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ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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<blockquote data-quote="Archived_member14" data-source="post: 139733" data-attributes="member: 586"><p>Bhagat Singh ji,</p><p></p><p>I read this while on vacation and did not want to respond at the time. It is a topic I’ve thought about and discussed with others for quite some time now. I hope that you do not mind therefore, that I give some comments.</p><p></p><p>You’re concluding remark:</p><p></p><p></p><p>You probably have a different understanding about “happiness” here; I however would associate this with the pleasant feelings accompanying instances of attachment. And sure, this is exactly what I see as being the driving force for any deliberate “focusing” on a chosen object, for example, breath. Indeed people jump at the idea of concentrating on the breath quite convinced that it is a good object. And yes, breath is indeed what many wise people have as object of contemplation, however in their case it is with “wisdom” that this object is known, and furthermore, it depends also on the accumulated tendency of the individual. </p><p></p><p>Some people will by their nature, incline towards contemplation on death or repulsiveness of the body or loving kindness, and some on earth or fire or water element etc. And all this goes back to lifetimes of development such that at some point down the road, the mind repeatedly focuses on one of the several objects capable of arousing deep concentration, being wholesome, and maintaining calm. At no time however, has the object ever been taken up simply out of “belief” that it helps concentration and so on. In other words, it is not like they decided to suddenly one day focus on a particular object having heard that this will give rise to a wholesome state of mind, but rather that their wisdom grew based on seeing the harm in sense contacts, knowing the difference between wholesome and unwholesome and inclining towards some objects of contemplation and finally, that one of these in accordance to their particular temperament, can cause calm to arise for an extended period.</p><p></p><p>How many people do you know that are in this position? I don’t know anyone and I believe that were I to come across one such person, I’d just be a burden to him given how much attached I am to sense objects and far from wishing to do without them. </p><p></p><p>As you may now have inferred, there are in reality only so many objects which can condition calm (the wholesome kind). Furthermore, of all these objects, breath is the most subtle and difficult to focus for an extended period of time. Also, it is not the objects which is the determining factor, but rather the “wisdom” which approaches the object. A Shivling will therefore not condition calm nor will a candle flame for example, and obviously the wise will not think to concentrate on these. On the other hand, a person who has no inkling as to the difference in quality between a wholesome state of mind from the unwholesome and the danger in sense contacts, but somehow comes to be convinced that if he concentrated on a ‘neutral’ object such as breath, that this will condition calm, and if he does not have a clue as to the restlessness accompanying moments of attachment, such a person invariably ends up encouraging attachment of one level or the other, taking happiness for calm and what is in fact unwholesome for wholesome. </p><p></p><p>But of course, if this ‘happiness’ is the aim, concentrating on the breath is one way to go. Better this than taking drugs. I have friends who practice yoga and enjoy the part when breath is concentrated upon. But these people know this for what it is and do not mistake it to be something else. And while the one who consumes drugs is unlikely to think that he is doing a good thing, most people who are engaged in one form of meditation practice or the other however, these people are clearly fooling themselves about it. The drug addict can be saved, but those who think they are already “saved”, how should they come to realize their mistakes? </p><p></p><p>==========</p><p></p><p></p><p>From one perspective it is understandable that people are attracted to the idea of being able to concentrate and remain focused. Indeed there are suggestions to the effect that a “concentrated mind conditions clear seeing and understanding” or something to the effect. Some people react to what they perceive as being much agitation in their lives and would like to change all that. However, the solution is not to simply focus on the task at hand, which on the surface does give the impression of calm. The truth however is that attachment often manifest to the ignorant as being calm and therefore desirable but in reality is no less agitated than say, aversion. It is failing to recognize what an agitated mind really is and what is the real cause for this that people are led by what I’ve come to recognize as “illusion of result”, associated with which are ideas regarding meditation on and off the cushion. Being ‘mindful’ in the manner you have described is in fact no different from how animals are when they stalk their prey and is therefore replacing one kind of evil with another. And if it were true that concentration is helpful for understanding to arise or that it clears the way for compassion and forgiveness, a thief who is an expert at opening safes, a hunter, an expert fisher and chess player should all be closer to achieving wisdom and goodness than most people. But are they, and why should it be?