What is the reason for the disconnect between understanding, comprehending and putting in practice the Shabads of Guru Granth Sahib in life? Saying that this is not just a predicament for an average layman, but also academic intellectuals, author Bhupinder Singh attempts to provide a perspective on the subject based on the revealed word enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib.

OUR CONSCIOUSNESS LEVEL HAS NOT EVOLVED HIGH ENOUGH from where the thought process shared is emanating. So, the result is a high academic advancement or a total lack of it as with an illiterate, does not make a difference as both don’t get very far. This comprehension challenge needs further exploration. Guru Sahib says:

“ਜਿਸ ਤੇ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਸੋਈ ਫਿਰਿ ਹੋਆ ॥੨॥”
Translation: And the One, from whom we came, O Nanak, into Him we merge once again. ||2||
-Guru Granth Sahib, Page 1193

Without that personal experience of reemergence, we cannot authentically relate to it. In order to enable us to relate to this statement, our consciousness level needs to soar higher. When our consciousness approaches those heights, then such perspectives of an enlightened soul will become relatable. When the reemergence is experienced, the person becomes enlightened, which is the pinnacle of human evolution. The perspectives of the enlightened is different than the worldly perspective. Bhagat Kabir provides a unique perspective of an enlightened soul:

“ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਮਾਨਸੁ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਦੇਉ ॥ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਜਤੀ ਕਹਾਵੈ ਸੇਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਜੋਗੀ ਨਾ ਅਵਧੂਤਾ ॥ ਨਾ ਇਸੁ ਮਾਇ ਨ ਕਾਹੂ ਪੂਤਾ ॥੧॥
ਇਆ ਮੰਦਰ ਮਹਿ ਕੌਨ ਬਸਾਈ ॥ ਤਾ ਕਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਕੋਊ ਪਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਗਿਰਹੀ ਨਾ ਓਦਾਸੀ ॥ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਰਾਜ ਨ ਭੀਖ ਮੰਗਾਸੀ ॥
ਨਾ ਇਸੁ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਨ ਰਕਤੂ ਰਾਤੀ ॥ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਨੁ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਖਾਤੀ ॥੨॥
ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਤਪਾ ਕਹਾਵੈ ਸੇਖੁ ॥ ਨਾ ਇਹੁ ਜੀਵੈ ਨ ਮਰਤਾ ਦੇਖੁ ॥
ਇਸੁ ਮਰਤੇ ਕਉ ਜੇ ਕੋਊ ਰੋਵੈ ॥ ਜੋ ਰੋਵੈ ਸੋਈ ਪਤਿ ਖੋਵੈ ॥੩॥
ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਮੈ ਡਗਰੋ ਪਾਇਆ ॥ ਜੀਵਨ ਮਰਨੁ ਦੋਊ ਮਿਟਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕੀ ਅੰਸੁ ॥ ਜਸ ਕਾਗਦ ਪਰ ਮਿਟੈ ਨ ਮੰਸੁ ॥੪॥੨॥੫॥”

Translation:
It is not human, and it is not angelic. It is not called celibate, or a worshipper of (god) Shiva.
It is not a Yogi, and it is not a hermit. It has neither a mother, nor it is anyone’s son. ||1||
Then what is it, which dwells in this temple of the body? No one can find its limits. ||1||Pause||
It is not a householder, and it is not a renouncer of the world. It is not a king, and it is not a beggar.
It has no body, no drop of blood. It is not a Brahmin (priest caste), and it is not a Khattri (warrior caste). ||2||
It is not called a man of austere self-discipline or a Sheikh. It is not born (to live), and it is not seen to die.
If someone cries over its death, that person loses his credibility. ||3||
By Guru’s Grace, I have found the Path. Birth and death have both been erased.
(Now) Kabir says, it is formed of the same essence as the Lord. It is like the ink on the paper which cannot be erased. ||4||2||5||
-Guru Granth Sahib 871

