Dasam Dvar, the tenth door opens into the abode of God, the Creator
Dasam Dvar
From SikhiWiki
DASAM DVAR (Sanskrit Dasamadvara), literally meaning "tenth gate",
has been refered to in SGGS signifying the door to enlightenment and
vision being only through NAAM DAAN & ISHNAAN.
This term originate from the Hathayogic system, where it is also
known as brahmrandhra, moksadvara, mahapatha and madhya marga, the
terms frequently used in the esoteric literature of medieval India.
Also sometimes written as "Dasam DUara"
It is a term of religious physiology and its significance lies in its
being a concept in the framework of soteriological ideology. Nine
apertures (navdvaras) opening towards outside the body serve the
physical mechanism of human personality but when their energy—normally being wasted—is consciously channelized towards the self,
the tenth gate or the dasamdvar opens inside the body and renders a
hyper-physical service by taking the seeker beyond the bondage of
embodied existence.
Also called holes or streams, these nine nine doors are the: eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, anus, and urethra. All are vital organs of the human being. The Pali Suttanipata (verse 199. The Khuddak nikaya (vol. 1, p. 297) is perhaps the very first of several ancient Indian texts that mention the idea of nine 'holes' in the body. It is from a philosophically ascetic or Sramanic standpoint that the human body is described in this text as a mass of bones, sinews, flesh, etc. and as a bag for belly, intestines, liver, heart, bladder, lungs, kidneys, blood, bile, etc. "Ever from its nine streams (navahi sotehi) the unclean flows.” The Svetasvatara Upanisad (III. 18) and the Bhagavadgita (V. 13) refer to human body as “A city with nine gates" (nava dvara pure dehi) in which the Self dwells, neither acting nor causing to act. The Katha Upanisad (2.51), however, describes human abode of the Unborn One as “A city with eleven gates" (puram-ekadasa-dvaram). Mystical and soteriological significance of dasam dvar is found in the writings of the siddhas and the sants.
As a matter of fact the history of the idea of
begins with the Buddhist Siddhas and we owe its popularity to the Natha yogis. The term as well as the concept first appears in the works of Siddhas who flourished during the period between eighth and eleventh centuries. The Siddhas transmitted the theory of dasam dvar as a mystical spiritual gateway of the Vaisnava Sants and thence it came to the Sikh [Gurus]]. The process of transmission was direct and natural since the Sants (or Bhagats) and Gurus lived and taught in a society thoroughly acquainted with and influenced by the terms, concepts and precepts of the Siddhas. Although the concept of dasam dvar remained the same, its functional value in theistic theology and socio-devotional methodology of the Sikh Gurus became decidedly different from its original one in the non-theistic ideology and esoteric-ascetic methodology of Buddhist Siddhas and Natha yogis.
In the Buddhist caryapadas or hymns of spiritual practice, the dasama dvara is also called vairocana-dvara, the brilliant gate or the supreme gate. In the texts of the Natha school such as the Siddhasiddhanda paddhati (II. 6), the mouth of sankhini is called the tenth gate (sankhini-bibaram-dasam dvaram). Sankhini is the name of a curved duct (banka nala) through which nectar (soma rasa, maharasa or amrit) passes downwards. This curved duct lies between the moon (candra) below the sahasrara-cakra or thousand-petalled lotus plexus in the cebrum region and the hollow in the palatal region. The Goraksavijaya describes sankhini as a double-mouthed (dvi-mukhia) serpent (sarpini), one mouth above, the other below. The life elixir called amrit or nectar pours down through the mouth of sankhini. This mouth called dasamd var has to be shut up and the quintessence of life, amrit or maharasa has to be conserved by the yogi. The amrit which pours down from the dasam dvar falls down in the fire of the sun (surya) where it is dried up by time (kalagni). The yogi by closing the dasam dvar and preserving the amrit deceives Time (death) and by drinking it himself through cumbersome khecari-mudra he attains immortality. Some other hathayogic texts name susumna nari instead of sankhini. However, all the texts agree that the brahmrandhra or the dasamdvar is the cavity on the roof of the palate and khecari mudra has to be performed for tasting the elixir of the amrit pouring down from it.
