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The Ringing Sound (Anhad Shabad; Sound Current)


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This chapter contains some deep knowledge of heading towards Sunn/Shunya.

Yoga of the Void

It is only when an aspirant tries to control or get away from his thoughts that he will realize what tenacious and formidable opponents he has to deal with. If he forcefully and unintelligently struggles to repress his thoughts, their resistance will grow stronger, greatly frustrating him and rendering his spiritual endeavours impossible. The interminable procession of thoughts that continuously move across the sky of his consciousness, obscuring his inner world like clouds hiding the light of the sun, can be an immense torment for an inexperienced aspirant in the beginning.

He will become especially aware of and confronted with this problem when he first decides seriously to practice meditation. His thoughts will then more than ever plague him, and, unless he understands how to deal wisely with these unwanted intruders—like so many impudent flies on a hot and humid summer afternoon—they will not be easily driven away. No matter how hard he may try to get rid of them, they will obstinately keep coming back.

There is a special method of meditation that consists of vigilantly watching one’s thoughts as a means of freeing oneself from them, while at the same time taking the utmost care not to become identified and entangled with them. If the seeker can resolutely keep to this path, meditating with patience, love, and profound sincerity, it will ultimately lead him to the princely gate that opens out into infinite inner space—revealing to him his True Identity, his primordial Divine Nature.

Having taken his meditation posture, the seeker must first remain very quiet for some moments, deeply relaxing the whole of his body, especially his head and facial muscles. When he feels tranquil enough, he should then close his eyes and turn part of his attention to the movement of his lower abdomen without interfering with its normal breathing rhythm. At the same time, he must watch every thought and image that passes across the screen of his consciousness with the utmost vigilance. He must not let even one thought or image slip by without being fully aware of it. He must, at the same time, take the greatest possible care not to allow himself to be carried away by it and lose himself in it. The exceptional inner presence, sharp attention, and strength of will that this calls forth from an aspirant is at first practically impossible to maintain for more than a few moments.

The difficulty of this particular form of meditation is immense in the beginning, because there is no other support for the aspirant in his efforts to free himself from his customary state of being other than the thoughts themselves, which keep coming and going across the sky of his consciousness. However, if he can muster enough inner force to watch the passage of these thoughts and images without becoming identified with and involved in them, he will start to find that each thought that arises in him has a definite beginning, climax, and an end; and hardly has one thought vanished than another has suddenly arisen to take its place. If the seeker can remain truly inwardly distant and unentangled with his thoughts, then they will of their own quiet down considerably, becoming less and less frequent.

It is at that crucial stage that the aspirant will need to call up in himself the utmost strength of will and watch untiringly, without sliding back again. If he can gather the necessary inner force to continue to maintain this state of intense attentiveness still further, without faltering, then he will suddenly make the surprising discovery that between each individual thought that appears, rises to its zenith, and disappears, there is a gap just before the arising of the next thought, which in his habitual ordinary state it would not have been possible for him to perceive.

If the seeker can now, in as tranquil and simple a manner as possible, plunge deeper into himself while continuing to watch his thoughts, they will quiet to such a great extent that the gap between each succeeding thought will become much wider and more evident. And if, at this point, the aspirant can now fix his attention on this gap, or void (always there between every individual thought, without the seeker’s having realized it before), and can manage to increase its duration, then the realization of what this void really is will start to mysteriously dawn upon him. He will, at the same time, begin to feel in him a most extraordinary inner silence and sublime peace beyond anything that anyone can ordinarily know. It will appear to him as a divine cosmic balm, sweetly filling his whole being with an indescribable sense of sacred serenity. He will now fully realize that what at first seemed to him to be a mere emptiness is in fact filled with an infinite expanse of a highly subtle and impersonal consciousness, a mysterious invisible “Spectator” silently witnessing.

This unusual state of consciousness can in some way be compared to a translucent sky without a here or a there, an up or a down, a front or a back—a clear, translucent, and immeasurable sky where there are no clouds, birds, or any other object passing across it. From the day he took his first breath to this momentous instant, the miracle of his higher nature has ever been waiting for him to remove the veil of his ordinary self and behold its radiance. Without having known it, he owes to its benign Grace his existence, his intelligence, and the continual animation and sustenance of his life.

The seeker will hear this Nada very clearly inside his ears and head throughout every one of his meditations if his concentration is what it should be—sincere, true, serene, and firm, without forcing. In fact, the deeper the concentration, the louder and more shrill this mysterious sound will get, as an encouragement to the aspirant and an indication that he is moving in the right direction.

