Naam Abhiyaas

Taranjeet singh · Feb 3, 2012

Naam Abhiyaas

Translated By: Mr. Prabhjot Singh

The tongue is doing the JAP of Waheguru, but the thought of uttering Waheguru mantra takes place in the mind. The navel is natively referred to as Dhunni because it is this place where sound (dhun) emerges from. The air strikes the Dhuni when a thought of saying something takes place in the mind. Naabhi (Navel) is like a wind instrument – For example, a harmonium, flute, shainai, etc. can only produce sound if it is pumped with some air, otherwise one cannot produce any sound out of them. Naabhi is one such instrument Waheguru has planted in our body that only produces sound if wind is applied to it. It is the wind that is an important element in the whole procedure. That is why, Guru Nanak Dev Ji has called wind a Guru because it is the Guru that creates associations for us. Wind produces speech, and with speech we are able to make associations with others. In the worldly affairs, we first see and then speak about it. In the case of Waheguru, we will HAVE to speak to create the association.

ਕਬੀਰ ਕੇਸੋ ਕੇਸੋ ਕੂਕੀਐ ਨ ਸੋਈਐ ਅਸਾਰ ॥
kabeer kaeso kaeso kookeeai n soeeai asaar ||
Kabeer, chant the Name of the Beautifully-haired Lord; do not sleep unaware.

ਰਾਤਿ ਦਿਵਸ ਕੇ ਕੂਕਨੇ ਕਬਹੂ ਕੇ ਸੁਨੈ ਪੁਕਾਰ ॥੨੨੩॥
raath dhivas kae kookanae kabehoo kae sunai pukaar ||223||
Chanting His Name night and day, the Lord will eventually hear your call. ||223|| (Ang 1376, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

Kabir Ji says no matter what, I will keep on saying Lord’s name, eventually my call will be heard. On the worldly level, we see and then speak, but here one has to just keep saying His name, one day we will be able to see Him standing right in front of us.

When wind strikes the Naabhi, it produces a sound, that sound is called Parra. When that sound rises up and reaches the heart, it is called Basanti; this is where that sound recieves its words. When the words reach the throat, that state is called Madhmaa, this is where a complete sentence is formed. Eventually, tongue expresses it outside the body; this state is called Bekhari. So these are the stages of speech:

1. Parra
2. Basanti
3. Madhmaa
4. Bekhari

Now, one has to reverse the process and take that sound back to the Dhunni, the place where the sound arose from. Kabir Ji refers to this as:

ਉਲਟੀ ਗੰਗਾ ਜਮੁਨ ਮਿਲਾਵਉ ॥
oulattee gangaa jamun milaavo ||

Turn your breath away from the left channel, and away from the right channel, and unite them in the central channel of the Sushmanaa. (Ang 327, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

One has to reverse the cycle and merge Ganges back into Yamunaa – The sound that was created at the Naabhi, and came out of the body via the tongue has to reversed and sent back to the Naabhi. Of course, this process is very difficult. One can keep saying Waheguru Waheguru thousands of times, the effort will be fruitless until one is able to reverse the sound and take it back to where it emerged from i.e. the Dhunni. In order to do that, Bekhari must be converted to Madhmaa, Madhmaa to Basanti, and finally Basanti to Parra. The inner revolution will start only when the process of utterence of Waheguru is reversed.

When Waheguru is uttered and reversed this way, it takes away all the clingling pains and sufferings; this sound provides supreme bliss. However, in order to be able to say Waheguru in the above way, one has to utter Waheguru a lot of times and meditate on it until the state is reached where the process of reversal is finally accomplished.
How to achieve the revesal? The sound came out from the inside via the tongue, so it cannot take it back in; one has to use the ears to take the sound back inside. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji says:

ਰੇ ਮਨ ਰਾਮ ਸਿਉ ਕਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ॥
rae man raam sio kar preeth ||
O mind, love the Lord.
ਸ੍ਰਵਨ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਗੁਨੁ ਸੁਨਉ ਅਰੁ ਗਾਉ ਰਸਨਾ ਗੀਤਿ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
sravan gobindh gun suno ar gaao rasanaa geeth ||1|| rehaao ||

