This Shabad mentions 3 Bhagats of olden times - Siri Prahlaad jee, Raja Janak and Rishi Vishisht jee. As per Indian tradition, they were great Bhagats. Gurmat recognizes these Bhagats but also mentions that these Bhagats attained their high spiritual state through the Gurmukh. There are many meanings of the word "Gurmukh" in Gurbani. A detailed analysis of this word would be done in a separate post, shortly, but presented below are some of the meanings of this word:
1) Mukhi Guru i.e. chief Guru – Vaheguru himself.
2) Satguru the Guru form of Vaheguru i.e. Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee. “Gurmukhi Kal vich Pargat hoya”.
3) Such person, who’s mukh (face) is towards Guru i.e. a true Gursikh.
4) “Gurmukh” also means ‘through Guru’ or ‘through the grace of Guru.
5) When “Gurmukh Naam” appear together, it means Gurmat Naam i.e. the Naam Gurmantra of the house of Guru Nanak Dev jee and in such instances this word should be treated as a compound word.
In this Salok, the meaning of Gurmukh is #4 above therefore, there should be a small pause after this word:
ਪਉੜੀ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ, ਪ੍ਰਹਿਲਾਦਿ ਜਪਿ ਹਰਿ, ਗਤਿ ਪਾਈ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ, ਜਨਕਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਲਿਵ ਲਾਈ ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ, ਬਸਿਸਟਿ ਹਰਿ ਉਪਦੇਸੁ ਸੁਣਾਈ ॥
ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ, ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਕਿਨੈ ਪਾਇਆ, ਮੇਰੇ ਭਾਈ ॥Quote
what does ਹਰਿ ਗਤਿ ਪਾਈ ॥ mean?
The correct bishraam is as stated above. ਹਰਿ goes with ਜਪਿ and not with ਗਤਿ. ਗਤਿ ਪਾਈ means attained salvation. The meaning of the pankiti is: Through the Guru, Prahlaad attained salvation, by chanting Hari. Through the Guru, Raja Janak, gained concentration in Hari Naam. Through the Guru, Rishi Vishishta gave lesson of Hari to Siri Ram Chandra. In the end Guru Sahib gives the conclusion that, O Brother, no one has attained Hari Naam, without the Guru.
From the beginning to the end, there is only one Guru. This Guru who had been working behind the scenes through different Rishis and Avatars came out in the open in Kalyuga and called himself Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee, Siri Guru Angad Dev jee and Siri Guru Amardaas jee. A detailed article on this will be written at a different time.
Daas,
Kulbir Singh