Question For Sangat On Bhai Mardana Ji's Baani...,

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

online sangat ji i gotta question about bhai mardana ji's baani in SGGS ji. Why does bhai mardana ji refer to himself as nanak? thank you.

sloku mrdwnw 1 ] (553-2)

salok mardaanaa 1.

Shalok, Mardaanaa:

kil klvwlI kwmu mdu mnUAw pIvxhwru ] (553-2, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

kal kalvaalee kaam mad manoo-aa peevanhaar.

The Dark Age of Kali Yuga is the vessel, filled with the wine of sexual desire; the mind is the drunkard.

k®oD ktorI moih BrI pIlwvw AhMkwru ] (553-2, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

kroDh katoree mohi bharee peelaavaa ahaNkaar.

Anger is the cup, filled with emotional attachment, and egotism is the server.

mjls kUVy lb kI pI pI hoie KuAwru ] (553-3, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

majlas koorhay lab kee pee pee ho-ay khu-aar.

Drinking too much in the company of falsehood and greed, one is ruined.

krxI lwhix squ guVu scu srw kir swru ] (553-3, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

karnee laahan sat gurh sach saraa kar saar.

So let good deeds be your distillery, and Truth your molasses; in this way, make the most excellent wine of Truth.

gux mMfy kir sIlu iGau srmu mwsu Awhwru ] (553-4, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

gun manday kar seel ghi-o saram maas aahaar.

Make virtue your bread, good conduct the ghee, and modesty the meat to eat.

gurmuiK pweIAY nwnkw KwDY jwih ibkwr ]1] (553-4, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

gurmukh paa-ee-ai naankaa khaaDhai jaahi bikaar. ||1||

As Gurmukh, these are obtained, O Nanak; partaking of them, one's sins depart. ||1||

mrdwnw 1 ] (553-5)

mardaanaa 1.

Mardaanaa:

kwieAw lwhix Awpu mdu mjls iqRsnw Dwqu ] (553-5, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

kaa-i-aa laahan aap mad majlas tarisnaa Dhaat.

The human body is the vat, self-conceit is the wine, and desire is the company of drinking buddies.

mnsw ktorI kUiV BrI pIlwey jmkwlu ] (553-5, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

mansaa katoree koorh bharee peelaa-ay jamkaal.

The cup of the mind's longing is overflowing with falsehood, and the Messenger of Death is the cup-bearer.

iequ mid pIqY nwnkw bhuqy KtIAih ibkwr ] (553-6, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

it mad peetai naankaa bahutay khatee-ah bikaar.

Drinking in this wine, O Nanak, one takes on countless sins and corruptions.

igAwnu guVu swlwh mMfy Bau mwsu Awhwru ] (553-6, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

gi-aan gurh saalaah manday bha-o maas aahaar.

So make spiritual wisdom your molasses, the Praise of God your bread, and the Fear of God the meat you eat.

nwnk iehu Bojnu scu hY scu nwmu AwDwru ]2] (553-7, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

naanak ih bhojan sach hai sach naam aaDhaar. ||2||

O Nanak, this is the true food; let the True Name be your only Support. ||2||

kWXW lwhix Awpu mdu AMimRq iqs kI Dwr ] (553-7, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

kaaNyaaN laahan aap mad amrit tis kee Dhaar.

If the human body is the vat, and self-realization is the wine, then a stream of Ambrosial Nectar is produced.

sqsMgiq isau mylwpu hoie ilv ktorI AMimRq BrI pI pI ktih ibkwr ]3] (553-8, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

satsangat si-o maylaap ho-ay liv katoree amrit bharee pee pee kateh bikaar. ||3||

Meeting with the Society of the Saints, the cup of the Lord's Love is filled with this Ambrosial Nectar; drinking it in, one's corruptions and sins are wiped away. ||3||

pauVI ] (553-9)

pa-orhee.

Pauree:

Awpy suir nr gx gMDrbw Awpy Kt drsn kI bwxI ] (553-9, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

aapay sur nar gan ganDharbaa aapay khat darsan kee banee.

He Himself is the angelic being, the heavenly herald, and the celestial singer. He Himself is the one who

explains the six schools of philosophy.

Awpy isv sMkr mhysw Awpy gurmuiK AkQ khwxI ] (553-9, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

aapay siv sankar mahaysaa aapay gurmukh akath kahaanee.

He Himself is Shiva, Shankara and Mahaysh; He Himself is the Gurmukh, who speaks the Unspoken Speech.

Awpy jogI Awpy BogI Awpy sMinAwsI iPrY ibbwxI ] (553-10, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

aapay jogee aapay bhogee aapay sani-aasee firai bibaanee.

He Himself is the Yogi, He Himself is the Sensual Enjoyer, and He Himself is the Sannyaasee, wandering through the wilderness.

AwpY nwil gosit Awip aupdysY Awpy suGVu srUpu isAwxI ] (553-10, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

aapai naal gosat aap updaysai aapay sugharh saroop si-aanee.

