New Delhi : As the world celebrates Guru Nanak Jayanti, it is time to revisit Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s timeless message — “Suniye, Suniye, Suniye” (Listen, Listen, Listen). The first Sikh Guru repeatedly emphasized the act of deep listening, not through the ears but through the inner consciousness.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught that what is heard through the physical senses belongs to the material world the realm of illusion or maya. True listening, he said, arises from the level of the soul, where consciousness is steady and awake. His pain was that people heard his words but could not grasp their essence; they heard the naad but not the anhad — the eternal sound beyond all sounds.
For 36 years, from his divine experience at Kali Bein river to the age of 69, Guru Nanak Dev Ji spread the truth he had realized. Yet only a few, like Bhai Mardana and Guru Angad Dev, truly heard him. His words, enshrined in Japji Sahib, remain living treasures every verse a jewel that can awaken the inner self.
Guru Nanak’s teaching “Man jeetai jag jeet” (“Conquer your mind, and you conquer the world”) — reminds us that the real victory is over the restless mind. Today, amid the celebrations, the question remains: have we truly learned to listen within?
Guru Nanak’s call to “listen” was not merely a request to hear but an invitation to awaken the soul. On this sacred day, his message continues to echo urging humanity to go beyond ritual and noise, to experience the stillness of the spirit where the divine truth resides.
