Raaj.Karega.Khalsa

It is ironic how Britain is unable to deal with its own problem of child abuse but "India's Daughter", which highlights a rape case in India, has been made by a Brit.
Not that the rapes aren't a problem in India, but it makes me wonder as to why Leslee Udwin couldn't start by documenting problems in her home country...

Singhs have confronted Gyani Ji about this.

They've confirmed that this is true.

And apparently, Gyani Ji still maintains that it was the Bibi's 'bad karam' that caused it.... (seriously!)


About the audio, ....not once has he denied it (on the phone with the Bibi). He blames the Bibi's 'bad karam' instead. (So, something definitely did happen).


Also, to accept that something like this could have happened, does not mean that we're being judgmental. It should simply make us wary of our own vices...till the very end.

Whoa! I didn't know this was actually a translation of Baat Agam Ki volumes!!! (just finished googling) We've got all of them. All of Baat Agam Ki, Kiv Sachiaara hoiye....and so many more! (Well, technically it's my Singh's collection.)
My Singh has actually been pestering me to read Baat Agam Ki....I've only read about 50 pages of the first book yet. There is just SO much to take in....it's not just a simple flowing novel. I've got a great reading speed for English (read all of the twilight series in a week back then!)....but reading these books is just something entirely different. You want to go through them very carefully and take everything in! Also, reading in Punjabi has taken a bit of time to speed up.
Anyways, thanks for the advice...I will surely start again on Baat Agam Ki.

Also, it is said that if one reads the entire Kiv Sachiara hoiye series, one is sure to get vairaag!


Yeah, the focus should only be on the shabad and it just doesn't matter what goes on around it all. I think it is alright to just acknowledge that such and such is occurring but not dwell over it.


LOL! funnily enough...I had asked the same question once!
It won't go on outside of your meditative state.




True!


Thank you, Bhaji.

Very good. These all seem like cultivating signs and you need to continue with this cultivation. 
I'm afraid you wont get much guidance or help from nowadays gyanees, sants..etc.. especially the ones present in the public eye.     It's sad that they can't explain or advise on your encounters, and even more frustrating when they can't confirm what you may be trying to explain.   On the other hand, I can try confirm if I understand some underlying phenomena in line with my comprehending and gyaan.   I can give some guidance and pointers based on practical sikhi, but you have to remember that experiences are unique for all of us and can't be identical or they wouldn't be "experiences".  Therefore, please understand, it's only what I know and think!..... it's not concrete, and you shouldn't take it for granted. 
 
Buzzing sounds and many other sounds are preliminary to Anhad.  Gradually increasing and changing is also a positive sign.   I can't say whether you are hearing anhad or not. I may be able to help you identify anhad using similar approach to what a gurmukh used when confirming my queries.(can only pm this)
 
That part is a little tricky because these things happen before you can even acknowledge them, and then our mind tries to get us to slow down so that it can try understand and take in what's happening,...but then this itself disturbs your dhyiaan, and you end up disconnecting.
It's not astral projection as such and don't go around reading too much stuff because this area is not described properly anywhere because there is a huge overlap of different types of phenomena. In practice, we are not interested in this astral projection that you may read about because it is mostly of lower frequencies and weighted down to the lower planes.  
What we as Sikhs are interested in is "consciousness's expansion" .  To expand your consciousness and raise it's frequency so that the whole universal Gobind is pargat within your very self. - I'm not just talking play of words here,..because if you can take your focus within and inwards such that your mind's dhyian is nowhere outside your body (in thought and process),.. then you will find, the more you introspect and start concentrating your consciousness into a pinhole like dot. So tiny and like a point getting so microscopically small that you wanna feel your whole consciousness fully concentrated inside it,... then the whole ginormous universe will begin to reveal itself inside you!   ........Bhagat Pipa says...
ਜੋ  ਬ੍ਰਹਮੰਡੇ  ਸੋਈ  ਪਿੰਡੇ  ਜੋ  ਖੋਜੈ  ਸੋ  ਪਾਵੈ  ॥
Jo barahmanḏe so▫ī pinde jo kẖojai so pāvai.
The One who pervades the Universe also dwells in the body; whoever seeks Him, finds Him there.
ਪੀਪਾ  ਪ੍ਰਣਵੈ  ਪਰਮ  ਤਤੁ  ਹੈ  ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ  ਹੋਇ  ਲਖਾਵੈ  ॥੨॥੩॥
Pīpā paraṇvai param ṯaṯ hai saṯgur ho▫e lakẖāvai. ||2||3||
Peepaa prays, the Lord is the supreme essence; He reveals Himself through the True Guru. ||2||3||
(Who is the Satgur? ..and where is he? .... These answers should also start to reveal themselves in time)
 
Guru Arjan dev ji says.......
ਮੇਰੈ ਮਨਿ ਬਾਸਿਬੋ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ॥
Merai man bāsibo gur gobinḏ.
The Guru, the Lord of the Universe, dwells within my mind.
 
