BE SINGERS OF TRUTH AND WISDOM

An English Language Expression = of the Sacred Teachings within JAPJI SAHIB:

Guru Nanaks Song of Enlightenment

Muhl1 Mantra: What is Reality?
Every aspect and detail / of finite reality is inseparably One / with infinite awareness. Everything, / as a whole, is a process / creating everything. That / is our True Identity. As a spontaneously arising, self-organizing / field of experience, It is creative / by its very nature and essence. The True reality / is fearless, and seeks no retribution / or revenge whatsoever. Its Form is formless. / Its Name is nameless. It is undying / and everlasting. This essence within us / has never been caused or forced by karma / into taking a mortal birth. It is luminous, / and spontaneously Self-Enlightened. Everything that arises, / as it arises, is the generous and graceful / blessing of Wisdom. We must realize this insight / by the method of singing / Truth and Wisdom. This was True / at the very beginning. It has been True / throughout all times. It is True / now. Nanak assures / and guarantees to you that this teaching / will always be true.

Ik Ong Kar, Sat Nam, Karta Purkh, Nirbhao, Nirvehr, Akal Moorat, Ajooni, Saibhang, Gur Prasaad, Jap! Aad Such. Jugaad Such. Habhee Such. Nanak Hosee Bhee Such.

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

First Pauri: How is Reality Known or Experienced?

By thinking on the nature of formless Infinity, / even for thousands of times, no knowledge of Infinite Truth / will ever be obtained. By willfully remaining intellectually silent, / even for thousands of times, meditative realization of authentic, inner silence / cannot be established. By possessing and consuming / all the goods and wealth of the world, the hungriness of spiritual hunger / will not be relieved. Even with hundreds of thousands / of skillfully clever devices and tricks, not a single one / will provide support or benefit when one crosses / the threshold of Death. So how can a person / become Truthful? How can the veil of ignorance / and illusion be dissolved? O Nanak, / when one comes into living alignment with the implicit Order / and requirement of Sacred Wisdom, the veil of illusion / is dispelled.

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

2nd Pauri: What Does Primordial Reality Do?

There is an ultimate, implicit, / non-dualistic order of awareness which functions / as the very foundation of the universe, which cannot be / described, defined or articulated. In contrast, all descriptions, definitions and articulations / are based in duality, and are thus incapable / of conveying the core of the Reality / which is the essence everything. From implicit, non-dualistic order / that supports the emergence of experience, arise the karmic laws of cause and effect, / and prevail without exception. By the implicit order at the root of causality, / bodies are created. By the implicit order at the root of causality / arises the subtle body called soul, the seed cause of an endlessly continuing / series of births and deaths. By the implicit order at the root of causality, / glory and greatness are obtained. By the implicit order at the root of causality, / some are high and some are low. By the implicit order at the root of causality, / pain and pleasure are obtained. By the implicit order at the root of causality, / some are blessed and forgiven. Others, by the implicit order at the root of causality, / wander aimlessly forever. Everyone is subject to the laws of karma, / and the laws of karma are mandated by the implicit order at the root of causality. / No one is beyond its influence. O Nanak, one who understands the pervasive influence / of this implicit order, at the very heart of reality, / does not speak vainly or boastfully out of dualistic delusions / of grandeur.

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

3rd Pauri: How Do Humans Respond to the Experience of Primordial Reality?

Some sing of the power implicit / within the primordial reality of awareness Who has / that Power? Some sing of the gifts / it bestows, and know the signs and indicators / of its presence. Some sing of the incomparable merit, / greatness and beauty inseparable from this implicit order / at the root of all causality. Some sing of knowledge / obtained of primordial reality, gained through arduous / meditative practice and study. Some sing of how the implicit order / at the root of causality fashions the living body, / and reduces it again to dust. Some sing of how this same primordial wisdom awareness / takes life away, only to restore it / again. Some sing that the experience / of primordial wisdom awareness seems so distant / and impossible to achieve. Some sing that it is so close within us, / always watching, that it's face-to-face / and always present. There is no shortage of those / who preach and teach. Millions upon millions / offer millions of sermons and stories. The streaming bounty of experience / generously keeps on giving, while those who receive / grow weary of receiving. Throughout the ages / consumers consume, while the cosmic intelligence / implicit within all of reality by the order within its own orderliness, / leads us to walk on the Path. O Nanak, the primordial source / continually blossoms forth, forever carefree / and untroubled.

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

4th Pauri: What is the Optimum Response?

