khands in sri japji sahib

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ContactFive Spheres mentioned in Sri Jap Ji Sahib

Guru Piyare jio,

Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh

For the benefit of all including daas, I will try to post this article in parts on a important subject written by

Subaydaar Bhai Dharam Singh Jee Sujjon. Daas would take the exclusive help of translated version of

Subaydaar Sahib's Book "GOD as viewed through GURBANI & SCIENCE" translated by retired Squadron

Leader Jaspinder Singh Jee. In this article Bhai Dharam Singh jee presented the realm of these five khands

based on Gurbani and Bhai Sahib's explanation in contrast with science which is a great combination and manyscience students will find interesting how the science of Gurbani is greater than all sciences of this earth.

Article begins...Part1...

Five Khands (Spheres)

Japji Sahib Gurbani refers to the five regions, namely: Dharam Khand, Gian Khand, Saram Khand, KaramKhand and Sach Khand. There is a detailed explication of the different Khands. Yet the question remains about

how and where these are constituted. The scholars differ in their opinions. The final word can come only fromGuru Nanak Dev ji or a graced and perfect sage; otherwise it is only an individual guess work.

We are prone to interpret Gurbani in the light of our own inadequate intellect for self-satisfaction when we do notfind the right meaning. So, also in the case of named five regions, we employ the flight of imagination to arguethat Gurbani being a spiritual field, the Khands under reference can only be the five stages of spiritual journey.Self imagined reasoning is substantiated by our interpretation of Gurbani as authentic. The right approachwould have been to give credence to Gurbani, whereas we make Gurbani follow our own whim in ourinterpretation. Thus we loose sight even of the basic Gurbani principles.

Some scholars feel that the Five Khands are the five milestones en route the progressive journey of the

Gurmukh Naam practitioner. It would be helpful if it is explained how and when, what stage is reached duringNaam-practice (Naam Abhiyaas Kamayee), but the scholars have emphasized more on their minds thinkingrather than Naam-practice. Here are presented some examples of the interpretations by a prominent scholar forJap ji Sahib:The mortal-being divinely graced, first he comes to understandIn the light of aforesaid thought, the first stagefor the person is the perception of self-duty. This spiritual stage is Dharam Khandand he thinks of his life

objectiveAt this stage, the person perceives that a mortal is born on earth to perform dutyAs the persongets engrossed with these thoughtscomprehending the duty, he tries to increase his knowledge. With theforce of education and contemplation, he proceeds to envision the map of limitless creation. He is flooded withknowledge that wipes away all doubts and illusion. This is the stage of Gian Khand.

Similar explanation follows for the remaining Khands. It is not our purpose to criticize, but to arrive at the realityof Five Khands. By critically observing the above given example, we find that the learned scholar has named

both Dharam and Gian Khands as stages, without any mention of Naam-practice. He goes to say, it is

understood; according to thinking; perception of self-duty; thinks; perceives gets engrossed in these thoughts,on comprehending, increasing our knowledge; with the force of education and contemplation; he proceeds toenvision the map; flooded with knowledge that wipes all doubt and illusion, all the words relate to the mindsthinking. This gives the impression that Gurmat, like Vedant, is another subject of minds thought. Naam-

practice is totally missing, as if it does not relate to Gurmat.

As explained, scholars in explicating Gurbani, sometimes lose track of Gurmats basic principle. This is verymuch the case here. Guru Nanak Dev ji, at the very beginning of Jap ji Sahib, has rejected the philosophy ofVedant by saying Timeless being is beyond comprehension, no matter how muchone tries to comprehend. And the concept of thought of Vedant is rejected by Guru Sahib. This is discussedunder earlier article Vedant. The scholar has termed the force of intellect and minds contemplation as thespiritual stage. The doctrinal difference here is that Vedantic philosophy is based on minds contemplation,whereas Gurmat relies on Naam-practice:

(panna 946)O Nanak! There is no Divine realization, Yog without Naam. Search your own heart to find this truth.