With your ears, hear the Glorious Praises of the Lord of the Universe, and with your tongue, sing His song. ||1||Pause|| (Ang 631, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

Keep on singing Waheguru matra, but do not let it get wasted in the thin air, the purpose is to listen with ears and take the sound back inside the body. Just like food is taken in with mouth and eventually becomes blood, similarly when praises of the Lord are taken back inside, the person will be blessed with salvation; this absorbed sound will give supreme bliss, and result in Samadhi Avastha. However, one has to really LISTEN to the sound of Waheguru matra; when one LISTENS with utmost concentration, millions of pains and sufferings are elimination by just one Waheguru Jap.
ਨਾਨਕ ਭਗਤਾ ਸਦਾ ਵਿਗਾਸੁ ॥
naanak bhagathaa sadhaa vigaas ||
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.
ਸੁਣਿਐ ਦੂਖ ਪਾਪ ਕਾ ਨਾਸੁ ॥੧੦॥
suniai dhookh paap kaa naas ||10||
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||10|| (Ang 3, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

When one really LISTENS with love and concentration, then ears will absorb the sound inside and take it to the throat i.e. Madhmaa. When one is able to convert Waheguru sound back to Madhmaa, it will give immense joy to such a person – he will be able to actually enjoy the rass of Gurbani. If the concentration and love is maintained, the sound reaches from Madhmaa to the heart (Basanti); one starts hearing the Anhad Naad at this stage. This stages takes that person to the doorsteps of God. Guruji describes it as follows:
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਸੋ ਘਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਬਹਿ ਸਰਬ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥
so dhar kaehaa so ghar kaehaa jith behi sarab samaalae ||
Where is that Gate, and where is that Dwelling, in which You sit and take care of all?
ਵਾਜੇ ਨਾਦ ਅਨੇਕ ਅਸੰਖਾ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
vaajae naadh anaek asankhaa kaethae vaavanehaarae ||
The Sound-current of the Naad vibrates there, and countless musicians play on all sorts of instruments there.
ਕੇਤੇ ਰਾਗ ਪਰੀ ਸਿਉ ਕਹੀਅਨਿ ਕੇਤੇ ਗਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
kaethae raag paree sio keheean kaethae gaavanehaarae ||

So many Ragas, so many musicians singing there. (Ang 6, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

There is immense celebration at the doorsteps of the Lord. Ancient Kings and Maharajahs would order music to be played at the doors of their palace during mornings and evenings. Bhagats would hear the Anhad Naad inside, and created instruments to try to reproduce that sound. This stage is immensly enjoyable, but there is only one more step left to be taken further – the sound that has become Madhmaa has to strike the Naabhi and become Parra again.

If the required concentration is maintained and one keeps keeps the Jap going, the sound will strike the Naabhi; the Naabhi that opened to create the sound in the first stage will fully open up. At this stage, body lives but mind (mann) dies. Such a person starts existing on the same level as Waheguru Himself. Kabir Ji clearly declares:

ਬਿਗਰਿਓ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਦੁਹਾਈ ॥
bigariou kabeeraa raam dhuhaaee ||
Just so, Kabeer has changed.

ਸਾਚੁ ਭਇਓ ਅਨ ਕਤਹਿ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
saach bhaeiou an kathehi n jaaee ||1|| rehaao ||
He has become the Embodiment of Truth, and he does not go anywhere else. ||1||Pause|| (Ang 1158, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)
ਅਬ ਤਉ ਜਾਇ ਚਢੇ ਸਿੰਘਾਸਨਿ ਮਿਲੇ ਹੈ ਸਾਰਿੰਗਪਾਨੀ ॥
ab tho jaae chadtae singhaasan milae hai saaringapaanee ||

Now, I have mounted to the throne of the Lord; I have met the Lord, the Sustainer of the World.

ਰਾਮ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਏਕ ਭਏ ਹੈ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਪਛਾਨੀ ॥੬॥੩॥
raam kabeeraa eaek bheae hai koe n sakai pashhaanee ||6||3||
The Lord and Kabeer have become one. No one can tell them apart. ||6||3|| (Ang 969, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)

A Gurmukh Bhram Gyaani who has reached such an Avastha then does not need to recite Waheguru mantra, the sound constantly vibrates inside him with every breath taken – he/she becomes the roop of Akal Purakh Waheguru.

