From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Thu Feb 12 03:19:49 1998
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: Naam or Word: A Study of the Sound Current (5/9)
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 12 Feb 1998 11:19:49 GMT



                        
                             
                             NAAM OR WORD
   
                                  by 

                         Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

                             (1894 - 1974)                           


                               [PART 5]



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 a 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, feed freely on Love, Life and 
Light, the three essentials of Greater Consciousness.
  
   (i) Naam or Word is the panacea for all ills: Adhi-
     bhautik 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 ARJAN         
 

 (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,*

   (* Respectively, a man endowed with supernatural 
      powers; a Muslim divine or spiritual teacher; 
      a god; and an adept in yoga.)
      
   By communion with the Naam, the earthly regions,
     the heavenly plateaux and the nether worlds stand
     revealed;
   By communion with the Naam, one can escape un-
     scathed through the portals of death;
   O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstacy, 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 have Yogic
     insight, with the mysteries of life and self all re-
     vealed;
   By communion with the Naam, one can acquire 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.

   (* Literally, ath-sath; refers to the Hindu belief 
      that ablution at sixty-eight places of pilgrimage 
      brings purity from all sinful acts.)

   (** Refers to the state beyond the turmoil of the 
      physical astral and causal worlds with all their 
      enchanting panorama, and where the great principle 
      of life is seen within.)


                      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;
   By communion with the Naam, one crosses beyond
     the limitless ocean of illusionary matter;
   O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for
     the Naam washes away all sin and sorrow.


By hearing" or "communion" Guru Nanak meant com-
munion 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 miracu-
      lous powers and all his desires are fulfilled;
    By hearing the Sound Current, one gets fully con-
      tented 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 feels satiated;
    By hearing the Sound Current, one feels perfectly
      contented and is rid of all ills:
    By hearing the Sound Current, the Naam becomes
      fully manifested and one becomes Naam personi-
      fied. 155

                                          GURU RAM DAS


When a person by hearing the Word arises in full con-
sciousness, he begins to understand the Divine Will and
conforms his living to 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 this 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 rises 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.

    (* The angel of death; agent of the Lord of Judgment.)
   
                      
                      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 becomes 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
of the Divine Plan and the working of the Divine Will.
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 routine, as he 
has been doing in life, and the luminous form 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 bene-
     fited by repetition thereof;
   By contact with the Naam, all ills vanish and one
     feels satiated by constant remembrance;
   O Nanak! they alone get contact with the Naam, who
     are contacted by a Master-soul.
   By contact with Naam, the mind gets right under-
     standing;
   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 Guru adores. 156
   

   By contact with the Naam, one rises in Pure Con-
     sciousness 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

                                             GURU 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 associa-
    tion 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
     resides 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 at-
     tains his lost Godhead:

    
     The Naam makes manifest the inner light and grants
       glory,
     The Naam brings in beatitude and leads Godward. 163
                                                      
                                          GURU AMAR DAS
    

     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 given 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,
    Not only saves himself but saves man another with
     him. 168                          

                                          GURU AMAR DAS
       

       Naam hath made us fearless,
       Naam hath taken us 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 Gurumukh
      (devotee) gets It. 171
                                          GURU AMAR DAS


Besides 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 poison 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, Gurumukh be thou, ever engaged in
    Naam.
   By devotion to Naam, thou shalt be blessed, keep It
    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 livest, 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 Thine, 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


                                           
HARI NAAM AND RAM NAAM

  Naam is above everything. He is the Creator. There is
nothing else besides Him and He is immanent in all things.
 
 In the scriptures  Lord God is often described as Hari.
"Hari" and "Naam" are practically the same; Hari in
action is Naam, and hence Hari Naam, i.e., Naam emanating 
from Hari. To bring this aspect of Naam into broad
relief and for the proper understanding of It, the term
"Hari Naam" is used in several places in the scriptures.
   
   Again, Naam or the Power of God, call it what you
will, is the creative Life Principle. It is all-pervading 
and is engaged in the work of creating and sustaining all 
that is visible and invisible. To bring home the idea of 
His Omnipresence or ubiquity, He is often described as 
"Ram Naam."
     

