Daas_

Agree totally. Your advice is quite sound and justified, because the simran jaap as per sikhee mentioned by you above, is what will safely and surely take us to His abode.
For if Waheguru alone is our goal, then of course the wisdom of Guru Jee which is complete, is what is required to reach that goal.
Otherwise there are so many khands, so many realms, so many subtle planes...countless, to which we may reach mistakenly.
The teachings of Guru Jee are the purest and highest  which deal only with Sach Khand and Waheguru, so there is no chance of manmukhta nor mistakes.
It is Gurbani which tells us :
JIN HAR JAPEEYA SE HAR HOEEYA.
Let us ask ourselves, is there any other path which can reveal us such Truth in such a simple verse of 6 words only?
Wah Waheguru, wah Gurbani.
SSA.

Found this while reading a biography of a Thai Buddhist Monk.
"Meditation is a good means for making a clean break with the unseemly business of the kilesas. Meditation techniques are arguably somewhat difficult to practice, but that’s because they are designed to put pressure on the mind and bring it under control, much like trying to bring a monkey under control in order to tame it. Meditation techniques are actually methods for developing self-awareness. This means observing the mind which is not content to just remain still but tends instead to jump about like someone who’s been scalded with hot water. Observing the mind requires mindfulness to keep us aware of its movement. This is aided by using one of a number of Dhamma themes as an object of attention to keep the mind stable and calm during meditation. A very popular method and one that gives good results is mindfulness of breathing. Other popular themes include the use of a word such as “buddho”, “dhammo”, “sangho”,or kesã, lomã, nakhã, dantã, taco in forward and reverse order, or meditation on death, or whatever theme seems most suitable. The mind must be forced to stay exclusively with that object during meditation. Calm and happiness are bound to arise when the mind depends on a particular Dhamma theme as a good and safe object of attention.
What is commonly referred to as a ‘calm citta’ or a ‘citta integrated in samãdhi’ is a state of inner stability that is no longer associated with the initial object of attention, which merely prepared the citta by holding it steady. Once the citta has entered into samãdhi, there exists enough momentum for the citta to remain in this state of calm, independent of the preparatory object, whose function is temporarily discontinued while the citta rests peacefully. Later when the citta withdraws from samãdhi, if time permits, attention is refocused on the initial Dhamma theme. When this is practiced consistently with dedication and sustained effort, a mind long steeped in dukkha will gradually awaken to its own potential and abandon its unskillful ways. The struggle to control the mind, which one experiences in the beginning stages of training, will be replaced by a keen interest in the task at hand. The citta becomes unforgettably calm and peaceful once it enters samãdhi. Even if this happens only once, it will be an invigorating and indelible experience. Should it fail to occur again in subsequent attempts at meditation, an indescribable sense of loss and longing will linger in the citta for a long time. Only with further progress, as one becomes more and more absorbed in increasingly subtler states of calm, will the frustration of losing the initial state of calm be forgotten."

Absolutely brilliant, not only about a brief, simple and clear enunciation of  the difference between jog mat and  gurmat  (that more than half a dozen books by various authors couldn't) but about overall bhakti...learnt that one must allocate at least 2 hrs both morning and evening to the gurmantar jaap..bhai sahib did it for over 2 years before Guru Sahib blessed him...a must listen..thank you sat veerji for posting..
 

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.

Blessings to everyone. 
I am writing this today in a bit of shock and disbelieve but at the same time a lot of peace and satisfaction. 
These past few weeks/months had been a bit of a rough sail for me. I had lost a lot of faith in spiritual teachers. I had been hearing and seeing a lot of drama that didn't sit well with me. So part of me fell off the boat a bit. I was still listening to shabad and looking at parkash. But I wasn't putting effort in to try and move further. I was sitting still. 
Something even worse happened in my personal life a few days ago. A very subtle but very strong attachment got pulled away from me. An attachment I didn't realize was there but was really consuming my mind. I'm not going to lie, I lost my stability. I was upset. Angry. Lost. Confused. And it had been a very long time since I experienced a pain that made me upset like that. 
I began isolating myself and really letting my mind be consumed by shabad and parkash because I knew that was the only way out of the trap I had fallen into. I had to work extremely hard. But just now I was laying on the floor looking at parkash internally. I opened my eyes to look at the parkash that exists externally. Mind was clear, no thoughts. And I had a realization. "This parkash exists both outside and inside... Are my physical eyes the one seeing them?..... And then all of a sudden I felt this third area of space. A place that wasn't the internal body, nor the external world. It was this place in the middle. I think it was beyond the mind or some extension of the mind. And sitting in that space there was just parkash. It was like looking at a new world with a new set of eyes. The best way I can describe this is by using the term "non-physical" eyes. 
It's as if the parkash outside and inside had become one. I cannot describe the amount of peace and contentment the mind and body feels sitting in that area. I don't know if it's correct for me to stay in that space. But I just wanted to write this out with the hopes that maybe someone knows what this is. 

Thats great man. Keep it up and maybe increase it slowly.  20 mins three times a day  maybe ? Simran is the real medicine for mental, physical and spiritual problems and obstacles. It works in mysterious and incomprehensible ways. 
I am no expert but whenever we do any sort of cleansing either physically or of the mind, the stink and dust does rise up initially.  So the negative thoughts and dreams can actually be sign of cleansing happening.  Some abhyasis say that even yawning that starts immediately after Simran is a sort of cleansing. 

