Archive for November 2014

A story of faith from Sant Sipahi (April, 2003)

Meharban Singh is a prominent Sikh living in Singapore. In the decade of 1970′s, I was also living there and Meharban Singh narrated to me a very interesting incident. He said that he, along with his family, had gone to Pakistan for paying obeisance at the Gurdwaras over there. General Ayub Khan was the President of the country in those days. He invited us to his residence over a cup of tea. When we entered his drawing room, I was taken aback on seeing the front wall of his room. It was painted with the words Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad, with two frames hanging underneath. Mool Mantra from Ik Onkaar Satnaam till Gurparsaad was inscribed in Punjabi in one frame and in Urdu in the other.

As I felt curious to know the background of these frames with Mool Mantra, I did not take much time in exchanging the initial pleasantries and said, “General Sahib, if you kindly permit me, then I would like to know about these lines of Gurbani over there (pointing my finger towards the frame with the Mool Mantra)”. For a moment he became emotional and then poignantly replied, “It is indeed Guru Nanak Sahib’s Kalaam (verse) because of which I am able to reach this highest post of the President of Pakistan.”

General Sahib went on to narrate his childhood experience connected with the Mool Mantra, with the following words: “I was studying in a school in Abbotabad and was very weak in my studies. As a punishment, I invariably used to get bashed in the class. One day, I thought of bunking the school simply to save myself from the daily ordeal and instead went to the Gurdwara Sahib, falling in the vicinity, to take shelter.

The Baba Ji (head Granthi of the Gurdwara Sahib), who was known to me, noticed my actions and enquired, ‘Ayuba, where are you loitering, is it not the time for you to go to school?’ I said, ‘Baba Ji, I will not go to school today. The teachers beat me up daily, I am unable to take it anymore.’ He took me fondly into his arms and said, ‘Henceforth you will not get any bashing. Recite this Kalaam continually on your way to school.’ I did the same and went to school. It was the first day, I did not get any bashing and it so happened that I never got any punishment after that.

“I started feeling a lot of change in my life and became more serious towards my studies, work and duties. The final exams approached and I went to the same old man again to request him to pray for me so that I get through the exams. Baba Ji said, ‘Ayuba, Guru Nanak’s Kalaam of Mool Mantra is with you.

Understand it, meditate on daily basis and never leave it wherever you go. Whatever you wish for, you will get.’ Today, I have reached this highest post of the country by the grace of Baba Nanak’s Mool Mantra and shall ever remain thankful to him for his blessings.”

In the year 2000, I got an opportunity to visit Pakistan. I was taking a round of the market in Lahore when I suddenly recalled the above narrated incident of President Ayub Khan. I went to a book stall and asked for a biography of the General. The shopkeeper showed me a book titled Friends not Masters. I went through the pages of the book hurriedly and verified the incident narrated by Meharban Singh. Eminent historian Principal Satbir Singh has also referred to the above incident in one of his books.V.P. Menon, former Foreign Secretary and India’s Ambassador to Russia, in his autobiography, shares a memorable experience during a visit to England to appear for an exam: “I visited the Southall Gurdwara to spend a night.

The Head Granthi of Gurdwara Sahib welcomed me. In the morning, when I was leaving for the examination center, I requested the aged head Granthi to pray for me so that I am able to pass the exam with good marks. He gave me a piece of paper by writing Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad and advised me to remember these words of Guru Nanak Sahib in my heart all the time and recite the same in case of any problem during exam and said, ‘Go and Guru Nanak Sahib will help you out.’ I don’t know what magic was there in his saying. His words entered my body in such a way as if I had an electric shock. I felt electrified when I reached the examination hall to appear for the exam. On reading the question paper, I started sweating. Then I remembered the advice of the Granthi Sahib. I took out that piece of paper from my pocket, recited the name of Guru Nanak and read those words Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad and started writing the paper. The result was astonishing and beyond my expectation. I went to thank the Granthi Sahib and asked the old man ‘Baba Ji what magic is there in these words?’

