harsharan000

Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606)
 
 
Guru Arjan was born in Goindwal, a small town in Amritsar district, on April 15, 1563.
He was the youngest son of Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani.
As a child, one day he found his way to the bed of Guru Amar Das who was then resting.
His mother ran to fetch the child before he could disturb the Guru. 
But he had already awakened the Guru, who revealed, "Let him come to me; 'yeh mera dohita bani ka bohita howega'- this grandson of mine shall be a ship to take mankind across the ocean of the world."
Guru Arjan was married to Ganga, daughter of Krishen Chand, a resident of Meo village near Phillor in Jullundhur district.
The marriage took place in 1589 when he was about 26 years old.
Guru Ram Das began excavation of two tanks named Santokhsar and Amritsar and started the foundation of the city of Ramdaspur.
After his father, Guru Arjan applied himself to the task of completing the tanks and extending the city.
It was his practice to go every day and superintend the work.
 
 

ANHAD/ANHAT BANI or SHABD :
 
A sound that is unending and knows no limits.
Also it could be described as an Audible life current originating from the Divine Will, endlessly carrying on the work of creating and sustaining the universe; interchangeably used with Anhat meaning 'Unstruck', as it it automatic and not instrumental.
It also means,  sound not produced by physical concussion; the mystic melody or music believed to be heard by the Yogis (persons of high spiritual attainment) in a state of ecstasy or super conciousness, as also those who engage themselves in Nam Bhakti.
In Gurbani it is used as a symbolical expression for experience of higher truths, or inner music which gives a feeling of divine bliss.
This is due primarily to Nam Simran (meditation) blessed by the grace of the Guru.
Guru Nanak says. "By following the steps or the Guru, practising His way of life, the flow of soundless music is felt within". (Adi Granth, ang. 922).
*Reference _ Encyclopedia of Sikh religion and culture , R.C .Dogra  and Dr G S M   1995
SSA
 

1) If Guru Jee  gave me darshan, I would hug Him so tight, that I will make Him enter my heart, and never ever let Him go. 😇😇😇 .
     DARSHAN DEKH JEEVA GUR TERA POORAN KARAM HOVAY PRABH MERA.
2) If He gave me "darshan", that would mean, He is revealing Himself to me by His grace and by His own will.
    Otherwise, it would not be called darshan, for that would be called "seeing".
    Thus there is definetely quite a big difference in seeing and being blessed with darshan.
 
    SSA
 

Yes that is the corresponding  to the shabad of Second Patshahee.
 
And going with something related to it, feel like sharing the following points:
The thing is we are so much attached to the body and its organs, that we think when we shall leave from here, we shall somehow be there within with a similar body and its features, if not the same, in terms of color, size and gender.
Maybe that is true to an extent when we  are still in the lower spiritual realms, but as we proceed higher and higher beyond the creation of Brahm, then even the astral and causal bodies are left far behind, then only the pure soul free from any bonds soars high and high towards Sach Khand.
Have we ever thought, if Akal Purukh is a immense, infinite, subtle  non physical entity, and which is all powerful (samrath) though without any arms and hands,  omnipresent (sarvavyapak) without any body nor legs to move,  omniscient (Guru), without any head or brains and yet He has made out of nothing, wonderful creations upon creations. 
He sees everything from micocospic to macrocosmic sizes, forms, colors, etc,  yet without any eyes, He listens to our prayers and pledges, yet withou ears...
If all that is possible with Him, and that is what our state going to be, why so much hatred, ahankar, agaynta, just because of color, caste, creed, due to the perishable body?
What for?
When nothing of that will go with us, neither will count THERE.
Then, why so much discrimination? 
The path of Gurmat, is solely for the spiritual developement and uplift of the non physical entity called soul or jeev atma, that is it. This too, with non physical tools, such as love, devotion, morality, purity, faith, kirpa, Gurparsad ......
So, why limit ourselves and kill or cut each others throats, just for the blind word of religion ?
As per Gurbani, the only true religion, is His jaap, for its is this very practice only, which will make possible our union with Him, that too, to ultimately merge, thus burn away any petty notion of our individual identities.
All souls, are  rays with same light and warmth, which have emerged from Him, the One Origin of all and everything.
It is the each and every single ray(soul), which has to merge in their Origin/Sun, same in nature, not the bodies.
There in Sach Khand, only ONE Waheguru exists. He is like the huge Ocean, in which every river which flows into it, becomes the Ocean. Thus the river loses its limited and petty identity, in order to gain something, such as to become something Whole.
There is no such variety of people of any past, even all Bhagat Jan, Gurmukhs, Guru Sahiban who blessed us with their presence, after going from here, reached and became one with Waheguru  in Sach Khand. 
If anybody thinks , that when reaching there, I will  see so and so entities, then sorry  to say, we have not understood spirituallity nor Gurmat, in spite of being so much clear our beloved Guru Sahiban throughout the Bani.
SSA.