@Kaur1510
I don't do Mool Mantar anymore only Gurmantar jaap. I did Mool Mantar jaap many years ago. These days I just do enough Gurmantar until any Anhad sound manifest in the head/ears then I try switch to listening to these and ease off the Gurmantar until my thoughts begin to come to the forefront. Then I slowly bring back Gurmantar whilst keeping Dhyan on anhad sounds. 
Benji this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Do what you can when you can and don't beat yourself up. Build up slowly. Just keep persevering even if it's few minute bursts. 
I don't have specific routines which is not what you want to hear. You need to find what is working for you, whether that is in the morning, evening or night. 
Let's say I'm doing chores (cooking, vacuuming or ironing) at home. Keep reciting Gurmantar and keep your focus on the sound of jaap don't let your surti run away on other thoughts. Do this in parallel to doing your work. That's what I do. Why waste time thinking nonsense. Keep Dhyan on Gurmantar. 
If your day job requires mental effort then obviously you can't do both. Then I just use my time when I travel to work or some free time during lunch break. Go for a walk or find some where to sit and jap. 
 

Thank you @Ragmaala. Applications are going well. Just playing the waiting game to see what happens. In the meantime, I have launched a charity project to help people within the south asian community. So that's the seva for now. One thing that really hit me during that major experience, was to take care of people who are suffering from mental health illnesses, such as depression, anxiety and anything else that leads to mental suffering. So there's been a big drive to help out people who are in these types of situations. Much of the people I'm working with are youth. I've noticed our people do have a lot of bad habits and traumas that have been passed down from generation to generation. And they project those traumas onto their kids who later carry the same issues as their parents when they grow older. Not everyone wants to do bhagti/meditation, but I've just been trying to help people as best as I can using other methods. It's taught me a lot and really opened my eyes to how much suffering there is in this world (Nanak dukhia sabh sansar). Also gives a boost to your own bhagti when you hold out a loving and compassionate hand to someone who needs. 

Completely agreed. The first person I reached out to after my God-Sister was a saint in Vancouver. I gave him a call and also read him everything I wrote while I was in that state. He confirmed everything and said I was on track. He said the reason why the experience occurred was because I let go of my attachments. I'm not saying anything against Saints, the moral of my post was on "attachment". I spent years being attached to the physical form of my teachers. I lived and breathed their names. I was doing bhagti for them and not Waheguru. They were even the one's who told me not to fall into that same mind trap. But I was stuck in it for years. It was the moment that I let go of the attachment to my teachers, friends, family, materialism and everything else in my life that this breakthrough occurred. 
And as a side note - I have spent most of my life avoiding reading up on experiences. I've even only used this forum to post my own experiences in hopes of receiving guidance from people like @BhagatSingh, @Sat1176, @Lucky and the occasional guests who come out of no where and just blow your mind with new information. I'm not doubting this could have been an illusion. That's always a possibility for anyone. But on the bright side - ever since the experience (or illusion) occurred, my life has changed in a way that cannot be reversed. As I walk around, shabad is loud because the mind is still and silent. There's never a time where I close my eyes and can't see parkash (prior this was a challenge I had). It only takes a few moments of meditation to enter into states that used to take me over an hour. I feel free. I have no worries about student debt, or being successful, who hates/likes me, or any other form of worry. I just have an internal realization that Waheguru is taking care of everything. And also that I've never been the "doer" in this life. Whether I die of illness or build a large amount of wealth, it's all the same and in god's hands. Everything happening around is just a show created by waheguru and the one sitting inside is just observing everything. 
I still do have emotions that arise. The amount the mind is absorbed in shabad and parkash varies. Sometimes more and sometimes less. And the awareness of the inner god consciousness also varies. Sometimes it's a lot more and sometime's it's a lot less. I'm still on the spiritual progression roller coater where some days are better than others. But overall, it's a completely new playing field. My spiritual goals are different. The goal a few weeks ago was to see some next level dimensions or experience something unimaginable. But now the goal is to disappear. Completely disappear as the person who thinks he is inside this body. And live in the realization that there is nothing but waheguru inside and outside of this body. 
The sights that I'm seeing on a daily basis, however, are still indescribable. When I come out of my meditation, there's a very noticeable level of subtle energy everywhere. I burst into laughter because I feel so detached from "reality". In Punjabi they use the word "amli" (druggie). Except the addiction is this mental silence. From this mental silence, arises all of these sounds and sights that completely alter how the world is experienced. But even with everything that occurs on a daily basis, the greatest craving is that internal sense of peace and freedom. 

