sikhni777

I experienced a hug from God.  I really needed a hug from the man of the house I.e. my husband to be specific.  However he had made it clear that a hug will not just be a hug..  Some more will accompany it. 
So this day,  I was in a lonely but prayerful mood. Either I miss my prayer time or I miss the hug.  I decided to forego the hug and settled down for prayer.  That night I got my hug from invisible arms which I understand were of the almighty.  I also understood that he has a spirit form. 
I woke up feeling a bit sorry for God. Then I thought he has the whole world in his hands and he can get a body anytime he wants to. So anytime I come across the pangtis which talk about Guru ji getting a hug from God, I remember that experience and how God is there to provide support to his bhagats. 
Funny enough I never paid any heed to those pangtis before.  There are a number of them actually - now when I read them.

Problem of the panth today. Dont value learning but waste money on crap instead.

As you are reading on Sri Granth, you will come across the term "SHABAD" which in the English translation is still written as "Shabad". This "SHABAD" is the same as the ancient greek "Logos",  it's also he same "Word" as per John 1.1,  it's same as the "Tao".  Referred to as "holy spirit" also.  All religions speak of this very same shabad but in varying contexts. Even the famous artists of Renaissance have depicted the same "shabad" in the messages of imagery.
At your current level of knowledge and understanding, I'd recommend that when you come across the terms "Shabad", you bear in mind the above and when you come across the term "NAAM" which is translated  as "Name" or just as "Naam",  then you apply it in the relationship as though it refers to someone who experiences "Shabad".  It's much more than that, but you have to approach gurbani in stages to get a grip of it.  You will come across different applications and contexts of these terms, and then you should just ask us. It would be too confusing if I started to describe them in one go. 
 
 

I hope we can discuss (rather than necessarily debate) in greater detail the theology of the nature of Sikh Gurus and the parallels with Baha'i Divine Manifestations. It's come up several times already in my posts.
I started to try to write an essay about the nature of Divine Messengers but it quickly became very wordy and went in circles. It's difficult to put into percise words such a profound topic.
"The Palace of the Lord God is so beautiful. Within it, there are gems, rubies, pearls and flawless diamonds. A fortress of gold surrounds this Source of Nectar. How can I climb up to the Fortress without a ladder? By meditating on the Lord, through the Guru, I am blessed and exalted. The Guru is the Ladder, the Guru is the Boat, and the Guru is the Raft to take me to the Lord's Name. The Guru is the Boat to carry me across the world-ocean; the Guru is the Sacred Shrine of Pilgrimage, the Guru is the Holy River. If it pleases Him, I bathe in the Pool of Truth, and become radiant and pure." (Guru Nanak, Sri Rag, pg. 17)
This Sikh quote seems very simmilar to Baha'i teachings.
Baha'i teachings explain that there are throughout time Divine (from God) Manifestions (of Divine Revelation) that act as perfect mirrors to the Divine Light.
On a personal level understanding that God has sent His messengers to all many people in every era thru different faiths was a key that unlocked the essential truth of the diverse faiths. I find that the numerous scripturers contain the Voice of God and it's by their study and thru their teachings that I encounter God in more profound way than I could alone.
I believe that the Sikh scripture, the Sri Guru Granath Sahib, is clearly the product of Divine Revelation.
Though I know I'll get no disagreement of that statement here, I'll explain how I know this to be true. I think in discerning truth of revelation it needs to pass two tests:
1. There needs to be an experience of Divine Illumination in receiving the words. For me, I experienced that with the first page of the text.
2. The fruits of the revelation are, for the most part, love of God and love of neighbor rather than the perversion of these loves. Sikhs are well known for their generosity and mild manner and have a long history of benefiting mankind.
I feel I am barely scratching the surface with this discussion, so I'd welcome your thoughts and wisdom.
God is most glorious!
-MM
 

Only highly blessed people find themselves drawn towards SGGS, our living guru. The ultimate truth and guidance are contained within.  The actual essence is obtained from continuous recitation of the shabads contained therein.  These are directly from God himself. 

I've replaced my obligatory reading of Baha'i texts with the SGGS. I definitely agree.

God just needs true worship wjich comes from deep down from the heart, not false pretending worshIp.