It is necessary here to put the seeker on his guard that at no time and under no circumstances must he meditate with a mind fixed avidly on seeking results, whether humble or spectacular. All meditations and other spiritual practices should be done solely for the love of doing them and for the pleasure of the struggle itself, letting Divine Grace do what it knows is best for each person according to his problems, needs, and merits.

The aspirant should thoroughly acquaint himself with this form of meditation, which, in addition to its importance as a means of understanding the immutable state beyond the moving mind more clearly, will be extremely useful to him in the tragic moments of his life that are unavoidable in this uncertain existence. It will be another weapon at his disposal when, on distressing days of harassment or unexpected shocks, he may encounter too great a resistance in himself to be able to quiet his thoughts and feelings sufficiently to permit him to meditate. For one should always bear in mind that, even after a certain time of practicing Nada Yoga, there is always a danger that, while actually listening to this celestial inner sound (to which one can become too habituated), one may still be (or become again) partially identified with and lost in one’s customary state of daydreaming without realizing it. In such instances, the above method of meditation could be very helpful to him indeed. If done rightly, it will in any case strengthen his will considerably and give him much more control and choice over his thoughts, even in active life, when he is in the company of other people.

Once the seeker has discovered the reality of his True Nature, his meditation will become much simpler and more natural. To the degree to which he is able to abandon himself, he will, from then onward, be carried by divine Grace.

Until the aspirant comes to know and understand the problem of his mind and thoughts sufficiently, they can be a real source of harassment for him, especially at the beginning of his struggles. That is why it is important for him, right from the start of his practice, to try to see how his mind works, study its reactions and thought associations, and learn to know how much reality and credence to attach to them. His task in this delicate area will be greatly eased by the above method of meditation.

Each time the aspirant turns his attention inward to look at his thoughts and try to seize them, he will find only phantoms and nothing tangible for him to get hold of. His thoughts will have vanished instantly into the void, leaving in their place only a mysterious vacuum whose profound meaning and great value the seeker may at first either miss altogether or not understand. The magical fascination and hypnotic power of thoughts are such that in their habitual state of being people are not aware how they are being duped and enticed into their invisible web. They become ever-so-rapidly identified with them at every turn, blindly lending themselves to their surreptitious suggestions and hidden biddings—devoid, a large part of the time, of value for the fulfillment of their higher destiny.

In the same way that the human being becomes identified with and totally believes in the dreams that he experiences when asleep, he unconsciously falls prey also to the fascination of the phenomenal world around him, as well as to his own illusory passing thoughts, unquestioningly trusting and taking them for granted as being the only true reality there is. But since each time he looks at and tries to seize these thoughts, they suddenly mysteriously disappear into nothing, leaving merely a bare emptiness in their place (thus revealing their unreal nature), an alert and perceptive seeker will realize he has found a subtle, highly effective, and astonishingly simple weapon with which, through patient and repeated practice, he may eventually free himself from the tangles and tyranny of his ordinary thinking and rise to higher spheres of the mind.

In its habitual state, the mind is like a restless monkey that leaps aimlessly from one branch of a tree to another almost continuously. Without being aware of it, the human being keeps hopping inwardly from one thought to the other as they arise mechanically in him, holding on to each one in turn and beguiled most of the time into believing what they suggest to him. He is often unable even to see their contradictions and the deep trouble they get him into as he blindly obeys their promptings. Thus he becomes ever more karmically*2 entangled.

Most of a person’s thoughts are mechanical repetitions, useless, shadowy, and often ridiculously contradictory to the point of being influenced by the incessant changes of the weather itself! By indiscriminately lending his attention to and complying with almost any thought that happens to cross his mind at a given moment, he can be compared to a prostitute who unquestioningly gives herself to anyone that happens to pass by, without in the least reflecting on what is happening to her and the effect that it is having on her being.

If an aspirant’s thoughts are not lofty, creative, and spiritually beneficial, and if, when recurring, they are allowed to settle in his mind, then, in time, they will grow into unquestioned habitual ways of thinking, affecting and molding his being into what he will become. And, furthermore, by then blindly obeying the impulses born of these thoughts, he will ineluctably sink to lower planes of consciousness, developing deep-rooted tendencies that will be spiritually unprofitable and very difficult to free himself from later.