Here, Kabir Ji has declared that he has found his true SELF. It can be termed as enlightenment, Self-Realization, Atam-Gyan, Brahm-Gyan, Mukti, Moksha, etc. Kabir Ji has actually shared something very unique, the unexplored aspects of the soul with us. Because of the rarity of this experience not much written about it is available. Because of that rarity, the verbalization of his own experiences makes the account very captivating. In the Rahaao -Pause lines, he poses the question first, which he wants to address. He queries who resides in this temple of the human body, whose boundaries are not known to anyone? In reply in the first three stanzas, he shares what soul is not and finally in the fourth stanza he declares that he found the path, which resulted in his erasing the cycles of births and deaths. He further realized that his true being is a part of God, thus divine, so it cannot be effaced exactly like its source -God. Let us walk through the imagery used by Kabir Ji after his revelation:

1. Kabir Ji realized that I am, or my true self is neither human nor angelic.
2. Neither it is a celibate, nor a worshipper of Shiva.
3. Neither it is a yogi, nor a hermit.
4. Neither it has a mother, nor it is anyone’s son/child.

Wonderstruck he questions, then who is inside the body? He has encountered something mysterious, which will ever remain a mystery. His way of expressing that mystery that defies description is “No one can find its limits.” It is this mysterious experience that fills one with unimaginable joy, ecstasy, peace, calmness, and thrill. After experiencing it a yearning to unfold the mystery is replaced with awe and a desire for their deeper experiences. He continues:

5. Neither it is a householder, nor a renouncer.
6. Neither it is a king, nor a beggar.
7. Neither this self has a body, nor a drop of blood.
8. Neither it is a Brahmin, nor a Khattri (Chettri).
9. Neither it can be called austere, nor a sheikh.
10. Neither this lives nor has anyone seen it dying.
11. If someone weeps thinking that it has died, will be held in contempt because a regression of thought process has taken place (the eternal soul has been called dead).

Finally, Kabir Ji’s endless dive into this bottomless ocean of experiences reveals his new perspective of his own authentic reality:

12. By fully conforming with the guidance and thus earning the Guru’s grace, I found the path. The result was a cessation of cycles of rebirths and deaths.
13. Kabir Ji makes an extremely profound statement with absolute clarity. He says that the self is part of the Divine and cannot be separated from it. Just as ink on paper is inseparable from it, similar is the relationship between individual and Divine – Inseparable and forever.

The idea of sharing this Shabad was to bring out the eye-witnessed imagery of the experience of an enlightened. Though rare, these cannot be labelled as fiction, as we have not personally experienced it. The human journey got completed in the process, with its purpose accomplished. The source from which the mortal began the human journey immersed back into it, thus life’s journey got completed. Guru Arjan Ji has expressed that experience in these words:

“ਸਫਲ ਸਫਲ ਭਈ ਸਫਲ ਜਾਤ੍ਰਾ ॥ ਆਵਣ ਜਾਣ ਰਹੇ ਮਿਲੇ ਸਾਧਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੧॥੩॥”
Translation: My Yatra, my life pilgrimage, has become fruitful, fruitful, fruitful. My comings and goings have ended since I met the Holy Saint (Guru). ||1||Second Pause||1||3||
-Guru Granth Sahib 687

That essence is part of Divine and as it merged back in it, the soul was enlightened and liberated from the life cycles of births and deaths. Reabsorption is a recurring theme in the body of SGGS. The essence of the message is to realize that real thing within us, which is neither a body nor its constituents, but soul. Below are a few additional quotes to reinforce the same theme are being shared:

“ਜਿਸ ਤੇ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਤਿਸੁ ਮਾਹਿ ਸਮਾਨਾ ॥”
Translation: He is absorbed into the One, from whom he originated.
-Guru Granth Sahib 285

“ਜਿਸ ਤੇ ਉਪਜੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਮਹਿ ਪਰਵੇਸ ॥”
Translation: I have entered into the One, from whom I originated.
-Guru Granth Sahib 898

The above two statements are declarations of the accomplishments of the enlightened soul. Such declarations are rare, while the rest of us whether laymen or accomplished with our worldly education have not experienced it. This means that we have not yet evolved to the apex of the evolutionary heights to appreciate Kabir’s own experience. It is an evolution to the level from where no further evolutionary growth is possible. That experience is the successful completion of the human journey, which puts an end to the cycles of births and deaths. But what about failure to achieve this experience? This is a conundrum that begs an answer to the consequences of failure.

