Sat1176

Bhai Amrik Singh explains the panj shabad
Akath Katha_Bhai Amrik Singh Ji_04192021 Panj Shabads Explained.m4a
Here is the shabad he quotes
 
panch sabad nirmaa-il baajay. 
dhulkay chavar sankh ghan gaajay. (ang 974)
 
Dhulkay - Sound of drum Chavar - Shu shu sound like chaur sahib Sankh - Sound of conch shell Ghan - Sound of heavy mallet striking metal Gaajay - Sound of thunder
 
 

I've been listening to Bhai Simranjeet's Tohana recordings and following points stood out to me. Thought I would share.
You can find the original recordings here :
 
From recording 6-April-2021:
1st yudh is with thoughts in the mind and this battle is fought with the Gurmantar.
2nd yudh is with falling asleep at dev lok stage whilst we are trying to listen to anhad shabads and merge in Sach. The dhoots try and put us in sleep and dreams to stop us progressing.
When you hear crickets (bhinday), birds chirping, sehaj dhun this is the first stage of dev lok avasta.
Those who enter sehaj whilst listening to shabad and experience amrit ras have risen above dev lok.
Those who have transcended sleep have entered next stage.
Those who travel in sunn mandal instead of dreams of bhavjal are mukht.
Those who know before entering this physical world what instructions/hukam were given by Waheguru before they came each day are mukht.
Those who know how mind and body are made and how they are united are mukht.
 
From recording 7th April 2021:
4 Avastas of Naam/Shabad (What stage are you?)
1.You can hear the anhad sounds internally in the ears. 2.You know how to listen to anhad shabads with the guidance of gurmukhs. 3.You know how to merge into the shabads and become shabad roop. 4.You know how to play with the shabads in Agam and able to keep your focus on them during the day when in Tregun maya.   If you have doubts then you cannot progress beyond Dev lok even if you hear shabads. In Dev lok anhad sounds are heard, but you still have doubts or have not overcome all your vices.  
Simran + Viraag = Kirpa of Waheguru
 
DO NOT GIVE UP OR BE PESSIMISTIC THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT. THOSE THAT HAVE A PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK WILL NEVER MAKE IT! (Heard this from a number of Gurmukhs recently)
DO NOT HAVE BELIEF THAT SWITCHING GURMUKHS ALL THE TIME WILL YIELD FASTER KIRPA AND PROGRESS. HAVE FAITH (BHAROSA) IN YOURSELF OTHERWISE YOU ARE JUST LOOSING YOUR OWN SELF CONFIDENCE. YOU NEED TO MAKE THE EFFORT YOURSELF UNDER ONE TEACHER!
Keep doing quiet gentle Simran in the background whilst listening to anhad shabads. Eventually you will merge in the shabads and receive Amrit from them.

Not kirtan roop but never the less it’s probably close to what it sounds like, see time index 17:15
 

Good video
 
 

Bhai Sahib explains very clearly about developing pyaar for anhad shabads and not falling asleep when trying to listen to them.
 

Bhai Amrik Singh explains the panj shabad
Akath Katha_Bhai Amrik Singh Ji_04192021 Panj Shabads Explained.m4a
Here is the shabad he quotes
 
panch sabad nirmaa-il baajay. 
dhulkay chavar sankh ghan gaajay. (ang 974)
 
Dhulkay - Sound of drum Chavar - Shu shu sound like chaur sahib Sankh - Sound of conch shell Ghan - Sound of heavy mallet striking metal Gaajay - Sound of thunder
 
 

By simran I assume you mean you can hear Waheguru jaap internally going on in  automatic pilot. It’s probably the manifestion of Rom Rom simran. When you reach that avasta I hear you can hear simran coming from all around. 
 

