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Just A Few General Questions?

BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

So from reading the title of the thread you can see that i have a few question to ask in which i hope the sangat of SPN do not mind answering.

1) When ever i read or study about Naam Simran i always see that when doing Naam Simran in Amrit Vela is that it should be done for at least 2.5 hours. The question i have is why should it at least be done for 2.5 hours at Amrit Vela? And where did the theory of doing it for 2.5 hours come from?

2) When being a Sikh doing Naam Simran and reading the Gurbani should be read and said with love, the question i have for this is how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran? Please i hope not takes offence when i say, when ever i read the Gurbani i sometime feel as if i am just reading a book (i honestly regret typing that in, but i got to speak my mind) however i will admit i have not yet finished reading and understanding Shri Guru Granth Sahib Maraj, and whenever i do Naam Simran i feel as if i am just repeating words.

So i ask again for hope of an answer how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Luckysingh

Writer
SPNer
Dec 3, 2011
1,634
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Vancouver
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

So from reading the title of the thread you can see that i have a few question to ask in which i hope the sangat of SPN do not mind answering.

1) When ever i read or study about Naam Simran i always see that when doing Naam Simran in Amrit Vela is that it should be done for at least 2.5 hours. The question i have is why should it at least be done for 2.5 hours at Amrit Vela? And where did the theory of doing it for 2.5 hours come from?

2) When being a Sikh doing Naam Simran and reading the Gurbani should be read and said with love, the question i have for this is how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran? Please i hope not takes offence when i say, when ever i read the Gurbani i sometime feel as if i am just reading a book (i honestly regret typing that in, but i got to speak my mind) however i will admit i have not yet finished reading and understanding Shri Guru Granth Sahib Maraj, and whenever i do Naam Simran i feel as if i am just repeating words.

So i ask again for hope of an answer how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Good questions.
1) the first one about 2.5hrs is no certainty. Amrit vela devotion or your early morning devotion to nitnem and/or simran should be as long (or short) as it takes.
This 2.5 hrs OR 2.4hrs(exact) comes from the 'daswand' idea. We should donate or contribute our 10% or the earnings from our tenth fingernail assuming all ten fingernails have earned from our very own hands.
The 24 hrs a day leaves with 2.4 hrs to contribute in seva and devotion.
There is nothing wrong with this, but it is just a generalisation for people that queston numbers, or who ask 'how long' or 'how much'
Personally, I have known a terrible factory owner who underpaid his illegal immigrant workers and sucked their blood and sweat dry all day long and then would go and do 2 hours of seva at the gurdwara for his guilt.
This is NOT the way!!!!!!!!!

A sikh should be earning with honesty and integrity all the while.
The seva and devotion of time should come with love and should NEVER be measured.

I don't ever measure how long my simran is because sometimes it may be 25 minutes or even 55 minutes. You should do what you feel comfortable doing with a focused and clear mind.
Even a few minutes of having your clutter filled mind cleared and focused completely to the Lord is better than sitting for 2-3 hours with your focus being only a fraction or half there.

Your 2nd question is not that easy to answer.
I can't tell you how to keep your focus there with love. This I believe comes as a blessing and with his grace.
Sometimes I feel so much love, that I don't feel like stopping. Then when I do stop, I so much look forward to my next devotion of simran.
I never feel like I'm repeating words anymore, but I feel them vibrating within every bone of my body. This again comes with his grace and I can't explain how I get devoted to doing so.
I do feel that if you read and contemplate gurbani and keep doing it, then you will get this yearning and wanting to be devoted.- well, that's how it happened with me and I remember that it was a few of Kabirji's shabads that set the ignition.!

Waheguru bless us all on this journey
 
Aug 28, 2010
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I specifically refer to this as
So i ask again for hope of an answer how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran?

As I understand the LOve for Gurbanee is to be created by Sati GuRu ji only and for this one should always make an Ardaasi before Sati GuRu ji before start of reading Gurbanee.
So this way at some graceful moment Sati GuRu ji will grace with Love for Gurbanee and thereafter one may be graced with Naam simran too.