Virtue and getting closer to God is the basis of all religions.  However evil is the driver. Many people will do good to avoid something evil befalling them.
Good would not exist if evil was not there.  Good is a comparison and a complete opposite of evil. 
Evil is what brings good out I.e. evil had to fall upon Jesus for him to be crucified and gain his glory.
We go to church or to the temple so that we can be saved from evil.
So what does plato say about this relationship between evil and good.
 
 

Jesus I believe was a highly enlightened soul who was aware of jis existence when God created the universe. He preached for the least amount of time - 3 years and no one at that time actually understood his parables.  He did not relay the message in a straight forward manner. However the world later embraced Christianity and the missionaries worked hard to colonose the world and bring some sort of civilisation.  A big thankyou to Jesus. None of his disciples were near him at the time of crucifixion. 
Believers in him came years after. 
In sikhism however the message comes straight forward.  Practice naam simran, earn by the sweat of your brow and share your earni gs with others.  Our Gurus have worked to perfectify every little portion of spirituality there might be to practice on this earth.

Isn't this the mind's habit?
Desire to attain the thing which has given us enjoyment/happiness; and there is no enjoyment greater than Spiritual experience. Our Mind thinks (that's the only thing he does) that we can have the same experience if we do all the hard work of meditation and may be if we've less distractions then it would be better.
Yes, in reality it would be better but that's NOT how the Matrix operates.
e.g [ There was method of drawing water from a kind of well in which a wheel is pulled by horses or bulls, and it brings up the water. Once a horseman came with his horse and wanted his horse to drink water. That horse was thirsty and wanted to drink water, but the noise scared the horse and it would jump. So, the horseman asked the proprietor to the well, "Will you please stop this noise so my horse can drink?" The proprietor replied, "But if this noise stops then the water will also stop." Same way if we expect the whole world to behave nicely or have less distractions, and think that then we will be able to meditate, forget it! Or if we expect that we'll get some extra-time apart from our daily chores, then we're wrong. We should do meditation while doing our duties towards our family. ]
The Secret (do NOT tell anyone) is: The sustenance of Spiritual enjoyment does NOT come from our attachment to that Spiritual experience or hard work alone. It comes from Kirpa and Kirpa comes when all of our hard-work/techniques/thinking have exhausted and at the end we understood that there is not other way around it we just Surrender.
All the other things: like kirat-karo, accept the will, do your duty etc. sounds like it is the way to reach higher states, but the point is: These sayings are merely pointers stating that you're just the puppet in the hands of Environment you're in (Matrix/Maya/Illusion). Everything (some had to do hard-work to earn little money and some needs very light work to earn lakhs, diseases, relationships, finances, careers etc.) is bound to our previous karma. So, instead of fighting with the environment to overcome some issues, just accept whatsoever it is AND at the same time continue your seeking; eventually we'll get what you really seek for: Kirpa.
There is another Big question
- Do you have a choice to ignore your duties? I guess not unless one wants to ignore the needs of the near and dear ones and are ready to let them suffer because of our desire of non-desire.
So, at-least for me: I want to go away from these worldly affairs (family, career, and all that) but I do NOT have the guts to leave my duties/punishments as I don't wish my children to suffer. There is a saying in Punjabi: "Gaal paya drum te vajana he penda ha" i.e "You've to perform the task that is given to you against your will"; in other words, here is the brief:
We've to perform our duties (or whatever you call it) because there is no other choice. Secondly, as we've to perform the duty, then why not perform it with happiness and enjoyment. In-fact, perform the duties cheerfully, selflessly, without attachment. It will bring Contentment (believe me it is very great experience) And here are some things that I DO KNOW but do NOT practice and therefore I didn't take advantage of these; but may be you want to. In other words, it is Theory or Borrowed-Knowledge and NOT Self-Knowledge.
How to be always Happy
First create a condition in which we are always happy but that requires human effort. There are 4 happiness giving techniques: Veerag, Patience, Contentment, and Vichar. Contentment is the first and foremost virtue that should be cultivated. It comes only when we have done our duties to our fullest capacity and selflessly without worrying for the results. It is a virtue that always helps and never disappoints the seeker.
Secondly, don't fret over the past and don't be worried about the future. The present is going on.
Thirdly, Happiness is within and the source is the center of consciousness, love, and wisdom. Try to get Self-Knowledge. Life is very short and we should learn to enjoy every moment by remembering the Lord of Life, and always assuming our body to be a shrine of His living presence. We are not body, we are Soul which is always in Bliss.
I guess that's enough of ranting.......

