Lucky

I found a similar source from gyani sant Maskeen ji's blog.

Naam Abhiyaas
Gyani Sant Ji Maskeen's Naam abihyaas translated By: Mr. Prabhjot Singh

The tongue is doing the JAP of Waheguru, but the thought of uttering Waheguru mantra takes place in the mind. The navel is natively referred to as Dhunni because it is this place where sound (dhun) emerges from. The air strikes the Dhuni when a thought of saying something takes place in the mind. Naabhi (Navel) is like a wind instrument – For example, a harmonium, flute, shainai, etc. can only produce sound if it is pumped with some air, otherwise one cannot produce any sound out of them. Naabhi is one such instrument Waheguru has planted in our body that only produces sound if wind is applied to it. It is the wind that is an important element in the whole procedure. That is why, Guru Nanak Dev Ji has called wind a Guru because it is the Guru that creates associations for us. Wind produces speech, and with speech we are able to make associations with others. In the worldly affairs, we first see and then speak about it. In the case of Waheguru, we will HAVE to speak to create the association.

ਕਬੀਰ ਕੇਸੋ ਕੇਸੋ ਕੂਕੀਐ ਨ ਸੋਈਐ ਅਸਾਰ ॥
kabeer kaeso kaeso kookeeai n soeeai asaar ||
Kabeer, chant the Name of the Beautifully-haired Lord; do not sleep unaware.

ਰਾਤਿ ਦਿਵਸ ਕੇ ਕੂਕਨੇ ਕਬਹੂ ਕੇ ਸੁਨੈ ਪੁਕਾਰ ॥੨੨੩॥
raath dhivas kae kookanae kabehoo kae sunai pukaar ||223||
Chanting His Name night and day, the Lord will eventually hear your call. ||223|| (Ang 1376, SGGS Ji)

Kabir Ji says no matter what, I will keep on saying Lord’s name, eventually my call will be heard. On the worldly level, we see and then speak, but here one has to just keep saying His name, one day we will be able to see Him standing right in front of us.
When wind strikes the Naabhi, it produces a sound, that sound is called Parra. When that sound rises up and reaches the heart, it is called Basanti; this is where that sound recieves its words. When the words reach the throat, that state is called Madhmaa, this is where a complete sentence is formed. Eventually, tongue expresses it outside the body; this state is called Bekhari. So these are the stages of speech:
1. Parra
2. Basanti
3. Madhmaa
4. Bekhari
Now, one has to reverse the process and take that sound back to the Dhunni, the place where the sound arose from. Kabir Ji refers to this as:

ਉਲਟੀ ਗੰਗਾ ਜਮੁਨ ਮਿਲਾਵਉ ॥
oulattee gangaa jamun milaavo ||
Turn your breath away from the left channel, and away from the right channel, and unite them in the central channel of the Sushmanaa. (Ang 327, SGGS Ji)

One has to reverse the cycle and merge Ganges back into Yamunaa – The sound that was created at the Naabhi, and came out of the body via the tongue has to reversed and sent back to the Naabhi. Of course, this process is very difficult. One can keep saying Waheguru Waheguru thousands of times, the effort will be fruitless until one is able to reverse the sound and take it back to where it emerged from i.e. the Dhunni. In order to do that, Bekhari must be converted to Madhmaa, Madhmaa to Basanti, and finally Basanti to Parra. The inner revolution will start only when the process of utterence of Waheguru is reversed.
When Waheguru is uttered and reversed this way, it takes away all the clingling pains and sufferings; this sound provides supreme bliss. However, in order to be able to say Waheguru in the above way, one has to utter Waheguru a lot of times and meditate on it until the state is reached where the process of reversal is finally accomplished.
How to achieve the revesal? The sound came out from the inside via the tongue, so it cannot take it back in; one has to use the ears to take the sound back inside. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji says:

ਰੇ ਮਨ ਰਾਮ ਸਿਉ ਕਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ॥
rae man raam sio kar preeth ||
O mind, love the Lord.

ਸ੍ਰਵਨ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਗੁਨੁ ਸੁਨਉ ਅਰੁ ਗਾਉ ਰਸਨਾ ਗੀਤਿ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
sravan gobindh gun suno ar gaao rasanaa geeth ||1|| rehaao ||
With your ears, hear the Glorious Praises of the Lord of the Universe, and with your tongue, sing His song. ||1||Pause|| (Ang 631, SGGS Ji)

Keep on singing Waheguru matra, but do not let it get wasted in the thin air, the purpose is to listen with ears and take the sound back inside the body. Just like food is taken in with mouth and eventually becomes blood, similarly when praises of the Lord are taken back inside, the person will be blessed with salvation; this absorbed sound will give supreme bliss, and result in Samadhi Avastha. However, one has to really LISTEN to the sound of Waheguru matra; when one LISTENS with utmost concentration, millions of pains and sufferings are elimination by just one Waheguru Jap.

ਨਾਨਕ ਭਗਤਾ ਸਦਾ ਵਿਗਾਸੁ ॥
naanak bhagathaa sadhaa vigaas ||
O Nanak, the devotees are forever in bliss.

