True Wealth

               DnwsrI mhlw 3 Gru 2 caupdy] 

                     <> siqgur pRswid ] 

iehu Dnu AKutu n inKutY n jwie] pUrY siqguir dIAw idKwie ] 
Apuny siqgur kau sd bil jweI]gur ikrpw qy hir mMin vsweI 
]1] sy DnvMq hir nwim ilv lwie]guir pUrY hir Dnu prgwisAw
hir ikrpw qy vsY min Awie] rhwau ]Avgux kwit gux ird
smwie ]pUry gur kY shij suBwie ]pUry gur kI swcI bwxI ]suK
mn AMqir shij smwxI ]2]eyku Acrju jn dyKhu BweI]duibDw
mwir hir mMin vsweI]nwmu Amolku n pwieAw jwie ]gur
prswid vsY min Awie]3]sB mih vsY pRBu eyko soie]gurmqI
Git prgtu hoie]shjy ijin pRBu jwix pCwixAw ]nwnk nwm
imlY mnu mwinAw]4] 

This shabad is written by the third master, Guru Amar Das Ji. Guru Ji is talking about wealth, but not this worldly wealth of money or gold. In the first line Guru Ji says:

iehu Dnu AKutu n inKutY n jwie ] 

Translation: 

This wealth is limitless, it never runs out or leaves you. 

Right away we can see that the Guru is not talking about worldly wealth because it does not last forever. If you took a thousand dollars and went to the mall and started to buy merchandise, then slowly you would start to run out of money. If I had a thousand dollars and I started to give ten dollars to each person I met, then soon I would run out of money too.

If I was to give you $10,000 and tell you to hold onto it for one week for me, then you would not be able to sleep properly. You would always be worried about the money that it is safe. You would worry that you don’t lose it or it doesn’t get stolen. However, Satguru Ji has said the true wealth never runs out or leaves you, so we can see that this worldly wealth is not the true wealth that the Guru is speaking about. Then what is true wealth?

AYsw hir Dnu sMcIAY BweI ] Bwih n jwlY jil nhI fUbY sMgu Coif
kir kqhu n jweI ]1] rhwau ]

Translation: 

Accumulate such a wealth that cannot be burned by fire, and water cannot drown it; it does not forsake society, or go anywhere else. 

The true wealth is Naam, God’s Name. This is the true wealth that the Guru is speaking about: 

eyvfu Dnu horu ko nhI BweI jyvfu scw nwau ] 
Kwvih Krcih ril imil BweI ] qoit n AwvY vDdo jweI ]3] 

Translation: 

There is no other wealth as great as the true Name. 
Eat it, spend it together, it will not run out, it will keep on increasing. 

This true wealth of God’s Name never runs out and you never have to worry about losing it. Where the people of this world are all stressed out, those people with Naam Dhun (wealth of God’s Name) live their lives worry-free.

Here is another example:

There are so many countries in the world and many of them have different currencies with different values. If somebody was to come from India and move to Canada, then he would not be able to use the Indian Rupee to buy things. If I went to the grocery store and tried to pay the clerk with Indian money, would the store clerk accept the money?

No, she would not.

However, if you were to go to India or just about any other country they would probably accept payment in American dollars. The American dollar is accepted just about everywhere around the world.

This worldly wealth is like the Indian Rupee, in India it’s worth a lot, but outside of the country it’s value is much less. This worldly wealth may have some value here, but in God’s land it is of no value. However, the true Name is like the American dollar that is accepted everywhere. The true Name has a high value here in this world and in the next world.

We have seen that the Naam is the true wealth, but in the next line Guru Ji says that this true wealth can only be seen through the true Guru: 

pUrY siqguir dIAw idKwie ] 

Translation: The complete, true Guru shows this. 

Many people live in this world, but they do not understand the true value of the true Name. If I ask them about wealth, the first thing that comes to their mind is money, gold, or other worldly things. The reason is that only the True Guru can show the true Value of Naam Dhun (wealth of God’s Name). 

If I was to make an announcement that tomorrow morning, at 4 a.m. we will be giving away $5,000, then you will see that there will be a large line up here in the morning. However, if we were to announce that in the morning that we are going to be giving out Naam Dhun in the form of simran, how many people do you think will show up? 

Every morning, all the Gurdwaras in the world open around 4 a.m., but how many people go to see the Guru and receive the Naam Dhun. Not many. 

This whole world is running after false wealth: 

suienw rupw sMcIAY Dnu kwcw ibKu Cwru ] I 

Translation: He hoards gold and silver, but this wealth is false and poisonous, nothing more than ashes. 