I've been listening to Bhai Simranjeet's Tohana recordings and following points stood out to me. Thought I would share.
You can find the original recordings here :
 
From recording 6-April-2021:
1st yudh is with thoughts in the mind and this battle is fought with the Gurmantar.
2nd yudh is with falling asleep at dev lok stage whilst we are trying to listen to anhad shabads and merge in Sach. The dhoots try and put us in sleep and dreams to stop us progressing.
When you hear crickets (bhinday), birds chirping, sehaj dhun this is the first stage of dev lok avasta.
Those who enter sehaj whilst listening to shabad and experience amrit ras have risen above dev lok.
Those who have transcended sleep have entered next stage.
Those who travel in sunn mandal instead of dreams of bhavjal are mukht.
Those who know before entering this physical world what instructions/hukam were given by Waheguru before they came each day are mukht.
Those who know how mind and body are made and how they are united are mukht.
 
From recording 7th April 2021:
4 Avastas of Naam/Shabad (What stage are you?)
1.You can hear the anhad sounds internally in the ears. 2.You know how to listen to anhad shabads with the guidance of gurmukhs. 3.You know how to merge into the shabads and become shabad roop. 4.You know how to play with the shabads in Agam and able to keep your focus on them during the day when in Tregun maya.   If you have doubts then you cannot progress beyond Dev lok even if you hear shabads. In Dev lok anhad sounds are heard, but you still have doubts or have not overcome all your vices.  
Simran + Viraag = Kirpa of Waheguru
 
DO NOT GIVE UP OR BE PESSIMISTIC THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT. THOSE THAT HAVE A PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK WILL NEVER MAKE IT! (Heard this from a number of Gurmukhs recently)
DO NOT HAVE BELIEF THAT SWITCHING GURMUKHS ALL THE TIME WILL YIELD FASTER KIRPA AND PROGRESS. HAVE FAITH (BHAROSA) IN YOURSELF OTHERWISE YOU ARE JUST LOOSING YOUR OWN SELF CONFIDENCE. YOU NEED TO MAKE THE EFFORT YOURSELF UNDER ONE TEACHER!
Keep doing quiet gentle Simran in the background whilst listening to anhad shabads. Eventually you will merge in the shabads and receive Amrit from them.

Worth listening Gurmukho. 🙏 Explains how to jap gurmantar and how to switch to anhad when mind goes to sunn. Anhad shabads explained etc. What sehaj dhun sounds like...
 

Not quite anulom-vilom. He quotes the pangti
sūr sar sōs lai sōm sar pōkh lai jugat kar marat s sanabandh kījai .
Heat up the sun energy of the right nostril, and cool down the moon energy of the left nostril; practicing this breathcontrol, bring them into perfect balance.
He is only inhaling via right nostril (sun) and exhaling via left (moon). You do not alternate.

I was doing Abhiyas in sangat few years ago. A strong force came behind me and pushed my spine in so hard, making me sit up straight. It wasn’t someone walking by. Freaked me out a bit. 

I’m feeling much better now. Nothing unusual noticed after 2nd shot of vaccine. My lungs feel better that I can now handle cold drinks again and even eat ice cream. 
My wife on the other hand is not having it so easy. She seems to have very low stamina these days. Walking very slow in particular when walking up stairs. I think it may have impacted her lungs quite badly.
 
Thanks for asking bro. 🙏
 

I’m feeling much better now. Nothing unusual noticed after 2nd shot of vaccine. My lungs feel better that I can now handle cold drinks again and even eat ice cream. 
My wife on the other hand is not having it so easy. She seems to have very low stamina these days. Walking very slow in particular when walking up stairs. I think it may have impacted her lungs quite badly.
 
Thanks for asking bro. 🙏
 

I’m feeling much better now. Nothing unusual noticed after 2nd shot of vaccine. My lungs feel better that I can now handle cold drinks again and even eat ice cream. 
My wife on the other hand is not having it so easy. She seems to have very low stamina these days. Walking very slow in particular when walking up stairs. I think it may have impacted her lungs quite badly.
 
