GURMUKH (gur = Guru; mukh = face), a word employed in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in several distinct shades of signification. The gurmukh is, for instance, the Primordial Guru (God) who created all forms; it is He, too, who strings them into one thread oan gurmukhi kio

JIVA or living being is not merely physical or material body (deha). It is not even biological or vital breath (prdna). Nor is it just a cluster of senseimpressions {manas), nor intellect {buddhi), nor ego {ahankdrd). The essence of jiva is something beyond all these. It is the Transcendent

JODHA. BHAI, and Bhai Jamu, both Dhutta Khatris, waited upon Guru Arjan and said: "Lord, you tell us to recite the Name of God with concentration, but our minds wander. What shall we do?" The Guru replied, "He who conquers the mind conquers all. Practising the Name will itself

KARHAIE is the title under which two compositions, each of ten verses, by Guru Ram Das appear in the Guru Granth Sahib in Raga Gaun Purabi. The title has been picked from the text of the hymns wherein the term karhale (plural form) or karhald (singular form) has been

LAVAN is the title traditionally given a short fourslan/a composition by Guru Ram Das included under rdga Suhi (p. 773) in the Guru Granth Sahib. The word Idvdn, in the Indian tradition, also stands for the marriage ceremony: in Hindu society the couple reverentially circumambulates the holy fire to

LOBH, meaning greed, avarice, coveiousness or cupidity arising out of the acquisitive instinct of man, has been denounced in almost every ethical system. Sikhism treats it as one of the Five Evils that hinder man`s spiritual progress as well as his moral growth. Personifying lobh in one of his

MAN or mana, from Skt. manas (mind or psyche), is one of the major operational con cepts in Indian thought involved in the process of apprehending facts and reacting to situations and stimuli, as also the cause of bandh (bondage/attachment). `Mind` is the nearest English rendering of `man`, though

MANMUKH, the ego guided person, as opposed to gurmukh`who is Guru guided. The gurmukhmanmukh bipolarity represents the personality typology employed in the Sikh sacred literature. Basically it opposes and contrasts the ocentric and egocentric personality types. The word manmukh is compounded of man (mind, lower self) and mukh (face):

MAYA, written and pronounced in Punjabi as maid. As a philosophic category in the Indian tradition, Maya is interpreted variously as a veil or curtain concealing reality; the phenomenal world as it appears over against things in themselves; the grand illusion or the cosmic principle of illusion. Maya is

MURARI, BHAI, a Dhaun Khatri of Rohtas, now in Pakistan, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. He, as says Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Maid, once came to see Guru Arjan and said, "Lord, we regularly recite the sacred hymns and we reflect upon

PINGALA Ajamila Pingala, the bunter Lodia and the elephant went to the abode of the Lord; if such evil persons obtained salvation, O Ravidas, why do you not get emancipation ? (Kedara Ravidas, p. 1124) Pingala was a comely prostitute. One day she bedecked herself in order to attract

Durbasa, the king Furu and the sage Angarai (Angiras) sang the Praises of Guru Nanak Dev. (Swayye Mahle Pahle Ke, p. 1390) The sage Angiras is said to be the author of many hymns of Rig Veda. He was one of the Sapt-rishis and one of the ten Prajapatis.