I have to admit didn’t always take Hukamnamas or even do Ardas, and when they were taken at the Gurdwara I wasn’t paying attention to the Hukamnama either. For the last couple of years, I take a lot of Hukamnamas and I take them very seriously. The Hukam I got last night prompted me to post this today. It was from Ang 678, Jin Tum Bheje, Tinhe Bulai:
The One who sent you, has now recalled you; return to your home now in peace and pleasure. In bliss and ecstasy, sing His Glorious Praises; by this celestial tune, you shall acquire your everlasting kingdom. ||1|| Come back to your home, O my friend. The Lord Himself has eliminated your enemies, and your misfortunes are past. ||Pause|| God, the Creator Lord, has glorified you, and your running and rushing around has ended. In your home, there is rejoicing; the musical instruments continually play, and your Husband Lord has exalted you. ||2|| Remain firm and steady, and do not ever waver; take the Guru's Word as your Support. You shall be applauded and congratulated all over the world, and your face shall be radiant in the Court of the Lord. ||3|| All beings belong to Him; He Himself transforms them, and He Himself becomes their help and support. The Creator Lord has worked a wondrous miracle; O Nanak, His glorious greatness is true. ||4||4||28||
You may or may not remember me posting, years ago- Bhai Manvir Singh’s mixed English and Punjabi katha “The Power of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj.” This Hukamnama specifically was a part of an impactful and inspirational story from that katha and therefore I will never forget it. That katha itself is what changed my relationship with our Guru. I understood for the first time what the importance of a Hukamnama is, and what the relationship is to Guru Ji. I’ve listened to this katha three times now (and cried everytime) so I would encourage you to listen to it yourself. I will summarize the learnings here as well. He shares three stories, one of a Hindu man from Gujrat living in Denmark whose step-daughter is cured of a disease when her parents do Ardas for her at the Gurdwara Sahib. Both parents are non-Sikhs. The other is the story of a Caucasian man who was serving a life-long sentence in jail, who had already served 26 years and had no family or friends, but was happy because of the value he got from a Gutka with an English translation.
The other true story is that there was a camp in Toronto where a young Sikh woman attended with her African American husband, who served in the US army. She didn’t really know why she showed up to the camp, she wasn’t really into Sikhi but saw a poster and came. She didn’t understand why there was so respect and ceremony around Guru Ji’s entrance- Chaur Sahib, on a Takht, Ramala, having the Singhs play the Nagara and people throwing flowers. She wondered, with lack of understanding, why they were giving so much respect to this “book.” The Singh there explained, that Bani is Guru, and Bani is God, it is the form of Akal Purakh (just like the formless form and the physical forms of the Guru Jis). She didn’t understand, then if it was a living Guru it should listen and speak! So the Singh asked this young woman to ask a question, in her mind, of Guru Ji. To stand forth and ask without speaking. She asked, the Guru Ji the replied, and spoke in the form of a Hukamnama. This is the way Guru Ji listens and speaks- through Ardas and Hukamnama. The woman heard the Hukamnama – it was the above “Jin Tum Bheje” Hukam which I have translated. It was explained to her in English and she went to matha tek again, with respect and understanding of what our Guru Ji is. She explained that she was sexually abused as a child by a family member, but the rest of the family didn’t believe her, so she had to leave home. She met this African American gentleman and got married, but she has never felt like without a family that she has had a home. She asked Guru Ji "will I ever get a home?" and the second question was “What happened to my abuser.” Guru Ji answers both her questions SPECIFICALLY in this Hukam- 1) that she has come home, to her Guru 2) that “I will get rid of your enemies” – Guru Ji has answered her question about her abuser. It is really impactful hearing the full story in the katha.
Guru Ji hears our heart’s language. We can stand there and not ask for anything, just ask for Naam dhaan. We can stand there and not even have to speak, God is Antarjami, the inner knower of our hearts. I have found that every single time I have asked a question, I have gotten an answer that is very incredibly specific to my situation. Sometimes it takes assistance from others to understand, or it takes time to understand and accept, but I always get the guidance I need. This is your Guru, here to guide you in life. When you are lost and there is no one there, where will you go for direction and answers? Where will you turn when you are all alone? You might have a very different question and sometimes get the same Hukam, but it still answers your question. Even the raag itself gives information.
Can a Hukamnama change your life? Yes it absolutely can change your trajectory. It can even save your life. The power of Gurbani is the power of faith, of God. Taking a Hukamnama with intention and love, is like other parts of Gurbani, reading and listening with love rather than speed has deep value. That’s part of the reason it took me so many years to complete my Sehaj Paath- to do it with sehaj. The time that you spend, however little or much for your spiritual connection, may it be done with that intention. I think one of the things that I have learned is that no one can force, guilt, or tell you to do it and have it make a difference. I think one of the great things about doing more is it is easier to get the essence. I find it takes somewhere between 15 minutes to 45 minutes to get immersed into simran and find a state of peace, depending on where my mind is. It used to take hours. It’s practice, just like any physical practice, the more you do the more your brain learns how to connect faster. Yet if we do it with dread, or do it because we “have to” it doesn’t inspire. It feels then more like a burden and sometimes then it is best to step back and re-evaluate what are you accomplishing and doing and how to re-adjust the approach and get some guidance. What you do and choose to do in your spiritual path has to come from inside to be sustainable- you see and feel a difference then and are encouraged and do more. That inspiration to do that inside your heart can come from stories like the above, meeting Sangat, hearing and seeing and feeling how it affects people. Meeting Gurmukhs who are immersed in Anand are rare, but when we get that chance it is life-changing because we realize what this path can do for us.
One of the interesting things even about this video is that Bhai Sahib has a very strict rehat, and you know that from his comments during katha in his videos, but he’s also the type of person who is happy and laughs during his videos. He describes working with offenders in jails to offer spiritual support! He talks later on in the video about not judging people for the exterior- someone could have said she’s married to this African American man and doesn’t know that Guru Ji is not a “book”, instead there is compassion and understanding that she just didn’t know what she didn’t know and that people come from different paths. I think so many of us know people who are externally dressed a certain way and are bitter and almost poisonous on the inside. They sour us away from this way of life, like what’s the point in doing all this action if it isn’t going to give you a sweetness to your voice, a liveliness, a bounding joy. What we know is that Guru Ji belongs to all, and those who are at the stage of merging into God don’t have to look or be a certain way. Some might look a certain way and be nowhere close to merging. For some the external is a great place to start, it can greatly aid their path. For example, a lot of people find deep connection in their kara. it is something that grounds them into who they are. From these diverse examples in this katha we know they might not even be Sikhs and have more devotion to our Guru.
Something deeply impactful has changed in the last two months. Externally it looks like nothing, internally it looks like everything. I am learning an “and-and” philosophy. I can be a modern educated Sikh woman, and still want to retain some traditional ways of being. I am accomplished and still have struggles. I can be every part of who I am, all in one, it isn’t an either or. This is how we get out of “shoulds.” I can make fresh food and buy pre-packaged food and mix them for a meal. I can be kind-hearted and still have boundaries. I can like to plan but still be flexible. I can have core values but still learn and expand each day and change my mind about what I believe and value. I can make my own decisions and still value other people’s opinion. Just like our recent post- Michelle Obama can be an independent woman and still choose to be home with her kids; Brené Brown can advocate for better gun laws and still be a responsible gun-owner. We are diverse people who live in many shades.
I hope this post gave you some topic of thought and discussion. Be sure to watch the katha if you have time. If there is any doubt at all, ask your own question of Guru Ji in Ardas and get an answer in the form of a Hukamnama (can be even online on Sikhnet).
here's the video:
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