The Sword of Wisdom

This Apni is blessed by Baba Nanak!

I apologize to the source at Sikh Spectrum for copying it verbatim.


The Sword of Wisdom


- Harsimrat Kaur Khalsa


Shlok Seheskritee, First Mehl (Ung 1353)

You study the scriptures, say your prayers and argue;

you worship stones and sit like a crane, pretending to meditate.

You speak lies and well-ornamented falsehood,

and recite your daily prayers three times a day.

The mala is around your neck, and the sacred tilak mark is on your forehead.

You wear two loin cloths, and keep your head covered.

If you know God and the nature of karma,

you know that all these rituals and beliefs are useless.

Says Nanak, meditate on the Lord with faith.

Without the True Guru, no one finds the Way. ||1||



The mortal's life is fruitless, as long as he does not know God.

Only a few, by Guru's Grace, cross over the world-ocean.

The Creator, the Cause of causes, is All-powerful. Thus speaks Nanak, after deep deliberation.

The Creation is under the control of the Creator. By His Power, He sustains and supports it. ||2||



The Shabad is Yoga, the Shabad is spiritual wisdom; the Shabad is the Vedas for the Brahmin.

The Shabad is heroic bravery for the Khshaatriya; the Shabad is service to others for the Soodra.

The Shabad for all is the Shabad, the Word of the One God, for one who knows this secret.

Nanak is the slave of the Divine, Immaculate Lord. ||3||



The One Lord is the Divinity of all divinities. He is the Divinity of the soul.

Nanak is the slave of that one who knows the Secrets of the soul and the Supreme Lord God.

He is the Divine Immaculate Lord Himself. ||4||





“You study the scriptures, say your prayers and argue.”



Why do people study scriptures? What is prayer, and arguing? Who was Guru Nanak addressing in this Shabad? The language and literary style of this hymn is elite and classical grammar. The Guru blends this Seheskriti language combined with Sanskrit, Parkriti, Punjabi, Hindi, Farsi, and other languages. It appears as if Guru Nanak was addressing pakhandi (hypocritical) religious scholars of the time, in a region dominated by Brahmanism. Brahman pundits (priests) publicly argued about their knowledge of scriptures and spiritualism. Often they would exploit people with superstitious rituals that were contrary to the faith of the scriptures that they taught. If you study this shabad (hymn) more closely, you will see that Guru Nanak did not criticize the Brahmans directly. The Guru only uses corruption among the Brahmans as an example of human weakness. Our ego and the five vices confuse us, causing self-centeredness that makes us clever, greedy, and corrupt people constantly looking for opportunities to main gains at the expense of others.





“You worship stones and sit like a crane, pretending to meditate in a saintly fashion.”


Worship of a stone is foolish. Rocks have no biological function, they have no free will, and they are non-productive. The rock as it is, is the opposite of production and self-improvement. The rock is lifeless, passive, hard, and stable; and very little can affect it. Likewise, the crane first appears the same, standing one-legged in a humble, yoga position on the stone - a foundation for its deceitful hunting pose. The bird looks colorful like a flower, harmless and calm yet it is on lookout for an opportunity to strike. The fish are not aware that they are a quick prey. And when the crane quickly shovels the fish into its mouth, there is no escape. The path to the crane’s stomach is long and slow that prolongs the suffering. The fish slides tightly down the crane’s throat, as it cannot even wiggle or expand its gills to gasp for breath. Unfortunately, some Sikh leaders today are like the crane preying on the unsuspecting community.


“You speak lies and well-ornamented falsehood.”

The Guru explains how pundits go out of their way, misleading people of a simple faith away from reality and trick them into superstitious, meaningless rituals that guarantee no benefit. People are lured into wasting time and effort for the profit of the greedy. It is to the advantage of the crane that the fish remains ignorant of the danger. Alas, most people are easily enchanted with exquisite language full of false promises.


“and recite your daily prayers three times a day.”



Cranes swallow the fish and then fly away howling in pride and satisfaction. The prayers of the hypocritical religious leaders are nothing but expressions of their gratitude for the blind, innocent followers who allow these leaders to feast on them. If these blind followers had known any better, they would have avoided the pundit’s trap.

“The mala of sacred beads is around your neck, and the sacred tilak mark is on your forehead.”



Notice that the beads that hang over the heart is mentioned before the mark on the head. This shows how corrupt people are governed by emotions rather than intellect. Like the beauty of the colored religious beads that cover up the evil plot of these pundit’s, the crane has a destructive scheme hidden under its beauty - the beautiful beak and exotic, fluffy feathers covering its chest.


“You wear two loin cloths, and keep your head covered.”



One cloth isn’t enough, so two are worn to double fool those of blind faith. The loin cloths do not fit tightly around the body. Falsehood can be easily detected if one observes with careful eyes. Without the knowledge of Gurbani, one can easily get caught up in trusting the very people who have no care for your well-being.


“If you know God and the nature of karma,”



The only way to know God is by learning about His Hukam and living by it. All natural laws are God’s hukam. When we accepts this, we learn to live truthful. So how can one become truthful? And how can the false veil of illusion be torn away?



O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will” and “Merits and demerits are read out in the presence of Dharma (Righteous Judge”). “According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away.” (Jap Ji Sahib)


“You know that all these rituals and beliefs are useless.”



