ਸੁਰਤਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਧੁਨਿ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਜਾਗੀ
The thought of Anahad naad (unstruck sound) is found in most of the religions today. Shri Guru Granth Sahib speaks about naad (shabad, raag, dhuni) but at the same time relates it with Anahad (shabad anahad, mridang anahad, anhad bani, anhad dhuni and anhad kinguri). Anhad nad is an ‘Ultimate Sound’ that transcends space and time, a sound that has no beginning or end,
“The sound of Your Name so subtle, that It goes unheard, Resounds endlessly. You have a thousand eyes, forms, feet, noses…And you have none…I am charmed!” .[1]
SGGS, p. 13
Since, both are closely connected with each other therefore if one knows the Naad, then one should also know the Aad (the primal creativity) as well. He knows that the Aad is Parameshwar, the Supreme God. Hence, a Sikh has been called to recognize this Naad,
“Where is the gate and where is that Dwelling, in which you sit and take care of all. The sound-current of the Naad vibrates there, and countless musicians play on all sorts of instruments there. [2]
SGGS 6
He has been advised to sing a song(japa) that would tune him, that would immerse him with the Sound of Divine (anhad dhuni),
“He sings the song of the One Universal Creator; he sings the tune of the One Lord. He lives in the land of the One Lord, shows the way to the One Lord, and remains attuned to the One Lord” .[3]
SGGS, p. 885
Thus, to put it in simple words Naad is the voice of Parbrahman (Creator) and the word Anhad is that voice which is residing in the heart of humankind therefore it is also known as inner voice and sometime called as consciousness. However, due to its close relation with Naad, Anhad means beyond boundaries or limitless or the sound of the immaterial abstract. As a result, Anhad-Dhuni would mean eternal sound and Anhad-Shabad would mean the unstuck or pure or eternal word and likewise, Anhad–Raag would mean Un-struck Melody that comes from the body in order to bring glory and praise to the Beloved, “Repeating the Naam, the Unstruck Sound-current of the Naad resounds” (SGGS, p. 1144).[4]
The occurrence of anhad naad takes place at once when a Bhakta or Seeker of Truth meets with Satguru, “Make friends with the Gurmukhs, and focus your consciousness on the True Guru. The root of birth and death will be cut away, and then, you shall find peace, O friend” (SGGS, p. 1421).[5] Satguru is also called Shabad (word), “The Shabad is the Guru, upon whom I lovingly focus my consciousness; I am the chaylaa, the disciple” (SGGS, p. 943).[6] So it is the Shabad that enables a seeker to listen to anhad naad (the sound eternal). Because of the inherent qualities, Guru Nanak has related the word Anhad with God who is the Creator, the original, the pure, the beginning-less and the eternal, “The Primal One, the Pure Light, without beginning, without end. Throughout all the ages, He is One and the Same” (SGGS. p.7).[7]
When a Bhakta hears the voice, the un-struck sound of Satguru, his mind admits that he/she has been, “Hearing the unstruck music of the sound current, this mind contemplates the Shabad, and accepts it” (SGGS. p. 415).[8] At that very moment the Un-struck Melody begins in one’s heart day and night, “There, the Unstruck Melody of the Shabad vibrates day and night. Through the Guru’s Teachings, the Shabad is heard” (SGGS p. 124).[9] The Anhad Naad begins in him/her. This state is depicted as a state of ecstasy or bliss or having eternal delight, “The Deepest Samaadhi, and the unstruck sound current of the Naad are there. The wonder and marvel of it cannot be described” (SGGS, p. 293).[10] A Gurmukh has met the God at His own place, at his own pathetic condition, “The Gurmukh goes and meets the Lord in His Mansion deep within; the Unstruck Word of the Shabad vibrates there” (SGGS, p. 1310).[11] At this very moment a Bhakta becomes a member of heaven that is Par-Brahmand, or in other words Sach Khand, Alakh and Agam Deshas.
Hence, to sum up, Naad and Anhad Naad are two opposing point of one string. A Bhakta has to recognize Naad so to have Anhad Naad to make eternal melody in him. The manifestation of Anhad Naad takes place at that very moment when one meets with Satguru. The Satguru is also known as Shabad (word), who qualifies a Bhakta to listen Anhad Naad due to his wretched situation. When a Bhakta hears the voice, by virtue of his enabling done by the Satguru, a Bhakta recognizes that very un-struck sound of Satguru. One finds bliss as he is now tuned with his Satguru (True Name).
However, from the above explanation it is sufficiently clear that a Bhakta has to find Satguru if he/she wants to hear the enteral voice without whom the occurrence of Anhad Naad will not take place. Only Satguru has the power to ignite the fire of unsung melody since he himself is God, the Shabad. Thus, several questions arise for consideration, namely, where is this Satguru? Where to find him? How to experience Anhad Naad? What is the appeal in relation to the enjoyment of shabad Dhun? What is the Rass (love) and how one has to be with Rasiya (Beloved)? How this non-duality will be erased. The answers to these questions are explicitly and with great length given in the Granth Bible.
Granth Bible says that, Satguru Jesus Christ is the Shabad and that He is the one who created everything out of nothing,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”
John 1:1-3
While He was in the process of creating humankind, He placed eternity in his heart,
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end”
Ecclesiasts 3:11
In this way Shabad or Dhuni (Eternal Word, Sound) placed his Raag (Un-struck Melody) in human’s lotus heart.