PART 2

Presenting the next Part, this part may needs keen reading/re-reading due to understanding of Gurbani inrelation to the topic...
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Had the writer mentioned Naam-practice to link with Khands as spirtual stage, this could have made somesense. However, thinking can only lead to stages of Thought, but it is not proper to call these Khands as

spirtual stages. Let us now study stages of Naam-practice according to Gurbani. During Naam-recitation, firstthere is an ecstatic taste on the tongue of practitionar that is the sweetest in experience:

(Panna 100)All other flavours have been tasted, O mind, Divine flavour is the sweetest of all.

Next, fragrance and coolness and some supernatural powers come to abide within the being:

(Panna 448-49)Slave Nanak has become fragrant and blessed is all the life.

(panna 709)Sandalwood nor moon nor winter season provide relief from heat, O Nank! Coolness lies in Naam-recitation.

Every pore of a Gurmukhs being recites Naam:

(panna 941)

God-oriented beings very pore produces the Naam sound. The sound of Naam-recitation can be heard fromevery particle of creation:

(Panna 540)World, underworld, sky, all are engaged in Naam recitation, O my being!

A Gurmukh being is engaged in Naam-practice day and night. A stage is reached when breath stops at navel.The down-cast lotus straightens up in flourishment and becomes effulgent. This is the effulgence of our soul thatis equivalent to light from few suns. This stage is called Revelation of the Soul-Being.

(Panna 991-92)Like the steep plunge of a fish in water, With ardent Naam-Simran, breath along with mind crosses all to accessthe inaccessible Dasam Duar and comes to abide there.

Naam-practice is going on in full earnest, like the steep dive of a fish when in one stroke the fish goes to touchgreat depths in the ocean then produces a Chapal sound in water with tail. As an example, Satguru hasexplained that forceful flow of breath from navel in recitation-practice, with one thurst, accesses the DasamDuar. The strong, stone-like door is otherwise closed. Only Shabad-devotion is efficacious to open this door,not otherwise. Opened with the Shabad-key, at the Dasam Duar the compassionate Lord is envisioned in theform of Effulgent Being. Thus, the Timeless Being is also known as Embodiment of Light. Where as at JotParkaash of navel the light intensity was of few suns, now the intensity of Light is equivlent to millions of suns,yes millions of suns.

(Panna 278)Just as water mixes with water, so also the soul being merges with the Light of the Supreme soul.

A drop of water mixing with water of ocean becomes one with the ocean. Similarly soul-effulgence merges withthe Effulgence of Supreme Soul in Oneness as Supreme Soul.

(Panna 278)Ended is the journey of transmigration and soul being abides in rest. Nank is sacrifice unto the supreme Being.

Ended is the cycle of endless rebirths of transmigration. Now it is only resing in peace. lifes journey iscomplete.

It is quite apparent that in the Gurmat ordained path, there is no reference to a stage or minds thinking. Theexperiences of the nectar flavor, flourishment of the lotus at navel and its effulgence, cannot be mereimaginations. Thinking cannot bring about realization of Dasam Duar and envisioning the beloved Lordimmanent in the efffulgent glory. It is by the blessing of Naam-practice that is ceaseless. Gurbani says asfollows: (Sukhmani -17)Naam-recitation while getting up or sitting.

(Panna 319)hose who forsake not Naam in mind, even for a single breath.

It is passing through this hard practice that one comes to merge with the Supreme Spirit. There is no realizationthrough mere talk nor can i t be through intellectual force or minds thinking. Therefore the subject of Five Khandscannot be reduced to a play of imagination. Then question remains if Five Khands are not subject to stages ofminds thinking then could it stages of Naam Abhiyaas Kamayee? Now with the foregoing conclusion, let usalso analyze the Khands as stages of Naam-practice. For such a co-relation, we have to think what stage ofNaam-prcatice can be co-relate to which Khand and on what basis. Can the description of individual Khand


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In the case of Dharam Khand: Such is righteous duty in Dharam Khand. What Dharam? Every deed is subjected to analysis. whether a deed fails or passes the test of Divine acceptance isdetermined there. Says, Nank, the final decision can only be known there.There Divine justice is based on the performed deeds by the mortals. Can this be a description of DharamKhand on the basis of a stage of Gurmat spirtual journey?