                      4. HARI RAS

   Now we come to another term, "Hari Ras" or Divine
intoxication. Whoever communes with the Word, Shabd
or Naam feels an exhilarating effect, too sweet and too
absorbing for words. Far from being inebriating and 
stupefying it raises one into a state of super-
consciousness and universal awareness. The knowledge of 
the Word makes everything else known. Once a soul tastes 
of this sweet elixir, it cannot possibly leave it off, 
but wants to remain forever in touch with it.
   
   Nanak feels in him the intoxication of Naam, all the
    time.

Christ calls It the "Water of Life." The Muslim saints
have described It as "Aab-i-Hayat" and the Hindus as
"Amrit" or the Water of Immortality. It has in It an 
enlivening effect for It makes the soul live through eternity.

It is because of Its life-giving property that saints talk of
It as "Maha Ras" or the highest type of "Ras" (intoxicating 
drink). While other drinks produce morbid sensitivity
and cloud the reason and intellect, the nectar of Naam
brings one into touch with Reality, whereby one comes to
know the correct values of life:
    
    There is no real charm on the plane of the senses;
    Leave it aside, and drink ye the sweet elixir of life;
    Without tasting this nectar one forfeits his human
       birth and is never really happy. 177

                                              GURU ARJAN

    O Nanak! there is great sweetness in Naam, ye get to
        the Truth through a competent Master. 178
                                   
                                             GURU ANGAD

         O Lord! grant me the sweet elixir of Naam. 179
                                   
                                             GURU ARJAN



HARI RAS: WHAT IT IS

  Hari Ras is the same as Naam or Anhad Bani. A touch
with the Hari Ras is a touch with God. Those who do not
get a contact with Hari Ras are really unfortunate beings,
and can never escape from the sway and the realm of Kal
or Death.

    How unfortunate they are who do not get Hari Ras
      and are ever in the clutches of Death. 180

    Hari purifies the sinners,
    A disciplined soul gives contact with Hari Naam,
    And then one tastes the sweet elixir of life. 181

                                            GURU RAM DAS


    Know ye of the Unending Song through the Word
      of the Master,
    And enjoy ye the Hari Naam and the Hari Ras so
      sweet,
    O Nanak! God Himself grants this contact for He is
      both the Cause and the Effect. 182

    By tasting the Hari Ras ye know the Reality,
    O Nanak!. those who commune with the Naam, they
      alone live. 183
                                            GURU AMAR DAS


It is a long story and an unending tale:
      
      Whomsoever He uplifts, He offers this drink,
      Then do they know the unending tale of His. 184
                                   
                                              GURU ARJAN
     

      Whomsoever the Merciful One shows mercy, He gives
        the boon of the interminable story,
      One gets the Hari Ras through the saints and feels
      Its exhilarating influence in his body and mind. 185
      
                                              GURU RAM DAS


It is Amrit (The Water of Immortality):
    
    By devotion to the Master, one beholds the Lord,
    And getting the Water of Life one tastes the Essence
      of God. 186

                                             GURU NANAK
        
        A rare soul gets to this elixir of life,
        Whosoever drinks of it, escapes death. 187

                                             GURU ARJAN


HARI RAS: WHERE IT IS

 In the sacred books of the various religions - the Vedas,
the Smritis, and others-much praise has been bestowed
on the Naam or Hari Ras. Water, water everywhere! but
you have not a speck of it. You can see and taste its 
sweet elixir, if you invert. It is the Water of Life which 
is found in the temple of the body, and we can get to It by 
recession and withdrawal from the sensory plane. Emerson, 
the great American philosopher, advises us to "tap inside."

Though this enlivening Spirit Current pervades everywhere, 
yet we cannot see It until we develop our Divya-Chakshu, 
the Inner Eye or the Single Eye as Christ calls it.

For developing the inner vision we have to go inside, and
this is why the sages and the seers always tell us to
invert into the chamber of the mind. By reading the 
scriptures, we may develop a love for the Science of the 
Soul but cannot know its practical working nor have a taste 
of It.
    
    The study of the Vedas cannot give Hari Ras;
    Entangled in mind and matter, one talks and talks,
    The ignorant abide in darkness ever,
    The devotee of the Master knows the Truth and sings
      of Him. 188

                                             GURU AMAR DAS


Hari Ras is all-pervading and is ever rich in Its fullness
everywhere, in all the regions high and low. Its sweet
strains also reverberate on all sides. But the unfortunate
can have no access to It.
    