Granthi Ji said, ‘Never part with this mantra and always remember and recite these words. You will never fail in your life and succeed in all your ventures.’ Till date, whenever I start any work, I start it with Ik Onkaar Satgur Parsaad.”

Source: Sant Sipahi, April, 2003

This is a story from the Shiv Purana as related by Sant Maskeen Singh:

Brahma was deeply driven to share his vast knowledge with those who sought understanding. His aspiration was to meticulously capture and articulate every aspect of existence within the Vedas. He desired to not just describe everything in the world, but everything that the world comes from. So he started discovering.

Arriving at a gathering of revered sages (devtaas), Brahma set forth a condition: he would impart his wisdom solely to those deemed ready to receive it. He sought earnest listeners, emphasizing that if none were present, he would remain silent.

On a particular day, Brahma expressed his reluctance to speak, citing the absence of receptive ears. He lamented that the assembly was engrossed in their individual desires, entangled in the conflicts of their own minds. Brahma voiced his frustration, noting only two attentive listeners amidst the congregation—Shiv and Vishnu. However, he hesitated to impart knowledge to them, as they already possessed profound understanding. They were acquainted with concepts of beauty, divinity, longing, love, purity, and knowledge, mirroring Brahma's own wisdom.

Seeking validation, Brahma yearned for assurance of his own knowledge. Vishnu bestowed upon him a blessing of success, acknowledging his endeavors. Yet, Shiv withheld his blessing, stipulating that he would grant it only when Brahma himself attained complete enlightenment. So Brahma continued discovering and describing.

After years of sharing his teachings, Brahma resolved to conclude his lectures, eschewing verbal communication. He uttered "Neti Neti," signifying "This is not, this is not," indicating the inadequacy of words to encapsulate the entirety of existence. In this acknowledgment of incompleteness, Shiv proclaimed Brahma's completeness, drawing a parallel to the ocean's inherent nature—it does not proclaim its identity; it simply is.

From More on Neti Neti see https://www.shivpreetsingh.com/2014/11/neti-neti-divine-is-not-this-not-that.html

Origin of Neti Neti and Translation

In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya is questioned by his students to describe God. He states "The Divine is not this and it is not that" (neti, neti).

Sanskrit Shloka:-

तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्येन स्वात्मा हि प्रतिपादितः ।

नेति नेति श्रुतिर्ब्रूयादनृतं पाञ्चभौतिकम् ॥ २५॥ (Avadhuta Gita 1.25)

English Transliteration:-
tattvamasyādivākyena svātmā hi pratipāditaḥ ।
neti neti śrutirbrūyādanṛtaṁ pāñcabhautikam ॥ 25 ॥

"The Divine is not this and it is not that" (neti, neti).
Neti or नेति = न + इति means "not this, not this" that is beyond description.

Vedantic Neti Neti as explained by Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara was one of the foremost Advaita philosophers who advocated the neti-neti approach. In his commentary on Gaudapada’s Karika, he explains that Brahman is free from adjuncts and the function of neti neti is to remove the obstructions produced by ignorance. His disciple, Sureshvara, further explains that the negation, neti neti, does not have negation as its purpose, it purports identity (Harold G. Coward. Negative Theory. SUNY Press. p. 204).

The sage of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II iii 1-6, beginning with there are two forms of Brahman, the material and the immaterial, the solid and the fluid, the Sat ‘being’ and tya, ‘that’ of Satya – which means true, denies the existence of everything other than Brahman. And therefore, there exists no separate entity like Jiva which Shankara states is the reflection of Brahman in Avidya or ignorance (Baman Das Basu. The Sacred Books of the Hindus Vol.5, Part 1. Genesis Publishing Private Ltd. p. 480).

Neti Neti According to Yogopedia

In Jnana yoga and Advaita Vedanta, "neti-neti” may be a chant or mantra. It is an 8,000-year-old practice that takes the focus away from all disturbances, so the practitioner may find the stillness in every movement and the formless in every form. Neti-neti meditation helps to identify all things of the world which are not the atman (the real), thus negating the anatman (the unreal).