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singh is king · Feb 6, 2012

I am wondering what is actually "naam jap"? chanting Waheguru with some special technique or doing path (reading sggs)? In my understanding reading sggs is a naam jap but I really got confused when somebody talks about chanting only "waheguru" as a naam jap.

Luckysingh · Mar 29, 2012

singh is king said:
I am wondering what is actually "naam jap"? chanting Waheguru with some special technique or doing path (reading Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji)? In my understanding reading Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is a naam jap but I really got confused when somebody talks about chanting only "waheguru" as a naam jap.

Sikh meditations blend spirituality with the person’s daily life. The two aspects of the meditation are Jap and Simran.

Jap means to repeat, to affirm and to act.

In a Sikh Meditation we repeat the Gurbani sentences, Gurbani words and the Guru Mantra. Another way the Jap forms a part of Sikhs life is when the Sikh Prayers are recited Daily, Gurbani Kirtan is listened to regularly.
Gurbani which are words of Shabad Guru has guidance to shape our basic beliefs aligned with spiritual life.
Jap is like a tool if used correctly
We can jap waheguru, satnaam or any descriptive word for creator.Or we can jap any single line from the Guru Granth Sahib ji, from wherever we please.
Sometimes, I come across a shabad that touches me, and I continue to jap it using my own made up melody. I enjoy doing and recording my own kirtan this way using my own melodies instead of raags and use the recordings for my personal use.

A person often questions this aspect of repeating -jap.. Why repeat? Why again and again? Why remember GOD again and again? Why praise GOD again and again ??
In fact we are repeating good to be good. We repeat an image to be that image.we are shifting our state of being to what we truly are – a Jyot saaroop of the gurbani.
What is the jyot saroop?
Well, the gurbani gives us wisdom and direction that changes us to become a Jyot saaroop– a light that is an image of GOD.-when we get merged into and within the gurbani.- Our perception changes and our self-concepts change.
Then we can go into jap and simran, which go together easily with meditation.
Simran is probably defined as 'to remember' but with true emotion.

Waheguru
Lucky Singh

Ambarsaria · Mar 30, 2012

Luckysingh ji thanks for your post. No doubt you are a great person but I raise couple of comment son your post.

Luckysingh said:
In fact we are repeating good to be good. We repeat an image to be that image.we are shifting our state of being to what we truly are – a Jyot saaroop of the gurbani.
What is the jyot saroop?
Well, the gurbani gives us wisdom and direction that changes us to become a Jyot saaroop– a light that is an image of GOD.-when we get merged into and within the gurbani.- Our perception changes and our self-concepts change.

I believe it is very dangerous to do what our Guru ji, no question much more knowledgeable, did not do. Our Guru ji's neither painted a complete picture of God/creator not the put the same into a box or be defined in containment. Infinite of many virtues that one could discover all one life only to be scratching the surface of understanding. So I take exception to your underlined statements.

Sat Sri Akal.

Luckysingh · Mar 30, 2012

Ambarsaria said:
Luckysingh ji thanks for your post. No doubt you are a great person but I raise couple of comment son your post.I believe it is very dangerous to do what our Guru ji, no question much more knowledgeable, did not do. Our Guru ji's neither painted a complete picture of God/creator not the put the same into a box or be defined in containment. Infinite of many virtues that one could discover all one life only to be scratching the surface of understanding. So I take exception to your underlined statements.

Sat Sri Akal.

I apologise if I caused any offence. It was a difficult one to put into words to be honest... Bhull chuk marf.

In fact we are repeating good to be good. We repeat an image to be that image.we are shifting our state of being to what we truly are – a Jyot saaroop of the gurbani.

I was trying to clarify the reason for repitition of say 'waheguru'- thinking that the human mind naturally has an image associated with any word said or heard. This could be just imagining the word written on paper or even some other image. It's a natural kind of way that our minds get conditioned to learning- lets say your math timestables for eg. -by repeating and repeating we don't just say them but a certain image is repeated in our minds that helps form the memory.
Similar to this, I was trying to give the idea of repeating a image whilst doing jap of shabad or gurus word.
What is the jyot saroop?
Well, the gurbani gives us wisdom and direction that changes us to become a Jyot saaroop– a light that is an image of GOD.-when we get merged into and within the gurbani.- Our perception changes and our self-concepts change.

