English translation of the daily Hukamnama.
(Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang:696)

MP3 File

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

The hukamnama today is by Guru Raam Daas Ji in Raag Jaithsree on Ang 696 of Siri Guru Granth Sahib ji Maharaj.

jYqsrI mhlw 4 Gru 1 caupdy
jaithasaree mehalaa 4 ghar 1 choupadhae
Jaitsree, Fourth Mehla, First House, Chau-Paday:

<> siqgur pRswid ]
ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

myrY hIArY rqnu nwmu hir bisAw guir hwQu DirE myrY mwQw ]
maerai heearai rathan naam har basiaa gur haathh dhhariou maerai maathhaa ||
The Jewel of the Lord’s Name abides within my heart; the Guru has placed His hand on my forehead.

jnm jnm ky iklibK duK auqry guir nwmu dIE irnu lwQw ]1]
janam janam kae kilabikh dhukh outharae gur naam dheeou rin laathhaa ||1||
The sins and pains of countless incarnations have been cast out. The Guru has blessed me with the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and my debt has been paid off. ||1||

myry mn Bju rwm nwmu siB ArQw ]
maerae man bhaj raam naam sabh arathhaa ||
O my mind, vibrate the Lord’s Name, and all your affairs shall be resolved.

guir pUrY hir nwmu idRVwieAw ibnu nwvY jIvnu ibrQw ] rhwau ]
gur poorai har naam dhrirraaeiaa bin naavai jeevan birathhaa || rehaao ||
The Perfect Guru has implanted the Lord’s Name within me; without the Name, life is useless. ||Pause||

ibnu gur mUV Bey hY mnmuK qy moh mwieAw inq PwQw ]
bin gur moorr bheae hai manamukh thae moh maaeiaa nith faathhaa ||
Without the Guru, the self-willed manmukhs are foolish and ignorant; they are forever entangled in emotional attachment to Maya.

iqn swDU crx n syvy kbhU iqn sBu jnmu AkwQw ]2]
thin saadhhoo charan n saevae kabehoo thin sabh janam akaathhaa ||2||
They never serve the feet of the Holy; their lives are totally useless. ||2||

ijn swDU crx swD pg syvy iqn sPilE jnmu snwQw ]
jin saadhhoo charan saadhh pag saevae thin safaliou janam sanaathhaa ||
Those who serve at the feet of the Holy, the feet of the Holy, their lives are made fruitful, and they belong to the Lord.

mo kau kIjY dwsu dws dwsn ko hir dieAw Dwir jgMnwQw ]3]
mo ko keejai dhaas dhaas dhaasan ko har dhaeiaa dhhaar jaga(n)naathhaa ||3||
Make me the slave of the slave of the slaves of the Lord; bless me with Your Mercy, O Lord of the Universe. ||3||

hm AMDuly igAwnhIn AigAwnI ikau cwlh mwrig pMQw ]
ham a(n)dhhulae giaaneheen agiaanee kio chaaleh maarag pa(n)thhaa ||
I am blind, ignorant and totally without wisdom; how can I walk on the Path?

hm AMDuly kau gur AMclu dIjY jn nwnk clh imlµQw ]4]1]
ham a(n)dhhulae ko gur a(n)chal dheejai jan naanak chaleh mila(n)thhaa ||4||1||
I am blind - O Guru, please let me grasp the hem of Your robe, so that servant Nanak may walk in harmony with You. ||4||1||

Today’s Hukamnama is in the Jaithsree Raag; Raag Jaithsree is a Raag with feeling about it, you cannot live without someone or something and this Raag is almost as if you are calling out for that beloved, you are calling out desperately, you are reaching out and calling and beaconing to that beloved.

mehalaa 4
is by Satguru Siri Guru Ram Das ji Maharaj. Imagine the longing that Guru Ram Das Ji had for Guru Amar Das Ji. The calling out, the beaconing that Guru Ram Das ji had in his heart, how he felt when he met Guru Amar Das Ji, and how Guru Ram Das Ji was blessed with the sewa of Guru Amar Das Ji.

Ghar Pehla
In the first house. Cha-upday. Padha means a foot. Cha-upday means this shabad has four feet, which means it has four parts to it.

ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh
There is one universal creative being, Satgur parsaad, who is known through the grace, the kirpa of the true Guru. If we were to sum up this shabad, it’s talking about ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad; it is talking about how the grace of the Guru is given, how it is received. What the grace of the Guru does for you, how it contains all our lives. That’s the main emphasis of this shabad, the grace of the Guru.

mayrai hee-arai ratan naam har basi-aa gur haath Dhari-o mayrai maathaa
Within my heart center, hee-arai means within my heart. Ratan means diamond. Inside me, Guru Ram Das Ji says, there is now a diamond. "But what is that diamond?" you may ask. Guru ji says it is naam har. It is the name of God, the name of Hari; basi-aa, basi-aa means inside me now; gur haath Dhari-o mayrai maathaa. Why? Why can I feel this name running through me? Why can I feel this love of my beloved? Because the Guru has put his hand on my forehead.

