Ragmaala

very beautiful and soothing voice!

It don't get any clearer than this -

ਸਤਜੁਗਿ ਤੈ ਮਾਣਿਓ ਛਲਿਓ ਬਲਿ ਬਾਵਨ ਭਾਇਓ ॥
In Satyug, You enjoyed deceiving and liberating King Bali in the Vaman avtar.

ਤ੍ਰੇਤੈ ਤੈ ਮਾਣਿਓ ਰਾਮੁ ਰਘੁਵੰਸੁ ਕਹਾਇਓ ॥
In Treta, You loved being called King Ram, of the Raghu Dynasty.
ਦੁਆਪੁਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨ ਮੁਰਾਰਿ ਕੰਸੁ ਕਿਰਤਾਰਥੁ ਕੀਓ ॥
In Dwapar, You, Krishan Murara, killed Kans and saved everyone.

ਉਗ੍ਰਸੈਣ ਕਉ ਰਾਜੁ ਅਭੈ ਭਗਤਹ ਜਨ ਦੀਓ ॥
You granted Kingship to Ugrasain and elevated your devotees.

ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰੁ ਅੰਗਦੁ ਅਮਰੁ ਕਹਾਇਓ ॥
In Kaliyug, You came as Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Angad Dev and Guru Amardas.

ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਜੁ ਅਬਿਚਲੁ ਅਟਲੁ ਆਦਿ ਪੁਰਖਿ ਫੁਰਮਾਇਓ ॥੭॥
The rule of Guru Sahibs is unchanging, unmovable, by His very command.

Guru Granth Sahib, 1390

ਆਪਿ ਨਰਾਇਣੁ ਕਲਾ ਧਾਰਿ ਜਗ ਮਹਿ ਪਰਵਰਿਯਉ ॥ आपि नराइणु कला धारि जग महि परवरियउ ॥ Āp narā▫iṇ kalā ḏẖār jag mėh parvari▫ya▫o. The Lord Himself wielded His Power and entered the world.
ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰਿ ਆਕਾਰੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਜਗ ਮੰਡਲਿ ਕਰਿਯਉ ॥ निरंकारि आकारु जोति जग मंडलि करियउ ॥ Nirankār ākār joṯ jag mandal kari▫ya▫o. The Formless Lord took form, and with His Light He illuminated the realms of the world.
ਜਹ ਕਹ ਤਹ ਭਰਪੂਰੁ ਸਬਦੁ ਦੀਪਕਿ ਦੀਪਾਯਉ ॥ जह कह तह भरपूरु सबदु दीपकि दीपायउ ॥ Jah kah ṯah bẖarpūr sabaḏ ḏīpak ḏīpā▫ya▫o. He is All-pervading everywhere; the Lamp of the Shabad, the Word, has been lit.
ਜਿਹ ਸਿਖਹ ਸੰਗ੍ਰਹਿਓ ਤਤੁ ਹਰਿ ਚਰਣ ਮਿਲਾਯਉ ॥ जिह सिखह संग्रहिओ ततु हरि चरण मिलायउ ॥ Jih sikẖah sangarahi▫o ṯaṯ har cẖaraṇ milā▫ya▫o. Whoever gathers in the essence of the teachings shall be absorbed in the Feet of the Lord.

ਸਭ ਤੇ ਵਡਾ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਜਿਨਿ ਕਲ ਰਾਖੀ ਮੇਰੀ ॥੪॥੧੦॥੫੭॥
Guru Nanak is the greatest of all; He saved my honor in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga. ||4||10||57||

The word 'ਵਡਾ' also means big. Who is the biggest of all - God; Who is God - Lord Guru Nanak.

ਬਾਣੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗੁਰੂ ਹੈ ਬਾਣੀ ਵਿਚਿ ਬਾਣੀ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਸਾਰੇ ॥
The Word, the Bani is Guru, and Guru is the Bani. Within the Bani, the Ambrosial Nectar is contained.

Guru is Bani.

ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਬਾਣੀ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਹੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਜੇਵਡੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
Waaho! Waaho! is the Bani, the Word, of the Formless Lord. There is no other as great as He is.

Bani is God

Therefore, it can be proven from the above that, Guru is God.

Peace

ਗੁਰੁ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੁ ॥
Know that the Guru and the Transcendent Lord are One

I watched this video while I was in grieving process of my Daadi , who had passed away the same day.
This was very emotional and scary at the same time.


This led me to reading the translation of Garuda Purana. And some of the things mentioned in there are the ones that Guru Arjan Dev Ji Mentions specifically when The Jam Hits your head with a rod to wake you up.
But at the same time there is comfort in the power of Naam and Gurbani which carries us across this Bhavsagar.

A great reminder indeed, neo bhaji!

@truthseeker, satkirin

When Mata Sulakhni Ji ( wife of Guru Nanak) asked Guru Nanak for the blessing of sons, she was blessed with two cloves as a blessing. The prashad/blessing in the form of cloves lead to birth of Sri Chand Ji and Lakhmi Chand Ji. You may find this in the katha of Suraj Prakash Granth by Kavi Santokh Singh Ji.

There are many concepts in Sikhi which are very subtle and not apparent at first. This understanding only comes after the company of Saints, Mahapurakhs and spiritually elevated beings through their physical presence, books, biographies, discourses or a personal experience.

Nirankar/God took the sargun form of Guru Nanak and 9 Gurus. The idea was to lead by example. They led a householders life to teach us. But that does not mean that Guru operates the same way as we do. We simply cannot fathom the workings of our Guru whether he hunted, had more than one wife, sacrificed himself for Truth, sat in a basement for 28 years etc etc.

Gurbani teaches us to follow the teachings of the Guru , but not to emulate Guru. We simply cannot copy our Guru. Guru operates in mysterious ways beyond our understanding. Gur Kaheya so kaar kamavo Gur ki karni kahe dhavo.

When Guru Nanak disappeared there was no physical body left, Same thing happened when Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji disappeared, no physical bodies were found. Same things happened when sons of Guru Gobind Singh were martyred, their bodies simply disappeared for a while. So what can we say about the physical body of a Guru ?

If we cannot understand the physicality of Guru, how can we compare Guru to a normal human being and say that he had a body, enjoyed bodily pleasure and engaged to have kids. This sentiment is shared by all the highly elevated spiritual beings like Baba Nand Singh Ji etc etc and many other Gursikhs. You might not find it written in many books.

Gurbani also says that liberated ones do not come into the cycle of birth and death.
The birth of a elevated spiritual being is different than the rest of humans. This applies to great saints.
The body of child is created in womb for 9 months, everything is happening like a normal human baby. When the baby is delivered, the atma/soul/jeev/spiritual being enters the body at that time. That already liberated being does not have to spend 9 months in the womb.

And Guru is not even born, nor does he go anywhere. He has been present since the beginning, in the present and for the future. Satguru mera sada sada na aave na jaave. Guru is ever present , he neither comes nor goes.

These sentiments are not my own personal or indvidual opinions or feelings. But this is a common sentiment shared by many saint traditions like Nanaksar Samparda, Damadami Taksal, Rara Sahib etc etc.
I do not have links for you where you can read up on such things, but maybe other posters may have sources that provide a written evidence.

Only an ignorant person can think that Satguru Sri Guru Nanak dev jee Maharaaj procreated as humans and animals do.
Khalsa jee, do not try to apply ordinary human/animals activities to the Almighty. A person like me cannot even fathom the level of a Saint. Here we have Satguru jee who converted dacoits, perverts, robbers, murderers into saints. You guys can imagine the difference.

ਗੁਰਿ ਕਹਿਆ ਸਾ ਕਾਰ ਕਮਾਵਹੁ ॥
गुरि कहिआ सा कार कमावहु ॥
gur kahi-aa saa kaar kamaavahu.
Do those deeds which the Guru has ordained.

ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਕਰਣੀ ਕਾਹੇ ਧਾਵਹੁ ॥
गुर की करणी काहे धावहु ॥
gur kee karnee kaahay Dhaavahu.
Why are you chasing after the Guru's actions?

Waheguru jee kaa Khalsa Waheguru jee kaa Fateh

Before interpreting gurbani I believe one should have some grammar framework behind gurbani arths, historical(uthanka) framework, through understanding different aspects of divine(Ikoankar-Sargun and Nirgun), one should have good understanding different aspects of Ikoankar/Vahiguru- bhagti-bhav-bhagti aspect of Vahiguru, shabad surat aspect of Vahiguru, shakti aspect of Vahiguru nirgun-shabad gyan aspect of Vahiguru, absolute truth and relative truth contexts of gurbani, and finally one should be deeply connected with shabad(via meditation) in order to provide metaphysical/antriv arths -deep intuitive interpretation deep gnosis/metaphysical interpretation of Gurbani as ultimately Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji is dhur ki bani- straight from divine-anubhav parkash- intuitive infinite spontaneous effortless ocean of divine knowledge.



Sikhi supports absolute truth reality(non dual truth never changing/eternal) and relative realities/truth (aspects of God-sargun/shabad/shakti god aspects incarnation etc/devotion of avtar) which appear/disappear in the absolute spontaneously/effortlessly.

All of these may seem paradoxical because we are try study sikhi with conceptual mind. However, sikhi needs to be experienced, needs to be looked at from one spiritual development.

Ikoankar brings creator/creation together in its absolute full realization statement:

~Ik Oankar ~ One universal Eternal Absolute unchanged Awareness Being-Light-Knowledge- God- all in one, one in all- embodiment of stillness awareness, expressing itself in its movement - creating, preserving and changing creation spontaneously effortlessly.



It's relative statement, statement of transcendence does not explain Sikh philosophy in its totality. In order for us to reconcile Gurbani statements totally, it needs to be looked at from as part of one spiritual experience itself rather other abstract philosophy out there somewhere.

Sikhism initially points out - world is illusion, god is only real (this statement of transcendence for the seeker) then after seeker transcendence, seeker perceive what gurbani points out- world is har roop (world is god-sargun/nirgun is ONE-full unity), which means:

World is false-maya as separate relative reality perception but same world/ universe is true as form of God- Ik Hari roop as bhram pure-bhramgyan perception.

This is similar to what adi sankara said as well in advaita:

The world is illusion, bhraman alone is real, world is bhraman.

Our problems come from the fact that there are way too many of us. We destroy large habitats to make larges spaces for us to live. The largest destruction of land of animals and plants comes from us, through mere existence.

And there is no way to feed such a large population except through factory farming. Google some of these factory farm videos to see how horrible those conditions are.

Habitat destruction is a bigger issue. Controlling human population is the answer.

We have to give lekha for everything. We have to give lekha for the air we breathe, for the many microorganisms we destroy, for the water we drink, for the milk we drink, for the plants we kill and for the animals we kill.

Killing animals is a greater lekha than killing plants. So as per sant mahapurash, killing animals will have a greater karmic effect than just killing plants.

There is a lekha for everything, we cannot escape, it is scary. The only time we dont give lekha is when our mind is engrossed in simran ( in simple terms). And how many times does that happen ?

So it is better to not incur so much lekha that we have to become a goat. hen etc just to get our throats slit.

Only those who themselves have reached the turiya pad etcetc can talk about such high things, because they dont incur lekha.

For dumb people like us, it is better we just follow what has been advised by the mahapurakhs and sants, instead of using our own intelligence or interpretation.

But remember there is a lekha for everything, for the plants, for the grains, for the milk and for the meat. choice is ours.

