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It sounds quite peaceful and that is how it should be. Glad you were meditating instead of the shows of women crying and wailing that we often witness. These never help the situation. Just hold on to that divine connection within.

That's a very nice way of contemplating. Just to add, I also had my own thought of thinking of the Guru's charan placed firmly in your heart in that his feet sit at the point where your love and simran begins the ascension ....and this is when your heart lotus blossoms. Quite a few terms used in gurbani with regards to this like hirda kamal and kamal pargasia.

Sorry to hear. May waheguru give eternal blessings to his soul and to all those he left behind.

N30 ji.....your description on awareness is about 'meditation' and self inquiry where one learns and becomes more aware of the ''higher self''...this ascension happens in stages as one experiences and travels through the realms of existence. But from what I understand and according to Guru Nanak ji philosophy.....only Naam simran can take you directly to Nirankar. Difference is that Naam simran jap is meditation on the Guru shabad and not on self inquiry. On the map shown above.....where it says ''paravani- source word''...that is the Anhad shabad/naad that comes directly from Guru's mukh......There is NO element of sargun present and if one hears it, then it is also the nirgun and sukham/subtle sareer that hears it.. This is why by closing the ears...one can hear it even louder !!

I kindly beg to differ with you here with regards to a couple of points !!......sorry bro! The naad is an essential factor in the house of Guru Nanak ji from what I understand. The shabad gian, knowledge and wsdom does come from this very naad as Truthseek stated above.....and I will just give an example from the very first instance, out of the very many that the naad reference is made in gurbani. ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੇਦੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਈ ॥ Gurmukẖ nāḏaʼn gurmukẖ veḏaʼn gurmukẖ rahi▫ā samā▫ī. The Guru's Word is the Sound-current of the Naad; the Guru's Word is the Wisdom of the Vedas; the Guru's Word is all-pervading. Gurmukh-ie.from the Guru's mukh/mouth comes this very naad.... NOTE- this naad is the sound-current of the word, which is ONG. "ਓਅੰ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਕੀਓ ਅਕਾਰਾ- Ong gurmukẖ kīo akhara'' and from this very same naad, you get ALL the Wisdom and Knowledge of the vedas and it is also the Ultimately all-pervading entity. ਗੁਰੁ ਈਸਰੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਗੋਰਖੁ ਬਰਮਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬਤੀ ਮਾਈ ॥ Gur īsar gur gorakẖ barmā gur pārbaṯī mā▫ī. The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi. Going on from the very previous tuk of ''All-pervading''....Nanak ji tells us that it is also the All pervading trinity itself- in the sense of Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer....as represented by shiva, vishnu and brahma. So, If the naad is from Guru's mukh,...... then it comes directly from the source itself, and it is NOT of the 5 elements and not maya. The elements begin in Maya .....where Pavan starts. Pavan is the guru of maya (pavan guru pani pita)..... and that's why we have to latch onto and with the naad to bypass the trai-gun maya. Can only go into chautha-pad/turiya avastha if consciousness disassociates from this pavan (Maya's master) Therefore, I understand that the naad is not of the 5 tats or some sound-current of pavan. This is also why it is called 'Anhad'-unstruck. ......As it is not a stricken sound of maya consisting of oscillating wavelengths that begin at some point source from where struck. Also, the naad is always referred to as anhad and not a pavan sound. Yes, sabh Gobind hai, gobind bin na koi, and the jyot is present everywhere....BUT our duality of double drishti from 2 maya eyes cannot perceive this Gobind. I strongly believe that an avastha has to be attained (via efforts), where one can see this single drishti of One and Ek-onkar only amongst everything and everyone. Again, I understand Guru Nanak ji as not just telling me to be aware and imagine the presence of gobind everywhere, but instead to Jap and Simar..in order to 'EXPERIENCE' Gobind in everything and everywhere. This whole 'Experiencing' is what leads to the shabad gian and awareness. Jap/naam simran/meditate--->elevate and ascend consciousness---->raise avastha/awareness---->experience gobind --->realisation from experience/elevated awareness----->merge with Nirankaar or we could say from Sargun---->Nirgun----->Nirankar

That is Guru-shabad. We use Guru-Shabad to help us get to the Shabad-Guru. I understand that there is a difference between Shabad-Guru and Guru-shabad.

