The Path from Dharma to Gyan Khand – A Reflection

Based on Maskeen Ji’s Discourse on Japji Sahib

Maskeen Ji explains that Japji Sahib’s Paurī 35 describes the journey from Dharam Khand (realm of righteous living) into Gyan Khand (realm of spiritual wisdom). A person who lives methodically according to Dharma – practicing discipline, virtue and meditation – finds his consciousness ascending into Gyan Khand.

In other words, true knowledge is born of spiritual practice and lived experience, not mere bookish learning. Maskeen Ji notes: “if a person’s activity is systematic and he lives and meditates methodically, his attention rises up and reaches the next sphere…called Gyan Khand”. In the crucible of Dharam Khand one gains insight and inner experience, and from that arises the intuitive wisdom of Gyan Khand.

Living Dharma: Discipline and Insight

In Dharam Khand, the seeker fixes his way of life by the Guru’s teaching, following a disciplined, virtuous path. Maskeen Ji emphasizes that every action is according to a code of conduct, and none is haphazard. This systematic, devotional living naturally deepens consciousness. From this foundation “his consciousness goes up to the next sphere…due to the insight and experience that he has gained in the stage of Dharam Khand”. Thus spiritual knowledge (gyān) comes from inner realization, the fruit of long practice, not from intellectual show. The true gyān is lived and experienced.

The Vistas of Gyan Khand: Infinite Diversity

Once in Gyan Khand, the seeker beholds the countless manifestations of creation – all signs pointing to the One Creator. Maskeen Ji unfolds a dazzling panorama of forms:

• Elemental Forces: “There are very many types of air and gases… different qualities and effects,” he says. Likewise, fire itself has many faces: the “Jathar Agni” (digestive fire in the stomach), the “Barhva Agni” (the ocean’s fire), even the fire of the mind (Trishna, or desire). In Gyan Khand the seeker sees that every natural element is diverse and multifaceted, and that mastery of Dharma revealed these subtle truths.
• Avatars and Deities: Maskeen Ji observes that God’s will has raised up countless incarnations and gods. “He also comes to know that there is not only one Krishna… but there had been countless Krishnas from time to time in this universe. Similarly there are countless Mahesh (Shivas)”. What we think of as a single divine figure or incarnation – Krishna or Shiva – is in truth a repeated mystery manifest in innumerable forms. This multiplies reverence but removes attachment to any single form.
• Waters of the World: The Guru shows the richness even in water: “Water is of many types. The colour and taste of the water of every river is different,” Maskeen Ji points out. At Prayag, for example, the Ganges flows clear and pale while the Yamuna runs dark – each with its own flavor. In Gyan Khand the disciple tastes this variety as a reminder of the Creator’s subtlety.
• Cosmic Lights: Citing Bhagat Kabir, Maskeen Ji marvels: “Millions of suns shine for Him”. Modern science indeed tells us there are thousands of millions of stars. Kabir asks, in effect, “to which one are you offering worshipful water?”. In Gyan Khand the soul realizes that the sun we see is but one of limitless luminaries. Likewise there are “millions of Shivas and Kailash mountains” for Him. The sky teems with countless celestial bodies – not one, but endless suns and moons lighting His universe. Each mountain, each light, each deity we know is simply a part of the vast whole.
• Yogis and Sages: There are “countless Yogis like Mahadev who sit in contemplation”. Every age yields untold saints and siddhas. Maskeen Ji enumerates countless Buddhas, countless Yogis, countless sages of divine power. Gyan Khand reveals not just one Buddha or one enlightened master, but a myriad. This impartial diversity teaches that wisdom is everywhere, not confined to any one name or temple.
• Brahma and Scriptures: Even creator spirits multiply. “There have been countless Brahmas in the universe… very many types of scriptures have been written by them,” Maskeen Ji explains. Yet, he adds, all these exalted beings are God’s creation. When one realizes they themselves have been created by the One, their worship is transformed – they are honored, but the devotee “meditates on the name of God only”.
• Worlds and Mountains: We learn of a universe with “countless earths wherein human beings work” and “a large number of mountains on every earth”. Every planet, every globe is peopled and jagged with peaks. Mountains rise endlessly on world after world. In every age and land there are “countless Bhagats like Dharoo… beyond counting” – an eternal succession of devotees and saints. No mind can number these hosts.
• Gods, Demons, and Hermits: Maskeen Ji observes that there are “countless gods” like Indra (clouds that bring rain) and correspondingly “countless demons” with wild natures. Yet even the demons play their appointed part in the cosmic drama. And there are “countless hermits” who take vows of silence, transcending the mind. Every category of being – divine, demonic, meditative – is infinite.
• Oceans and Jewels: Even the oceans teem with abundance. Maskeen Ji calls the deep Ratanagar, the mine of jewels. There are countless oceans, each containing every kind of jewel. This symbolizes the ocean of God’s wisdom, whose depths are studded with innumerable treasures of insight.
• Life and Creation: Creation’s variety extends to all living things. In our world life arises in four ways (from egg, from womb, from earth, or from heat), but Maskeen Ji reminds us “there are countless earths in the universe and countless classes of creations”. Each world births its own forms. The largest life (birds, mammals) begin from eggs, but consider how many eggs and births occur across infinite worlds. Every species, every birth is but one instance of an endless pattern.
• Languages and Speech: Even human expression is diverse: the “speaking of man has been divided into four types: Para, Pasāntī, Madhma, and Bīkharī”. (These refer to different modes of Sanskrit recitation, hinting that even sound and word have vast expression.) In short, Maskeen Ji’s listing implies so many tongues, doctrines and philosophies exist that one cannot enumerate them.