True is the essence / of Primordial Mind and Reality. True is it's identity, / and the Name by which it is called therefore, speak resonantly / and meditate on the Name with infinite love. By doing so you will be able to realize / a state of selflessness within the self. Primordial Mind is the governor, / the sovereign within that state where True Sovereignty / rules by intention and where each manifestation / arises as pure generosity and grace. Only in our ignorance, / behind the veils of a dualistic mentality, do we perceive / any flaws or deficiencies. People beg and pray, / saying "Give to us, please give to us." And the Primordial Source of all generation / gives its vast bounty as a gift. So what gift might we offer in return, / toward the essence of Infinity, so that we might enter into and experience / the enlightenment of its presence? Which words might we speak to realize / this primordial love and happiness? In the Amrit Vaylaa2, / the ambrosial hours before dawn, chant Sat Nam to reflect / on Infinity's True Identity, and all other attendant expressions / of enlightened, sacred speech. Concurrently, reflect and meditate / on the profound nearness and presence of non-dualistic Mind and Reality. / Such time is precious as an optimum window toward enlightenment / the world is asleep, the electrical grids of busy-ness and industry / are then more quiet and calm, as the ionosphere shifts and re-aligns itself, / to enable communication over vast distances / into the cosmos. In the Amrit Vaylaa the powers of the Subtle Body, / expressing as imagination, self-activate / into potent, visionary activity. In sleep, the mind dreams illusory worlds / that will never become reality. But in meditating, the same mind / can discover the vastness of Truth near / and within itself. The preciousness of human existence / is only obtained through the merit / of past good actions. This human life is a golden opportunity / which is vulnerable and easily lost. So we face the choice to evolve, / to become liberated from compulsive suffering, / and cyclic, karmic existence. Or, we can sleep, and dream, / and continue bewildered forever. But by the precious grace of inspiration, / insight and ultimate wisdom, the Gate of Liberation is found / as the gift of its own meditation. O Nanak, know this well: / the True One is All in all.

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

5th Pauri: What is the Benefit?

The Primordial Reality / cannot be proven, its experience / cannot be fabricated. Its presence is / Immaculate and Pure, and those who serve its unfolding / are honored. O Nanak, sing of the awareness of Primordial Wisdom, / the Treasure of Excellence. Sing, and listen, and let your mind / be filled with love. Your pain shall be sent far away, / and peace shall come into your home. The speech that embodies Primordial Wisdom / is the Sound-current of the Naad. The speech that embodies Primordial Wisdom / is the Wisdom of all the scriptures. The speech that embodies / Primordial Wisdom goes everywhere / and is all-pervading. That power which destroys, / which sustains and creates, is nothing but / Wisdom itself, just as the primordial / feminine Wisdom is the source of all energy / and wealth. Yet, Nanak says, even / as I have known the experience of Truth as it is within itself, / I cannot begin to describe it. Words are not fit / to contain It. The source of Wisdom / has blessed me with only this one / understanding There is only the One, / the vivid and primordial wellspring of experience. May I experience this awareness / forever! || 5 ||

Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)

FOOTNOTES:
Muhl means root. We can regard the Siri Guru Granth Sahib as being like a great tree in which birds and other beings take refuge, finding shelter, nourishment and protection. Similarly, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is a refuge from falsehood, for the mind. It is an embodiment of Truth which becomes approachable, and accessible, to ordinary human experience. Just like the underground root system of a tree, the ultimate cause of reality is beneath the surface and unseen. Similarly, the subject matter of the Muhl Mantra is unseen, infinite and formless. Guru Nanak brings the essence of the unseen (which is normally inaccessible to us), into an authentic linguistic form through which one can meditate upon and experience directly that which is unseen and heretofore unknown. Sat Nam is the Bij (or Seed) Mantra out of which the Muhl Mantra arises, just as a root grows from a seed, to establish and support a tree. Cultures have defined in many ways the time at which a day begins. Some say the day begins at the previous sunset. Some say it begins at mid-night. Some say it begins at dawn. Literally, Amrit Vaylaa means "ambrosial hours." Traditionally, in the vedic culture of ancient India, the 24 hour day was divided into eight 3 hour periods. In the Sikh teaching, the day begins at the beginning of the Amrit Vaylaa, the final 3 hour period before the dawn. It is intended that one be awake during this period, in a meditative state of devotion and clarity, chanting and singing the speech and songs of sacred, enlightening wisdom. --ksk, 3-31-2000
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Japji Sahib, Part One (Muhl Mantra & First 5 Pauris)