It is great joy of learn that 'The Psalm of Peace' of Guru Arjun's Sukhmani is being published in the beautiful translation of Professor Teja Singh. This devotional prayer for peace is needed at present more than ever. Indeed 'he who listens to this Psalm with love and gives it a place in his heart shall be able to commune with the Lord'. There, where the language of the heart speaks. there one can find true enlightenment.
Unity is the light-winged dream of humanity. But when this dream is to be turned into intention, few followers remain. The transmutation of the intention into action disperses the majority. Thus the affirmation of Unity is the aspiration to the Higher law, which humanity in its present state congnizes with difficulty. Whosoever wishes to serve the Brotherhood of Light does not fear conceptions which are not accepted by the multitudes.
Thus wisdom ordains! And are these commandments abstract and inapplicable ? If Truth is one and Culture is one, the concept of Unity and Peace reveals itself in full understanding. Verily it is a reality for those hearts which are aflame. The call for peace and co-operation is indeed a call for creative labour, for Good and Bliss !
May 'The Psalm of Peace' kindle many searching hearts!
Sukhamni, or 'The Psalm of Peace', as I have called it, is an important composition of Guru Arjun (1563-1606) in the Holy Granth. It was composed in a quiet wood (now occupied by a stack of chimneys) close to the tank called Ramsar to the south of Amritsar. It is recited early in the morning by all devout Sikhs. It is designed to stir the depths of human nature and to start a current of religious emotion that will cleanse and invigorate our tiny selves and unite them with the Source of all existence. It soothes the heart, and deepens the joy in life. There are thousands of people, Sikhs and non-Sikhs, living in the Punjab and hailing from Sind, who will not begin their day's work without repeating this Psalm of Peace. It is known to have been the favourite reading of a Mohammedan minister of Akbar, named Vizier Khan, who would not take his food until it had been recited to him in the morning.
There is something in the sincerity of the mental approach, the hidden pathos and the verbal music which goes straight to the heart of the reader, no matter to what class or creed he may belong.
Nobody can resist the universal appeal of such passages as these: 'God's presence rolls through the sun, the moon and the stars, And in the flights of Human thought as expressed in books like the Vedas, Puranas and Smritis.
All Speak the language of God, He keeping Himself well-poised and unmoved."
(XXIII. 3)
'The holy man's eye sees a glimpse of God in everything:
His heart feels a current of faith running through all religions;
His ears catch a sweetness of sound in all talk,'
(ΧΧΙΙΙ. 4)
*Of all religions the best is
The practice of the Name with purity of conduct.
Of all rites the best is
To purge one's heart of filth and evil tendencies by association with those who have disciplined themselves.
Of all devotional practices the best is The constant application of the heart to the Name.
Of all sacred texts the most sacred is
That by which one hears the praise of God and utters it to others.
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