If the seeker can firmly but quietly watch the rise and decline of each one of his thoughts without holding on to them or letting himself become enmeshed in them, he will then be more free in himself to perceive their nothingness. And what is of paramount importance is that the great void, or the screen of vast Consciousness that is behind these thoughts, will begin to appear to his inner vision. It will be like the sudden coming into view of a clear blue sky when smoke and clouds have been blown aside, revealing what was already there beyond them. Then the aspirant will discover with awe and wonderment that, just as the sky remains totally undiminished and unsullied by the passage of the smoke or clouds across it, so, and in spite of all the external mud covering him from his life’s journey on Earth, this superior state of consciousness in him has always retained its purity and sublime beauty. And it is precisely in that extraordinary fact that the hope for his emancipation lies. For this higher state in him is both a Grace and the means of the ultimate contentment that he has been so forlornly longing for and searching for so vainly throughout his terrestrial existence without having known it.

As the seeker progresses, and as he can muster the necessary strength to watch his thoughts for longer and longer periods without losing himself in and becoming identified with them, the gap and vacuum between and behind each one of these thoughts will grow wider and deeper, until a moment comes when he will finally merge into and become this vast mysterious space and void, bringing him the profound peace and sublime happiness that was the state from which he originated and into which he is meant consciously to reenter when he dies—willingly foregoing all the things and experiences that he has known during his brief passage in this world. For these things and experiences were in any case meant only as a temporary means to an end, not to become attached to but there merely to serve a higher purpose and to be discarded when that purpose has been fulfilled.

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18 hours ago, Sat1176 said:

He should listen carefully to both sounds for a while until it becomes absolutely clear to him which of these two sounds is the more subtle and high pitched. It is to this one he must then gently let his attention turn and concentrate on. He must not be tempted to follow the more obvious of these two sounds any more—even though it will keep intruding and drawing him back to it.

Some what confused. It will be great if someone make it more clear for me.

First advised to concentrate on clear subtle and high pitch sound.

Next it say 

He must not be tempted to follow the more obvious of these two sounds

I am going through this stuff slowly. Sound to be very good stuff.

 

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On March 22, 2019 at 11:31 AM, gsm52 said:

Some what confused. It will be great if someone make it more clear for me.

First advised to concentrate on clear subtle and high pitch sound.

Next it say 

He must not be tempted to follow the more obvious of these two sounds

I am going through this stuff slowly. Sound to be very good stuff.

 

Are you hearing multiple sounds?

from what I heard if you listen to the wrong one the Shabads will begin to fade.

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On 3/22/2019 at 4:31 AM, gsm52 said:

He should listen carefully to both sounds for a while until it becomes absolutely clear to him which of these two sounds is the more subtle and high pitched. It is to this one he must then gently let his attention turn and concentrate on. He must not be tempted to follow the more obvious of these two sounds any more—even though it will keep intruding and drawing him back to it.

 

On 3/22/2019 at 4:31 AM, gsm52 said:

Some what confused. It will be great if someone make it more clear for me.

First advised to concentrate on clear subtle and high pitch sound.

Next it say 

He must not be tempted to follow the more obvious of these two sounds

I am going through this stuff slowly. Sound to be very good stuff.

 

Sure. I know it can be confusing because it depends on what stage you are at and exactly what you're hearing. There's nothing wrong with the text from the book but it can easily be misunderstood.  The idea is to listen to initial sound to get going, and then locate the other very subtle sounds in background..  

If you still having confusion, then I can advise via pm according to what i tried and practiced at particular stage.

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In the first part of this video Bhai Sahib explains the importance of listening to the sehaj dhun. (The high pitched frequency sound) and where it will lead.

Gurmantar -> Sehaj Dhun -> Anhad Sounds -> Naad ->Parkash (aka Satguru /Sach and Agam Shabads)

Nishanis along the path of listening to Sehaj dhun:

  • Will begin to disconnect from body
  • Sweet Mouth / Amrit Ras
  • Jhill Mill (Flashes of lightening)
  • 5 Shabads / More Anhad Sounds
  • Parkash
  • Once in Parkash and can head Shabad then your off.....

 

 

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Guest Sukhpreet
On 1/29/2014 at 11:08 PM, Sat1176 said:

Singh,

 

As one does more and more naam simran the mind becomes still and he hears these sounds naturally or sometimes spontaneously. Don't stop your bhagti whatever you are doing and start looking for sounds. This post is designed more for those who might already be hearing such sounds. I found quite a lot of information on what these sounds are but not what you do with them. This was the first text I read where someone explained possibly a next step on the journey. How to move from one sound to the next. Where you can hear the sounds and where to focus. Was interesting the guy said focus on the swirl of the head because I always thought it was the top.