    Hari Ras is all-pervasive but the unfortunate cannot
      have a taste of It. 189

                                              GURU RAM DAS


Hari Ras is in the Temple of the Body:
    
    When the light of His feet abides in the heart, one
      tastes of the Hari Ras. 190
    
    Break through the bondage of delusion,
    Then shalt thou see the wonder of wonders and drink
      the nectar. 191

                                             GURU NANAK


Hari Ras is in Daswan Dwar (the tenth door) and when a
soul rises above the nine portals of the body and 
transcends body consciousness, then it tastes this elixir:

      The body is the temple of God,
      You can deal in the commodity of Hari Ras. 192
                                                           
                                            GURU RAM DAS
    
      
      Nine are the portals of the body and all end in a
        cul-de-sac with no way to real happiness,
      The tenth alone leads to a delectable plane where one
        may partake of the Water of Life.
      Grant me, Thou the Merciful One, the gift of the
      Elixir of Life through the Word of the Master.

                                       

HARI RAS: HOW TO GET IT
  
  (a) Through the Grace of God: God is the Water of
Life and He is not apart from His own Essence, and it is
He who may grant the gift of His own life stream, to
whomsoever He may like.
    
    The Beloved is Himself the Amrit-the sweet elixir,
      and the life thereof,
    The Beloved Himself hears His own prayer,
    His beloved, O Nanak, gets to His sweet elixir. 193
                                                                           
                                            GURU RAM DAS                     


The wind bloweth where it listeth and so doth the Will
and Pleasure of God.
   
   It is His glance of Grace that bestows the Hari Ras, 
   O Nanak! through Hari Ras sing of the greatness of
      Hari. 194   
                                           GURU RAM DAS
                             
   Hari Ras comes to him to whomsoever He granteth,
    and the tongue delighteth in His praises,
   By devotion to Naam, one lives ever in peace and
      remains absorbed therein. 195

                                          GURU AMAR DAS


(b) Through one's good fortune:
 
    A rare devotee of the Master tastes of the Hari Ras,
    And lives in perpetual peace and ecstasy,
    This one gets if he be fortunate enough. 196

                                         GURU AMAR DAS
    
    
    The Manna of Hari Ras is a great detaching factor,
    Fortunate is he who gets this heavenly food. 197
    
    I have got an access to Hari Ras and I am now
      devoted to Hari with the grace of the Master,
    It is my own good luck that I am now living a life
      like this. 198                  
                                         GURU RAM DAS

   
   (c) Through the Master of Truth: It is with the grace
of God that one comes across a Satguru and thereby is
initiated with the Hari Ras, which in turn provides food
to the soul, on which the soul thrives from day to day.
    
    This Hari Ras one gets through a mighty good
      fortune,
    And he finds It who meets a Satguru,
    O Nanak! one forgets all the dull dross of the world,
    When Hari comes to abide in the mind. 199
    
    A meeting with a Satguru is extremely auspicious,
    As He implants Naam and one gets bread of Hari
      Ras. 200
    
    O Saints, how may I find the Lord, by Whose glance
      of grace I may get enlivened?
    Without the Lord I cannot live; O contact me with
      the Guru that I may drink the Water of life. 201
    
    Through the compassion of the Satguru, I have got
      the bread of love,
    With the Hari Ras in me, I have lost all other
      appetites. 202
    
    Hari Ras is extremely sweet and all absorbing,
    The soul that tastes of It becomes dead to all 
    outside and loses all other appetites. 203

                                          GURU AMAR DAS
  

(d) Through the grace of a Master-soul:
    
    Through the grace of a Master-soul one gets the Hari
     Ras,
    O Nanak! it is by contacting the Naam that one is
      saved. 204

                                          GURU AMAR DAS
   
   
   Hari Ras is a pure gift of the Master,
   By remembrance of Hari, one can safely cross over. 205
                                    
                                           GURU RAM DAS


(e) Through the holy congregation:
    
    I have got access to Hari Ras through the holy con-
      gregation,
    O Nanak! such a soul is truly blessed. 206
                                 
                                           GURU ARJAN
      
      
    In the holy congregation there is Hari Ras,
    A Master-soul drives away the fear of death. 207
                                 
                                          GURU NANAK
    
    
    One gets to the holy congregation through high merit,
    And gains Hari Ras therein. 208
                               