The notion of dasam dvar, written as dasam duar, occurs several times
in the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism is a strictly monotheistic system
belief and it must be stated at the outset that according to Sikh
view of the dasam dvar, the tenth door opens into the abode of God,
the Creator —dasam duara agam apara param purakh ki ghati (GG, 974),
and again —nau ghar thape thapanharai dasvai vasa alakh aparai (GG,
1036)....
The nine doors (nau daryaje) and the tenth door are often mentioned
together to show their differences. The unstruck sound is heard at
the tenth door when it is freed from the shackles of nine doors in
the body—nau darvaje dasvai mukta anahad sabadu vajavania (GG, 110).
It is believed that the tenth door is closed by a hard diamond-like
door (bajar kapat) which is haumai (self-centredness). This hard and
strong door is opened and the darkness of haumai is dispelled by the
instruction of the Teacher (Guru). In other words, the tenth door is
the door of enlightenment and it opens only when the door consisting
of haumai is broken. It is taken for granted in Sikhism that the
tenth door is the supreme state of the mind. It is certainly not a
physical door; it is that state of purified consciousness in which
God is visible and all contacts with physical existence are cut off.
It is called a being's own house (nij-ghar), that is to say, a
being's real nature which is like light (joti sarup). One hears day
and night the anahad sabda there when one dwells in one's own house
through the tenth door—nau dar thake dhavatu rahae, dasvai nijghari
vasa pae (GG, 124).
At few places in the Gurbani, the term dasam duar has been used to
denote ten organs—five sensory organs and five organs of action, i.e.
jnanendriyas and karmendriyas. Says Guru Nanak: "Hukami sanjogi gari
das duar, panch vasahi mili joti apar"—in the fortress of the body
created in his hukam are ten doors. In this fort five subtle elements
of sabda (sound), sparsa (touch), rupa (sight), rasa (taste) and
grandha (smell) abide having the infinite light of the Lord in them
(GG, 152). The amrit which flows at the tenth door is the essence of
Divine name (nam ras) according to the Guru; it is not the physical
elixir of immortality conceived by the Siddhas, nor is this amrit to
be found by awakening kundalini or by practising khecari mudra; it is
to be found through the Teacher's instruction. When the Satguru is
encountered then one stops from running (after the nine doors) and
obtains the tenth door. Here at this door the immortalizing food
(amrit bhojan), the innate sound (sahaj dhuni) is produced—dhavatu
thammia satiguri miliai dasva duaru paia; tithai amrit bhojanu sahaj
dhuni upajai jitu sabadi jagatu thammi rahaia (GG, 441).
This wholesome spot is not outside the physical frame. The second
Guru also refers to the fort (kotu) with nine doors; the tenth door
is hidden (gupatu); it is closed by a hard door which can be opened
by the key of the Guru's word (GG, 954). According to Guru Amar Das,
Nanak III, he alone is released who conquers his mind and who keeps
it free from defilement; arriving at the tenth door, and staying
there he understands all the three spheres (GG, 490).
The importance of dasam dvar is of considerable theological interest.
Here at the tenth door the anahad sabda (unstruck sound) is heard;
here the divine drink of immortality trickles down; and here the
devotee meets with the invisible and inaccessible transcendental
Brahman who is described by the sages as unutterable (GG, 1002). The
devotional theology of Sikhism requires that the gateway of ultimate
release can open only by God's will. The tenth door is closed with
the adamantine hard door (bajar kapat) which can be opened duly with
the Guru's word. Inside the front (i.e. the body) is the tenth door,
the house in the cavity (gupha ghar); in this fort nine doors have
been fixed according to Divine ordinance (hukam); in the tenth door
the Invisible, Unwritten, Unlimited Person shows Himself—bhitari kot
gupha ghar jai nau ghar thape hukami rajai; dasvai purakhu alekhu
apari ape alakhu lakhaida (GG, 1033). This is the view expressed by
the founder of Sikhism and he repeats it at another place also. He
says that the Establisher has established nine houses (nau ghar) or
nine doors in the city of this body; the Invisible and Infinite
dwells at the tenth house or tenth door (GG, 1036)....
For the most part, however, the Sikh Scripture stresses the need for
realization of the dasam duar, apart from God's ordinance (hukam) and
Teacher's compassion (kirpa, prasad) and the necessity of
transcending the realm of three-strand nature (triguna maya).