He discusses with Himself, and He teaches Himself; He Himself is discrete, graceful and wise.

Awpxw coju kir vyKY Awpy Awpy sBnw jIAw kw hY jwxI ]12] (553-11, ibhwgVw, mrdwnw)

aapnaa choj kar vaykhai aapay aapay sabhnaa jee-aa kaa hai jaanee. ||12||

Staging His own play, He Himself watches it; He Himself is the Knower of all beings. ||12||

[Lion(LK)King]

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Veer jeeyo, I suggest you read the following link (It is in Punjabi though):

http://gurugranthdarpan.com/0553.html

Notice the 'Note' By Prof Sahib Singh when explaining the bani

Basically he's saying that

Bhai Mardana Ji couldn't use the word 'Nanak' in his composition. It is Salok Mahalla 1, and the Shabads are associated with Bhai Mardana Ji (whatever that would mean), But all three Shabads are 'Mahalla 1'.

My Understanding: The Shabad have something to do with Bhai Mardana Ji (i.e. might originally come as a lesson to Bhai Sahib), and are in some way related to hi, but they are all written by Pehle Patshah :lol:

For those who cannot read Punjab I will try to 'romanize' it:

"Note: Bhai Mardana Apney kise Rachna lafaj 'Nanak' nahi si vart sakda. Salok Malla 1 hai ate Mardana no sambandat kite hai. Tine hi Shabad Salok Mahalla 1 de han"

Bhull Chukk Maaf

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

but the shabad starts with mardana pehla, or mardana 1 not mahalla one.

i spoke to a singh and he told me that it was a gift by guru nanak dev ji to let bhai mardana ji use the name nanak.

[Lion(LK)King]

but the shabad starts with mardana pehla, or mardana 1 not mahalla one.

i spoke to a singh and he told me that it was a gift by guru nanak dev ji to let bhai mardana ji use the name nanak.

Regarding Mardana 1, I have yet to read of some Shabad starting with the name of the writer, like

Bhat Tal:

or

Bhagat Namdev:

But I could be wrong....

Unless he's got some unique historical reference, I'd stay away from Sakhis.

I'd rather trust Prof Sahib Singh who spent his life researchign and interpreting Guru Ji's bani, and has done so successfully with pretty much every Shabad in Maharaj,

Singh, you out of all people, are very sceptical when it comes to Sakhis, and rumours and nonsense coming in to our religion. Unless he had hard-core historical reference that the name Nanak was blessed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, I personally would raise eyebrows.

If no-one else had the right to use the word NANAK, I'd rather trust a Gurmukh scholar who's researched it for his entire life, than, some Singh told me, to be honest.... And it seems very dubious that if no-one else had the right of using the Word Nanak (which is EXCLUSIVELY reserved for the Gurus and ONLY the Guru), I too would raise some eye brows (although I don't know the technique of raising one.. I'd do it manually with my fingers... )

Bhull Chukk Maaf

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

Singh, you out of all people, are very sceptical when it comes to Sakhis, and rumours and nonsense coming in to our religion. Unless he had hard-core historical reference that the name Nanak was blessed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, I personally would raise eyebrows.

i hear what your saying. i was kind of skeptical at his explanation but i thought about it for a while. I read SGGS ji in gurmukhi. The shabad starts out with Mardana pehla, meaning bhai mardana's shabad(really waaheguru's word). Bhai mardana was with Guru sahib almost his whole life (bhai mardana was 10 years older than guru sahib, it is written in some places). After being in the presence of guru sahib for so long bhai mardana ji must have had quite a spiritual journey in life. guru nanak dev ji was not a person of ego but was satguru, true guru free from ego. Nanak was the name of the body, "guru" Nanak is the light which dispels all darkness. a singh/singhnee on this forum once wrote a beautiful post about this. It wouldn't be a stertch to say that guru Nanak dev ji the king of kings would bestow thsi great honor on bhai mardana ji...maybe?

Professor Sahib singh's work is amazing. however on this part his explanation on this question as you posted was:

"Note: Bhai Mardana Apney kise Rachna lafaj 'Nanak' nahi si vart sakda. Salok Malla 1 hai ate Mardana no sambandat kite hai. Tine hi Shabad Salok Mahalla 1 de han"

He wrote that bhai mardana could not use nanak's name and that these shabads are really salok mahalla pehla.

This is not really an explanation. This is just an assertion. Consistent with guru granth sahib, all shabads say either, salok mahala "X" or salok kabir ji, bhagat naam dev ji, bhagat ravidas ji, sheikh farid ji, etc. This one says Mardana 1.

I don't know I need a deeper explanation. Like you said I like to question stuff :lol: I'm still learning. It would be nice to get a few more opinions or scholarly views and then come to a conclusion. No disrespect to prof sahib singh, his work is amazing! just would love to have some more insight on this particular question.

I'm gonna ask a professor that works at our lcal guru ghar also.

It's not really a big issue for me, i'm just curious about it.

any sikhs here have any thoughts, views?