The Sikh View on Happiness

Guru Arjan's Sukhmani

Kamala Elizabeth Nayar, Jaswinder Singh Sandhu

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781350139893
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Asian Religions

Sukhmani (The Pearl of Happiness) is a popular Sikh text by Guru Arjan, which inculcates the Sikh religious ethos and philosophical perspective on wellbeing and happiness. The book features a new translation of this celebrated Sikh text and provides the first in-depth analysis of it. The Sikh View on Happiness begins with an overview of the nature of suffering and the attainment of happiness in Indian religions. This provides the foundation for the examination of the historical, social, and religious context of the Sukhmani and its contribution to the development of the Sikh tradition. In addition to exploring the spiritual teachings of the Sukhmani, Nayar and Sandhu draw upon the Sikh understanding of the mind, illness, and wellbeing to both introduce key Sikh psychological concepts and illustrate the practical application of traditional healing practices in the contemporary context. In doing so, they highlight the overlap of the teachings in the Sukhmani with concepts and themes found in Western psychotherapy, such as mindfulness, meaningful living, and resilience.

1

The pursuit of happiness in Indic religions

The Sukhmani (The Pearl of Happiness) is the most celebrated text composed by Guru Arjan (1563–1606 ce), the fifth of a succession of ten human Gurus,¹ who together established the Sikh religion or Sikhi (experiential or lived path of learning).² Consistent with the writings of the first four Sikh Gurus who had preceded Guru Arjan, the Sukhmani teaches the central importance of Nam – the expression of the One essence in all existence. In doing so, the devotional text underscores Nam as both the panacea to overcome human suffering (dukh) and the ultimate means to liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (sansar). Questions surrounding the source of, and the cure for, suffering are prominent themes in the major religions originating in the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Broadly, Indic religions focus on the means to liberation from sansar, because the state of human bondage to the continual cycle of rebirth is regarded as the primary source of suffering. Even though Indic religious traditions share this worldview, they are set apart by their explanations about the specific causes of, and the remedies for, suffering or affliction (kalesh; Skt. klesha). From the standpoint of the development of Indic religions, the more ancient traditions tend to focus on mental and physical discipline within the context of world renunciation, as the sole means to liberation.³ In contrast, the later devotional traditions are more oriented towards the accessibility of intrinsic religious practice for the common or lay people.⁴

As taught by Guru Nanak (1469–1539 ce), the founder of Sikhi, existential suffering can be eliminated by renouncing the ego while continuing to live in society.⁵ Although Sikhi is often described as a ‘householder religion’,⁶ Guru Nanak’s spiritual approach actually rejects the traditional path of the householder, even as it explicitly establishes the Sikh position as against that of world renunciation in the pursuit of liberation.⁷ Guru Nanak’s case about ego-renunciation and social involvement is most prominently explained in the Siddh Goshth (Discourse to the Siddhs). Guru Nanak holds the position that while the individual ego (ahankar) is caught in the web of the world’s illusions (maya),⁸ Nam is the panacea that provides liberation from such influence and entanglement.⁹

Building on Guru Nanak’s perspective about ego-renunciation in the larger context of social involvement,¹⁰ Guru Arjan significantly provides valuable and practical teachings on the cure for affliction (kalesh). In fact, the first astapadi (part of a hymn comprising eight verses) of the Sukhmani text explains how mindful remembrance of Nam results in the removal of kalesh:

Remember mindfully, mindfully, and attain happiness,

tension and kalesh vanish from the body.

Be mindful of the One who cares for the universe,

and whose Nam is chanted by countless people, in a myriad of ways.

… Those yearning for a vision of Your Oneness,

Nanak, I can be saved in their company. (Sukhmani 1.1)

Indeed, the Sukhmani addresses the existential problem of suffering (dukh), and sheds light on how to overcome the human condition of suffering for those navigating the trials and turbulence that come with mundane existence. However, since the attainment of happiness is not merely the result of removing or overcoming dukh, Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani also provides valuable insights into human nature, the cultivation of wellness and the pursuit of happiness for people living as householders in the world. More specifically, the text underscores Nam as the panacea for human suffering even as it highlights ‘detached engagement’ as a critical constituent of well-being. In sum, the Sukhmani illustrates Guru Arjan’s existential, psychological and spiritual perspective on wellness and happiness.

Before commencing the analysis of the Sukhmani in terms of its insights on well-being and happiness, it is important to first explore how various Indic religious and philosophical traditions understand the nature of suffering (dukh) and happiness (sukh).