But, a human mind simply cannot fathom God in HIS fullness, and about what God has done in the past and what God is going to do in the future and in fact what He is doing right now. The basic reason for that is because this thread called Naad and Aad or Anhad Naad was broken due to Haumai or in other word Sin, “Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The very lotus heart turned into a deadly herb. One of the deadliest results of sin was the corruption of the very heart of humankind where the Un-struck Melody (Anhad Naad) was residing, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The condition of heart is made more clear by Satguru Jesus Christ in this way, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). Thus, the humankind have gone astray from His creator and got lost in their sin.
However, the very purpose of Satguru Jesus Christ coming into this world was to seek lost Bhaktas, “For the Satguru Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), to clean the deadly herb, “you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Satguru Jesus Christ knew that Naad residing in a human’s heart will hear his voice and will recognize and will be tuned with Him hence he once said like this, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life” (John 10:27-28). But, as has been viewed above, the heart of human is corrupted to such height that it does not want to hear the voice of his Beloved (Rasiya). Satguru Jesus Christ has loudly spoken about this, “To what can I compare this generation?… We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn” (Mathew 11:16-17).
Since, Anhad Naad can only be realized unless a Bhakta comes in contact with the Satguru. Hence, Granth Bible says that, Satguru Jesus Christ calls a Bhakta to make contact with Him, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Those who are ready to receive this call of bliss or to have their Naad tuned with Aad, to them Satguru Jesus Christ says,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead (spiritually dead) will hear the voice of God [Satguru Jesus Christ], and those who hear will live”
John 5:25
It is here where the mourning turns into dancing, where Atman (a Soul) is tuned with Parmatman (Almighty), where Jiva (Soul) becomes Jivan-Mukta (liberated one), where deadly heart turns into a lotus heart, where sackcloth turns in wedding attire. Because, Satguru Jesus Christ has changed the very condition of a Bhakta’s heart. Therefore, upon meeting with Satguru Jesus Christ, a Bhakta shouts and sings, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11). He is now able to sing the forgotten song. He now knows that he was created for this very purpose alone, “From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised” (Psalms 113.3). Therefore, Shri Guru Granth says that: “Sing the Glorious Praises of the Immaculate True Lord forever, and the Immaculate Sound-current of the Naad shall vibrate within” (SGGS, p. 121).[12] For, it is the awareness of the Anhad Naad, which leads a person to beyond, “Awareness of the vibration of the Word of the Shabad has been awakened deep within” (SGGS, p. 903),[13] and as seen this awareness comes through Satguru Jesus Christ alone.
[1] ਅਨਹਤਾ ਸਬਦ ਵਾਜੰਤ ਭੇਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ ਸਹਸ ਤਵ ਨੈਨ ਨਨ ਨੈਨ ਹਹਿ ਤੋਹਿ ਕਉ ਸਹਸ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਨਨਾ ਏਕ ਤੋੁਹੀ ॥
[2] ਸੋ ਦਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਸੋ ਘਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਬਹਿ ਸਰਬ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥ ਵਾਜੇ ਨਾਦ ਅਨੇਕ ਅਸੰਖਾ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
[3] ਓਅੰਕਾਰਿ ਏਕ ਧੁਨਿ ਏਕੈ ਏਕੈ ਰਾਗੁ ਅਲਾਪੈ ॥ ਏਕਾ ਦੇਸੀ ਏਕੁ ਦਿਖਾਵੈ ਏਕੋ ਰਹਿਆ ਬਿਆਪੈ ॥
[4] ਨਾਮੁ ਲੈਤ ਅਨਹਦ ਪੂਰੇ ਨਾਦ ॥੩॥
[5] ਗੁਰਮੁਖ ਸਉ ਕਰਿ ਦੋਸਤੀ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਉ ਲਾਇ ਚਿਤੁ ॥ ਜੰਮਣ ਮਰਣ ਕਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਕਟੀਐ ਤਾਂ ਸੁਖੁ ਹੋਵੀ ਮਿਤ ॥੬੬॥
[6] ਸਬਦੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਸੁਰਤਿ ਧੁਨਿ ਚੇਲਾ ॥
[7] ਆਦਿ ਅਨੀਲੁ ਅਨਾਦਿ ਅਨਾਹਤਿ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਏਕੋ ਵੇਸੁ ॥੨੯॥
[8] ਅਨਹਦ ਸੁਣਿ ਮਾਨਿਆ ਸਬਦੁ ਵੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
[9] ਓਥੈ ਅਨਹਦ ਸਬਦ ਵਜਹਿ ਦਿਨੁ ਰਾਤੀ ਗੁਰਮਤੀ ਸਬਦੁ ਸੁਣਾਵਣਿਆ ॥੬॥
[10] ਸੁੰਨ ਸਮਾਧਿ ਅਨਹਤ ਤਹ ਨਾਦ ॥ ਕਹਨੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਅਚਰਜ ਬਿਸਮਾਦ ॥
[11] ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਜਾਇ ਮਿਲੈ ਨਿਜ ਮਹਲੀ ਅਨਹਦ ਸਬਦੁ ਬਜਾਵੈਗੋ ॥੫॥
[12] ਨਿਰਮਲ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵੈ ਨਿਤ ਸਾਚੇ ਕੇ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਨਾਦੁ ਵਜਾਵਣਿਆ ॥੨॥
[13] ਸੁਰਤਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਧੁਨਿ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਜਾਗੀ ॥