This thread is 5 years old. Posts can be as long as you want as long the content is good. 
RE fits, shaking, squirming, rolling around while doing simran. This is caused by negative energy/karam/presences being pushed away by Gurbani. Once they're gone the experience develops into anand.
The Gurus and Bhramgianis probably never went through this process because it is caused by the presence of negative energy or bad karma which is something a Pavitar Pursh would not have in the first place.
 

It's been a month now, and I'd like to share some things I noticed because of the advice of the sangat in the hopes that it may help someone who felt like I did at the time of writing the original post
Simran is being aware of waheguru ji that they are here right now and staying in this awareness of truly feeling their presence and remembering their qualities is to do their simran. Through doing the effort of jap, awareness of waheguru ji arises and you begin to feel waheguru ji is here right now. 
 
Or what also works is reading,doing vichar,listening and Singing waheguru ji's praises/qualities.It starts to bring some papi filled guy like me who's totally forgetten waheguru ji into their rememberance and the mind becomes aware of waheguru ji. Listening to the praises of Waheguru while feeling their presence, how could it be that by consciously remembering their praises/qualities that love for waheguru ji won't arise. Remembering Waheguru ji's praises are so great that it will melt this stone heart and love will begin to seap through.Actually the reason it's so hard to feel this love is because there's so much poison within from the sins committed that the mind totally forgets waheguru ji. Without any awareness of waheguru ji's presence how can one expect to feel love. How can you love something you can't even remember. Well, the first step is to begin to remember, through jap and singing praises. Slowly and steadily, singing their praises with their grace, love will sprout and will burn away the weight of many sins from the mind, making it more pure, making it easier to find this love and easier to connect to waheguru ji. In Bani, it is emphasized so much to sing the gun of vaheguru ji and gurbani itself is full of praises of waheguru ji and is the praise of waheguru ji aswell. Every name used for waheguru ji is their quality/praise it's amazing.How do you even begin to remember the infinite one with infinite qualities and infinite praises,the one without any form and yet infinite forms? It's through their praise/gun. There is no beginning or end to their qualities and to their praise but I never understood most of the meanings of these qualities  and virtues in gurbani until I started reading english translations alongside bani. Even if I did,the feeling of presence that waheguru ji is infront me and everywhere wouldnt be there. 
I noticed a huge difference especially with Jaap sahib, it is so amazing when you take some time to understand and do vichar of the meaning and it becomes simran. For so long,I'd be just reading nitnem banis without much understanding. Now, I sometimes I feel lightweight when reading bani/gurmantar jap in this way. I also feel something down near the center my chest, like something is going up and down.Any idea of what this might be,should I try doing anything with it or just leave it be and observe next time?Listening to ragis who do kirtan with love like bhai harjinder singh srinagar wale,bhai lakhwinder singh etc helps so much and I notice these things happen more when listening to kirtan and doing vichar of the shabad together.  I also don't feel miserable and frustrated like how I used to feel near the time of writing this post.  Things are better since then thanks to the grace of the sangat.I honestly would've never discovered any of this in the past month without the guidance from sangat here. I am so grateful for this virtual sangat.

Certain people need to stop f**king about and ruining this important thread with outbursts. 