In each instance, Gyan Khand opens one’s eyes: “to count all this is impossible”. Each name, each world, each script is a single point in an infinite tapestry. All these multiplicities – winds and waters, avatars and ascetics, stars and scriptures, insects and incantations – lead the seeker beyond finite forms.

Kabir and Nanak: One Vision

Maskeen Ji draws on Bhagat Kabir’s insight to reinforce the message. Kabir – a weaver-saint contemporary with Guru Nanak – teaches the same truth: “Millions of suns shine for Him…Kabir says, to which sun are you offering water for worship?”. Kabir’s question underscores how limited it is to adore a single idol or image when the Divine light is manifold.

In the same spirit, Guru Nanak himself declares that the Divine’s “limit has no limit” (ant na ant) – creation has no end. Maskeen Ji’s exposition weaves these voices together: both Kabir and Nanak point out that multiplicity and oneness coexist. All variety of names, forms and manifestations are ultimately poles (tārā, anchors) that lead the mind back to the One.

Thus, in Gyan Khand one perceives Kabir’s vision aligning perfectly with Nanak’s revelation. Maskeen Ji observes that in this realm “a person rises up from the worship of gods and goddesses and communes with God who is the Creator of the whole universe”. Worship of any created thing falls away. Instead the soul turns inward to the formless Naam. As the commentary says, even though countless Brahmas and Shivas exist, “he respects those superhumans, but he meditates on the name of God only”. Kabir’s and Nanak’s teaching is that ultimate devotion is for the unseen, unnameable Creator, not for the ephemeral forms.

Beyond Form: Worship of the Creator

Maskeen Ji emphasizes the distinction between form and Formless. The myriad deities and divine forms are honored in Gyan Khand, but they are no longer the goal. The soul understands they are “the creation of God”. In plain terms, one does not fixate on any one idol or image. The “silent sages” and Yogis and gods all reflect His glory, yet the true worship is of that glory itself – beyond shape and story. As Kabir quipped, why bathe one idol when a billion lights shine for God?

Worship becomes inner meditation on the One Name. All multiplicity is respected as aspects of the Creator’s play, but meditation is held for the Creator alone. This mirrors Guru Nanak’s teaching: the only lasting shrine is the human heart in true Nam-Jap (remembrance of God). In Gyan Khand, the disciple’s prayer rises above chanting names of forms; it becomes wordless communion with Waheguru.

The Infinite Horizon: Ant Na Ant

By the end of Maskeen Ji’s explanation of Paurī 35, one fact stands clear: creation is endless (“ant na ant”). Every time we say “many suns,” Kabir says “no, even more,” and each “countless sages” point to “beyond counting.” Maskeen Ji’s listing of ginti na ho sake vaṛid – those beyond numbering – emphasizes that no mind can grasp creation’s scale. Whether it is galaxies of stars, dynasties of rulers, oceans of jewels, or the four types of speech, the pattern is the same. For every multitude we list, the Guru says, God has multiplied it infinitely.

This teaching humbles the soul and uplifts it. On one hand, it shows how small our perspectives are; on the other hand, it magnifies the greatness of the Creator whose play knows no bounds. In this infinite context, Maskeen Ji conveys the final wisdom: all variety exists within the one Divine tapestry, and that Divine has “no limit”.

In closing, we echo the spirit of Maskeen Ji’s commentary: to realize the oneness behind multiplicity. Every element and every being is but a reflection of the Creator’s glory. As we ascend from Dharam to Gyan Khand, we see that loving discipline, then knowledge, leads us to merge in the endless ocean of God’s love. It is a path from forms to the formless, from finite to infinite, unfolding the profound message of Guru Nanak’s Japji Sahib in our hearts.