</p><p></p><p>========</p><p></p><p></p><p>In the Buddhist tradition there is the simile of the “monkey mind”. The mind is said to be like the monkey jumping from one branch to the other without rest. Most people interpret this as being about the restless mind, particularly those of people involved in daily life activities. But this is a misinterpretation. The real meaning is that this is the nature of mind proper, regardless of whether it is agitated or not. The mind by nature, must necessarily take an object one after another on and on and if this were not the case, we’d not be able to function at all.</p><p></p><p>In one finger snap there arises and falls away, trillions of mind moments. It is because that this happens that we get the impression of objects being out there in this or that form and subsequently, that we can move our limbs and maneuver around them, else it would all be one and not even two dimensional. Furthermore, if this was not the nature of mind, we’d not be able to utter a word nor understand anybody else’s speech or gestures. So really there is no problem with the mind taking different objects repeatedly. Besides, concentration is in fact a mental factor arising with each mind moment whose function as momentary as everything else, is to focus on the particular object. So the problem again is not lack of concentration, but rather something else.</p><p></p><p>First and foremost it is ignorance (of the way things are) which is the problem. With this comes attachment, aversion, envy, pride, and so on, but worse of all, “wrong understanding”. It is the latter which leads us to wrong beliefs and wrong practices resulting in taking what is wrong for right, what adds to the problem as being a solution. </p><p></p><p>===========</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Perhaps you need to consider the fact of attachment being the driving force by default when wisdom and other good mental factors are absent, and this is like, 99% of the time! ;-) And when attachment arises, like all mental realities, it accumulates as tendency. In this particular case of encouraging “reading regardless of any understanding”, wrong understanding is involved in addition to the attachment and with this comes its minion, namely ‘inclination to rite and ritual’. Dose it not appear to you that mindless reading for its own sake is the stuff of rite and ritual? It sure does to me. And knowing this, would you encourage the particular activity? And what if the Sikh texts teach similarly, would it not be defeating the purpose to be reading those texts in this way?</p><p></p><p>My essay is already longer than the one you wrote, so I’d better end right away. ;-)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Archived_member14, post: 139733, member: 586"] Bhagat Singh ji, I read this while on vacation and did not want to respond at the time. It is a topic I’ve thought about and discussed with others for quite some time now. I hope that you do not mind therefore, that I give some comments. You’re concluding remark: You probably have a different understanding about “happiness” here; I however would associate this with the pleasant feelings accompanying instances of attachment. And sure, this is exactly what I see as being the driving force for any deliberate “focusing” on a chosen object, for example, breath. Indeed people jump at the idea of concentrating on the breath quite convinced that it is a good object. And yes, breath is indeed what many wise people have as object of contemplation, however in their case it is with “wisdom” that this object is known, and furthermore, it depends also on the accumulated tendency of the individual. Some people will by their nature, incline towards contemplation on death or repulsiveness of the body or loving kindness, and some on earth or fire or water element etc. And all this goes back to lifetimes of development such that at some point down the road, the mind repeatedly focuses on one of the several objects capable of arousing deep concentration, being wholesome, and maintaining calm. At no time however, has the object ever been taken up simply out of “belief” that it helps concentration and so on. In other words, it is not like they decided to suddenly one day focus on a particular object having heard that this will give rise to a wholesome state of mind, but rather that their wisdom grew based on seeing the harm in sense contacts, knowing the difference between wholesome and unwholesome and inclining towards some objects of contemplation and finally, that one of these in accordance to their particular temperament, can cause calm to arise for an extended period. How many people do you know that are in this position? I don’t know anyone and I believe that were I to come across one such person, I’d just be a burden to him given how much attached I am to sense objects and far from wishing to do without them. As you may now have inferred, there are in reality only so many objects which can condition calm (the wholesome kind). Furthermore, of all these objects, breath is the most subtle and difficult to focus for an extended period of time. Also, it is not the objects which is the determining factor, but