                                          GURU RAM DAS


(f) Through acceptance of the Divine Will:
   
   By devotion to the Master, one accepts the Divine
     Will,
   And quaffs the nectar of life freely. 209
                                 
                                          GURU NANAK

                    
HARI RAS: WHO GETS IT

 A rare devotee of the Master, one who truly loves the
Master, is able to get the Hari Ras. But all others being
slaves of the mind and the senses remain far removed
from It:                                                   
   
   O! the Hari Ras is extremely refreshing and sweet,
   Through devotion to the Guru, a rare soul gets to
     It. 210                      

                                          GURU ARJAN
   
   
   A rare devotee of the Master tastes of the Hari Ras,
   He lives in perpetual bliss all the time,
   One gets to It through great good fortune. 211

                                          GURU AMAR DAS
   
   Now the five senses do not fly about,
   Blessed is the tree that is laden with the life-giving
     fruit,
   By devotion to the Master, one lives in eternal peace,
   And all the time sings of God and partakes of the
     Manna. 212
                                   
                                          GURU NANAK

   
   A slave of the senses knows not the taste of Hari Ras,
   Tormented as he is by the thorns and thistles of I-
      ness. 213
   
   The mind-ridden are lost through evil propensities
     and know not of Hari Ras,
   Living in delusion, they throw away Amrit for a pot
       of porridge. 2l4
   
   A slave of the senses cannot taste the Hari Ras,
   Bloated with I-ness, he is dogged by misfortunes. 215
                                  
                                          GURU RAM DAS


Hari Ras is sweeter than the sweetest thing in the world;
and those who taste of it fully but once, altogether lose an
appetite for all else and thereafter become dead to the
world and live a life of perfect contentment:

    One may have all beauty and many wives to enjoy,
    But without Hari Ras, all else is insipid. 216
        
        Those who once taste of the Hari Ras,
        They are never bewildered by the trash. 217
     
     If ye were to taste of the Hari Ras,
     A mere taste of It shall make thee intoxicated. 218
                                                              
                                           GURU ARJAN


The devotees of the Lord prefer Hari Ras to everything
else. It is peerless and unique in all respects.
    
    The riches of all the mountains and the seas of the
      world put together,
    Hold out no attraction to the devotee of the Lord,
      who prefers Hari Ras to everything else. 219
                                                      
                                           GURU RAM DAS


Rishis and munis like Sankadek, Brahma, Sukh Dev and
Prehlad, by drinking the Hari Ras, reached the highest
spiritual attainment:
    
    All sages and seers, Sankadek, Sukh Dev, Brahma
      and Prehlad sing of Hari Ras,
    They drank of the elixir of life and attained union
      with the Lord, O Nanak. 220
                                                              
                                          GURU ARJAN


HARI RAS: ITS MERITS

 Hari Ras appears in the form of ripples in the Ocean of
Naam. When the divine melodies become manifest, a soul
is enraptured by the sweet strains and remains immersed
in a state of perpetual intoxication. The love of the world
and what is worldly drops off automatically. The Muslim
divines have often tried to compare this with the effect of
vintage wines because it momentarily makes one forgetful
of the world around:
   
    With Hari Ras, one remains in Divine ecstasy all the
      time,
    The love of the erstwhile charms suddenly fade away,
    A draught of Hari Ras is enough to bring in 
    intoxication,
    The rest instantly becomes a heap of trash. 221
    
    
    O God! my mind is all intoxicated,
    Seeing the Merciful, I am in perfect bliss,
    And ever drink the exhilarating Hari Ras. 222
                                                            
                                             GURU ARJAN


As this wine of divine love comes from the Master or
Murshid, he is often described in poetical language as
"Saqi" or the Divine Cup-bearer. Hafiz, a great mystic
poet, says:
    
    O Saqi! give me that wine which one cannot find
      even in paradise.

Bhai Nand Lal also prayed:

    O Saqi! give me a cup bubbling over with the 
    sparkling wine,
    Wine that would at once give me intoxication and
      solve for me all mysteries.

Hari Ras offers us countless benefits. With Hari Ras one
escapes all the sins and sorrows of the world. The inner
egotism is cut off root and branch. The intellect gets 
sharpened and the lotus of the mind takes its proper position.

The practice of Hari Ras leads to concentrated meditation,
and one easily crosses over the ocean of the world and
attains salvation or liberation once for all from the 
bondage of mind and matter, and then enters in and inherits
the kingdom of God, now a lost domain to him.
        