 
Very Good, just LISTEN. Listening to the sound is the key. Pictures are maya and divert thoughts and mind too easily. Ok at beginning stages as long as the sevak know not to get attached and learns to dissociate his consciousness once the murti/ picture has helped stabilise it.
 
Flashes, yes, but don't let them flash you!  Stay in sehaj, calm and go with natural effortless flow. Only effort should be the longing and urge of joining consciousness in union with Gobind.
Sunn is a stage of Samadhi.  I haven' had too much experience, so I can't really justify my explanaions, but you shouldn't get diverted in a belief that you are in this state of sunn. When consciousness or surti tries to rise and vibrate at higher levels but the body is not yet ready, then many people start passing out, or even getting thrown about from their inner energy eruptions, or they experience feelings of numbness and detachment from body. Again, not to be confused with sunn. Sunn samdhi is a state of super awareness whilst at the same time you are in a complete ''nothingness'.  That's what I understand and make of it, but I'm hoping that someday I can explain it much better with a stronger basis.
My guess is that it's your physical body trying to align itself for the atma to ascend..   We are MInd, body and soul.
As the nadis try and open at a faster rate than what our body is ready for. Then because the  body has had a lifetime of tampering and energy blockages,..we start to  experience these physical disruptions. It's like the subtle/sukham sareer being ready, but the physical sareer being a hindrance.
  I recommend overall control in well-being, maintaining posture .etc. steps to keep energy flowing uniformly and balanced,... try some gentle yoga breathings,asanas  etc..
 
A very slight pulsation is felt at the navel because this is where it all begins. This is where the energy stimulates and pumps up as to awaken the kundalini below.
I personally recommend that you try the "rom rom" jugtees and simran techniques that are on the meditation thread. I reckon that once rom rom gets activated and nadis are all japping spontaneously without effort, then your sukham energies will flow much more freely. You should be able to get into deep meditation within seconds to minutes of sitting down.
 
Don't assume that all I've written is all you need to do and sikhi is about physical japna itself..  You won't actually progress until you start to learn(Sikh) about your own lessons in life. 
Remember, you took birth to come and learn these lessons in this lifetime.  After so many janam-janam, this was to be the lifetime where you wanted to get the 1st hand darshan of akaal purakh. To wipe your paaps from janam-janam and to clean that slate so as to see the Lord's reflection.. 
Bhagat Ravidaas says....

ਬਹੁਤ  ਜਨਮ  ਬਿਛੁਰੇ  ਥੇ  ਮਾਧਉ  ਇਹੁ  ਜਨਮੁ  ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰੇ  ਲੇਖੇ  ॥
Bahuṯ janam bicẖẖure the māḏẖa▫o ih janam ṯumĥāre lekẖe.
For so many incarnations, I have been separated from You, Lord; I dedicate this life to You.
ਕਹਿ  ਰਵਿਦਾਸ  ਆਸ  ਲਗਿ  ਜੀਵਉ  ਚਿਰ  ਭਇਓ  ਦਰਸਨੁ  ਦੇਖੇ  ॥੨॥੧॥
Kahi Raviḏās ās lag jīva▫o cẖir bẖa▫i▫o ḏarsan ḏekẖe. ||2||1||
Says Ravi Daas: placing my hopes in You, I live; it is so long since I have gazed upon the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. ||2||1|| 
These lessons, with events, encounters..etc. will begin to unfold once you start making spiritual progress.  It is different for everyone and it involves numerous stages of learning and gaining intuitive gyaan.
You should begin to get urges and thoughts to want to make changes in your jeevan jaach. You will want to do things or live in such simple ways that you would have never dreamed of previously. This is what you have to give attention and focus to and these will become the major steps towards realisation and hopefully, enlightenment.
You gotta really dig within and find yourself. Ive come across a few abyassees at simran camps that got too pre-occupied in the goal to open dasam duar and ignored the need for following hukam to change jeevan jach. (I've done this myself, so I know!)  ...You end up falling victim to ego. 
Ego will continue to fool us until the very last steps. They say that the last of the dhoots that we completely strip off before merging in sachkhand is Ahankar.  So keeping doing reality checks and watching your own back for your own ego trying to play you. It is too smart and you have to imagine it as being the split personality of yourself.
 
 
Welcome to the forum,  hope it encourages and helps build more positive strength for bhagti...
 
Waheguru
 
 

IMHO, 32 malas daily for 40 days might be an unrealistic goal brother. How about you do 16 Malas daily? You can add Kirtan and Katha to your daily routine. Our minds are very chanchal (naughty). At times, you have to give it different flavors to keep it under control. Kirtan involves music (which is a powerful tool to entice the mind), which can assist a person to do Bhagti.
Try doing the above in a Gurudwara, if possible.
Rest is your choice. If you can do 32 malas daily, that would be awesome and inspiring to people like me.
 
Bhul chuk maaf

.

^^^ THIS!!!!

One would think the womanizer would actually be the poison coated with sugar... LOL.

Anybody out there (irrespective of religion), who thinks that physically abusing another human being is acceptable because they don't behave/think the way you want them to, needs a deep introspection.

