Thanks for pointing out.
It is noted for future compliance.

Regards.

BY Kirpal Singh Nijjar,USA
Date: Poh 19, 535 NS (Nanakshahi)


“NAAM Simran” is an act of an uncontrollable remembrance of one’s “Beloved” when one is separated from it. Under such a situation the chain of images of the beauty, the attributes, the qualities, the touches, the feelings of the times together with the “Beloved” keeps on popping up in one’s mind non-stop. Even when one is busy in doing some worldly tasks, the uncontrollable remembrance of the “Beloved” is still in the back of the mind. This is what in the Gurbani language is called “Ajapaa Jaap.” ….Under such a state, one’s mind visibly silent on the outside, is in fact very busy inside, remembering the “Beloved” again and again. In this uncontrollable process, the “Lover” does not utter even a single word from the lips. ….Whereas, the uncontrollable remembrance inside just keeps on happening, silently, but nonstop.


“Naam Simran” is an invisible game of the invisible “Lover-mind” played in the invisible inner corners of the heart, the sub conscious. …In this game there is a relentless eternal yearning to be in the company of the “Beloved.” Any separation from the “Beloved” even for a split moment feels like the lighting up of eternal bon-fires of agony. ….The mind does not get ready to settle for anything less than the company of the “Beloved.” The burning desire of the “Lover-mind” is always to be with the “Beloved” like the Bumblebee’s desire to be with the Flower, Fish’s desire to be in Water, Chakore’s desire to not let Sun out of its sight, and Moth’s desire to be with the Light etc.

In “Naam Simran” the “Beloved” seems to be always present, just around the corner, playing a hide & seek, and ready to pop out anytime to give the “Lover-mind” a Vision. A sight, a sound, a touch, a smell of anything or everything that belongs to the “Beloved” arouses the expectation of that Vision, and starts the chain reaction of the Beloved’s remembrance. All or anything that triggers the uncontrollable chain reaction seems to have written upon it, in very bold letters ……the Name of the “Beloved.” …..Nay, the “Beloved” present in it.



For any process of real “Naam Simran” to be complete, it needs to have the following basic elements; ….1) Existence of a “Beloved”, ….2) One’s Lover-mind immensely impressed with the beauty of the “Beloved”, ….3) The Lover-mind deeply in LOVE with the “Beloved”, ….4) the Lover physically separated from the “Beloved” culminating into the start of the chain reaction of “Naam Simran.”

Guru’s only beloved: …..Reading Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) nobody is left with any doubt as to, who is the Guru’s only beloved? It is NONE else but ….the ONE God, period.



Reading SGGS one is convinced beyond doubt that Guru’s Beloved, the ONE God is really in existence, omnipresent, present every where & in everything, as the Creator, without fear, without hate, a Timeless Reality, not subjected to birth or death, and is Self-existent. …And, He is known through the Grace of the Guru alone.

Guru’s Beloved’s beauty: ….is beyond description. Guru’s Beloved is Formless yet present everywhere and in everything as an invisible force, acting behind every electron that keeps all that we see in existence. Guru’s Beloved is beyond physical Reach (Agam) yet sitting inside every heart like the presence of fire inside every grain of wood. Guru’s Beloved is beyond Comprehension (Agochar) of physical senses, yet connectable through invisible connections of LOVE, sincerity and selfless yearning. Guru’s Beloved is Nameless (Anaam) having No particular name, yet addressable with any of the names like God, Allah, Ram, Hari, Gobind, Gobardhan, Morari, Waheguru, …..Father, Mother, Brother, Husband, or simply Yaar (a fast friend). ….Furthermore, Guru’s Beloved is present in everything like the earth, the grain of sand, the seed, the water, the plants, the leaves, the mountains, the ants, the elephants, the humans, the scents, the colors, the lights, the darkness …and yet is invisible. …In a nutshell everything that we see is the manifested beauty of the Guru’s “Beloved”, and anything that we can't see is its un-manifested beauty.


