Moh (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

: ਮੋਹ ''mōha'';

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: ''muh'') is a word in Punjabi and Sanskrit which describes attachment to worldly possessions or individuals. It is one of the five thieves within Sikh philosophy which hinder one's spiritual development.

Definition

The term has been translated by

Harbans Singh Harbans Singh (6 March 1921 – 30 May 1998) was an educationist, administrator, scholar and the editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopaedia of Sikhism''. He was respected for his contributions to Sikh scholarship and Punjabi literary studies and ha ...

as meaning: “to become stupefied, to be bewildered or perplexed, to err, to be mistaken”. It is defined in ancient Indic texts for perplexity or confusion and for the cause of confusion, that namely being, ''avidya'' or ''ajnana'' (ignorance or illusion). It is called ''aaskti'' "आसक्ति" in Hindi, which is considered a root cause for राग द्वेष "all the sorrows in life". In Hindu religious texts it is a cause of ignorance अज्ञान which is due to worldly illusion माया (''maya''). In another context, it stands for “the snare of worldly illusion, infatuation.” Its purpose has two elements: it obscures the discernment of truth, prevents the perception of reality, and it creates an error of judgement or leads to wrong knowledge (''mithya jnana''). Humans believe in an eternal reality of their own existence or ego; they see truth in what is false and seek happiness in what brings suffering. In

''moh'' generally means love of and attachment to worldly things and relations.

Description

Sikh scripture The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth (First Scripture), more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The second most important scripture of the Sikhs is the Dasam Granth. Both of these consist of text which was written or authorised by t ...

, the term frequently occurs coupled with ''maya'' (''maia'') as ''maya-moh'' interpreted both as infatuation for or clinging to the illusory world of the senses and as illusion of worldly love and attachment. Sikh interpretation of ''maya'', however, differs from that of classical, '' Advaita'' philosophy, which considers the phenomenal world unreal and therefore an illusion caused by human ignorance. In

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

, the visible world is a manifestation of God and is therefore real; yet it is not ''satya'' or true in the sense of immutable and eternal. This world of mass, form and movement woven into the

warp and weft In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizontal ''weft'' ...

of time and space is God's play created at His pleasure and is as such real and sacred; but it represents only one transient aspect and not Ultimate Reality. ''Maya'' is not an illusion in the sense of a mirage, a factual nullity; it is a delusion which represents transient as permanent and a part as the whole. Moh for maya, i.e. for this transient world of the senses, hinders the soul's search for its ultimate goal and is, therefore, one of the Five Evils. It is related, on the one hand, to ''kam'' (desire, love) and ''lobh'' (possessiveness, covetousness) and, on the other, to ''ahankar'' (sense of I, my and mine). That is how ''moh'' has been referred to as a net, ''maiajal''.

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

advises shedding of ''moh'' as it is the source of all evil and a cause for repeated births and deaths.GG, 356 Moh prevents the union of the human soul with

the Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

, such a state of spiritual union is known as '' Sehaj''.

Solution

The antidote to ''moh'' is non-attachment (''vairāg''). This is not easy, for the

Gurus Guru ( ; IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or '' ...

preach active participation in life rather than renunciation and escapism. Ultimately, all depends on ''nadar'' or God's grace. Says

“''nadari kare ta ehu mohu jai''—by (His) grace alone will this ''moh'' be cancelled”. The right remedy is the understanding (''gian'') that the mundane world, its relations and affairs, demanding one's participation and involvement are transient. Non-attachment thus is not non-action, but an attitude to action characterized by Guru Nanak as that of a ''bajigar'', participant in a sport. The world, says Guru Nanak in a hymn in ''Maru'' measure, “is like a seasonal pastureland where one passeth but a few days. . . Like the bajigar one plays one’s part here and departs”.GG, 1023 A common and repeating theme in ''

gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

'' describing the ideal life is that of the lotus which, although living in water, keeps its head above it without allowing itself to be submerged. The symbolism of the lotus is repeated throughout the hymns of the Gurus as a state to aspire to in-order to keep away the ill-effects of Moh upon the spiritual seeker.

References

Bibliography

* Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Amritsar, 1969 * Avtar Singh, Ethics of the Sikhs. Patiala, 1970 * Sher Singh, The Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944

Definition

Description

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