You meant naam tera kesro lei chhitkaare... 
But u didn't add that pankti. Only sandalwood tilak.. 
If I may ask you your avastha as I am enchanted by your gyaan' would you mind sharing @harsharan000

How do you make Kesar Tilak?
Though there are several ways to make kesar tilak according to mankind,  but there is also another way according to the most wise,  only  if we follow Gurmat.
For as Guru Jee clearly tells us in the Bani : 
ਨਾਮੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਅੰਭੁਲਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਤੇਰੋ ਚੰਦਨੋ ਘਸਿ ਜਪੇ ਨਾਮੁ ਲੇ ਤੁਝਹਿ ਕਉ ਚਾਰੇ ॥੧॥
Naam Thaeraa Anbhulaa Naam Thaero Chandhano Ghas Japae Naam Lae Thujhehi Ko Chaarae ||1||
नामु तेरा अ्मभुला नामु तेरो चंदनो घसि जपे नामु ले तुझहि कउ चारे ॥१॥
Your Name is the water, and Your Name is the sandalwood. The chanting of Your Name is the grinding of the sandalwood. I take it and offer all this to You
 
So sangat jee, His Nam Simran, is not only the kesar tilak to be offered and applied on Him, but it is something much more than  that, it is an absolute image of the highest love and devotion, which one can offer to the most beloved:  Waheguru Akal Purukh.
As simple as that.
 
SSA.
 

Veer ji our purtan itihasic granths such as Suraj Parkash, Guru Nanak Parkash, Panth Parkash etc have all the saakhis which can be used to fight these Anti Sikh converting groups. 
 
Also we need a good English speaker with knowledge of Gurbani and Itihas saakhis to tackle these issues.

You have very well said above:  "avar kaaj tere kine na kaam" Japping naam is utmost and only important thing to do... 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I do not think it is that much difficult to say what I am trying to convey from the verses of Gurbani above, moreover I have highlighted in yellow some key points.
Why does it seem you that you are discouraging anyone, when that is not the case even ?  I have not directly nor indirectly mentioned nor reffered anything of your post.
It is very much correct on your side when you ask them to shunn off smartness and perform their devotion with love than numbers....  so nothing wrong in it.
Though Gurparsad may have a quite a deep meaning which we may not be aware of it in its true measure, but for the meanwhile, the Gurparsad could very well  be the following verse, when Guru Jee tells us :  JAP mun SATNAM  sadah SATNAM.
So here we can see that Guru Jee is definitely and precisely telling us what to do the jaap of, as per His kirpa showered on us, and that is the jaap of SATNAM.
People are free to do what they think fit, nobody can force anything on anybody, neither it should be attempted.
But yes, that much can be done, every time anybody says or writes which is not as per Gurbani, it should be humbly contrasted with the supreme Truth of Guru Jee as in the very Gurbani, the source of unpolluted and highest Truth without any foolish human manipulation/twisted misnterpretation.
Because then they are following manmat, not Gurmat.
But then too, nothing is in our hands, because  Guru Jee says, to whomsoever He wants to bring back to Himself, He engages them into Nam bhakti/kamaee, to go within themselves and find Him there, no other short cut, nor other way.  For, if He is ONE, the way to Him has to be one, and that one way leading us to Him, is the one of Nam, for as the Bani says: Nanak Nam jahaaz hae, jinee chareeya se utareeya paar.
To cross the mahabhavsagar and reach Him, we have to board on the ONE vessel of NAM.  
Each and every soul/jeevatma has originated from Nam, thus Nam bhakti is the path as per Gurbani, to reach Him alone. 
SSA.

