Forget Slander... What About Praise?

[_anon_]

http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=5682

This Shabad is by Bhai Gurdaas Ji in Vaars Bhai Gurdaas on Ang 6

Sbd surq ilv swD sMg pMc sbd iek sbd imlwey]

shabadh surath liv saadhh sa(n)g pa(n)ch sabadh eik sabadh milaaeae||

The Gurmukh while immersing his meditational faculty in the Word listens to the Word alone even through the five types of sounds (created through many instruments).

rwgnwd sMbwd rK BwiKAw Bwau suBwau Alwey]

raaganaadh sa(n)baadh rakh bhaakhiaa bhaao subhaao alaaeae||

Considering the ragas and nadas only as the medium, the Gurmukh discusses and recites with love.

gurmuK bRhm iDAwn Dun jwxY jMqRI jMqR vjwey]

guramukh breham dhhiaan dhhun jaanai ja(n)three ja(n)thr vajaaeae||

Only the Gurmukhs understand the melody of the knowledge of the supreme reality.

AkQ kQw vIcwr kY ausqq inµdw vrj rhwey]

akathh kathhaa veechaar kai ousathath ni(n)dhaa varaj rehaaeae||

The Sikhs ponder on the words of the Ineffable, and abstain from praise and blame.

gur aupdyS Adys kr imTw bolx mn prcwey]

gur oupadhaesh adhaes kar mit(h)aa bolan man parachaaeae||

Allowing the Guru's instruction to enter their hearts they speak politely and thus comfort one another.

jwie imlx guV kIiVAW rKy rKxhwr lukwey]

jaae milan gurr keerriaaa(n) rakhae rakhanehaar lukaaeae||

The Sikhs' virtues cannot be concealed. As a man may hide mollasses, but ants will discover it.

gMnw hoie kohlU pVwey ]ñú]

ga(n)naa hoe kohaloo parraaeae ||aa||

As the sugarcane gives juice when pressed in a mill, so must a Sikh suffer while conferring favours on others.

was reading this shabad and started thinking about praise

does this mean that we shouldnt praise people excessively, or does it mean we shouldnt praise others at all?

also having trouble understanding the last line, so if someone could help, id be very grateful

thankyouuu

[Matheen]

Excessive praise may lead to haumai so should be avoided as a favour. Theres also a tuk from Bani that says "Ustat Nindya Doe Tiyago".

gMnw hoie kohlU pVwey ]ñú]

ga(n)naa hoe kohaloo parraaeae ||aa||

As the sugarcane gives juice when pressed in a mill, so must a Sikh suffer while conferring favours on others.

In this case, IMHO, Bhai Sahib is saying that we should be willing to undergo pain and suffering without complaint to help others. It's not easy to translate this line literally but hope you get the idea.

[akal sahai]

fateh

Guru ji says it all here...........

ausqiq inMdw kry ikAw koeI ]

ousathath ni(n)dhaa karae kiaa koee ||

How can anyone praise or slander anyone else?

jW Awpy vrqY eyko soeI ]2]

jaa(n) aapae varathai eaeko soee ||2||

The One Lord Himself is pervading and permeating all. ||2||

do we have to think any more............. :umm:

[Laadli Fauj]

if u must slander, slander yourself

if you must give praise, give prais to akal

--Akali Baba Nihal Singh Ji

[_anon_]

Excessive praise may lead to haumai so should be avoided as a favour.

that makes perfect sense!

thank you for all of the replies

[kaur_khalistani_lioness]

this reminds me of the time when MQLQ told us not to 'praise' him...and talked about some of the reasons. his reasons were great and something all of us sitting there experienced thus had to agree and requested each other to not do that=)

{hez been my inspiration for yrs now... a big brother i always wished for (and finally got }

praise has a huge affect on us.. and sometimes in some individuals it become te food for the haumai...aslo becomes an obstacle in (spiritual) life ..so one gtta be careful while one is being praised or praising others.

akalsahai~

[Guest peacemaker]

this reminds me of the time when MQLQ told us not to 'praise' him

Who is MQLQ? :blush21:

[MPKaur]

Does that mean positive reinforcement as in verbal praise shouldn't be use? Maybe it's a matter of degree?

For instance, some kids are raised with their parents praising so much they think they are the best in everything although it's not the case. Here I can see parents actually building up their child's ego.

On the other hand, what about praising the child when it's justified? This increases the chance of a particular behavior to reoccur. Like if a child helps out and the parent tells him/her what a good boy/girl you are. The child will feel good and want to repeat a similar behavior.

Is that increasing a child's ego?

We could also talk about self-esteem and ego...

I tend to think it's a matter of degree but I could be wrong: I'm still learning

[Laadli Fauj]

if u must slander, slander yourself

if you must give praise, give prais to akal

--Akali Baba Nihal Singh Ji

[kaur_khalistani_lioness]

this reminds me of the time when MQLQ told us not to 'praise' him

Who is MQLQ? :blush21:

correction its MKLQ. for some reason i thought kaum was spelled with q=qaum..=)