If by 'freefall' you mean, falling deeper and deeper into a concentrated state, into the darkness of the void. Then 'freefall' is spot on.

Good luck in your endeavour!


If you are looking for a bigger reply. I wrote this one a different thread a while back. It maybe useful.

Sahib,

I am coming to the realisation enough of the theory for the time being. It is time to put into practice what I already know and get back to basics. So much has already been posted on this forum in terms of techniques and details of the path that lies ahead. It is time to put in some serious effort and spend the time doing actual simran. Reading alone and the gyan gained will not lead to realisation of the ultimate truth. For that one has to make some effort and practice and leave the rest to his grace.

I personally feel it's time to put the books and websites down for a bit and spend that time doing the practical simran instead. If I look back at the time I have spent reading about the subject, if I had spent even half of that time doing actual simran the story to tell might have been a whole lot different. The gyan gained over the past months has given a solid foundation and a little more clarity and confidence about what to do on the path of shabad/gurmantar surat yog. You can be told the same thing in so many different ways by different people but unless you put in a serious amount of focused effort oneself this gyan will be worthless.

When I now look back, I find the biggest progress was made when I didn't know much. I simply did what I was told and just did my simran focusing on the gurmantar and the experiences started themselves. It was only when I tried to get ahead of myself and started researching deeply into the path and what lies ahead or what to do I lost some of that momentum. The fascination of learning took precedence over doing the practical and that I see as my own short coming. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying one should not learn about the marg, the knowledge helps you identify if your taking any wrong turns and confirms if what you are experiencing can be expected. It also shines some light to the unknown path ahead so when another experience manifests or you have an inkling what the next step of the path involves you are not entirely taken by surprise and knocked off your balance. Going too much beyond your own practical experience level is somewhat pointless and is just a distraction. I have to admit it was all fascinating reading but when you do some serious inner reflection of where do you actually stand on the rungs of the ladder one realises that whist they might be able to see the rungs that go up, you have not actually climbed many yourself. It is time to walk that walk and not just talk the talk.

A mahapursh once said in that regard, the unpar/uneducated make progress far more quickly then the educated. The simple folk just accept they have to do the gurmantar and just get on with it. The educated starting bringing their analytical mind and start asking too many questions and try and use their own reasoning to explain certain things which may or may not give you the right answer. The quest for knowledge and answers itself becomes an obstacle that needs to be overcome. I am slowly beginning to see the wisdom in these words.

By all means if you feel there are relevant teachings of this person whom you recommend then feel free to share share some of his gems. I am sure they will be much appreciated if they are not too contradictory to the teachings of spiritual Sikhi and the inner journey.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sophia-Suffragette-Revolutionary-Anita-Anand/dp/1408835452/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423958889&sr=1-1

Anybody out there (irrespective of religion), who thinks that physically abusing another human being is acceptable because they don't behave/think the way you want them to, needs a deep introspection.

Anybody out there (irrespective of religion), who thinks that physically abusing another human being is acceptable because they don't behave/think the way you want them to, needs a deep introspection.

It does make you wonder what on earth are you being taught or led to perceive. To be honest I'm feeling betrayed more and more each day. I find myself looking outside my own faith for answers which might be the real Truth. Then when I hear our Sant's saying the same thing in deep hidden disclosures I wonder why this spiritual knowledge was left out of the main stream teachings.

To be honest the pearls of knowledge are inside Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji, but only those who know about them pick them up or can understand them. However on the other note the preachers of our faith should know better and explain these things more clearly rather going on and on about history which may or may not inspire. Instead we are led to indirectly worship the stories rather than make that inward journey within and find our true nature.

I won't to go to the extreme and out of my own ignorance and say states or phases don't exist but I do believe they maybe beyond our comprehension and current level of understanding and not so easy to articulate by those who reached them. So where appropriate metaphors were used to give a hint or clue as to the true nature of the experience. Only when one reaches the avasta can one relate to what is being said or described.

For example in one book I'm reading it was described that Krishan is renowned for playing the flute. This flute was to signify the inner flute that is heard in the deep states of meditation, and not necessarily the fact that he used to play it all the time. The true melodious intoxicating flute is one that heard on the inside.

Fear of Death

Q: My best friend was killed in a car accident recently, and her sudden death made me realize that I’m afraid of dying. Does it hurt?
A: No, death doesn’t hurt. Death brings peace and takes away our pain. What does hurt though is fear of death. If we can overcome that, death isn’t painful. Many forces in nature are very loving, and death is one of them. It is Mother Nature’s final remedy—the most loving, kind, and generous of Her forces. Yet fear of death haunts our mind.
As you are discovering, fear of death is quite painful. It has two ingredients: fear of loss and fear of the unknown. Fear of losing what we have and what we know ourselves to be is the main ingredient. When we die, anything we identify with is completely wiped out—our thoughts, our feelings, our learning, our attainments, our memories all vanish. From our standpoint, when we die, our children die, our spouse dies, our friends die, our possessions die, our net worth dies. All of it disappears. That’s scary and painful.