When one understands hukam and karma, it is easy to recognize falsehood, because trying to bribe God is a foolish insult. Even worse is to use religion to intentionally mislead others. Imagine a government official lying about what forms to fill out to receive benefits. The damage could be devastating.

“Says Nanak, meditate on the Lord with faith.”



Take the message of Gurbani and reflect on it, day and night. Faith is belief in something that is beyond your understanding. Giyan/Truth will always be beyond our comprehension. We only understand that Truth is stable, yet we will never know all the intricate details of the universe.


“Without the True Guru, no one finds the Way. ||1||”



If we do not follow the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib, we will be lead astray by deceivers of truth, like the crane preying on the innocent fish. Sat Guru is exactly the concept of God teaching us truth with the nature that He created, because of His grace. Guru Nanak realized this truth, and blessed humanity with this revelation. Guru Nanak has taken the Giyan Shabad and expressed it in a more contemporary literary style for people to understand. Satgur is not the physical form of anyone or anything- it is the Giyan Shabad itself which is not limited to language, form, or time. For this reason, many hymns in Guru Granth Sahib are from different places, different times, different languages, and different classes of people. Our Guru Granth Ji Maniyo is the Giyan Shabad in the language of the mortal man. Gur giyan is so deep that language can only describe it in a limited way.


“The mortal's life is fruitless, as long as he does not know God.”


To believe in God means to know and accept God’s hukam, and Guru Nanak teaches us about hukam through the Guru Granth Sahib. Without the foundation of the knowledge of the world we live in, how can we survive? From infancy we learn about our environment, created and governed by God’s hukam.



“Only a few, by Guru's Grace, cross over the world-ocean.”


Knowledge of the Guru’s teaching is the only way to survive in this world of deception. Crossing over the sea is a figure of speech, meaning, ”deliverance from our sufferings”. “The faithful is carried across the sea of trouble, and also carries the Sikhs of the Guru across. ” (Jap Ji Sahib) So why are only a few rescued? It is because only a few of us are willing to take the challenge of looking beyond ourselves into truth.


“The Creator, the Cause of causes, is All-powerful. Says Nanak, after deep deliberation.”



Creation undergoes an eternal process of recycling. Molecular changes always happen within and without every object, interacting and reacting constantly with other things. “Some are givers, and some are beggars; God is above the heads of all.” “Oh Nanak, all are subject to birth and death. (Jap Ji Sahib)




“The Creation is under the control of the Creator. By His Power, He sustains and supports it. ||2||”



Although it seems out of control, everything is always in its correct place, because everything obeys hukam. All natural laws of the universe are eternally fully functional


“The Shabad is Yoga, the Shabad is spiritual wisdom; the Shabad is the Vedas for the Brahmin.”



Just as Yoga teaches about the body, so does Gurbani teach the secrets of life. Just as Vedas is valuable to the Brahmin, Gurbani is vital for mankind.


“The Shabad is heroic bravery for the Khshaatriya; the Shabad is service to others for the Shoodra.”



Shabad gives us the knowledge of how to battle our five vices. When we recognize hukam, we function better. We learn to make better decisions in life, and our behavior toward improves. Giyan shabad is our kiyatri weapon to defend ourselves against falsehood. It is bravery in the sense that truth need not prepare itself for battle against falsehood. Truth is always ready and always prevails. “He is from the beginning lover of truth and other virtues.” (Bhagat Jaidev, p. 526) Shoodr are the lowest castes of people who serve all the other castes above them. Shabad unlimitedly serves us. We learn that God’s Hukam of grace operates so intricately and constantly to sustain the universe in which we reside. God is as if our servant, yet we think that He needs our help.



“The Shabad for all is the Shabad, the Word of the One God, for one who knows this secret.”



Shabad of truth is only one for all mankind. It does not know caste or status.



“Nanak is the slave of the Divine, Immaculate Lord. ||3||”



Guru Nanak has devoted his life towards making God’s shabad known to all.


“The One Lord is the Divinity of all divinities.”



There is only one God that exists and He has the power of all gods worshipped. He is self-sufficient and almighty.

“He is the Divinity of the soul, the Supreme Lord who knows the its Secrets.”



God has reserved space within Himself for all of us to exist. Only He knows Himself, which is infinitely beyond our capabilities to understand fully.


“Nanak is the slave of that. He is the Divine Immaculate Lord Himself. ||4||”



All creation testifies to God’s majestic hukam, we are all equally blessed with the essence of reality. This relish of Amrit is offered for everyone.


In conclusion, Guru Nanak uses the image of a crane (pakhandi Brahman pundits) only as an example to teach us that whatever religion anyone practices, he must accept God’s hukam and live truthful. All of us, at times, fall into this category of missing the whole point of living faithful and saintly. Among our own Sikh religious circles, we are blessed to have faithful raggies, preachers, and granthis. However, there are some wealthy granthis, preachers, and greedy raggies also.

The main criticism in Guru Nanak’s Seheskriti Shlok is against man in general. The Guru uses Pakandi Brahmins as an example of man’s tendencies to be suckered into his own ego trap, which ensnares him and others affected by his evil. The only way to protect ourselves from our own self destruction is to, first, understand and live the message of Guru Granth Sahib. Second, empower humanity with this divine knowledge, and finally to defend ourselves and the weak by using the sword as a first resort. I mean, the sword of wisdom of Guru Granth Sahib.

Copyright© Harsimrat Kaur Khalsa.