ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>MOH</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="MOH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279MOH, from Sanskrit root <i>muh</i> meaning "to become stupefied, to be bewildered or perplexed, to err, to be mistaken," stands in ancient texts for perplexity or confusion as also for the cause of confusion, that is, <i>avidy&#257</i> or <i>ajñ&#257na</i> (ignorance or illusion). In another context, it stands for "the snare of worldly illusion, infatuation." Its function is twofold : it bedims the discernment of truth, prevents the discernment of reality, and it creates an error of judgement or leads to wrong knowledge (<i>mithy&#257 jñ&#257na</i>). Men believe in an eternal reality of their own existence or ego; they see truth in what is false and seek happiness in what begets suffering. In Punjabi <i>moh</i> generally means love of and attachment to worldly things and relations. In Sikh Scripture, the term frequently occurs coupled with <i>m&#257y&#257</i> (<i>m&#257i&#257</i>) as <i>M&#257y&#257-moh</i> 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 <i>m&#257y&#257</i>, however, differs from that of classical <i>advaita</i> philosophy, which considers the phenomenal world unreal and therefore an illusion caused by human ignorance. In Sikhism, the visible world is a manifestation of God Himself and is therefore real; yet it is not <i>satya</i> or true in the sense of being immutable and eternal. This world of mass, form and movement woven into the warp and woof 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 the Ultimate Reality. <i>m&#257y&#257</i> 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. <i>Moh</i> for <i>m&#257y&#257</i>, 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 <i>k&#257m</i> (desire, love) and <i>lobh</i> (possessiveness, covetousness) and, on the other, to <i>aha&#7749k&#257r</i> (sense of I, my and mine). That is how <i>moh</i> has been referred to as a net, <i>m&#257i&#257j&#257l</i> (GG, 266). Gur&#363 N&#257nak advises shedding of <i>moh</i> as it is the source of all evil and a cause for repeated births and deaths. (GG, 356).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The antidote to <i>moh</i> is non-attachment. This is not easy, for the Gur&#363s preach active participation in life rather than renunciation and escapism. Ultimately, of course, all depends on <i>nadar</i> or God's grace. Says Gur&#363 N&#257nak "<i>nadari kare t&#257 ehu mohu j&#257i</i> by&#8212 (His) grace alone will this <i>moh</i> be cancelled" (GG, 356). The right remedy is the understanding (<i>gi&#257n</i>) 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 Gur&#363 N&#257nak as that of a <i>b&#257j&#299gar</i>, participant in a sport. The world, says Gur&#363 N&#257nak in a hymn in M&#257r&#363 measure, "is like a seasonal pastureland where one passeth but a few days.... Like the <i>b&#257j&#299gar</i> one plays one's part here and departs" (GG, 1023). An image in <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i> 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.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>&#346abad&#257rth Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1969<BR> <li class="C1"> Avtar Singh, <i>Ethics of the Sikhs</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Sher Singh, <i>The Philosophy of Sikhism</i>. Lahore, 1944<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">L. M. Joshi<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>