Hello everyone, 
I know it's been a while since I've been here but I really needed time to myself to grow and really push myself. I thought I'd post an update now that a few major breakthroughs have occurred. I know some of the terminologies and content may not be easily understood by a lot of people, but I don't want to expand too much on the individual experiences. The point of this post is about getting over plateaus and keeping yourself open minded during your journey. 
1. I spent a few years listening to shabad and looking at Prakash during my sessions. Things were going well and dhoor would even come at times and I'd be blasted upwards. But I was still running into the same issues. I would get to a point where the mind would rise upwards to a certain point but there would always be a thought that came in the way that would bring me crashing back down. Don't get me wrong, life was great. Shabad was and always has been changing my life. I was constantly happy and in bliss. Parkash put me at ease within moments of looking at it. I was completely satisfied physically, emotionally, mentally and tregun-wise I felt absolutely no pain. But I hit a major plateau in terms of my actual spiritual journey and progression towards merging with the divine. 
2. I really stepped things up and started listening to shabad 24/7. Looking at parkash whenever I closed my eyes. Even externally, looking at all the lights and stars and flashes. Even keeping my dhyan on that layer of subtle energy that exists between the eyes and Maya. This had an even greater affect. I felt the same joy and whenever I put my dhyan into shabad. It would completely absorb me. Like sinking into water. But as per crossing the mind over and using dhoor to elevate it, I still had struggles. Not sure if it's because of my age and lack of years of practice (I'm 22 years old, I haven't been doing Bhagti for as long as many people here, I haven't even been alive for as long as a lot of people have been at their bhagti, so I do have a long long long way to go). However, once you're already this deep in, you don't want to waste time running in circles. 
3. Long story short, I even went to the extent of asking people on this site for help. Visiting multiple, multiple, multiple saints. I kept getting told techniques. None of them worked for me. Not sure if it was my own incompetence and inability to understand the techniques (which is highly possible) but either way, nothing was working and I continued to grow "spiritually frustrated". 
4. One day things clicked when someone reminded me of some of the Advaita Vedanta type techniques and affirmations in gurbani ("Tu Kun Re"). And I just decided to sit and watch. This technique had done me wonders years ago and really pushed me to the point where I was experiencing a lot of spiritual experiences before I had the ability to keep dhyan with shabad 24/7. But here's the catch - I had stopped practicing what worked for me because I got caught up in listening to other people instead of listening to my own atam - So all these years I had stopped using this technique because no one else around me was using it. I had become very closed minded thinking it was a waste of time. 
5. Another long long story short - I decide to completely immerse myself into that technique. It came natural to me because I had practiced it pretty intensely back about 5 years ago. Except this time it was a completely different ball game. I wasn't just "the witness" in front of tregun. I used the witness awareness while listening to shabad and looking at parkash. And it was insane. I began using it while walking around. Breaking down each thought. Looking at everything aspect of life and the mind and questioning their origin. Then questioning the body that perceives this sensory information and then questioning the one who processes the sensory info... until tregun was no more. Walked around a park completely thoughtless and lost in shabad (which was LOUD due to how clear the mind was sitting). 
6. Being completely still internally, I walked to a bench where my body just collapsed and I sat down in a meditative posture - no thought taken - no intention to go into meditation - it just happened. Also no intention to do anything advaita vedanta related but naturally the mind asked a few more questions in regards to the internal and on-going shabad and parkash. I'm not going to record those questions because they are still questions I am internalizing today and do not want to share them publicly. But at that moment, life changed forever - there was a big ball of light that felt like it came out of somewhere (to this day, I don't know where it came from) but it just exploded at that point and it felt like it consumed me and there was nothing left of me. My eyes were still closed and I was still sitting on the bench, but it were as if I ceased to exist. Absolutely nothing was left, no time, no space, nothing. But an infinite and formless presence existed. And I did not feel a difference between myself and that presence. So many shabads and analogies in Gurbani just clicked. I understood things in ways I've never understood before.... tu tu karta tu huwa... mujh meh reha na hu...... The only way I can put things into words is by saying "infinite" and "formless" but even that does not do justice to what was experienced that day. 
7. Eventually, I opened my eyes and came back into my body - but even then, there was almost no feeling of time or space left. I live in Canada and it's cold. I had absolutely no feeling of touch or temperature. The only sensory information that was coming in was sight and audio. This was followed by a lot of laughter. A lot of laughter. I don't know why I was laughing so much. Possibly because I realized there had never been a difference between god and I. Everything had always been one. I just felt as if my being was infinite. I had always existed. I stayed in this state for a few hours and there were so many realizations that came to me in that time frame. I really wish I could write them all down but I feel like this post is already long enough. I just sat there for hours contemplating on all of these new realized secrets. I remember at the time my god-sister sent me a video over text and these were the messages I sent her in that moment (note: I was still lost in the experience and was still coming back down into the body so my typing was really off so please pardon the typos, I'm copying and pasting everything word for word): 
- "i cant watch this right now"
- "but waheguru has s everywhere’s"
- "i did simran all fay"
- "i hit something big"
- "waheguru will take care of everything"
"thats it"
8. I later came back down and was completely normal again and was able to send this text message:
"I felt like everything is waheguru. inside and out
and i felt like i could talk to god
and i felt taken care of
and that there was no need to stress over anything 
and that ive never been seperated, god has always been here
and waheguru is taking care of everything 
and i felt like moving forward, I need to take care of the people around me. It felt like it was a seva that was given
to take care of them emotionally, physically, etc
i’ve come back down and into the body and i feel all my senses again. But i learnt so much about myself. But what’s sticking with me right now is that waheguru is here and everywhere. Intellectually we’re told this. But for the first time in my life I felt it
and right now all thats needed is to stay with shabad
and i felt so much love for everyone. and i just wanted everyone in the world to know that waheguru is going to take care of everyone and everyones going to return back to waheguru"
Another message that was sent the next day:
"it was about 2-3 hours. I was walking outside and it felt as if all the trees and leaves were alive. and i was talking to them telling them not to worry, their suffering will end and everyone will go back to waheguru one day. and i didn’t want to touch them because it felt like they were all in pain. and on a religious level i realized there’s no point in trying to preach or debate with anyone. Everyone has their own cloud of ego and talking to them isn’t enough to remove it. and as per life, it felt like there was no need to stress over anything. Just live life day by day. don’t overthink. just let things happen. It felt like god was in control of every aspect and everything in life has happened due to god’s orders. And when i was sitting down with my eyes closed, it felt like there had never been a difference between god and I. At that point i started laughing really hard.:
9. This experience did not stay permanent - I feel like it was a trailer of what could happen if I keep putting in the hard work ..... Or maybe it was God saying "congrats you dummy, you finally came out of your bubble and listened to yourself. 
This happened mid December. There's a lot more I need to say and update on. My everyday experiences are a lot different now and a lot of big things are happening. But I feel like this post is already long enough. Thank you to everyone here who has helped me and continuously encouraged me throughout my journey. Sending you all nothing but love. I hope everyone keeps growing and progressing forward everyday... Although forward may not be the best word... there is no direction in this infinite realm.... no back, front, left, right or centre.... waheguru just is. 