Guru’s Love Affair: ……with the “Beloved” is so complete that he does not like to waste even a single moment of this precious but diminishing life by thinking, remembering, or talking about any one else. Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy book is a living testament of Guru’s love affair with his ‘Beloved.” ….In SGGS all he has written is about the existence, the beauty, and the process through which any “Lover-mind” can fall in love with that Supreme “Beloved” of us ALL.

In the writing of Guru Granth Sahib, Guru’s objective is to make everyone of us to fall in LOVE with that “Beloved” of us ALL, so that everyone of us could experience first hand what the Guru has experienced. The Guru wants every one to experience the beauty of the “Beloved” that Guru has experienced, the intensity of LOVE that the Guru has experienced, and the enjoyment of the ajaapaa jaap “Naam Simran” from the yearning that the Guru has experienced.


However, while trying to make us fall in LOVE with our supreme “Beloved,” the Guru is not unaware of the ground reality of our entanglements, of our love affairs with a dime a dozen kind of beloveds. …..He knows that our focus is on our very visible kind of worldly loves like Raas Kaas of Maya, the worldly possessions that we misperceive to be permanent. Pretty much all of us are in love with our worldly possessions like gold, silver, cars, big houses, women/men, land, exotic foods, drinks etc., instead of the Supreme “Beloved.”


Looking at the story of our Love affairs: ……we find that depending upon our maturity levels and states of our minds, in our childhood our

“Beloveds” turn out to be our pets like a dog, a cat, a hamster, our toys or our video-games, which in our adolescent & adult lives are replaced with our loves for our mother/father, wife/husband, girl/boy friend, or our very passionate love with our toys of “Maya”, our worldly possessions.

Our “Naam Simran” for our “Beloved” Maya is so complete, that in our life, blinded by our passionate LOVE for it, we cannot think of any thing else ….let alone the Supreme “Beloved.” ….We get up every morning, and in our sub-conscious all we think about is, our “Beloved”, Maya. We are getting ready for work, but we are thinking about our “Beloved”, Maya. We are driving, riding a bike, a bus or simply walking to work, we are thinking about none else but our “Beloved”, Maya. All the time that we are planning, we plan as to how to get more Maya. We are back from work and relaxing, but what are we thinking about? …. our “Beloved”, Maya. We dream at night, and what are we dreaming about? Our “Beloved”, Maya.


We spend our entire life chasing the wrong “Beloved” and finally on our deathbed whom do we think about? …..unfortunately, it is still, our “Beloved”, Maya. Why? because we never thought about or learnt to fall in LOVE with our Supreme “Beloved.”. …..O! YES, at the time of our final hours, someone in attendance, do think about paying a lip service to the Supreme “Beloved” and starts reciting a “Sukhmani Sahib” or a “Gyatri Mantar.”


We, who have been busy all our life doing “Naam Simran” of our “Beloved’ Maya, how can we switch it over to the “Naam Simran” of the Supreme “Beloved” at the last moment? …….In our life experience of our pursuit of chasing our fake “Beloved” Maya, what we have found to be working are our arts of Deception, Fakery, & our outward show-offs of; false beauty, false dresses of special robes, and false display of mechanical ritualism. Etc….In our misunderstandings coming from our chase of our fake “Beloved”, we start applying our same tools when we endeavor to chase our Supreme “Beloved.” …We find ourselves wearing fake so-called saintly dresses, smearing our bodies with ashes, leaving homes, faking to be celibates, going to the places of Holy pilgrimages, or just carrying on a fake drama of “Naam Simran” repeating with our lips words like “Ram Ram, Allah Allah, Or Waheguru Waheguru”.” …The Guru has warned us about such a fakery. In SGGS, on page 491, he says,

gUjrI mhlw 3 ]
rwm rwm sBu ko khY kihAY rwmu n hoie ] gur prswdI rwmu min vsY qw Plu pwvY koie ]1] AMqir goivMd ijsu lwgY pRIiq ] hir iqsu kdy n vIsrY hir hir krih sdw min cIiq ]1] rhwau ] ihrdY ijn@ kY kptu vsY bwhrhu sMq khwih ] iqRsnw mUil n cukeI AMiq gey pCuqwih ]2] Anyk qIrQ jy jqn krY qw AMqr kI haumY kdy n jwie ] ijsu nr kI duibDw n jwie Drm rwie iqsu dyie sjwie ]3] krmu hovY soeI jnu pwey gurmuiK bUJY koeI ] nwnk ivchu haumY mwry qW hir BytY soeI ]4]4]6] … (SGGS: 491, Goojree M3)

