8.4 Million Species

[Deg_Teg_Fateh]

This Shabad is by Guru Amar Daas Ji in Raag Maajh on Pannaa 110

maajh mehalaa 3 ||

Maajh, Third Mehl:

maeraa prabh niramal agam apaaraa ||

My God is Immaculate, Inaccessible and Infinite.

bin thakarree tholai sa(n)saaraa ||

Without a scale, He weighs the universe.

guramukh hovai soee boojhai gun kehi gunee samaavaniaa ||1||

One who becomes Gurmukh, understands. Chanting His Glorious Praises, he is absorbed into the Lord of Virtue. ||1||

ho vaaree jeeo vaaree har kaa naam ma(n)n vasaavaniaa ||

I am a sacrifice, my soul is a sacrifice, to those whose minds are filled with the Name of the Lord.

jo sach laagae sae anadhin jaagae dhar sachai sobhaa paavaniaa ||1|| rehaao ||

Those who are committed to Truth remain awake and aware night and day. They are honored in the True Court. ||1||Pause||

aap sunai thai aapae vaekhai ||

He Himself hears, and He Himself sees.

jis no nadhar karae soee jan laekhai ||

Those, upon whom He casts His Glance of Grace, become acceptable.

aapae laae leae so laagai guramukh sach kamaavaniaa ||2||

They are attached, whom the Lord Himself attaches; as Gurmukh, they live the Truth. ||2||

jis aap bhulaaeae s kithhai hathh paaeae ||

Those whom the Lord Himself misleads-whose hand can they take?

poorab likhiaa s maettanaa n jaaeae ||

That which is pre-ordained, cannot be erased.

jin sathigur miliaa sae vaddabhaagee poorai karam milaavaniaa ||3||

Those who meet the True Guru are very fortunate and blessed; through perfect karma, He is met. ||3||

paeeearrai dhhan anadhin suthee ||

The young bride is fast asleep in her parents' home, night and day.

ka(n)th visaaree avagan muthee ||

She has forgotten her Husband Lord; because of her faults and demerits, she is abandoned.

anadhin sadhaa firai bilalaadhee bin pir needh n paavaniaa ||4||

She wanders around continually, crying out, night and day. Without her Husband Lord, she cannot get any sleep. ||4||

paeeearrai sukhadhaathaa jaathaa ||

In this world of her parents' home, she may come to know the Giver of peace,

houmai maar gur sabadh pashhaathaa ||

if she subdues her ego, and recognizes the Word of the Guru's Shabad.

saej suhaavee sadhaa pir raavae sach seegaar banaavaniaa ||5||

Her bed is beautiful; she ravishes and enjoys her Husband Lord forever. She is adorned with the Decorations of Truth. ||5||

lakh chouraaseeh jeea oupaaeae ||

He created the 8.4 million species of beings.

jis no nadhar karae this guroo milaaeae ||

Those, upon whom He casts His Glance of Grace, come to meet the Guru.

kilabikh kaatt sadhaa jan niramal dhar sachai naam suhaavaniaa ||6||

Shedding their sins, His servants are forever pure; at the True Court, they are beautified by the Naam, the Name of the Lord. ||6||

laekhaa maagai thaa kin dheeai ||

When they are called to settle their accounts, who will answer then?

sukh naahee fun dhooai theeai ||

There shall be no peace then, from counting out by twos and threes.

aapae bakhas leae prabh saachaa aapae bakhas milaavaniaa ||7||

The True Lord God Himself forgives, and having forgiven, He unites them with Himself. ||7||

aap karae thai aap karaaeae ||

He Himself does, and He Himself causes all to be done.

poorae gur kai sabadh milaaeae ||

Through the Shabad, the Word of the Perfect Guru, He is met.

naanak naam milai vaddiaaee aapae mael milaavaniaa ||8||2||3||

O Nanak, through the Naam, greatness is obtained. He Himself unites in His Union. ||8||2||3||

[The Khalsa Fauj]

No one knows how many species are there as new ones are created by Akaal and some also become extinct. Guru Ji is just using that as a metaphor.

lakh chauraasee or chauraasee or chaurasee lakh mean countless. It should be translated as countless not 8.4 million. Hindu religious books say there are 8.4 million and the mentality of the people was that there are 8.4 million joonees. Guru Ji used it so it is easy for them to understand. Hindu books believe that there are 4.2 million species in water and 4.2 million species outside of water.