This pain is intensified by uncertainty. We don’t know what comes after death. Will I continue to exist? If so, what will my existence be like? Most of us have no experience of the core of our being—the part of us that is utterly independent of our body, breath, mind, and senses. That is why, as we approach the moment when death separates consciousness from our familiar physical and mental selves, we panic. If I don’t have a body, if I don’t have senses, if I can’t breathe, if I don’t have a mind, then who am I? How am I going to be?

This deep uncertainty breeds fear of death.

Meditation destroys this fear by giving us access to the vibrant core of our being, which is completely independent of the body, breath, and mind. This direct experience engenders an unshakeable faith in a dimension of reality much deeper, more profound, and more fulfilling than anything connected with material existence. It infuses our heart and mind with confidence that we are eternal. In the light of this experience, our fear of death dissolves.

An excellent explanation worth reading. Clearly explains the goal we are trying to achieve when doing simran. The penny finally dropped for me when I read this article.

A Seeker’s Guide to Samadhi

Samadhi is a hot topic in yoga circles. Some practitioners believe samadhi and enlightenment are synonymous. Others think samadhi leads to enlightenment, while yet another group is convinced samadhi makes the mind go blank. Some of those seeking samadhi hope it will fall into their hands if they pray hard enough, and others believe the techniques of yoga and meditation will push them toward samadhi or pull samadhi toward them. In the 30 years of my career as a teacher, I have encountered many students and seekers from different walks of life. I have found them to be good people, very sincere. All of them have an essential qualification in common—a burning desire to have a direct experience of samadhi.

Trying to attain samadhi without having a clear idea of what it is, without adopting a systematic approach, and without completing the preparatory steps is like trying to build a skyscraper when you have never seen one, do not have a blueprint, and do not know how to lay a foundation. You will waste your time and energy and reach nowhere. Just as mastery in any field—surgery, physics, music—requires prolonged, systematic preparation, so does attaining the highest goal of yoga. This goal is attainable only for those who follow a system.

The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most acclaimed texts of yoga, delineates the key prerequisites. It holds that the practice of yoga is painless for those who adopt a balanced diet, balanced exercise, balanced thinking, balanced sleep, and who perform their actions with balanced understanding. These five elements are essential in laying the foundation for a meditation practice. Those who overeat or indulge in fasting suffer from various diseases. Those who exercise too much or too little suffer from exhaustion or sloth. Those who think too much or who fail to use their mind properly become the victims of anxiety or stupor. Those who sleep too much or too little suffer from inertia or hallucinations. Those who act without a balanced understanding of their actions and the consequences of their actions suffer from doubt and fear. When we design our practice against the backdrop of these five elements, our vitality, endurance, comprehension, freshness, and spontaneity expand. As these qualities expand, so does our capacity to concentrate. It is on this solid foundation that you place the formal threefold practice of yoga sadhana: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (spiritual absorption).

These three are like the three stages of a pilgrimage. Let’s say you decide to enhance your understanding of spirituality by making a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. For several weeks before you set out, your entire focus is on preparing for your journey—gathering the necessary clothes and equipment, packing, and then taking the long flight to Nepal. Once in Nepal, you shift into survival mode for the six-day jeep ride along bumpy dirt roads to Mount Kailash. You can hardly breathe because of the high altitude and the thick dust; the sun is blinding and the shocks on the jeep are so bad you feel like your spinal cord is being shattered. You feel hot all day, cold all night, and weak and tired most of the time. Then comes the slow, arduous climb up around Mount Kailash and back down again. During this three-day hike, you can take only one step, one breath at a time.
At first it takes all your effort, then you find your inner rhythm, and once you do, it’s as if the mountain itself lifts you up and carries you. Upon reaching the summit, you find yourself filled with great delight and a sense of fulfillment. When you return home, it takes almost a month to recuperate. But you remember the exquisite joy you felt when you reached the peak. That sublime feeling stays with you like a sweet whisper calling you to return to your inner Self. That’s what this progressive threefold practice entails: first comes concentrated effort, known as dharana; second, the effortless flow of being there with full awareness of yourself and your entire surroundings, known as dhyana; and third, becoming one with that state of experience brought about by this effortless flow. This is known as samadhi.

The Yoga Sutra, the central text of yoga philosophy and practice, calls these three steps samyama. By stringing dharana, dhyana, and samadhi together, the technical term samyama tells us that there is a natural process of starting our practice and reaching the goal of the practice. Most aspirants must follow this process. There is a rare exception—one that flows from complete surrender to God, which is not easy to come by. The grace of God has its own selection process. When it comes, it comes. And when it does not come, it does not come. Therefore let us focus on the three elements that depend on our human effort: dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.

