harsharan000

Brother Sardar Jee, prayer in essence is just enabling conversation with our heavenly beloved Father Waheguru Akal Purukh. And the real prayer accodrding to Gurmat, is His simran. Just as a child calls his father, then the father comes running to the child, in a similar way, with our Simran, we are expressing our love, our devotion, and our dirty mind at His Lotus feet, in essence, we become mindless, and just as a lover forgets its identity in the presence of the beloved, so does the soul/surtee, with His simran, becomes mindless as said above, becomes pure, paviter, and ulimately merges in Him. Now, if instead of loving Him through the prem bhakti of His simran, we ask any other thing than Him from Him; for sure He will give it to us, but in it lies our failure, for we will endlessly keep running into the wheel of 84, in order to get our desires satisfied, this means more desires, and in consequence, strongly remain in the endless cycle of births and deaths. So brother, it is we who need to love Him through our prayer/simran, in order to please Him, and get the blessings of His apaar kirpa, to get ferried across this horrible mahabhavsagar of pain and agyanta. A baby without its mother even for a few seconds, starts crying because of misssing her from his/her sight. And so what about us? Have we ever cried for being away from Him since so long? Have we ever expressed our pain and agony of being away from Him? Most of the answers will be no for sure, because we are so much engrossed in the marketplace of maya, that we hardly have any time for Him. Yet, He never ever loses hope for us, for He wants us to recover our sight through practice of the teachings of Gurbani, which is nothing than: Ikoankar Satnam Satgur parsad Jap. Which means, there is only One creator Lord, who is found by the jap of the parsad Guru Sahiban gave us, and which is His Nao. So, the real prayer is the Simran of His holy Name. For in it, we call upon Him lovingly, and that is what pleases Him the most. SSA.

THE STORY OF THE SOUL One day the Lord asked to see his favourite child. He told him that the time had come for the child to witness the world below in its fullness, and to experience the power of Supreme Grace. The child was curious for he had known nothing besides the light and love that filled his Father's home. As he imagined travelling the journey with his Father, the child became excited. Filled with anticipation, he asked, "When do we leave?" The Father smiled, "My child, you will need to make this journey without me; only then you will understand the Truth. Everything changed that instant for the child. What if he gets lost? When will he return? Who will look after him? With tears, he begged the Father not to send him away for he could not imagine a world without Him. The Father took him in his arms and lovingly explained, "Fear not. Nothing can ever separate us. Even if you forget me, I will not forget you. This journey is for your own spiritual progress and will be filled with many valuable lessons. I promise that my guiding hand will always be upon you throughout the journey. And when the time is right, I will send you a guide who will lead you back home to me; then, your happiness will have no bounds. The Ultimate Gift will be awaiting you." The obedient child looked into his Father's eyes and promised, "I will remember you with every step," And with those words, the child was born into the world. This may be just one of many imaginary stories illustrating our descent into this creation. It reflects the underlying message of all the saints that we were once residents of the Eternal Home in Sat Purush, and were sent down into this creation countless lifetimes ago. It serves to remind us of our relationship with the Lord and our separation from Him. But the true story of our soul is much more complex. Being born in this creation, rather than using the mind as an instrument of cognition, we became a slave of the mind and senses. Instead of learning the Truth (SATNAM) - our life's purpose - we became absorbed in the world, imprisoned by our desires and attachments. Life after life, with every action we accumulate a heavy load of karmas that bound us to this material world. Without doubt, the most regrettable and tragic part of our journey in this creation was forgetting the Eternal Promise to our Father : That we would remember Him at every stage of our journey. The Lord has fulfilled his promise. It is out of the Lord's boundless love for us that He puts us in touch with highly pure beings, like Guru Sahiban, Gurmukhs, Bhagat Jan, Mahaprukhs, Brahmgyani, Sant Jan, to take us back to our true home . And so the story of our soul continues. ...... If we listen to their words with attention, and earnestly put into practice the Nam bhakti as per the teachings troughout the Bani, not only will the journey be shorter, but we will be safe and secure in this turbulent ocean of existence. Our duty is to go forward unwaveringly and untiringly, so that we can invoke the Gift of Grace from the One who calls us unceasingly to return home. With practice, perseverance, faith, and above all, with Guru Jee´s loving grace, this journey, which is a blessed opportunity, will be completed one day. SSA.

In search of God In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery, there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her, this world would not and could not exist.”Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”Maybe this was one of the best explanations of the concept of GOD.