Goojree Mehlaa 3. … (O brother) Everyone, keeps chanting Raam, Raam (with a hope to find God); but with such mechanical chantings God is not found. It is only when, by the Guru’s Grace God comes to dwell in one’s mind, only then one obtains the fruit of God’s remembrance. ||1||
One, who, falls in love with God from within; God never goes away form his heart; and he continually keeps God’s remembrance in his mind. ||1||Pause||

(On the other hand) those, whose hearts are filled with deceit from within, but they outwardly call themselves saints with their fake dresses; their internal thirst of desires never gets extinguished, and (thus never finding peace) they repent in the end, when they depart from the world empty handed. ||2||

(O brother) even if one tries to bathe at many place of pilgrimage, still one’s internal ego never departs; and that man, whose confusion of duality does not depart from the mind (stays lost in his lust for Maya) – and the Righteous Judge of Dharma punishes him. ||3||

Only him, upon whom God showers His Mercy, finds God; however very few are those, who come to understand this secret from the Guru. … O Nanak, only when one conquers one’s ego from within; he comes to meet the Supreme Master. ||4||4||6||

Sri Guru Granth Sahib, all of it (not just some particular section), is the Guru’s manual for “Naam Simran.” That, as a first step of “Wadi-aa-ee Weechaar” and understanding, makes to the mind, the otherwise invisible Supreme “Beloved.” ….visible. Then, by helping the mind to see and appreciate the details, it impresses one with the beauty of the Supreme “Beloved.” ….And, finally by making one to have a direct dialogue with the Beloved, it makes one to fall in deep LOVE with the “Beloved” of us ALL.

Enabled with the “Wadi-aa-ee Weechaar” of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, when one’s Lover-mind is able to see the Supreme “Beloved” in its micro form, hiding in each & every particle of the creation, then in that state of “Wismaad” the mind uncontrollably says “Wow.” When, in the macro form the mind sees the infiniteness of the creation, it says “Wow.” When it sees the effortless display in automation of processes of creation, the sustenance, and the destruction, then it says “Wow. Wow, Wow.” …..and thus starts the uncontrollable, nonstop, non-spoken chain reaction of “Naam Simran” in the sub-conscious saying “Waheguru, Waheguru, and Waheguru.”

That is what, the real “Naam Simran” the Guru Style is!!!!, … and not the ritualistic fake “Naam Simran” our style.


Source:Internet a pdf file
[Views expressed are of the author only.]