Today, I had two experiences.
1) I heard my mother screaming Waheguru in her sleep this morning. She was screaming in a scared voice. At first I thought I should wake her up , but I let it be. She recited/screamed Waheguru 5-6 times in an elongated manner and then went back to snoring. I asked her, she said she couldnt remember everything, but she was scared of something & that is why was reciting Waheguru. Maybe some bad entity came and was scared away by the Gurmantra.
Also, when ever I felt scared during dreams, my reflex has always been to say Waheguru. So , whenever fear comes saying waheguru will cut it.

2) I had a sensation of falling down from blank space while sleeping, i continued with it, it lasted for a very short while and then it felt as if hit the bed. Then I tried to get out of the body, I could only get up halfwayfrom lying to sitting position, the magnetic tug to physical body was too strong & then went back to sleep.

This statement feels home. I might imagine myself to think a bodily sensation is special, when in fact it might be nothing.

I watched this video today. It was very easy to understand for a low life like me. It gave inspiration to do more jaap.
I am sure others will find it useful too.
Maybe it has been posted before.
Loved the part about Waheguru Waheguru & then Mind saying waheguru when surti latches on to shabad.

If I am not wrong, these answers will come automatically & with Sehaj when one advances or goes deeper within. Right ?

At this stage, I can only bow down to those in whose minds the above questions arise genuinely. They are Dhan.

If I am not wrong, these answers will come automatically & with Sehaj when one advances or goes deeper within. Right ?

At this stage, I can only bow down to those in whose minds the above questions arise genuinely. They are Dhan.

If I am not wrong, these answers will come automatically & with Sehaj when one advances or goes deeper within. Right ?

At this stage, I can only bow down to those in whose minds the above questions arise genuinely. They are Dhan.

Dear Ragmala,
you must bear in mind, that since we have left our Father´s House, Sach Khand, we have been collecting dirt on our souls. And this has been since countless aeons....

So do you really think or anybody that with some time given to simran, one can wash all of one´s huge filth?

The mind has been wandering since then, not even for a second it has stopped to rest ... it is continously runnig outside in the maya powered by the 5 vikars ... so however one´s strong efforts maybe in bhakti, believe it, we by ourselves, can never ever reach or have any spiritual achievements...

So then what to do?

Leave yourself as "kookar" at His Door without wavering .... It is by the water of His Daya Meher, that we can be washed and become pure paviter.

You see, when you say it seems you have gotten no where ..... remove away even those thoughts, because in that way, we are not totally given in His Dhyan, as we are still conscoius of ourselves of not having seeing or feeling anything ....

In His bhakti, we have to behead ourselves, not literally, but, means to be motionless, mindless ..... then when the haume, or I /me vanishes with His Simran, only He remains.... and then we shall have His Darshan.

Sat Sree Akal.

Mantra for Your Mind

An ancient yogic text, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, likens the process of reciting a mantra (mantra japa in Sanskrit) to uncovering the inner essence of something. Much like pressing sesame seeds yields sesame oil, churning milk produces butter, or digging a well exposes water, the sages say, the power of repeating a mantra reveals something deeper within each of us than what we see on the surface.

According to this Upanishad, mantra japa is akin to lighting a fire with fire sticks. When two sticks, aranis, are vigorously rubbed together, they ignite—a metaphor for inner awakening.

Making one’s body/mind the lower arani and the mantra Om the upper one, practice meditation as if you are rubbing two fire sticks together, and in the process unveil the inner Self which is hidden within you. (1.14)
Thus, says the text, reciting a mantra uncovers the experience of Being.

What Is a Mantra?
Using mantra meditation to uncover our essential being sounds great, but what exactly is a mantra? A mantra is a sound that has, as the ancient sages say, one foot in this world and one foot in a world that transcends ordinary sensory and psychological experience. The foot located in this world resides in the mind, where the mantra is first recited and then gradually internalized—like the words and melody of a favorite song. The other foot of the mantra is para, or beyond.

Mantras are not simply mysterious formulae nor are they meaningless or alien sets of sounds. Each mantra collects the energies of inner life—your motivations, aims, and desires—and elevates them to a new level. Eventually the practice of mantra leads to a fusion between the mind of the practitioner and the transcendental reality the mantra embodies.