Prakash.S.Bagga
 

Harry Haller

Panga Master
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Jan 31, 2011
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1) When ever i read or study about Naam Simran i always see that when doing Naam Simran in Amrit Vela is that it should be done for at least 2.5 hours. The question i have is why should it at least be done for 2.5 hours at Amrit Vela? And where did the theory of doing it for 2.5 hours come from?

Hmmm, what would happen, maybe small furry animals appear and spring into a song about what a bad bear you are. I, personally do not pray, however, in my fantasies, it is a pleasure, an honour, something you look forward to, relish, the connection, the beauty of the moment, the anticipation, of belonging, feeling at one with the supreme. Your above question seems more of an academic question rather than a spiritual one,.

2) When being a Sikh doing Naam Simran and reading the Gurbani should be read and said with love, the question i have for this is how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran? Please i hope not takes offence when i say, when ever i read the Gurbani i sometime feel as if i am just reading a book (i honestly regret typing that in, but i got to speak my mind) however i will admit i have not yet finished reading and understanding Shri Guru Granth Sahib Maraj, and whenever i do Naam Simran i feel as if i am just repeating words

how is love made or created? by understanding Gurbani and then living it
 

BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Thank you to Mr LuckySingh Ji , Mr Prakash.s.bagga Ji and Mr Harry Haller Ji for the heart felt response.

Mr LuckySingh Ji i feel from your answer that you truly know the understanding of sikhi, i sometimes forget that everything is done with a Glances of the Gurus Grace, so i will hold myself to that.

Doing Ardaas i may consider to do that before reading/listening to nitnem, thank you Mr Prakash.S.Bagga Ji.

Mr Harry Haller Ji, your response as always seems to be unique enough to really capture someone attention, but where you said "by understanding Gurbani and then living it" i had a little idea that, that may be it i had a same sort of idea after thinking about the question i asked, this morning, so i thank you for your reply.

I however think this all may come down to having "expectation" i am not going to lie but sometimes when reading and doing Simran i always expect to gain some for uplifting from it, i think i just got to drop the expectation and just proceed with being a Sikh.

Forgive me for any confusion, and thank you for the response.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Luckysingh

Writer
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Dec 3, 2011
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Don't worry, you should ask.
I too have learned by asking, asking, and pestering !
I know many amritdharies out there who don't feel obliged to ask, especially a non-amritdhari like me. Yet these same sikhs just speed read their nitnem without even paying attention to simple mool-mantar.
I'm sure that most of these feel like they are reading a book, because I'm sure that they read the newspaper more slowly.

I will be honest, some days there may be something on your mind and you just can't focus, no matter how hard you try.
I try and read the japji sahib before I do simran. When I read it, it is quite slow but I try to absorb every word and meaning if I can. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so, whereas others will speed read in 5-7 minutes!!!
I also find that this slowere and more intense readings prepares me better to do simran after.

The key is NOT to expect anything, anything at all. The best thing you should hope for is that at the end of paath or simran you have a feeling of 'Anand' or bliss.
You will not get this feeling by timing yourself or rushing through. The secret is to NOT focus on time and just keep the dhyan on what you are doing.
This feeling of anand may only be for a few minutes but it is a welcoming feeling that assures you that you have done it properly to the best of your ability.

When I do ardas, I never ask for anything worldly anymore. I don't ask for life's pleasures, wealth or success.
I simply ask for strength to bind my love and devotion for the One Lord.
Of course, I have asked for all these before, from passing exams, to jobs, to women, to money, to cars...you name it....
Infact I can see myself as the biggest idiot for my typical ardaas in the past.
Never mix up your ardaas with your santa list!!!!!

I have learnt that God provides as per his Divine Will or Hukam. He makes it happen and it does.
I know that Guru Nanak ji and even Jesus said that the 'birds don't go hungry and die, they are always fed''. This happens according to the divine will and he makes it happen. Thinking about it, I don't think any of us have had a bird just fall dead from the sky in front of us because it was malnourished!!!!!
As long as there is shelter and food for survival does everything else really matter ?
 

Harry Haller

Panga Master
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Jan 31, 2011
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but where you said "by understanding Gurbani and then living it" i had a little idea that, that

Personally I try and live my life by the facets outlined in Mool Mantra, truth, no fear and everyone is my friend, I can only imagine what my life would be like if I understood and lived by the whole of the SGGS.
 

BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Don't worry, you should ask.
I too have learned by asking, asking, and pestering !
I know many amritdharies out there who don't feel obliged to ask, especially a non-amritdhari like me.

I agree with you 100% it is sad to see that both amritdharies and non-amritdharies find it hard to ask question, however my personal view on this is to blame Sikh elders (Blame is not a word i would use, but that the first word to appear in my add + No all elders are to blame), the fact is whenever you ask a an elder for help they will help to a limited amount, however when you try and dive deep into a question they seem to get angry and then accuse you to being some sort of "Ant-Sikh" (again Anti-Sikh is not the right word to use, but it was first term to appear in my head). An example is my mum, now even though she probably the closets person i know who is connected to sikhi, so when i asked her about the self doubt that i was(still kind of am) going through in Sikhism, she tried her hardest to help me, but the more i asked question the more furious she got so after that i just left it and came to the conclusion of just to "suffer in silence".

Yet these same sikhs just speed read their nitnem without even paying attention to simple mool-mantar.
I'm sure that most of these feel like they are reading a book, because I'm sure that they read the newspaper more slowly.

I will be honest, some days there may be something on your mind and you just can't focus, no matter how hard you try.
I try and read the japji sahib before I do simran. When I read it, it is quite slow but I try to absorb every word and meaning if I can. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so, whereas others will speed read in 5-7 minutes!!!
I also find that this slowere and more intense readings prepares me better to do simran after.

Again Mr LuckySingh Ji i agree with you 100%, whenever i listen to any uncle Ji (its usually the uncles and never the aunties) reading Gurbani they either seem to read so fast that it make reading the Gurbani a race, or then when they read the Gurbani they sound so in rage and sound as if they are talking to the Gurbani in anger, there is no love shown to the Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maraj. Your technique of reading the Gurbani shows that you are truly absorbing the word of the Guru.

The key is NOT to expect anything, anything at all. The best thing you should hope for is that at the end of paath or simran you have a feeling of 'Anand' or bliss.
You will not get this feeling by timing yourself or rushing through. The secret is to NOT focus on time and just keep the dhyan on what you are doing.
This feeling of anand may only be for a few minutes but it is a welcoming feeling that assures you that you have done it properly to the best of your ability.

The funny thing is LuckySingh Ji is that i find it hard to not expect something (i kinda have an expectation problem), i think i have wasted my time on reading people testimonies rather than using my time to concentrate and devote my time to Simran and the Gurbani, i think the more i concentrate on Simran and Gurbani my expectation will slowly disappear.

Thank you LuckySingh Ji for your heart felt reply, its complete anand when SPNer's help other fellow Sikhs, May Waheguru Ji Bless eternally.

Personally I try and live my life by the facets outlined in Mool Mantra, truth, no fear and everyone is my friend, I can only imagine what my life would be like if I understood and lived by the whole of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Harry Haller Ji i do not believe there is no other way to live, but to understand and live the way of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maraj.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Harry Haller

Panga Master
SPNer
Jan 31, 2011
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Harry Haller Ji i do not believe there is no other way to live, but to understand and live the way of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maraj.
I would beg to differ, I have the emotional and physical scars to prove otherwise

There are plenty different ways to live, but only one true way. I find the true way hard, but I do the best I can, my dear veerji Luckyji is way further down that path :), you would do well to take note of his words if you wish to find what he has.
 

BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

I would beg to differ, I have the emotional and physical scars to prove otherwise

There are plenty different ways to live, but only one true way. I find the true way hard, but I do the best I can, my dear veerji Luckyji is way further down that path , you would do well to take note of his words if you wish to find what he has.

Harry Haller Ji, forgive me but i was referring to living the way of a Sikh, not for personal lives. And yes us mere human being can only try to live the best we can, heck even trying for me it can sometimes be to difficult to keep it going consistent.:grinningkaur:

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Harry Haller

Panga Master
SPNer
Jan 31, 2011
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Harry Haller Ji, forgive me but i was referring to living the way of a Sikh, not for personal lives.
Your thinking is still mired in two seperate personalities, the public persona of a Sikh, and the personal persona of you.

For a true Sikh, there is no difference between personal and public, if you live the way of a Sikh all the time, the effect on your personal life can only be positive. If you live the life of a Sikh in public, but in private 'do your own thing' then I only have pity for such people.