What does that mean for us? Many people will say Guru Granth Sahib ji does not have hands! How can this happen? This is not talking about the physical act, this is talking here about the spiritual act of the Guru blessing you with his Grace of gurpursaad, the Guru’s kirpa. Only the Guru’s grace can bring us into that beloved state of having the jewel, the diamond of the Guru’s naam, inside us. It is as if Guru Ram Das Ji is saying, "I’m here only through the grace of Guru Amar Das Ji!" For us, what happens when we receive the Guru grace? The Guru goes on to describe:

Janam janam kay kilbikh dukh utray gur naam dee-o rin laathaa
kilbikh means sins, acts of negative karma. Dukh means pain. Maharaj is saying, my bad karma, my pain, has been taken away. Many lifetimes, thru the Guru’s grace. Gur naam dee-o rin laathaa. Rin means a karmic debt. In Punjabi you could equate this with the word karja. Rin means karja, a karmic debt. In Punjabi you could equate this word with karja, karmic debt. Each of us is carrying around our karmic debt of our past lifetimes, our many sins and virtues. We carry them around with us. But gur naam dee-o rin laathaa. The Guru has blessed me with the Naam, the name of God and my debt is gone. It’s been eliminated. In another shabad, Guru ji says dharamrai dhar kagadh phare, jan nanak lekha samajha, even dharamraja, even in the court of the Lord, the karmic debts of the Guru’s servant is ripped to pieces. He has no debts left.

mayray man bhaj raam naam sabh arthaa
Oh my mind. Bhaj means to totally devote yourself. Bhaj raam naam. Meditate completely, lovingly on the name of the Lord, on Raam, on Waheguru. Raam, the One creator Lord, who is rameaa. Rameaa means inside each one of us. Bhaj raam naam sabh arthaa. If you attach yourself, tune yoursefl to the name of the Lord, everything will be resolved for you by the Lord Creator himself.

Gur poorai har naam drirh-aa-i-aa bin naavai jeevan birthaa
Gur poorai. The True Guru. Har naam, the name of the lord. Drirh-aa-i-aa. Has implanted this, sown this seed inside me. Bin naavai jeevan birthaa. I realize that without this love for God, without this Naam, this life is of no worth.

rahaa-o
Rahaa-o. Pause and think about this, Guru ji says.

Bin gur moorh bha-ay hai manmukh tay moh maa-i-aa nit faathaa
Without the Gurus grace, those who do not follow the Guru, they follow their minds (manmukh), they become foolish. Faathaa means to get completely entangled in. It also means the noose of a hangman. They get attached to the maya of the false transitory world, they get trapped in the hangman’s noose of attachment.

tin saaDhoo charan na sayvay kabhoo tin sabh janam akaathaa
Saadhoo, those holy people, saadhoo means someone who’s done sadhana of their mind, who has disiciplined their minds. The manmukhs never serve such holy people. Kabhoo means never. Sayvay khabhoo. They never serve them. The life of those who follow their minds and do not respect the holy, their lives go uselessly. Akatha means of some use, some worth and putting the gurmukhi letter ara in front of it makes it negative, meaning without any worth or use.

jin saaDhoo charan saaDh pag sayvay tin safli-o janam sanaathaa
Those who serve the saadhoo charan. The feet of the holy. The holy feet of the holy. Janam sanaathaa. Their lives are fulfilled. Their lives belong to Waheguru. Sanaathaa means two words. Naathaa means Lord, and the letter "susa" in front of it means of the Lord. So their lives are no longer their own, they belong to God.

mo ka-o keejai daas daas daasan ko har da-i-aa Dhaar jagannaathaa
Guru Ram Das ji is showing great humility here, like when Baba Sri Chand came to see him. Guru Raam Daas was so humble he wiped the feet of Baba Sri Chand with his own beard. Daas Daas Daasan. Make me, not just the slave of the Lord, but make me the slave of the slaves of the slaves of the Lord. Har da-i-aa dhaar jagannaathaa. Oh God grace me with this. Da-i-aa. Bless me with this. Dhar Jagannaathaa. Jag means world. Naathaa means Lord. Lord of the World, Lord of the Universe.

ham anDhulay gi-aanheen agi-aanee ki-o chaalah maarag panthaa
Were blind, but what are we blind with? Because we are Giaanheen. We are without wisdom. Ki-o chaalah maarag panthaa. How can I walk on this path? Then Guru ji Himself gives the answer in the next line.

ham a(n)dhhulae ko gur a(n)chal dheejai jan naanak chaleh mila(n)thhaa
I am blind, Guru ji I accept this. Our main problem is that we don’t accept that we know nothing. The first step of Sikhi is to accept we know nothing, and fall at the Guru’s feet and say "Sagal du-aar kao chhaad kai, gahe-o tuhaaro duar. Baan-he gahay kee laaj as, gobind daas tuhaar." Guru ji says, "I am blind, please let me grasp onto you, onto the hem of your robe." Gur anchal deejay. Anchal deejay means the end, the hem of robe. Jan naanak chalah milanthaa. So that servant Nanak may walk on this path of the Guru, walk in harmony with you.

May the Guru bless us, for it is only by the Guru’s grace that we can meet the Guru. Oh, Guru, Guru Ram Das ji, on this day you have given us this hukamnaama. Please bless us with you gurparsaad as well.

mayray man bhaj raam naam sabh arthaa || gur poorai har naam drirh-aa-i-aa bin naavai jeevan birthaa || rahaa-o ||

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh