English Translation of the Daily Hukamnama

(Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ang: 649)

Translation by Bhai Sukha Singh Nihang Ji

MP3 File

Translation by Bibi Ek OangkaR Kaur Khalsa Ji

MP3 File

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Today’s Hukamnama is from Guru Amar Daas Ji in Raag Sorath on Ang 649 of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib ji.

sloku m: 3
salok m: 3 ||
Salok, Third Mehla:

bRhmu ibMdY iqs dw bRhmqu rhY eyk sbid ilv lwie ]
breham bi(n)dhai this dhaa brehamath rehai eaek sabadh liv laae ||
One who knows God, and who lovingly focuses his attention on the One Word of the Shabad, keeps his spirituality intact.

nv inDI ATwrh isDI ipCY lgIAw iPrih jo hir ihrdY sdw vswie ]
nav nidhhee at(h)aareh sidhhee pishhai lageeaa firehi jo har hiradhai sadhaa vasaae ||
The nine treasures and the eighteen spiritual powers of the Siddhas follow him, who keeps the Lord enshrined in his heart.

ibnu siqgur nwau n pweIAY buJhu kir vIcwru ]
bin sathigur naao n paaeeai bujhahu kar veechaar ||
Without the True Guru, the Name is not found; understand this, and reflect upon it.

nwnk pUrY Bwig siqguru imlY suKu pwey jug cwir ]1]
naanak poorai bhaag sathigur milai sukh paaeae jug chaar ||1||
O Nanak, through perfect good destiny, one meets the True Guru, and finds peace, throughout the four ages. ||1||

m: 3 ]
m: 3 ||
Third Mehla:

ikAw gBrU ikAw ibriD hY mnmuK iqRsnw BuK n jwie ]
kiaa gabharoo kiaa biradhh hai manamukh thrisanaa bhukh n jaae ||
Whether he is young or old, the self-willed manmukh cannot escape hunger and thirst.

gurmuiK sbdy riqAw sIqlu hoey Awpu gvwie ]
guramukh sabadhae rathiaa seethal hoeae aap gavaae ||
The Gurmukhs are imbued with the Word of the Shabad; they are at peace, having lost their self-conceit.

AMdru iqRpiq sMqoiKAw iPir BuK n lgY Awie ]
a(n)dhar thripath sa(n)thokhiaa fir bhukh n lagai aae ||
They are satisfied and satiated within; they never feel hungry again.

nwnk ij gurmuiK krih so prvwxu hY jo nwim rhy ilv lwie ]2]
naanak j guramukh karehi so paravaan hai jo naam rehae liv laae ||2||
O Nanak, whatever the Gurmukhs do is acceptable; they remain lovingly absorbed in the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||2||

pauVI ]
pourree ||
Pauree:

hau bilhwrI iqMn kMau jo gurmuiK isKw ]
ho balihaaree thi(n)n ka(n)o jo guramukh sikhaa ||
I am a sacrifice to those Sikhs who are Gurmukhs.

jo hir nwmu iDAwiedy iqn drsnu ipKw ]
jo har naam dhhiaaeidhae thin dharasan pikhaa ||
I behold the Blessed Vision, the Darshan of those who meditate on the Lord’s Name.

suix kIrqnu hir gux rvw hir jsu min ilKw ]
sun keerathan har gun ravaa har jas man likhaa ||
Listening to the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises, I contemplate His virtues; I write His Praises on the fabric of my mind.

hir nwmu slwhI rMg isau siB iklivK ikrKw ]
har naam salaahee ra(n)g sio sabh kilavikh kirakhaa ||
I praise the Lord’s Name with love, and eradicate all my sins.

Dnu DMnu suhwvw so srIru Qwnu hY ijQY myrw guru Dry ivKw ]19]
dhhan dhha(n)n suhaavaa so sareer thhaan hai jithhai maeraa gur dhharae vikhaa ||19||
Blessed, blessed and beauteous is that body and place, where my Guru places His feet. ||19||

Katha by Bhai Sukha Singh Nihang Ji

Dhan dhan Guru Amardas Ji Maharaj, the embodiment of Seva, in the house of Guru Nanak speaks to us today through the Sorath Raag. The raag contains the praises of the All mighty. Guru Sahibji says, “ Barahm bindai tis daa barahmat rahai ayk sabad liv laa-ay. Only the people who completely know Waheguru, who have become one with Waheguru, who realise that they are the seed of Waheguru, those who know that they are completely joined and focused on Waheguru, only those people can keep their spiritual vibrancy. No one by caste can be called a Brahaman, no one by caste can called a Shudar, Kuchatariya or Vaish. Only if you meditate upon Braham do you receive the qualities of spirituality. Ek Shabad liv laye. Whoever focuses with all their consciousness on the word of the Guru, then what happens? Nav nidhee athaarah sidhee pichhai lagee-aa fireh jo har hirdai sadaa vasaa-ay. The nine treasures, which I have listed in previous kathas, the 18 different miraculous powers follow the person who always meditates upon Waheguru in his/her heart.

Bin satgur naa-o na paa-ee-ai bujhahu kar veechaar. Without the true Guru, no one can find, no one can be blessed with the name of Waheguru. You will only understand this if you reflect upon it, if you meditate upon it. Naanak poorai bhaag satgur milai sukh paa-ay jug chaar. Oh Nanak, only through perfect destiny, fortune, does anyone meet the true Guru. That person who meets the Satguru, that person who falls at the feet of the Siri Guru Granth Sahibji finds peace for all of the four ages, for ever.

Ki-aa gabhroo ki-aa biradh hai manmukh tarisnaa bhukh na jaa-ay. Whether the manmukh, one who follows his/her mind is young or old, it doesn’t matter! The hunger of desires, the thirst of desires doesn’t leave that person. Some people say, “Oh when I get old then I will get into my Sikhi.” But the same tongue which is crying out for desires of the world, for the lust of the world, for tastes of the world, the same tongue which is crying out for alcohol now will be crying out for alcohol when you are old. The only way is to go out of these things, to go above them. You cannot satiate your desires by giving into them. You must control through the Guru’s shabad. Gurmukh sabday rati-aa seetal ho-ay aap gavaa-ay. The Gurmukhs are coloured in the Shabad of the Guru’s word, what happens then? They become cooled inside; they become completely peaceful because they have given up all of their sense of self. They have given up everything. They have given up their ego, their anger, their desires, their everything.

After they have given up everything then Andar taripat santokhi-aa fir bhukh na lagai aa-ay. Within themselves, inside themselves they become satisfied, they satiate completely, everything is satisfied. Those Gurmukhs who are coloured in the Guru’s shabad they never feel hunger again; they never feel that thirst for desires ever again. Naanak je gurmukh karahi so parvaan hai jo naam rahay liv laa-ay. Nanak whatever the Gurmukh does is acceptable. Gurmukhs don’t do anything outside of God’s hukam, outside of God’s will anyway because they are forever focused upon Waheguruji’s Naam!

Pa-orhee.

Guru Amardasji says, “ Ha-o balihaaree tinn kan-u jo gurmukh sikhaa.” I am a sacrifice to those Sikhs who are Gurmukhs, who follow the Guru forever and ever, no matter what! No matter what it takes, no matter what they have to give up they always follow the Guru. Jo har naam dhi-aa-iday tin darsan pikhaa. Those Gurmukhs who meditate upon the Name of Waheguru, Guru Amardasji says, “I want to be blessed with the blessed vision of those Gurmukhs.” Sun keerathan har gun ravaa har jas man likhaa. In their beloved company what would I do? I would listen to the keertan of the Lord’s praises, of Waheguruji’s praises. I would completely loose myself in Waheguruji’s, in Hari’s virtues. I would write the praises of Waheguru in my mind. What does that mean? That means taking in praises of Hari. That means taking in Guru’s bachan, taking in Guru’s rehit, taking in Guru’s words. Har naam salaahee rang si-o sabh kilvikh krikhaa. Those who meditate upon and praise upon the name of Waheguru, who are coloured in the complete love of Waheguru all of their sins are completely washed away. Dhan dhan suhaavaa so sareer thaan hai jithai mayraa gur dharay vikhaa. Blessed, oh blessed, beautiful is that body, that place where my Guru places His feet. Where ever my Guru dwells that place is blessed. Guru Amardasji is saying, “Those people are blessed in whose hearts the Guru dwells.”

The hukamnama today is telling us, “The only way to satiate all these desires is by joining the sangat of the Gurmukhs, the Sants, the Mahapurakhs, by meditating upon the Guru and by meditating upon the Naam.”

Har naam salaahee rang si-o sabh kilvikh krikhaa. Dhan dhan suhaavaa so sareer thaan hai jithai mayraa gur dharay vikhaa.

Jaikaree Gazawe!
Nihaal Ho Jawe!
Sahib Siri Guru Amardasji De Man Nu Bhave!
Sat Siri Akal!
Gur Bar Akal!
Deg Teg Fateh!
Guru Panth Khalse Ji Di Har Maidan Fateh!
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Katha by Bibi Ek Oangkar Kaur Khalsa Ji

The Hukam today is pretty straight forward, discussion about the benefits of training the mind with the Shabad. And the difference in the kind of experience of the life between a Gurmukh, someone who is really flowing with the the integrity of the word of the Guru and a manmukh, which is someone who follows his own thoughts.

So, the Hukam begins with Guru Amar Dass ji telling us that the people who liv laey, its a beautiful term, it means attunement, its about how the soul has a frequency, and that frequency is love. When we talk about love, we are not talking about something emotional, neurotic, or sexual or based in desire. Love is something, that comes from the pure soul within us, and its the frequency of total expansion and joy, and its just a deep, deep, deep connection and goodwill with all things. And liv laey is a term that means to be attuned with love towards something, the frequency of the soul, which is the frequency of love is harmonizing with another frequency.

And in the first line Guru Amar Dass telling us that someone who has this attunement with the shabad, with the sound current, that cuts the ego, and that sound current is a power in the whole universe and then the Gurus gave it a specific form in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. But someone who is in attunement with that sound current, they know God, and they dwell in the wisdom that comes from knowing God. So if you want to know God, and if you want to be in the space of wisdom with divinity, let your soul be attuned to the experience of the sound current. And then someone who is in that space had the creative essence or the creative energy of the universe - they find the experience always within their own heart.

So, the experience of God again is not an conceptual thing, its an essence of divinity with ourselves. It is an essence of divinity that lives inside of our own heart. For those people who have that experience, it is called the 9 Treasures and the 18 Occult Powers followed everywhere. It is a way of saying that in our day to day existence, normally, we chase treasure or we chase power. You know that there is earthly power we can chase, there is earthly treasures we can chase, spiritual powers we can chase. The energy of life is expended through the mind the human will chase something outside himself or herself. Guru Ji is saying that there is a whole other way to live, of finding the experience of the divine in your own heart. Those things, that you chase, as a human being, when you find that contentment in your heart, they begin to chase you. It is like reversing the direction of the current.

Then Guru Amar Dass goes on to tell us, without the Guru or true teacher, without the energy of the universe that can teach us, naao n paaeeai, we don’t find the experience of the Naam, we don’t find the experience of the divine identity. He says, one must really understand this very deeply and see it as a way of life that you are not going to get this experience without the teacher. Human beings need to surrender their minds to their teacher, to also really find what they are looking for, to deliver their destiny to feel satisfied. Without the surrender of the mind to the teacher, there is no way to get the experience.

Guru Amar Dass then goes on to say, O Nanak, those were the perfect destiny. They intermixed their being with the teacher of truth. In that experience peace comes to them through all of the 4 Ages. He goes on to compare this to one who is a slave to their own mind. It does not matter if that person is old or young, if your thoughts rule your life, you get locked in a state of desire and the hunger you feel will never leave. It is not just physical hunger, Guru ji is talking about. He is talking about the way the mind creates desires – the mind wants this, the mind wants that. The mind is infinite in its capacity to create images that tempt us, that create longing in us. If we follow those thoughts, the hunger that gets created by the desires of the mind will never end. Even if you have one desire you satisfy, you are going to have another desire. As soon as one longing is satisfied, another will attract your longing. The hunger never goes as long as the mind is in charge.

Guru ji if you become Gurmukh, you Rathia, you dye yourself. You take every single cell of your being and like a cloth, let them absorb the sound current of the Shabad. And, through that you let the Guru and his wisdom direct your life. Let every fiber in you absorb that sound current. You then become very cool, not subject to burning fires of passion. The passions can be enjoyed, but when they over-rule you, they burn you alive. Sital, is when you find an inner coolness within you and the fires of life do not burn you. In this state, your self-concept gets destroyed. What does that really mean? It means that your mind can create an image of what it is and then lead you in one way and lead you in one way and then lead you another way and that creates a tremendous amount of misery. When we let every fiber of our being be dyed by the Shabad, it destroys that image of the mind and then we can actually experience something more vast than our mind could previously comprehend.

He talks about this state that when our self concept is destroyed, then inside of ourselves we become so satisfied and so content, that the hungers of desire don’ have any place to hook on to us, can’t attach to us. Desire creates a hunger and the mind latches on to that. This creates misery. But, when we, through the Shabad, let every fiber of our being, get absorbed in the sound current, as a Gurmukh, we don’t need anything outside ourselves. We find a tremendous sense of contentment inside ourselves. All those hungers of desire and attachments have no way to get to us.

The one who is Gurmukh, who grows with the integrity of the Guru’s words, whatever they do is acceptable. It is because the place they are coming from, inside of themselves, is not from ego or desire, so what ever they do is accepted. They dwell again in that attuned, loving state with the Naam and divine identity inside themselves. Guru Ji then says that he is a sacrifice to those, I am someone willing to do anything to help those individuals. He will stop at nothing to help those people that are seeking truth through the Shabad. He wants to have the Darshan, the vision and the experience of seeing people, who through meditation experience the divine essence inside of themselves, and that is the vision he wants to see.

He tells us to listen to Kirtan, sing about the virtues of the divine essence. So, Gurbani is really important, what we to listen to is what we speak. If we listen to slander, we speak slander. If we listen to criticism, we speak criticism, if we listen to our emotional, commotional neurotic nonsense, then we speak our emotional, commotional neurotic nonsense. That gives one experience of life. it affects also our behavior. When we listen to Kirtan, when we sing virtues of the Creator, when we take glory that we see of the divine, and we write this in our own mind. Our mind becomes a mechanism by which we categorize how amazing the Creator is.

Then that creates something beautiful. It creates a beautiful experience of life through the experience of the Naam, of the divine identity, we live in a state of appreciation and love. Rather than being negative, unsatisfied and hungry, constantly searching, we come into this experience of being so appreciative of every breath and that appreciation and that love then becomes that power to root out, to pull out deep within us all the transgressions, all of our mistakes. We hold our every mistake in our subconscious. Every time we hurt ourselves or hurt somebody else, we hold that memory in our subconscious mind, and we are constantly trying to balance the mistakes. We come into form lifetime after lifetime after lifetime, because we have a log to keep correcting our mistakes. But, if we can be in appreciation, and be in a state of love, through the Naam, through the divine identity and the divine reality, that is the power that pulls out the memory of these transgressions and allows us to clear the account and be balanced in ourselves.

Guru Amar Dass ends the hukam by saying that how beautiful, and how blessed, is the body in the place where this Guru is teacher, where they walk. When you have a lifetime where you can experience the teacher, and start to come into a relationship with what the teacher is saying, and honor what the teacher is saying above what your mind tells you, your own thoughts tell you, and balance your mind and thought with what the Guru’s wisdom is, your physical body and environment becomes very, very, very blessed and very, very, very beautiful.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.