There was once a king named Cairo who was very greedy. He conquered a land and then told his soldiers to go through each and every house in the land and to bring back all the money, gold, and jewellery they can find. The soldiers went house to house and took anything valuable they could find and brought it back to the king’s palace. 

All of the village people were now poor, but the king was still not happy. He wanted to make sure that he had all of the wealth of the land. King Cairo made an announcement that if anyone can come up with even one rupee, they will be allowed to marry his young daughter. 

There was a young boy who heard this announcement and came running home. He begged his mom for a dollar. She told him that I don’t have any money, but when we buried your father (Muslims bury their dead), we put one rupee in his mouth for good luck. The boy went to his father’s grave, dug it up, and pulled the rupee out of the dead body’s mouth. He came running to the king and told him to marry his daughter to him. 

At once, the king had the boy arrested and asked where he found the rupee. When the boy told him the story of his dead father, Cairo ordered his soldiers to dig up every single grave and retrieve the rupees out of all of the bodies. The point of this story is to show how greedy people get for this false wealth. 

It is not just this king, it is all of us also. I meet people who say that if only I had a good paying job, but when they do get a better paying job they are still complaining about money. We too have wasted our lives running after this false wealth: 

kwcw Dnu sMcih mUrK gwvwr ] mnmuK BUly AMD gwvwr ] 
ibiKAw kY Din sdw duKu hoie ] nw swiQ jwie n prwpiq hoie ]1] 
swcw Dnu gurmqI pwey ] kwcw Dnu Puin AwvY jwey ] rhwau ] 

Translation: 

The fools run after false wealth. The lost Munmukhs run around in darkness. 

Poisonous wealth will always bring pain. It will not go with you nor will you be able to fully achieve it. The true wealth is found through the Guru’s teachings.False wealth comes and goes. 

Guru Ji continues on with the shabad: 

Apuny siqgur kau sd bil jweI ] gur ikrpw qy hir mMin vsweI ]1] 

Translation: 

I am forever a sacrifice to my Guru. By the Guru’s grace, God dwells in my mind. 

sy DnvMq hir nwim ilv lwie ] 

Translation: 

They are truly wealthy who have their concentration on the Name of God. 

Guru Ji says that those people are wealthy who have their concentration set on the true Name of God. See, if you were to ask God for worldly wealth, God may take mercy on you and give you that wealth. However, Just because you have worldly wealth it does not mean that you are fully content on the inside. With money you can buy a nice bed, but what is the use of that bed if you are too stressed out to sleep? 

We see many people who are wealthy, but are very stressed out about their lives. True wealth should be one that makes you fully content. Once you get it, you should have no other wishes left inside of you. People with worldly wealth are all stressed out, but what about the people with the wealth of God’s Name? 

The people with the wealth of God’s Name live a worry-free life. They can sit on a hot plate like Guru Arjun Saheb Ji did and still say that the will of God is sweet. They can lose all four of their sons like Guru Gobind Singh Ji did and still accept the will of God. They can have their body sawn in half like a piece of wood and still not be scared. 

They are not afraid of someone coming and robbing them of their wealth. Just like when a father sees that his son is loyal and hardworking, he gives his son all of his wealth, the same is true for the Guru and his Sikh. The Guru and god are one: 

gur pwrbRhm eykY hI jwny ]2] 

Translation: 

The Guru and God should be known as one (the same). 

So if God is in control of everything, the Guru is also in control. When you keep on meditating on God’s Name, then just like the father, the Guru gives you everything that he has: 

pIaU dwdy kw Koil ifTw Kjwnw ] qw myrY min BieAw inDwnw ]1] 
rqn lwl jw kw kCU n molu ] Bry BMfwr AKUt Aqol ]2] 

Translation: 

When the treasure of the father and grandfather was opened, then my mind became overwhelmed. It is filled with priceless jewels which will never run out. 

Guru Ji says that person who gets this wealth can be called rich:

jw kY hir Dnu so sc swhu ] 

Translation: 

Those who have the wealth of God, they are the true kings. 

All of the maya of this world is ready to serve the saints of God: 

nv iniD nwmu inDwnu iriD isiD qw kI dwsI ] 

Translation: 

The Naam is the wealth of the nine treasures; prosperity and supernatural spiritual powers are His slaves. 

I have seen many people with huge houses and piles of wealth, but when they died nothing went with them. They had to leave empty-handed from this world: 

nWgy pwvhu qy gey ijn ky lwK kroir ] 

Translation: 

Even those who have millions of dollars must leave this world bare-footed. 

