Listening as a Path to Purity and Bliss — Japji Sahib (Paurī 10)

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Introduction

In the spiritual symphony of Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Ji emphasizes again and again the power of listening (suṇīai). From Pauri 8 to Pauri 11, Guru Nanak devotes four entire stanzas to reveal the vast blessings that flow simply from listening deeply to the Divine Word.

In Pauri 10, the focus sharpens on how listening transforms one’s inner life, relationships, and spiritual journey. It is here that Guru Nanak reveals listening as a purifier greater than pilgrimage, a source of honor greater than endless study, and a force that dissolves sins and sorrows at their roots.

The commentary of Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen on this pauri unfolds layer after layer of meaning, using examples from daily life and timeless wisdom. This article brings together the Gurbani lines, Maskeen Ji’s insights, and reflective elaboration, to help us taste the fragrance of this divine teaching.

Listening that Transforms the Soul

When Guru Nanak Dev Ji speaks of listening, he does not mean the casual hearing of words that pass by our ears. Suṇiai here means listening with the heart, with awareness, with openness to transformation. It is the kind of listening where the words of Truth sink beyond the intellect and awaken the depths of the soul.

Maskeen Ji explains that such listening carries immense power: sins dissolve, sorrows vanish, and the very tendency to harm others is erased. When a person no longer entertains thoughts or actions that injure others, he too is freed from injury. A deep cycle of healing begins, because the energy we radiate to the world is the energy that returns to us.

Thus, Guru Ji declares: by listening to the Divine Name, sins are destroyed, sorrows are lifted, and one begins to live in a constant state of vigās (bliss, delight, joy).

Truth and Contentment

suṇiai sat santoḳh giān
By listening, one attains truth, contentment, and wisdom.

The first gift of listening is that truth (sat) and contentment (santokh) are born within. Maskeen Ji beautifully explains that when sat is mentioned alongside santokh, its meaning points towards generosity—towards the virtue of giving.

A child, Maskeen Ji says, only knows how to take. If you ask him to give his toy to another, he refuses, fearing it will be broken. Why? Because the instinct to give has not yet blossomed in him. If even in adulthood a person remains only a taker, then he may be worldly, but he is not a devotee. A true listener of the Divine Name becomes generous, for contentment arises in him, and from contentment the capacity to give is born.

The one who is satisfied within himself has the strength to give. The one who is restless and unfulfilled grasps desperately, unable to let go. Thus Guru Ji reveals: by listening, contentment fills the heart, and generosity naturally flows.

Generosity here is not merely about wealth. It is about uplifting others wherever they have fallen behind—whether in knowledge, art, resources, or dignity. To bring the marginalized forward, to give strength where weakness lies—that is true dān. And such a spirit awakens in the heart that listens.

This, says Maskeen Ji, is also the beginning of true wisdom. Not bookish memorization, not parrot-like repetition, but the radiant knowledge that arises from inner experience. When the Divine Word enters through the ears into the soul, the gifts that emerge are truth, contentment, and deep wisdom.

Purity Greater than Pilgrimage

suṇiai aṭhasaṭh kā isnān
By listening, it is as if one has bathed at the sixty-eight sacred places of pilgrimage.

Pilgrimages hold great reverence in religious traditions. Sacred rivers, holy temples, and sites visited by saints become magnets for seekers. Yet Guru Nanak declares that the act of deep listening brings about purity equal to—or greater than—all these pilgrimages combined.

Maskeen Ji expands with the words of Bhagat Kabir: Which is greater, the pilgrimage or the servant of God? Kabir answers that the servant of God is greater. Wherever a true servant of God is born, that place itself becomes a sacred site. Wherever he sits in devotion, the ground becomes holy. Wherever he departs this life, the spot becomes sanctified.

Thus, saints give birth to pilgrimages, not the other way around. A place cannot produce a saint, but every saint can sanctify a place. A saint is himself a walking pilgrimage—a jangam tīrath, a living, moving holy site.

Guru Nanak therefore assures us: listening to the Divine Name makes one so pure that it is as if one has bathed in every sacred river and visited every shrine.

Honor Beyond Endless Reading

suṇiai paṛ paṛ pāvah mān
By listening, one receives the honor that comes from reading and studying endlessly.

Scriptures, philosophies, and spiritual texts hold immense value. They guide, inspire, and illuminate. But Guru Nanak reminds us: the honor that comes from endless reading can also be attained simply by listening to the Divine Word.

Maskeen Ji explains that true listening awakens a hunger for knowledge. When the Divine Word enters, the heart longs to know more, to dive deeper. This hunger naturally draws one towards scriptures and spiritual study, and as understanding grows, so too does respect from others.

Yet even without endless study, simply by listening with the heart, one receives that same dignity, for wisdom itself begins to shine from within.

Meditation Born of Listening

suṇiai lāgai sahaj dhiān
By listening, one’s mind naturally rests in deep meditation and equipoise.

The restless mind scatters in a thousand directions. To sit in meditation and focus is often a struggle. Yet Guru Nanak reveals a secret: meditation need not be forced. When one listens deeply to the Divine Name, the mind gradually settles into sahaj—a natural, effortless stillness.

Maskeen Ji explains that the Divine Word gathers the fragments of the broken mind and unites them into wholeness. Each word that enters begins to heal the divided self. Over time, the distracted mind rests, and meditation arises spontaneously.

This is the highest aim of all meditative practice: a mind that is steady, anchored, and at peace. Guru Ji assures us this can be attained not only through techniques but through the simple act of listening with awareness.

Eternal Bliss of the Devotees

nānak bhagtā sadā vigās
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.

Worldly joy comes and goes—laughter today, tears tomorrow. But the bliss of the devotees is constant. Maskeen Ji compares it to a springtime that never ends, a season upon which no autumn ever falls.

Kabir Ji echoes this vision: sow a seed that yields fruit in every season, whose shade is cool, whose branches are full, where birds find joy. Such is the inner life of the devotee—evergreen, abundant, filled with delight.

This bliss does not depend on circumstances, wealth, or recognition. It is born from listening, from communion with the Divine, from living in harmony with Truth.

The Destruction of Sin and Sorrow

suṇiai dūkh pāp kā nās
By listening, suffering and sins are erased.

Finally, Guru Nanak declares the ultimate fruit: sins and sorrows dissolve. But what is sin? Maskeen Ji explains:

• If my words wound another’s heart, that is sin.
• If my thoughts harm another, that is sin.
• If my actions cause loss to someone else, that is sin.
• To seek one’s profit by harming another, to seek one’s honor by dishonoring another—that is sin.

When one listens deeply to the Divine Name, this tendency to harm is uprooted. A new orientation emerges: one may endure loss himself, but he will not inflict loss on another; one may accept dishonor himself, but he will not dishonor another.

And as he no longer harms others, he too is protected. The one who refuses to dishonor others finds his own honor safeguarded. The one who does not wound others’ hearts finds himself free of wounds.

Thus Guru Nanak assures: by listening, sins are destroyed, sorrows are ended, and everlasting bliss blossoms within.

Conclusion: The Call to Listen

Pauri 10 of Japji Sahib is a profound reminder that the path of spiritual growth is not found only in pilgrimages, rituals, or endless studies—it is found in the simple, yet transformative, act of listening.

To listen with awareness is to open the heart to Truth. It is to allow contentment, generosity, and wisdom to blossom. It is to become purer than pilgrimages, more honored than scholars, and steadier than the most practiced meditator.

Most of all, listening awakens a bliss that never fades and dissolves the tendencies that create sin and sorrow. Guru Nanak invites us: listen deeply to the Divine Word, and let it reshape your inner world.