ਸੁਣਿਐ ਦੂਖ ਪਾਪ ਕਾ ਨਾਸੁ ॥੧੦॥
suniai dhookh paap kaa naas ||10||
Listening-pain and sin are erased. ||10|| (Ang 3, SGGS Ji)

When one really LISTENS with love and concentration, then ears will absorb the sound inside and take it to the throat i.e. Madhmaa. When one is able to convert Waheguru sound back to Madhmaa, it will give immense joy to such a person – he will be able to actually enjoy the rass of Gurbani. If the concentration and love is maintained, the sound reaches from Madhmaa to the heart (Basanti); one starts hearing the Anhad Naad at this stage. This stages takes that person to the doorsteps of God. Guruji describes it as follows:

ਸੋ ਦਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਸੋ ਘਰੁ ਕੇਹਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਬਹਿ ਸਰਬ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥
so dhar kaehaa so ghar kaehaa jith behi sarab samaalae ||
Where is that Gate, and where is that Dwelling, in which You sit and take care of all?

ਵਾਜੇ ਨਾਦ ਅਨੇਕ ਅਸੰਖਾ ਕੇਤੇ ਵਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
vaajae naadh anaek asankhaa kaethae vaavanehaarae ||
The Sound-current of the Naad vibrates there, and countless musicians play on all sorts of instruments there.

ਕੇਤੇ ਰਾਗ ਪਰੀ ਸਿਉ ਕਹੀਅਨਿ ਕੇਤੇ ਗਾਵਣਹਾਰੇ ॥
kaethae raag paree sio keheean kaethae gaavanehaarae ||
So many Ragas, so many musicians singing there. (Ang 6, SGGS Ji)

There is immense celebration at the doorsteps of the Lord. Ancient Kings and Maharajahs would order music to be played at the doors of their palace during mornings and evenings. Bhagats would hear the Anhad Naad inside, and created instruments to try to reproduce that sound. This stage is immensly enjoyable, but there is only one more step left to be taken further – the sound that has become Madhmaa has to strike the Naabhi and become Parra again.
If the required concentration is maintained and one keeps keeps the Jap going, the sound will strike the Naabhi; the Naabhi that opened to create the sound in the first stage will fully open up. At this stage, body lives but mind (mann) dies. Such a person starts existing on the same level as Waheguru Himself. Kabir Ji clearly declares:

ਬਿਗਰਿਓ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਦੁਹਾਈ ॥
bigariou kabeeraa raam dhuhaaee ||
Just so, Kabeer has changed.

ਸਾਚੁ ਭਇਓ ਅਨ ਕਤਹਿ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
saach bhaeiou an kathehi n jaaee ||1|| rehaao ||
He has become the Embodiment of Truth, and he does not go anywhere else. ||1||Pause|| (Ang 1158, SGGS Ji)

ਅਬ ਤਉ ਜਾਇ ਚਢੇ ਸਿੰਘਾਸਨਿ ਮਿਲੇ ਹੈ ਸਾਰਿੰਗਪਾਨੀ ॥
ab tho jaae chadtae singhaasan milae hai saaringapaanee ||
Now, I have mounted to the throne of the Lord; I have met the Lord, the Sustainer of the World.

ਰਾਮ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਏਕ ਭਏ ਹੈ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਪਛਾਨੀ ॥੬॥੩॥
raam kabeeraa eaek bheae hai koe n sakai pashhaanee ||6||3||
The Lord and Kabeer have become one. No one can tell them apart. ||6||3|| (Ang 969, SGGS Ji)

A Gurmukh Bhram Gyaani who has reached such an Avastha then does not need to recite Waheguru mantra, the sound constantly vibrates inside him with every breath taken – he/she becomes the roop of Akal Purakh Waheguru.

I know, but this is the way they get followers.
I just ignore the living master references because here is where we use the shabad gurmantar.
I just see that part as where the beliefs differentiate since the living guru for me is different to theirs.


They say there are stages where one may need the spirit guide/guru to help them across part of the ocean, but even then, we can hold on to the shabad, I imagine.

Personally speaking, if I were to reach such a stage where my lack of intellect or buddhi may need waheguru's manifestation in some sargun saroop to help guide me, then das would be over the moon to have Guru Nanak ji's guiding hand and charan.



I don't think it is.
Again, from what I personally understand is that Dev lok is a higher stage than the astral.
The astral also comes with the overlap stage where stuck souls can be,,, these are what one can can experience as poot and prets....etc..
This is also the overlap that psychic mediums, seances ....ouija boards..and all that, make contact with.

Dev lok is way beyond that and you can't tap in there with any ouija board !
Dev lok is more of the angelic realm that we want to pass even further, but it requires more effort than passing the first astral level.
I think that only consciousness expansion compared to astral travel, can get you up and past dev lok.

definitely his way of explanations is so practical and helpful.
cant believe that Radha Swamis have such a better understanding of Shabad Surat Marag. whereas we sikhs are no where near.
we have forgotten the art of meditation, and its not emphasized at all.
all pracharaks say is to amrit shak and do nitnem. no one tells how to do it unless u r under close supervision of a sant.