Thanks for asking bro. 🙏
 

Just wanted to share what with happened with our family last month with Covid 19 in that someone may learn a few things that may help them.
Over the December and early January month our local gurdwara had continuous akhand paths going on in memory of the shaheedi of char sahibzadey and parkash gurpurb of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. My mother  does regular akhand path roals went there to do the seva against the wishes of my father. This was bit of a divided decision as on one hand her sharda believed nothing would happen, yet my dad is in his early 70s could be at risk if he were to catch it. She never went anywhere else apart from the gurdwara.  Anyway she attended the gurdwara for a number of days partaking in the akhand paths seva for couple of hours at the time.
On New Years day, which fell on a Friday we invited my mother over for a couple of hours to spend time with us. She was feeling extremely lonely and missed seeing us. The next day my mother started getting covid symptoms including aching body and slight fever. On the Sunday, I got her tested and her result came back positive.
By Monday my wife and Dad also felt like they were not feeling well. Within a few days both of them also tested positive. My mother just suffered with a fever for a few days, loss of appetite, body weakness. Dad had the same but also had a extremely bad chesty cough. It was really bad that he couldn't even speak without coughing. With Wahegurus kirpa both recovered parents recovered in around 10 days.
The first week of covid my wife had quite minor symptoms. Just general lethargy and slight fever. Rest for a few hours a day was enough. However in the second week things started getting a lot worse. She started diarreah and vomiting and couldn't keep anything down, really bad fever and totally bed bound. 
I had one of those finger tip Oximeter devices at home which state that the average person should have blood oxygen saturation levels of between 95 to 100. I recommend everyone get one of those and check your baseline levels when your healthy and well. Anything less than 93 should be a warning sign that your oxygen levels are deteriorating and you should be medically assessed.
My wife was hovering around 95 so wasn't too concerned but never the less because she had been vomiting for a few days now we called the NHS covid helpline. They noticed whilst talking to her that she was becoming breathless the more the conversation continued. They called an ambulance and had her taken to hospital for assessment. They discharged her the same day and just gave her some medication to help with the vomiting. However they stated that during the next 4 days she would either get better or worse next few days were critical.
The very next day I noticed that my wife was taking very short shallow breaths as she slept. Normally people are supposed to take less than 20 breaths per minute. She was taking roughly 30-35 breaths. By the morning her blood oxygen levels were between 85-90. She was taken into hospital again and after various tests they said she had developed Covid pneumonia in her lungs and needed oxygen therapy and steroids (Dexamethosone is the standard drug they give here in the UK). Luckily we got her in early and after a few days of oxygen therapy she was able to breathe on her own and was discharged. It was any extremely stressful time for the entire family.
A few days before her discharge I started getting symptoms of feeling very weak and feeling cold in the hands and feet. I was now also covid positive and spent the next few days in bed with general weakness and the occasional fever. I also developed the severe cough and on a couple of occasions coughed up slight blood. Took me about 7-10 days to get over it before things began to calm down. Have I fully recovered today? Absolutely not! I'm still getting dull aches in the left side of my chest and in my shoulders. My blood oxygen levels are ok  but I think I'm probably suffering from inflammation of the left lung and maybe even heart and have long covid. It's a really worrying when you have it and you certainly think about if your time is up.
Keep safe everyone and follow the government guidelines. We didn't, thinking we were fine and we paid the price. I was fearful for my parents because they are elderly and extremely worried when my wife was taken to hospital, not knowing if I would ever see her again. She saw a number of people die in front of her and it was a very traumatic time for her in the hospital. I recall the day the ambulance took her away and how hysterical and worried she was. Don't let it get that to stage people and  stay safe now.
Gurdwaras are now subsequently closed in east London but we now found out that 19 people got it Covid in the gurdwara in that period and probably more. My mother didn't inform the Test and Trace people that she caught it at the gurdwara as she didn't want to get the gurdwara in to trouble. Whilst gurdwaras are important part of our spiritual lives but they are a gathering places where anyone there can have covid and we wouldn't know it.  I know gurdwaras are struggling financially because of the lack of sangat and having to remain closed in certain areas. But I truly believe during this pandemic it is for the best they remain closed or don't allow people to stay for long. Sorry to say this but our people are not sticking to the rules and some people will pay the price with their lives. For example someone told us they believe they got covid from a sick person who was serving parshad with his hands. Why are we so reckless! The committees should be held accountable. I was deeply annoyed when I found out my mother did not tell test and trace that she had been to the gurdwara. How will we truly know if gurdwaras are a breeding ground for covid if our people don't declare where they have been properly.  We all have a collective responsibility. Anyway stay safe and keep your families safe.... 🙏
 
