Gur Prasad

[singhisking101]

In Gurbani I have come across the idea of Gur Parasd many times. I know that you need to have Gur Parsad to even think about God, just to do path you need Gur Parsad. But one thing I have been wondering about is how do you earn Gur Parsad? I was wondering if anybody here could tell my some Gurbani references.


Thanks! :happy:

 

[BhagatSingh]

In Gurbani I have come across the idea of Gur Parasd many times. I know that you need to have Gur Parsad to even think about God, just to do path you need Gur Parsad. But one thing I have been wondering about is how do you earn Gur Parsad? I was wondering if anybody here could tell my some Gurbani references.


Thanks! :happy:

How is it that you came to the conclusion that Gurprasad is needed to even think about God?

 

[singhisking101]

ਪੂਰਬਿ ਲਿਖਤ ਲਿਖੇ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਨਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਿਵ ਮੰਡਲ ਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੧॥ पूरबि लिखत लिखे गुरु पाइआ मनि हरि लिव मंडल मंडा हे ॥१॥ Pūrab likẖaṯ likẖe gur pā▫i▫ā man har liv mandal mandā he. ||1|| By pre-ordained destiny, I have met with the Guru. I have entered into the realm of the Lord's Love. ||1|| (pg. 13)

You need Gur Parsad to do anything. That Jap Ji Sahib we did in the morning, etc. is all due to Gur Parsad. If the Guru did not want us to do paath then we by no means could not.

 

[BhagatSingh]

ਪੂਰਬਿ ਲਿਖਤ ਲਿਖੇ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਨਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਿਵ ਮੰਡਲ ਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੧॥ पूरबि लिखत लिखे गुरु पाइआ मनि हरि लिव मंडल मंडा हे ॥१॥ Pūrab likẖaṯ likẖe gur pā▫i▫ā man har liv mandal mandā he. ||1|| By pre-ordained destiny, I have met with the Guru. I have entered into the realm of the Lord's Love. ||1|| (pg. 13)

You need Gur Parsad to do anything. That Jap Ji Sahib we did in the morning, etc. is all due to Gur Parsad. If the Guru did not want us to do paath then we by no means could not.

I cannot how your statements followed the quote you presented.

Your question was :

But one thing I have been wondering about is how do you earn Gur Parsad?

You just answered your own question. According to the statements you just made, you don't need to do anything to earn Gurprasad. You get it when the Guru wants to you to get it.


I think we should first define exactly what the Gurus mean by Gurprasad. Out of context, Gurprasad would simply translate into Guru's offering so what does it mean in the context of SGGS?

 

[singhisking101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by singhisking101
ਪੂਰਬਿ ਲਿਖਤ ਲਿਖੇ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਨਿ ਹਰਿ ਲਿਵ ਮੰਡਲ ਮੰਡਾ ਹੇ ॥੧॥ पूरबि लिखत लिखे गुरु पाइआ मनि हरि लिव मंडल मंडा हे ॥१॥ Pūrab likẖaṯ likẖe gur pā▫i▫ā man har liv mandal mandā he. ||1|| By pre-ordained destiny, I have met with the Guru. I have entered into the realm of the Lord's Love. ||1|| (pg. 13)

You need Gur Parsad to do anything. That Jap Ji Sahib we did in the morning, etc. is all due to Gur Parsad. If the Guru did not want us to do paath then we by no means could not.
I cannot how your statements followed the quote you presented.

Your question was :
Quote:
But one thing I have been wondering about is how do you earn Gur Parsad?
You just answered your own question. According to the statements you just made, you don't need to do anything to earn Gurprasad. You get it when the Guru wants to you to get it.


I think we should first define exactly what the Gurus mean by Gurprasad. Out of context, Gurprasad would simply translate into Guru's offering so what does it mean in the context of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji?

Yes but when does the Guru want to Give you Gur Prasad.

BTW: sorry for the late reply

 

[BhagatSingh]

Yes but when does the Guru want to Give you Gur Prasad.

BTW: sorry for the late reply

Continuing with your logic, wouldn't that be like predicting the future?
Since "You get it when the Guru wants to you to get it.", there is no way to tell when you are going to get it.

 

[Tejwant Singh]

Gurprasad can only be received by following the teachings of SGGS, starting from Mool Manter which would give one the tools to breed goodness within and share with others like the scent of a flower which emits itself in all directions sans bias.

Isn't this the true essence of Gurprasad?

Just thinking aloud.....