Simran Stages
In terms of a layman AJAPA JAAP is the spiritual condition of a person when the Simran goes on an auto pilot mode in your Surat and then in Hirdey and so on as explained below. It means that Simran becomes a round the clock thing inside you, Simran doesn’t stop at any moment, it carries on and such a condition comes with Gurkirpa and after a lot of Bhagti Kamai or can also be attained with the Kirpa of a Puran Braham Gyani.  The normal sequence is as follows:
 
1. Jaap with Tounge – Rasna – this happens in Dharam Khand
 
2. Jaap with the breathing – with Swaas – this happens in Gyan Khand and Saram Khand
 
3. Then Naam goes into your mind – Surat, in your thinking, then it becomes Simran from Jaap – this is a very good stage – this happens in Saram Khand and Karam Khand – some people go into Smadhi at this stage.
 
4. The next stage is when Simran goes into Hirdey – this one is even much higher stage when Naam goes into Hirdey – this is where it goes on an automatic mode, this is where the real bhagti starts, one goes into Smadhi and Sun Smadhi– Karam Khand  – this is when you go into Smadhi and the real bhagti starts, your bhagti account is opened in the Dargah.
 
5. The next stage is when Simran travels to the Nabhi, when Nabhi Kamal blossoms – Karam Khand
 
6. The next Stage is when Simran goes into Kundlini – Mooladhaar Chakkar and spine – Karam Khand
 
7. The next stage is when Simran travels through the spine to the brain, and back to Surat where it completes the cycle. This is what the real Mala of Naam is.  When this happens then the Gyan Netter and Dassam Duaar opens and you form a permanent connection with Akal Purakh, you start to get divine knowledge – Braham Gyan. This happens in Sach Khand.  Enjoyment – Anand in Smadhi and Sun Smadhi is beyond description. That is why the Maha Purakhs go into very deep meditation some time for days together. You experience a lot of things during your Smadhi and Sun Smadhi, see a lot of things, it is beyond description what happens and through what you go when you go into deep meditation. This is the stage when all the doors – Bajjar Kapaat are opened and there is a continuous flow of Amrit, body is always full of Amrit.
 
8. The Simran in Smadhi and Sun Smadhi continues until NIRGUN AND SARGUN becomes one, at this point Simran goes into rom-rom – every bit of your body does Naam Simran, your Suksham Dehi becomes as pure as gold, your entire body is filled with Naam Amrit all the time. You become Braham Leen, and  reach Atal Awastha.  These stages are beyond description. Sat Chit Anand Ghar Hamare – Gurmukh Rom Rom Har Dhyae – Nirgun Sargun Nirankaar Sun Smadhi Aap, Apan Kia Nanka Apan Hi Fir Jaap and so on.  One lives in Puran Parkash all the time and listens to Ilahi Kirtan – Anhad Naad Dhunis all the time. It is just incredible experience. This is when one becomes Sat Ram Dass and is directed by the Almighty to serve the Sangat. And this is what your target should be when you have been prompted to move on the Bhagti Marg.
 
Following is the benefit sequence:
 
Jaap with Rasna 1000 times  = Jaap in Swaas one time
Jaap in Swaas 1000 times = Simran in Surat one time
Simran in Surat 1000 times = Simran in Hirdey or elsewhere one time
 
So Simran in Hirdey and beyond is the most rewarding one. Again some people might think we are getting into counting the benefit, and it is correct to say that we should not indulge in counting, but it is just a way to make the Sangat understand that which way and where Simran will bring what kind of rewards.
 
The 1000 numbers signify that the rewards of Simran in Hirdey are much higher than doing Jaap with Rasna. If you do Jaap with Rasna  your Rasna will become pavitter – pious, by doing jaap in along breathing – swass your swass will become pious – pavitter, by doing Simran in mind-Surat-Chit- mind will become pious – pavitter, and that is what you need to do to make your mind pious – pavitter, that is how you will have control on your mind – MAN JEETE JAG JEET – MAN TU JYOT SAROOP HAI and you will be able to rise above Panj Doots – KAAM, KRODH, LOBH, MOH, AHANKAAR AND ALSO ASA, TRISHNA, MANSHA, NINDYA, CHUGLI, BAKHILI, RAJ, JOBAN, DHAN, MAAL, ROOP, RAS, GANDH, THESE THUGS – MENTAL SICKNESSES. 
 
And when Simran goes in to Hirdey – and Simran will go to Hirdey by itself with Gurkirpa only, and so in Chit, Hirdey will become pavitter – pious and a pious Hirdey will become Mahaparupkari and Dana Dina, NIRBHAO, NIRVAIR and so on, it will start to absorb all the vital qualities of Akal Purakh and will become a Puran Sant Hirda, and will achieve JIVAN MUKTI – PARAM PADVI-BRAHAM GYAN. 
 
