Sat1176

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmo3Xj6UCA_KLcODU1pGoQg
Also live on the mysimran.info Facebook page.
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9am to 9pm EST Saturday and Sunday :-)

They are great but the clicking sound is not discreet. When I used to use it on the train whilst keeping in my pocket, people use to give me strange looks wondering what I was carrying.
They are good for shabad or mool mantar jaap but I wouldn't use it for waheguru jaap.

I asked the specific question to Yogi Amardeep Singh and got the following response.
Question: Is Shunya being awake and aware with no thoughts or when you loose full awareness like deep sleep?
Response : Shunya is being awake and aware but there are no thoughts in the mind. In this stage you exist still as the witnesser. When one totally dissolves and there is not even any awareness left, this is called Maha-Shunya. (The Great Void)
 

pUjw krY sBu loku sMqhu mnmuiK Qwie n pweI ]4] (910-7)
poojaa karai sabh lok santahu manmukh thaa-ay na paa-ee. ||4||
Everyone worships Him, O Saints, but the self-willed manmukh is not accepted or approved. ||4||
sbid mrY mnu inrmlu sMqhu eyh pUjw Qwie pweI ]5] (910-8)
sabad marai man nirmal santahu ayh poojaa thaa-ay paa-ee. ||5||
If someone dies in the Word of the Shabad, his mind become immaculate, O Saints; such worship is accepted and approved. ||5||

I asked the specific question to Yogi Amardeep Singh and got the following response.
Question: Is Shunya being awake and aware with no thoughts or when you loose full awareness like deep sleep?
Response : Shunya is being awake and aware but there are no thoughts in the mind. In this stage you exist still as the witnesser. When one totally dissolves and there is not even any awareness left, this is called Maha-Shunya. (The Great Void)
 

Try this.
close your eyes and concentrate in front of your mouth as you jap out aloud. Use all your focus to listen to the source of the sound as it leaves your mouth. With practice you will find it more and more easy until suddenly your locked into the sound of your own voice. Then no matter what other sounds are happening around you, your ears focus only on the sound your voice. It pretty cool when it happens. It's the most effective japing jugti I have ever come across and I use it all the time.

Looks like Yogi Amandeep Singh is coming to London to conduct a few Mantra workshops. I have been quite impressed with his videos and teachings.
Kundalini Yoga & Meditation
Friday 5 May, 7-9PM, One KX
Unplug, detox, de-stress. Through meditation and powerful Kundalini kriyas, get back to your roots. Embrace alignment, create balance, throw out all the unnecessary thoughts from the head. Join us for a special Kundalini Yoga class led by Yogi Amandeep Singh. This class is open to students of all ages and abilities.
 
Mantra Yoga
Saturday 6 May, 12-5PM, Light Centre Moorgate
Vibrate the primal sounds to burn karma and to walk the path of dharma. The mind is trapped in the waves of constant chattering that is going on within.  This hinders a connection with the true self, our source of happiness, health and bliss. Mantra yoga involves vibrating a primal sound until the mind, transcends the chattering and the qualities of the true self are experienced. Japa the process of vibrating, when done in specific mudras and kriyas stimulates the 72,000 nadis or subtle energy channels which exist in the body. Intensified japa, creates psychic heat, which burns karma, When karma is burned dharma is found. Open to everyone.
 
Light Centre Moorgate • 114 London Wall • London EC2M 5QA
 
Maha Mantra - Waheguru: The Journey from the Ethers to Earth
Sunday 7 May, 12-5PM, Light Centre Moorgate
Mantra is that which balances the waves of the ever chattering mind. According to the yogic science, a mantra is living conscious energy and has to be awakened through the process of Japa. In the Kundalini tradition as taught by Yogi Bhajan, Waheguru is known as the Maha Mantra, the great mantra to connect with our higher self. Its vibrations are said to cleanse the karma of many lifetimes. It contains the essence of all the ages and wisdom of all yogic writings. The sacred sound of this mantra attracts health, wealth, prosperity and the four treasures of dharma (righteous living), artha (purpose), kama (emotional fulfillment) and moksha (liberation).
Join us in a beautiful workshop, where we will explore the journey of this mantra and its meaning on different levels and dimensions. We will explore the many methods of chanting the Maha Mantra to bring healing, transformation and positive changes into our lives.
 