Suffering and happiness in Indic religions

The axial age in the Indian subcontinent is marked by the birth of three major Indic religious streams – the Upanishadic, Jaina and Buddhist traditions.¹¹ Indo-Aryan migration towards the Gangetic plains in North India, and the subsequent development of towns in the region (c. 900–600 bce),¹² gave rise to different religious systems, like Buddhism and Jainism, that opposed Brahminic hegemony. Dissenting traditions emerged because the urban people were not receptive to the monopoly of the Brahmin ‘priestly’ class (Skt. varna) over existing religious knowledge and ritual practices.¹³ In reaction to Vedic ritualism and the perceived futility of the materialistic goal-orientation of Vedic fire and animal sacrifice (Skt. yajna) – including the pursuit of boons in this life and in heaven (Skt. svarga) – the Upanishadic, Theravada Buddhist and Jaina traditions emphasized metaphysical enquiry. In doing so, these traditions took on the new distinct worldview of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (Skt. samsara).¹⁴ Bondage to samsara is the result of good or bad action (Skt. karma). Actions, which are accumulated in the past and present life, shape the circumstances for rebirth. Since the major source of suffering is bondage to samsara, the ultimate goal is liberation from this continual cycle of suffering. Accordingly, experiential wisdom is necessary to break the bonds of karma and ultimately samsara.

While maintaining the Brahminic view of society (i.e. the varna system), the Upanishadic challenge (c. 900–500 bce) to Vedic ritualism (even though there are also mythic and ritual passages in the Upanishads) views sacrifice and its materialistic goals as both an inferior and an ineffective means to the new goal of liberation. Rather, the Upanishadic tradition espouses jnana – the metaphysical understanding of the true nature of Reality – as the ultimate goal of liberation. Jnana is attained through physical and mental discipline within the context of world renunciation. Renouncing the material world is regarded as the prerequisite for the pursuit of liberation and involves a life of celibacy, asceticism, rigorous Vedic study and meditation.

World renunciation came to be regarded as the necessary act for those pursuing liberation because it provided the necessary ‘greenhouse-like’ environment conducive for renunciates to break free from all desires and attachment. Not only is desire a source of suffering, but it is also an obstacle to acquiring experiential wisdom necessary for liberation. Desire connotes the state of attachment, including attachment to the notion of a better rebirth. Desire for joyful or pleasurable experiences, even of a spiritual nature, gives rise to attachment whereby the sense of ‘I’ (i.e. ego) misidentifies itself as the true self (Skt. atman). More specifically, allowing the illusory nature of the world (maya) to simultaneously stimulate and subdue the mind results in a state of entanglement with maya, which creates a ‘smoke screen’ between the sense of ‘I’ and the true self. Conversely, detachment from desire and the sense of ‘I’ results in the awareness of one’s true nature:

Now, this is the aspect of his that is beyond what appears to be good, freed from what is bad, and without fear.

It is like this. As a man embraced by a woman he loves is oblivious to everything within or without, so this person embraced by the self (atman) consisting of knowledge is oblivious to everything within or without.

Clearly, this is the aspect of his, where all desires are fulfilled, where the self is the only desire, and which is free from desires and far from sorrow.¹⁵

Awareness eradicates the smoke screen of illusions and, in turn, cures affliction and suffering.

Renunciation and the removal of the kleshas

Klesha (Punjabi kalesh) is a key concept in Indic religious traditions, especially in the Yoga philosophical school. While there have prevailed different Vedic, Buddhist, Jaina and Tantric practices for controlling bodily and mental processes – even as some practices may have emerged from non-Aryan sources¹⁶ – there are many references to yogic discipline in the Upanishads.¹⁷ Yogic practice is primarily described as the controlling of the senses to attain discriminating wisdom.¹⁸ While yogic practice preceded Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (c. 100 bce), the text is regarded as the formalization of classical yoga in the Indian subcontinent, which then came to be considered as one of the six Hindu orthodox philosophical schools.¹⁹

The Samkhya School is regarded as the theoretical foundation of the Yoga School’s practical orientation towards spiritual attainment.²⁰ Samkhya metaphysics is based on a dualistic realism. There are two eternal realities: (1) the self or pure consciousness (Skt. purusha) and (2) matter (Skt. prakriti). These two eternal realities are under the influence of the three constituents or attributes (Skt. gunas) that are considered to ma...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents 
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Note on translation
• 1 The pursuit of happiness in Indic religions
• 2 Guru Arjan’s life, work and martyrdom
• 3 The ritual function of the Sukhmani
• 4 The Sukhmani: Teachings and practice
• 5 A path towards meaningful living
• 6 Understanding Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani: Summary and conclusions
• The Sukhmani: The Pearl of Happiness (An English Translation)
• Summary of the four watches of the day (Astapadis 1–12)
• Summary of the four watches of the night (Astapadis 13–24)
• Glossary of Punjabi terms
• Notes
• References
• Index
• Imprint