GRACE OF GURU BANIS

As we celebrate the Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev, PRANAV KHULLAR gives us a glimpse of the banis of the Sikh gurus that evoke the basic tenets of SikhismListening to an evocative rendition of hymns from the Anand Sahib Bani early morning, draws the mind inwards to seek the bliss that the love of Guru Consciousness bestows. Composed by Guru Amar Das, the third and the eldest among the Sikh gurus, and set to Raga Raamkali, this bani-hymn invokes the of the guru through devotion to Naam, the remembrance of God through daily Naam Simran, recitation of His name.The Anand Sahib Bani also sets the unique template of the Sikh tradition, where guru devotion and naam recitation are central to this seeking of anand. The concept of guru-sewa, adoration of the guru, flows from the philosophy of sewa, the notion of selfless service to others, which Guru Nanak had laid down as the cardinal quality that will uplift one’s soul — one can serve God only through serving others. The seeker is called upon to serve his fellow-beings along with his personal spiritual journey, for Nanak firmly believed that God is not to be found in transcendent abstraction but in the now and here of existence. This notion of the immanence of God in creation itself, led him to uphold the life of a householder as ideal. He believed spiritual liberation can be experienced while living the life of a householder.In the classic composition, Siddha-Goshti, part of the Guru Granth Sahib, which recounts the Guru’s famous goshti, dialogue, with the Nath yogis, Guru Nanak tells the yogis that renunciation and austerities are not essential for experiencing the Self. “True understanding of the Self will come through discarding attachment and egoism… see the Lord permeating everywhere… let your mind turn away in detachment... let the body be your meditation mat… let truth and contentment be your companions… Nanak dwells on the naam alone, the Lord.” This Naam-Simran Yog of Nanak is not merely a recitation of the name of God but a trigger to attain the state of equipoise through this Sahaj Yog, where surrender to the guru’s words will lead to remembrance of God’s name, Naam Japo; selfless service and sharing with others, Vand Chakhna; and Kirat Karni, honest, righteous living.Woven into the concept that the world is God’s creation, is Guru Nanak’s next primary proposition — there is only one Universal Creator. Nanak poetically captures it in the Mool Mantra, the opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib, ‘Ek Onkar Satnam Karta Purakh, Nirbhau Nirvair...,’ there is but One Supreme Creator, the origin and source of everything, the sustaining principle of that One Reality is Satnam, the True Name. The story goes that Guru Angad was so overwhelmed when he heard this melodious bani, it made him turn to Guru Nanak in his search for the Divine and anchored him forever. Guru Amar Das’ restless spiritual search too found its epiphanic moment when he heard Guru Nanak’s bani about how the rusted mind gets alchemized into gold at the touch of the guru. It lit the fire of sewa and wisdom in him, inspiring him to a passionate service of Guru Angad and awakening him to the egalitarian vision of Nanak.The banis of Guru Nanak Dev are an emotive, poetical rendering of the Oneness of God, free of rituals and observances. They allure you into a prayerful adoration of the Creator with their musical appeal. His composition Sodar, composed in Raga Asa, part of the Rehras, daily, evening prayers, is a hymn to the Creator, wherein all celestial beings and the elements of the Cosmos are together singing the glory of the Supreme Being, at the sodar, door-gateway, of the hall leading to God.The bani also puts across Nanak’s philosophical contention that this existence is itself divine, thereby real and to be valued. He further contends that this God Consciousness should not just be a personal experience but a shared one. These banis of the Guru Granth Sahib, as Pearl Buck writes, echo “the vast reaches of the human heart and the searching mind, in which we see a Beyond that belongs to us all.” ■