Light Centre Moorgate • 114 London Wall • London EC2M 5QA
 
Bookings can be made via www.joy.yoga. It is quite expensive. :-( I might try and attend the WaheGuru mantra one.
www.yogiamandeepsingh.com
 
 
 

 
 

Simran comes from the Sanskrit "simrana" which means- 'act of remembrance', 'to remember continuosly'
In Punjabi, we refer to "simran" as a practice where we are dhyia' ing  the Ek Akaal purakh. When we use gurmantar or other mantar like har har or ram, then we are using the technique of japa yoga. This is "jaap" 
Jaap comes under the umbrella of simran, but it is just one technique that's used to get started.  Then comes shabad and meditating on shabad/naad, which is practice of nada yoga. Then we have rom rom, and following this; are some advanced techniques using nada, rom rom and surti to successfully leave/or enter, via the dasam. All of these come under the same umbrella of simran and us trying to "Si-Mar"  (Mar= to die, si-mar is to die in the shabad by doing simrana)

Solid question. Have a look at some posts in the previous topic below.
If still not sure, then ask further questions here.
A few key points are that Naam cannot be described to understand it, because it is has to be experienced to understand the connection with Waheguru.
Naam is attained with efforts and is not automatically obtained in amrit sanchar or from a master.  Second most important question is usually "Why is it necessary to get naam? or "must I attain naam with naam kamayee?"    ................Answer to this is, - Naam is important because one will NOT and cannot be free from chaurasi lakh joons, unless you earn your Naam. The Mukhti from chaurasi lakh is the first type of mukthi and gurbani puts a lot of focus into this.
Naam is like a primary stage, and only after Naam, can one progress to GurMukh. When one is connected to the words and sound coming from WaheGURU's MUKH, then they are on path of Gurmukh whilst also being Mukht from lakh chaurasi.
 
 
 

Try this.
close your eyes and concentrate in front of your mouth as you jap out aloud. Use all your focus to listen to the source of the sound as it leaves your mouth. With practice you will find it more and more easy until suddenly your locked into the sound of your own voice. Then no matter what other sounds are happening around you, your ears focus only on the sound your voice. It pretty cool when it happens. It's the most effective japing jugti I have ever come across and I use it all the time.

Try this.
close your eyes and concentrate in front of your mouth as you jap out aloud. Use all your focus to listen to the source of the sound as it leaves your mouth. With practice you will find it more and more easy until suddenly your locked into the sound of your own voice. Then no matter what other sounds are happening around you, your ears focus only on the sound your voice. It pretty cool when it happens. It's the most effective japing jugti I have ever come across and I use it all the time.

@Sat1176@Lucky@HisServant@tva prasad
from experienced practitioners, I wanted to know what is the difference between Jaap & Simran.
I understand Jaap as reciting with tongues. That is easy to get . But what is Simran ?  When does the stage of simran come ?
I ask because I read Gurbani panktis like Prabh ke simran gyan dhyan tat budh....  with Prabhus simran you get gyan, dhyan, tat budh.  I want these qualities in me. So will the waheguru jap be sufficient or do i have to wait till jaap becomes simran.
Also there is jap man satnam..o mind recite satnam
jeh har simran bhya ...where the simran takes place
so aisa har dhyayiye mere jeeare...  do dhyan of that hari
Also, I want to know that I have been doing waheguru japa 1hr am and in pm, out loud, following the saas giraas technique, since last week. At the moment, its extreme difficult to get the mind to listen to japa. How long do you guys think it will take before the mind settles a lil bit, months, years or next lifetimes ?
Thanks!
 