Step by Step

The first step, dharana, is loosely translated as “concentration.” The Yoga Sutra gives a specific definition of this word: “to confine the mind or fix it in a well-defined space.” Space is infinite. Because it does not have shape, color, or form, identifying space is very difficult. Therefore, to confine the mind to a space, you have to first separate it from the rest of infinite space by putting a border around it. In discussing concentration, Vyasa, the foremost commentator on the Yoga Sutra, advises bringing the mind to a space that is well defined, such as the area around your navel center, the heart center, the center between the eyebrows, or to a particular external point, such as a flame or a particular image.

Once you have decided to bring your mind to the center of your forehead or your heart center, for example, you must then select an object to occupy that space. The object you select—the cross, the Star of David, an image of Ganesha, a yantra, or a mantra—facilitates the mind’s ability to stabilize itself in the confines of that space. Yet when you focus your mind on that object, you’ll soon notice that it is also contacting many other objects in addition to the one you have chosen. In other words, the mind is distracted.

Distraction is the mind’s tendency to contact various objects at a fast speed and forget both the main object it was supposed to be aware of and the space in which it was supposed to be confined. Rather than giving in to the habit of distraction, bring your mind back to the chosen object and allow your mind to focus on that. By repeatedly practicing this process of bringing the mind back, you will develop a habit of maintaining that object in your mind field for a longer period. If the object of concentration stays in your mind for a longer period of time than the objects that distract you, you have achieved a state of concentration. Concentration and distraction flow side by side. The only difference is that one stream—the stream of concentration—is stronger, heavier, fuller than the other. That defines concentration. It’s not that your mind is no longer becoming distracted, but that the object of concentration stays in your mind longer than the distracting objects do.

As concentration matures, it turns into meditation, or dhyana. This is the second step. Meditation begins when the process of focusing your mind on the object occupying that space is not interrupted by any other thoughts, or the mind stays on that object for a long period of time without much interruption. So dhyana is a continuation of dharana; your meditation is a more mature state of your concentration.

Students often wonder at what point the process of concentration turns into meditation. Many saints and yogis say that if your mind remains concentrated on one object for at least 12 breaths, you have achieved a state of meditation. If within that 12-breath period, your mind shifts from one object to another object, you are still at the stage of concentration. Think of oil pouring from one container to another container. Oil is thick and viscous so it pours out in an unbroken stream. The unbroken flow of your stream of awareness is meditation. And when this process of unbroken awareness lengthens further, it matures into the third step, samadhi.

Samadhi dawns when your mind becomes completely absorbed in the object occupying the space to which you have confined it. In samadhi, the process of concentration, the object of concentration, and the mind that is trying to concentrate or meditate all have become one. The mind is no longer focusing on the object in an objective manner. All that remains in awareness is the content, the essence, of that object. In other words, in samadhi you are aware only of the essence and not of the details. For example, if you have been meditating on the cross, you are no longer aware that it is made of the finest ebony or is covered with gold. All that remains is awareness that it is an object laden with a great sense of sanctity and divinity, that it indicates your relationship with that higher divinity. That feeling is there—that is all. And in that feeling it appears as if the object does not have any form of its own. It is totally devoid of any form. All that remains is pure awareness. That’s called samadhi.

Let’s examine the difference between meditation and samadhi. In meditation you are fully one-pointed, but that one-pointedness simply refers to the fact that your mind is focused on one object. When you analyze it, you see that deep down, the mind is not perfectly one-pointed. In meditation you are still aware of yourself as a meditator and at the same time you are aware of the object of meditation and of the process of meditation. So three things are going on continuously in your mind: (1) you know you are meditating, (2) you know on what you are meditating, and (3) you know you are the meditator. However, you have only one mind and that mind cannot be broken into pieces. It’s not that one part of your mind is on yourself, and another part is on the meditative objective. It’s a matter of intensity. When you are meditating you are more intensely aware of the object of your meditation, for example, than you are of either yourself or the process of meditating. So one stream is the major stream flowing in your mind field and the other two streams are secondary.

In samadhi, the process of concentration, the object of concentration, and the mind that is trying to concentrate or meditate all have become one.

As you practice focusing the mind on the object of your meditation, eventually your awareness becomes so focused on that object that not the tiniest part is left to analyze, feel, and think that you are the meditator and this is the process of meditation. It requires an exclusive absorption in the object of your meditation for these three streams to merge. That is why in English samadhi is called “spiritual absorption.” No part of your mind is left to maintain the awareness of anything other than the object of your meditation. Then neither internal nor external causes distract you. You are simply in a state of deep stillness, tranquility. And that state may last 30 seconds or two minutes (much longer when you become well practiced), and then suddenly you become aware of some external sound, or you think of checking your e-mail, or you remember you have to meet someone, and you slip from samadhi and become outwardly oriented. You realize you are sitting on your meditation cushion and you still have some practice time remaining, so then you start all over again, making an effort to go from concentration to meditation to samadhi.

