ਹੁਕਮੈ (hukmai)
Meaning: noun: Command, order or authority; the divine order, will or law that controls the entire universe
Quote:
ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਜੇ ਬੁਝੈ ਤ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ॥
naanak hukmai je bujhai ta haumai kahai na koi.
Nanak! If one understands hukam, then one does not say I, me and mine (i.e. one is not egoistic and does not boast of accomplishing anything by one self). – Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 01
Message: The first stanza of Jap Ji concluded with the advice – “walk in accordance with hukam“. The second stanza now defines hukam. Itis the “divine or cosmic order or law” by which every action and reaction that is happening in this universe is governed. It is synonymous with the laws of nature, the laws of the universe that we must comprehend and accept because they are inviolable. Nothing can happen outside of these laws. These laws apply to every one of us. We reap what we sow.
Everything in the universe, animate and inanimate, is created and functions as per hukam. The perceived good and bad, high and low, pain and pleasure or honour and dishonour – all are part of hukam. One has to face and accept this duality of life while living on this earth. If one understands that everything happens according to hukam, then one will not indulge in egotism, an optical illusion. One will not talk arrogantly, or insist on imposing one’s own will.
Hence, follow hukam. Flow in harmony with it. For, you cannot change it in any way.
There is nothing that happens by chance in our universe. Everything unfolds according to higher laws – everything is regulated by divine order. – Peace Pilgrim
Keen to Explore Further?
This stanza describes hukam or divine law, to which we must comprehend and accept in order to attain the goal of human life: becoming a sachiaar.
A sachiaar personifies Truth by awakening in his or her person, the qualities and virtues expressed in the commencing verse. Inner awareness is an essential aid in this awakening process.
To become a “sachiaar” (truthful and righteous) is a work in progress and that is what a Sikh life is all about. The hallmark of such a life is a constant awareness that our physical being is rooted in a timeless and eternal Truth that is expressed through creation – of which we are an expression.
The word hukam is of Persian-Arabic origin, meaning order, writ, decree, will or command. Guru Nanak has invested it with a metaphysical or spiritual meaning, linking it to the divine order or law that organizes and controls the entire life process.
All sentient life has been brought forth by hukam; itgoverns our moral and ethical worlds; its working determines the cause and effect of our actions; the distinctions in rank, status and achievement; sorrow and happiness, and the union and separation of events and people.
Recognition of – and walking in – hukam leads to destruction of haumai (egotism). Understanding hukam becomes a necessity and a duty for a Sikh. Our personal ends must blend with our larger responsibility as partners of the Divine. This means that we cannot act out of the selfish narrowness of haumai.
Recognition of hukam simply put is that we are at all times aware of our actions, as these will have a corresponding outcome, according to the laws of nature. We then become co-creators in both the positive and negative sense. We take responsibility. Haumai, on the other hand, lessens when we realize that behind every effort of ours is the divine Force that is breathing through us.
Haumai is a central concept in Guru Nanak’s teaching and here he introduces us to the idea for the first time. If we understand that every action begets a reaction or outcome, according to hukam (the laws of nature), then we’ll not be arrogant or egocentric. We’ll not boast of accomplishing anything by ourselves.
Etymology: Modification of hukam, from Arabic Hukm (order, command, decision or law).