BIBLIOGRAHPY
1. Sher Singh, The Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
2. Dasgupta, Sasibhusan, Obscure Religious Cults. Calcutta, 1962
3. Hathyoga-Pradipika. Adyar, 1972
4. Briggs, G. Weston, Gorakhnath and Kanphata Yogis, Delhi, 1973
5. Jodh Singh, Religious Philosophy of Guru Nanak. Varanasi, 1983.
Above adapted from article By L. M. Joshi
Concepts In Sikhism - Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi
www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Dasam_Dvar
The True Teacher (Satguru)
The Guru or the Divine Teacher is the source of all divine knowledge and inspiration. "Unaided man cannot come to God. He needs the awakening word of the real teacher sent to him by God Himself. Such a teacher has to be himself a saint wholly devoted to the Lord, sincere, kindly and of good repute. The Guide must be detached from worldliness in order to be able to save others from the world and bring them safely to infinite bliss.
Without a Guru's teaching and without the aid of scriptures, the self cannot be realized; only by means of this combination can the knowledge of one's own self shine out bright. By bringing together the Guru, the scriptures, and the willing pupil, a man comes to engage in good conduct and in self knowledge. So bring out the eradication of ego by the Guru's power, the aid of scriptures and the devoted control of your self.
It is hard to give up sense-objects, hard to see the truth, hard to be in the Natural State without the guidance of the Guru. The syllable gu means darkness, while the syllable ru means dispeller, Thus Guru means dispeller of darkness.
Garib Das says : "I have met a Satguru, who is an embodiment of the Supreme Spirit. His Light has been revealed to me in every pore of my heart ever since he has given me the Divine Name which I repeat continuously without effort {ajapajapa). The True Guru has intoxicated me with Divine Love. He has given me the cup of divine love to drink and awakened my consciousness. My mind is absorbed in the sea of his spirit. The hard veil is broken and I have attained the difficult path to God. This Satguru is no other than the Great Kabir who is my Saviour. " (G.G.S., p. 2)
"By the grace of the Satguru I have attained Jnan, Yoga, and Bhakti. He is a perfect being and boundless in flow of inspiration. He is the living Lord of the world. It is difficult to describe the attributes of the Satguru. He is sweet of speech and is freedom loving. He has made me immortal by his touch and given me such divine knowledge as Vedas, Shastras and Puranas could not give.” (G.G.S., p. 2)
Thus Garib Das emphasises that no one can win the way to God without guidance from the Guru. Only when the light of the Guru shines in our heart can we move towards truth. The devout soul meets the heavenly Guide, the Satguru, and wins his grace by serving him. The very meeting with the Guru awakens his sleeping consciousness and his mind opens up to the supreme realisation of true knowledge and love of God. All obstacles disappear from the path of the aspirant. There is no other easy way or short cut to God except through the grace of the Guru.
"The Satguru" says Garib Das, "Is an embodiment of the perfect Brahma. God reveals Himself through him. There is no difference between God and Guru. Spiritually they are one and the same. The Satguru is like the philosopher's stone. The human beings are like iron, His very touch makes us gold. He changes our whole being. He removes the hardness of our soul and like a blacksmith gives us a new from.” (G.G.S., p. 4) Death dare not come to the man who has met the Satguru. He is never afraid of death. The god of death becomes his servant. By meeting the Satguru man swims across the dread ocean of worldly life. (G.G.S., p. 5)
We must distinguish between the real Guru and the false Guru. The real Guru has not only attained God but remains in perfect union with Him all the time. He is the perfect Man who sees the Light of God in every one and can easily discriminate between the true and the false. He is conscious of God's loving watch over him. Unshaken by joy and sorrow, wholly free from anger, virtuous and kind, delighting in the worship of God, without the least taint of worldiness or egoism, eager for humble service of the lowliest of men, such a Guru can guide us to the Lord he loves.