Tejwant Singh

 

[sadhu]

Guru prasad showers, when you are ready for it, because guru is already showering its blessings, you are the one who is not ready to recieve them, your reciever mode is off, you are not in a receptive mode. Guru is constantly flowing, you need to create a "valley" within you in order to let his river flow into you. Your heart needs to be empty.
Your emptiness will be an invitation to your guru to flow his blessings into you. The vacuum created by your emptiness will be filled by gurprasad automatically, because it is already there, you need to be receptive for it. Just like a river flows automatically if you create a deep valley near it. You become a valley, an empty valley, and you will see the river of guru flowing into you with its life and energy.

 

[Astroboy]

Gurparsad is like electricity. Gurbani has taught us how to harness and has given various methods to use it for our benefit. Now before I explain how Gurparsad is similar to electricity, let's ponder about our own nature.

First of all, we must understand who we are and which part of ourselves receives these blessings. What is the subtleness of blessings!!! And how we go about intepreting these blessings on the outside of ourselves.

Anybody care to comment ?

 

[singhisking101]

Guru prasad showers, when you are ready for it, because guru is already showering its blessings, you are the one who is not ready to recieve them, your reciever mode is off, you are not in a receptive mode. Guru is constantly flowing, you need to create a "valley" within you in order to let his river flow into you. Your heart needs to be empty.
Your emptiness will be an invitation to your guru to flow his blessings into you. The vacuum created by your emptiness will be filled by gurprasad automatically, because it is already there, you need to be receptive for it. Just like a river flows automatically if you create a deep valley near it. You become a valley, an empty valley, and you will see the river of guru flowing into you with its life and energy.

I see what ur saying. Guru keeps blessing us but we choose not to receive them. But what is our heart full of right now that is stopping the Gur Prasad from coming in?

 

[sadhu]

singhisking ji

We are full of thousands of webs of thoughts, memories, desires and expectations that we carry within ourselves, that do not let the gurprasad in. This is what gurbani calls maya, maya is not outside, its the useless garbage that we are carrying within ourselves. This maya means an illiusion, a false projection of reality. We are twenty four hours surrounded by this false illusion, and all the pain, all the misery, all the dullness comes from this illusion, from this cluster of useless thoughts. This whole garbage has to be thrown away, to feel the gurprasad. Because we are full of this garbage, infact overflowing with it. So how can the gurprasad enter our being? To make the gurprasad enter our beings we need an emtiness within ourselvess.

By emptiness i mean a state of mind, where there is no garbage thoughts, where there is no cluster of past memories. A state of mind which has no assumptions or conclusions, neither any preconcieved notions. A state of mind which is utterly calm, silent, and collected. A state of mind which has dropped all desires and expectations. Not even a desire of gurprasad, because that too will become a barrier. Just a receptivity. AND this receptivity will be an invitation for gurprasad, the more empty you are the more it flows in you, the more deeper you are the more it enriches you, because then the gurprasad reaches your very roots, your subconscious, the deepest realms of your heart.

So try to drop the useless as soon as possible. Otherwise you will miss the essential.

I hope this will clear your doubts now.

 

[BhagatSingh]

By emptiness i mean a state of mind, where there is no garbage thoughts, where there is no cluster of past memories. A state of mind which has no assumptions or conclusions, neither any preconcieved notions. A state of mind which is utterly calm, silent, and collected. A state of mind which has dropped all desires and expectations. Not even a desire of gurprasad, because that too will become a barrier. Just a receptivity. AND this receptivity will be an invitation for gurprasad, the more empty you are the more it flows in you, the more deeper you are the more it enriches you, because then the gurprasad reaches your very roots, your subconscious, the deepest realms of your heart.

And what are you supposed to do with this useless state of mind?
Not to mention, this state of mind is self contradicting.

I think Gurbani tells us to turn down our extreme emotions so we can live a healthy lifestyle. One way to do that is to do meditation, volunteer work and honest living.

Psycologists have found that when people eat ice-cream, a certain part of the brain is active. When they looked at the people who were watching others eat ice-cream the SAME part of the brain was active. They were going through the same emotions as the ones ho were eating the ice-cream.
What can you conclue from this? That the actions and emotions of others affect us. If we want to be happy, we have to make others happy as well!
meditation will keep you "happy
selfless service will make others "happy"
honest living will keep both you and other "happy"

 

[Harpreet_Singh_]

So how can the gurprasad enter our being? To make the gurprasad enter our beings we need an emtiness within ourselvess.

Agreed, Sadhuji. In order for any person to climb this spiritual ladder, they have to first acknowledge that they do not how climb this ladder. Letting go of your previous concepts is a great place to start.

