HOW TO OPEN THE TREASURE OF GURBANI!
Gurbani is the treasure chest and the key is within Gurbani that opens it. There are riddles within Gurbani and those rare individuals who can solve them, will unlock a treasure beyond your imagination.
Mainly, its Bhagat Kabeer ji or Guru Angad Dev ji who have a lot of riddles within the bani that was sent to them by God. So, in a way, they have the keys to the kingdom. That is why Bhagat Kabeer Ji is known as Shiromani (highest) Bhagat, and Bhai Lehna Ji became a part of Guru Nanak Dev ji. That’s why the name Angad was given and Gurtakht (Guru’s kingdom) was bestowed upon him and not his sons.
Pancham Pathshah (5th Guru), starts to open up this treasure chest and makes it easier to access this spiritual treasure chest. He deciphers a lot of the riddles for us and makes Gurbani accessible to anyone who has spiritual thirst.
“peeuoo dhaadhe kaa khol ddiThaa khajaanaa || taa merai man bhiaa nidhaanaa” ||1||
When I opened it up and gazed upon the treasures of my father and grandfather,
then my mind became very happy. ||1||
“ratan laal jaa kaa kachhoo na mol || bhare bha(n)ddaar akhooT atol” ||2||
The storehouse is inexhaustible and immeasurable, overflowing with priceless jewels and rubies. ||2||
The Father here is known as the soul and the Grandfather is the supreme soul (God). Guru Maharaj Ji is trying to explain the spiritual treasure that is within our heart. The whole purpose of Gurbani is to access this treasure within and unite back with God. When you access the one you will access the others. Like you cannot separate light and heat from the Sun. By experiencing the two, it shows the Sun is present. In the same way, when you experience Naam (God’s Name) and bharamgian (wisdom of God), it shows that God is present. As everyone will know, to access this, one will have to eliminate Pride.
Bhagat Kabeer Ji explains a riddle that is one of the keys to unlocking Gurbani. These six vices are the foundation of the five vices that are mentioned in Gurbani.
“kabeer ek mara(n)te dhui mooe dhoi mara(n)teh chaar” ||
Kabeer, when one died, two were dead. When two died, four were dead.
“chaar mara(n)teh chheh mooe chaar purakh dhui naar” ||91||
When four died, six were dead, four males and two females. ||91||
Look at this as a domino effect. When one vice dies, it triggers a chain reaction, that destroys all six. Pancham Pathshah explains what these six are. The four masculine ones are:
haumai, moh, bharam, bhai bhaar ||
self-centered, attachment, doubt and loads of fear;
Later on, Guru Ji reveals the two feminine vices, which are durmat (evil mindedness) and trishna (desires);
“mirag tirasanaa ga(n)dharab nagara(n) dhrum chhaayaa rach dhuramateh” ||
Misled by evil-mindedness, mortals are engrossed in the mirage of the illusory world, like the passing shade of a tree.
The way this works, you have to destroy durmat (anything that is not Guru’s spiritual wisdom), that’s the first domino that falls. This in turn destroys the desires for Maya (materialism). The next two are masculine vices to go, which are Haumai (self-centred) and Moh (attachment). The reason these two are together is, that you are attached to yourself. When your desires for Maya go, these two also disappear. The next two are Bharam (doubt) and Bhao (fear). The doubt of believing there is a God disappears and the fear of death and Maya disappears totally. When all six have gone the 5 vices go with them, as they are only within Maya. Thus, you have reunited with the beloved God what we were separated from.
The First step is every difficult, as you only need to take the one step in destroying durmat and the chain reaction will start. One by one they all will disappear. When it is done you will have Gurmat, divine consciousness (Bharamgian). Durmat means: using someone else’s thinking and thinking negatively. This is why Gurbani has been revealed with a mission to get rid of Durmat, to start a chain reaction that will lead to Gurmat consciousness and the Naam meditation of complete purity
“sikh kee gur dhuramat mal hirai || gur bachanee har naam ucharai” ||
The Guru washes away the filth of the evil intellect of His Sikh.
Through the Guru's Teachings, he chants the Lord's Name.
That is why Gurbani is so important as it is washing away durmat, which will lead you to the Naam treasure. In this way we become an embodiment of Gurbani and achieve the purpose of our life.
“satigur kee baanee sat saroop hai gurbaanee baneeaai” ||
The Word of the True Guru's Bani is the embodiment of Truth; through Gurbani, one becomes perfect.
This is just one example of a key riddle that is unlocking a treasure chest within Gurbani. Through living upon it, bani will guide you to the spiritual treasure within your heart. It shows how deep Gurbani is and we shouldn’t just read it on a surface level and should start doing more khoj (finding a deeper meaning), in order to find our true, inner self and become one with our supreme soul, which is God.
Vaheguroo!