With the jyot saroop part,- firstly going back to gurbani. Now, Gyani ji mentioned a week or two ago in some other post something similar to 'gurbani tells us to become gurbani'- these may not be the exact words, correct me, but I really liked this term and it did give a deep emotional meaning. Saying this, all of gurbani actually affects us all in some emotional way-usually more uplifting and calming. The jyot saroop is a term i've come across occasionally and in all honesty, I translated and gave the explanation in my own words bearing in mind that -by listening and vibrating the gurbani within us we become a certain part of it in a way but with emotion attached- the closest term that came to mind was the jyot saroop (light image of God), but this is NOT seeing god, but a sort of vision from conscious with regards to our state vibrating the shabad attained via gurbani. (not sure if i've described it too well here, either)
I hope it seems a little clearer, this was a difficult issue to simplify and put into words. I normally try and explain by simplifying as much as possible so that a person new to this would hopefully understand what we are talking about.
It's just that I find that when I used to read some random posts on spn before I joined, many would be so deep in explanation that I would be lost from a few lines from the beginning, because I didn't understand exactly what they were discussing. So I try too hard sometimes not to do this, but it somehow ends up even more misleading or confusing.
Anyway, I hope i'm a little clearer with my above explanations. To mislead is the last thing I want to do

Waheguru
Lucky Singh

Ambarsaria · Mar 30, 2012

Luckysingh ji thanks for your response. Just one comment,

Luckysingh said:
What is the jyot saroop?
Well, the gurbani gives us wisdom and direction that changes us to become a Jyot saaroop– a light that is an image of GOD.-when we get merged into and within the gurbani.- Our perception changes and our self-concepts change.

With the jyot saroop part,- firstly going back to gurbani. Now, Gyani ji mentioned a week or two ago in some other post something similar to 'gurbani tells us to become gurbani'- these may not be the exact words, correct me, but I really liked this term and it did give a deep emotional meaning. Saying this, all of gurbani actually affects us all in some emotional way-usually more uplifting and calming. The jyot saroop is a term i've come across occasionally and in all honesty, I translated and gave the explanation in my own words bearing in mind that -by listening and vibrating the gurbani within us we become a certain part of it in a way but with emotion attached- the closest term that came to mind was the jyot saroop (light image of God), but this is NOT seeing god, but a sort of vision from conscious with regards to our state vibrating the shabad attained via gurbani. (not sure if i've described it too well here, either)
I hope it seems a little clearer, this was a difficult issue to simplify and put into words. I normally try and explain by simplifying as much as possible so that a person new to this would hopefully understand what we are talking about.
It's just that I find that when I used to read some random posts on spn before I joined, many would be so deep in explanation that I would be lost from a few lines from the beginning, because I didn't understand exactly what they were discussing. So I try too hard sometimes not to do this, but it somehow ends up even more misleading or confusing.
Anyway, I hope i'm a little clearer with my above explanations. To mislead is the last thing I want to do

Waheguru
Lucky Singh

Let us focus on the following and see where it leads us,

'gurbani tells us to become gurbani'-

There is nothing wrong with the above. It is a wonderful and powerful statement that summarizes so well.

As we all know, there is a saying that "devil is in the detail". In this case, if gurbani = Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in total, there are absolutely no issues. However, if we now translate that, if one repeats one word, two words, a line or a hymn that they have become Gurbani as per the above, then there are major issues.

In logic of many doing Simran, this concept is what drives their simran from what I have observed and seen. Basically simran to mean that repeatedly one word, one line and one hymn is all that one needs to live and understand Gurbani. I believe, no one has proven and shown that to be the intent of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and our Guru jis. As Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is a living guide and not just mental candy. It (simran) does have limited application, as in the word "Abhiyaas" or to mean practice your mind. This is to get used to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji or become in the habit of understanding. It is not an end to itself by repetition of one, two or few words.

Sat Sri Akal.

Naam Abhiyaas

Taranjeet singh

singh is king

Luckysingh

Ambarsaria

ੴ / Ik▫oaŉkār

Luckysingh

Ambarsaria

ੴ / Ik▫oaŉkār

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