Topics, the journey
ਮਨਮੁਖ ਤੋਂ ਗੁਰਮੁਖFrom manmukh to gurmukh
The journey of a human life, as Gurbani maps it
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.Awaiting review by a learned reader.
Two ways of facing
In Gurbani, every person lives between two ways of facing. The manmukh (ਮਨਮੁਖ) is one whose face, mukh, is turned towards their own mind, man: led by its wants, its fears and its pride. The gurmukh (ਗੁਰਮੁਖ) is one whose face is turned towards the Guru: shaped by the Shabad, living in Hukam, remembering Naam.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਸਨਮੁਖੁ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਮੁਖੀਆ ॥
Transliteration Gurmukh sanmukh manmukh vemukhīā.
Translation, editorial The gurmukh faces towards the One; the manmukh is turned away.
About the translation. The line answers the question asked a little earlier in the same composition: ‘ਕਉਣੁ ਸੁ ਸਨਮੁਖੁ ਕਉਣੁ ਵੇਮੁਖੀਆ’, who faces towards, and who is turned away?
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
These are not two kinds of people, sorted once and for all. Gurbani speaks to the manmukh as someone who can turn, and warns the gurmukh against pride. Both ways of facing are present in every life. The journey is the slow turning of a whole person.
ਨਾਨਕ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਬੰਧੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਕਰਾਏ ॥
Transliteration Nānak manmukh bandh hai gurmukh mukat karāe.
Translation, editorial Nanak, the manmukh is bound; the gurmukh is set free.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
This page follows that turning in seven steps. It begins with an honest look at life facing the self, and the moment of turning. Then it follows the map Guru Nanak Dev Ji gives near the close of Japji Sahib: the five khands, or realms, of Dharam, Gian, Saram, Karam and Sach. Japji then names the disciplines with which the Shabad is ‘minted’ in a person. Each step links to Babaji's katha of the pauri it draws on, and to the topics where his katha takes it further.
Step 1 of 7Drawn from Gurbani on the manmukh.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਮਨਮੁਖFacing the self
Where everyone begins. Life facing the self is ordinary; it is where we all start. The mind wants, fears, compares and defends, and we follow it without noticing that we are following anything. Gurbani's portrait of the manmukh is not of a villain. It is of someone asleep: busy, often religious, sometimes successful, and yet turned away from the source of their own life.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਚਾਨਣੁ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਮੁਗਧੁ ਗੁਬਾਰੁ ॥
Transliteration Gurmukh chānaṇ jāṇīai manmukh mugadh gubār.
Translation, editorial The gurmukh knows the light; the foolish manmukh lives in pitch darkness.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
Its marks. Gurbani names them. There is haumai, which weighs every experience from the point of view of ‘I’. There are the five thieves of lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride. There is dūjā bhāu, the love of ‘the second’, which puts Maya in the place of the One. And there is restlessness, because a mind that is its own master never rests.
ਹਉਮੈ ਦੀਰਘ ਰੋਗੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਰੂ ਭੀ ਇਸੁ ਮਾਹਿ ॥
Transliteration Haumai dīragh rog hai dārū bhī is māhi.
Translation, editorial Haumai is a chronic illness, and its remedy also lies within it.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
Why Gurbani names it. The diagnosis is not meant to condemn. To call haumai an illness is also to say it can be healed, and that the remedy is close at hand.
In daily life
- Notice how much of a day goes on defending yourself, comparing yourself, or wanting to be seen.
- Notice what you reach for first when you are anxious.
Reflect
- Where in your life are you most certain that you are right?
- What would you be most afraid to lose tomorrow?
Step 2 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauri 1; Raag Majh, Ang 115.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਸਨਮੁਖTurning around
The first question. Japji Sahib opens the journey with a question, not a rule: how does one become truthful, and how is the wall of falsehood brought down? The answer is a direction of walking.