[Sarblor_Souljah]

8.4 million lives right lets do some maths

8+4=12 yes!

1+2=3 yes!

3 is the hindu number for tregun, Bhrama vishnu shiv,

ha ha ha

think bout it

[Taksali Singh]

WJKKWJKP!

There are 8.4million life forms.

No one knows how many species are there

Guroo Saahib Jee does and therefore states in various pankti's that there are 8.4million.

WJKKWJKP!

[Guest SScom]

8,400,000 exactly?

[Gurpreet Singh]

8.4 million lives right lets do some maths

8+4=12 yes!

1+2=3 yes!

3 is the hindu number for tregun, Bhrama vishnu shiv,

ha ha ha

whats ur point bro?..... :umm:

[Deg_Teg_Fateh]

panna 29

lakh chouraaseeh tharasadhae jis maelae so milai har aae ||

The 8.4 million species of beings all yearn for the Lord. Those whom He unites, come to be united with the Lord.

panna 27

lakh chouraaseeh jin siree sabhasai dhaee adhhaar ||

The One who created the 8.4 million species of beings gives sustenance to all.

panna 211

lakh chouraaseeh jon firehi ||

People wander through 8.4 million incarnations.

panna 337

lakh chouraaseeh jon bhram aaeiou ||

After wandering through 8.4 million incarnations, you came.

ab kae shhuttakae t(h)our n t(h)aaeiou ||3||

If you stumble and fall now, you shall find no home or place of rest. ||3||

panna 936

lakh chouraaseeh maedhanee ghattai n vadhhai outhaahi ||

They will pass through 8.4 millions species; this number does not decrease or rise.

(http://www.sikhitothemax.com/Page.asp?SourceID=G&PageNo=936)

this might be a metaphor, (sorry im still a learner)...

I hope there are no arguments outta this ... :umm:

Pool Chook Maaff

[H4RPAL]

What we should remember is that the species reffered to are not the same as western scientific calculations, which are far stricter to a certain extent. Characteristics which define a species in the western sense are not the same as those that characterise species in the SIKHI sense, and thus many scientific species will be seen as only 1 species in this sense.

[Bhajneet]

'Oriental Religions (I believe that includes Hinduism, and Islam) state that there were 84 lakh types of creatures (8,400,000). The Sikh Guru referred to this commonly held belief when he wrote "All the supposed 8,400,000 species of life are offered sustenance by the Great Provider" [1]'

From "Sikh Religion and Science" by GS Sidhu

As you should already know, the GGS is compiled in many languages, sanskrit, hindi, etc. The reason being that people could understand something they already knew. The same concept (I believe) is used here when the Guru Jee says 84 lakh, just a number many Hindus understood. The Sikh Gurus, however, did not put a limit on the number of living species. They said "The species, their families, colors, and names are all recorded by His pen. If one tries to enumerate them, there will be no end to his calculations" [2].

The Hindu belief that there are only 8.4 million variety of organisms relies on the fact that this number stays constant. We, today, believe/know (I don't know if they've proven it yet) that is not correct. They say that 2 billion life forms have vanished from the beginning of Earth. Scientists today, put the number of life forms on Earth at about 30 million. More and more species are found all the time.

-Bhajneet

Lines from SGGS -

[1] chavaraaseeh lakh jon oupaaee rijak dheeaa sabh hoo ko thadh kaa || from http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=5433

[2] jeea jaath ra(n)gaa kae naav sabhanaa likhiaa vurree kalaam || eaehu laekhaa likh jaanai koe laekhaa likhiaa kaethaa hoe || from http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=16