Word Of The Day: panch Pankhee

ਪੰਚ ਪੰਖੀ (paňch paňkhee)
Meaning: noun: Five birds.

Quote:
ਤਰਵਰੁ ਕਾਇਆ  ਪੰਖਿ ਮਨੁ   ਤਰਵਰਿ ਪੰਖੀ ਪੰਚ॥
tarvar kaaiaa paňkh man   tarvar paňkhee paňch.
The body is a tree, the mind is a bird; there are five more birds in the tree.
– Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 934

Message: Besides the mind, there are also its five senses that help the body to experience the world. In fact the mind uses the tools of its five senses to function. The mind, like a bird itself, needs to master the other smaller birds – the five senses. If the five senses are not kept in check and stray away, the mind will lose control of them.

Birds that abandon the tree are exposed to the dangers of hunters and their traps. United, the birds will not fall into the trap of the hunter, they are strong and conscious enough to fight the net. However, if they are tempted and disperse away seeing food scattered by the hunter, they risk being caught in his noose. Their folly comes at a heavy cost. Similarly, without the clarity and control of the mind, the five senses stray away and end up experiencing and being trapped repeatedly by the net of greed, lust, anger and other vices.

Thus the five senses end up being trapped by the hunter, which is Maya – the sensory world and its temptations out there. So the choice is ours. Either we slide down the slippery slope leading us to the traps of Maya that will forever render us unable to escape from worldly entrapments, or we listen to Gurbani and let divine wisdom guide us to control our five senses so that we can be balanced and poised.

Keen to Explore Further?
Etymology: From Sanskrit pakshin (winged, bird) → Pali pakkhin (bird) → Prakrit pakkhi/paňkhi → Sindhi pakhee, Lahndi pakkhee, Punjabi pakkhee/paṅkhee.

Summary of the Week:
Using beautiful imagery like that of the farmer and his fields, five guards, five water-carriers, five bulls, and five birds, Gurbani has simply sketched for us a way to be aware of what our body, mind and the five senses are all about. We need to be vigilant, alert and focussed in accepting divine knowledge as enshrined in Gurbani. We need to be clear that we need to be masters and mistresses of our destinies and ourselves.

Let’s take control of our mind and senses. Let’s always be on guard so that we will not stray away from the divine message of love and compassion for the world.

Once we become resolute in this endeavour, we can avoid taking foolish steps that harm us. The human body is a divine opportunity to make the world a better place. As long as we have the life force in us, we should appreciate human life and do good for the world.

Let’s not make a wrong decision to leave the comfort and protection of the Divine and in the process be trapped by the evil forces of Maya that are unleashed when we let the five senses control us. Let’s have the mind, the body and the five senses under our control. That’s the road to peace and contentment that we must not lose sight of.