Satnaam - His name is Sat, Ever True
3. Satnaam His name is Sat, Ever True
A name is always given to something that exist, never to that which
does not exist. And here the name itself is Sat, which means athe
Eternal, Changeless Existence'.
But let us not be satisfied with just the literal meaning. Rather, in
our inquiry let us try to understand what Sat really is, and in our
meditation discover that which is indicated as Sat.
Everything in this world of naama, roopa and guna-this world of name,
form and quality-is ever-changing. It therefore cannot be Sat. so
what is the Reality supporting the world?
It is observed that the seer of the change is something other than
the change. If you have seen all the cars that have passed by whilst
you were on the road, certainly you were not in any of the moving
cars. In other words, you, the observer or seer of the change, are
not part of or inside the change, but outside of it a changeless
vantage-point.
None of the experiences in the three states, waking, dream and deep
sleep, can be the Sat. neither the waker, nor the dreamer nor deep
sleeper. So what is the Reality supporting the world, and what is the
Truth about myself?
We consider ourselves to be the body and think of ourselves as
handsome or beautiful, tall or short, fat or lean, etc. But this body
does not exist in our dream or deep sleep. Then how can we say that
we are the body? Yet, in spite of the body not being available to us
in the other two states, we still exist. Therefore by identifying
with the body, I am identifying with the unreal.
The waker is not present in the dream or in deep sleep, nor are the
dreamer or sleeper present in the waking state, and still, I, the
witness, the saakshi, am aware of all the experiences in the three
states. This Awareness or Consciousness, the Atma Chaitanya who is
the witness of the three states and therefore of the entire world of
experiences, who is the witness of the ever-changing body, mind and
intellect, is the Eternal, Changeless Existence, which in philosophy
we call atruth' and the religion 'God'.
This is the real I, the Atma Chaitanya, who is the one Changeless in
all the changes, which is Om and named as Sat. He who knows this has
recognized the Truth. Therefore from the many names of God Shri Guru
Nanakji has chosen Sat Naam.
The appellation Sat Naam can also be understood in several other
ways: One, as already explained, Its name is Sat because It is the
Eternal, Immutable Existence.
Two, Sat Naam also means 'His name is true', or, put another way, 'He
is true to His name'. Our names are not as per what we are. A man may
be named Ram but his actions might be like Ravana's! The name could
be Balbeer, meaning 'strong and courageous', but the man might be
such a weakling he could be blown away like a feather! Ishwara or the
Lord is truly Sat, therefore He is called by exactly what He is, Sat.
Three, His name is atruth' because it leads us to Him and reveals the
Truth.
Four, when we said earlier that the One Lord Om is Sat, that is, It
is Eternal, the reader who did not inquire deeply enough could have
come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as Sat, for
everything in this world is changing. So the compassionate Guru
Nanakji says that the Lord does have a name.... Which means that He
does exist, for one does not give a name to something that does not
exist.
Five, as a name also connotes status, this implies that He, the Lord,
has great name and fame. He is the one with the greatest position or
status. And it is certainly so, for He is Kartaa Purakh.
Satnaam - His name is Sat, Ever True
http://esamskriti.com/
Guru Granth Sahib: 1. Mool Mantra - Fundamental Meanings
Guru Granth Sahib: 2. Ik Onkaar - The One God, the Absolute Reality
Guru Granth Sahib: 3. Satnaam - His name is Sat, Ever True
Guru Granth Sahib: 4. Kartaa Purakh - The Only Doer, the One Creator
Guru Granth Sahib: 5. Nirbhau Nirvair - Fearless and All-loving is He
Guru Granth Sahib: 6. Akaal Moorat - His Form (Existence) Transcends Time
Guru Granth Sahib: 7. Ajuni - He is Without Birth or Beginning
Guru Granth Sahib: 8. Saibangh - He is Self-existent and Self-illuminating
Guru Granth Sahib: 9. Gurparsaad - The Grace of the Guru
Guru Granth Sahib: 10. Jap - Chant
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