The true definition of a Sant is not by wearing a chola – outside dress and outside rituals, it is the Hirda that becomes Puran Sachyara – completely truthful and that  – HIRDA IS SANT and when the Naam Rattan goes into Hirdey – jad naam rattn Hirdey vich jad da hai taan Braham Gyan di neev rakhi jandi hai ji, so please try to understand it and put it into your daily lives to get Naam Rattan planted in your Hirdey – then naam goes to Nabhi and spine and so on, and again it happens by itself and with Gurkirpa and not by our own efforts, it will happen only under Hukam.
Again higher state of AMRIT IS NAAM AMRIT and – PRABH KA SIMRAN SABH TE UNCHA – HAR SIMRAN ME AAP NIRANKAARA – KINKA EK JIS JEE BASAVE TAKI MAHIMA GANI NAA AAWE – HAR KE NAAM SAMSR KICHU NAAHIN – TUDH BAAJH KUDO KOOD – EH DHAN SANCHO HOWO BHAGWANT, so please try to make your life cleaner, rise above Panj Doots, kill your desires and don’t indulge in Nindya, rise above all the doubts – Dubidha – Dharam De Bharam – follow the Braham Gyan of Gurbani in your daily lives, become a Puran Sachyara – completely truthful person, serve the truth and achieve your goal of Jivan Mukti.
 
As you continue on this path, and as you make more and more progress by following and living according to Gurbani, and Simran is the most important ingradient over here, and you become more and more Sachyara, your Atmik Awastha will keep on moving upwards through the Five Khands.In Sach Khand you reach Chad Di Kala  – this is a very high stage of spirituality, it is the completeness stage, it comes only after reaching the Atal Awastha, means when the soul is always in the Nirlep Awastha, means can’t be distracted or deviated due to any happening around you, doesn’t bring any doubts and bharams in side you concerning the Gur, Guru and Gurbani, it is the highest stage of bandgi, it is the Puran Braham Gyan Stage, Param Padvi Stage, the Sach Khand Stage, when nothing can break you up from the Gur, Guru and Gurbani, when you have completely won over the maya. The soul becomes a single vision, no worldly sukh or dukh can effect it, no animosity with anybody, no effect of ustat or nindya, always absorbed in Almighty, always doing good to others, no harming or hurting of anybody, win over panj doots, desires and maya. This state of Chad Di Kala comes through Naam.  In Gurbani this is what the Satguru’s prayed to God if it is in God’s Will, that Naam Chad di kala be given to EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD FOR THEIR UPLIFMENT.  ‘Nanak Naam Chad di kala. Teray Bhanay Sarbatt Da Bhalla.”   When you are this state you also help others to reach it too.  That is a SANT reason for being in this world.

Think the writer has a point. 
As things generally stand in life, the human being is not, and cannot be, aware of the Divine he carries in him. This silent “Spectator,” this Celestial Consciousness and most faithful friend he has—which is the essence of his being, animating and giving meaning to his life, as well as to the lives of all other human beings, no matter what their race or creed—will remain mysteriously hidden from his inner vision unless it is consciously sought for and he arrives (as a result of the unremitting efforts and time he devotes to its quest) at recognizing it fully through immersing himself in it during his meditation, a state that must later extend itself little by little into his active life as well.
Unless a human being has truly known the Sublime in himself through direct inner experience, his conviction in the existence of a higher power, no matter how strong it may be, will (apart from perhaps succeeding in sustaining him a little in moments of adversity and helping make him a somewhat better person than he would otherwise have been) continue to be no more than a mere belief. When looked at from another perspective, taking into account the higher purpose of his incarnate existence, this is far from sufficient to help him know himself in such a way as will leave no shadow of a doubt in him regarding his True Identity, and what he will be reabsorbed into when his time comes to bid farewell to his earthly life and all that he has known during his brief and tumultuous sojourn on this globe. His faith in the existence of a Supreme Power somewhere in the Universe far away from him, though it be very profound and sincere, while it remains just a blind and almost abstract belief, associated with all sorts of conscious or unconscious imaginings about the Sacred, will not only bear no resemblance to the reality, but will also always carry in it the baneful seed of separateness and difference from others—leading to passionate divergences of opinion among the diverse peoples of the world on the nature of this divine power and to the interminable religious quarrels that ensue from such unverified beliefs.
Between the higher aspect of a person’s being and his ordinary self is a mysterious, highly fragile, and intangible element—his attention. To whichever side of his double nature his attention is attracted and gravitates, it will, knowingly or unknowingly, immediately start animating and nurturing it—and there he will also inevitably be! Through this quasi–irresistible attraction of gravity that is the strange characteristic of terrestrial existence, the human being’s attention, unless sufficiently constrained to the contrary by the hard blows of outer life, is mainly unconsciously drawn in the direction of least resistance in him, demanding no effort from him to achieve or to maintain. There is no value at all in continuously yielding to this “vegetating” state of inner sleep, as a person generally does, and in unquestioningly conceding to the ever-changing whims and wishful dreaming that keep arising in him—much of which, if viewed objectively, will be found to be impractical and absurd.
One does not need to exercise strength of will, be audacious, or possess any talent whatsoever to follow the same drift and path as those of the masses in general. Anyone can accomplish such universal and easy exploits. But the moment that an aspirant decides consciously to alter the habitual direction of the flow of his energies and exert himself to proceed, as it were, upward against this descending force of attraction, then he will immediately encounter strong resistance, both in himself and from outside. He will suddenly become aware, on the one hand, of these inner and outer oppositions, and on the other, of a certain inner awakening that these resistances provoke in him (and the value of which he may not recognize or not sufficiently appreciate at first).
In fact, his hope of rousing himself from the ease of mesmeric sleep—this mysterious inner sleep in which most people are tamely content to spend their lives without questioning it—lies in these very challenges that he will come up against inside and outside himself. Just as a fire is ignited through the continual rubbing together of two pieces of wood, so these resistances that a seeker will keep meeting with in himself and in life will serve to create in him the indispensable friction that he needs and without which a living spiritual flame cannot be kindled. That is the reason why they must be viewed with the right attitude and understanding, and not blindly regarded as being extremely irritating and valueless obstacles.
The seeker’s regard must start turning inward instead of outward, and this will undeniably demand from him much conscious effort in the beginning, as well as the hard-won inner strength and will to keep redirecting his attention back onto its intended track each time it wanders away from it, until one day he arrives at discerning the miracle of his Supreme Being, this sublime consciousness that has all the time been there, secretly watching him and waiting for him to reverse the direction of his gaze in order to discover it and behold its ineffable beauty, filling him with the inexpressible happiness he has mistakenly been searching for outside himself all the time.