ਕਿਵ ਸਚਿਆਰਾ ਹੋਈਐ ਕਿਵ ਕੂੜੈ ਤੁਟੈ ਪਾਲਿ ॥ਹੁਕਮਿ ਰਜਾਈ ਚਲਣਾ ਨਾਨਕ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ॥
Transliteration Kiv sachiārā hoīai kiv kūṛai tuṭai pāl. Hukam rajāī chalṇā Nānak likhiā nāl.
Translation, editorial How does one become truthful, and how is the wall of falsehood torn down? By walking in the Hukam of the One whose will it is. Nanak, this is written within us.
About the translation. ‘Likhiā nāl’ is read by some as ‘written into us from the beginning’ and by others as ‘written with (by) the Hukam itself’. Both readings are traditional.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Looking into the mirror. The turning begins when a person sees their own mind honestly. Guru Amar Das Ji gives the image of a mirror. Mirrors were once polished metal, and rust spoiled the reflection; in the mind, the rust is haumai.
ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਆਰਸੀ ਕੋਈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਖੈ ॥ਮੋਰਚਾ ਨ ਲਾਗੈ ਜਾ ਹਉਮੈ ਸੋਖੈ ॥
Transliteration Ih man ārsī koī gurmukh vekhai. Morchā na lāgai jā haumai sokhai.
Translation, editorial This mind is a mirror; rare is the gurmukh who looks into it. No rust settles on it once haumai is dried away.
About the translation. Mirrors were once polished metal, which rusts and stops reflecting. ‘Sokhai’ is read as haumai being dried up or burnt away.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
Taking the Guru. No one turns alone. In Gurmat the Guru is the Shabad, met in Gurbani, in katha and in the company of those who live it. One of Babaji's recent divans names this step in its title: ‘ਗੁਰੂ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨਾ’, taking the Guru.
ਮਨ ਤੂੰ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥
Transliteration Man tūṅ jot sarūp hai āpṇā mūl pachhāṇ.
Translation, editorial O mind, you are the very form of the Light. Recognise your own source.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
In daily life
- Keep one fixed time each day for Gurbani, even a few minutes.
- Spend time with the people who make it easier for you to remember.
Reflect
- When did you last change your mind about something important? What made it possible?
- Who helps you see yourself honestly?
Step 3 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauri 34, Ang 7.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਧਰਮ ਖੰਡThe realm of duty
The earth as a place of dharam. Japji describes creation: nights and seasons, air, water and fire. In the midst of them stands the earth, set in place as a dharamsāl, a home where righteous living is practised.
ਰਾਤੀ ਰੁਤੀ ਥਿਤੀ ਵਾਰ ॥ਪਵਣ ਪਾਣੀ ਅਗਨੀ ਪਾਤਾਲ ॥ਤਿਸੁ ਵਿਚਿ ਧਰਤੀ ਥਾਪਿ ਰਖੀ ਧਰਮ ਸਾਲ ॥
Transliteration Rātī rutī thitī vār. Pavaṇ pāṇī agnī pātāl. Tis vich dhartī thāp rakhī dharam sāl.
Translation, editorial Nights, seasons, lunar days and weekdays; air, water, fire and the regions below: in the midst of these, the earth was set in place as a home for dharam.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Every deed is weighed. In this realm a person learns that actions have consequences, and that life is lived before a court that is itself true.
ਕਰਮੀ ਕਰਮੀ ਹੋਇ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥ਸਚਾ ਆਪਿ ਸਚਾ ਦਰਬਾਰੁ ॥
Transliteration Karmī karmī hoe vīchār. Sachā āp sachā darbār.
Translation, editorial Each is judged by their own deeds. True is the One, and true is the court.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
What it asks. The realm of duty is the ground floor of spiritual life: honest earning, keeping one's word, caring for family and community, seva, and the discipline of maryada that gives a day its shape. A spiritual life that tries to skip this realm has nowhere to stand.