A devotional experience as well as a conceptual one, every mantra contains an element of reverence for the Infinite. This can be found in phrases such as “we worship,” “we revere,” “we bow to,” and “we cherish” found in many mantras. Mantras also contain within them the name of the Infinite as a way of expressing one or more aspects of the Divine’s presence. As in most spiritual traditions, a variety of names embody the concept of the Infinite—Father, Mother, Lord, or Source of Healing. But in mantra japa, none of these terms is meant to externalize God or to replace a meditator’s religious affiliation. Instead, each name points to an aspect of the Indescribable as a vehicle through which a meditator can realize his or her own essential nature.

In addition to the name of the Infinite, many mantras incorporate a “seed sound,” a bija mantra, that captures in very concentrated form aspects of potential spiritual energy. These sounds are woven into mantras and add to their potency. They are, it is said, devices for linking the mind to such qualities as strength, health, peace, and happiness. With practice, these qualities emerge in the mind to guide and protect a meditator.

The Lower Stick
The first step in mantra meditation grooms the body and the mind to receive the mantra. This “lower stick” preparation comprises a series of steps, each assisting in the process of collecting and focusing mental energy.

1. Your body. Select a posture you find both comfortable and steady. Classically, only a few postures are considered appropriate for meditation, but if you’re just learning—or have any injuries—you may need to find a more comfortable alternative. You can, for example, sit against a wall or in a chair to help you relax your physical effort and focus on what is occurring in your mind.

2. Your breath. Once you rest your body, focus on your breathing. By smoothing and softening the breath, you can reduce emotional tensions. In the process, see if you can find the pace of breathing that is natural and just right for you. Then your breath can become the relaxed focus of your attention.

3. Your mind. Finally, as a prelude to engaging with a mantra, feel the breath continuously flowing in and out of your nostrils. By training your mind to rest in this single sensation, other senses relax and turn inward, helping you gather together mental energies that are otherwise easily dissipated.

Thus, by resting your body, deepening your breath, and centering your attention on the breath in the nostrils, you prepare the way for mantra meditation and establish a solid foundation—a stable lower stick—for practice.

The Upper Stick
Once the body and the mind are primed, you’re ready for the “upper stick,” the actual sound of the mantra, which will protect, nourish, and guide your mind. Because a mantra focuses attention within the mind itself, it offers a simple alternative to distracting thoughts and emotions and creates a sense of inner distance, acting as an alambana, a meditative support for the mind.

A common mantra to start with is the so’ham mantra, which is associated with the flow of the breath. To practice this mantra, recite the sound so with the inhalation and the sound ham (pronounced “hum”) with the exhalation, letting the mantra sounds flow through the entire length of the breath. These sounds magnify the cleansing and nourishing qualities of each breath and soon become a deep source of nurturance. A literal translation of so’ham is “I am who I am” or “I am That.”

Breathing and the so’ham mantra are profoundly linked in meditation, but that doesn’t mean you should alter your breathing pattern to link it to the mantra. In fact, you should maintain the natural pace of your breath when you practice; otherwise the mantra will disturb your breathing, and your nervous system will no longer remain relaxed. Preserve the natural flow of your breathing, and you will find that you can rest in the sound of the mantra far more easily.
Refining the Mantra Flow

While the so’ham mantra coordinates with your breathing pattern, most mantras do not. Mantras such as the Gayatri mantra, the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, or any of the initiation mantras given for personal practice soon separate themselves from the breath and find their own pace, creating a strong mental focus with little awareness of body or breath. That’s when the mantra becomes the upper fire stick—repetitively rubbing against the lower stick of the body/mind.

The pace of a mantra changes with practice. It may start slowly, gradually increase in speed until it seems to flow effortlessly, and finally pulse so quickly that you are no longer articulating the sounds of the mantra clearly. This change in pace is one of the ways in which a mantra “leads.” When the sound of the mantra flows smoothly in the mind, the process is termed japa, mental repetition. When it begins to flow even more rapidly as a kind of effortless pulsing, it is known ajapa-japa.