If you have been practicing for a long time it does not take too long to get back to a heightened state. It may take just a fraction of a second for you to fall from samadhi to concentration, but you can also climb back up very quickly if you have gained maturity in your practice. If not, it may take some time, even though the memory of that joyful state of samadhi is still there, and the passage to reach there is also very fresh in your memory. Your daily practice reinforces the joyful experience of samadhi, making your memory stronger, clearer, and deeper, thus enabling you to retrieve that memory at will. The memory pertaining to the experience of samadhi empowers you to reach samadhi faster and more effortlessly. That is why consistent daily practice is the way to reach and retain the experience of samadhi.

Signs of Spiritual Progress

Before you enter a state of samadhi, there is a thrill of experiencing stillness. And there are experiences which go with stillness that may distract you, such as clairvoyance or extraordinary sensory experiences. These experiences are called siddhis—yogic accomplishments for those who have never experienced samadhi, and obstacles for those who have experienced it. These siddhis, regardless of how profound or shallow they are, how meaningful or meaningless, are signs that you are on your way to samadhi. As a practitioner, you should not be anxious about these signs nor should you have any fear if these signs appear. Simply keep your focus on your destination, your main goal, which is samadhi itself. Furthermore, anxiety regarding when you are going to reach there, doubt about whether or not you will reach there, fear of never reaching there, and worry about what will happen to you and your loved ones if you do reach there are the breeding grounds for distraction. Not making a big deal about samadhi and yet striving to reach it in the most natural manner is the way to protect the mind from all possible distractions. That is why yogis say, “Work hard but take it lightly. Achieve the highest but don’t make a fuss about it.” This attitude, called vairagya (dispassion or non-attachment), is necessary for protecting and nurturing your practice.

You have heard it said that practice makes perfect. But it is important to remember that it is only perfect practice that makes you perfect. Building a practice can be compared with building a house. A house can be small or big, simple or elaborate. A house can be fitted with lots of amenities or can lack even the most basic facilities. Such is the case with a practice. It can be profound or shallow. It can be designed to take us all the way to samadhi or simply conform to cultural expectations. The function of the practice determines the form. The loftier the form and the grander the goal and objective, the more detailed the architectural plan must be.

The most important aspect of this plan is building a foundation that is capable of supporting the structure you wish to erect. The fundamentals of any fruitful practice are those from the Bhagavad Gita delineated earlier: balanced diet, balanced exercise, balanced thinking, balanced sleep, and performing our actions with balanced understanding. Next comes cultivating a conducive posture. The posture most conducive to our practice is one in which the head, neck, and trunk are in a straight line, the shoulders are relaxed, and the breath serene. Then comes uniting our mind and breath with each other. Uniting the forces of our breath and mind allows us to concentrate with the fewest distractions, thus enabling us to concentrate for a longer period of time on our chosen object. Prolonged concentration matures into meditation, and meditation matures into samadhi. The repeated experience of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi deepens our memory of samadhi.

In subsequent practice sessions, this memory both pushes us toward samadhi and pulls samadhi toward us. There comes a time when this process becomes absolutely effortless. This effortless state of samadhi is called dharma megha samadhi, a samadhi laden with a cloud of virtues—spiritually uplifting and enlightening experiences. From this emerges an indescribable state of awareness devoid of all desires, including the desire for any benefit from samadhi other than samadhi itself. This is the state of nirbija samadhi—the highest samadhi, which sages like Patanjali and Buddha experienced. May we, their students, one day also attain this luminous experience.

Meditation means different things to different people. To some, it suggests periods of quiet self-observation. To others, it means breath awareness or thinking reflectively. In the yoga tradition, a key element of meditation is the repetition of a sound or a prayer—a mantra—which focuses the mind and becomes a source of inner balance and well-being.

The process of mentally repeating a mantra is called japa, which literally means “muttering” in Sanskrit. With practice, japa becomes well rooted in the mind, and the sound of the mantra flows continuously from moment to moment. It may flow slowly, linked to the breath. Or it may flow at a moderate pace, disengaged from the rhythm of breathing. After considerable practice, the mantra may pulse very rapidly—its syllables no longer carefully articulated. In this case, meditation with the mantra flows without exertion. This phase of practice is called ajapa japa, or effortless repetition.
The mantra becomes audible without mental exertion, and the inner space of the mind is filled with its sound.

Adepts sometimes refer to this phase of meditation as “listening to the mantra.” The mantra becomes audible without mental exertion, and the inner space of the mind is filled with its sound. The resulting practice is effortless and delightful—but it occurs only after considerable experience with a mantra. How can you cultivate ajapa japa? And what is happening in the mind when your mantra sweeps along in perpetual motion? Let’s have a look.

Mantra Practice
If you have never practiced mantra meditation before, the process of reciting a mantra may appear rather mechanical. But the repetition of a mantra is anything but robotic. With regular practice you will find that japa practice will lead you to a much deeper understanding of yourself as you encounter new layers of your mind. Wants and hopes, duties and obligations, ideals and aspirations surface in your awareness. From meditation to meditation, life unfolds under your inner gaze, asking you to witness it in its entirety.

A mantra serves as a kind of centering device during this process. It offers a resting place for the everyday mind. It collects distracting energies. It brings spiritual insights forward, so that you can integrate them into daily life. Just as great music transforms a listener, a mantra gradually lifts and transforms your mind.