 

Kaljug, there are so many ways to reach the same final goal. The more I hear and read the more confused I get about which is the right method, 1 minute i'm doing 1 method then next minute the other. So now I have just decided to stop researching and starting doing. Only advice I can give is pick 1 method which works for you and just do it with sharda. Leave the rest to Waheguru Ji.

May he keep his mehar bharay hath on us all so we reach the stage of darshan of his lotus feet.

Slightly off topic but follows on from my previous post. Those that have time have a listen to this Q&A session with her. Sometimes her answers can be real eye openers. Particularly enjoyed the first question and her last suggestion.
 

It's actually very interesting what Das posted in his suggestions. I was listening to gurumaa the other day and she said exactly the same thing. She said there are two ways to still the mind.
1. Observe the thoughts but do react or associate with them and eventually they fade away.
2. Use intense concentration on an object to stop the thoughts. E.g mantra etc
Ultimately you should end up in the same state of pure clear consciousness.
i believe she advises to those under her guidance that they practice both in parallel.
 

What you've said is ultimate reality but that kind of vision is possible ONLY when one has already won the war on Maya and have removed all the veils of Illusion (Mal/Vikshape/Avaran). This stage is called Gyan and comes only after the "Purity of Mind" and "Upsana of Guru". Till Gyan stage is not reached, all of what you've said is purely theory and Mind canNOT be controlled that way. Give it a try and you'll see. What we're doing is pretending/faking this theory by thinking (mind is already involved in thinking).
These days majority of Sikhs (and other religions) have gone astray and is following the black-and-white theory, e.g Sikhs claims
We believe in Nirgun and worship Nirgun only. Problem is we don't know the Nirgun, and if Nirgun is not known, then how to worship him? Just concentrate on Shabad and no need to put dhayan on any sakar/physical thing. They don't even acknolwdge the concentration on Sri Guru Granth sahib Ji, even though we all bow to GuruJi. It's saying like I want to hang the clothes on the wall but don't want to put a nail on wall to hold the clothes. i.e we need something to put the dhayan on, in the later stages, that dhayan will be switched to Nirgun but that stage is very far. We see God in all etc., but then we go to Gurdwara to judge the kathakars/kirtinas. The problem is we fail to understand the reality behind the core concepts and just take the facts on face-value. Most people in every religion (ours included i.e Sikhs) believes in Boxed God (God in a box which satisfies certain pre-conceived notions). May be its the way Kalyug works, otherwise there will be Peace, Calm, and Love everywhere!

It's actually very interesting what Das posted in his suggestions. I was listening to gurumaa the other day and she said exactly the same thing. She said there are two ways to still the mind.
1. Observe the thoughts but do react or associate with them and eventually they fade away.
2. Use intense concentration on an object to stop the thoughts. E.g mantra etc
Ultimately you should end up in the same state of pure clear consciousness.
i believe she advises to those under her guidance that they practice both in parallel.
 

You beat it with the gurmantar. You make it sit still and listen or do the Jaap, so it doesn't have the audacity to even think about things in the first place. Try it and you will very quickly realise how sneaky it is.
It is however good practice to tame it slowly over time rather than after the event because by then it's too late. However also show it some love occasionally. There are many encouraging and pleasing pangtis in gurbani that one can read and reflect upon. 