For all mantras—with the exception of the so’ham mantra—using a mala (a string of beads) is a useful adjunct to practice. A mala serves two primary purposes—it measures your practice (one mala marks 100 repetitions) and it helps maintain the focus of your attention. When your mind wanders, your fingers on the mala serve as a gentle reminder to return to your inner focus.

An Essence Emerges

Parroting a mantra is not the goal of mantra practice. While the pace of your mantra recitation may vary from slow to fast, remember to do it with full attention. The key element of practice is to let your mind rest in the sound of the mantra. When you meditate, use the early stages of practice to relax and anchor your body and breath. Then refine your focus, let the sound of the mantra arise, and rest in it.

It is true that a mantra confines the mind—that is part of the discipline of meditation. By centering your mind in a mantra and allowing the mantra sound to fill the space of your mind, you can set other thoughts and mental processes aside and stabilize your attention. Although the journey is gradual, you will sense that little by little the effort to confine the mind in this way actually produces quite the opposite effect.

During periods of mantra japa, despite the fact that the mind remains occupied by the repetitive sound of the mantra, a deep inner silence is awakened. You will begin to sense that you are, in essence, something more than your mind’s activities, something more than your mind. You are a silent witness, an enduring presence, and a fountainhead of joy. At that point, your mantra will be more than a simple resting place for your mind. It will provide the strength to support you over the winding meditative journey ahead.

maybe...possibly

the soul experiences during Simran, and then the mind asks a million questions during the day about what it might have been...and soon these experiences become a distraction because we become attached to them...i often fall into this trap.

concentrate on your simran daily..or as much as you can...
you may experience things that completely change the way you see the world...it will never be the same again...so just enjoy and briefly try to understand the experience then keep going forward

if your inner vision / inner eye activates then you will be blessed with many sites and sounds...just enjoy but keep telling waheguru ji that you are not interested in all the distractions...you want to be closer to Him...

story of my life .lol.

miles to go...

story of my life .lol.

miles to go...

Ragmaala,

You might also find the following information useful:

We should meditate by chanting the gurmantra (wahe-guru) while walking, sitting and standing, with our attention on our voice. By doing that the imbalance of the air gets corrected. Then our thoughts stop and our mind enter Sehaj (intuitive peace).

In the initial stages of meditation, we have to separate our mind from air and have to get absorbed in Sunn. Our mind should go into Sunn again and again by meditating to balance the air. Then we move to the next stage.

As per gurbani.

khatt naem kar kotharree baandhhee basath anoop beech paaee ||
The house of the mind is made of six rings, and placed within it the incomparable thing (Naam) inside it..
kunjee kulaf praan kar raakhae karathae baar n laaee
The lock and the key to the door of our mind’s home are made of air (the breath) and the Creator did this at no time at all.
SGGS 339

Let me point out that that balancing the air. i.e. both nostrils are open at the same time is no easy task to achieve. I've been practicing this for quite some time and I still can't get it to open on demand.

I will also say that one should not rush straight into internal simran if you cannot focus and hear your jaap externally and internally. The primary objective of doing swas-giras simran (out aloud) is to 1) learn to hear the jaap coming out of your mouth which in turn will help stop the thoughts of the mind because it is focused on the gurmantar. 2) To help balance the air in your left & right passages. If you rush in straight to internal simran with out doing sass-giras (out aloud) or sass sass (madhma -wisper) then your air won't balance on its own unless your meditating at the time your body naturally shifts from one side breathing to the other.

Another important fact I only recently learned was that sass-sass simran should not be done with short breaths. Quite often we rush our mantra and indirectly our breathing. Sass - sass should be done slowly and naturally. Both inhale and exhale should be the same length and "Wahe" part of gurmantar should be the same length and the "Guru". Sometimes we can say Wahe fast be elongate the "Guru" or vice versa. This is not balance.