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Well, when we want to get real deep and close the 9 doors....completely die in the shabad......One becomes disassociated with all external perceptions.. I've heard of how some people get too associated with some external or even environmental factor that becomes more habitual than anything. Many people get environmentally accustomed to sitting in one particular place, or even a certain part of the room facing a certain way. Some get accustomed to sitting in front of a Guru's picture or candle light...etc and also some grow a bond with the mala, lets say.... Depending on each person's personal requirements and goals, these bandans may need to be broken if you feel that they could be inhibiting you from progressing.

A superb and essential reference to say the least. It's much too easy to complicate it for ourselves no matter what stage we are at. We always need to remind ourselves to keep it all steady and in 'Sehaj'..... without trying to score goals. 'Ego' is more than life long, as long as we have identity.......and there are so so many illusions on this journey that will be fooling us until we step on those very last stones. I agree. I think these pointers and estimations are given because someone like me may ask '' about how long and when can you have an idea you are approaching there?" In this case, any answer someone gives has to be quantitative to make you understand. I know that doing jap and keeping pure one-pointed focus on is not possible if one is counting the breaths as well.... but some people can only learn and move forward in this way by using reference points and external aids like mala. As per Kabirji's quote of using breath as mala,,, this is not for the counting implications.... but it's so you do saas saas and dhrir the gurmantar without any skipping.... It keeps the sargun and physical aspect continuous and leaves you free to focus on the dhyan and address the subtle mind aspect. At the same time, some people may not be able to estimate or be able to settle because they are just accustomed to using mala to help them settle... In this case, it's probably easier if they just count out the require number of beads...lets say 12... and then put a physical marker or thread knot there,...so that they will know when they start and when they get across 12 beads.... ...ie'-12 breaths. BUT ,most importantly they really should be just moving one bead with one breath.....and this way the dhyian stays on breath and gurmantar.......and eventually they are able to break the developed habit with mala.

Gskler ji..........I think it is the very early stage that you are describing, especially when the jap itself begins to separate from breath. I remembered about describing this to myself ''as if trying to catch a bird/hen and it keeps runining/jumping forward out of your grasp'' With what you describe, it also highlights the fact that simran stages don't have to run in any specific step by step order. For eg. you may hear naad before you taste amrit or vice versa. From just my personal understanding and practice, I can only tell you the little I know. In my experience and from what you are saying, certain chakras can begin to activate and awaken completely at random! It seems your throat has began to awaken. Now, with the approach and methods of saas graas,- saas saas- that some of us have used,.... I can only advise that you should take your dhyian down to navel area and do more saas saas..........I say this because....I think you should be putting more dhyian into the dhun and listening. gurbani says ""dhun mein dhyan, dhyaan mein Jaaniya" ..............and then only by 'listening'...will the naad begin to manifest. Also, when you really put the dhyian on listening, then next steps will spontaneously begin to come to you at ease. I strongly advise to not get lost and trapped into the mindset of ''Oh what shall I do next...or maybe I'm doing it all wrong."....attitude.....because I have fallen down this path many times ! Just keep the PYAAR for the satguru and beg him with love to lead the way. Jap and immerse in the simran whilst listening. Listen and listen to your jap with dhyian and you will begin to go more internal and start hearing the sounds that will catch you by surprise. Acknowledge this as the Satguru, telling you that he is listening. With what you are experiencing and describing;Be grateful, because he has already confirmed to you that HE is doing the Jap within you!! because gurbani says ਸਰਗੁਨ ਨਿਰਗੁਨ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਸੁੰਨ ਸਮਾਧੀ ਆਪਿ ॥ Sargun nirgun nirankār sunn samāḏẖī āp. He possesses all qualities; He transcends all qualities; He is the Formless Lord. He Himself is in Primal Samaadhi. ਆਪਨ ਕੀਆ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਫਿਰਿ ਜਾਪਿ ॥੧॥ Āpan kī▫ā nānkā āpe hī fir jāp. ||1|| Through His Creation, O Nanak, He meditates on Himself. ||1||

Dear gdskler ji If it is ajaapa jap, then you should be able to feel it in all parts of your body. You may feel it more prominent in any of the areas from navel upwards,....but you should very easily be able to direct attention from there to any part of the body. I may be able to give some further suggestions(based on my personal opinion only),.depending on whether you can hear naad or not, and If you could be a little more specific about whereabout in the throat area. The next overlapping stage is for wahe-guru jap to be in rom rom.......I'm not sure if you've tried this or not. Just continue doing his sift salaah,singing his praises all day long Waheguru bless