Bhen-ji,
The first post in this thread explains ajapa quite well like Jaikara already mentioned.
Saas-Giras as per my understanding means japping the gurmantar with every breath which is the ultimate sustenance of the body to function in this world. However it has few stages. It starts with verbal jappa out aloud. The technique that I was taught was to say "Wahe" - slight pause - then say "Guru". The key here is that you must listen attentively to what you have just said and the sound of your own voice. At this stage don't worry about synchronizing with the breathing. Just worry about saying it in two parts and concentrate on what you are saying. With practice you may find your own natural rhythm with the breath, or breath synchronizing in some form with the words. This stage is also referred to as "Bhakri". This stage needs to be done for a significant amount of time till you find your mind beginning to listen attentively without running off thinking other things.
When you can see that the mind is becoming more focused on the sound of your own voice, and it's mental chattering is significantly diminishing then you can slowly begin to lower the volume till you get to a whispering stage so that there is still some dull audible sound coming from the mouth which you can hear. This will require greater effort of concentration. Once again test your mind. If you find that the mind wonders off in other directions and does not sit and listen to the jaap then you can try for a little longer to make it settle otherwise return to step one where you increase the volume a bit more till it starts to listen again.
This leads saas-giras to include a state called saas-saas. With this stage you start by whispering the gurmantar "Wahe" with inhale and  "Guru" on exhale, where either the Guru being a little louder or same volume as "Wahe" part. You will have found that when doing simran out aloud in the first stage of saas-giras it is next to impossible to say "Wahe" and inhale at same time but saying Guru when exhaling was easy. The only natural way of talking or producing any sound is when exhaling. Because with saas-saas you are whispering, it becomes easier to say Wahe properly when inhaling with the breath. With saas-saas you should find that the mind also begins to jap along with the whisper. However your attention must always remain on the sound of whisper or of the voice of the mind japping. If you find your thoughts returning again and mind wondering off then try and bring attention back on to the whispering sound or revert to earlier stage. Key point to note is that the mouth should only be slightly open when doing saas-saas and you should be breathing through the mouth. This stage is also referred to as "Madhma"
When you have become adept at this stage one can try and leave the breath synchonisation and just focus on the mental jaap sound alone. This stage is also called "Pasanti".
Ajapa jaap means japa without effort (A-japa) and is the end state of saas-giras where the mind has now gone into autopilot and is japing at it's own speed without you forcing it recite, i.e. without any kind of will power. It's a very advanced stage and requires a lot of effort in the earlier stages and above all Waheguru's kirpa.
 
jo saas giraas Dhi-aa-ay mayraa Har Har so gursikh guroo man bhaavai.
One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food - that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.
In the above pangti you will see the name Har repeated twice. Why? This is a reference to saas giras in that what is being emphasized here is one Har on inhale and the second Har on exhale.
 
Its taken years of searching, reading and "Saadh" sangat just to learn the contents of this one post. If it helps you, and you start walking on the path of simran, sooner rather later, without having to waste anymore time first trying find out these teachings on the path of naam simran then it will have been worthwhile.
Happy japping and god bless you on your journey.

It's actually very interesting what Das posted in his suggestions. I was listening to gurumaa the other day and she said exactly the same thing. She said there are two ways to still the mind.
1. Observe the thoughts but do react or associate with them and eventually they fade away.
2. Use intense concentration on an object to stop the thoughts. E.g mantra etc
Ultimately you should end up in the same state of pure clear consciousness.
i believe she advises to those under her guidance that they practice both in parallel.
 

You beat it with the gurmantar. You make it sit still and listen or do the Jaap, so it doesn't have the audacity to even think about things in the first place. Try it and you will very quickly realise how sneaky it is.
It is however good practice to tame it slowly over time rather than after the event because by then it's too late. However also show it some love occasionally. There are many encouraging and pleasing pangtis in gurbani that one can read and reflect upon. 

You cannot beat the mind; best way is to work along with him. Controlling the mind does not mean stopping the thought process. Control of the mind means using it properly, and knowing the method of using the forces of the mind. It is necessary that we learn to observe, understand, and train the functions of mind at the various levels of consciousness.
Techniques to make Mind one-pointed
Do not try to stop Mind from thinking something. Do not play wrestling with your mind. Just try to see what kind of thoughts mind is thinking and where it is going. Do not give Mind the permission to run, but do not stop it from going there - instead give it full control by saying "Mind if you want to go there, you can go; but I am not coming with you.". After some time, the Mind will become steady and would not run. This is the most commonly used technique.