I'm so hooked to his videos for the past couple of days that it's hard not to watch. Here goes another interesting video where he describes that meditation (as we know it) won't take us beyond Causal plane and various other stuff like Mind/Kal/Time. He also explains the creation, free-will and many other things so beautifully.

Then he also explains sounds from Right vs Left ear are just preparatory sounds and not real sound.

Very interesting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcVCGbt8KC4

Since listening to this video I've been playing around with focusing in the center of my head behind the eyes and trying to do my gurmantar jaap with my dhyan there. I noticed very quickly that the sweetness is beginning to return to my mouth, actually I feel as if it about to explode on the upper side of my palette and is slowly manifesting on my tongue. Its been a while now since I last had these sweet sensations. Back then I didn't have an appreciation of it and wrote many posts with my struggle to handle such an intense taste. I have now come to learn that this internal amrit helps cleanse the naadies and helps in the progress on this path. This time will try not to get too hung up on it and just savor the experience and let it happen.

Please give me a slap on the wrist if I come back and say I can't cope with it again!

The sounds I was previously hearing which were also occurring less frequently are now also returning. Happy days!!!

Waheguru

I'm just going to share some personal info and tips of how to try and counteract our own personal obstacles in simran.

There are times when you just can't settle in, no matter how hard you try. On the other hand there are times when we settle right in without making much effort.

Like everyone else, I have had very early mornings where I get up all psyched and ready to go battle the 5 thieves in the day ahead. Then after doing japji when i try and settle in to the simran...........Nothing !!
The mind will wander.., i will start again........ and....... nothing again.. ...This then becomes an ongoing cycle and I will look at the clock and think ''why have i wasted 15 minutes trying to settle in.''?

Sometimes, I tell myself that it's not going to happen now and I should maybe attempt later on. Whereas other times I will be adamant that I should be doing it, because even if i try going back to sleep.....I won't.!

It almost becomes a corkscrew effect, because if I try and analyze what thoughts are coming in, they can be the thought of 'why can't I settle in, I was fine yesterday, i've slept, i'm fresh...''...etc
So you end up thinking about your reason of not focusing, which itself prevents you focusing further....


I'm sure we have our own suggestions of what may work for us personally, but I thought I might suggest a few that i've tried successfully, that maybe you could try and think of next time !

1) I start with just taking a real deep breath in and filling your chest up.
2) Hold your breath and suspend the chest, and try keep a stillness.
-You should feel a settling in silence from within.
3) Then let the breath out slowly when you feel comfortable.
(But don't hold it too long so that you reach a maximum point of where you have to get a massive sigh of relief when letting it out)
4) Repeat this about 4 times OR until you feel that little space of inner quietness and stillness when suspending/holding.

Usually this should work and give you that 'tuning in' kick to get going.


****If this doesn't help, then I usually think back to what I used to do when I started in the earlier days ?
For me, I tend to just picture a mental image of my favorite Guru Nanak portrait or some other Guruji picture in the house.

NOTE- this is not ''idol worship'' stuff,- but a point of focus.
The worship process starts when you bring the gurmantar in, in my opinion, i have never seen it as manmat !



****Another little tip that could be useful after you have started and then seem to drift away is to-
....Just open your eyes and gaze right in front of you without moving your eyes around or looking around the room.
- Just look at whatever object is in front of you for only a split second, and then close your eyes back.

****-I usually put my focus to a central point in between the eyebrows and slightly higher (agna chakra area).
-Just look for this little dot of light or even a dot that is darker than the background screen you see.
-When you see it keep your eyes on this, as it will help keep the eyes still.
.....I know it gets painful for some people to look at that point, if so you could just look at any central point lower down in stead. This can be the bridge between eyes or the tip of your nose.

****Another method that I sometimes revert to is to put your Dhian on navel whilst listening to the 'Waheguru' gurmantar.
This is useful if you are doing the saas graas /saas graas I explained in ealier post where the navel pull in/out is being used.
I used to find this very useful when i started saas graas because i would get the sequence of -'navel in and wahe'- the wrong way round. The dhian on navel would help keep the correct sequence as well as the simran itself.


NOTE- the above few techniques are about focus whilst paying attention to the sound/dhun of gurmantar.
It's not happening if your dhian is on the navel/3rd eye and you are not paying attention to ''Wahe-Guru''

I will add some more little tips/techniques that i have found useful if you guys find these useful.
Even now, I find that sometimes you forget what to do if you can't focus. So, it's a good idea to 'revise' these like a college student to remember them when needed.
I often read through tips/techniques every now and again as a little refresher course.

