INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

One verse which stood out remarkably in the interviews and may exemplify the
ways by which people select and ascribe separate gurbani excerpts the power to tangibly
influence human conditions, is the following verse written by Guru Arjan in
Rag Bilawal:
Not even the hot wind touches him, who is under the protection of the
Supreme Lord. On my four sides is the Lord’s circle [ramkar], so pain
afflicts me not, O brother. I have met the perfect Guru, who has made
the make. He has given me the medicine [aukhadu] of the Lord’s name
and I have enshrined love for the One Lord. Pause. That Preserver has
preserved me and cured all my maladies Says Nanak, the Lord has extended
His mercy to me and has become my Succourer. 684
Here Guru Arjan depicts the secure state of a devout human who has united with the
divine by using a metaphorical language from the context of healing. God has given
the “medicine” of the divine name which cures all maladies and encloses the pious
human within a circle (ramkar) that provides unconditional divine protection from all
pains. An elderly Sikh man said he used to read these lines for five times before going
to sleep to ward off nightmares and evil spirits during the dark hours. A female interlocutor
alleged a recitation of the verses about divine medicine and protection has the
power to cure diseases and provide protection from spirits and the bad effects of the
evil eye. Using the semiotic terminology of Peirce, it would be possible to argue that
the linguistic “symbol” of the protecting circle within the text assumes a more “indexical”
character (e.g., almost as if a circle of protection was created in the reality)
when the text is transferred to a performance context to be ritually enacted. 685 Moreover,
the words “the medicine of Lord’s name” are not merely interpreted to communicate
a figurative statement about God’s redemptive power, but are believed to
become a real remedy for all who will recite the hymn. In other words, when the text,
embroidered with the metaphors of a divine circle and medicine, is performed the
recitations of the same text is attributed perlocutionary functions to actually manifest
divine protection and even cure people from spiritual and physical afflictions in real
life situations. Semantic interpretations of a single word, a metaphor, a parable, or a
more general theme in gurbani verses will determine the expected effects that recitations
may have on humans in an ever-changing social world and thereby also indicate
the context in which these verses can be used. Gurbani verses are thus not merely
performed to render the referential content of the texts, but recitation is a worship act
presumed to activate the agentive power within the Gurus’ utterances forever inscribed
in the scripture.
684
GGS: 819.
685
The meanings of a “symbol” are determined by cultural conventions and are therefore arbitrary.
An index has a closer relationship to what it signifies and displays contact between the
signifier and the signified (Peirce 1960).
429
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008