Consequences of failure: As per Gurbani, the consequences are catastrophic:

“ਮੂਲੁ ਨ ਬੂਝਹਿ ਆਪਣਾ ਸੇ ਪਸੂਆ ਸੇ ਢੋਰ ਜੀਉ ॥੩॥”
Translation: They do not understand their own roots; they are beasts. They are just animals! ||3||
-Guru Granth Sahib 751

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਪਸੂ ਕੀ ਨਿਆਈ ਭ੍ਰਮਿ ਮੋਹਿ ਬਿਆਪਿਓ ਮਾਇਆ ॥”
Translation: Without realizing this self, one is no different than the beasts, engrossed in illusion, doubt, emotional attachment and Maya.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1300

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਤਨੁ ਮਨੁ ਫੀਕਾ ਹੋਇ ॥”
Translation: Without understanding, (both) the body and the mind become tasteless and insipid.
– Guru Granth Sahib 158

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਤੂੰ ਸਦਾ ਨਾਪਾਕ ॥੪॥”
Translation: Without understanding, you shall be forever impure. ||4||
-Guru Granth Sahib 374

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਕੋ ਥਾਇ ਨ ਪਾਈ ॥”
Translation: Without understanding, he is not approved.
-Guru Granth Sahib 412

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਵਡਾ ਫੇਰੁ ਪਇਆ ਫਿਰਿ ਆਵੈ ਜਾਈ ॥”
Translation: Without understanding, one must wander around in the cycles of reincarnations, and continue coming and going.
-Guru Granth Sahib 511

“ਮੂਲੁ ਨ ਬੂਝਹਿ ਸਾਚਿ ਨ ਰੀਝਹਿ ਦੂਜੈ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਈ ਹੇ ॥੩॥”
Translation: The mortal does not know self and has no interest in finding the True-Self.  He goes on wandering in the illusion of others (besides True reality). ||3||
-Guru Granth Sahib 1024

“ਮੂਲੁ ਨ ਬੁਝੈ ਆਪਣਾ ਵਸਤੁ ਰਹੀ ਘਰ ਬਾਰਿ ॥”
Translation: The mortal does not experience the very essence, which is within him unexplored.
-Guru Granth Sahib 56

“ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਕੈਸੇ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਪਾਰੁ ॥”
Translation: But without understanding, how can they crossover to the other side?
-Guru Granth Sahib 84

Guru Ji is saying without this understanding one is an animal at a consciousness level and cannot crossover. But that statement should not dishearten us, as in SGGS we find reassurance, that we the humans are ordained to come back to the source. The Sender as the Divine being within us is calling upon us to return by saying:

“ਜਿਨਿ ਤੁਮ ਭੇਜੇ ਤਿਨਹਿ ਬੁਲਾਏ ਸੁਖ ਸਹਜ ਸੇਤੀ ਘਰਿ ਆਉ ॥”
Translation: The mortal is being called into his real, everlasting abode. Go back in total bliss and utmost poise.
-Guru Granth Sahib 678

Besides inviting, the divine is also removing the hurdles and struggles from the path, making those things of the past as:

“ਤੁਮ ਘਰਿ ਆਵਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਮੀਤ ॥ ਤੁਮਰੇ ਦੋਖੀ ਹਰਿ ਆਪਿ ਨਿਵਾਰੇ ਅਪਦਾ ਭਈ ਬਿਤੀਤ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥”
Translation: Come back to your home, O my friend. The Lord Himself has eliminated your enemies, and your misfortunes are past. ||Pause||
-Guru Granth Sahib 678

Once the reemergence in source takes place, poise and bliss have been experienced then it can be said that consciousness has evolved to its pinnacle. The understanding and experience of the soul are transformative, then comprehending the depths of Guru’s words will cease to be a challenge, instead, they will become relatable through their own personal experiences. In the process, the soul completed the journey in the merger with Divine, which is also called enlightenment.

Acknowledgement: I would like to acknowledge the input and personal insights offered by Bhai Jaspal Singh (USA) in preparation for this write-up. Without it, this write-up would not have happened.

References:
www.Srigranth.org
www.sikhitothemax.org