During meditation build your determination, and tell your mind, “At this time my mind is only for meditation. I have to meditate and learn to go beyond this mire of delusion and confusion created by my mind. I am not going to identify with the thought patterns going on in my mind. No matter what happens during these moments I will be not disturbed, no matter what happens. Let my preoccupations come forward later. I do not want to be disturbed.” This way, we will build our sankalpa shakti. Sankalpa shakti (determination).
  This technique for those who has somewhat better control on their bhuddhi. In this technique, student divides his mind into 2 parts: One the owner, and other the servant. Being the owner of Mind, it instructs the other part (servant) not to run and eventually Mind gets trained.
  This technique is for advanced. Under this technique sit down for dhana and stop thinking. Empty your whole mind and watch from where the thoughts are coming. You will notice that thoughts come from outside. Throw these thoughts before entering the mind and destroy the thought. It would be interesting to know the Mind in terms of Bird. Mind is a bird. Greed and Honor are its 2 wings; Attachment and Hatred are its mouth (chuanj) and it resides on tree named as body. Good (Shubh) and Bad (Ashubh) are its food. The technique to control this mind in terms of Bird: Prepare a cage of Vichar and put this mind inside this cage. (i.e always think about what is not-changable). Cut the wings of greed by using scisor of Veerag and Santokh. Give him the food of rememberance of Atama.
 

Bhen-ji,
The first post in this thread explains ajapa quite well like Jaikara already mentioned.
Saas-Giras as per my understanding means japping the gurmantar with every breath which is the ultimate sustenance of the body to function in this world. However it has few stages. It starts with verbal jappa out aloud. The technique that I was taught was to say "Wahe" - slight pause - then say "Guru". The key here is that you must listen attentively to what you have just said and the sound of your own voice. At this stage don't worry about synchronizing with the breathing. Just worry about saying it in two parts and concentrate on what you are saying. With practice you may find your own natural rhythm with the breath, or breath synchronizing in some form with the words. This stage is also referred to as "Bhakri". This stage needs to be done for a significant amount of time till you find your mind beginning to listen attentively without running off thinking other things.
When you can see that the mind is becoming more focused on the sound of your own voice, and it's mental chattering is significantly diminishing then you can slowly begin to lower the volume till you get to a whispering stage so that there is still some dull audible sound coming from the mouth which you can hear. This will require greater effort of concentration. Once again test your mind. If you find that the mind wonders off in other directions and does not sit and listen to the jaap then you can try for a little longer to make it settle otherwise return to step one where you increase the volume a bit more till it starts to listen again.
This leads saas-giras to include a state called saas-saas. With this stage you start by whispering the gurmantar "Wahe" with inhale and  "Guru" on exhale, where either the Guru being a little louder or same volume as "Wahe" part. You will have found that when doing simran out aloud in the first stage of saas-giras it is next to impossible to say "Wahe" and inhale at same time but saying Guru when exhaling was easy. The only natural way of talking or producing any sound is when exhaling. Because with saas-saas you are whispering, it becomes easier to say Wahe properly when inhaling with the breath. With saas-saas you should find that the mind also begins to jap along with the whisper. However your attention must always remain on the sound of whisper or of the voice of the mind japping. If you find your thoughts returning again and mind wondering off then try and bring attention back on to the whispering sound or revert to earlier stage. Key point to note is that the mouth should only be slightly open when doing saas-saas and you should be breathing through the mouth. This stage is also referred to as "Madhma"
When you have become adept at this stage one can try and leave the breath synchonisation and just focus on the mental jaap sound alone. This stage is also called "Pasanti".
Ajapa jaap means japa without effort (A-japa) and is the end state of saas-giras where the mind has now gone into autopilot and is japing at it's own speed without you forcing it recite, i.e. without any kind of will power. It's a very advanced stage and requires a lot of effort in the earlier stages and above all Waheguru's kirpa.
 
jo saas giraas Dhi-aa-ay mayraa Har Har so gursikh guroo man bhaavai.
One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food - that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.
In the above pangti you will see the name Har repeated twice. Why? This is a reference to saas giras in that what is being emphasized here is one Har on inhale and the second Har on exhale.
 