No explicit or implied reasons are given in Raheras as to why is it "difficult" to remember God. However, a cogent one could be easily deduced from the advice given all along in the SGGS@ for remembering God. A recurring theme is the advice to remember God at all times, whether standing, or sitting, sleeping or awake, with every breath, even when you are taking food, etc. as exemplified in the following words from the Gurbani. Various terms like swis swis nIq nIiq are used to stress the importance of contemplation on a continuous basis. The importance of utilizing every available time-niche in the remembrance of God in our daily lives is beautifully illustrated in the following lines from Rag Asa:
Kab ko bhaalai ghunghroo taala kab ko bajavai rabab
Aavat jaat baar khin laagai hao tab lag samarao naam (SGGS: 368-8)
How long must one search for bells and cymbals, and how long must one play the guitar? In the brief instant between coming and going, I meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. How long must one tune the five strings, and assemble the seven singers, and how long will they raise their voices in song? In the time it takes to select and assemble these musicians, precious moments elapsed, and my mind sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
In the following lines by Bhagat Kabir Ji, the opposite of the above scenario is described where, in his profession of a weaver and, during the time that it takes him to pass the thread through the shuttle, he forgets God. Kabir Ji regrets forgetting God even for such an infinitesimal length of time:
Jab lag taaga bahao behee Tab lag bisrai raam sanehee (SGGS: 524-17)
As long as I pass the thread through the bobbin, I forget the Lord, my Beloved.
Any time the saints forget to remember God, for them it is like dying:
Gun gaavaa nit-nit sad har ke
man jeevai naam sun tera
Nanak jit vela visrai mera suamee tit velai mar jaae jeeo mera
Each and every day, forever, I sing the Lord’s Praises. My mind lives by hearing Your Name. O Nanak, that moment when I forget my Lord and Master - at that moment, my soul dies.
An ultimate and blissful state of remembering God is reached through continuous recitation when a stage comes when the Mantra is heard through every pore of the devotee:
The Gurmukh meditates on the Lord with every hair of his body. O Nanak, the Gurmukh merges in Truth.
Rome-rom, rom-rome mai Gurmukh naam dhiae raam (SGGS (443-7)
i.e. with each and every pore, in God oriented life, I meditate on the Lord.
Rewards of doing Naam-Jaap: It is observed that to lead people, or make followers of them, one must have some talent, power, quality or gift, it may be a temporal or spiritual power, oratory, magic, dancing, singing, story telling, reading palms or casting horoscopes, channeling, psychic powers or some other gift of performance otherwise no one listens. In spiritual matters, the saints, having acquired supernatural powers - Ridhi Sidhi - subtly demonstrate these to the persons who, in turn, will make a commitment to give up their evil ways, like doing drugs, drinking, and follow them on their godly path.
By repeating over and over again, one gains an array of benefits and a potential of acquiring supernatural powers, like Ridhi Sidhi. These are among the many lures which gives strength and stamina to those who repeat the Mantra, with the help of a rosary or otherwise, for as long as they can - the more the count, the more the power gained. Without such an objective in mind, it is very difficult to keep on repeating a Mantra for tens of thousands of times. But one would do it if one knew the concomitant rewards. These rewards are described beautifully and in detail in the first six Ashtpadis of Sukhmani Sahib. Following is a listing of some of most sought after and major benefits of doing Naam-Jaap from the same Bani:
Naam as dispeller of the fear of Death:
Prabh kai simran naahee jam trasaa Prabh kai simran pooran aasaa
In the remembrance of God, there is no fear of death. In the remembrance of God, hopes are fulfilled.
Naam as Aukhad - Panacea for all diseases, woes and sufferings
Anik upavee rog na jaa-e Rog mitai har avakhadh laa-e (SGGS: 288-8)
All sorts of remedies have not cured the disease - which is cured only by giving the medicine of the Lord’s Name.
Naam as Parjat (The Tree) - Kamdhenu fulfiller of all wishes
Paarjaat eh har ko naam/Kaamdhen har har gun gaam (SGGS: 65-5)
This Elysian Tree of miraculous powers is the Name of the Lord, the cow of miraculous powers, is the singing of the Glory of the Lord’s Name.
Naam as Sin Erasure: Anik bisthaar ek te bhae Ek aradh praachat gae SGGS (289-7)
The many expanses of the cosmos have all come from the One. Adoring the One, past sins are removed.
Naam as giver of Ridhi Sidhi
In the remembrance of God are wealth, miraculous spiritual powers and the nine treasures. In the remembrance of God are knowledge, meditation and the essence of wisdom.
Eh dhan sanchoh hovot bhagvant SGGS (288-5)
Grasp firmly the theme of the Lord’s Name. Gather this wealth and fortune. Pure are the instructions of the humble Saints.
Remembering God is like thanking Him for His many bounties, especially for the gift of life. In our mundane existence it will be analogous to thanking a person once or twice, or at the most thrice. But imagine how will it sound if you keep on thanking someone ad infinitum. Not only will it look odd but difficult to do. Providentially, when it comes to thanking God we, as per our Guru’s advice, are expected to do so if we have to reap the benefits which accrue from such a practice:
Jap jann sadaa sadaa din rainee. Sabh te ooch nirmal eh karnee. SGGS (283-12)
Meditate on Him for ever and ever, day and night. This way of life is exalted and ennobled.
The desirability of the repetitious nature of Naam-Jaap is given by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, in Jap Ji Sahib, Pauri 32 and by Guru Arjun Dev Ji in his Bani Sukhmani Sahib.
Ik doo jeebhao lakh hohe lakh hovah lakh vees
Lakh lakh geraa aakheeah ek naam jagdees
Et raah pat pavreea chareeai hoe ikees
If I had 100,000 tongues, and these were then multiplied twenty times more, with each tongue I would repeat, hundreds of thousands of times, the Name of the One, the Lord of the Universe. Along this path to our Master Lord, we climb the steps of the ladder, and come to merge with Him.
Next let us take the multiple-word Mool Mantra, which literally means addressing God as, "You are the only God, Your Name is True, You are the Creator and the Cause of every thing, You are without Fear, You are inimical to None, You are not subject to Death, You are not subject to Birth, You are attained through the grace of the Guru." Imagine repeating this for 108 times just to complete one round of the rosary. How about if you were to repeat the said rosary 100 times? Does it sound like an easy task or an interesting work? Pretty tiring! Repeating a Mantra so many times becomes a mechanical function and becomes the equivalent of doing a Tap like - subjecting one’s body to harsh weather, etc., assuming difficult postures. One expends energy.
Once jobless workers were asked to say Naam on rosary for the same length of time they ordinarily put in their work. They were overjoyed at the prospects of beating hunger and readily accepted the offer. However after three days they found it very boring and could not keep up the bargain. In spite of no other prospects of employment they handed over the rosaries back to the Saint, with apologies for being unable to carry out this assignment even in lieu of payment.
The word Japp is sometimes used to equate the rigorous discipline of repeating Naam Jaap to the physical austerities used by Yogis and some other faiths. It is not to be confused with the Naam Jaap as a quantitative and qualitative equivalent of the other forms of Jap-Tap and rituals, as in the following quote:
Anik punah charan kart nahee tarai Har ko naam kot paap parharai
By performing countless religious rituals, you shall not be saved. The Name of the Lord washes off millions of sins.
Giaan dhiaan sagle sabh jap tap jis har hirdai alakh abhevaa (SGGS: 356-4)
All wisdom and meditation, all chanting and penance, come to one whose heart is filled with the Invisible, Inscrutable Lord.
In conclusion, it appears that the tougher part lies in, (1) imbibing a genuine belief in the existence and presence of God all around us, (2) visualizing Him in some fashion, and then, (3) devoting all - or most - of our time on a regular basis in remembering him in some way or the other, as described above. The last and the most difficult part seems to be, (4) the repeating of the Mantra we choose to recite to meet the goal of a certain count, duration or continuously.
If we are able to do the Naam-Jaap initially, we will be doing it as habit, knowing the numerous benefits (rewards) accruing from this practice, until such time that we get used to it and, perhaps, start getting the blissful and uplifting feeling - the ultimate goal.
Like any other endeavor, it is always the first step which is difficult. Once we start on a regimen, stick with it, get used to it, then it becomes a part and parcel of our life. Until such time that we reach this stage, we are most likely to discontinue in spite of the promise of rewards - as was done by the laborers in the anecdote above.