In daily life
- Earn honestly, share some of what you earn, and remember the Giver: kirat karnī, vaṇḍ chhakṇā, nām japṇā.
- Keep one small promise this week exactly.
Reflect
- Which of your responsibilities do you carry grudgingly? What would change if you saw it as dharam?
Step 4 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauris 35 and 36, Ang 7.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਗਿਆਨ ਖੰਡThe realm of knowledge
The world grows larger. In the realm of knowledge the seeker's horizon opens. Japji lists countless winds, waters and fires, countless worlds, teachers and seekers, without end.
ਧਰਮ ਖੰਡ ਕਾ ਏਹੋ ਧਰਮੁ ॥ਗਿਆਨ ਖੰਡ ਕਾ ਆਖਹੁ ਕਰਮੁ ॥
Transliteration Dharam khanḍ kā eho dharam. Giān khanḍ kā ākhahu karam.
Translation, editorial This is the way of the realm of dharam. Now speak of the working of the realm of knowledge.
About the translation. The pauri goes on to list countless winds, waters and fires, worlds, teachers and seekers, without end: the vastness that opens in this realm.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
ਗਿਆਨ ਖੰਡ ਮਹਿ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਪਰਚੰਡੁ ॥ਤਿਥੈ ਨਾਦ ਬਿਨੋਦ ਕੋਡ ਅਨੰਦੁ ॥
Transliteration Giān khanḍ mahi giān parchanḍ. Tithai nād binod koḍ anand.
Translation, editorial In the realm of knowledge, spiritual wisdom blazes forth. There is the celestial music, delight and joy beyond counting.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Knowledge that humbles. Spiritual knowledge here is not information. It is the dawning sense of how vast creation is, and how small the ‘I’ is within it. Gurbani is clear that learning which feeds pride only binds a person more tightly.
ਪਾਠੁ ਪੜਿਓ ਅਰੁ ਬੇਦੁ ਬੀਚਾਰਿਓ ਨਿਵਲਿ ਭੁਅੰਗਮ ਸਾਧੇ ॥ਪੰਚ ਜਨਾ ਸਿਉ ਸੰਗੁ ਨ ਛੁਟਕਿਓ ਅਧਿਕ ਅਹੰਬੁਧਿ ਬਾਧੇ ॥
Transliteration Pāṭh paṛio ar bed bīchārio nival bhuangam sādhe. Panch janā sio sang na chhuṭkio adhik ahanbudh bādhe.
Translation, editorial I read the texts and reflected on the Vedas; I practised the inner cleansing and the coiled-breath disciplines. Yet my company with the five was not broken, and I was bound all the more by self-conceit.
About the translation. ‘Nival’ and ‘bhuangam’ name hatha-yoga practices (abdominal cleansing; the kundalini or coiled-breath practice). ‘The five’ are kaam, krodh, lobh, moh and ahankar.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
In daily life
- Read or listen to a little Gurbani each day, with its meaning.
- Notice when knowing more makes you feel above others.
Reflect
- What have you learned that made you humbler? What has made you prouder?
Step 5 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauri 36, Ang 8.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਸਰਮ ਖੰਡThe realm of effort
Where a person is reshaped. Japji says that in this realm attention, understanding, mind and intellect are fashioned anew. This is the work of formation: steady, often hidden, often slow.
ਸਰਮ ਖੰਡ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਰੂਪੁ ॥ਤਿਥੈ ਘਾੜਤਿ ਘੜੀਐ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਅਨੂਪੁ ॥
Transliteration Saram khanḍ kī bāṇī rūp. Tithai ghāṛat ghaṛīai bahut anūp.
Translation, editorial Beauty is the language of the realm of effort. There, forms of incomparable beauty are fashioned.