Agree, it is all about love and the longing to merge/meet your maker. If the greatest love you have...more than anything else in this world....more than your family...partner...kids...even more than every aspect of your own welfare.....and even people that devote or sacrifice their own lives for just causes like dharam,creation or nature........if even more than that ,your love is for the satguru and the satguru only.....then I'm more than certain that,that person gets all the blessings of a wadbhagee.......all the grace needed... It is all too easy for many of us to get lost and stuck in jugtees, techniques, chakras,... dasam duar.....which jatha to have amrit from...which sant to listen to.....etc...etc....but if we don't have that ultimate longing and thirst, then these methods and adapted principles become of little use...........We have to have that innocent and ''no holds barred'' longing of love like Bhagat Dhana where sacrificing the mind, body or soul is not even questioned. It is ALL about love. All the drops in the ocean that we are, are all held and maintained by love. As drops, we just just get cased and lost in individualities of ego. But the force that maintains us and the only force we ever need to hold in order to get us to the source.... is all 'Love' Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Johnny Depp in a movie with Marlon Brando....... He says....''There are only four questions of real value in life,... - What is sacred? -Of what is the spirit/soul made? -What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only LOVE !

I agree with Sat,..no one is going to give you approval on how intimate you can or cannot be. This is a matter between the pair of you and your relationship with each other and Guruji..........I'm sure you are mature enough to make appropriate decisions without the roll of dice or 3rd party approval. In the eyes of sikhi, the marriage begins with anand karaj..............as Jaikaraa has said above, the civil marriage is just for the state and a display of two parties joining in a marriage contract. A union with God doesn't even come into it like anand karaj does. The rest is up to both of you with how far you go in intimacy, because it has different meanings according to different people. Some people don't see any serious connection or closeness with some kissing and snogging, but some may see or feel it as a serious physical connection....some may even feel any physical connection as something serious!. ......What it means to both of you and where you draw the line is what counts....... ....It's about your own 'minds' and 'consciousness'............... ...... Only you two can decide if any doubts may exist about some actions that may lead to a guilty conscious or not. If your consciousness suspects some foreseeable guilt, then you know where you stand !

Yeh, but don't you think that it's the later and recent generations ? The sikhs that had settled pre-80's just kept their heads down and got on with work and home. They avoided displays of scenarios and never tried to attract too much attention..........(well that's my opinion from what I perceived)

Good stuff ! You guys should try and check your airflow before, during and after simran. See if you notice if it becomes easier and better doing simran when airflow is central ? I'm a firm believer in this and have always noticed an imbalance at times when I have difficulty getting into simran. I also believe that this balance is a prerequisite if you want to get to ajapa jap and rom rom. In yoga classes, I have also learned that when having difficulty in trying to use mind for stabilizing sukhmana, then start off by doing root chakra(moolldhara) activations and moving upwards.

Nicely answered ! In a way, sach khand is not really a khand level as such. The khands are realms or abodes where one stays until their works are done.....and then the ultimate final abode is the forever lasting permanent 'sachkhand' where he, the truth himself exists in his purest formless roop of 'Nirankar'. Here, there must probably be no structures or confined spaces of nirgun forms present....but just 'NIrankar' himself. Therefore, in a way this beyond description of a place of just Truth is itself beyond ALL the khands and realms. It is adrisht, agochar, amol, beant, .........etc......so calling it a realm doesn't do it justice.

Yes. gurmantar we refer to is 'Wahe-Guru' Gurmantar can also be called Guru-shabad.....(the Guru's shabad) However, PLEASE NOTE....my understanding is that ''Guru-Shabad'' and ''Shabad-Guru'' terms are not really interchangeable. Guru-Shabad = Guru's shabad(shabad from guru) or gurmantar (waheguru) Shabad-Guru= the Shabad that is itself the Guru..... the anhad, the dunn,the reverberation heard with sukham(subtle) sareer....Guru Nanak ji says ''Shabd-guru surat dhun chela''....(((My guru is the the shabad dhun sound vibration and I am it's following disciple.))) .

Just acknowledge them and let them be. These sounds are normally experienced along the journey and are 'AIR" sounds basically......meaning they are still maya/illusion. Remembering that the guru of maya is Pavan(AIR)....pavan guru pani pita..... This is the reason we have to conquer and go within 'air' as part of simran...ie.use of breath in saas graas and saas saas. Like I say, just acknowledge them but at the same time keep the main focus on gurmantar. If you encounter times when these sounds may just surface and grab your attention, then start the gurmantar jap.