When it's adapted for the modern world, including neti-neti meditation in one's yoga practice, neti-neti helps the practitioner realize that they are not actually the things that they normally identify themselves with (personalities, thoughts, feelings or jobs), nor are they merely their roles (parents, partners, friends or siblings) in life. In this way, neti-neti can also be interpreted as "beyond this, beyond that."

Self versus Non-self

Neti neti is a keynote method of Vedic inquiry of oneness through negation. With the use of this method the wise one (gyani/nani) negates identification with all things of this world which is not the Atman (self or soul), in this way he negates the Anatman (non-self). Through this gradual process the wise one negates the mind and transcends all worldly experiences that are negated till nothing remains but the Self. According to Vishnu Devanand in Meditation and Mantras: An Authoritative Text: "Through this process the wise one attains union with the Absolute by denying the body, name, form, intellect, senses and all limiting adjuncts and discovers what remains, the true "I" alone." This is the true yog, or union (yog - junction).

Guru Arjan on Neti Neti

Guru Arjan Dev mentions this concept in his Salok Sehshritee on page 1359 of the Guru Granth Sahib.

न संखं न चक्रं न गदा न सिआमं ॥
अस्चरज रूपं रहंत जनमं ॥
नेत नेत कथंति बेदा ॥

ऊच मूच अपार गोबिंदह ॥

बसंति साध रिदयं अचुत

बुझंति नानक बडभागीअह ॥५७॥

God has no conch-shell, no religious mark, no paraphernalia; he does not have blue skin.
His Form is Wondrous and Amazing. He is beyond incarnation.
The Vedas say that He is not this, and not that.
The Lord of the Universe is Lofty and High, Great and Infinite.
The Imperishable Lord abides in the hearts of the Holy.

He is understood, O Nanak, by those who are very fortunate. ||57||

Net Net Reflected in Guru Nanak's Mool Mantra

Neti Neti Reflected in Bulleh Shah's poetry

Bulleya Ki jaana main Kaun

Bulleya who knows who I am

Na main momin vich maseetaan

Na main vich kufar diyan reetaan

Na main paakaan vich paleetaan

Na main moosa na firown

Not a believer inside the mosque, am I

Nor a pagan disciple of false rites

Not the pure amongst the impure

Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh

More: Bulleya Ki Jaana Main Kaun

Neti Neti: A story from the Shiv Purana

From a listening session: https://www.shivpreetsingh.com/2014/11/neti-neti-story-from-shiv-purana.html

Brahma really wanted to describe everything that he knew for those who didn't understand. He wanted to say and document everything in the vedas. He desired to not just describe everything in the world, but everything that the world comes from.

He came to a congregation of holy men, "devtaas". His one condition was that he would only give his wisdom to ones who were ready to receive it. He was looking for listeners. If there were no listeners, he would not speak.

One day he complained that he was not going to speak. When Shiv asked him why that was, he said there were no listeners. All these folks only listened to their own desires. They were all mired in the conflicts of their minds.

Brahma complained that there were only two listeners in this whole congregation -- Shiv and Vishnu. And he didn't really want to tell them anything, because they already knew everything he had to tell. They knew about beauty, about divinity, about longing, about love, about purity, about knowledge. Shiv and Vishnu already knew everything he knew. Brahma wanted to know that as well. Vishnu blessed him that he would be successful. But Shiv didn't bless him. He said I will bless you only when he himself knew everything.

After years of giving his wisdom, he said he was going to end his lectures. I won't say with words. He said "Neti Neti." Brahma ended the vedas with "Neti Neti." Whatever I have said is not is not. My words are incomplete. Then Shiv said, now that you understand that you are incomplete, you are complete. The ocean does not have to say that I am the ocean.

Origin of Neti Neti and Translation

Vedantic Neti Neti as explained by Adi Shankara

Neti Neti According to Yogopedia

Self versus Non-self

Guru Arjan on Neti Neti

Net Net Reflected in Guru Nanak's Mool Mantra

Neti Neti Reflected in Bulleh Shah's poetry

Neti Neti: A story from the Shiv Purana

SHIVPREET SINGH

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