Seva As Meditation --- The Way Of Harry Ji Seva

[namjiwankaur]

Sat Nam _/|\_

So the Beloved spoke to me about Harry ji Sunday and again this morning. Here's what SHe said.

Sunday I attended a Sant Mat meditation group (a whole different thread will come from that, God'dess willing). But anyway, during the sanghat discussion, it was mentioned that some meditate to create peace through energetic means. Others are the "doers". I immediately thought of our discussion on meditation when that came up.

My response to that is "a balance needs to exist". Now I'm realizing that one person's balance is another person's imbalance. I tend to advise people to be open to all beliefs, but then I don't take my own advice. So Wahe!Guru! gave me a little kick in the pants, so to speak, to teach me a lesson.

I'm grateful that I learned from something I originally disagreed with. My heart opened a little more, letting in more Light. Thank God!

Again this morning, more Light was shed on what Harry ji is getting at. I went out with the dog. And I remember that Harry ji said when he leaves his house, he seeks seva every moment. It hit me that this attitude toward seva is another form of meditation.

I think it is Thich Nhat Hanh (may the Beloved reward him for being a vehicle of Love, Light and Peace) who teaches a walking meditation (and his followers and fans sometimes do this together). Maybe this is what Harry Ji does. If meditation is to focus all one's concentration to one thing, maybe Harry focuses all his concentration on Seva.

That being said, someone in the Sanghat also said without peace within, there will no peace without. Peace starts within our hearts and to create peace we have to become Peace. And one way that is done is via other forms of meditation. Meditation creates a sense of peace.

If we go into a room and start bickering over things, we are not peace. If we go into room and react to all in a peaceful way, we are peace. We pass the peace, as Christians would say.

So what do you all think? Looking forward to hearing how Harry ji reacts to what I've written.

I will try to be open to all opinions because God gives us each a unique path, a ray of Light that connects us to the Divine. That means the scenery on th path is unique for each of us. That just hit me this week; its been an ongoing lesson this year and I have gotten Divinely quizzed by recently.

Nam Jiwan

 

[Gyani Jarnail Singh]

If we keep standing at the Airport...looking at various destinations and arrivals...and keep going back to CHANGE our Flight Tickets...we will definitely NOT reach nay "destination" except REMAIN at the Base Airport !!

ALL Planes...FLY..and they all lead to certain "destinations"...BUT we have to Buy the ticket, Board the Plane and FLY AWAY....to reach the "destination"....GURBANI is ACTION ORIENTED....BUY the Ticket and Board the Plane..and ARRIVE at the "destination" !!!

 

[Luckysingh]

If we keep standing at the Airport...looking at various destinations and arrivals...and keep going back to CHANGE our Flight Tickets...we will definitely NOT reach nay "destination" except REMAIN at the Base Airport !!

ALL Planes...FLY..and they all lead to certain "destinations"...BUT we have to Buy the ticket, Board the Plane and FLY AWAY....to reach the "destination"....GURBANI is ACTION ORIENTED....BUY the Ticket and Board the Plane..and ARRIVE at the "destination" !!!

peacesignkaurpeacesignkaurThat is all well, but most people just can't find the airport !

peacesignkaurpeacesignkaur

 

[Luckysingh]

Personally, I feel that meditation is a seva and not the other way round.

 

[BhagatSingh]

Lucky Singh ji, Seva could be a meditation as well, when done with concentration, the leading edge of the leading edge type concentration.

 

[Luckysingh]

I bet it could!!
But for a slow struggling me, I have a long way to master this other edge and direction.

I tend to start inward and go outward. But from going outward to inward seems a little difficult as one would need good trained 'filters'.
The problem for me is that too many negatives from the outside make their way in without effort. My filters are not that good!!!

 

[BhagatSingh]

What do you mean by filters and negatives?

 

[Luckysingh]

All the negative influences around in the outward world, that come inward. Having to filter them out and just take in the good can be dificult to do for some.

This is opposed to going from a positve inward to outward that maybe expressed in the same manner a little easier.

Most of our learning and development is done by taking in whats outside in the outward in to our selves or inward.
Only the true learned gurmukh stops learnng from the outward as now he may express from his own true innerself to outer.-
But we are all quite far from that.
I hope that makes a little more sense.

 

[BhagatSingh]

Hmm ok I get what you are saying. What I was thinking about was this: While doing, easy, boring, mundane stuff like washing dishes at home or stacking paper/boxes, etc at work, I try to focus on the activity, focus on the act of doing, very intensely. If it helps the concentration, I try to do it slowly, but just like I can go inward into myself, I go deeply into the activity.

There are awesome things to discover from this practice, one HUGE one is finding out who is the doer? Hint: Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji says ALL THE TIME that God is the doer. How can we know that for ourselves?

Well one way is to do something, and then focus hard on the experience of doing, and look for the doer. As you watch it intensely, after maybe a minute, ask yourself "who is doing it?" Then go on to watch your hands rub the dishes, you feel the cold/warm water run down your hand, you can feel the texture of the plate, the slippery soap, etc etc.

Remember you are not looking for the end of the chore "when will this be over?" No, forget that, you want to enjoy the chore "I am here now, doing this. What am I doing exactly? and who is doing it?"

No negatives here that you need to filter out. This is pure meditation. Can also be done at the Gurudwara whilst serving langar, chaur sahib, etc. in public but you can always do this home alone.

 

[Harry Haller]

Namji{censored}aurji

haha, you give me too much credit. I just tend to run in the opposite direction of the established path, from my silly shorts, toothpaste stained t shirt, and odd socks, to the huge mess in my shop, I tend to question every aspect of human interaction, the social customs, the conversations, everything, so it is only natural I would question meditation.

I do believe though that God sends people to you, for help, advice, maybe sometimes even money, I would not say I seek seva at every moment, I would say seva seems to seek me at every moment, and the more I entertain it, the more peaceful I feel.

Luckyji wrote that he seeks meditation to free himself from the negative influences of the outside world, I suppose this is the very crux of the matter for me, I want to do what I do, but with all the influences from the outside world hitting me square. Maybe I feel it is like the difference between army training in a training environment, and real action in a combat situation. The world is our combat situation, all the influences are there for a reason, to be understood, to be embraced, to be tamed, to be learned from, not to escape from, and in that combat situation, with all its big cars, sex, drugs, and attractions, we should be looking to help the drivers who are about to go bankrupt, the women who have to prosititute themselves, the addicts for whom every day is a living hell, I guess what some see as distraction, others will see as an opportunity for giving.

I will concede one thing,

Hmm ok I get what you are saying. What I was thinking about was this: While doing, easy, boring, mundane stuff like washing dishes at home or stacking paper/boxes, etc at work, I try to focus on the activity, focus on the act of doing, very intensely. If it helps the concentration, I try to do it slowly, but just like I can go inward into myself, I go deeply into the activity.



There are awesome things to discover from this practice, one HUGE one is finding out who is the doer? Hint: Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji says ALL THE TIME that God is the doer. How can we know that for ourselves?

Well one way is to do something, and then focus hard on the experience of doing, and look for the doer. As you watch it intensely, after maybe a minute, ask yourself "who is doing it?" Then go on to watch your hands rub the dishes, you feel the cold/warm water run down your hand, you can feel the texture of the plate, the slippery soap, etc etc.

Remember you are not looking for the end of the chore "when will this be over?" No, forget that, you want to enjoy the chore "I am here now, doing this. What am I doing exactly? and who is doing it?"

No negatives here that you need to filter out. This is pure meditation. Can also be done at the Gurudwara whilst serving langar, chaur sahib, etc. in public but you can always do this home alone.

I agree with everything Bhagat Singhji has written above

I also must stress that in terms living life as per Sikhi, both Bhagatji and Luckyji far excel at this, I just live life as experience has taught me, it just so happens that most of what we learn from the school of having the **** kicked out of you, ties in with what Sikhism teaches

 

[namjiwankaur]

Sat Nam _/|\_

Gyani ji

I'm not sure what you mean and not sure what you are saying about what I posted. Could you explain less metaphorically and more literally for me, please. :sippingcoffeemunda:

Peace
Nam Jiwan

 

[Luckysingh]

I also must stress that in terms living life as per Sikhi, both Bhagatji and Luckyji far excel at this, I just live life as experience has taught me, it just so happens that most of what we learn from the school of having the **** kicked out of you, ties in with what Sikhism teaches<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Harryji,
Please don't think that I live as per sikhi better than some others.
In the same way as you, I have made way too many mistakes and am still learning from them.
Believe me, I am the worst sinner and loser than you could possibly imagine. Infact, I am lower than low.
I have wasted too many years in a world all about me, me, me....

Although, when my ego was full speed in the driving seat, I know realise that at the time I was actually more than lost.
I had no belief in any religions but knew there was One God. I felt that only the lost need a religion as a pathway to find God and that I could get there without it.
This is how ''above'' everything my views were, I thought I was untouchable, above any religion or laws.

Now, I feel that I would be completely lost without sikhi.

 

[Harry Haller]

Believe me, I am the worst sinner and loser than you could possibly imagine. Infact, I am lower than low.
I have wasted too many years in a world all about me, me, me....

I take exception to this slur on my character, I feel I was much worse a sinner and loser than your goodself, I am the lowest of the lower than the low.

You embrace Sikhism in its complete form, I merely connect with what life has taught me. I enjoy debating with you, and sometimes I can be dismissive, but when I am in bed reading your posts to my wife, your thirst for Sikhi is humbling to both of us.

 

[namjiwankaur]

Sat Nam _/|\_

Here's to Love! Pay It Forward!

Nam Jiwan

I take exception to this slur on my character, I feel I was much worse a sinner and loser than your goodself, I am the lowest of the lower than the low.

You embrace Sikhism in its complete form, I merely connect with what life has taught me. I enjoy debating with you, and sometimes I can be dismissive, but when I am in bed reading your posts to my wife, your thirst for Sikhi is humbling to both of us.