Three Steps to Ajapa Japa
You can use a variety of mantras for meditation. Some meditators are given a personal mantra by their teacher. Others choose to use one of the great Vedic mantras such as the Gayatri mantra (“May my mind be guided by divine light”) or the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra (“May the Lord lead me to freedom from fears and attachments”). You may also recite a prayer such as the Christian invocation Kyrie eleison (“Lord have mercy”) or the Buddhist mantra Om mani padme hum (“May the blessed union of practice and wisdom awaken”). No matter the mantra, its sacred sound can help you progress through both the japa and ajapa japa phases of practice.

Generally speaking, you can progress through three phases of japa practice by doing the following. First, link the mantra sound (or a portion of it) with the flow of your breath. The fusion of breath and mantra makes your concentration stable, reducing the mind’s tendency to wander. Linking the mantra with your breath also slows the pace of mental repetitions, giving you time to patiently witness your concentration process.

Next, let go of the breath and focus your attention on the sound of the mantra alone. Once you disconnect the mantra from the breath, the mantra will begin to pulse at its own moderate pace. Breathing continues to flow smoothly, but awareness settles in the mantra. This shift results in a more refined concentration process. Your mind rests within itself, without the support of an external object (the breath).

Finally, as the mind becomes familiar with the sound of the mantra, it will naturally begin to pulse more quickly and effortlessly. This phase of practice becomes increasingly subtle, turning into ajapa japa as the mantra gains momentum. When the mantra is reverberating very rapidly, you may sense it more as a pulsation of energy than as the articulation of syllables. Nonetheless, the mantra is present, and you remain centered in it.

Overcoming Obstacles
Unfortunately, the mind has an uncanny knack for losing its focus during periods of japa, letting the mantra slip out of awareness and leaving a tangle of distractions in its place. Using a mala can be very helpful in enhancing concentration at this stage. A mala is a string of 108 beads used to count the repetitions of your mantra during meditation. One round of the mala equals 100 repetitions of the mantra (8 of the mala’s 108 beads are “given away” as a sign of humility and a recognition that your mind likely wandered from its concentration several times). Depending on the practice, your daily meditation session might include two, three, or more rounds of a mala.
To further refine your concentration during japa, weave the sound of one mantra repetition into the next. As one repetition of the mantra ends, let the next one arise. If the space between repetitions is eliminated, then fewer thoughts emerge from the unconscious to distract the mind and carry it away. But don’t force the effort to link one mantra repetition to another. Instead, make smooth transitions from one mantra repetition to the next, so that the chain of sound in your mind flows naturally, easily, and without pause.

Over time, your focus on a mantra will imbed its sacred sound in you more securely.
Despite your best intentions, your efforts to reduce mental distractions could become woefully tiresome to you were it not for the fact that, even in the earliest stages of practice, concentration results in a peaceful and pleasant mind. Over time, your focus on a mantra will imbed its sacred sound in you more securely. When you meditate, it will return to your awareness with greater ease and increased energy.

Signs of Progress
The unbroken flow of sound created by weaving one mantra repetition into the next is a prelude to ajapa japa. With regular practice, the pace of repetitions will increase. Concentration will deepen. Repetition of the mantra will occur with an effortless momentum in your mind. The mantra will reverberate more rapidly than usual and will seem to continue in the background, even when other distractions occupy your mind. During this phase of practice the mantra whispers incessantly.
The mantra arises, stays for a time, and then moves on, much like a passing encounter with a friend on the street.

Another sign that you’re progressing toward ajapa japa is when your mantra begins to surface in your mind at unexpected times. The mantra may come to you while you are washing the dishes or driving. It happens without any real effort. The mantra arises, stays for a time, and then moves on, much like a passing encounter with a friend on the street.

Eventually, a time comes when you can hear the mantra sound whenever you like, simply by closing your eyes and relaxing. Ajapa japa becomes a deep source of peace and calmness—a center of well-being.

The Flow of Ajapa Japa
As delightful as ajapa japa sounds, be aware that the mind will still become distracted during its practice. (In fact, if the mind is not well grounded, distractions will arise with almost the same ease as the mantra!) How can you anchor your concentration at a deeper level? How can you train your awareness to truly rest in its focus? The key is to learn how to center your mind in ajapa japa, using the same skills that you practiced in earlier stages of meditation:
Rest your attention in the mantra, allowing other energies to pass through your mind without engaging in them. Continue to smoothly weave one repetition of the mantra into the next. Use a mala to deepen your concentration. Relax into the flow and speed of the mantra, whether its pulse is slow, medium, or fast. Center your heart, your devotional self, as well as your intellect in the mantra. If distracting thoughts dislodge your attention, slow your japa down until you can refocus with more stability. As you follow these steps, japa will evolve into ajapa japa. A moment will come when you will naturally set your mala down and let your mantra emerge as an effortless pulsing of sound. Relaxing in this spontaneous flow, your mantra will cradle your mind in its embrace, a deep center of awareness.