I am sorry guys but this all is too funny.. 
I would say you need to grow up. It's good that you are communicating with your father and even better that your mind wants to increase its food by Increasing your Nitnem but
one you made a silly Comitment of increasing one path a day and now when you see it as a not possible task for yourself you are finding ways around? Whom are you trying to fool man? Your own self of course! cos it of course doesn't matter to Baba ji. 
Brother he only sees your bhavna. ( remember Gobind bhaav bhagat ka bhooka. Jin Prem kiyo tin hi Prabh paayo) so it's love that matters. 
Syaanpa - chaturaiya that you are doing with your mind are NOT parwaan in Sikhi and you should of course know that as you recite Japji sahib so much. It's not the game of numbers, it's Not materiaistic, it's all about ❤love. 
Ek chhin vi parwaan hai if it is whole hearted ( ek pal ek chhin jin dhiyaayo kaal phaas k beech na aayo) 
Read the sakhi of Bhai Gopala-one Japji sahib paath with all your concentration and he was about to get the Gur Gaddi- imagine the power of this bani. 
Do as much u can with utmost Love! And that's parwaan. 
@ lavi -please understand that we don't do paath to make Guru sahib hear it, he would of course understand all the jumblings and mumbling of his kids, but we do paath, simran for our inner cleansing ( bhariye mat papa k sang oh dhope naave k rang) and again it's the love that matters be them mumblings, barking or gargles
 
 

As per the title of this thread which is about Satsangat, it could be well said, as we all know, Sat means Truth, and sangat means associtaion.
So what truth is being reffered here?
The Truth reffered here, is which we all know: Aad Sach, Jugad Sach, hae bhee Sach, nanak hosee bhee Sach.
Means, that Truth which is eternal that Truth which is changeless,  that Truth which is formless, beyond the parameters of time and space.
And so which is that Truth, that Truth is Satnam, which Sree guru Nanak Dev Maharaj mentions right from the begining of the Bani. This truth is also known as Waheguru, Amrit Bani, Anhad Bani, Shabad or Nam.
Then, who does the sangat with that truth or Sach?
Is it he body? 
No for the body is perishable, is limited, thus can not see nor perceive that subtle Truth, at most it can only repeat or sing His praises.
Then, is it the mind? 
No, for the mind is also perishable, and is the cause of our imprisonment in the Triloki mayavee creation of braham.
But yes, that much can be said, if initially we repeat His Name  with the mind, such is the power of Nam, that the mind gets subdued and defeated,  it looses the grip upon the soul, thus the soul, the jeev atma, is cleansed from all the karmas, and is freed forever from the cycle of births and deaths, only then, can the soul with the aid of shabad Guru, move ahead towards its Nijh Ghar of Sach Khand, and merge in Waheguru Akal Purukh.
This constant struggle and efforts of the soul to remain at all times in the devotion of Waheguru Akal Purukh through His chintan, His jaap, can be accounted as Satsangat, for that time being, we are away from the creation, and have Him, as Truth/Sach  as our anchor or support only.
So ultimately, it is our own true self as soul, which does the sangat of Waheguru, the supreme Truth,  through His Bhakti.
 
Sat Sree Akal.

The best way to get rid of blind faith and  doubts , is by own personal experience.
And sikhee provides all the tools to do so.
No doubt sikhee is all about establishing a bond, a relationship of total love with the highest level of consciousness, the ultimate everlasting  and changeless Truth, to which First Patshahee right in the very beginning of the Bani calls it Sat Nam.
Jug Chaarae Naam Outham Sabadh Beechaar
Throughout the four ages, the Naam is the ultimate/Highest; reflect upon the Word of the Shabad
Raag Gauri Guaarayree
Sree Guru Amar Das Maharaj.
In the above verse, Guru Jee is telling us, that throughout the 4 yugas upon yugas, countless incarnations of trinties, gods, devtays, prophets may come and go, but, it is Nam alone, which is constant and changeless  throughout all the 4 yugas, thus beyond the parameters of time and space.  
The duty of the countless trinties is only to keep going on the nashvant creations, worlds, spheres. They come only to establish righteoousness when the weight of sins becomes too heavy, in our case, of Mother Earth.
That´s it.
The abode of the central deity of the trinities is Baikunth, very much under the realms of Maya, thus perishable in Parlay or Mahaparlay. Meanwhile, the abode of the ultimate Parbrahm Truth is  Sach Khand, which is far beyond the cycles of creations and dissolutions, thus eternal and changeless. It is Satnam what we have to look for alone, in order to escape from the clutches of maya and death, and become immortal, means we are not anymore subject to births and deaths.
And to this Truth of Satnam/Nam/Shabad/Amrit Bani/Sachee Bani/Dhur kee Bani...etc ... is the only reality to which we have to devote ourselves, for it is this very Power which will ferry us from the false and perishable creations/realms, to the eternal and changeless abode of that ultimate Truth, namely Sach Khand
This ultimate Truth as per Bani can be realized within the living temple of our human body, known also as Har mandir.
Now the thing is, that to realize Him within us is totally true, but at the same time it can never be done all by ourselves.
Nobody can ever succeed in doing so, unless He showers His kirpa on that particular jeev atma.
In that respect, almost all of us may have heard and read in Asa Ki War, the following verses:
Bin Satgur kinnay na paayo
Bis Satgur kinnay na paaya.
 