Saadh Sangat Ji one i thing must mention for doing bhagati simran is the key is before doing anything at all when waking always says "DHAN SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI" 5 times before doing anything as soon you wake up in morning.
 
I remember reading this in one of Mahapursh's bachans in their jeevani that i read during my teenage years.
 
This does really work as i remember back then. Also it is a lot better than looking at the mobile or hearing/watching the news stations as that is really really unpleasent for the starting of the day which distrubs the mind and no simran is possible after that exposure.

Becoming a doctor in Canada is probably the hardest thing anyone could ever do. But keep at the Simran. It only makes things easier. You’re able to learn information a lot quicker than the people around you. And communication skills really improve. The rest is up to your karam. But eventually the goal of meeting god becomes first priority and everything else becomes irrelevant. You may get in, you may not, but you’re content with the fact that you tried and put in the effort. If things work out, you won’t be super excited, the emotions stay stable. If they don’t, you also stay stable and don’t get depressed over it. The bhagti keeps you at a stable equilibrium.
 
It’s great. You look back at yourself and reflect on your past conversations/actions and think “why was I so depressed over xyz?” Tregun just literally becomes so irrelevant. It’s like watching a movie. You may have a few preferences on how you want the movie to end... but at the end of the day you really just don’t give enough of a sh*t. Whatever happens happens. And you just go home after it’s all done (this especially applies for the people who are actually able to go into the home of the mind lol - not me though... still have a long way to go until that happens). 
 
From what I have understood the following are not in your control no matter what 
1. Birth/Death
2. The people you have sanjog with
3. Ustat and nindhia of you
 
This knowledge becomes more concrete the deeper you go with your simran. You just flow with everything while those three factors are playing out in your life.
 
This experiences thread is just becoming harder and harder for me as time goes on. I cannot express how life feels. While I’m going about my life, there is a lot more passion when doing things. Even when I’m sitting down to do a difficult mcat passage. There was a time years ago when I would get so frustrated I would want to throw my books out of a window but now the same feeling of contentment exists whether I struggle or succeed. It’s neither happiness nor sadness. All is the same. It’s just a very very deep feeling of peace. It is om shanti om 
 
And during jaap it gets even better. The experiences may happen but the actual practice itself has become so enjoyable. It’s fun doing the techniques and experimenting to see what makes the mind go quiet the fastest. There are times when the knockout is so hard that by the time I wake up I completely forget who I am. Even today it was as if I had never existed. Once I woke up, I immediately looked at my arms and legs and realized “oh yeah... this is who I am”. It’s literally like you have died during those moments. And once it ends and you’re awake again, you just want to go back. 

I live a pretty busy lifestyle but I put meditation at the front because it helps me in every aspect of life. 
 
I'm trying to become a doctor so this entire summer is just me studying for my mcat. I'm really career focused. I am one of the directors on the board of my local hospital. I was actually probably the youngest to ever join - at the age of 17. And I owe that to the bhagti for sharpening my confidence and helping me approach problems with a lot of patience.
I have also spearheaded/been lead on a few major projects for both the hospital and other healthcare related work. Again - the calmness that bhagti leaves you with is responsible for this.
I have worked in academia, research, published a scientific article on meditation and neuroplasticity, edited a science vs meditation textbook (not released to the public yet but will be soon - the prof in charge will be selling it to profs who teach spirituality courses at universities) etc. Meditation helps you learn and study because you're not easily frustrated when you can't figure something out.
I also work for the universities student union, been the student media spokesperson for the past provincial election. (But as of last week have taken some time off to focus on my test). Really involved with helping the local gurdwara and running its social media (I live in a city which is/was primarily white growing up so got really involved with the gurdwara due to the small sikh population).
 
I don't know if any of that is meaningful though lol. It probably sounds really boring but I love all of this. Especially the science stuff - I am a huge biology nerd. And I love brains (lol... don't be creeped out)
Plus part of a lot of clubs, services, etc at school. However... no longer part of the sikh student association... essentially banned for speaking out against anything that goes against popular belief. There was a time when I would stay silent and heavily help out. But I couldn't sit around and listen to people talk about topics like "possible sikhi-related solutions to mental health" but not hear anyone say anything about the path of japa - then be told jaap isn't part of sikhi. This is a longer discussion, but you know exactly what I'm talking about with the views of most of the community these days. And I couldn't sit around and watch them pretend like they can't be friends with non-sikhs, or their lack of professionalism in certain academic/career related environments. 
 
