THOUGHTS ON SIMRAN

WHY WE NEED TO REMEMBER HIM

AND

ESSENTILAITY OF “SIMRAN”

In all religious and spiritual discourses, it is emphasized that God must be remembered all the time as He is the very basis of our existence, our provider and nourisher and also the ultimate redeemer. Generally we pray to Him for material needs and then forget Him, till we need Him again for our wishes and wants. We also feel that He subjects us to rewards and punishment and therefore we fear Him too.

There are some other reasons that a man must feel the presence of the Lord all the time because it makes him a better human being too. At this state we are sub humans. The journey of life is a self-improvisation from state of sub-human consciousness to Human Consciousness and His remembrance is  the step forward for that very spiritual path.

Hazur Maharaj Ji used to give an example of the child holding the hand of the father in a fair. Father is the power that the child experiences when he is with Him. The fair of life turns meaningless the moment child is not able to see or feel his father. The same is true with us too. In daily life, man seeks empowerment by computers, cell phones, aero planes and automobiles, TV etc. Call it dependence of some sort but all such devices significantly enhance the physical and material capabilities of man.  By being attuned to the Lord, man adds to his mental and spiritual strength. His remembrance does not lead to mitigation of adversities in life, but it ensures that all such situations be endured with patience and calmness. This enables him to go through the ups and downs of life relatively easier and without ruffling the mental balance.

Another aspect is that God represents all that is true, pure, noble, good, loving, compassionate, forgiving, fearless, foe less. Hazur would remark that by doing His simran or being in His remembrance all noble qualities emerge just like cream floats on the surface of the milk. Man very ambitiously seeks perfection in his daily conduct by  upgrading his life style and societal parameters.  The more man has sought self reformation by material means the more he has degenerated his consciousness and capabilities. By focusing on the path of material acquisitions he subordinates himself to the five perversions of the mind and that creates consequential sufferings. That is why there is so much physical and mental agony within all of us. And we pretend to be happy in misery for the world outside. This is superficial and all of us are well aware of our outer cloak.

 God is manifestation of noble attributes and therefore His constant remembrance leads to emulation of noble attributes. The adage that you become what you think fits very appropriately. When God becomes man’s mental companion, man’s thought and conduct receive the same noble vibrations that emanate from the Supreme Lord. This makes him a good human being.

Furthermore, all that is seen, cherished and imagined is subject to change and death.  And all that is seen, cherished and imagined is also riddled with opposites. Beauty, wealth, power—the three prime infatuations and illusions of mind--- culminate into change, misery, greed, envy, lust and violence .God is unchangeable and beyond the domain of come and go. And God has no opposites.  Absence of opposites mean absence of good and bad, no comparisons, no reward or punishment, no hell or heaven, neither logic nor reason. Just faith, grace and acceptance of whatever that "matter” is. Briefly the concept of duality and ego disappears. The principle is universal oneness is known and realized.

That is why in all religious and spiritual discourses, it is emphasized that God must be remembered every moment and every breath.

Mool mantra is the first shabd of Jap JI,,, "OF THE FIRST SIKH GURU--GURU NANK DEV JI" and it makes profound statement for DEFINING CONCEPT OF GOD. After defining   attributes of GOD, it culminates into "GURU PRASAD JAP"  impyling that He (LORD) can be realized through the grace of the master when one remembers  the LORD as per the technique of the Master (JAP).  जप -- means  Remember(JAP)

इक ओंकार, सतनाम  करता पुरख निरभाओ निरवेर अकाल मूरत अजूनी सहभंग. ---------------------- गुर प्रसाद  जप.

HE is the one and only the one , true is his name, the primal Doer, fearless, foe less, beyond time and formless that which is neither born or dies, self sustaining --can be realized with the grace of the Guru through JAP-- simran and  meditation.

Simran as means of controlling and elevating state of  Mind

A mature person knows that all power and instrumentation of man is embedded in the human body itself. The outside world is felt and inferred by the inner mechanism of mind. The apparent reality of physical world is the result of perception of human mind. Conversely mind can think of and be with the objects that it has perceived or can imagine. That is why it is said that you become what you think. It is all the game of mind. The external scene and internal phenomenon are intimately interlinked.