Moreover,  let us see what Sree Guru Ram Das is telling us in the following verse below:
ਜਨ ਊਪਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਧਾਰੀ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪਾਰਿ ਪਰਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Jan Oopar Kirapaa Prabh Dhhaaree Mil Sathigur Paar Paraa ||1|| Rehaao ||
God has showered His Mercy upon His humble servant; meeting with the True Guru, he is carried across.
 
Mukat, bhugat, jugat tayree sayvaa, jis toon  aap karaa-ihi.
Liberation, comfort and proper lifestyle comes from devoting You; 
and that also, to whom you make him do it
Naanak ka-o parabh bha-ay kirpaalaa, Satgur pooraa paa-i-aa. 
God has become compassionate to Nanak; I have found the Perfect True Guru
Raag Soohee, Sree Guru Arjun Dev
 
 
ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਹਰਿ ਮੇਲਹੁ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਤੇ ਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਏ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਗੁਰ ਸਰਾ ॥
Jin Ko Thumh Har Maelahu Suaamee Thae Nhaaeae Santhokh Gur Saraa ||
Those whom You unite with Yourself, O Lord and Master, bathe in the Guru's cleansing pool of contentment.
 
Now, the question arises how does Guru Jee ferry us across? 
Well, He says, you are too heavy with countless sins, I will surely make you cross to Sach Khand, but for that you have to get cleansed thoroughly from all your dirt accumulated upon your soul since you left Sach Khand eons ago.
For that purpose  Guru Jee gives us the soap of Nam, and the water of His grace, to wash away  all our impurities. 
Our daily devotion to Nam, which is constantly repeated again and again throughout the Bani, is that our cleansing thoroughly;  slowly, but for sure progressive, depending on how sincere we are in this our offering our love and devotion at His Lotus Feet, through Nam bhakti.
Prabh Ka Simran, manh kee mael jaaey, Prabh ka Simran garb na baseh.
Once we are cleansed from all our impurities and become spotless, and become fit to merge in Him,  Guru Jee extends His powerful arm to pull us and we board  the vessel of Nam, which carries us directly to Sach Khand, the True home of our True Father, Satnam.
Such is beauty and reality of the teachings of Guru Jee,namely Sikhee.
Stay blessed.
SSA.

how do you get rid of doubts?

"Vent your questions and doubts and dispel them with the light of vichaar. Do not let 'faith' create a wall between you and Guru Ji"

Thanks for this - it is of paramount importance to us all and well very put by you in your post.

Best regards,

Niranjana.