Non-academic side I have a kirtan ustaad - not going to mention his name because many know him - and it would give away who I am. But I think that goes hand in hand with bhagti. Kirtan has always helped me increase love for god and motivate the mind to do more bhagti. 
I used to work out 7 days a week but I am so tight on time these days I fell off of that. Can't start back up until september because I have my mcat on Aug 2 and then I'm back in England until September. But main reason for the 7 days was that it had tremendous benefits on meditation. Back then balancing breath was a struggle and the lifting got the job done. 
Also do cryptocurrency day trading... it's pretty fun. Busy with studying right now so I set up a bot to do it for me.
Socially I would consider myself pretty extroverted. I have a habit of being friends with/starting a conversation with every second person I see on the street. I know a lot of people which is good and bad in many ways. As of now, it's been not the best because someone always wants to go for lunch or hangout but I need to study and do bhagti. But on the brightside - if I do notice someone is not the best sangat, I am able to drop them immediately and never look back. Due to the detachment. Doesn't matter how close they are. Even dropped a 12 year long friendship because I realized the guy is completely immersed in the same sikh-youth mindset as everyone else and I didn't want to waste my time there. I don't care what I say in any situation - I just freely speak whatever is on my mind. Could not care less what people think. I don't see any reason to pretend to be someone else. The meditation has brought on this freedom. 
 
I love cars as well. I drive a manual audi. Probably my most valued possesion. This one doesn't relate to meditation but I think it's one every guy on this site can relate to. Only thing I can think of is the attachment to it. I did have a situation a little while back where something went wrong... and long story short the mechanic said the price to fix it was more than the car itself. The initial thought was "cool, I'll just sell the parts, buy some cool shoes and start walking wherever I go". Which a year ago, I probably would have flipped and gone into depression. Luckily, I took it to an old friend and he figured out a way to make it as good as new without spending more than $20.
 
So essentially, I would say meditation is the only meaningful activity I do because none of my other activities would exist/have meaning without it. It has literally created a life of complete freedom where I just do what I feel like doing with no care for the consequences. Which is not a bad thing because with sikhi/gurmat, you never have ill intentions.
 
When a lot of people talk about bhagti, they say you can't do things you enjoy, or hangout with non-bhagti type people... but honestly 85%+ of my social groups are people who are not Sikh. Less than 3-5% probably do bhagti (I just have this forum and a local simran group that I only see a few sundays a month). 
 
So all I have to say to people that live in that closed off mentality is... LIVE LIFE. Do what you have to do in tregun on a day to day basis. And then when that's over, learn to connect internally. 
 
Obviously, that does not mean go drink and party everyday. I still practice brahmachariya, I still restrain myself from indulging in unhealthy food, I restrain from the 4 kurehits, I read gurbani everyday and do kirtan, I wear my kakars. But... I live life in a way that is enjoyable and integrates with western society. You don't have to be "the religious" guy in every social situation that makes other people feel like they can't have a good time (I used to be that guy many years ago). You need to live life in a way where you integrate into society and inspire other people to do jaap. Find what you enjoy in life and be the life of that group. The greater the mental stability, the more you will enjoy the activity. 
 
And just an fyi - I know a lot of the activities I stated above may not be appealing to most people. I am that weird 20 year old nerd that likes to wear a dress shirt/tie all the time and read science or psychology articles/watch videos on politics. It's just the type of person I am... But I do know people around my age who practice meditation and still do all of the same activities young people do but they remain detached internally. My younger brother for example, he's a huge basketball fan. Even runs a big instagram fan page. Dresses like every other 17-18 year old you see these days. But interally completely silent. He hasn't been practicing for as long but the differences I see between him and his friends are insane. 
 
I know this was a really long post - but I have very strong opinions when it comes to balancing tregun with spirituality. 

Night time is getting really good for me.
Fell asleep listening to the sound last night. Every time I woke up I would hear the sound, feel drowsy and fall back asleep. Body felt extremely intoxicated. It was back and forth all night for at least 11 hours. I usually am not able to sleep more than 6. I had to literally pull myself up and even after that I kept knocking out. For a few moments even forgot who I was. I had to take a moment to remember my responsibilites. But it literally felt like I had woken up into a different world. 
The most interesting part was it literally felt like I was dying or going unconcious every time I entered into sleep. I could watch myself go in and then I was aware that I was asleep. Although, I wasn't aware enough that I could control what was happening. 

That's just one of the insignias. This is if you follow the japna techniques and focus on the dhun. Eventually you should hear the shabd dhun and it is 24/7  an-din.
This is just one nishanee if following this practice method. There's a couple of other nishanees that I'm aware of but I'm sure there will be many more in gurbani.
Tricky part. What happens is that when you still the mind, you will hear it. Objective is to be aware of it whilst getting on with the day. It's an ongoing development process where one starts learning to conquer the mind.  There's lots of stages in this conquering starting of with deep khoj within and learning to distinguish between mann's mat and Gur-mat. ie. immediately identifying if your decision making was man-mat or gurmat.
 
It's not from anyone in particular but from what I've summed up from various sources over the years, my own insights (aatmic gyan), experiences and gurbani. It seems to follow the flow of gurbani that I'm understanding.
Naam being pargat is a very important milestone and breakthrough point. Gurbani clarifies this especially the significance  of being out of lakh chaurasi and getting naam amrit.
 
If you like; I can give you an idea of the deeper explanations in pm, since they are not suitable for open forum, even though it's all in gurbani.  Let me know, but It may be a few days or so as I'll be busy with my 'body & spirit' building regimes!

^
All emotions become transformed into higher levels, more purified levels.
I have noticed this.
The way to do it is to feel that emotion in the presence of God.
So first work on feeling the presence of God around you and then whenever you feel that emotion coming, then bring the presence of God there and feel that emotion as clearly and purely as possible.
You may notice after a while of doing this that that emotion has started transforming.
It's quality is changing. It's becoming a higher quality emotion.

