Cleansing the Mind — Guru Nānak’s Wisdom in Japji Sahib (Paurī 20)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Introduction

Japji Sahib, the opening bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, is a universal guide to spiritual awakening. In each Paurī, Guru Nānak Dev Ji explores a different dimension of human existence and the Divine. After the profound Kudrat Paurīs (16–19) where Guru Ji reflected on the grandeur of creation and human limitations before the Infinite, Paurī 20 takes a more intimate turn: it addresses human impurity — not of the body or clothes, but of the mind and soul.

Guru Ji employs simple, everyday examples of washing the body and cleaning clothes to explain how sins stain the mind, and how only the Naam (Divine Name) can purify it. Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen, in his insightful commentary, explains how Guru Nānak connects external cleanliness with inner cleansing, and how actions and karma shape human destiny.

This Paurī is a profound teaching on:

• The difference between physical impurity and spiritual impurity.
• The two directions of human intellect: science and spirituality.
• The role of Naam in purifying the mind.
• The law of karma: sowing and reaping.
• The Divine Hukam governing birth and death.

Let us now examine the Paurī line by line.

Gurbani Translation with Commentary

External Dirt and Water

ਭਰੀਐ ਹਥੁ ਪੈਰੁ ਤਨੁ ਦੇਹ॥
bhariā hath pair tan deh ||
When the hands, feet, and body are soiled with dirt,

ਪਾਣੀ ਧੋਤੈ ਉਤਰਸੁ ਖੇਹ॥
pāṇī dhotai utrās kheh ||
The dirt is washed away with water.

Guru Ji begins with the most basic human experience: dirt clings to our body and limbs as we move through the world. At the end of the day, a bath or simple washing restores freshness. This is the natural law: water cleanses external dust.

Maskeen Ji observes that this metaphor is deliberate. Just as dust accumulates inevitably, even if one tries to avoid it, so too minor sins or unintended faults gather upon the mind as one lives. But just as water cleanses the body, so can the mind be refreshed through spiritual practices like satsang, Gurbani reflection, and light meditation.

Stained Clothes and Soap

ਮੂਤ ਪਲੀਤੀ ਕਪੜੁ ਹੋਇ॥
mūt palītī kapaṛ hoi ||
If clothes are defiled with urine,

ਦੇ ਸਾਬੂਣੁ ਲਈਐ ਓਹੁ ਧੋਇ॥
de sābūṇ laīai oh dhoi ||
Soap is applied, and they are cleansed.

Here Guru Ji makes a distinction. Some impurities are deeper. If clothes are soiled by filth or waste, water alone is not enough — one must use soap. Humanity discovered that deeper stains require stronger cleansing.

Maskeen Ji explains: sins too exist at levels.

• Unintentional sins are like dust: accidental wrong thoughts, careless words, or unconscious slips. These can be washed away through light spiritual reflection.
• Deliberate, premeditated sins are like filth on clothes. These are planned wrongs — lies told knowingly, harm caused intentionally, selfish schemes. Such stains require more than small acts of charity or prayer. They demand deep repentance, disciplined meditation, and heartfelt Naam-simran.

The analogy of soap signifies a more intense spiritual cleansing process.

The Mind Polluted with Sin

ਭਰੀਐ ਮਤਿ ਪਾਪਾ ਕੈ ਸੰਗਿ॥
bhariā mat pāpā kai sang ||
But when the mind is polluted with sin,

ਓਹੁ ਧੋਪੈ ਨਾਵੈ ਕੈ ਰੰਗਿ॥
ohu dhopai nāvai kai raṅg ||
It is cleansed only by the color of the Divine Name.

Now Guru Ji turns inward. The true pollution is not on the body or clothes, but on the mind (mat). When the mind is filled with sinful tendencies — wrong thoughts, selfish desires, harmful intentions — no amount of outward cleansing helps.

Maskeen Ji stresses: only the raṅg (color) of Naam can wash the mind. This is not mechanical repetition of “Vāhigurū” with the tongue. True cleansing happens only when the mind and heart join the tongue, when Naam is uttered with devotion, love, and full presence.

He cites Baba Farīd:
“Those who love with the heart, they alone are true. Those whose minds are elsewhere while their mouths repeat God’s Name — their devotion is false, like a weak dye that quickly washes away.”

Thus, Naam is not a ritual but a transformative color that saturates the mind, washing away even the darkest stains.

Who Can Judge Virtue or Sin?

ਪੁੰਨੀ ਪਾਪੀ ਆਖਣੁ ਨਾਹਿ॥
puṇnī pāpī ākhaṇ nāh ||
No one can be declared virtuous or sinful merely by words.

Guru Ji cautions against human judgment. We often label others: “He is pious, she is a sinner, he is destined for heaven, she for hell.” At funerals, we hear: “He has gone to heaven,” or “She has attained Sachkhand.” But these are merely words.

Maskeen Ji explains: virtue and sin are not decided by social opinion, rituals, or our declarations. They are recorded in the inner being (antahkaran) through one’s deeds. Only the Divine knows the true measure.