I’m going to have a go explaining my interpretation of Rom Rom Simran. How to get started. This is just one method but with some gurmukhs it can mianifest spontaneously.
It's mentioned quite often in the order of saas graas, saas saas and then rom rom, but very rarely does any mahapursh give any details about it.
I get that impression because it is a very practical technique that involves sukham sareer compared to physical, and I assume that most teachers/mahapursh/sant show and demonstrate to an abyhasee only after he is adept in saas graas and saas saas.
It almost seems as it is kept hush hush and some sant/mahapursh don't reveal to student until x-amount of years have been spent doing the other vidhis/jugtees.
I found that I could get a little information from one place and another little idea from another,,,,, so basically, my interpretation is from gathering the little bits and putting them together from varying sources.
I must stress that as far as I understand it, one should be doing this only when they know how to maintain or get very close to a steadiness and when they are able to get breath balanced (ie,, via sukhmana channel)
Primarily,one has to do more abyhaas to get the nadhis cleansed and stimulated, and when this happens- the sukham sareer properties start coming into play.
I won't go into the vidhies of breath balancing or dhyian control for now,but will give you my understanding and how I've been doing the rom rom simran.
ROM ROM SIMRAN
This is pasanti bhani jap- which is mental,silent and completely from the sukham Mind.
and it is antar ghat (completely internal)
We are using sukham ears and sukham mouth to jap. (ie,,,sukham gyan and karam indries)
It is ALL sukham compared to the Physical breathing manoeuvres/inhalations/tongue use....etc.. in Saas graas & Saas saas
However, there is the beginning aspect of trying to feel the pulse or heartbeat, that is classed as physical. But once you master this, then it all becomes sukham.
A little point I would like to make is about some confusion for matching breathing with heartbeat - which can no doubt lead to hyperventilation
I really don't think that you should match your breath to heartbeat- since this is ALL sukham. If we start matching physical breath then we are going towards sargun/physical behaviour and hindering progress into sukham.
The way I see it is-
With simran we progress through the jugtees and techniques by gradually making our surti, dhyian and actions, to move from Sargun to Nirgun. So, if our surti can come out and away from the sargun body, then we move away from the grasps of kaal and his maya dominance. Therefore, we need to make surti/dhyian move from Sargun to Nirgun.
(remember- before creation there was just the nirgun shabad and all sargun manifested later. It makes sense to go back home in that reverse order!)
As for the rapid breathing technique that can lead to hyperventilation and hypoxia, I am aware that some keertan sangats practice this, but this is not to be confused with heartbeat & rom rom jugtee, or any other jugtee for that matter.
Hypoxia or oxygen deprivation from rapid hyperventilation can give someone a good feeling of being lightheaded. I have heard how some of these kirtan sangats(akj) claim to have feelings of divine anand from their fast paced kirtan samagams, but this is nothing much different than the 2 minute high that party students get with nitric 'poppers', because of same oxygen starvation effects.
Technique/method
1) 1st quieten and get that steady state where breath is balanced.
2) Try and feel your heart beat by putting the focus into that area
3) If this is difficult, then it may help if-
-a) you hold your breath for a few seconds and then try to locate/listen.
-b) Or you can instead ,try to feel your pulse on the wrist.
4) Once you find the beat and can follow it's beating rhythm, then putting some more dhyian there should make it more louder and prominent.
5) the anhad naad/dhun should also get more prominent if you have it present.
-I usually find that they both get more enhanced at the same time
6) Now, that the heart beating is clear and can be followed, you incorporate and match the gurmantar along with it to begin rom rom.
-this itself can be done in 2 ways
a) you should be able to identify an ''up'' beat and a ''down'' beat.
...then coincide the Wahe-with-Up, and the Guru-with-Down.
OR..
b) when the beat is too fast to differentiate the up/down, then you can match the whole gurmantar with this faster beat. For eg..you are saying waheguru,waheguru,waheguru, without any pause or breaks in wahe-and-guru.
With practice, you should eventually be able to locate the heartbeat without touching or feeling any pulse.
If you HOLD the breath for a few seconds, then this also make it easier to sense.
NEXT, the goal is to put the focus on navel, because when focusing at navel, one can be steady in the sukhmanna channel and trying to rise upwards.
The sukhmanna channel runs directly from navel area towards the nijh ghar. (in a straight line along the path of chakras)
Before we are born and in the womb, this connection is fully active and intune with waheguru. When the umbilical cord is cut and the first birth breath is taken, that's when the veil layers of maya world start their course. You could also say that the knot to maya is tied after cord is cut/breath is taken in atmosphere.
 