About the translation. ‘Saram’ is read as effort or spiritual endeavour (Sanskrit śrama) by many commentators, and as humility, or as beauty and bliss, by others.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
ਤਿਥੈ ਘੜੀਐ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਮਤਿ ਮਨਿ ਬੁਧਿ ॥ਤਿਥੈ ਘੜੀਐ ਸੁਰਾ ਸਿਧਾ ਕੀ ਸੁਧਿ ॥
Transliteration Tithai ghaṛīai surat mat man budh. Tithai ghaṛīai surā sidhā kī sudh.
Translation, editorial There, attention, understanding, mind and intellect are shaped anew. There, the awareness of the spiritual heroes and the perfected ones is shaped.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Effort, humility, beauty. The word saram is read in more than one way. Many commentators take it as effort or spiritual endeavour; others read it as humility, or as beauty and joy. Each reading catches something true of this realm: it is where patient labour in Naam makes a person beautiful within. Japji's closing Salok calls that labour hard work.
ਜਿਨੀ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਇਆ ਗਏ ਮਸਕਤਿ ਘਾਲਿ ॥ਨਾਨਕ ਤੇ ਮੁਖ ਉਜਲੇ ਕੇਤੀ ਛੁਟੀ ਨਾਲਿ ॥
Transliteration Jinī nām dhiāiā gae masakat ghāl. Nānak te mukh ujale ketī chhuṭī nāl.
Translation, editorial Those who meditated on Naam, having put in the labour, depart with radiant faces, Nanak, and many are set free along with them.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
In daily life
- Keep a daily simran, especially on the days it feels dry.
- Stay close to the sangat; formation happens in company.
Reflect
- Which practice do you keep only when it feels good?
Step 6 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauri 37, Ang 8.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਕਰਮ ਖੰਡThe realm of grace
Grace. The fourth realm is named karam, which here means grace, not karma. Its language is power: the power that does what effort alone cannot.
ਕਰਮ ਖੰਡ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਜੋਰੁ ॥ਤਿਥੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰੁ ॥
Transliteration Karam khanḍ kī bāṇī jor. Tithai hor na koī hor.
Translation, editorial Power is the language of the realm of grace. There is no one else there, no one else.
About the translation. ‘Karam’ here is generally read as grace (from the Persian), not karma. ‘No one else’ is read both as the Divine alone being present and as the seeker's separate self no longer standing apart.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
What changes. Japji says that this realm is home to spiritual heroes in whom the Divine is present through and through; they do not die and are not deceived. The seeker's part was effort. The completion is a gift.
In daily life
- Do Ardas: ask, and leave the outcome in the Hukam.
- Notice the help you have received that you did not earn.
Reflect
- Where are you still trying to earn what can only be received?
Step 7 of 7Drawn from Japji Sahib, Pauri 37, Ang 8.Editorial guide; Gurbani is quoted with its source.
ਸਚ ਖੰਡThe realm of truth
The realm of truth. The last realm is the dwelling of the Formless One, who watches over creation with a glance of grace. Japji says that describing it is as hard as steel: words fall short here.
ਸਚ ਖੰਡਿ ਵਸੈ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੁ ॥ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਵੇਖੈ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥
Transliteration Sach khanḍ vasai nirankār. Kar kar vekhai nadar nihāl.
Translation, editorial In the realm of truth dwells the Formless One, who creates and watches over creation, and with a glance of grace brings joy.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Not an escape. The freedom Gurbani speaks of is lived here, in the middle of ordinary life.
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਭੇਟਿਐ ਪੂਰੀ ਹੋਵੈ ਜੁਗਤਿ ॥ਹਸੰਦਿਆ ਖੇਲੰਦਿਆ ਪੈਨੰਦਿਆ ਖਾਵੰਦਿਆ ਵਿਚੇ ਹੋਵੈ ਮੁਕਤਿ ॥
Transliteration Nānak satigur bheṭiai pūrī hovai jugat. Hasandiā khelandiā painandiā khāvandiā viche hovai mukat.
Translation, editorial Nanak, meeting the True Guru, one finds the complete way of living. Laughing, playing, dressing and eating, one is liberated in the midst of it all.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
Reflect
- Have you known moments of complete ease, of sahaj? What were you doing?
