Sachkhand Darshan - Dharam Khand - Chapter 2
Dharam Khand - The Realm of Righteousness
In the 34th paurhee of Japjee Sahib (verse) Guru Jee states that
rwqI ruqI iQqI vwr ]
Nights, days, weeks and seasons;
pvx pwxI AgnI pwqwl ]
wind, water, fire and the nether regions
Is the spontaneous creation created by the Primal Being Waheguru and within that spontaneous creation the creator has created and embodiment of a house of worship, a realm of a subtle world.
The world here does not refer to the world we are in. It refers to the realm of divine light, where Dharamraj, the angel of righteousness, has been installed by the Primal Being Waheguru to oversee the carriage of justice.
Comparing this divine world or realm with this world of ours is a gross error. This is an extremely subtle realm, the hall of righteousness where righteous judgments are deliberated and justice is meted out. The rest of the worlds like the one peopled by us, they are worlds created by the action-bound destiny where we have to answer for our actions and deeds.
Dharamraj (Angel of righteousness) is not like the kings of this world. He is the personal indistinguishable deputy installed by the Immortal Being as His own divine embodiment representing His personal potent power of justice. This Dharamraj, like the worldly kings, has no need for witnesses to deliberate and mete his justice. He has attained the Immortal Beings Waheguru’s source of power of inner-knowingness through which he himself is able to deliberate and administer true justice.
Drm rwie no hukmu hY bih scw Drmu bIcwir ]
The Righteous Judge of Dharma, by the Hukam of God’s Command, sits and administers True Justice.
Operating here is the Immortal Being Waheguru’s manifested true command of all-knowingness where true justice is deliberated (and administered). In this true realm of righteousness, numerous types of varied coloured life-forms born in the gross world and numerous types with varied names of beings as well, from other planes and universes register here after death where true deliberations according to one’s own destiny take place and justice is meted out.
Why true justice is dispensed here is because the true judge Dharamraj, the one who is going to mete out justice, is himself the deputy, who has been installed by the perfect righteous divine power of the true inner-knower, the Immortal Being Waheguru Himself. Then this true court of justice of the True (Creator) is the true court, a court that is not the same as the sub-standard, intellectual worldly court of some kingdoms (set up) for dispensing justice.
In that true court of the True One, stand the exalted -approved ones, who, remaining detached and unmarked from the punishment of Dharamraj’s deliberations, signify the unique power of the spiritually evolved ones and bear testimony to the exceptional ones who attain glory. They remain beyond the writ of judgment of Dharamraj. Neither can Dharamraj deliberate upon their actions and deeds nor can he make criticisms pertaining to their actions.
Drm rwie iqn kw imqu hY jm mig n pwvY ]
The Righteous Judge of Dharma is his friend; he does not have to walk on the Path of Death.
Those perfect exalted-adorned approved ones, with success-filled dealings and the total cultivation or earning of Naam, the highest of all actions, the insignia of Waheguru’s glance of grace is on their divine face. This is the reason why, those who are blessed and exalted with the glace of grace from the very source itself, Dharamraj cannot get near them, let along some other death’s tax collector couriers. Those exalted beings are freed and emancipated from the righteous plane’s institution of justice.
While being in this peopled world, the exalted beings’ consciousness remains absorbed in the realm of righteousness; Meaning, while remaining here ( in the peopled world) they are able to view the scene in the realm of righteousness. This is so because these popular exalted-approved ones in this world also participate in the sangat of the Guru and do kirtan, the singing of Waheguru’s praises, and thus have the ability to reach and remain absorbed in the True Court. Who then can prevent these exalted-approved supremely pure Shabad (Word)-conscious ones from gaining admission into the True Court upon the release of this apparel (of the human body-dying)?
The investigation leading to the restorative and remedial cleansing of all other half-cooked half baked ones takes place there (in the realm of righteousness). It is only in the True Court of the Realm of Righteousness that one comes to know who is lofty and who is low.
rwqI ruqI iQqI vwr ]
Nights, days, weeks and seasons;
pvx pwxI AgnI pwqwl ]
wind, water, fire and the nether regions
iqsu ivic DrqI Qwip rKI Drm swl ]
in the midst of these, He established the earth as a home for Dharma.
iqsu ivic jIA jugiq ky rMg ]
Upon it, He placed the various species of beings.
iqn ky nwm Anyk Anµq ]
Their names are uncounted and endless.
krmI krmI hoie vIcwru ]
By their deeds and their actions, they shall be judged.
scw Awip scw drbwru ]
God Himself is True, and True is His Court.
iqQY sohin pMc prvwxu ]
There, in perfect grace and ease, sit the self-elect, the self-realized Saints.
ndrI krim pvY nIswxu ]
They receive the Mark of Grace from the Merciful Lord.
kc pkweI EQY pwie ]
The ripe and the unripe, the good and the bad, shall there be judged.
nwnk gieAw jwpY jwie ]34]
O Nanak, when you go home, you will see this. ||34||
Japjee Sahib paurhee 34
The appearance of the words, iqQY, EQY (meaning there) in the Guru’s verse above is indicative that in the unfathomable visible creation of nature, the realm of righteousness is one such place where Dharam-Rai sits and administers true justice, where the True (Waheguru’s) court of justice holds court.
This Dharamrai’s realm of righteousness - of what trust is it made, and how justice is carried out there - this secret is revealed only upon going to that realm of righteousness. Through these five senses of knowledge the in-depth-power of this place cannot be narrated. Even the successfully exalted and approved ones, who while being in this peopled world, have seen that divine realm, the realm of righteousness, even they do not have the knowledge to be able to make a map of this place. To make a map one needs some such suitable example which this world’s people can understand. But how can they understand? They can only understand through the example of created things of this world. With worldly examples the ends cannot be achieved nor can a map be constructed. Therefore the only thing that we can say about the invisible, unfathomable creation’s secret knowledge is (what the Guru has so beautifully said on behalf of us):-
kihby kau soBw nhI dyKw hI prvwnu ]121]
I cannot describe its sublime glory; it has to be seen to be appreciated. ||121||
The intellectual consciousness of the people in possession of worldly knowledge, no matter how deep and honest their philosophies and scientific knowledge, how wise they are or how much knowledge they may have, they simply cannot ever know this priceless secret knowledge.
The seekers of Guru orientated teaching do not completely depend on the knowledge acquired through the witness of the five senses for the priceless secret divine understanding. When their divine innate sight gets the internal light then automatically all the deep-seated secrets are unraveled. Before becoming conversant about the sight of this innate divine-essence knowledge, their faith on the truth of Guru’s words is deeply ingrained. They do not pursue the confusing knowledge accrued through the sense organs. They do not turn away from the essence-truth of the Guru’s Word by pursuing this knowledge. They have grasped and ingrained in themselves this thing that whatever Gurbanee says all that is truth, and (nothing but the) truth. All other half-baked teachings are false.
This faith-filled tendency in the words of the Guru, make them researchers or seekers of divine-essence and committing them to cultivating teachings of the Guru which unravel before them the secrets of the invisible creation. They are able to bloom internally enjoying this essence-knowledge they experience a state of wondrousness. Guru Ji continues with narration on the realm of righteousness started in the last verse of JapJee Sahib (given above), in the opening line of the 35th paurhee with this comment:-
Drm KMf kw eyho Drmu ]
This is righteous living in the realm of Dharma.
Meaning, the subject outlined in the paurhee above is the narration of the essence of the realm of righteousness.