        Let everyone take such a Hari Ras,
        That is perfectly Divine in its richness. 223
                                                                 
                                             GURU ARJAN
    
                                            
GURU NAAM OR GURMUKH NAAM

  We have just a couple more terms to consider in this
connection which are allied and convey just the same
thing. As the current of Naam or the Sound Principle is
made manifest by the Guru or Master, it is often called
"Guru Naam" or the Word of the Master; "Gurumukh
Naam" or the Word, the exposition whereof is given by
the Master, or "Gurmat Naam" -the Word that is made
audible by following the instructions of the Master. 

A real devotee of the Master can get to It through the grace
of the Guru and there is no other way to It. All these                    
terms denote the hidden or inaudible Sound Current that
is made both manifest and audible by the Master who, at
the time of initiation, gives full and detailed description
of the process of inversion through self-analysis by prac-
ticing which, from day to day, one can develop his spir-
itual experience to any length he may like.                             


                     5. CONCLUSION OF BOOK ONE


DISADVANTAGES OF NOT CONTACTING THE HOLY NAAM
  
(1) Without Naam we are dead to true values of life:
    He alone wakes up to the Reality whom God may so
     desire and meditates on the Word of the Master.
   O Nanak! they indeed are dead who do not commune
      with Naam, only a devotee doth live. 224
                                                            
                                          GURU AMAR DAS
   

   The peerless human body is cast by virtuous deeds,
     and they that contact not the Naam destroy their
     very self,
    Why do they not die who forget the Naam, for with-
      out the Naam human life is of no value. 225
                                   
                                           GURU ARJAN
                                           

(2) Without Naam one is blind and is being cheated:
    
    Without the Naam - contact all your attachments are
      valueless, for nothing shall abide with you,
    Whatever you see around you is nothing but delusive
      matter that keeps you in bondage. 226
    
    All pleasures and all delights are mere delusions,
    O Nanak! precious is the Naam; they that get not the
      Naam lose their life in vain. 227
                                   
                                            GURU ARJAN


(3) Without Naam nothing is of any avail:               
    
    All flesh is useful in one way or another, but useless
      is the man who contacts not the Naam. 228
    
    With all the enjoyments of the world one never feels
      satiated,
    Ever consumed in invisible fires, all endeavors with-
      out Naam prove infructuous. 229
                                   
                                             GURU ARJAN


(4) Without Naam one loses his respect for the self:
      
      Without Naam, one becomes a black sheep,
      And leads an accursed life of no consequence. 230
                                                      
                                             GURU RAM DAS

      All through the ages, one without the Naam wallows
        in the dirt,
      Devoid of devotion, he has neither glory nor respect,
      Forgetful of the Naam, he passes his days in sorrow-
         ful tears. 231
                                   
                                             GURU NANAK


(5) Without Naam one becomes an abode of all afflictions:
             
      Always sing the praises of God, and thy sorrows
        shall vanish,
      By forgetting the Naam, O Nanak! one is beset with
        difficulties. 232
            

(6) Without Naam one gets drenched in materialism
and is ever in affliction:
             
      It is better by far to sterilize the mother's womb than
        to produce children with no love for the Naam,
      Their bodies are all hollow without contact with the
      Naam and they live and die a malingering death. 233
                  
      Ever burdened with desires and wishes,
      One lives a deserted life without Naam. 234
                                                                          
                                            GURU RAM DAS
             

      Enslaved to the mind and the senses, one contacts not
        the Naam and is ever in pain and affliction,
      Without contact between the spirit and the Naam,
        how can one have peace. 235

                                            GURU AMAR DAS
      

      Everyone in the world is a unique gambler,
      He wishes for all the joy at the cost of the Naam. 236
                                                                       
                                            GURU NANAK


(7) Without Naam one is leprous and in the clutches 
of death:
             
      Whomsoever Thou bestoweth the gift of the Naam,                  
        is the King of Kings,                                           
      O Satguru, one without this precious gift is ever in
        the gyres. 237

      Ever engaged in the delights of the world, ye remem-
        ber not the Lord,                                           
      O Nanak! by forgetting the Naam, one forever comes
        and goes. 238
                                                                       
                                             GURU ARJAN


(8) Without Naam all are of low birth and remain in 
distress:
                 
