The merits of the Word

Holy books tell us of the innumerable merits of Naam or Word. The Word has been described in the Gospel as the Bread of Life and the Water of Life for it alone quenches the hunger and thirst of the Soul.

Let him that is athirst, come,

And whosoever will, let him take the "Water of Life"

Freely. *150

THE BOOK OF REVELATION

"A healthy mind in a healthy body" is well-known aphorism, and both derive their health and vigor from the soul; and if the soul is not provided with an adequate supply of nourishing and appropriate food-stuff the whole system, physical and mental, will be paralyzed. Soul is a Conscious entity and must, therefore, feet freely on Love, Life and Light, the three essentials of Greater Consciousness.

(i) Naam or Word is the panacea for all ills: Adhibhautik or bodily ailments like disease, sickness, old age, etc; Adhidevik or ills coming on of themselves, like accident, storms and earthquakes, etc., over which a person has no control, and Adhiatmic or mental ills, like desires and fascinations of the world, anger, greed and attachments, etc.

Naam is the sovereign remedy for all ills;

It is a Comforter and a Bestower of bliss. *151

GURU ARJAN

Again it helps as a true guide, both here and hereafter.

It is a constant companion in both the worlds: Leave aside all else and be devoted to Naam alone. *152

GURU NANAK

On the lonesome and dreary path of the soul after death,

Naam acts as a Guide and a Comforter. *153

O my tongue! Repeat ye the Naam,

Thou shalt be blessed here,

And hereafter thou shalt have comfort. *154

GURU ARJAM

(ii) Advantages of listening to the Sound Principle of Naam or Word: Guru Nanak, in the eighth to the eleventh stanzas of the Jap Ji (a daily prayer of the sikhs), enumerates many advantages that accrue from the hearing and acceptance of Naam.

STANZA 8

By communion with the Naam, one can attain the status of a Sidha, a Pir, a Sura, or a Nath;

By communion with the Naam, the earthly regions, the heavenly plateaux and the neither worlds stand revealed;

By communion with the Naam, one can escape unscathed through the portals of death;

O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam washes away all sin and sorrow.

STANZA 9

By communion with the Naam, one can attain the powers of Siva, Brahma and Indra;

By communion with the Naam one can win esteem from all, irrespective of one's past;

By communion with the Naam, one can hve Yogic insight, wth the mysteries of life and self all revealed;

By communion with the Naam, one can acquite the true import of the Sastras, Smritis and the Vedas;

O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam washes away all sin and sorrow.

STANZA 10

By communion with the Naam, one becomes the abode of Truth, contentment and true knowledge;

By communion with the Naam, one gets the fruit of ablution at Sixty-eight* pilgrimages;

By communion with the Naam, one wins the honor of the learned;

By communion with the Naam, one attains the state of Sahaj;

O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam washes away all sin and sorrow.

STANZA 11

By communion with the Naam, one becomes the abode of all virtues;

By communion with the Naam, one becomes a Sheikh, a Pir and a true spiritual king;

By communion with the Naam, the spiritually blind find their way to realization;

O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Naam washes away all sin and sorrow.

By "hearing" or "communion" Guru Nanak meant communion with the Naam and nothing else, as would be clear from Gurbani:

By hearing the Sound Current, one is truly blessed and riches follow at his heels;

By hearing the Sound current, one acquires miraculous powers and all his desires are fulfilled;

By hearing the Sound Current, one gets fully contented and becomes devoted to Him;

By hearing the Sound Current, one reaches the Sehaj and finds comfort.

By hearing the Sound Current, one knows the Truth and escapes the angel of death;

By hearing the Sound Current, one becomes self-luminous, and all darkness departs;

By hearing the Sound Current, one becomes the knower of the self and reaps the full benefit of Naam;

By hearing the Sound Current, one is washed of his sins and meets pure Truth!

O Nanak! by hearing the Sound Current, one glows with the Divine Light;

And rare indeed is the elect of the Guru who comes in contact with the Naam.

By hearing the Sound Current, the mind gets docile and one geels satiated;

By hearing the Sound Current, one feels perfectly contented and is rid of all ills;

By hearing the Sound Current, the Naam become fully manifested and one becomes Naam personified. *155

RURU RAM DAS

When a person by hearing the Word arises in full consciousness, he begins to understand the Divine Will and conforms his living the His Plan. Hereafter, he has no will of his own, separate from that of his Creator. He now clearly sees the Cosmic Order moving in accordance with God's Plan and he just a part of the center or hub around which all life revolves. Guru Nanak tells us of his state in stanzas twelve to fifteen of Jap Ji Sahib:

STANZA 12

None can describe the condition of one who has made God's Will his own:

Whoever tries to do so, must realize his folly.

No supply of paper, pen or scribe can ever describe the state of the Conscious Co-Worker with the Divine Plan,

O Great is the Power of the Naam;

But few there be that know it.

STANZA 13

By practice of the Naam, one rise into Universal Consciousness and develops right understanding;

By practice of the Naam, one develops clairvoyance and transvision of the whole creation;

By practice of the Naam, one is freed from sorrow and suffering;

By practice of the Naam, one shall not go to Yama* after his death.

O Great is the Power of the Naam

But few there be that know it.

STANZA 14

By practice of the Naam, one speeds on to the higher spiritual planes unhindered;

By practice of the Naam, one gets into the spiritual planes openly and honorably;

By practice of the Naam, one escapes the bypaths of Yama, the angel of death;

By practice of the Naam, one gets in close touch with the Truth.