Its taken years of searching, reading and "Saadh" sangat just to learn the contents of this one post. If it helps you, and you start walking on the path of simran, sooner rather later, without having to waste anymore time first trying find out these teachings on the path of naam simran then it will have been worthwhile.
Happy japping and god bless you on your journey.

Here are some good links to get started on Saas giraas:
 

Bhen-ji,
The first post in this thread explains ajapa quite well like Jaikara already mentioned.
Saas-Giras as per my understanding means japping the gurmantar with every breath which is the ultimate sustenance of the body to function in this world. However it has few stages. It starts with verbal jappa out aloud. The technique that I was taught was to say "Wahe" - slight pause - then say "Guru". The key here is that you must listen attentively to what you have just said and the sound of your own voice. At this stage don't worry about synchronizing with the breathing. Just worry about saying it in two parts and concentrate on what you are saying. With practice you may find your own natural rhythm with the breath, or breath synchronizing in some form with the words. This stage is also referred to as "Bhakri". This stage needs to be done for a significant amount of time till you find your mind beginning to listen attentively without running off thinking other things.
When you can see that the mind is becoming more focused on the sound of your own voice, and it's mental chattering is significantly diminishing then you can slowly begin to lower the volume till you get to a whispering stage so that there is still some dull audible sound coming from the mouth which you can hear. This will require greater effort of concentration. Once again test your mind. If you find that the mind wonders off in other directions and does not sit and listen to the jaap then you can try for a little longer to make it settle otherwise return to step one where you increase the volume a bit more till it starts to listen again.
This leads saas-giras to include a state called saas-saas. With this stage you start by whispering the gurmantar "Wahe" with inhale and  "Guru" on exhale, where either the Guru being a little louder or same volume as "Wahe" part. You will have found that when doing simran out aloud in the first stage of saas-giras it is next to impossible to say "Wahe" and inhale at same time but saying Guru when exhaling was easy. The only natural way of talking or producing any sound is when exhaling. Because with saas-saas you are whispering, it becomes easier to say Wahe properly when inhaling with the breath. With saas-saas you should find that the mind also begins to jap along with the whisper. However your attention must always remain on the sound of whisper or of the voice of the mind japping. If you find your thoughts returning again and mind wondering off then try and bring attention back on to the whispering sound or revert to earlier stage. Key point to note is that the mouth should only be slightly open when doing saas-saas and you should be breathing through the mouth. This stage is also referred to as "Madhma"
When you have become adept at this stage one can try and leave the breath synchonisation and just focus on the mental jaap sound alone. This stage is also called "Pasanti".
Ajapa jaap means japa without effort (A-japa) and is the end state of saas-giras where the mind has now gone into autopilot and is japing at it's own speed without you forcing it recite, i.e. without any kind of will power. It's a very advanced stage and requires a lot of effort in the earlier stages and above all Waheguru's kirpa.
 
jo saas giraas Dhi-aa-ay mayraa Har Har so gursikh guroo man bhaavai.
One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food - that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.
In the above pangti you will see the name Har repeated twice. Why? This is a reference to saas giras in that what is being emphasized here is one Har on inhale and the second Har on exhale.
 
Its taken years of searching, reading and "Saadh" sangat just to learn the contents of this one post. If it helps you, and you start walking on the path of simran, sooner rather later, without having to waste anymore time first trying find out these teachings on the path of naam simran then it will have been worthwhile.
Happy japping and god bless you on your journey.