Simran: Remembrance - A Stepping stone to Peace

SatNamJi,
In reading your post, I am reminded of a quote from my teacher, Yogi Bhajan.
"IF YOU CANNOT SEE GOD IN ALL, YOU CANNOT SEE GOD AT ALL'
I have much to learn in this life and as I do my daily banis, I find all of life's answers thru Guru's words. Hearing throughout my day the precious words of Guru's shabd guides me in the direction of truth. Wahe Guru!
Guru Nanak Ji tells us quite simply in JapJi.
"JAP"-Chant & Meditate
It has been the Guru's words that have healed me after many years of illness,
and it is the Guru's words alone that save me from worry, despair and anger.
I have found my true home in the Blessed security of Guru's Bani.
Being in this human form is a gift which can be wonderful & difficult.
The SiriGuru Granth Sahib serves as an "Owner's Manual" instructing us on how
to live our lives in Peace and Contentment.
How does one connect to the spirit of the Soul without the contemplation of Nam? I do not know.
Through teaching kundalini yoga, I see many people "stuck" in their limited minds.
Through the experience of chanting Nam in meditation, (I teach Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan who based his teaching on Sikh values and Guru's words) students become "lighter" as the inner calm takes over.
As Guru's Grace shows on their faces, I feel the Infinite Blessing of the
spirit in All.
May the Longtime Sun Shine Upon You,
All Love Surround you
And the Pure Light within you,
Guide your way on.
Sat Nam.