Good time management.  Keep time for bhagti as you can't do it 24 7.
Devote time for career too. Alternatively choose a job that involves physical work. 
If necessary use alarms to keep reminding you of your duties.  I remember being so busy... in school. Totally focused on each minute... to use time to its best productivity. The energy from bhagti is put into use to further your achievement in this world.
Laziness imo is not a product of bhagti... it seems rather like a leisure time pass. 

This topic about Dusehra escaped me.  I was reading ramayan today and came across this which I wanted to share with everyone.
 
 

Don't get the wrong end of the stick here. Ego is always there. Haumai is something that gives identity and makes you, you and me, me. It is the "I" in us and continues to use the mind as it's slave until we can subdue it.  Doing x amount of japs and x amount of hours is highly recommended.  However, you have to understand that the "intentions" need to be as per "satch" and you don't wanna be busting your backside or sweating it out trying to reach your numbers. 
Doing x amount of japs or x amount of hours is highly recommended. However, it has to be done with prem and not just for the completion. There's been days when I've done 16-18 hours of deep simran. None of these were to beat my own world record or anything, but they happened because I were so absorbed and magnetised in the love. It took much effort to make myself stop as I just couldn't get enough.   No limits, no sense of time, no sense of body, just him, doing jap on himself.
A few people ask "how does this prem come?"  I really don't know how because you can't force yourself to love something. My only conclusion is that it's being prepared to give all and sacrifice your mind and body without any condition whatsoever. Just tu hi tu and tera hi tera
 

So did I said something else? That’s what I said ego is there doesn’t matter if u do khulla pehra or chalisa. But some people bring ego  within chalisa and says I did this many or he/she did this amount of paths or jaaps and with khulla they don’t judge..  It’s the intentions and how they do it and why they do it and for what they do it. It’s different for everyone. 

This a some what difficult to explain without breaking someone's sharda, which is not my intention, in these types of jaaps that gurmukhs and mahapursh encourage. I have hardly heard anyone say when doing mool mantar, do so with complete dhyaan (focused concentration, awareness on the words). What is given emphasis is the count you have to complete. You can do a million recitations at super speeds but if your concentration is not locked on what is being said and it is one big mumble going on the mind or voice, then I'm sorry it probably won't bare any fruit. I feel this is not made clear to abhiyasis when these jaaps are encouraged. Yes it is better than not doing anything and whilst you might build up stamina and be able to sit for long periods the key point is where was the mind when doing these jaaps? What mahapursh hope is that over time your concentration levels will increase automatically after which time you can progress to gurmantar.
 
 

This Gurbani mahavak pankiti - Sahib mera Nit Nava Sada Sada Dataar ||  has so much depth.
The way i understood this pankiti is that one universal pure aware being (ikOngkar) / absolute truth is EVER FRESH-ALIVE AND NEW moment to moment assert itself moment to moment to moment- ever fresh and new , expresses itself into infinite ways and in infinite ever fresh and new epiphanies.
Hence, why we cannot approach Vahiguru ji with conceptual knowledge, expereinces, out of memory, past or future but Now ETERNALLY PRESENT !!
Sada Sada Datar
Always always eternal giver.
 
Your thoughts please?

http://www.thekundaliniyoga.org/question_answer/glossary_of_spiritual_hindu_religious_terms_hinduism_sanatana_dharma.aspx?word=T
https://www.gurbani.org/articles/webart12.htm
 
http://www.sikhnet.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3766

SGGS Ang 272
Aspat gajpat narheh narindh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avadhuta
Avadhūta (IAST avadhūta) is a Sanskrit term from the root 'to shake' (see V. S. Apte and Monier-Willams) that, among its many uses, in some Indian religions indicates a type of mystic or saint who is beyond egoic-consciousness, duality and common worldly concerns and acts without consideration for standard social etiquette.[1]Similar figures (colloquially called 'mad/crazy monks') are also known in Buddhist traditions, such as the medieval Zen monk Ikkyū, and the 20th century Tibetan tulkuChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In Tibetan Buddhism the equivalent type is called a nyönpa (Wylie: smyon pa).