 

I personally am doing so much research on these sounds because I'm hearing this stuff quite alot at night and I haven't got the foggiest idea what it means or what to do when it happens apart from listen. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with a massive vibration in my ear that gives me such a shock as if someone has put a speaker to my ear. It was nice to just read that these sounds can be perceived to be near and far. Now noted that they can even cause vibrations in you.. Its all a learning game for us.

 

Lucky,

 

I've posted the main juice from the book but I recommend you buy it and have a quick read yourself. I don't want to type up everything it said. There is quite a bit of padding but there are useful bits of information too.

 

On 1/29/2014 at 11:08 PM, Sat1176 said:

Singh,

 

As one does more and more naam simran the mind becomes still and he hears these sounds naturally or sometimes spontaneously. Don't stop your bhagti whatever you are doing and start looking for sounds. This post is designed more for those who might already be hearing such sounds. I found quite a lot of information on what these sounds are but not what you do with them. This was the first text I read where someone explained possibly a next step on the journey. How to move from one sound to the next. Where you can hear the sounds and where to focus. Was interesting the guy said focus on the swirl of the head because I always thought it was the top.

 

I personally am doing so much research on these sounds because I'm hearing this stuff quite alot at night and I haven't got the foggiest idea what it means or what to do when it happens apart from listen. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with a massive vibration in my ear that gives me such a shock as if someone has put a speaker to my ear. It was nice to just read that these sounds can be perceived to be near and far. Now noted that they can even cause vibrations in you.. Its all a learning game for us.

 

Lucky,

 

I've posted the main juice from the book but I recommend you buy it and have a quick read yourself. I don't want to type up everything it said. There is quite a bit of padding but there are useful bits of information too.

WJKK WJKF 

@Sat1176 @Lucky veerji

its been a long long time for you people hearing these sounds now. U must have grown upon them. Any new suggestions or instructions  u would like to tell us newcomers here.. Please. 

 

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Guest Sukhpreet

Even I hear the ringing sound, like in these above listed videos. But then what. Shall I ignore them or listen to them more keenly or what. Are they anhad by any chance. 

I hear somewhere around 18-19hz but the other video of ringing years is more close to what I hear .. Like those insects' sounds 

Please can anyone here guide me

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18 hours ago, Guest Sukhpreet said:

 

WJKK WJKF 

@Sat1176 @Lucky veerji

its been a long long time for you people hearing these sounds now. U must have grown upon them. Any new suggestions or instructions  u would like to tell us newcomers here.. Please. 

 

Have you read through the all posts in this thread and the Mediation section already? Newcomers should start there. Expecting us to summarise it so you don't have to make the effort is expecting bit much.  We are already sharing with this forum as much as we can as we learn ourselves slowly on this path.

There is quite a lot info on the subject here already which has taken years to accumulate. Most who read this thread probably don't believe in it anyway yet. It's one thing knowing about it, and it is another actually practising it. What we have accumulated here is intellectual gyan that those who seek may find useful as it is really hard to come by. From what I have read and understood, the real gyan will come when we actually practice and dive in. The Divine bestows this gyan when we surrender ourselves, and this is very hard to do. Most of us can't even stop the chatter of our mind longer than a minute or two and just be present listening. Start with WaheGuru Gurmantar first. Build a solid foundation in this where you can keep your dhyan present and focused on it for decent period of time without useless chatter occurring and your mind drifting off into the waves of other thoughts. You will be astonished to observe how frequently your mind wonders. 

 

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1 minute ago, ragnarok said:

What do you think of Bhai Simranjeet Singhs pronunciation of gurmantar as ' Wah - Guroo'

He pronounces it with a very short e, which most are not accustomed to and have never heard it said this way or sung in this manor. But what you need to appreciate is that the gurmantar is being used as a mantra in two quick parts with a distinct pause between the two parts "Wahe-Guru". One for inhale and the other for exhale. As you progress to doing simran faster and faster from bakhari, to quick saas saas, to even rom rom where you are saying it rapidly in sync with each beat of the pulse, you will begin appreciating the method that he uses as it is kept consistent through each of the stages. It takes a bit of getting used to as most are used to saying it in a elongated fashion of waaheeeguroo. This pronunciation won't work with rapid simran. Try for yourself and see.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Sat1176 said:

He pronounces it with a very short e, which most are not accustomed to and have never heard it said this way or sung in this manor. But what you need to appreciate is that the gurmantar is being used as a mantra in two quick parts with a distinct pause between the two parts "Wahe-Guru". One for inhale and the other for exhale. As you progress to doing simran faster and faster from bakhari, to quick saas saas, to even rom rom where you are saying it rapidly in sync with each beat of the pulse, you will begin appreciating the method that he uses as it is kept consistent through each of the stages. It takes a bit of getting used to as most are used to saying it in a elongated fashion of waaheeeguroo. This pronunciation won't work with rapid simran. Try for yourself and see.