The Record of Actions

ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਣਾ ਲਿਖਿ ਲੈ ਜਾਹੁ॥
kar kar karaṇā likh lai jāh ||
According to their deeds, each carries the record with them.

In Hindu tradition, this record is described as being kept by “Chitragupt,” the divine scribe. But Guru Ji clarifies that this is not a literal clerk writing in a book. Instead, it is the imprint of our own actions upon our mind and soul.

Maskeen Ji explains the process:

• Every action creates a sanskaar (impression).
• Sanskaar shapes our subhāva (nature, tendencies).
• Subhāva creates our prārabdh (destiny).
• From destiny arises our experience of joy and sorrow.

Thus, destiny is not arbitrary. It is the natural unfolding of our own actions. What we do, we carry with us — not as external notes, but as internal imprints that shape our future.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

ਆਪੇ ਬੀਜਿ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਖਾਹੁ॥
āpe bīj āpe hī khāh ||
Whatever one sows, that alone shall one eat.

This is the central law of karma. Unlike worldly farming where one person may sow and another reap, in the Divine order, each person reaps exactly what they sow.

The fruits of karma are twofold:

• Sukh (happiness, prosperity, success)
• Dukh (pain, loss, sorrow)

If suffering comes, Guru Ji says: blame no one. It is the fruit of one’s own seeds. If joy comes, do not be proud — be grateful, for it too is the fruit of one’s own seeds.

Maskeen Ji quotes Gurbani:
“dosh na dījai jinahi, doṣ karma āpaṇiā” — Do not blame others. What I did, that I received.

The wise, therefore, accept both joy and sorrow as their own harvest, learning humility and responsibility.

Hukam: The Divine Law of Coming and Going

ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਆਵਹੁ ਜਾਹੁ॥ ੨੦॥
nānak hukmī āvahu jāh ||20||
O Nānak, by His command do we come and go.

Finally, Guru Ji situates karma within the larger framework of Hukam (Divine Order). Birth and death, coming and going, reincarnation itself — all operate within the Divine law.

Maskeen Ji explains: as long as desires and attachments bind the soul to the earth, one must return here again and again. Each desire is like a chain pulling the soul back. The cycle ends only when the soul is colored in Naam, rising above worldly cravings.

Then, like a drop merging back into the ocean, or a spark returning to the sun, the soul merges with the Infinite. This is liberation — freedom from the cycle of birth and death.

Philosophical Insights

Science and Spirituality: Two Directions of Intellect

Maskeen Ji makes a profound observation: the human intellect works in two ways.

• When directed toward matter, it becomes science — discovering natural laws, bending them for human comfort.
• When directed toward the Divine, it becomes spirituality — discovering eternal truths, adapting oneself to God’s law, attaining bliss.

Both are valid. The scientist gives us worldly comforts; the saint gives us eternal joy. But Guru Nānak emphasizes: true cleansing, the purification of the mind, cannot be achieved by science or material progress. It requires spiritual practice, especially the Naam.

Levels of Sin: Dust and Filth

This Paurī distinguishes between two types of sin:

1. Unintentional errors — like dust on the body, easily washed by water. These can be removed by satsang and small acts of devotion.
2. Deliberate, intentional sins — like filth on clothes, requiring soap. These need deeper spiritual practice: Naam-simran with love, repentance, disciplined living.

This teaching helps us understand why minor mistakes are forgiven easily, while planned wrongdoing leaves deeper scars.

Naam as Permanent Color

Guru Nānak uses the metaphor of raṅg — color. True Naam is not just sound; it is a dye that stains the soul permanently. Mechanical repetition is like a weak, temporary dye; true devotion is like a deep, fast color that never fades. Only this deep color of Naam can wash away the black stains of sin.

Karma and Responsibility

This Paurī is also a warning against blaming others for our sorrows. We reap what we sow. By accepting responsibility, we stop projecting blame outward and begin to sow better seeds. This is spiritual maturity.

Hukam: Beyond Control

Finally, the Paurī situates everything within Hukam — the Divine Order. Karma operates under Hukam, and liberation too is granted within Hukam. Human freedom is real, but it exists within the larger cosmic law established by the Creator.

Conclusion

Japji Sahib Paurī 20 is both simple and profound. Through the everyday examples of washing dirt from the body and cleansing clothes with soap, Guru Nānak leads us to deep spiritual truths: the real pollution is not on the body but on the mind, and it can only be washed away with the Naam.

Maskeen Ji’s commentary highlights how Guru Ji connects physical and spiritual cleansing, how sins differ in depth, and how Naam, when uttered with love, purifies even the darkest stains. The Paurī also teaches us the law of karma: we reap what we sow. No one else can be blamed. Finally, it places all within the Divine Hukam: birth and death, joy and sorrow, coming and going — all unfold according to His command.

In today’s world of endless conveniences and scientific progress, Paurī 20 reminds us that while science can clean the body and give comfort, only spirituality — the color of Naam — can cleanse the mind and give lasting bliss. It is an invitation to take responsibility for our actions, to live consciously, and to saturate ourselves in the eternal color of the Divine.