Some facts of Guru and Gobind: ਆਪੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਆਪਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਜੀਉ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਭਗਤ ਪਿਆਰੇ ॥ Aapae Sathigur Aap Sabadh Jeeo Jug Jug Bhagath Piaarae || He Himself is the True Guru, and He Himself is the Shabad; in each and every age, He loves His devotees(souls). In this verse of Sree Guru Amar Das Maharaj, He is revealing us the true nature of Waheguru/Lord or God.... He says that, that Lord is Shabad itself, as its true form. Then other thing whcih He reveals us , is that in each yuga, because of His love for His devotees(souls), He comes as Guru, to awaken them and teach them the path of Nam bhakti, in order to reunite them with Him, in His Shabad form as seen above and below: ਆਪੇ ਦਾਨਾ ਆਪੇ ਬੀਨਾ ਆਪੇ ਸੇਵ ਕਰਾਏ ॥ Aapae Dhaanaa Aapae Beenaa Aapae Saev Karaaeae || He Himself is All-knowing, and He Himself is All-seeing; He inspires us to serve Him. ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਖਰੀ ਸੁਖਾਲੀ ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਆਪਿ ਕਰਾਏ ॥ Gur Kee Saevaa Kharee Sukhaalee Jis No Aap Karaaeae || Serving the Guru brings great peace; they alone do it, whom the Lord inspires to do so. ਨਾਮੋ ਬੀਜੇ ਨਾਮੋ ਜੰਮੈ ਨਾਮੋ ਮੰਨਿ ਵਸਾਏ ॥ Naamo Beejae Naamo Janmai Naamo Mann Vasaaeae || They plant the seed of the Name, and the Name sprouts within; the Name abides within the mind. Such is the beant wadeeayee and mahima of Waheguru Akal Purukh. SSA.

Found this following gem by Sree Guru Amar Das from the Ocean of spiritual diamonds of Gurbani, and feel like sharing with the sangat here: ਗੁਰ ਆਗੈ ਕਰਉ ਬਿਨੰਤੀ ਜੇ ਗੁਰ ਭਾਵੈ ਜਿਉ ਮਿਲੈ ਤਿਵੈ ਮਿਲਾਈਐ ॥ Gur Aagai Karo Binanthee Jae Gur Bhaavai Jio Milai Thivai Milaaeeai || I offer my prayers to the Guru; if it pleases the Guru, He shall unite me with Himself. * Here in the verse above, He is telling us that, to fulfill our deisre of realizing Him, in our hands is only that much to offer Him our sincere bhakti, (nishkam bhakti), and then, if it only pleases Him, He shall reunite us with Himself. It is not a business deal, neither like receiving wages for working for so many hours or days. In His court, only true love and devotion count, not numbers... SSA.

Some say Amritvela is from 12 am to 2 am, some say from 12 am to 6 am, all opinions are respected. But the thing is, whether it is that time or any other, whenever we access there we shall always receive the same quality and quantity of Amrit within, if only we concentrate and focus with purity irrespective of the day time, for at our level we have hours and timings, and within is only His Jot/Shabad/Amrit, at all times. We should not discourage anyone, if for any reason is unable to attend those early hours. Hopefully some day, that person will make it possible to attend Bhakti in the Amritvela, as stated in posts above. SSA.

Preachers may or may not talk of the hell..... But Guru Jee for sure tells us that: ਨਾਉ ਤੇਰਾ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੁ ਹੈ ਨਾਇ ਲਇਐ ਨਰਕਿ ਨ ਜਾਈਐ ॥ Naao Thaeraa Nirankaar Hai Naae Laeiai Narak N Jaaeeai || Your Name is the Fearless Lord; chanting Your Name, one does not have to go to hell. Further on He tells us: ਜਮ ਦਰਿ ਬਧਾ ਚੋਟਾ ਖਾਏ ॥ Jam Dhar Badhhaa Chottaa Khaaeae || Bound and gagged at Death's Door, they are brutally beaten. ਬਿਨੁ ਨਾਵੈ ਕੋ ਸੰਗਿ ਨ ਸਾਥੀ ਮੁਕਤੇ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵਣਿਆ ॥੪॥ Bin Naavai Ko Sang N Saathhee Mukathae Naam Dhhiaavaniaa ||4|| Without the Name, there are no companions or friends. Liberation comes only by meditating on the Naam Moreover, again He tells us: ਜਮਕਾਲੁ ਤਿਸੁ ਨੇੜਿ ਨ ਆਵੈ ਜੋ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵਣਿਆ ॥੬॥ Jamakaal This Naerr N Aavai Jo Har Har Naam Dhhiaavaniaa ||6|| The Messenger of Death does not draw near those who meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. He clearly warns us, that only thse who meditate on His Nam, shall be saved, for even the messenger of death dare not come near them. We do not have to be very intelligent, thus to understand, that those who do not do this bhakti as seen in the verses above, shall be drowned in the terrible hell of the wheel of "chaurasee ka ckakar" where only severe pain and agongy exists. What other bigger hell can there be? Guru Sahiban do not want to frighten us with te reality of hell, but rather motivate and uplift us, with the gyan of ultimate Truth, His sachaa Nao. Life by itself is a hell, for we are already away from Him since so long, and alas, we do nothing to make the most of this golden opportunity of human birth, by running after all other external practices, except that one, of the jaap of the gurparasd of His Nam, as per throughout the Bani. Stay blessed. SSA