Doing matha-tek is symbolic because you are emptying a filled vessel (your own thoughts) in order to be filled with the Guru's teachings and taking His support (tek).

 

[sadhu]

Bhagat singh ji

And what are you supposed to do with this useless state of mind?
Not to mention, this state of mind is self contradicting.

You dont have to do anything in this state of mind. All doings have to be dropped. The very idea of "doing something" comes from the same old memories, that make you believe that you yourself are the doer. Your doing can only give you a false idea, that you are a doer, that you are so great, that you can make things happen. The very idea of "doing" originates from your ego. And unless you drop your ego, unless you drop this idea that you are the doer, and unless you can just be a rose petal and drop your clingings so that you can just float in the breeze of gurprasad, you will miss the point.

This state of mind is self contradicting, because when you drop all your thoughts and desires, you are actually dropping your whole mind. I called it a "state of mind" so that the people who read my post dont get confused. For example if i straight away say "drop the mind" it will be very confusing to understand. So to just to make some sense i use the word "state of mind", but this actually is the "state of no mind".

meditation will keep you "happy
selfless service will make others "happy"

Its true, but remember the essence of meditation is when you become utterly empty. The whole purpose of meditation is to create a silence in your being, to create an emptiness in your being. Because the bliss happens in the silence, the music of the eternal happens in your silence, the river of the gurprasad will flow only if you are an empty valley.

The selfless service makes others happy, its good. But the main purpose of selfless service is not to make others happy, because then again your ego will step in from the back door, it will say "look i can make others happy". The true purpose of selfless service is to create a "selfless-ness" in your being, to create a humbleness in your being, to help you to drop the burden of your ego. But we are clever, even in selfless service we dont drop our "selves" our "egos", on the contrary our ego bloats, it says "I am doing a great selfless service,I am making these people happy, "I" am very humble, "I" am serving these people". TO DROP THE CLINGING OF THIS "I" WAS THE MAIN MOTIVE OF SELFLESS SERVICE, BUT WE ALWAYS MISS THE POINT.

If you are just doing selfless service to make others happy, then you are missing the whole point, moreover it is not at all a selfless service, it is social service. Because you are still clinging to your "self" to your "ego".
The happiness of others is just a by-product of selfless service.
The actual pupose of such a service is very subtle.

 

[Astroboy]

Quotes of Sadhu Ji

You dont have to do anything in this state of mind. All doings have to be dropped. The very idea of "doing something" comes from the same old memories, that make you believe that you yourself are the doer. Your doing can only give you a false idea, that you are a doer, that you are so great, that you can make things happen. The very idea of "doing" originates from your ego.

ਸ੍ਰਿਜੰਤ ਰਤਨ ਜਨਮ ਚਤੁਰ ਚੇਤਨਹ ॥
स्रिजंत रतन जनम चतुर चेतनह ॥
Sirjaʼnṯ raṯan janam cẖaṯur cẖeṯnah.
He created the jewel of human life, with all its cleverness and intelligence. (Ang 1356)

This state of mind is self contradicting, because when you drop all your thoughts and desires, you are actually dropping your whole mind. I called it a "state of mind" so that the people who read my post dont get confused. For example if i straight away say "drop the mind" it will be very confusing to understand.

ਗਿਆਨੁ ਨ ਗਲੀਈ ਢੂਢੀਐ ਕਥਨਾ ਕਰੜਾ ਸਾਰੁ ॥
गिआनु न गलीई ढूढीऐ कथना करड़ा सारु ॥
Gi▫ān na galī▫ī dẖūdẖī▫ai kathnā karṛā sār.
Wisdom cannot be found through mere words. To explain it is as hard as iron. (Ang 465)

The selfless service makes others happy, its good. But the main purpose of selfless service is not to make others happy, because then again your ego will step in from the back door, it will say "look i can make others happy". The true purpose of selfless service is to create a "selfless-ness" in your being, to create a humbleness in your being, to help you to drop the burden of your ego. But we are clever, even in selfless service we dont drop our "selves" our "egos", on the contrary our ego bloats, it says "I am doing a great selfless service,I am making these people happy, "I" am very humble, "I" am serving these people". TO DROP THE CLINGING OF THIS "I" WAS THE MAIN MOTIVE OF SELFLESS SERVICE, BUT WE ALWAYS MISS THE POINT.