rather the “wisdom” which approaches the object. A Shivling will therefore not condition calm nor will a candle flame for example, and obviously the wise will not think to concentrate on these. On the other hand, a person who has no inkling as to the difference in quality between a wholesome state of mind from the unwholesome and the danger in sense contacts, but somehow comes to be convinced that if he concentrated on a ‘neutral’ object such as breath, that this will condition calm, and if he does not have a clue as to the restlessness accompanying moments of attachment, such a person invariably ends up encouraging attachment of one level or the other, taking happiness for calm and what is in fact unwholesome for wholesome. But of course, if this ‘happiness’ is the aim, concentrating on the breath is one way to go. Better this than taking drugs. I have friends who practice yoga and enjoy the part when breath is concentrated upon. But these people know this for what it is and do not mistake it to be something else. And while the one who consumes drugs is unlikely to think that he is doing a good thing, most people who are engaged in one form of meditation practice or the other however, these people are clearly fooling themselves about it. The drug addict can be saved, but those who think they are already “saved”, how should they come to realize their mistakes? ========== From one perspective it is understandable that people are attracted to the idea of being able to concentrate and remain focused. Indeed there are suggestions to the effect that a “concentrated mind conditions clear seeing and understanding” or something to the effect. Some people react to what they perceive as being much agitation in their lives and would like to change all that. However, the solution is not to simply focus on the task at hand, which on the surface does give the impression of calm. The truth however is that attachment often manifest to the ignorant as being calm and therefore desirable but in reality is no less agitated than say, aversion. It is failing to recognize what an agitated mind really is and what is the real cause for this that people are led by what I’ve come to recognize as “illusion of result”, associated with which are ideas regarding meditation on and off the cushion. Being ‘mindful’ in the manner you have described is in fact no different from how animals are when they stalk their prey and is therefore replacing one kind of evil with another. And if it were true that concentration is helpful for understanding to arise or that it clears the way for compassion and forgiveness, a thief who is an expert at opening safes, a hunter, an expert fisher and chess player should all be closer to achieving wisdom and goodness than most people. But are they, and why should it be? ======== In the Buddhist tradition there is the simile of the “monkey mind”. The mind is said to be like the monkey jumping from one branch to the other without rest. Most people interpret this as being about the restless mind, particularly those of people involved in daily life activities. But this is a misinterpretation. The real meaning is that this is the nature of mind proper, regardless of whether it is agitated or not. The mind by nature, must necessarily take an object one after another on and on and if this were not the case, we’d not be able to function at all. In one finger snap there arises and falls away, trillions of mind moments. It is because that this happens that we get the impression of objects being out there in this or that form and subsequently, that we can move our limbs and maneuver around them, else it would all be one and not even two dimensional. Furthermore, if this was not the nature of mind, we’d not be able to utter a word nor understand anybody else’s speech or gestures. So really there is no problem with the mind taking different objects repeatedly. Besides, concentration is in fact a mental factor arising with each mind moment whose function as momentary as everything else, is to focus on the particular object. So the problem again is not lack of concentration, but rather something else. First and foremost it is ignorance (of the way things are) which is the problem. With this comes attachment, aversion, envy, pride, and so on, but worse of all, “wrong understanding”. It is the latter which leads us to wrong beliefs and wrong practices resulting in taking what is wrong for right, what adds to the problem as being a solution. =========== Perhaps you need to consider the fact of attachment being the driving force by default when wisdom and other good mental factors are absent, and this is like, 99% of the time! ;-) And when attachment arises, like all mental realities, it accumulates as tendency. In this particular case of encouraging “reading regardless of any understanding”, wrong understanding is involved in addition to the attachment and with this comes its minion, namely ‘inclination to rite and ritual’. Dose it not appear to you that mindless reading for its own sake is the stuff of rite and ritual? It sure does to me. And knowing this, would you encourage the particular activity? And what if the Sikh texts teach similarly, would it not be defeating the purpose to be reading those texts in this way? My essay is already longer than the one you wrote, so I’d better end right away. ;-) [/QUOTE]
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