      By devotion one rises in the scales of life, and
        acquires merit through the Word,
      Without contacting the Naam, all are at the lowest
        rung of the creation and are filthy worms. 239
                 
      All real glory in the world comes through the Naam,
        and without It there is none,
      The worldly glory is but a passing phase, and cannot
        last long. 240
                                                                       
                                              GURU AMAR DAS


(9) Life without the Naam is a sheer waste:

      Forgetting the Word, one wanders in delusions,
      Leaving the roots, one clutches at the leaves and gets
        nothing. 241
                                                 
                                              GURU NANAK


      Drunk deep in love for the self and the children,
      O Nanak! without the Naam, existence is a wasteland. 242
                                                 
                                             GURU ARJAN


      One returns not to see his children, friends and the
        household,
      Kabir saith: without contacting the Naam, life goes
      in vain. 245
                    
                                             KABIR



(10) The giant wheel of life ever moves on for those
who do not take to the Naam:
                    
      Why hast thou forgotten the All-pervading Naam,
      With the decay and the dissolution of the body one
        has ever to deal with the god of Death. 244
                                                                
                                       GURU TEG BAHADUR
  
      
      Forget not the Lord or else you will fall into the
        clutches of Death,
     In the end of the life's journey, O ignorant one, the
       minions of death shall torment thee. 245
                               
                                             GURU NANAK
  

     O Kabir! all the enjoyments of the world; betel
       leaves, tobacco, and others,
     Shall combine to land thee in the domain of Death
       without the aid of Naam. 246
                                                KABIR


(11) Without Naam one is in misery:
  
     The Naam is the only companion after death, and
       without It, there is the bondage of Death. 247
  

     All cunning and cleverness prove futile and one 
       departs with tearful eyes,
     O Nanak! by forgetting the Naam, one gets no relief
       at His door. 248
                                             GURU NANAK
  

     He alone suffers from penury and want, saith Kabir,
     Who has in his heart no love for the Naam. 249
                                     
                                              KABIR
                               
                              
     ------------------------------------------------------------------
                               
                        
                              REFERENCES


       TO THE HONEST SEEKER   31. Suhi M5             74. John 5:25
                              32. Bhairon M5          75. Ramkali M1
        l. Matthew 6:24       33. Gauri M5            76. Asa M1
        2. Jap Ji: Prologue   34. Ibid.               77. Sri Rag M4
        3. John 8:12          35. Ibid.               78. Jap Ji 4
        4. Matthew 6:22       36. Ramkali M3          79. Gauri M4
                              37. Isaiah 64:6         80. Sri Rag M3
                              38. Psalm  119:105      81. Sarang M3
           BOOK ONE           39. Hebrews 4:12        82. Maru M 1
         NAAM OR WORD         40. Ramkali M3          83. Parbhati M3
                              41. Psalm 33:6, 9       84. Sorath War M3
        l. John 1:1-5         42. Matthew 4:4         85. Gujri M3
        2. Basant M1          43. Asa M1              86. Gauri M5
        3. Ramkali M9         44. Asa M5              87. Bilawal M5
        4. Sorath M9          45. Shalok M9           88. Tilang Namdev
        5. Asa M1             46. Asa M3              89. Maru M5
        6. Dev Gandhari       47. Asa War M1          90. Gauri Ravidas
           M5                 48. Ibid.               91. Maru M4
        7. Kalyan M4          49. Jap Ji 19           92. Sar Bachan
        8. Bhairon  M4        50. Suhi M3             93. Bhairon M5
        9. Maru M5            51. Sri Rag M4          94. Basant M5
       10. Asa M4             52. Sorath M3           95. Kanra M5
       11. Ibid.              53. Hebrews 1:3         96. Gauri M3
       12. Sri Rag M4         54. Colossians  1:17    97. Bhairon M3
       13. Jaitsri M4         55. Psalm  33:6,9       98. Sohla M3
       14. Gujri M4           56. Hebrews 11:3        99. Ramkali M1
       15. Sarang War M4      57. II Peter 3:5, 7    100. Janamsakhi M1
       16. Jaitsri M5         58. Gauri M5           101. Sri Rag M1
       17. Gujri M4           59. Ibid.              102. Malar M1
       18. Maru M1            60. Ibid.              103. Tukhari M1
       19. Jag Ji 30          61. Ibid.              104. Maru M1
       20. Sarang M3          62. Malar M1           105. Majh M3
       21. Sri Rag War        63. Matthew 7:7        106. Bilawal M5
           M3                 64. Bhairon Ravidas    107. Gauri M5
       22. Sarang War M3      65. Matthew 5:17       108. Gujri War M3
       23. Sorath M3          66. Suhi M5            109. Matt. 6:19-21
       24. Gauri M9           67. Ramkali M1         110. Maru M1
       25. Wadhans M1         68. Gauri M5           111. Wadhans War
       26. Asa M5             69. Sarang M1                M4
       27. Ibid.              70. Sarang War M1      112. Suhi War M5
       28. Sri Rag Ml         71. Isaiah 35:5-6      113. Sorath M3
       29. Ibid.              72. I Corinth. 13:12   114. John 4:14
       30. Gauri M5           73. Ramkali M3         115. Sri Rag M1
      