This is also useful information:

If we fail to stay introverted (i.e. eyes closed looking inward) , the mind cannot look inside, and cannot unite with Waheguru. We also fail to open the door to the castle of our mind and the Naam of God does not appear inside of us. This is why it’s important to close our eyes in meditation and keep the mind introverted. We will only progress in the introverted state. When we are extroverted (i.e. looking out with the eyes), we should look at things with our impartial vision. This means to look at both forms of Waheguru– things with form and the formless. Form is known as Sargunn and the formless is known as Nirgunn. While introverted we can’t see outside and only the formless (nirgunn) remains.

Nirgunn: The empty space all around us. All the planets are in Nirgunn. It is the subtle form of God.

Sometimes I felt I could not always close my eyes yet inside I had the yearning to do simran. So I took this concept on board and put my dhyaan in the empty space between objects. i.e. the air in front of me. If you start appreciating this fact that Waheguru is in the space all around you then everywhere you look you see that empty mirror like space i.e. Waheguru. It gives your mind a reference point at which to focus your dhyaan and you feel your jaap has a direction. You don't want to be moving the eyes around looking all over. Just look straight ahead but don't look at an object. Look at the empty space. Slowly your eyes want to close by themselves.

Ideally one should definitely close the eyes when doing simran as per the instruction:

Those who close off the nine gates, and restrain the wandering mind,
nao dar thaakay Dhaavat rahaa-ay.

come to dwell in the Home of the Tenth Gate.
dasvai nij ghar vaasaa paa-ay.

There, the Unstruck Melody of the Shabad vibrates day and night. Through the Guru`s Teachings, the Shabad is heard.
othai anhad sabad vajeh din raatee gurmatee sabad sunaavni-aa.
SGGS 124

WaheGuru

A very good post !
You know I searched high and low when I was trying rom rom/ ajapa jap and tried various techniques from little extracts taken from mixed and jumbled sources.....If I had come across the above, then that would have been a fantastic piece of help !

I've just got 2 small additional comments that came to my attention whilst reading the above, and these are based on my experience and some info that I have picked up.

Firstly, the below technique(in quote box) is what I would suggest for members that have difficulty in transitioning fromsilent saas saas to rom rom synchronising with pulse.
I know that many of us have a problem in trying to start rom rom at the stage when trying to jap with own pulse.
I did exactly what it says in the article above before I felt ready to do synchronizing stage of rom rom jugtee.....and it definitely helped.
I used this as an additional jugtee in between the transition.



The 2nd comment is just a little caution and explanation so that one is not led astray.


With regards to this part of weaving the sound of one mantra to the next,..... I don't advice this is done in saas graas or saas saas... as it may confuse one into thinking so.(the above is done when not japping with breath)

I would suggest that when we are japping with breath then we should have that split second/moment pause between 'WAHE' and GURU' and the next 'WAHE'.......
The reason for this is that although yoga references are excellent sources of info, we have to remember that our goal is simran and the main difference between our jap and their jap is the shabad and the naad (although nidra yoga focuses on same naad)

The shabad I am talking about is the shabad that we want to hear as a result of practicing saas graas & saas saas.....the anhad, the naad, the toor, the celestal sound that we want to hear vibrating and vajda within us. So, in this regard I think that it is important that we listen to our own jap and also try to listen to that little SILENT PAUSE.

TRY THIS-
Do wahe-guru jap with breath, even if it's silent and if you feel that you are not listening or finding it hard to force yourself to listen.... then just try listening for that moment's pause of stillness after 'wahe' and after 'guru'..... you will soon notice that because you are listening for that gap of silence at the end, it makes your mind listen to the whole jap with dhyiaan !!
Therefore, you will be listening to the Dhun of gurmantar which will eventually lead you to hear the dhun of naad.

Ajapa jap is not quite understood until it manifests. After repeated efforts of 'Gaviyeh(chanting) and Suniye(listening).... there comes a day where it just activates by itself.....all with his kirpa.

Wahe-Guru