The truth dictates that we must present ourself as honestly as possible to everyone, warts and all. Many Sikhs have turned this into 'We must present ourself in the best light as possible, and keep our warts to ourself', so in effect, we do not even need to try and be better people, we can just try to present ourselves as better people,

Sikhism, Bani, understanding, these are not things to cross off a list, you do not become a good Sikh by ticking off how many times you went to Gurudwara or how many times you have prayed, you become a good Sikh by cultivating an honest, helpful, compassionate and loving personality, and you cultivate this by changing your thinking so that you are honest, helpful, compassionate and loving, otherwise it is all pretty much for nothing. And how do you change your thinking? by reading, absorbing and understanding the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

After all, what is the point of spending years becoming a Doctor, if you do not help anyone?

Good Sikhs are worth a million Doctors, they have the ability to help many people in many ways, that is our destiny and our fate, if we would only use this wisdom to rise above the common denominator.
 
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BlazinSikh

SPNer
May 6, 2011
97
147
Croydon, London, England
Your thinking is still mired in two seperate personalities, the public persona of a Sikh, and the personal persona of you.

For a true Sikh, there is no difference between personal and public, if you live the way of a Sikh all the time, the effect on your personal life can only be positive. If you live the life of a Sikh in public, but in private 'do your own thing' then I only have pity for such people.

The truth dictates that we must present ourself as honestly as possible to everyone, warts and all. Many Sikhs have turned this into 'We must present ourself in the best light as possible, and keep our warts to ourself', so in effect, we do not even need to try and be better people, we can just try to present ourselves as better people,

Sikhism, Bani, understanding, these are not things to cross off a list, you do not become a good Sikh by ticking off how many times you went to Gurudwara or how many times you have prayed, you become a good Sikh by cultivating an honest, helpful, compassionate and loving personality, and you cultivate this by changing your thinking so that you are honest, helpful, compassionate and loving, otherwise it is all pretty much for nothing. And how do you change your thinking? by reading, absorbing and understanding the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

After all, what is the point of spending years becoming a Doctor, if you do not help anyone?

Good Sikhs are worth a million Doctors, they have the ability to help many people in many ways, that is our destiny and our fate, if we would only use this wisdom to rise above the common denominator.

There is no way that I can reply against what you have said Mr Harry Haller Ji, what you have said is the truth, by converting or turning our personal lives in to the sikhi way of life, we would be able to be a whole Sikh rather than living the life of duality. If this is what mean then I believe I have understood what you have wrote.

Thank you!

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!
 

Tejwant Singh

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Jun 30, 2004
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I totally agree with people questioning and asking questions. This is the only way to move forward to the next step.

The best example here is Harry ji. He will tell you if he had not put out the right questions, he would never have been the womaniser he was in his past life.:)
 

spnadmin

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Jun 17, 2004
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This thread is visible even if someone does not log in. For the record, approximately 403 individuals across the globe have access to this thread... including both members and nonmembers. Of that number perhaps 8 are aware of the ongoing joking, back-slapping and personal confessions between respected SPN member Harry Haller ji and others that have occurred on other threads. They would be the readers and posters who get the "womanizer" comment. The remainder would form impressions ranging from outrage to something less serious, but any humor would likely be lost. Beyond that are those members and visitors who read the thread a day, a week, a month or a year from now. Let's please be careful about context.
 

Harry Haller

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Adminji is correct, this would give a false impression, they would not know about the gambling, intoxicant use, prison and bankruptcy to form a clearer, fairer, impression.....
 
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Harry Haller

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Jan 31, 2011
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So i ask again for hope of an answer how is love made or created for reading the Gurbani and for doing Naam Simran?

when we look for short term pleasures, an instant boost of happiness, unless we do things that are true, to ourselves and others, we risk consequences. Those that are unaware of the alternatives will carry on this cycle until something gives. Even then, the diehards will continue to the death.

There is an alternative, a daily routine serving Creation, and connecting with Creation, is harder to do, but the pleasures are not short term.

This is harder to do than you may think, it requires either dedication, discipline and faith, or the way of sufference, guilt, shame, loss and pain.


Both educate, but the former is a lot more peaceful
 

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