Book II / XXI

Panch Shabd or the Five Melodies

The unending strains of Music are of a variety of types, and become manifest through a competent Master:

Various are the unending dulcet Melodies, one cannot describe their delicious strains.

Guru Nanak, Sarang M1

Bhai Gurdas Ji tells us in this context:

By listening to the countless strains of the limitless Song, one is struck with ineffable wonder.

Bhai Gurdas, War 13

Out of these, only five melodies are considered of immense value, and the scriptures speak highly of them:

The five-sounded Melody keeps reverberating and my soul is ever attracted by It as a Sarang is ever after water. Oh the Formless One beyond all knowledge! I worship thee with all my heart. 

Kabir, Parbhati Kabir

The five sublime melodies become manifest through the Grace of the Master, and a rare soul gets attached to them.

Guru Ram Das, Kanra War M4

The five sublime strains become distinguishable, the drum, the conch, and the thunder. 

Beni Ji, Ramkali Beni Ji

As these five melodies proceed from God's throne, God is described in the scriptures as Panch Shabdi (i.e., Lord of the five-sounded Melody).

The glorious consummation takes place, when the Lord of the five Melodies comes. 

Guru Nanak, Suhi M1

The five Melodies constituting the Word come from Him and become the means of reuniting us with Him. The Saints also adore the Word; in the Jap Ji we have:

The Saint lives by and meditates on the One Word. 

 Jap Ji, Stanza 16

Bhai Gurdas Ji tells us that it is only after one transcends body-consciousness that one gets contact with the five-sounded Song.

When the spirit crosses over the world of matter, the five-sounded Melody comes to greet her. 

Bhai Gurdas, War 29

It is only a rare devotee of the Master that practices the five Melodies and thereby reaches the Kingdom of God.

The soul of a true devotee can listen to the five-sounded Music, the Song of the Master is characterized by five distinct strains.

Bhai Gurdas, War 6

God Himself dwells in the five Sounds, and the five Sounds give a clue of Him. 

Bhai Gurdas, War 7, Pauri 5

All Saints and sages have taught the five Sounds. Hafiz, a great mystic poet, speaks of the five Naubats:

Be attentive and listen to the five drum-beats, coming down from the high heaven; the heaven that lies beyond the six ganglionic centres and is far above the seven skies. 

The teaching of Shamas-i-Tabrez, as well, centred round the five-sounded Melody:

Every day the five drums play at His door to announce His greatness, if their Music were to fall on thine ears, thou wouldst be rid of all thine I-ness.

Again, the saint tells us that one can hear the five melodious tunes only when one puts up his tabernacle in the seventh region (i.e., rise above the six chakras of the Pind and comes up to the first astral plane, behind and between the two eyebrows).

Thou shalt meet the five Naubats in the seventh region; as soon as you take your bivouac far above the six planes.

Shamas-i-Tabrez

The audible Sound Current is in fact only one continuous creative Life-Principle which, emanating from the Immaculately Pure One, steps down from plane to plane for the purpose of creating five regions below: pure conscious, great causal, causal, subtle and physical, and as It passes through varying degrees of density, peculiar at each place, It acquires a distinctive sound and hence has come to be known as Music of the five melodies or Sounds. There are two distinct sounds up to Trikuti and two more are added up to Sach Khand and the fifth sound is that of Sat Lok. In Sat Lok, all the five melodies are completed in their fullness and richness. The mystery of the Sound Principle is revealed by some Sound-incarnate Master and it is by practice of and communion with the five melodies that the soul is gradually led to the Lord of the five-tuned Music.

It is by the Grace of the Master that one devotes himself wholeheartedly to this practice, and meets the All-Merciful, by listening to the five Shabds. 

Guru Amar Das, Bhairon M3

All the five Sounds are characterized by a delectable harmony; and whoever concentrating his spirit current, recedes back and rises above body-consciousness is sure to meet them.

In the temple of he body whoever sings, and sings of the Lord, He, while singing, hears the five Melodies in the body and gets the highest glory. 

Guru Ram Das, Sarang M4

In the scriptures it is said that the reverberation of these tunes becomes manifest in the forehead:

For ages past I have been Thy devotee; how can I now be separated? The harmony playing at Thy door, becomes manifest in my forehead.

Kabir, Ramkali Kabir

Where then is this harmony to be located? In which part of the forehead? This harmony can be traced between and behind the two eyes in the Sukhmana and one can hear It only there.

Listen ye to the divine Music in the Sukhman, attend ye to It with all attention.

Guru Nanak, Malar War M1

The Muslim divines and dervishes have spoken of It as Shah-rag and the Mehrab, meaning thereby the Life-Chord in the great archway of Heaven (i.e. forehead).

When in meditation I see Thy beloved form, oh Master! a great Harmony (Sound) springs up in the central archstone of my forehead.

Hafiz

Bulleh Shah says,

God is much nearer than even the life-chord.

In the Koran it is said,

I am nearer to thee than thy life-line.

Those who practice the Surat Shabd Yoga under the guidance of a competent Master, begin to unravel the mystery of self and of God and begin to see the All-pervading Truth both within and without. Secondly, from the varying sounds he learns at what region he is in his spiritual journey, for they serve as milestones on the Path and thus save him from wandering astray.

And thine ears shall hear a Word behind thee saying, this is the Way, walk ye in It, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 

Isaiah 30:21

One can find his way to the five Melodies from a competent Master, by practising his Word.

The five Sounds become audible by following the instruction of the Master, a person with a great good fortune can hear the Limitless Sound Principle. 

Guru Ram Das, Kanra War M4

A detailed description of the five Sounds relevant to the five regions is given by the Sant Satguru at the time of initiation, and the disciple, as he advances in practice, verifies the truth of the Master's words as he moves forward from plane to plane.

Blessed indeed is the temple of the body in which the five Sounds become audible and the Way to God opens up.

Fortunate is the house, the body, where the five Sounded Word becomes manifest, blessed indeed is the sacred house which stands by It. 

Guru Amar Das, Ramkali M3

The wondrous Music of the five melodies, God Himself may make audible if He so wisheth. 

Guru Nanak, Maru M1

The five Shabds peal continuously and overflow in their fullness, peerless are the five Sounds and unceasingly do they sport about. 

Bhai Gurdas, War 3

Five Sounds make the perfect Harmony, and the limitless Song brings in wondrous intoxication. 

Guru Arjan, Ramkali M5

The unending Melody is ever rich in Its fullness. 

Kabir, Ramkali Kabir

The five symphonies combine together to make the subtle Word perfect which lulls the mind to sleep forever and frees the soul from the trigunatmac bondage, never to return to the cycle of births and deaths.

Learn from the Saints to live in harmony with the sublime Word, the Word made perfect by the five symphonies constituting It. 

Bhai Gurdas, War 5

Now that One Word abides in me, there can be no more coming into the world. 

Guru Nanak, Bilawal M1

My Beloved has taken me beyond the three Gunas and I remain ever absorbed in the sublime Word.

Guru Amar Das, Sri Rag M3

Day and night I live in perfect bliss, attuned as I am with the Word. 

Guru Ram Das, Malar M4

Those who live in tune with the one Word are worthy of our highest esteem and adoration:

Oh Nanak! They deserve the greatest homage, who live in harmony with the Word. 

Guru Nanak, Ramkali M1