      116. Basant M3         166. Bihagra M4         216. Asa M5
      117. Gauri M5          167. Sarang War M4      217. Gauri M5
      118. Gauri War M4      168. Asa M3             218. Ibid.
      119. Gauri M5          169. Gond M5            219. Kalyan  M4
      120. Asa M4            170. Gauri M5           220. Sarang  M5
      121. Todi MS           171. Sorath War M3      221. Asa M5
      122. Ramkali M3        172. Asa M4             222. Sarang M5
      123. Ibid.             173. Sri Rag M4         223. Gauri M5
      124. Sri Rag M1        174. Gujri M4           224. Ramkali M3
      125. Sarang War M3     175. Gauri M5           225. Gauri M5
      126. Asa M5            176. Jap Ji: Finale     226. Kanra M5
      127. Sri Rag M3        177. Bilawal M5         227. Todi M5 
      128. Kanra MS          178. Gauri M2           228. Gauri M5
      129. Asa M3            179. Suhi M5            229. Ibid.
      130. Ramkafi M3        180. Gujri M4           230. Asa M4
      131. Sri Rag M3        181. Jaitsri M4         231. Sri Rag M1
      132. Vadhans M4        182. Ramkali M3         232. Gujri War M5
      133. Asa M4            183. Basant M3          233. Jaitsri M4
      134. Suhi M3           184. Gauri M5           234. Basant M4
      135. Asa M1            185. Sarang M4          235. Shalok M3
      136. Shalok M3         186. Bilawal M1         236. Gauri M1
      137. Gauri M5          187. Gauri M5           237. Maru M5
      138. Ibid.             188. Majh M3            238. Gauri M5
      139. Asa M1            189. Sri Rag M4         239. Asa M3
      140. Malar M3          190. Sorath  M5         240. Ibid.
      141. Sri Rag M3        191. Maru M1            241. Asa M1
      142. Gauri M5          192. Kalyan M4          242. Maru M5
      143. Sarang War M4     193. Sorath  M4         243. Kedara Kabir
      144. Sorath War M3     194. Suhi M4            244. Basant M9
      145. Sri Rag M3        195. Gauri M3           245. Basant M1
      146. Majh M3           196. Dhanasri M3        246. Shalok Kabir
      147. Luke 17:20-21     197. Asa M4             247. Gauri M1
      148. Majh M3           198. Ibid.              248. Sri Rag M1
      149. Ibid.             199. Ramkali M3         249. Bhairon Kabir
      150. Revelation 22:17  200. Gauri M3
      151. Gauri M5          201. Ibid.                           
      152. Asa M1            202. Majh M3                       
      153. Gauri M5          203. Gauri M3
      154. Ibid.             204. Asa M3                         
      155. Sarang War M4     205. Maru M4                         
      156. Ibid.             206. Asa M5                       
      157. Sarang M4         207. Sorath M1                     
      158. Gauri M5          208. Dhanasri M4                      
      159. Sarang War M4     209. Sarang War M1                       
      160. Sawai M4          210. Ramkali M5                           
      161. Sri Rag M3        211. Dhanasri M3                             
      162. Gauri M5          212. Maru MI                        
      163. Asa M3            213. Gauri M4                       
      164. Ramkali M1        214. Bilawal War M4                     
      165. Gauri M5          215. Suhi M4                            
     
                             
                            [End of Part 5]

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