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

You should try and do saas saas with whispering the gurmantar and then go into silent and mental. Some people can do it straight away and some can't... we all have to play around and see what works. I know what you mean about not making noise and waking house up because I also like to keep it 'low key' and also helps me in keeping steady to get that absolute stillness.

Steel glasses of Sahibzade Thanks... tried to get some more clearer pics from Gurdwara shaheed moti ram ji .......made me think.....wouldn't he have taken 3 cups ?

Yep, I guess he's just trying to promote and obviously trying to get white folk in. Like Bhagat says....'' Non-Sikh-->Non-Sikh dressed like Sikh-->Sikh with pub, cut beard, marriage dress-->Sikh'' He's still sikh to some scale, but if full bearded amritdhari sikhs don't want to class him as some level of sikh, then they are just talibanising sikhi. Im not sure why he put the wedding outfit on....maybe wearing that with turban and kirpan is the most 'sikh' he has ever felt physically....especially if your a mona. (When i was mona and got dressed like that for my wedding, it was the most 'royal like singh' feeling that could ever be expressed in my aura at that time!) The problem is that we let prejudice govern our ego's too easily... the first glance of the news above....we see the word sikh,...then we see pub... then we see the dress up and immediately start nodding our heads!..tut..tut.. The guys not promoting sikhi, he's trying to promote the fact that he appreciates and understands the gora festive season and that this should help bring in some more custom for his business. Besides, how else does he describe himself or wants the gora to their family? ......Not going to want goray saying ''we going to that pub run by pakis".... or "the brown asian guy's pub'' Most goray are pretty much aware if the brown asian belongs to hindu, muslim or sikh culture and that's how they will label him and his family. Sikh is the descriptive term that is used to differentiate from muslim and hindus in this sense. It's a good identifier and way for them to categorize the brown asian guys This is why some goray understand that sikh cultures are different and try adapting to western life and contribute to society whereas pakistani muslims would rather drain the welfare systems. This is how most of them perceive us differently and appreciate the positive impacts we have made for the economy. And besides, if he were full amritdhari ....then there would certainly be some questions to raise but we are just jumping the gun here because the word sikh was used ! And Dalsingh is probably aware of just how many full amritdhari sikhs in UK own off-licenses and newsagents. (for those of you outside UK...off-license is liquor store and newsagents sell tobacco)

If i've read this correctly.... this was after anand karaj and the bride must have come up for extra photos from langar hall ? OK.. if that is so, then the wedding photographer would have been familiar with the ceremony, maryada, where he can stand... no socks ...etc...etc..... but then how would he not have known that this is sacrilege ?? All photographers that I have come across in darbar are usually very much aware of what is and what isn't allowed !! Then what the hell happened here ? and where was anyone else, would the bride be left completely unattended ?? There are too many additional questions that should be addressed. I think that just as gorey do wedding rehearsals before hand..... we should do something very similar which is NOT a rehearsal but which is an education process for the couple to explain the significance of anand karaj. The gurdwara comittee or gyani jees should take care of this. Both bride and groom have to understand what the guru is and what the REAL marriage of MIND with SHABAD GURU is actually ALL about. Problem is that in other faiths, a couple get married in some religious setting where they assume or accept that God is the witness. It's kind of like where 2 souls or 2 jots become ONE in the presence of God.....so to speak. However, in Sikhi, it is completely different and unique....in the sense that 2 jots don't merge with each other directly but they merge with Satguru. The marriage is about 2 people merging their MIND together with the Shabad.... the 2 jots don't become one with each other, but the 2 jots are supposed to be merging into One with the shabad of Guru. This needs to implemented and addressed with some good education tools. What's done is done, we can't reverse that. But we can make sure that education is given practically before hand to make sure this never occurs again.... anywhere !

I would suggest that you try and maintain these postural techniques throughout your day. I know we get cozy and sloppy on couches all too easily, but these are quite negative in the way they affect our body energies. The head will still drop into some resting position, but your awareness and correction techniques will have a much more positive effect in my experience.

It gives you more energy- both inner and outer energy. Well known that professional athletes abstain days to weeks before games, power weight lifters and most commonly boxers try and abstain for weeks to months if they can. I have also read some stuff that it also helps with inner spiritual energy. Kundalini awakening and spiritual ascension all become more powerful if one has abstained. I've also read that amrit rass...ambrosial nectar..or 'soma' is also produced more likely if semen discharge is kept minimum to zero ! Sadly, some of us boys have a problem with increase in krodh the more we abstain...... maybe a punch-bag is a good investment ?