosm s n the mcrocosm and thus you get to

God.

In the human body, we trace the three dvsons referred

to above on a mnature scale:

Man Is an Epitome of the Three Grand Divisions of the

Creation:

1. Sprt or the soul, represents the regon of the sprtual

dvson.

2. Mnd or the mental plane, refers to that of the unver-

sal mnd.

3. Physcal body or the materal planes, consst of threebodes: the causal, the astral and the gross.

The gross body is the eshy sheath we have. It consists

of the gross matter and gross organs of actons and senses:

eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and excretory and generative

organs. It s shaken off at the tme of physcal death.

The astral body conssts of subtle matter and subtle

organs and s actve n dreamland state. In ths s located themnd.

The causal body s the root cause of the other two

bodies. Its activity is conned to the deep sleep state. The

latter two bodies along with the mind continue to exist

after death and create a new form or physcal frame at each

rebrth.

Macrocosm thus exists in the microcosm of thehuman body. The knowledge of the latter serves as means


61/226

45

INTRODUCTION

to the comprehenson of the former. If one could succeed

n attanng the Regon of the Sprt wthn hmself, by

shakng off these sheaths, he can cast off all pan and ms-

ery and enjoy ncessant Blss and Peace untold. A lfe of

matter s all msery whch one cannot escape untl one s

able to separate oneself from t.

The attanment of the Regon of Sprt then s the thng

that s requred, for t can lead to the abode of Perpetual Joy

and Supreme Happness, even whle lvng n ths physcal

body. It s only by rdng the current of the Holy Naam (theeternal Musc n man), that ths state s reached wth the help

of the True Master. The Holy Naam the Word comes

down from the hghest sprtual planes, the regon of Truth,

nto the materal planes. It s the savng lfelne that can

carry souls nto the plane beyond the reach of dssoluton.

All other means fall short of the goal.

The kingdom of God is within you; you may seek itthere. It is within your nite body that communion with the

Word can be held. Ths ultmately brngs you to the Regon

of Innite Truth the Sach Khand.

Possibili

japji of kirpal singh

Documents