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.
ਸਚੀ ਟਕਸਾਲThe true mint
Japji then gives the method in a single image: a goldsmith's workshop, in which the Shabad is minted into a human life. Each tool is a quality to be cultivated. Together they describe the gurmukh's discipline.
ਜਤੁ ਪਾਹਾਰਾ ਧੀਰਜੁ ਸੁਨਿਆਰੁ ॥ਅਹਰਣਿ ਮਤਿ ਵੇਦੁ ਹਥੀਆਰੁ ॥ਭਉ ਖਲਾ ਅਗਨਿ ਤਪ ਤਾਉ ॥ਭਾਂਡਾ ਭਾਉ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਤਿਤੁ ਢਾਲਿ ॥ਘੜੀਐ ਸਬਦੁ ਸਚੀ ਟਕਸਾਲ ॥
Transliteration Jat pāhārā dhīraj suniār. Ahraṇ mat ved hathīār. Bhau khalā agan tap tāu. Bhānḍā bhāu amrit tit ḍhāl. Ghaṛīai sabad sachī ṭaksāl.
Translation, editorial Let self-restraint be the furnace and patience the goldsmith; understanding the anvil and spiritual knowledge the tools; reverent awe the bellows and inner discipline the fire; love the crucible, and pour the nectar into it. So the Shabad is minted in the true mint.
About the translation. ‘Ved’ is read here as spiritual knowledge rather than the Vedas as books. ‘Bhau’ is the awe and reverence of the Divine, not ordinary fear.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
- ਜਤੁ Self-restraint
- the furnace
- ਧੀਰਜੁ Patience
- the goldsmith
- ਮਤਿ Understanding
- the anvil
- ਵੇਦੁ Spiritual knowledge
- the tools
- ਭਉ Reverent awe
- the bellows
- ਤਪ Inner discipline
- the fire
- ਭਾਉ Love
- the crucible
- ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ Amrit, the nectar
- what is poured in
The pauri ends where the five khands do, with grace.
ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰਮੁ ਤਿਨ ਕਾਰ ॥ਨਾਨਕ ਨਦਰੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਨਿਹਾਲ ॥
Transliteration Jin kau nadar karam tin kār. Nānak nadrī nadar nihāl.
Translation, editorial This is the work of those blessed with the glance of grace. Nanak, the Gracious One, with a glance, brings them joy.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖThe gurmukh
The gurmukh. Gurbani's portrait of the gurmukh is not of someone who has stopped being human. The gurmukh still works, marries, laughs and grieves, but faces the Guru in all of it: speaking from the Shabad, living in Hukam, free of the need to be at the centre.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਮੁਕਤਾ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜੁਗਤਾ ॥ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬਕਤਾ ॥
Transliteration Gurmukh muktā gurmukh jugtā. Gurmukh giānī gurmukh baktā.
Translation, editorial The gurmukh is liberated; the gurmukh is united with the way. The gurmukh is wise; the gurmukh speaks the Truth.
Babaji’s katha of this Ang
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਈ ॥
Transliteration Gurmukh nādaṅ gurmukh vedaṅ gurmukh rahiā samāī.
Translation, editorial Through the Guru comes the sound of the Word; through the Guru, spiritual wisdom; through the Guru, the One is known to pervade all.
About the translation. ‘Gurmukh’ here is read by many as ‘through the Guru’ or ‘the Guru's Word’, and by others as ‘for the one who faces the Guru’. Both readings are traditional.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
Further in Babaji's katha. In Sidh Gosht, Guru Nanak Dev Ji answers the yogis' questions by describing the gurmukh again and again; Babaji has given katha on it. His katha of Japji Sahib follows these pauris in order.
Babaji’s katha of the five khands and the mint
Japji Sahib, pauris 34 to 38, in order. Press one to listen; the next follows on.