ਮਨ ਰੇ ਪਵਨ ਦ੍ਰਿੜ ਸੁਖਮਨ ਨਾਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Man re pavan ḏariṛ sukẖman nārī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
O mind, hold your breath steady within the central channel of the Sushmanaa. ||1||Pause||
It's important to get the steady breath balance before you start rom rom.
This steadiness and control comes when there are no thoughts.
If any thoughts arise, then the breath balancing goes into either side of Ida or Pingala.
That’s why it is called the turbulent ocean (bhavsagar) because we rock from side to side (left to right), or from ida to pingala whilst trying to travel up the nadis and trying to maintain the steadiness in sukhmana throughout.
This 2nd stage of rom rom is to focus around navel area and feel the pulse there which is much more sukham.
The focus, I believe is not directly at the belly button, but you feel the pulse and rom rom vibration just below it and deeper inside.
It is the area called the DHARAN.- which is about 1 inch below and 1 inch inwards.
I often find it a little easier to locate this subtle area compared to the heartbeat sometimes. With practice it should become easier and almost instant.
The vibrations that I feel there can be In and Out and so I use the mental Wahe-in and Guru-out,
OR sometimes they may be going slightly up/down at an angle rather than in/out, but I still use the same method and have noticed that the rate of rom rom vibration is practically the same.
All the jap is done in complete sukham from the mind, and it can help if you do the internal, mental chant with the inner voice being raised with some power behind it. (as if your enforcing your internal chant)
The last check I usually make is to be sure that I am breathing slowly and normally, and not accidentally incorporating the breath into the jap rhythm-which can be very easily done (and then you can end up with the hyperventilating issue explained above). Again, with practice, this will become instant and second nature.
This practice takes you on a whole new quest with both mystical and spiritual experiences, that are individual and personally tailored to each of us. You will know that they can't be discussed openly.
I can seriously understand why it is of great importance to have the right sangat and experienced gurmukh/mahapursh/sant guidance/advisor to assist you along the encounters at this stage. This is probably the reason to why it has the "hush hush'' factor and doesn't get mentioned too often.
Sadly, I'm not in the company of any mahapursh and at certain times I have felt the desperate need to get questions answered.
So far, I seemed to have managed using gurbani, certain info sources, practice and of course, Waheguru's blessings.
 
Using the above practice method should eventually make Rom Rom fully manifest/pargat. There are a few nishanees that can help determine if it's pargat in full or not, but I won't go into those here.
 
 

Best thing you can do is to fill up all the areas in your life where you are not meditating and start meditating in those areas.
You can practice techniques described by Sat and Lucky above, and insert them in the following activities.
You can also try to experience the activity in its fullest, I will describe this below, along with some example of activities during which you could easily meditate.
Let's start

1 you wake up - start meditation immediately
- open your eyes, look around the room as you would if you woke up in a strange location
like an alien visiting earth, study every in the room
- feel the bedsheets, listen to the early morning sounds
- when you get up feel the weight of your body sitting on the bed, then feel your feet touch the floor.

2. brushing teeth - focus on the sounds and sensations of the brush
- the touch of water, how wet is it, how hot/cold,
- feel the water move around in your mouth, on your hands, face

3. washing dishes - again focus on the sensations of the water, the temperature, the flow
- feel the dishes as you would a newborn child, touch them, what do they feel like
- what does the soap feel like
- how does the water look like when it hits the dish, how does it flow down the dish

4. walking from one place of the house to another
- bring your attention to your feet and feel the floor/carpet you walk on
- think about the texture and the hardness
- feel the muscles of your feet in action

5. every now and then just take a deep breath
- as soon as you remember this take a deep breath
- if you waiting for someone or something, just take a deep conscious breath
- focus on the breath as it goes in and comes out
- if you can look out of a window, look at the sky, the trees, listen to the birds and take a deep breath

Just fill up all the space, all the routine tasks with meditation and you will see a HUGE difference in your life

Welcome TruthSeeker,

MySimran.info is an excellent site and I have also found the knowledge imparted by the sevadar as highly beneficial and inspiring. It is so refreshing to learn about simran so openly and freely with out any of the stigmas, beliefs of secrecy that exist out there today. I also often try and tune into their camps online and wish I could have been sitting in the sangat at the actual location.

Since you have attended their camps I would firstly advise that you should contact them with specific questions if anything is unclear. I'm sure they would be more than willing to clear up any confusions you might have. Any views expressed by members here is from knowledge and tips we have picked up ourselves from a number of different sources which might include things we have learned from their teachings also.

According to my own understanding from what I have heard about when to transition from bhakri to madhma is as follows:

The primary objective of doing bhakri (out aloud) jaap is to get your mind used listening to the gurmatar without having flights of thought. It also helps teach the mind to sit in one spot and listen to the sound. It also helps balance the pavan/air flowing in both nostrils also known as sukhmana activation. I believe it was advised to do this for quite some time before transitioning to madhma (sass sass). From my own practical experience I quite enjoy doing jaap out aloud as I find it much easier to focus on the sound that way. It is much harder when you take it internal because the mind loves to think of other things instead.

Like yourself I also found it extremely difficult to listen to my own voice initially until one day it just clicked and locked in on it's own. It was even more difficult when sitting in sangat because I found myself listening to the sangat more than I could hear my own voice.
A technique that is advised was to put your dhyan in front of the mouth. This is an excellent and easy approach. Make all the attention in you ears focus on the sound just in front of your mouth. With practice it will tune into only the sound coming from the mouth. When that happens believe you me, you will know it. Then when you do simran in sangat no matter how loud it may get you will still be able to 80% your voice and 20% background sangat. The ultimate goal is to be so focused on your own voice and not know what is happening around you.That is what I believe they mean by closing off the 9 doors.

As your mind becomes more and more still and takes less flights of thought you can slowly begin to transition from sass-giras to sass-sass by lowering the volume till you reach the state of whispering with inhale/exhale method. I also believe it is advised to be breathing through the mouth at this point and not through the nose and it bypasses the ida/pinguala of the nose. Periodically you can check if both nostrils have opened up if you were to breath through the nose. If they are open, then sukhmana is active and one should move to pasanti which is totally internal with the voice of the mind.

