Adultery is an immoral act which is the result of uncontrolled passion of lust. Our holy scripture is not only our spiritual guide, but it also guides us in our worldly affairs and warns us when we go astray. It shows us the right path that leads us to a peaceful, healthy, honest and successful life.
Gurbani teaches us to Control, but not to Kill, our Natural Instincts like Lust.
jW pMc rwsI qW qIrQ vwsI [[ (Guru Nanak Dev. SGGS:356)
'When you control your five passions (lust, anger,greed,attachment and vanity), you shall become the real dweller at the holy stations.( it is believed that bath at a pilgrim center purifies) '.
vsgiq pMc kry nh folY[[(Guru Nanak Dev. SGGS:877)
'He who subdues his five passions does not wobble'.
pMc mjmI jo pMcn rwKY [[ ( Guru Arjan Dev.SGGS:1151)
'He who harbors (yields to) the five passions becomes the embodiment of these'.
Adultery Brings Havoc, Leads to Murders and Spreads Diseases like Aids.
If any instinct overpowers a human being, he/ she is ruined. If one fails to controls lust, one indulges in adultery and loses respect, money, health and character. Gurbani warns us against it in the following quotes:-
jYsw sMgu ibsIAr isau hY ry qYso hI iehu pr igRhu ] ( Guru Arjan Dev.SGGS:403)
'Ravishing someone's woman is equivalent to the company of a venomous snake."
ry mUVy qU hoCY ris lptwieE ]
AMimRqu sMig bsqu hY qyrY ibiKAw isau aurJwieE] ( Guru Arjan Dev.SGGS: 1017)
'You fool! You are attached and clinging to such trivial pleasures! The Ambrosial Nectar abides with you, but you are engrossed in sin and corruption (adultery).'
Boghu rog su AMiq ivgovY] ( Guru Nanak Dev. SGGS: 1034)
'Sexual pleasure causes disease and one is ultimately ruined'
Some People Indulge in Adultery for Momentary Enjoyment and Pleasure.
They forget its consequences and regret afterward. Guru Arjan Dev has warned them in these lines:-
inmK kwm suAwd kwrix koit idns duKu pwvih ]
GrI muhq rMg mwxih iPir bhuir bhuir pCuqwvih ] (SGGS:403)
'For a moment's indulgence in lust, you incur the pain for countless days. For instant and a trice, you enjoy yourself and then repent over and over again.'
Gurbani Calls Adulterers Self-willed and Apostate.
Guru Nanak Dev has written:
pr Gir cIqu mnmuiK folwie ] (SGGS: 226)
'An apostate's mind is lured by someone's wife'.
mnmuKu lhir Gru qij ivgUcY Avrw ky Gr hyrY ] (SGGS: 1012)
'The self-willed person in a fit of passion abandons his home and is ruined as he spies on the home of others'
Ksmu ivswir kIey rs Bog ] qW qin auiT Kloey rog] (SGGS:1256)
'Forgetting the Lord, the mortal enjoys sexual pleasures; disease rises up in his body'.
Gurbani also Condemns the Woman who Leaves her own Husband for another Man:
nwnk JUir mrih dohwgxI ijn@ AvrI lwgw nyhu] ( Guru Angad Dev. SGGS:1280)
'Nanak, the discarded wife who has an affair with another man (and not her husband) wails herself to death'.
According to Gurbani an Adulterer Suffers a Lot of Shame and Loss:-
pr iqRA rwvix jwih syeI qw lwjIAih ] ( Guru Arjan Dev. SGGS:1362)
'They who entice someone's wife have to suffer shame'.
Gr kI nwir iqAwgY AMDw ] pr nwrI isau GwlY DMDw ] (Bhagat Naam Dev.SGGS: 1165)
'The blind man (sinner) abandons his own wife and has an affair with someone's wife'.
Adulterers forget the difference between good and bad.