The functioning in Gian Khand is Many types ofwinds, waters, and many types of fires and many are Krishnas and shiv JisThis whole stanza goes on to describe limitless creations in nature. How can such a description yield to thedefination of a stage? Similarly about Saram Khand, Karam Khand and Sach Khand:

Beauty is constituted in Saram Khand."" the objects there reflect unparalleled beauty. There abide warriors of limitless strength and bravery." There abide the ones given only to divine Glory. There abide devotees from many different worlds. There are many are the regions, spheres and cosmos. There are many worlds and their inhabitants.

All this given description is connected to what stage of our thinking or reasoning? In above Gurbani facts use ofwords , (there, where) points to a specific place in creation not related to the mind and Naam-practice. Itcan safely be concluded that a description can not possibly be related to any state whether of thought or spirtual.

PART 3

Presenting the final part of this article...

Continuing our search for the answer to know the reality of Khands we now come to the writings of Bhai SahibRandhir Singh Ji, a highly prominent Naam-devotee, who acquired super-natural vision and had realexperiences in his spiritual pursuits and Divine grace: . He verified hisexperiences through deep study of Gurbani, before undertaking to write about these. Thus what he says is notbased on mental or intellectual exercise, but only what he practically envisioned and experienced, the FiveKhands are discussed in his book Sach Khand Darshan (Visioning the Abode-Divine). While only briefessence is given here, the full description may be read in the book itself. Bhai Sahib narrates that the Khandsare regions or spheres of Real existence in Natural creation. They are inhabited with people like our world, evenmore densely. Scientists are still struggling to discover the full extent of our own world, what to talk of otherworldly regions. Bhai Sahib says Dharam Khand surrounds our world all around, thus enclosing our world

completely. Like wise on the outside of Dharam Khand and around is Gian Khand, surrounded in turn by SaramKhand. Enveloping Saram Khand is Karam Khand. The entire creation is enveloped by the outermost SachKhand. The inhabitation of Khands in reality is just as described in Jap ji Sahib, there is no scope of any doubtin this Divine revelation.

In the book, Anhad Shabad-Dasam Duar he writes: In this visible spectrum of Sky there are countless visible

regions, planets, galaxies, moons, suns and stars. There are also countless invisible bodies(secret creations)that remain unseen to the human eye. Their real existence even at the very closest distance cannot be detectedby the eye organ. This calls for super-natural sight to envision the invisible reality. In the book, Undithi Duniya,he gives a glimpse of the hereafter. Some extracts are reproduced below for general interest:

The graced, great beings (Mahapurakhs) disclosed their vision of meditational soul experience in theEnlightened Spectrum that, Today envisioned is the habitation of Dharam Rai, including Dharam Rai, alsoenvisioned were the bands after bands of his most powerful Yamdoots (couriers of death). They were severely

punishing the sinners under the command of Dharam Rai. None can resist them. Their horrid appearanceinduces intense fear and difficult to behold there are places of Hell and Heaven, as also Shiv Puri, BrahmPuri, Inder Puri etc. These facts are undeniable. However, all these inhabitations have no relevance for Naam-devotee Gursikhs. Gur Puri and Yam Puri are at considerable distance from each other. The Yam Puri is at amuch lower, nearer sphere, whereas Gur Puri is close to the Divine Court at a higher sphere. Only theRedeemed GurSikhs, Naam-practitioners have access there. These Celestial regions are existing separately.There are countless spheres that are invisible and fully inhabited. In every court and Divine Court, countless

devotees abide. They are ever close companions of the formless Being. This inaccessible world is inaccessibleand invisible to the mortals of this world, but populated the same way and even denser.

The above quotes are quite clear and need no further explanation. Regarding the Five Khands, one pointdemands careful study. How are the Khands enclosing one another? Gurbani states:

(Panna 11)Your river-like Being OLord, contains all, There is none else besides Your Supreme Being.

Just as countless beings abide in a river, yet the river is not distant from them. Similarly the whole universeabides in Sachkhand. Let us try to grasp this through another example. Geography scholars tell us that like therivulets and rivers flowing over land, there are water currents flowing in an ocean that are river-like. Some ofthese currents have hot water flow, some others have cold water and yet others normal water. At some places


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, . ,Foundland, there is maximum fog in the world because of hot and cold currents coming together. Those who arenot familiar with this geographic knowledge of currents may be surprised. However, this is a fact and thecurrents flowing in the world are even mapped.