The states of mind on which one has no control are dreams, delusions, emotions, sentiments, judgments, hallucinations and imagination etc. The exact working of these psychic states at the conscious level cannot be known or deciphered precisely. But it is equally true that these too wear a garb of reality so long as mind is absorbed in them. That is why the heart beat, blood pressure and other symptoms develop in such mental states.

The intent of writing the above paras is to reiterate that both outer and psychic states of man are integral part of inner mental activity. Think of money, wealth, position of power, infatuations etc. its ripple effect will be experienced in mind. If the drivers of mental activity are working for this transitory world, one’s experiences and acquisitions will be of that nature only—purely transient and ephemeral. At some point of time all what one thinks will materialize. Infact the inner world of dreams, desires, cravings are the projections of what was thought in ‘the eternity of time’ but that cannot be recalled now by the mind. We therefore feel trepidations of fear, insecurity and some strange feelings in and around us as the memory fails to recollect the chain of our thoughts of past and even present life. Since ‘time’ has an unfailing memory, it delivers to us all we craved for.

When one thinks or craves or yearns for God or the Master, mind starts working at that elevated level. Mind and Master then have a conscious connectivity. Then the ‘conscious’ power of mind is directly proportional to the faith and conviction that one carries for the Master or the Lord. The entire stress of the Perfect Masters and their philosophies is that man must have a constant thought or remembrance of the Lord so that with the power of that faith he might have the strength to live through the immutable process of destiny with equanimity in this world and feel His presence within his self and around too. And after this world that very remembrance of the mind and faith will take the soul back to the Lord and the inner Master. Kabir Sahib says---

Simran Se Sukh Hot Hai, Simran Se Dukh Jaaye, Kahe Kabir Simran Keeye, Saiin Mahine Smaaye

That simran brings happiness and comfort; Simran gets rid of pain and sorrows. Says Kabir, with simran you become one with the Master.

THE STRUGGLE SIMPLIFIED through Simran

 The term ‘struggle’ is distinct, but an extension of word” effort”.  Conventional wisdom refers to “effort” that yields results logically and easily and the ‘struggle’ is intense endeavor for which the resultant compensation may or may not be available as perceived. Since all efforts /struggles are subject to the principle of “cause and effect” conventional concept concerns  the short term ‘time –space’ scenario rather than the infinitude of cycle of life where the Lord owes no debt to anyone.

 Baba Ji often says “malik kise da udhaar nahi rakh da. (मालिक किसे दा उधार नहीं रखदा) The first principle of life is that no effort ever gets wasted in time and space and second law is that when you start  moving towards an object or idea, the same entity also starts its journey for  meeting you. So any effort or struggle to meet the Lord gets an appropriate response—time and space not withstanding.

 Hazur in all His humility would answer the query of the disciples on difficulties in meditative concentration  by saying “ don’t worry. all of us are struggling souls.”This was the sign of expression of His Infinite grace that far exceeds the calculation of our efforts to erase countless sins committed by us since inception of this creation.

 “Struggle” in mysticism is deemed to be the function of fickleness (chanchalta -- चंचलता) of human mind and the exertion applied in restraining thereof. In a movie hall three hours are an entertainment. Thirty minutes of meditation in a quiet room is a struggle. This represents a conclusive evidence of the relative ness of time and space--- that is when the mind is in harmony with a particular desire it cooperates and in a state of disharmony it revolts.    Mind crosses the barrier of time and space in the realm of illusion projected in the film with fake characters while the same mind becomes captive of time and space in meditation and feels uncomfortable for seeking the Reality that is the prime objective of human life. The explanation is that mind which is the Masterpiece for Projection of Maya faithfully serves the objects of illusion by being tuned with wayward senses without any effort or exertion. In Simran mind “struggles” to reverse its direction inward and upward for concentration for the simple reason that from primeval times our heart has desired flesh and phenomenal world in preference to the Reality of   “treasure beyond measure”.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” says the Bible. Synchronization of mind with an idea or an object-- be it fake or factual-- results in effortless effort while non-synchronization becomes a struggle.