Topics, in depth
ਹੁਕਮHukam
Living within the Divine Order
What does it mean to accept the Divine will, without giving up?
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.Awaiting review by a learned reader.
Discover
The very first pauri of Japji Sahib asks the question at the heart of a spiritual life: how do we become true, and how is the wall of falsehood between us and the Divine brought down? Guru Nanak Dev Ji's answer is not a ritual or a technique. It is a way 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
Hukam (ਹੁਕਮ) is the Divine Order: the will by which everything comes into being, is sustained and changes. To walk in the Hukam is to live in harmony with that Order rather than against it.
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.
Understand
Everything is already within it. The second pauri of Japji opens by saying that forms are created by Hukam, life is given by Hukam, and greatness, joy and suffering come by Hukam. Then it closes the circle:
ਹੁਕਮੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਹੁਕਮ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਜੇ ਬੁਝੈ ਤ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
Transliteration Hukmai andar sabh ko bāhar hukam na koe. Nānak hukmai je bujhai ta haumai kahai na koe.
Translation, editorial Everyone is within the Hukam; no one is outside it. Nanak, whoever understands the Hukam no longer speaks from haumai.
Babaji’s katha of this pauri
This is one of Gurbani's most important connections. No one stands outside the Hukam; the only question is whether we understand it. And the sign of understanding is that haumai falls silent. Resistance to the Hukam and the voice of the ego are the same thing seen from two sides.
Beyond full description. Japji is also clear that Hukam cannot be fully described: ‘the Hukam cannot be told’ is how the second pauri begins. Gurbani asks us to bujhna the Hukam, a verb that means to understand or to grasp, as one solves a riddle, rather than to define it. Sikh commentators differ on how far Hukam can be known through reason. Most agree it is recognised through Naam and the Guru's Shabad more than through argument.
Acceptance is not passivity. Hukam is sometimes heard as fatalism: whatever happens is God's will, so nothing need be done. Gurmat does not teach that. The same Gurus who sang of the sweetness of the Divine will (bhāṇā mīṭhā) also stood against injustice, built institutions, worked, served and, when necessary, fought. Living in Hukam means acting fully while letting go of the demand that outcomes obey me. Babaji's recent katha puts it plainly in its title: ‘ਹੁਕਮ ਮੰਨਣਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਔਖਾ’, obeying the Hukam is very hard. It is a discipline, not a resignation.
Hukam and karma. Gurbani speaks both of Hukam and of the consequences of our own actions (see the theme on conduct). These are not presented as rival systems. Our actions bear fruit within the Order, and grace (nadar) can still transform what our actions alone would produce. How these fit together is one of the deepest questions in Gurmat, and it is honest to admit that commentators explain it in different ways.
Babaji’s kathaLinked by the titles of the recordings and videos.
Explore Babaji’s katha
Katha of the Gurbani quoted here
Videos
ਹੁਕਮ ਮੰਨਣਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਔਖਾ। ਸ਼ਬਦ ਦੀ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ। ਫਕੀਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਅੜਨਾ ਚੰਗਾ ਨਹੀਂ। Baba Jagjit Singh Ji Harkhowal
ਬਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਗੰਗਾ। ਦੁੱਖਾਂ ਦੀ ਨਵਿਰਤੀ। ਦੁੱਖ ਸਹਿਣ ਦੀ ਸਮਰੱਥਾ। ਵੈਰਾਗ ਦੀ ਕਥਾ। ਭਾਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਮਿੱਠਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਮੰਨਣਾ।
ਮਹਾਂਪੁਰਖਾਂ ਦੀ ਸੇਵਾ l ਦੁੱਖ ਪ੍ਰਾਹੁਣੇ ਦਾ ਸਤਿਕਾਰ l ਪ੍ਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਨੂੰ ਨੇੜੇ ਦੇਖਣਾ l ਸੰਤਾਂ ਮਹਾਪੁਰਸ਼ਾਂ ਦੇ ਲੱਛਣ l
ਹੁਕਮ ਦੀ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ. ਏਕਤਾ ਵਿਚ ਬਲ. ਭੁੱਖ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਨ ਪਾਪ. Sant Baba Jagjit Singh Ji Harkhowal Sunday
ਦੁਨੀਆਂ ਮੁਸਾਫ਼ਿਰ ਖ਼ਾਨਾ ll ਭਾਣਾ ਮੰਨਣ ਦੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ l Anmol Bachan Sant Baba Jagjit Singh Ji Harkhowal
ਹੁਕਮ ਮੰਨਣ ਦੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ. ਸਾਡੀ ਹਾਲਤ. Sant Baba Jagjit Singh Ji Harkhowal. amawas katha 29.01.2025
Editorial introductionDrafted with AI assistance for this site. Not Gurbani and not Babaji’s words.
How this connects
- ਹਉਮੈ Haumai
Japji's second pauri joins them directly: whoever understands the Hukam no longer speaks from haumai. They are two ways of facing the same reality, from the narrow self or from the Order that holds everything. Ang 1
- ਨਾਮ Naam
Living in Naam and walking in the Hukam describe one alignment from two sides: remembrance from within, harmony with the Order from without.
- ਰਹਿਣੀ Rahini: living it
Gurbani holds both that we reap our own actions and that all happens within the Hukam. Responsibility and acceptance belong together. Ang 1
Where they pull apart. Read carelessly, Hukam can sound like fatalism and karma like self-reliance; Gurmat accepts neither reading on its own.
Questions for reflectionEditorial, offered for your own enquiry.
Reflect
- Where in your life are you still arguing with what has already happened?
- Can you name one situation where acceptance would make you more able to act well, not less?
- How do you tell the difference between surrendering to the Hukam and simply avoiding effort?
A practice for this week
At the end of each day this week, recall one thing that did not go as you wanted. Say inwardly the phrase often heard in Sikh homes, ‘ਤੇਰਾ ਭਾਣਾ ਮੀਠਾ’ (your will is sweet), and then ask honestly whether anything is still yours to do about it. Do that part. Leave the rest.
Primary sourcesGurbani, and the texts Babaji has given katha on.
Go deeper
Gurbani on this page
Texts Babaji has taught on this theme
- ਜਪੁਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ Japji Sahib9 recordings
- ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji380 recordings
Found something mistaken or missing? Write to satnam@harkhowal.com.