Anyway that's my understanding and I'm sure others will be able add where I have gone wrong.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ke Fateh!

I am new to this forum. I have read through all the posts and am very glad to read from such amazing Gurmukh's and their inspiring experiences, tips, and techniques.

I have just recently been practising Simran, less than a month. By God's Grace I was told about the practical methods of Simran by a Gursikh from Chicago who learned the practical from Bhai Sewa Singh from Moga.

I strongly suggest you check his website www.mysimran.info which provides lectures on the technique of Simran, the experiences one will have, lectures on maya, and many more.

Also, you should check when he will be coming to your town for a Simran (meditation) Camp http://mysimran.info/camps/

One question I have had for a while now is when do you know when to transition from Baikhari Bani (out loud with mouth and tongue) to Madhama (whispering) to Pasanti (internally) to Para (rom rom).
I usually practice the first three but not Para (rom rom).

Also, any tips on how to Listen to Gurmantar, dhyan on the sound (dhune). Is very hard for me to focus with so many thoughts. I try to focus on sound coming from my mouth but mind does not sit.

Thank you, very blessed to have found this forum and such blessed Gurmukhs.

WJKK WJKF

I was at a simran camp a few weeks ago and was very lucky to be amongst some very advanced abyassee gurmukhs.

I noticed that at the camp, my rom rom was spontaneously getting active when the sangat was doing jap !
At first, I thought it was just coincidence that this was happening, but it would sync automatically every time, whatever the pace or speed of jap was ?
I had to keep convincing myself that it was just my imagination .

A very respected and high avastha gurmukh confirmed that this was one of the nishanees that rom rom is parpakh and getting pargat !
I was told that experiencing jap as if it's electrifying and pulsating throughout your body is rom rom manifesting and that I must continue to do more and more simran.


I have since picked up a few more pointers with regards to rom rom-

1) rom rom is the beginning of para bani, where we stimulate and try invoke automatic jap by starting simran at the navel.

2) I believe Sant Baba Isher Singh ji mentions this technique as well for beginning rom rom in one of his audios.

3) Your SURAT and SHABAD both begin to mold together and this results in rom rom and para bani getting stronger and stronger.

4) Eventually, (especially when head is uncovered), one can feel a very cool soothing sensation running from top of head throughout the body.... this is the amrit getting manifest throughout the body and in gurbani......

ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਧਾਰ ਗਗਨਿ ਦਸ ਦੁਆਰਿ ॥
Amriṯ ḏẖār gagan ḏas ḏu▫ār.
From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the Ambrosial Nectar trickles down

5) Also later on, ....One can feel the waheguru jap coming from nearly everything and most objects around them.


6) rom rom and the merging of Shabad with Surat, can also stimulate and let the sushmana flow fully towards the agya chakra (slightly above eye brow mid-point). This results in many awakening symptoms of agya chakra, further intuition and a strong bond of love starts to form from this inner awareness.
Swami j and yoga sutras mention that this higher affinity for the inner awareness is helpful in setting the stage for deeper experiences of sunn and samadhi.