SOME VERSES ON THE  BEANT WADEEAYEE OF  SATGURU JEE 
AND THE SECRETS OF TRUE SPIRITUALITY
 
 
ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰਹਿ ਜੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਤਾ ਨਦਰੀ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥
Nadhar Karehi Jae Aapanee Thaa Nadharee Sathigur Paaeiaa ||
Only when the Merciful Lord shows His Mercy, then the True Guru is found.
ਏਹੁ ਜੀਉ ਬਹੁਤੇ ਜਨਮ ਭਰੰਮਿਆ ਤਾ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਸੁਣਾਇਆ ॥
Eaehu Jeeo Bahuthae Janam Bharanmiaa Thaa Sathigur Sabadh Sunaaeiaa ||
This soul wandered through countless incarnations, until the True Guru instructed it in the Word of the Shabad.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਜੇਵਡੁ ਦਾਤਾ ਕੋ ਨਹੀ ਸਭਿ ਸੁਣਿਅਹੁ ਲੋਕ ਸਬਾਇਆ ॥
Sathigur Jaevadd Dhaathaa Ko Nehee Sabh Suniahu Lok Sabaaeiaa ||
There is no giver as great as the True Guru; hear this, all you people.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਮਿਲਿਐ ਸਚੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੀ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਆਪੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Sathigur Miliai Sach Paaeiaa Jinhee Vichahu Aap Gavaaeiaa ||
Meeting the True Guru, the True Lord is found; He removes self-conceit from within,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਚੋ ਸਚੁ ਬੁਝਾਇਆ ॥੪॥
Jin Sacho Sach Bujhaaeiaa ||4||
And instructs us in the Truth of Truths.
 
 
*Note: whatsoever praises we may sing of Guru Jee day after day, will always fall short to describe His immensity.

We have all heard, God is Love and Love is God.
It is by the link of Love, by which we attach ourselves with Him, and finally merge in Him.
Dasvee Patshahee says :  Saach keho suun laeho sabhay, jin praem keeo tin hee prabh paaeyo.
I speak the truth, listen everyone: Only the one who is lovingly absorbed in True Love shall attain the Lord.
Now, the question is how to Love Waheguru.
Do we need to say or repeat Him constantly : Waheguru I love You, I love You ..... ?
That is not the right attitude.
Even at our worldly level, when we love someone, we try not to do anything which may  cause hurt or displease our beloved ones, and also the main thing is to spend as much time as possible in the company of the Beloved.
So then, how can we express our love to our Beloved Waheguru Akal Purukh?
And as we saw above,  Tenth Patshahee says, whosoever loveth Him, shall merge in Him.
Here, He is revealing us the secret of spirituality, that merging in Him, is only possible by loving Him.
And we all know, that only by His Simran, His Dhyan, can we realize Him and merge in Him.
It has to be so, as we do His  simran, we spend  a part of our time in His presence , this is in reality singing His praises, and telling Him in His own langauge, the language of love, Waheguru Sachay Patshah, I love You alone.
Waheguru does not want any words from us, He wants our intentions to be expressed through action, and these can can only be possible through the channel of bhakti of His Nam Simran.
Gurmukhs, Sant Janas, come for the only purpose of making us aware of our spiritual nature, and at the same time infuse a bit of His love in us, by singing His infinite glory, then they plead us, to make grow that love in us for Him through His Simran, till the day comes, when we find ourselves totally filled with His Divine Love in all our being, then only, our tiny self of Love(soul/jeeva) can merge in that Satnam Samundar of Love.
Thus, the beautiful words of Dasam Pitah, become true in terms of realization for us: Jin prem kiyo, tinhee Prabh paayo.
Sat Sree Akal.

A TRIBUTE TO MOTHER´S LOVE
 
 
One day Thomas Edison came home and gave a paper to his mother.
He told her, “My teacher gave this paper to me and told me to only give it to my mother.”
His mother’s eyes were tearful as she read the letter out loud to her child, “Your son is a genius.
This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him.
Please teach him yourself.”
Many years after Edison’s mother had died, Edison had become one of the greatest inventors of the century.
One day he was going through the old closet and he found a folded letter which was given to him by his teacher for his mother.
He opened it.
The message written on the letter was, “Your son is mentally ill.
We can not let him attend our school anymore. He is expelled.”
Edison became emotional reading it and then he wrote in his diary, “Thomas Alva Edison was a mentally ill child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.”
Moral: A Mother’s love and upbringing can help change the destiny of a child.

For those who ask what time is the best time to devote ourselves to Him, Guru Jee  clears our doubts in the following verse:
 
ਬੋਲਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਸਫਲ ਸਾ ਘਰੀ ॥
Bol Har Naam Safal Saa Gharee ||
Fruitful is that moment when the Lord's Name is chanted.
 
