🙏 **Hukmnama, Golden Temple, Amritsar (Nov 08, 2023)** 🙏
🎵 ਸੂਹੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ਘਰੁ ੬🎵
*Soohee, First Mehl, Sixth House:*
Penned by First Guru, Guru Nanak Dev
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
*One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru.*
(This stanza lays the foundation, emphasizing a sole, universal Creator whose realization is attainable through the grace of the true Guru.)
✨ ਉਜਲੁ ਕੈਹਾ ਚਿਲਕਣਾ ਘੋਟਿਮ ਕਾਲੜੀ ਮਸੁ ॥
*Bronze is bright and shiny, but when it is rubbed, its blackness appears.*
(Outer lustre is deceptive; true nature is revealed through testing, just as bronze shows its blackness when polished.)
🌺 ਧੋਤਿਆ ਜੂਠਿ ਨ ਉਤਰੈ ਜੇ ਸਉ ਧੋਵਾ ਤਿਸੁ ॥੧॥
*Washing it, its impurity is not removed, even if it is washed a hundred times. ||1||*
(Surface cleansing does not remove inherent impurities, symbolic of the ineffectiveness of superficial acts to purify the soul.)
🌼 ਸਜਣ ਸੇਈ ਨਾਲਿ ਮੈ ਚਲਦਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ਚਲੰਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ॥
*They alone are my friends, who travel along with me;*
(The true ‘companions’ that accompany a soul are the good deeds performed in one’s lifetime.)
💮 ਜਿਥੈ ਲੇਖਾ ਮੰਗੀਐ ਤਿਥੈ ਖੜੇ ਦਿਸੰਨਿ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
*and in that place where the accounts are called for, they appear standing with me. ||1||Pause||*
(At the ultimate reckoning, it is these deeds that stand in support of the soul, testifying to its true journey.)
🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿
Review:
The Shabad invites a contemplative approach to understanding the self and one’s actions, suggesting that the inner purity and deeds we perform ultimately accompany us through life’s journey and beyond. It offers a layered perspective on accountability, where it is not our external accolades but our intrinsic actions that present themselves in our final audit of life.
From a critical standpoint, the Shabad provides a compelling counter-narrative to the often superficial value system that prioritizes appearance over substance. It challenges the reader to look beyond societal measures of success and consider the lasting impact of their actions. The metaphor of the bronze vessel serves as a potent allegory for the human condition, prompting a reassessment of what constitutes true companionship on our spiritual voyage.
In essence, the Shabad is a call to introspection and a life lived in accordance with values that withstand the test of time and transcend the physical world. These virtues, the ‘good deeds,’are lauded as the ultimate allies in the spiritual realm.