In the Kali age," says Garib Das, "The Satguru is the only true Saviour. He is the Merciful Giver of life and wisdom. Without the aid of the Satguru, the path cannot be known. On meeting the Satguru, the unseen can be seen. Through his kindness, the Satguru changes the heart of men and all mental and spiritual darkness disappears. Without the help of the Satguru even Brahma and Siva could not attain salvation. The True Guru is the bestower of Bhakti (love) and Mukti (liberation). He takes the soul of men to the Infinite. Without the knowledge of the True Guru all live in blindness. He alone destroys the fear of death and takes men to the abode of bliss. All doubts, delusions and sins depart on meeting the True Guru. I have taken refuge in the perfect one, I am his servant.” (G.G.S., p. 3)
There is no dearth of false Gurus in the wold. Inside them there is no spirituality and no light. "They put on the garbs of holy men, make pretentions of becoming Gurus and give mantram in the ears of the ignorant disciples. Such false Gurus live in darkness and lead others to darkness. (G.G.S., p. 141) Blind are these Gurus and blind are their disciples. They are ignorant of divine knowledge and they have never heard the celestial music (anahad sabda). (G.G.S., p. 140) These pretenders give mantrams which have no effect on the disciples. That is why he calls them kanphuka Gurus, "There is no end to these kanphuka Gurus. They bring moral and spiritual disaster to their disciples. Because they are hypocrites, their disciples also become victims of hypocrisy. A false Guru is the carrier of moral death. Like the simbal tree he bears no fruit and his disciples go empty handed. Many Kazis and Pandits who pose to be true Gurus and Pirs are like the ox yoked to an oil press. They ask their disciples to repeat something mechanically but it is of no avail.” (G.G.S., p. 142)
K. C. Gupta, Sri Garib Das
D.K. Fine Arts (March 2004) pp. 100-4
The word 'Ardas' literally means 'prayer.' But the traditional Sikh Ardas has come to represent a specific form of prayer recited in every Gurdwara program. It is recited before the Guru is transported or brought into Prakaash, just before the hukam is taken, and again when the Guru is set into Sukhasaan. It can also be recited before undertaking any activity of significance, before leaving on a journey, to give thanks, or as a way of daily remembering the Creator.
The core of Ardas is an invocation which Guru Gobind Singh recited at the beginning of his epic poem Chandi di Vaar. In it, he calls upon the power of Adi Shakti in the form of Pritham Bhagauti. He then calls upon the Spirit of the Guru, elaborating upon the nine manifestations from Guru Nanak through Guru Teg Bahadur. This part of Ardas is unchangeable and should be recited in the original Gurmukhi, if possible. Sikh ministers should be able to recite this short prayer from memory, and should be prepared to offer Ardas at any time, at the request of the Sangat.” (www.fateh.sikhnet.com/)
The Ardas is often adorned with various passages from the Guru Granth Sahib. The recitation of Ardas commences with the opening stanza of Var Sri Bhagauti Ji written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji (The Var Sri Bhagauti Ji is contained with the Dasam Granth). This smoothly written ode begins by going through the order of meditation by placing Sri Bhagauti (The Divine Mother) foremost above all else, and then systematically referring to each of the other Gurus in turn entreating them for aid and protection.
The opening verses of the Ardas reads:
Ardaas: Ek Onkar Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. Sri Bhagauti Ji Sahae. Var Shri Bhagauti Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin
Ardaas: God is One. All victory is of the Wondrous Guru. May the respected Shri Bhagauti (Divine Mother) help us! Ode of the respected Shri Bhagauti recited by the Tenth Guru.
Pritham bhagauti simari kai gur nanak lain dhiai
First call up Bhagauti (The Divine Mother) in your mind, then meditate on Guru Nanak.
Guru Gobind Singh was a worshiper of the Divine Mother (Shri Bhagauti/Bhagawati). Not only did he entrench Her in the Ardas as is evident from his writings, but also sought Her blessings for the completion of the holy Granth Sahib:
Kripa kari hum par Jag Mata, Granth kara puran subh rata
Divine Mother of this universe shower Your blessings on me, so that I shall be able to complete this Granth.
In his auto biography he writes,
Hemkunt parbat hai jahan, sapt sring sobhat hai tahan
Vaha hum anik tapasya sadhi, Mahakal Kalka aaradhi
In my previous life, I did lot of penance at Hemkunt, and worshipped the primordial Mother (Mahakal Kalka).
(Note: Aaradhi means worshipping a female deity.)
V. Wadher in "Guru Govind Rai (Singh) in Line Of Shri Rama And Shri Krishna" has this to say:
“Govind Singh wrote that in his past life, he was a Rishi who performed great penances at Hemkunt. He has given a graphic description of a place in the Himalayas ensconced by twelve mountain peaks. It was here that he was ordained by the Param Purukh to take another birth for the specific purpose of uprooting adharma. This story went well with the kind of life he led and the things he achieved. He was born to Guru Tegh Bahadur because the latter too was propitiating God to bless him with a great son. The whole stance of this story is the same as of Dasaratha who also performed penances in his earlier birth and was blessed by the Lord that He himself would be born to him.