Dear Mahandeva,
It is really interesting to learn that you are a teacher of kundalini Yoga. It may not be very appropriate place to discuss Kundalini yoga.But we are handicapped by some constraints or the other.

We shall be grateful if you could, when you have the luxury of time, explain as to the concept and practice of this. I am sure many would be interested in this aspect of the unexplored area.

Bhairao, Third Mehl:

rwm nwmu jgq insqwrw ] (1129-3, BYrau, mÚ 3)
The world is saved through Name of the Lord.

Bvjlu pwir auqwrxhwrw ]1] (1129-3, BYrau, mÚ 3)
It carries the mortal across the terrifying world-ocean. ||1||

gur prswdI hir nwmu sm@wil ] (1129-4, BYrau, mÚ 3)
By Guru's Grace, dwell upon the Lord's Name.

sd hI inbhY qyrY nwil ]1] rhwau ] (1129-4, BYrau, mÚ 3)
It shall stand by you forever. ||1||Pause||

nwmu n cyqih mnmuK gwvwrw ] (1129-4, BYrau, mÚ 3)
The foolish self-willed manmukhs do not remember the Naam, [the Name of the Lord./superfluous]

ibnu nwvY kYsy pwvih pwrw ]2] (1129-5, BYrau, mÚ 3)
Without the Name, how will they cross over? ||2||

Awpy dwiq kry dwqwru ] (1129-5, BYrau, mÚ 3)
The Lord, the Great Giver, Himself gives His Gifts.

dyvxhwry kau jYkwru ]3] (1129-5, BYrau, mÚ 3)
Celebrate and praise the Great Giver! ||3||

ndir kry siqgurU imlwey ] (1129-6, BYrau, mÚ 3)
Granting His Grace, the Lord unites the mortals with the True Guru.

nwnk ihrdY nwmu vswey ]4]6] (1129-6, BYrau, mÚ 3)
O Nanak, the Naam is enshrined within the heart. ||4||6||

BYrau mhlw 3 ] (1129-6)
Bhairao, Third Mehl:

nwmy auDry siB ijqny loA ] (1129-6, BYrau, mÚ 3)
All people are saved through the Naam, [the Name of the Lord.-superfluous]

gurmuiK ijnw prwpiq hoie ]1] (1129-7, BYrau, mÚ 3)
Those who become Gurmukh are blessed to receive It. ||1||

hir jIau ApxI ik®pw kryie ] (1129-7, BYrau, mÚ 3)
When the Dear Lord showers His Mercy,

gurmuiK nwmu vifAweI dyie ]1] rhwau ] (1129-7, BYrau, mÚ 3)
He blesses the Gurmukh with the glorious greatness of the Naam. ||1||Pause||

rwm nwim ijn pRIiq ipAwru ] (1129-8, BYrau, mÚ 3)
Those who love the Beloved Name of the Lord

Awip auDry siB kul auDwrxhwru ]2] (1129-8, BYrau, mÚ 3)
save themselves, and save all their ancestors. ||2||
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +

In the above sabads one finds reference to Name of Lord and Naam.
1.Are these two significantly different?
. For me the name of the Lord is 'waheguru'.
2.Is it not the name of Lord.?

What is 'Naam' then ;it is the sum total of devotional and spiritual aspect of Sikhism.
It may be too crude a question.But still it is a big question for me.
Naam is given by the Lord Himself. [bani]
3.Is'waheguru ' not the Naam and name of Lord ?
4.Are these not the same?

Kindly enlighten.


Regards!!