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Summary of Question:	The Meaning
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Thursday, 1/22/2004 6:32 AM MST

In gurbani i have came across the word "Dukh" many time. what exactly does this word mean?

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REPLY
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Sat Sri Akal,

That is a very good question! My dictionary says that "Dukh" means pain or suffering. In Gurbani, many times Dukh is used in some sense like "Without Naam all are in Dukh". So essentially dukh means that we are suffering, and suffering is caused by lack of meditation on the one Naam, lack of helping others, lack of being a pious person. In this sense, it is easy to see that if we do bad deeds, then bad things will happen to us, like perhaps we will not have enough money to live or even eat, or maybe we will lose our jobs or whatever it is that causes suffering.

However, at a deeper level, true dukh, true suffering, is being without Waheguru. One can have all the riches, all the family, all the power, all the popularity and friends. And it would seem like if someone had everything like this, money, power, friends, family, then that person must not suffer at all! But what if this person does not even once think of God?

Without the blessing of the Guruji, without GurParshad, without the sound current of Naam vibrating within us, then we are truly in dukh. The true suffering occurs when we don't understand Naam. So suffering isn't being hungry, or lonely or cold. Suffering is being without the Guruji, without Naam. With Naam, everything that we may think is dukh (hunger, poverty, etc.) does not afflict us.

I hope this helps.

Gur Fateh,
HSD