Bhagat Beni has described such persons in the following quote:-
auCilAw kwmu kwl miq lwgI qau Awin skiq gil bWiDAw ]
qrux qyju pr iqRA muKu johih sru Apsru n pCwixAw ]
aunmq kwim mhw ibKu BUly pwp puMnu n pCwinAw ] (SGGS:93)
'When lust springs up and mind is darkened, one embraces someone's wife. In the glow of youth, one stares at somebody's wives and does not recognize difference between good and evil. Drunk with sexual desires and other great sins, one goes astray and does not distinguish between vice and virtue.'
suMdr nwrI Aink prkwrI pr igRh ibkwrI ]
burw Blw nhI suJI hy ] ( Guru Arjan Dev. SGGS:213)
'An adulterer may have all sorts of beautiful women, but still, he commits adultery in the homes of others. He does not distinguish between good and bad.'
God is Omnipresent and Watches the Mean Actions of Adulterers Committed Secretly.
Some persons indulge in adultery away from the eyes of the public and show to be pious persons. They think that no one is seeing them. In the following quotes, Guru Arjan Dev condemns such persons :
ry nr kwie pr igRih jwie ]
kucl kTor kwim grDB qum nhI suinE Drm rwie ] (SGGS:1001)
'O man! Why do you go to someone's house (to entice his wife?) O filthy, heartless and lustful donkey! Have you not heard of the justice of God?'
dyie ikvwV Aink pVdy mih pr dwrw sMig PwkY ]
icqR gupqu jb lyKw mwgih qb kauxu pVdw qyrw FwkY ] (SGGS:616)
'You ravish someone's wife behind closed doors and many curtains. Who will hide your sins when God's agents (who see all your actions) call for your accounts?'
God loves them who control their lust and hate adultery:-
pr Dn pr dwrw prhrI ] qw kY inkit bsY nrhrI ]( Bhagat Naam Dev. SGGS:1163)
'The Lord abides close to the persons who do not covet someone's wife and wealth'
Gurbani Condemns Ascetics who Fail to Control Lust.
Some persons abandon their families, put on religious dresses and go to forests in search of God, but fail to control their sexual instinct. Guru Arjan Dev condemns such persons:-
binqw Coif bd ndir pr nwrI ] vyis n pweIAY mhw duiKAwrI ] (SGGS:1348)
'If one abandons one's own wife (by becoming mendicant) and then casts an evil eye upon another person's wife, one cannot attain the Lord by wearing religious clothes and becomes very miserable'
Gurbani Condemns Immoral Women who Indulge in Flesh Trade.
Those women, who sell their body for money or for satisfying their lust to those persons who are sexually starved, can never feel contented unless they lead a pure family life:-
mnmuK mYlI kwmxI kulKxI kunwir ]
ipru CoifAw Gir Awpxw pr purKY nwil ipAwru ](Guru Amar Daas.SGGS:89)
'The self-willed foolish bride is a rude and evil wife. Forsaking her Husband and leaving her own home, she gives her love to another.'
ijau qnu ibDvw pr kau dyeI ] kwim dwim icqu pr vis syeI ]
ibnu ipr iqRpiq n kbhUM hoeI ] ( Guru Nanak Dev. SGGS:226)
'An (unchaste) widow gives her body to a stranger; she allows her mind to be controlled by others for lust or money, but without her husband she is never satisfied.'
How to control lust?
When lust overpowers a human being, it leads to adultery. We must control our lust. The following quote by Guru Arjan Dev mentions the disadvantages of uncontrolled lust and suggests its remedy:-
hy kwmM nrk ibsRwmM bhu jonI BRmwvxh ]
icq hrxM qRY lok gMmMH jp qp sIl ibdwrxh ]
Alp suK Aivq cMcl aUc nIc smwvxh ]
qv BY ibmuMicq swD sMgm Et nwnk nwrwiexh ] (SGGS:1358)
'O lust! You land the mortal into hell and make him wander in many cycles of birth and death. You cheat the mind, pervade all the three worlds and destroy meditation, penance and virtue. You give scant pleasure, but make the mortal morally poor and restless. You are present within high as well as low. Says Nanak, fear of lust is overcome by associating with the saints and by seeking the protection of the All-pervading God.'
Conclusion
Gurbani severely condemns adultery and shows its bad consequences. It advises us to control and overcome it by associating with good persons and by remembering God. It is a sin which ruins our life. Under the spell of lust, we fail to distinguish between good and bad.