He says that, any moment, any second,  you devote  in chanting  His Name, that time is a blessed moment, for one never knows if afterwards one is alive or not.
So, whenever one can chant His name apart from our regular devotional practices, one should not think if the time is auspicious or not,  we should do it, for any time we chant His Name, automatically it becomes most auspicious and blessed.
SSA

It is not only ok, but desirable and recommended also, for to progress further, one has to become unaware of the body and surroundings.
It is our mind fully which ultimately has to do the jaap in order to enter the subtler realms.
So don't worry, you are on the right tracks.
Stay blessed.
SSA.

It is not only ok, but desirable and recommended also, for to progress further, one has to become unaware of the body and surroundings.
It is our mind fully which ultimately has to do the jaap in order to enter the subtler realms.
So don't worry, you are on the right tracks.
Stay blessed.
SSA.

Social distancing and looking forward.mp4

Dr Santosh Kadam shares some  tips for improving our immunity on his FB page:
1)Our digestive system plays a primary role in preservation of immunity. 
a) Easy digestible food is the key. Dal-Rice with non spicy vegetable OR Moong Dal Khichadi are the best examples.
Freshly ground spices like Cumin, Black-pepper, Coriander Seeds, Cinnamon, Ginger, Garlic, Cardamom etc. can be used to keep digestive fire at optimum level. Strictly avoid heavy to digest food even if it’s made at home. No binging. All packaged and outside foods are high risk.
b)Soups are the best foods to improve digestive fire and bring a  bit of sweating in the body which is supposed to be good to combat any type of infection.
Make sure of not using tomatoes and chillies in the soup. Instead of that, water from boiled Dal as the Base, which is high in protein still light on stomach, and some vegetables with spices like pepper, etc. should be the best option.
c)Herbal Tea with Lemon Grass, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Tulsi, Mint and few Green tea leaves is a great immuno-boosting drink. Lemon can be squeezed on the top optionally. We can make this at once in enough quantity and can be reheated and served 3-4 times a day.
So please take care of your digestive fire as a priority in order to preserve immunity.
2)Maintain Disposition of Mind.
Mind has an immediate impact on immunity. It can shrink our immune system within seconds, mainly by four types of emotions.
चिंता, क्रोध, भय, शोक.
Make sure that you don’t land up in these four emotions. Excessive Worrying, Anger, Fear and Grief.
Try to keep them away by your own ways. I recommend Meditation and Reading of spiritual philosophy.
3)Avoid aggressive and tiring exercises. Light body movements will help you nurture immunity. Thus Yogasanas are best and must.
4)The respiratory system is the site where COVID-19 lodges. Regular clearing up of Lungs by different breathing techniques acts as the best armour! Pranayama ( Kapaal Bhaati, Bhastrika, etc.) and Sudershan Kriya are essential. Clear up lungs daily the way you brush your teeth. Remove microscopic organisms and rejuvenate your lungs.
Social Distancing and maintaining hygiene are needed without saying. They are needed to break the chain of contact with the viruses. 
Maintenance and elevation of our immune system is the secret of safety.
{ Imp tip. Don’t forget to chew 2 pods cardamom and cloves, immediately after lunch and dinner to strengthen respiratory tract. Strictly avoid post meal sweets or desserts}

Bhen ji,
There are definitely quotes in gurbani that state one should do simran whilst performing your daily work. It is perfect way of keeping the mind focused and not wondering on useless thoughts.
However to reap the full effects of naam simran, one should spend some time in focused dhyan with eyes closed. Only then will the mind go inwards and the journey truly begin.
As for bypassing Verbal japa and going straight to saas saas and mental simran, it really depends on your avasta. Are you able to listen and focus on the dhun of the gurmantar be said in the mind or does your mind wonder? The key point it where is your dhyan when doin simran, has it escaped through the eyes and focused on external objects or it inside the body listening to the Dhuni of the gurmantar.
Hope that answers some of your questions.
God bless