I’m going to have a go explaining my interpretation of Rom Rom Simran. How to get started. This is just one method but with some gurmukhs it can mianifest spontaneously.
It's mentioned quite often in the order of saas graas, saas saas and then rom rom, but very rarely does any mahapursh give any details about it.
I get that impression because it is a very practical technique that involves sukham sareer compared to physical, and I assume that most teachers/mahapursh/sant show and demonstrate to an abyhasee only after he is adept in saas graas and saas saas.
It almost seems as it is kept hush hush and some sant/mahapursh don't reveal to student until x-amount of years have been spent doing the other vidhis/jugtees.
I found that I could get a little information from one place and another little idea from another,,,,, so basically, my interpretation is from gathering the little bits and putting them together from varying sources.
I must stress that as far as I understand it, one should be doing this only when they know how to maintain or get very close to a steadiness and when they are able to get breath balanced (ie,, via sukhmana channel)
Primarily,one has to do more abyhaas to get the nadhis cleansed and stimulated, and when this happens- the sukham sareer properties start coming into play.
I won't go into the vidhies of breath balancing or dhyian control for now,but will give you my understanding and how I've been doing the rom rom simran.
ROM ROM SIMRAN
This is pasanti bhani jap- which is mental,silent and completely from the sukham Mind.
and it is antar ghat (completely internal)
We are using sukham ears and sukham mouth to jap. (ie,,,sukham gyan and karam indries)
It is ALL sukham compared to the Physical breathing manoeuvres/inhalations/tongue use....etc.. in Saas graas & Saas saas
However, there is the beginning aspect of trying to feel the pulse or heartbeat, that is classed as physical. But once you master this, then it all becomes sukham.
A little point I would like to make is about some confusion for matching breathing with heartbeat - which can no doubt lead to hyperventilation
I really don't think that you should match your breath to heartbeat- since this is ALL sukham. If we start matching physical breath then we are going towards sargun/physical behaviour and hindering progress into sukham.
The way I see it is-
With simran we progress through the jugtees and techniques by gradually making our surti, dhyian and actions, to move from Sargun to Nirgun. So, if our surti can come out and away from the sargun body, then we move away from the grasps of kaal and his maya dominance. Therefore, we need to make surti/dhyian move from Sargun to Nirgun.
(remember- before creation there was just the nirgun shabad and all sargun manifested later. It makes sense to go back home in that reverse order!)
As for the rapid breathing technique that can lead to hyperventilation and hypoxia, I am aware that some keertan sangats practice this, but this is not to be confused with heartbeat & rom rom jugtee, or any other jugtee for that matter.
Hypoxia or oxygen deprivation from rapid hyperventilation can give someone a good feeling of being lightheaded. I have heard how some of these kirtan sangats(akj) claim to have feelings of divine anand from their fast paced kirtan samagams, but this is nothing much different than the 2 minute high that party students get with nitric 'poppers', because of same oxygen starvation effects.
Technique/method
1) 1st quieten and get that steady state where breath is balanced.
2) Try and feel your heart beat by putting the focus into that area
3) If this is difficult, then it may help if-
-a) you hold your breath for a few seconds and then try to locate/listen.
-b) Or you can instead ,try to feel your pulse on the wrist.
4) Once you find the beat and can follow it's beating rhythm, then putting some more dhyian there should make it more louder and prominent.
5) the anhad naad/dhun should also get more prominent if you have it present.
-I usually find that they both get more enhanced at the same time
6) Now, that the heart beating is clear and can be followed, you incorporate and match the gurmantar along with it to begin rom rom.
-this itself can be done in 2 ways
a) you should be able to identify an ''up'' beat and a ''down'' beat.
...then coincide the Wahe-with-Up, and the Guru-with-Down.
OR..
b) when the beat is too fast to differentiate the up/down, then you can match the whole gurmantar with this faster beat. For eg..you are saying waheguru,waheguru,waheguru, without any pause or breaks in wahe-and-guru.
With practice, you should eventually be able to locate the heartbeat without touching or feeling any pulse.
If you HOLD the breath for a few seconds, then this also make it easier to sense.
NEXT, the goal is to put the focus on navel, because when focusing at navel, one can be steady in the sukhmanna channel and trying to rise upwards.
The sukhmanna channel runs directly from navel area towards the nijh ghar. (in a straight line along the path of chakras)
Before we are born and in the womb, this connection is fully active and intune with waheguru. When the umbilical cord is cut and the first birth breath is taken, that's when the veil layers of maya world start their course. You could also say that the knot to maya is tied after cord is cut/breath is taken in atmosphere.
 
ਮਨ ਰੇ ਪਵਨ ਦ੍ਰਿੜ ਸੁਖਮਨ ਨਾਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Man re pavan ḏariṛ sukẖman nārī. ||1|| rahā▫o.
O mind, hold your breath steady within the central channel of the Sushmanaa. ||1||Pause||
It's important to get the steady breath balance before you start rom rom.
This steadiness and control comes when there are no thoughts.
If any thoughts arise, then the breath balancing goes into either side of Ida or Pingala.
That’s why it is called the turbulent ocean (bhavsagar) because we rock from side to side (left to right), or from ida to pingala whilst trying to travel up the nadis and trying to maintain the steadiness in sukhmana throughout.
This 2nd stage of rom rom is to focus around navel area and feel the pulse there which is much more sukham.
The focus, I believe is not directly at the belly button, but you feel the pulse and rom rom vibration just below it and deeper inside.
It is the area called the DHARAN.- which is about 1 inch below and 1 inch inwards.
I often find it a little easier to locate this subtle area compared to the heartbeat sometimes. With practice it should become easier and almost instant.
The vibrations that I feel there can be In and Out and so I use the mental Wahe-in and Guru-out,
OR sometimes they may be going slightly up/down at an angle rather than in/out, but I still use the same method and have noticed that the rate of rom rom vibration is practically the same.
All the jap is done in complete sukham from the mind, and it can help if you do the internal, mental chant with the inner voice being raised with some power behind it. (as if your enforcing your internal chant)
The last check I usually make is to be sure that I am breathing slowly and normally, and not accidentally incorporating the breath into the jap rhythm-which can be very easily done (and then you can end up with the hyperventilating issue explained above). Again, with practice, this will become instant and second nature.
This practice takes you on a whole new quest with both mystical and spiritual experiences, that are individual and personally tailored to each of us. You will know that they can't be discussed openly.
I can seriously understand why it is of great importance to have the right sangat and experienced gurmukh/mahapursh/sant guidance/advisor to assist you along the encounters at this stage. This is probably the reason to why it has the "hush hush'' factor and doesn't get mentioned too often.
Sadly, I'm not in the company of any mahapursh and at certain times I have felt the desperate need to get questions answered.
So far, I seemed to have managed using gurbani, certain info sources, practice and of course, Waheguru's blessings.
 
Using the above practice method should eventually make Rom Rom fully manifest/pargat. There are a few nishanees that can help determine if it's pargat in full or not, but I won't go into those here.
 
 

I'm just going to share some personal info and tips of how to try and counteract our own personal obstacles in simran.

There are times when you just can't settle in, no matter how hard you try. On the other hand there are times when we settle right in without making much effort.