ਦੇ ਦੇ ਮੰਗਹਿ ਸਹਸਾ ਗੂਣਾ ਸੋਭ ਕਰੇ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥
दे दे मंगहि सहसा गूणा सोभ करे संसारु ॥
Ḏe ḏe mangėh sahsā gūṇā sobẖ kare sansār.
They give and give, but ask a thousand-fold more, and hope that the world will honor them. (Ang 466)

 

[Astroboy]

You need Gur Parsad to do anything. That Jap Ji Sahib we did in the morning, etc. is all due to Gur Parsad. If the Guru did not want us to do paath then we by no means could not.

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰੇ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੀਜੈ ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਭਗਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥
गुरमुखि क्रिपा करे भगति कीजै बिनु गुर भगति न होई ॥
Gurmukẖ kirpā kare bẖagaṯ kījai bin gur bẖagaṯ na ho▫ī.
By His Grace one becomes Gurmukh, worshipping the Lord with devotion. Without the Guru there is no devotional worship. (Ang 32)

 

[Tejwant Singh]

Sadhu ji,

Guru Fateh.

You have talked about the emptiness in many different ways. It does sound beautiful and impressive but for an ignorant like me it sounds nothing but some utopic rhetoric based on some Santmat.

I would like you to quote SGGS to express each of your thoughts that you are trying to say below.

Please keep in mind Sikhi is a proactive way of life whose base is Miri- Piri, which means finding the tools from SGGS to cope with the conflicts of day to day life, not hiding oneself in some jungles. Sikhi is about living and finding Sehaj- Gurmat fulcrum in the maddening crowd of this world surrounded with Maya, not living in a self created bubble or walled inside a cocoon.


1. Guru is constantly flowing, you need to create a "valley" within you in order to let his river flow into you.

2. Your heart needs to be empty.

3. Your emptiness will be an invitation to your guru to flow his blessings into you.

4. The vacuum created by your emptiness will be filled by gurprasad automatically, because it is already there, you need to be receptive for it. Just like a river flows automatically if you create a deep valley near it. You become a valley, an empty valley, and you will see the river of guru flowing into you with its life and energy.

5.You dont have to do anything in this state of mind. All doings have to be dropped. The very idea of "doing something" comes from the same old memories, that make you believe that you yourself are the doer. Your doing can only give you a false idea, that you are a doer, that you are so great, that you can make things happen. The very idea of "doing" originates from your ego.

6.This state of mind is self contradicting, because when you drop all your thoughts and desires, you are actually dropping your whole mind. I called it a "state of mind" so that the people who read my post dont get confused. For example if i straight away say "drop the mind" it will be very confusing to understand.

7. So how can the gurprasad enter our being? To make the gurprasad enter our beings we need an emtiness within ourselvess.

8.By emptiness i mean a state of mind, where there is no garbage thoughts, where there is no cluster of past memories. A state of mind which has no assumptions or conclusions, neither any preconcieved notions. A state of mind which is utterly calm, silent, and collected. A state of mind which has dropped all desires and expectations. Not even a desire of gurprasad, because that too will become a barrier. Just a receptivity.

Thanks and Regards

Tejwant Singh

 

[Astroboy]

Agreed, Sadhuji. In order for any person to climb this spiritual ladder, they have to first acknowledge that they do not how climb this ladder. Letting go of your previous concepts is a great place to start.

Doing matha-tek is symbolic because you are emptying a filled vessel (your own thoughts) in order to be filled with the Guru's teachings and taking His support (tek).

Ang 256
ਸਲੋਕੁ ॥
सलोकु ॥
Salok.
Shalok:

ਡੰਡਉਤਿ ਬੰਦਨ ਅਨਿਕ ਬਾਰ ਸਰਬ ਕਲਾ ਸਮਰਥ ॥
डंडउति बंदन अनिक बार सरब कला समरथ ॥
Dand▫uṯ banḏan anik bār sarab kalā samrath.
I bow down, and fall to the ground in humble adoration, countless times, to the All-powerful Lord, who possesses all powers.

ਡੋਲਨ ਤੇ ਰਾਖਹੁ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇ ਕਰਿ ਹਥ ॥੧॥
डोलन ते राखहु प्रभू नानक दे करि हथ ॥१॥
Dolan ṯe rākẖo parabẖū Nānak ḏe kar hath. ||1||
Please protect me, and save me from wandering, God. Reach out and give Nanak Your Hand. ||1||

 

[Tejwant Singh]

After having morphed into a butterfly from a crawling caterpillar with the help of SGGS, Gur Prasad is to savour the nectar of each flower that the butterfly comes in contact with, hence living daily by the words of Gurbani- Sabh Gobind hein, Gobind bin nahin koi.

Tejwant Singh

 

[spnadmin]

Spread the nectar. Grow more flowers. :happy: