Naam Simran

Naam Simran is the Sikh way ofmeditation. It is such a deep subjectthat it cannot be entirely explainedtheoretically. It needs to beexperienced through undergoing apractical endeavor. Success dependspurely on earnestness of thepractitioner and most of all on Gurusgrace.

As we start this journey we face a lotof difficulties. Some are related to thelack of faith; others are merely due tothe lack of knowledge and propertechniques. Naam Simran is GurusHukam. Different people describedifferent ways to do it. This is an effortto facilitate this learning process.

What is Naam Simran:

Naam is the name we address God,the Almighty with as well as we use itto praise Him. Naam can be any wordor collection of words, a stanza, astatement that connects you with Him.This word must initiate unconditionallove for Him in your mind. It can beHis name that you been using toaddress Him so far or any words fromBani that express His presence everywhere and His unlimited Qualities andPraises.

Can be Waheguru, Satnaam,Satnaam Waheguru, Har,Haree, Har Har Har Har HareeHaree, Gobindey MukandeyUdarey Aparey Hareean KareeanNirnaamay Akaamay, Eak TueeEak Tuee, Satnaam Sada-eeSatnaam, Ang Sang Waheguru,Mool Mantra and many manymore.

The name needs to become the adhaar(ADwr), the base for all the practice. Somake sure you choose that namewhich is easy for you, and brings inrespect, faith, and unconditional lovefor God/Waheguru/AkaalPurkh inyour mind . If you are going to dosimran on your breath it must go alongyour natural breathing span so youdont have to use it forcefully. You canchoose several different words and usethem at different times.

For example, while driving useGobindey, while showering useHar Har., while walkingSatnaam with one step andWaheguru with the following stepand so on, while cooking use AngSang.; there can be so manydifferent ways. This way NaamSimran becomes an enjoyableexperience, especially in thebeginning.

Simran is remembering somethingagain and again. So Naam Simranbecomes the continous remembranceof God. It is the synchronization ofNaam and Simran. So you are recitingNaam (Naam Jaap) along with thethoughts of whose name you arerepeating.

It can be done for a short or long spanof time, at a scheduled period or forever. So Naam Simran can be statedas the repetition of the Naam and thethoughts of God/Waheguru over andover again without stopping.

Why Naam Simran:

Naam Simran eventualy stabilizesyour mind in Gods remembrance.That makes you become one with yourinner spirit which ultimately leads tothe unity with God. So Naam Simrandone the right way, leads to thesalvation with Gurus grace

Tools to help Naam Simran:

To make Naam Simran a successfulendeavor, following tools can behelpful. Most of these tools areinterdependent in nature and effect.

First step is to choose the word andstart Naam Jaap, loud or silent.Second step is focusing your mind onHim. Thats where we always wonder-how. Following are some tools, whichcan help us to concentrate better:

(1) Prayer:

Start Simran with prayer. Prayer canbe full Ardaas, first stanza of Ardaasor can be your own words or stanzasfrom Bani. Lovingly ask for Godshelp in everything; for success of theSimran, for any wish fulfillment. SeekGods aid and guidance. Then againend it with a prayer. You can alsopause and pray while doing Simran.Prayer always helps. It boosts yourconfidence.

Sample Prayers:krqw qU myrw jjmwnu ] iek diKxw hau qYpih mwgau dyih Awpxw nwmu ] Page1329(SGGS)

srin pry kI rwKu dieAwlw ] nwnk qumrybwl gupwlw ] Page 260(SGGS)

(2) Love and Devotion:

Love God. Love His creation. Lovethe words you are using as Naam.Love yourself- you are His creation.He is in you. Love every thing Heprovided you with. Love Him for Hisabundant goodness to us.

riv rihAw pRBu sB mih Awpy ] Page 804

Love with God brings in humility,faith, forgiveness, and devotion andis of great help in concentrationprocess. And of coarse:

pRym ipAwly vs hoie Bgq vCl hoieisrjnhwrw] Page 6(SGGS)

Think of yourself being in GurudwaraSahib, bowing and sitting in ardaasposition, singing Bani, imagineyourself in Hari Mandir Sahib, holdingGuru Jis Palla. All this helps to bringmore love in your bhagti. It helps yourmind and soul bow in humility whichis essential for spiritual progress.

(3) Contemplation (bIcwr) of Bani:

We are blessed with such aninvaluable gift- Bani. Dhan Dhan SriGuru Granth Sahib Ji is our ShabadGuru. And we must read, think,contemplate and then understandGurbani. And most of all liveaccordingly. This is the key; try to liveaccording to one teaching for one day,you will see the difference.Banis contemplation can be done inSangat or individually. Bani tells usover and over again to do NaamSimran. It tells us what is moreimportant in this human life. It teachesus everything that a human needs toknow to do bhagti. It is essential-as all

other tools we are discussing can belearned from Bani.

miq ivic rqn jvwhr mwixk jy iek gur kIisK suxI ] Page 2(SGGS)

(4) Faith:

You must have full faith in God, theAlmighty, Waheguru. Without faithnothing is going to work. We say weknow about His existence. We say weknow He is doing every thing. Thenwhat happens when a small thing goesthe way we did not want it to be? Weblame others, our circumstances, evenGod and ourselves. Where has thefaith gone in Karta Purkh?

Faith is the acceptance of apreposition. And what is ourpreposition of God-He is the One.He is the Karta PurkhHe is omni presentHe is unique and without equalAnd so on. . All that is being said inBani.

Evaluate one day in your life and seehow much you truly accept Hisexistence.We know about God, and our mind isset to mistake this knowledge aboutHim as faith. We need to actually livethis faith, this knowledge, only then byfull means we can accept His presence.

A person who is in faith faces fewerdifficulties on this journey. When youare in faith- half the battle is done.Faith in Him makes us depend on GodHimself, not on anything else.

Read Bani. It will rejuvenate the faithin God in your mind. Once you start

your journey, faith grows stronger andstronger.

(5) Concentration (Dhyaan) (iDAwn):

Our mind has a natural function ofthinking. It gets information from thememory and brings it in front of ourmental eyes that we call thought, andthat arouses the emotions dependingupon the nature of that thought. If it isa happy thought, we become happy, ifit is something bad we may startworrying or become sad. So everythought arouses one or many emotionsbased on our past experiences andknowledge. We act happy, sad, mad,or anxious and so on. One thoughtleads to another and another, based onour knowledge, memory and emotionsinvolving the subject of the thought.

We have been doing this since westarted seeing and feeling the outerworld. This nature of our mind doesnot let us concentrate when we startdoing Naam Simran. We are able todo Naam recitation (Naam Jaap) butnot Naam Simran as Simran is directlyrelated to the thoughts. Naamrecitation alone without involving thethought process does nothing as mindkeeps on playing its tricks and youcannot see and feel your soul. Youhave to still your mind and then Naamstarts cleaning the mind and takes youfurther.

kwhy kau kIjY iDAwnu jpMnw ] jb qy suDunwhI mnu Apnw ]Page 485(SGGS)

Dwvq mnu rwKY iek Twie ]

Page 299(SGGS)

Why it is Important:

Mind is a shield between the outerworld (false/grievance/maya) and theSoul (truth/Reality/God). When weare born into this world this shield istransparent. The thought process as ithas the involvement of emotionsmakes this shield thick and opaqueover time. This slate of mind gets somuch written on it. Untill we cleanthis slate and make it transparent;there is no use of Naam Jaap.We can do this by changing our mindset. We need to change our thinkingprocess entirely. To convert NaamJaap into Naam Simran we have towork on our thinking.

Control of Mind.

One way of doing this is: As thethoughts occur in your mind, startinvolving the Creator in them. BringGod in everything you think. Forexample you are thinking of what towear to work tomorrow: Ask for Hisguidance to choose your clothes.Communicate with Him as you dowhen you pray for anything. ThankHim for all the clothes He providedyou. Need new clothes, ask Him toprovide you new ones. Thank Him forguiding through the process.

It may feel awkward in the beginning,as you are not used to do it. In fact themind is not used to it, so remindyourself- God is everywhere- in everyliving and material thing. He is insideyou. You walk with God. God walkswith you everywhere you go.

So you are consciously directing theconsciousness of your mind. You canuse this technique while doing Simran

or even while actually choosing yourclothes. When you do this you willnotice fewer emotions are beingaroused, so thought does not upsetyou much. And your mind starts to getirritated, as it could not do its job as itused to do before. Now your job is todo this again and again. When youkeep controlling your mind repeatedly,the mind starts working under you, asit does not have another choice now.Eventually it will become a habit. Youwont be working under your mindanymore. You will not be a manmukhany more.

(6)Accept those who are different fromyou:Not even two people on this earth aremeant to be the same. God created thisworld this way. Accept it. There aremillions of ways to do the one samething. Love the diversity. It is thebeauty of His creation. It will ease thetask of forgiving others and yourself.

(7) Learn from mistakes:

Elaborate what you yourself andothers do, follow the right deeds anddiscard the wrong, but do not hateyourself or others for doing anythingwrong, as everything happens in HisWill. And do not indulge inelaborating only. Learn from it. Leavethe emotions alone that make youhappy, sad, anxious and so on.Always ask for His guidance. This willhelp you overcome the five vices.

jW pMc rwsI qW qIrQ vwsI ] Page356(SGGS)

(8)Staying Awake:

Staying awake here means that live inconsciousness. Feel Gods presenceeverywhere. Feel Him inside you andaround (up to the infinity). Meditateon the Naam with deep faith anddeliberation. Live teachings ofGurbani. Stop dubidha. There is Oneand Only One prevailing everywhereand in everyone. Be humble. Forgiveyourself and others. If you are havingproblems in minds wanderingcondition-keep trying differentmethods to overcome this problem. Itmay be difficult but not impossible.duAwr qy AV ky inmrqw nwl Klo jwvoimhr jrUr hovygI[

You just have to start; the rest is doneby itself over the coarse of time. Guruis very loving. He will not let you waitfor long if your intentions are good.Does not matter you are asking foranything or not. It is your devotion toGod that plays the key role.

crn srin gur eyk pYfw jwie cl, siq gurkoit pYfw Awgy hoie lyq hY ] by BhaiGurdaas Ji.

(9)Simran on Breathing:

It helps in developing concentration.Breathing is one crucial thing that ishappening to keep us alive. It is theliving energy of our soul on this Earth.So by doing Simran on our breaths wefacilitate our way to reach our soul. Asyou are focusing on breathing themind will not get much time to chaseother thoughts.

(10)Thank God for every thing:

Thank Him for every thing youalready have. It brings your mind intothe prevalent state. By thanking Godwe give credit to Him for everything,this helps us to curb our arrogance andego. It makes us realize that it is Godand not we who is ultimately incontrol of our lives. Thanking Godmakes us humble and modest.

Thank Him for your ability to breathe,walk, talk and eat. Thank God foryour ability to see, hear, smell, tasteand touch. Thank Him for your levelof intelligence, your circumstances,and your existence. You can findunlimited reasons to thank Him.He has provided us with inexpressiblegifts:

bhuqw krmu iliKAw nw jwie ]vfw dwqwiqlu n qmwie ]kyqy mMgih joD Apwr ]kyiqAw gxq nhIvIcwru ]kyqy Kip qutih vykwr ]kyqy lY lY mukrupwih ]kyqy mUrK KwhI Kwih ]kyiqAw dUK BUK sdmwr ]eyih iB dwiq qyrI dwqwr ]bMid KlwsIBwxY hoie ]horu AwiK n skY koie ]jy ko KwiekuAwKix pwie ]Ehu jwxY jyqIAw muih Kwie ]Awpy jwxYAwpy dyie ]AwKih is iB kyeI kyie ]ijs no bKsyisPiq swlwh ]nwnk pwiqswhI pwiqswhu ]Page 5(SGGS)

Thanking God keeps us in constantcontact with Him. Our relationshipwith God becomes unbroken.

All this may sound difficult, but it ismost rewarding when practiced. Dosimran and inspire others to do thesame. Guide them if they need help.Attend Sangat. Listen, read and singBani. Contemplate Bani yourself andwith others. Do selfless seva. Help theneedy. Live in God. Make your lifesmotto: "Naam Bina Na Jivia Jai".

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru JiKi Fateh.