Like everyone else, I have had very early mornings where I get up all psyched and ready to go battle the 5 thieves in the day ahead. Then after doing japji when i try and settle in to the simran...........Nothing !!
The mind will wander.., i will start again........ and....... nothing again.. ...This then becomes an ongoing cycle and I will look at the clock and think ''why have i wasted 15 minutes trying to settle in.''?

Sometimes, I tell myself that it's not going to happen now and I should maybe attempt later on. Whereas other times I will be adamant that I should be doing it, because even if i try going back to sleep.....I won't.!

It almost becomes a corkscrew effect, because if I try and analyze what thoughts are coming in, they can be the thought of 'why can't I settle in, I was fine yesterday, i've slept, i'm fresh...''...etc
So you end up thinking about your reason of not focusing, which itself prevents you focusing further....


I'm sure we have our own suggestions of what may work for us personally, but I thought I might suggest a few that i've tried successfully, that maybe you could try and think of next time !

1) I start with just taking a real deep breath in and filling your chest up.
2) Hold your breath and suspend the chest, and try keep a stillness.
-You should feel a settling in silence from within.
3) Then let the breath out slowly when you feel comfortable.
(But don't hold it too long so that you reach a maximum point of where you have to get a massive sigh of relief when letting it out)
4) Repeat this about 4 times OR until you feel that little space of inner quietness and stillness when suspending/holding.

Usually this should work and give you that 'tuning in' kick to get going.


****If this doesn't help, then I usually think back to what I used to do when I started in the earlier days ?
For me, I tend to just picture a mental image of my favorite Guru Nanak portrait or some other Guruji picture in the house.

NOTE- this is not ''idol worship'' stuff,- but a point of focus.
The worship process starts when you bring the gurmantar in, in my opinion, i have never seen it as manmat !



****Another little tip that could be useful after you have started and then seem to drift away is to-
....Just open your eyes and gaze right in front of you without moving your eyes around or looking around the room.
- Just look at whatever object is in front of you for only a split second, and then close your eyes back.

****-I usually put my focus to a central point in between the eyebrows and slightly higher (agna chakra area).
-Just look for this little dot of light or even a dot that is darker than the background screen you see.
-When you see it keep your eyes on this, as it will help keep the eyes still.
.....I know it gets painful for some people to look at that point, if so you could just look at any central point lower down in stead. This can be the bridge between eyes or the tip of your nose.

****Another method that I sometimes revert to is to put your Dhian on navel whilst listening to the 'Waheguru' gurmantar.
This is useful if you are doing the saas graas /saas graas I explained in ealier post where the navel pull in/out is being used.
I used to find this very useful when i started saas graas because i would get the sequence of -'navel in and wahe'- the wrong way round. The dhian on navel would help keep the correct sequence as well as the simran itself.


NOTE- the above few techniques are about focus whilst paying attention to the sound/dhun of gurmantar.
It's not happening if your dhian is on the navel/3rd eye and you are not paying attention to ''Wahe-Guru''

I will add some more little tips/techniques that i have found useful if you guys find these useful.
Even now, I find that sometimes you forget what to do if you can't focus. So, it's a good idea to 'revise' these like a college student to remember them when needed.
I often read through tips/techniques every now and again as a little refresher course.

I was at a simran camp a few weeks ago and was very lucky to be amongst some very advanced abyassee gurmukhs.

I noticed that at the camp, my rom rom was spontaneously getting active when the sangat was doing jap !
At first, I thought it was just coincidence that this was happening, but it would sync automatically every time, whatever the pace or speed of jap was ?
I had to keep convincing myself that it was just my imagination .

A very respected and high avastha gurmukh confirmed that this was one of the nishanees that rom rom is parpakh and getting pargat !
I was told that experiencing jap as if it's electrifying and pulsating throughout your body is rom rom manifesting and that I must continue to do more and more simran.


I have since picked up a few more pointers with regards to rom rom-

1) rom rom is the beginning of para bani, where we stimulate and try invoke automatic jap by starting simran at the navel.

2) I believe Sant Baba Isher Singh ji mentions this technique as well for beginning rom rom in one of his audios.

3) Your SURAT and SHABAD both begin to mold together and this results in rom rom and para bani getting stronger and stronger.

4) Eventually, (especially when head is uncovered), one can feel a very cool soothing sensation running from top of head throughout the body.... this is the amrit getting manifest throughout the body and in gurbani......

ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਧਾਰ ਗਗਨਿ ਦਸ ਦੁਆਰਿ ॥
Amriṯ ḏẖār gagan ḏas ḏu▫ār.
From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the Ambrosial Nectar trickles down

5) Also later on, ....One can feel the waheguru jap coming from nearly everything and most objects around them.


6) rom rom and the merging of Shabad with Surat, can also stimulate and let the sushmana flow fully towards the agya chakra (slightly above eye brow mid-point). This results in many awakening symptoms of agya chakra, further intuition and a strong bond of love starts to form from this inner awareness.
Swami j and yoga sutras mention that this higher affinity for the inner awareness is helpful in setting the stage for deeper experiences of sunn and samadhi.