What is the use of this wealth that will not even go with you when you leave this world? 

However, the wealth of God’s Name is not like that, it will go with you everywhere: 

sjx syeI nwil mY clidAw nwil clµin@ ] 
ijQY lyKw mMgIAY iqQY KVy idsMin ]1] rhwau ] 

Translation: 

That is the true friend who goes along with you. Wherever you must pay your accounts, you see the friend ready to help you. 

Guru Ji then continues: 

guir pUrY hir Dnu prgwisAw hir ikrpw qy vsY min Awie ] rhwau ] 

Translation: 

The Perfect Guru has revealed to me the Lord's treasure; by the Lord's Grace, it has come to abide in my mind. 

Avgux kwit gux irdY smwie ] pUry gur kY shij suBwie ] 

Translation: 

The bad characteristics are replaced with good ones. By the grace of the Guru, he lives in total peace and contentment. 

pUry gur kI swcI bwxI ] suK mn AMqir shij smwxI ]2] 

Translation: 

True words of the True Guru are truthful. They bring peace to the mind, and total contentment.

eyku Acrju jn dyKhu BweI ] duibDw mwir hir mMin vsweI ] 

Translation: 

O my humble Siblings of Destiny, behold this strange and wonderful thing: duality is overcome, and the Lord dwells within his mind. 

In this line, Satguru Ji has explained one amazing thing about Naam Dhun. Unlike worldly wealth which makes one corrupt, Naam Dhun does the opposite, it makes you pure. We see people fall into the trap of this worldly wealth and do imaginable things like betraying their own family and friends. This greed for worldly wealth has eaten up the greatest of men. 

Gangu, a servant in Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s langar was overtaken by this greed, that is why he turned in Mata Gujri Ji and the Guru’s two young sons to the authorities. That greed is what made Baba Datu Ji kick Guru Amar Das Ji and it made Baba Prithi Chand turn against Guru Arjun Saheb Ji. 

This Greed is very powerful: 

hy loBw lµpt sMg isrmorh Aink lhrI klolqy ] 
DwvMq jIAw bhu pRkwrM Aink BWiq bhu folqy ] 
nc imqRM nc iestM nc bwDv nc mwq ipqw qv ljXw ] 
AkrxM kroiq AKwid´ Kwd´M Aswj´M swij smjXw ] 

Translation: 

O greed, you cling to even the great, assaulting them with countless waves. You cause them to run around wildly in all directions, wobbling and wavering unsteadily. You have no respect for friends, ideals, relations, mother or father. You make them do what they should not do. You make them eat what they should not eat. You make them accomplish what they should not accomplish. 

This is what happens from worldly wealth, but Naam Dhun does the opposite, it breaks you from greed and the other four evils. 

Then in the next line:

nwmu Amolku n pwieAw jwie ] gur prswid vsY min Awie ]3] 

Translation: 

The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is priceless; it cannot be taken. By Guru's Grace, it comes to abide in the mind. 

Guru Ji explains that the wealth of God’s Name is very valuable, but it cannot be found with your actions. For worldly wealth, you can work hard and put long hours in and become rich. However, God’s wealth is different. Many people have tried different things, but they have all failed. Some fast, others take vows of silence or follow other rituals, but none of them have found this wealth. This wealth can only be found through the true Guru: 

mn myry gur sbdI hir pwieAw jwie ]
ibnu sbdY jgu Buldw iPrdw drgh imlY sjwie ] rhwau ] 

Translation: 

Oh mind, God may be met through the words of the Guru. Without the Guru’s teachings, the world is lost and will suffer in the after-world. 

Then in the next line Guru Ji says: 

sB mih vsY pRBu eyko soie ] gurmqI Git prgtu hoie ] 

Translation: 

Within everyone lives that one God, through the Guru’s teachings this is revealed. 

We all say that God is everywhere, but those who receive the wealth of God’s Name actually see this: 

nwnk jh jh mY iPrau qh qh swcw soie ] jh dyKw qh eyku h
gurmuiK prgtu hoie ] 

Translation: 

Oh Nanak, wherever I go, the True one is there. Wherever I look I see one, the followers of the Guru realize this. 

shjy ijin pRBu jwix pCwixAw ] nwnk nwmu imlY mnu mwinAw ]4] 

Translation: 

One who intuitively knows and realizes God, O Nanak, obtains the Naam; his mind is pleased and appeased. 

Guru Amar Das Ji finishes the Shabad by saying that the person who collects this true wealth of Gods Name gets to know God. Receiving the Naam, his mind is forever blissful.
                               

                               Article from Gurmat Studies Newsletter 

May 2003