 

@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. 
 

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.

That's good. Just keep swallowing it and take it as Waheguru's parshaad. 🙏
Waheguru ji, I don’t share my number because I don’t feel like I’m of any high avasta to be able to guide others. That comes with great responsibility and one must know exactly what they are doing. Playing with people’s spiritual lives is no joke. If I know of something then I’ll share here as will others who come forward in a general capacity.
There are plenty of gurmukhs now available who openly welcome 1 to 1 guidance and I humbly request you reach out to one of them. Try on gurmat meditation who I would recommend you try first. See other thread on how to connect to their platform.

That's good. Just keep swallowing it and take it as Waheguru's parshaad. 🙏
Waheguru ji, I don’t share my number because I don’t feel like I’m of any high avasta to be able to guide others. That comes with great responsibility and one must know exactly what they are doing. Playing with people’s spiritual lives is no joke. If I know of something then I’ll share here as will others who come forward in a general capacity.
There are plenty of gurmukhs now available who openly welcome 1 to 1 guidance and I humbly request you reach out to one of them. Try on gurmat meditation who I would recommend you try first. See other thread on how to connect to their platform.

This channel is in response to the English request from Sangat on main group (Gurmat Meditation Group - ਸਚੁ ਨਾਉ ਵਡਿਆਈ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ )
 
Eventually there will be two or so Akath Katha sessions in English
And rest of the time will be Simran Sewa, or as per sangat request
https://t.me/joinchat/U5jXKzMgza9iM2Jh

I'm hearing a lot recently about breath retention with simran i.e. kumbakh from a number of different sources. I heard about this many years ago but never gave much attention to it.
Gurbani contains the pangti:
When the breath was held in 
jab kumbhak bharipur leenaa.
 
then the anhad sound began to vibrate.
tah baajay anhad beenaa.
 
Sant Waryam Ji Singh gave this instruction.
Left Inhale 3 recitations of Waheguru 
Hold (x2) 6 recitations of Waheguru 
Exhale 3 recitations of Waheguru 
 
Guru Maa gave this instruction (number represents the number of times you recite the mantar). Start with the lowest set then work yourself up as your endurance increases.
Inhale    1           2          3
Hold     4            8          12
Exhale   8          16        24
Hold     2            4          6
 
Bhai Simranjeet Singh Tohana and other gurmukhs from Gurmat Meditation are also saying that one should practice this breath retention when thoughts are causing issues. They don't give counts but just say do what is comfortable for each individual.
e.g. Inhale, hold breath at navel and jap Waheguru as many times as you can, then exhale. Take few normal breaths then repeat.
Anyone doing this is part of their practice? I'm not very good at it as my lungs are not that good at holding the breath. Probably need to practice slowly.

Very strange experience whilst doing simran yesterday. Felt something was spinning round and round inside. Actually made me feel quite dizzy and light headed.

Came across the following pangtis a week ago on Ang 404. I wonder...

God has created Maya of the three qualities; tell me, how can it be crossed over?
tarai gun maa-i-aa barahm kee keenHee kahhu kavan biDh taree-ai ray.

The whirlpool is awesome and unfathomable; only through the Word of the Guru`s Shabad is one carried across. ||2||
ghooman ghayr agaah gaakhree gur sabdee paar utree-ai ray. ||2||