I was just reading the significance of having a slight gap between breathing.

"Taking a slow, deep breath from time to time during the day, with a brief retention of the breath after the inhalation, constitutes an aid to recenter oneself inwardly and find again in oneself that inhabitual state of being."

It also helps balance flow in the two nostrils.

 

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Guest Sukhpreet
5 hours ago, Sat1176 said:

Have you read through the all posts in this thread and the Mediation section already? Newcomers should start there. Expecting us to summarise it so you don't have to make the effort is expecting bit much.  We are already sharing with this forum as much as we can as we learn ourselves slowly on this path.

There is quite a lot info on the subject here already which has taken years to accumulate. Most who read this thread probably don't believe in it anyway yet. It's one thing knowing about it, and it is another actually practising it. What we have accumulated here is intellectual gyan that those who seek may find useful as it is really hard to come by. From what I have read and understood, the real gyan will come when we actually practice and dive in. The Divine bestows this gyan when we surrender ourselves, and this is very hard to do. Most of us can't even stop the chatter of our mind longer than a minute or two and just be present listening. Start with WaheGuru Gurmantar first. Build a solid foundation in this where you can keep your dhyan present and focused on it for decent period of time without useless chatter occurring and your mind drifting off into the waves of other thoughts. You will be astonished to observe how frequently your mind wonder

 

 

 

 

Hanji,

I have been on this reading journey for a couple of weeks now, in fact I posted another question too which I don't know why but hasn't been published by the moderators ... They haven't approved my membership yet too.. Must br busy

Trying again to post. Actually I didn't land here coincidently ..seems my prayers have been answered. It's been a time since am hearing these insect kinda sounds. Very similar to the one  in 'ringing ears after gun shot ' video u mentioned above. But am not sure what that signifies-if it at all it does. What next then. So that's why I asked if any updates are..  Please guide  

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4 hours ago, ragnarok said:

What do you think of Bhai Simranjeet Singhs pronunciation of gurmantar as ' Wah - Guroo'

 

3 hours ago, Sat1176 said:

He pronounces it with a very short e, which most are not accustomed to and have never heard it said this way or sung in this manor. But what you need to appreciate is that the gurmantar is being used as a mantra in two quick parts with a distinct pause between the two parts "Wahe-Guru". One for inhale and the other for exhale. As you progress to doing simran faster and faster from bakhari, to quick saas saas, to even rom rom where you are saying it rapidly in sync with each beat of the pulse, you will begin appreciating the method that he uses as it is kept consistent through each of the stages. It takes a bit of getting used to as most are used to saying it in a elongated fashion of waaheeeguroo. This pronunciation won't work with rapid simran. Try for yourself and see.

 

 

@Sat1176Veerji is right.  We get used to it.  Still u can hear this one ☝ if Simranjit Singh jis voice is not appealing to u

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10 minutes ago, Guest Sukhpreet said:

Hanji,

I have been on this reading journey for a couple of weeks now, in fact I posted another question too which I don't know why but hasn't been published by the moderators ... They haven't approved my membership yet too.. Must br busy

Trying again to post. Actually I didn't land here coincidently ..seems my prayers have been answered. It's been a time since am hearing these insect kinda sounds. Very similar to the one  in 'ringing ears after gun shot ' video u mentioned above. But am not sure what that signifies-if it at all it does. What next then. So that's why I asked if any updates are..  Please guide  

I don't like to guide anyone as I'm not that far along the path myself. But I will share with you what I was told to do.

You are hearing something referred to as Sehaj Dhun. This is how anhad is heard in the early stages. If you listen to some of the videos by Bhai Simranjeet Singh posted he will say that one should not listen to these sounds until one has obtained some sort of mental stillness, i.e. free of thoughts. If you struggle with thoughts during your simran then you should stick with gurmantar only until comes a time when thoughts don't bother you so much. It is not recommended to start straight with anhad sounds.

If your thoughts are reasonably subdued during simran then keep the gurmantar slowly and gently going in the background and then switch you concentration from dhyan on gurmantar to keeping dhyan on the sehaj dhun. Keeping the gurmantar going on in the background will stop your mind from doing mental acrobatics when it is free to do whatever it wants. If you feel a thought coming on, switch your dhyan back to the sound of the gurmantar until the thought passes and you have mental stillness again.

Hope that helps.

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