There are countless currents in an ocean and each current has creatures abiding in it. The creatures of onecurrent may be considering creatures of another current to be living in a different place. Yet the currents flowwithin the same ocean and the creatures live in the currents. There must be many more germs within thecreatures. Thus we have germs, creatures and currents all living in the ocean. Such is the vast panorama ofnatural creation, all within Sach Khand.

The above statements of Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh Ji are also backed by scientific truth. However, thosewithout any scientific background may not be able to assimilate this knowledge. To make it easier, let us viewthis: Everybody knows that there are countless radio and television stations in the world. All are relaying theirprograms at different wavelengths and frequencies. The relayed sounds and pictures are many, in thousands,going around in space, even in our room. We can neither hear nor see these, unless we tune our radio ortelevision. As soon as we tune to the frequency, sounds are heard and pictures are seen.

The wavelengths and frequencies responsible for relaying sounds and pictures from radio and televisionstations to our radio or television are all vibrations set up in the Electro-Magnetic spectrum. We have discussedabout Electro-Magnetic spectrum earlier. We have seen how our world has came into being due to thisspectrum, as also the light, electron, proton, neutron, atom, molecule, element, compound and subsequently thewhole universe. The same Electro-magnetic spectrum produces sound and pictures for radio and television. Allthe Khands are products of the spectrum, with their own wavelength unknown to us. It is possible that all theother worlds are floating around in our room, like the sound and picture waves of radio and television stations in

the mixed up form, jumbled together. We can envision that world alone, which gets tuned to our consciousness,ignoring the rest. Guru Nanak Dev Jis consciousness thus got tuned to visioning the five Khands and thedescription in Jap Ji Sahib is exactly what was experienced by him. In our times Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh too

had similar experience, reaffirming the Revealed truth in his books.

However, it does not end there, the American scientist Robert A. Monroe, who could leave his visible body athis will and go on a visit of other worlds in the astral invisible body. There he would meet some known people,who died earlier. He happened to meet a murdered friend, whose murder had remained unsolved by the police.He learnt about the murder story from his friend and narrated the same to police on his return. The murderer wasnabbed and the admitted details of murder, which were exact reproduction of Mr. Monroes narration. Ourobjective here is to establish that Mr. Monroe certainly visited other worlds many a times, without giving all thedetails. He mentions our world in his writings, as Locale I and other worlds as Locale II. He writes in his book,Journeys Out of the Body, the following words:

All of the experimental visits to this area have helped little to formulate a more acceptable theory. The mostacceptable is the wave, vibration concept, which presumes the existence of infinity of worlds, all operating ondifferent frequencies in the Electromagnetic spectrum, can simultaneously occupy space with minimuminteraction, so might the world or worlds of Locale II be interspersed in our physical material world.

This brings us to the conclusion that the different waves of different frequencies have indeed generatedcountless worlds in the Electromagnetic spectrum, including our own world. Just as different radio and television

frequencies co-exist without interaction within the space of our room, at the same time and space, similarlyworlds of Locale II are also jumbled together.

Mrs. Betty Shine of England also reaffirms the above view in her book, Mind to Mind. She has expressedabout previous births theory in the words: It is not necessary that after death people may return to this veryplanet, because there are many other planets that can become their habitation. Many of these planets are not

visible to us, as their vibration frequency is different. The universe is infinite, with worlds inside the worlds and soon limitlessly. Some of the worlds operate at much higher vibration frequency compared to our world. We haveto return to this world merely because we have not progressed adequately, so as to be born at those higherlevel worlds.

So, Jap Ji sahibs described Five Khands, in the light of foregoing discussion, are in reality Regions, spheresor worlds like our own. These are certainly not the subject of minds imagination or flight, nor can these beconstrued as spiritual stages of Naam-practice. They are indeed part of the universal creation and fullyinhabited.

---------Article ends.

Guru Piyario from this informative article it is very clear that the Arths of these Khands explained commonly aremere imaginary created Arths.

With Regards,Daas,JASJIT SINGH


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