O Great is the Power of the Naam,

But few there be that know it.

STANZA 15

By practice of the Naam, one finally attains salvation;

By practice of the Naam, one leads one's kith and kin as well to freedom;

By practice of the Naam, one saves not only himself but, when he comes an adept, many others whom he guides;

By practice of the Naam, one freed from desires escapes from the wheel of transmigration.

O Great is the Power of the Naam,

But few there be that know it.

The state in which such persons remain is indescribable, being beyond the limitations of mind and intellect. The Divine contact, when established, makes one the knower Hereafter he remains unattached and the mind and matter can have no effect on him; and at the time of death, his spirit quits the body as a matter of daily foutine, as he has been doing in life, and the luminous from of the Guru escorts him on.

In his ascent to spiritual regions, there are no hurdles and no barriers. The magic of Naam works as an "Open Sesame" to him, enabling him to traverse any spiritual region he may like.

Sikh scriptures tell us:

By contact with the Naam, the entire family gains salvation and remains in comfort;

By contact with the Naam, the entire following gains merit when established therein;

By contact with the Naam, all the hearers get benefited by repetition thereof;

By contact with the Naam, all ills vanish and one fells satiated by constant remembrance;

O Nanak! they alone get contact with the Naam, who are contacted by a Master-soul.

By contact with the Naam, the mind gets right understanding;

By contact with the Naam, egotism and lusts fall off;

By contact with the Naam, the Power of God becomes manifest;

By contact with the Naam, there comes in peace of Godhead;

O Nanak! Naam is a crest-jewel which only a true devotee of the Guruadores. *156

By contact with the Naam, one rises in Pure Consciousness and gets absorbed therein;

By contact with the Naam, one becomes the abode of virtues and feels comforted;

By contact with the Naam, one escapes all delusions and never gets into trouble;

By contact with the Naam, one sings true praises of Truth and is washed of all sins. *157

GURU RAM DAS

(iii) The practice of Naam awakens a person from a long-drawn sleep of ages to knowledge of the Self and knowledge of God.

Through the grace of the Master, one gets interested in Naam and is awakened from long slumber of ages. *158

GUGU ARJAN

By listening to the Naam,one gets to Self-knowledge and reaps the profit of God-knowledge. *159

GURU RAM DAS

(iv) An absorption in Naam ultimately leads to union of the soul with the Over-soul, uniting them in indis-soluble bonds, the former feeling this close association all the time. He himself is emancipated and so many more to whom he grants the boon of Naam.

Naam is the abode of all virtues and miraculous powers,

One easily gets to the fountain by devotion to the Lord. *160

GURU RAM DAS

One merged in Naam lives in the light of God,

The worship of the Divine Light comes only through a Master. *161

GURU AMAR DAS

With Naam in one's heart, all his works shape out of themselves. No more does he depend on the people of the world, for God does everything for him and fesides with him. *162

GURU ARJAN

(v) Naam brings in illumination and omniscience. By a contact with Naam, the Light of God dawns in the human soul and one becomes truly blessed and attains his lost Godhead:

The Naam makes manifest the inner light and grants glory,

The Naam brings in beatitude and leads Godward. *163

GURU NANAK

Absorption in the Naam brings in Cosmic Awareness,

O Nanak! those who engage in the Naam are ever blissful. *164

GURU NANAK

By thy Grace whosoever is give contact with the Naam,

O Nanak! the Naam leads one to the Turya state. *165

GURU ARJAN

(vi) Naam snaps all bondages and grants salvation:

O Nanak! whatsoever is attached with Naam, the messengers of death cannot come near him. *166

By listening to the Naam, ye get near the Truth and the messengers of death do not molest thee. *167

GURU RAM DAS

He who engages in the practice of the Naam,

No only save himself but saves many another with him. *168

GURU AMAR DAS

Naam hath made us fearless,

Naam hath takenus out of the gyres. *169

O Nanak! he escapes the fires of hell,

Whose body and mind are saturated with the Naam. *170

GURU ARJAN

One escapes all bondages and lives in Truth,

The Naam is a rare gift in this age and a Gurmukh (devotee) gets It. *171

GURU AMAR DAS

Beside these, many other benefits can be derived from Naam. The mind gets satisfied and is no more swayed by desires. All worldly passions disappear and the poision of the world and worldly objects and relations has no effect on one devoted to Naam. All his acts and deeds are performed in a spirit of detachment and hence have no longer any binding effect. Established in Truth, he becomes one with Truth and thus attains salvation. A devotee of the Naam is always dear to the Master.

O my friend, Gurmukh be thou, ever engaged in Naam.

By devotion to Naam, thou shalt be blessed, keep If safe within thee;

Without Naam, one is just a leper, obsessed with blind infatuation,

Fruitless are all his acts and keep him in bondage. *172

So long as thou lives, be thou devoted to Naam,

God escorts those on the Path and He takes them over in the end. *173

GURU RAM DAS

In the Sikh scriptures, we very often come across sincere and earnest prayers for the attainment of Naam:

Satguru and Sat Purush is Godman indeed, and to Him I ever pray,

We worms, tiny and crawling, are yet Thin, O grant us the light of Naam. *174

GURU RAM DAS

We wish for nothing else but the light of Thy Word,

O Master! The light that permeates in all hearts. *175

GURU ARJAN

Those who have communed with the Naam, their toils shall end,

And their faces shall flame with glory,

Not only theirs shall be salvation, O Nanak! but many more shall find freedom with them. *176

GURU NANAK