This is not a sudden process. If you are looking for instant enlightenment, you won’t find it here (or, most likely, anywhere else!). But cultivate ajapa japa and your mind will become deeply focused and relaxed. Along the way you will uncover a natural source of happiness and well-being within. In the end, your mantra will become something more than a sound. Its presence will hold you, lift you, and comfort you—the embodiment of Spirit, made audible in you.

Source : https://yogainternational.com/article/view/advanced-stages-of-mantra-meditation

You guys know how I love art, comic book stuff included. Here's Joe Sacco's take on recent events:

Shaheedyan ji,
It is interesting to see my friend Serjinder Singh's write up. He is basically a scientist. I came across this pharase Sarva Loha while reading Arthashastara. I thought a scientist would better understand the science behind this mixture of metals. He explained many things about it and sent this information to Sikhnet. He explained that Since gold does not interact with oxygen in air so it does no rust. Gold therefore is found quite pure in nature and shining. Silver also is similar to some extent. These two are therefore known as noble metals. Third metal to be easily available is copper because it can be easily prepared from its ore by heating it in a relatively simple fire. Since copper was red coloured like blood or Lohu in Sanskrit, it began to be called Loha in early vedic period. After discovery of other metals such as tin, zinc, murcury, lead etc, mixtures of these non-Noble metals began to be callrd Sarva Loh. the importance of Sarva Loh apart from Chankya's reference is that even today these mixtures of metals are melted and cast into statues of goddesses. Generally it is called Sarabloh. Hence when In Dasam Granth we see this word it refers to goddess or Shiv. Even these days statues are made from five metals and the mixture when molten is called Panchloh. Google this word and see. During ancient times whatever metals could be collected to either make a weapon or to make statue of goddess or Shiv was called Sarva Loh. Shiv was both Sarabloh as a mixed metal statue of Shiv as well as Sarabkal as death. During pre-vedic period only Shiv and goddess are believed to have been worshipped on the basis seals depicting prototypes of these deities. Vishnu appeared quite late just before the Christian era. Iron was not that easily available during the Rigvedic period. Only meteoritic iron was known and sparingly used particularly for important statues or weapons such as Axe of Prsuram or the Bajjar of Indra. Metallurgy of iron was not well known at that time. Iron at that time was known as Ayas. Word Asi in Dasam Granth refers to a weapon made of iron as in Asiket or Asidhuj. Asi is a distortion of Sanskrit word Ayas.

I think the topic is going off track.

We are more on issues of men and women, rather than, what a Guru means. We think we elect gurus as in political elections for a particular period of time.

The true Guru is Shabad, the True Guru is Brahmgyani, the True Guru is Gurumukh, the True Guru is the Lord Himself.

And just as Wahiguru has no gender, it is His power, His level of Consciousness which works in that particular body.

It is like a battery, which works the same in a doll, as in the soldier. It is the energy of that battery which makes them work, not the otherwise, that the toys work better, as per how they were designed or the roles to play.

In a siimilar way, the physical body of a woman or the man is not the Guru, which by the way is the topic of this thread. The Guru is not perisahble, the bodies of men or women, are just a handful of dust .... So, as said, Guru, is a power, which can work out His duties at the best, in any conditions, He has no such limits, though limited in disguise, as He is in a physical body which is just a covering

The True Guru, works on the inner planes, to guide the souls back to their True Home, Sach Khand .

Outwardly He only inspires us, to love Him, by doing the real bhakti.

Last, but not the least, it is Wahiguru´s choice, it is His mauj, He can do what He feels like. As said, if He wanted, what to say about human beings, He can make even the stones carry out His Hukum...

So brothers and sisters, sangat, let us not argue on the mayavee coverings(bodies, genders), but pay attention, to what He says to us through those wadbhagee Gurmukhs(irrespective of genders).


To argue about genders of the True gurus, is to question Wahiguru Himself.

Is that not shameful? Our manmukhta, has no limits .....

As long as the creation exists, either men or women, both shall continue to be imperfect beings, only by doing the real bhakti and elevating our consciousness to His level, shall we become perfect, then there shall be no arguments, that men this, or women that, because then, only He will exist.

Sat Sree Akal.

ragnarok is correct. Their gender did not matter. Souls are neither female or male in the physical sense. However all of us are seen as 'soul brides'. It was likely coincidence that they were all male, however there was a positive benefit for women, with them being male.

Think about it:

Who would have more impact? A slave claiming that they should be free and treated as equals, or their master claiming this? The message of women being equal, needed to come from men in order to have the impact. Women could have demanded to be seen as equal all they wanted but would never have been taken seriously. So the message had to come from men. It had to be men that admitted openly that women were their equals in order for it to mean anything.

There is no gender for the Guru. Guru is neither man or woman, people who see only the body of the Guru do not see the Guru.

I plan on wearing a white dastar with the blue suit above, and getting him to wear a blue dastar with white. That way we will match and be kind of opposites