So Purkh - Is This A Particularly Special Shabad?

[Ishna]

Howdy

I've been hearing from a number of sources that the So Purkh shabad by Guru Ram Das ji (found in the evening prayer Rehiras, page 10 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji: http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&g=1&h=1&r=1&t=1&p=0&k=0&Param=10 7th line up from the bottom ) is particularly special or powerful.

I've heard firstly that it can be 'used' as an SOS prayer, one to contemplate when you're really down or in a tough situation and it will bring you peace and calm and help. I heard this from a presenter at Sikh camp.

More recently I've come across references to it being "chanted by women 11 times a day for 40 days" primarily to affect the men in their lives. Here's an example: http://sopurkh.org/ I've only heard about this online and seems always connected to Kundalini sites.

What are members thoughts about the "power" of particular shabads?

Would you call So Purkh a "helping hand in a time of need" shabad?

Do you consider it ethical to "use" a shabad with the intent on influencing someone else's life (for example only: to make my husband more affectionate towards me)? Is this like "magic"?

Am I missing the crux, that it is all about changing your own personal perspective through concentration on a particular shabad and not actually manipulating the outside world?

Thank you for your time
Ishna

 

[spnadmin]

ishhna ji

This prayer is a special favorite of members of some Sikh sects, and in particular of Yogi Bhajan, founder of 3HO. Indeed the web site starts with a quote "There is nothing in the world more powerfule than the prayer of a noble woman" Yogi Bhajan. Yogi Bhajan had a special devotion to Guru Ram Das and encouraged his followers to recite this prayer for prosperity.

Within Sikhi as I understand there is no shabad that is more powerful than any other shabad, with all shabads leading in the same direction. (added/ there is no high and there is no low in Sikhi) The prayer of a woman is no more powerful than the prayer of a man. Nor is the prayer of a "noble" woman more powerful than the prayer of "rank sinner".

Prayer does not have to be a shabad to be powerful. The only thing that is powerful is Gur Prasaad.

 

[Ishna]

spnadmin ji, thanks for your final comment that the only thing that is powerful is Gur Parsaad.

As much as what I've learned so far indicates against practices like reciting certain prayers a certain number of times per day (as in ritual), it seems to be something that a lot of Westerners (oh, like me!) really like.

Ishna

 

[spnadmin]

As much as what I've learned so far indicates against practices like reciting certain prayers a certain number of times per day (as in ritual), it seems to be something that a lot of Westerners (oh, like me!) really like.

Ishna

Prayer as ritual, ishna ji, would be mindless recitation. Yet there is also Nit Nem. We say 3 to 5 prayers, depending on personal persuasion or whether we are baptized Sikhs, each day roughly at the same times. These prayers of Nit Nem can be uplifting for us, or rituals. Individuals may take the Sikh Rehat Maryada seriously or not. The Sikh Rehat Maryada does however lay out what our daily prayers are. That is not the same thing however as praying for X Y or Z, or feeling better about ourselves for having continue a ritual, but a matter of taking time to get re-aligned with the grace of God.