In the tradition of Lord Rama, Guru Govind Singh performed a year- long Chandi Yagna at Naina Devi (the shrine of the Goddess of beautiful eyes) overlooking Anandpur Sahib before launching upon his mission. Lord Rama had done the same before marching into Lanka. The Goddess, pleased with his austerities, had blessed Rama with victory. Lord Krishna had taken Arjuna to the temple of the Goddess for seeking her blessings before the battle with the Kauravas.
RULING DEITY
According to tradition, Chandi is the ruling deity of the Jalander Peeth, the triangle pervaded by the Goddess of which Jalander, Kulu and Vaishno Devi form the three angles. In Punjab when the Shaktas (the worshipers of Shakti) ruled the roost, the Mother was known to be residing in every nook and corner of the triangle, alternatively known as the Trigarth Peeth. The important shrines of the Goddess in this region bear testimony to this point. There are Ambala (Ambalaya - the home of the Goddess), Chandigarh (the fortress of the Goddess), Kalka (abode of Kali), Naina Devi (in the Shivaliks), Asa Devi (in the Dhaulaladhars), Hidimba (in the Kulu hills), Vajreshwari (the Mother of Thunderbolt) at Kangra, Jwala Devi (The Mother of the Flaming Mouth) at Jwala Mukhi, Chintpuri in Hosiarpur and finally Vaishno Devi (the Vaishnavi Mother) in the Jammu Hills.
“Bachitra Natak is followed by three different compositions narrating roughly the same events, the exploits of the goddess Durga or Chandi. (These three sections are included in the Bachitra Natak Granth section of the Dasam Granth.) The first, Chandi Charitra Ukti Bilas, mentions that it is a retelling of the Sanskrit Markandeya Purana. Both it and Chandi Charitra II depict the goddess Durga slaying the buffalo demon Mahisha as well as a host of other demons. The third composition concerning the goddess, Var Durga Ki, or Chandi di Var, is in Punjabi, and mentions a connection to the Sanskrit Durga Saptasati. The opening verses of Chandi di Var are part of the frequently recited ardas prayer or petition. Each of these compositions employs finely crafted imagery to narrate the battles between the goddess and the demons, with weapons and wounds they inflict portrayed with exacting detail. The stories highlight the goddess' role in allowing the gods to maintain the proper order of dharma with her ability to vanquish demons that the gods cannot overcome.
The opening line of Chandi di Var, 'First I remember Bhagauti, and then I turn my attention to Guru Nanak', illustrates one of the key controversies about the Dasam Granth. The term bhagauti is the feminine form of a word for Lord or God. i.e., Goddess [Sanskrit bhagavati], so that one might translate the first phrase of this line as, 'First I remember the Goddess.'”
Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies
Oxford University Press (Apr 9 2014) p. 139
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Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi “Meditation is nothing but the state of remaining in the constant company of the ever-loving Bhagawati.”
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
“We have also Sikh community. They came to Sahaja, but they said, 'We cannot worship Goddess.' I said 'Why?' Surprised at it, because Shri Guru Nanak has talked about the Goddess, the Devi. The first sentence of his book is Adya. Adya is the Adi Shakti. And for this, if the Sikhs stupidly say, then why do they have a 'Chandi'-'garh'. That's so stupid also, nothing to really compare.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Ganapatipule, India— December 25, 2001
“These who believe in the reality of Hinduism, in the reality of their religion, must go to the essences of religion. Now there are many Sikhs. I can talk about Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak has clearly said—I would say nobody has said so clearly as he, so clearly has said it—you are just singing these songs from morning till evening in your Darbar Sahib. These are the descriptions your great Guru has given you to search within you. When are you going to do that? Stop all that. I am not against your bhajan.
But now entertainment is not the way. Let it be over now. Let us search it within ourselves. Find out that centre which he has said. What are we singing about? Have we done any justice to our Guru. Have we done any justice to our Adi Shankaracharya? Have we done any justice to Christ or to Mohammad Sahib? We have not, we are doing just the opposite of what they have told us.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
New Delhi, India—March, 1975
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