Beautiful.  
These moments are great steps in your spiritual evolution. Even if it last's a moment or two, it can be significant.   It's your higher self experiencing the awareness of existence in a sort of multi-dimension.  These "cool" moments come when consciousness jumps outside of the manukhs constant "thought" process.  (this is when true feeling kicks in) .  You kinda see via others eyes and how your own self reflects in those around you.  The common factor within all is the higher truth, and that's what you felt! 
This could well be an enlightening out of "ego" experience that may be fundamental to your own haumai understanding,     Try to put it to use in general daily life by aiming to view all your interactions with others as if looking at the whole scenario from a bird's eye view(out of your own ego) .   
 

from "the ringing sound" thread....
 
Posted just now  
Gurfateh gsm ji,   
I'm glad that you have found some answers and help on here. As always, I try to make it clear that any deeper techniques and advice I give, is mostly down to my own experience and how I personally relate it to gurbani. Some of the things that i mention have been confirmed with high avastha gurmukhs, and i usually refer to this where relevant.
Based on what you stated, and from what I understand, ...it sounds like good progress.  Seems that you have a good amount of bhagti energy which has developed within you.  (hence, the bursts of pulsations)   I think it would be a good idea for you to focus on rom rom technique along with doing long breath saas saas.   I'm not sure if you've already tried this but it appears that rom rom is trying to manifest..  The technique i stated in the meditation thread is the one that I tried and worked. There are other versions as well and with some abyassees. the strength of the prem and pyaar for waheguru alone can make the rom rom pakhah.
Once you do this and it gets pargat, the flow will become easier.  This will help to put dhyian on the sound of the shabad as it develops and rom rom will be very helpful in stages ahead.
At this phase, you should have noticed some major transformations in your attitude, daily life and even relationships.  Your outlook and awareness of the world around you will be more clear and less foggy. As you start putting more of your soul and heart into the house of Guru Nanak ji, you will notice more and more "mitti dhund jagh channan hoya"  
 
Unless you are practicing already, I would suggest to do Saas saas by going quieter and quieter....with long breaths and pauses...Then once deep enough, to stop following breath and switch to heart beat in centre of chest.  Whilst having the gurmantar vibrate mentally in kanth and mind...just stop and pause(holding breath) to see if it continues automatically with heart beat.   If not sure what I mean, then check the rom rom technique on mediation thread and I will also put this same post on that thread for continuing(as this thread is more about anhad shabad)
 
Waheguru
 

I had a pretty cool experience yesterday that I thought I'd share. I was sitting on a bench in my school's library. It was around 9:50 am and I needed to kill time until 11. Saas Saas was automatically going so I just started following it and focusing on the internal jaap. I started to hear my heartbeat as the mind was getting quieter and then the jaap started to transition to the heartbeat. Eventually, the focus got so strong that I would get absorbed into the jaap, thoughts would stop and I lost awareness of everything around me. Then moments would come where my curiosity would notice what's happening and everything would stop and I'd go back to saas saas. At one point I was absorbed in the heartbeat and it felt like someone lightly punched me around the navel area (this was the only time something other than thoughts caused my focus to break). The focus on the heartbeat was on and off until eventually, it got so strong that I completely knocked out. I woke up around 11:15 feeling so much peace and mental stability.  
I remember someone posted an analogy where they said the power from baikhri bani is like 1 unit, madhma 100 units, pasanti 1000 units etc. I never understood this but after what happened yesterday I think I know what they meant. 
 
 

This is because your flow of prana is imbalanced and getting obstructed in places. In order to understand this, you have to realise that there is 1) Your physical body and 2) your subtle body (sukham) . In order to be enlightened, these have to be in harmony and in sync. That's why, your body is your temple. 
Whenever the energy accumulations in your sukham sareer get too vast, then they have to transform directly into your physical body. This is why emotions, feelings and states of mind all affect our physical body. Feeling shitty, depressed, stressed leads to popular symptoms of many physical ailments etc. 
I've repeatedly stressed in the past that it's important to maintain good posture and be seated upright when doing jap. This allows prana to flow more freely.  Also note, that Yoga means to jog, which means to join/merge. True yoga is about the science behind joining your Sukham and physical sareer and to keep them vibrating at equal frequencies. First step is to jog your physical and subtle, your miri and piri, your inner and outer. After this, one can move further in order to jog self-jyot Waheguru jyot.  It's all about how you abolish levels of duality and become more pure in order to merge with Akaal Purakh (joti jot milaayai)
In my opinion, what you need to do and get stronger with is... focus on prana flowing with saas  by doing the saas graas/saas saas techniques with slight navel pull in and out. Done properly, this should pave the path of flow without sudden obstructions and eruptions. Activate and keep all energy flowing upwards from navel.

It's a good sign but there will be a few different reasons depending on your inner characteristics. Most of the time it is usually the mental calming and quietening of internal chatter. Reduction in stimulations, results in cooling of sukham sareer, which also affects the physical sareer.   However, at some stages, one gets the opposite effects of sudden warming, sweating etc.. I reckon this is to do with newer stimulations and activations of inner nadis, chakras ..etc..In this case, an increase in stimulations and activity results in more kinetic energy, therefore a rise in temperature.
There are other factors that come into play as well because I know of a Singh who had a lot of krodh and anxiety issues. He used to get feelings of cooling very often with simran, as he was unknowingly dampening his anger problems whilst raising his consciousness. Eventually, he noticed significant improvement in his krodh and tension.