Applying Sikhi

[Kaur_05]

after coming back from sikh camp last year i was on a 'high' from sikhi...never felt so much love. truly realised how important and valuable our religion is...so much to learn...so much to discuss...my biggest problem is applying sikhi to my evryday life...i have not being blessed with amrit as of yet...i cnt even apply the basics of sikhi to my everday life let alone even think of amrit....this problem is really starting to upset me becuase i knw the right way, i see the right way but its jus me! i end up crying sometimes becuase its worse wen u see what ur doing wrong and cant seem to fix the problem. i get angry for silly reasons especially with family members....i try to get up to do simran at 5 am and with Guru's kirpa i do get up but end up fallilng asleep again!waking up to do simran is an amazing feeling and the first day back after camp i got up, felt so refreshed and happy...why cant i seem to do it now? somemay say i am not trying hard enough...i am though...thats the problem...

Waheguru sent me to camp and let me experience such a magical feeling...i felt so close to Guru ji...loved simran in the sangat...i crave for those feelings back...just wish i could bring sikhi 2 life in my evryday life...does that make sense? i dnt knw if wat i have said makes any sense...

can any 1 offer nay h elp in what i should i do?

Fateh!

[palm_w1]

perhaps you should try creating an atmosphere which is conducive to further upliftment. try creating a good sangat where you can feel the same way you felt in camp, then you can all sit down and do simran etc together.

[tSingh]

hmm, this is the problem. Simran is very important but those other however many hours of wakefulness are just as important, which is your opportunity to practice all the virtues you wish to aspire to. Set yourself little targets, such as

trying not to cuss (mentally or verbally),

trying not to get overly emotionally involved in events,

trying to get hold of books and recordings to improve your understanding, mulling over difficult issues,

carrying out acts of seva and maybe thinking through why you got bored, or where you went wrong,

eating correctly,

breathing correctly,

sitting correctly,

walking correctly,

improving your mindfullness,

overcoming your hankaar,

trying to avoid getting caught up in what will be and what was

learning the meanings to gurbani

practing simran in spare moments

discriminating things

and you will find that all this combined means that you will be developing and moving forward and feeling invigorated

I know people who have had life transforming experiences, have a strong drive toward mukti, practice naam simran very early, very concertedly but fail to do anything more and are saddened at the lack of spiritual progress within...but this is not suprising.

[Sukhi]

i agree with what was said before me.

Kaur, do you think it's possible that you have misleading expectations which are leading you to feel frustrated?

apart from what tSingh suggests, you might wanna try doing simran whenever you can. even if it's in the evening. granted that in your eyes it's not as good as doing simran early in the day, but at least you're doing something right?

and keep workin on trying to get yourself to stay awake in the mornings. it'll eventually happen. it just takes time.

patience is a virtue, grasshopper... lol!...

[tableji]

everything takes time,

gurbani sez,

sehj pakey soo methaa hoye

[Kaur_05]

thank you all for the helpful advice and ur right about trying. this morning i got up at 6 but my eyes kept shutting...and am so not a morning person....but i wanna be! i wanna change myself....

sukhi penji, misleading expec? im not too sure wat u mean. u mean about sikhi?i knw wat i felt at camp and just wish i cud experience it evryday...like at camp i dunno if this was jus me but i had the most sweetest pain in my heart...it felt so good and made me smile so much...my mate from uni was there and he goes to me stop smiling ur scaring me! LOL but it was that brilliant environment...ful of love that i was in that made me smile so much...jus wish i cud feel like that all the time!

it so hard tho esp wen own family members keep puttin u off...i have trimmed hair..and yeah i do my eyebrows and they think that just becuase i do that im not allowed to mediate...or read about sikhi...im on a path...u cant expect me to change suddenly...takes time...but my heart sinks wen sum1 says ur not good enough...u dnt even look apart of Guru ji's fauj....

but surely all of us have to start somwhere?

[Har Naal Pyar]

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

Kaur_05 phenji, I went through this 'phase' where I was 'smiling' a lot and felt like I had experienced or realised something and this happened when I spent a week reading the Baba Nand Singh site. I felt like I had lost all my anger and pride and all that. but now I am back to normal again. Not completely, but I got back to the pride and all that.

Yes having trimmed hair is VERY wrong, i wont deny that. BUT that does not mean you can't do paath!! Do you have to do certain things to be allowed to talk to or think about Waheguru Ji? course not.

Looking a part of Guru Ji's fauj is vital but praying is also vital so even though it will take you time to look like a Sikh, you can still pray!!

I'm not telling you to lie to your parents but you don't have to tell them that you are about to pray or do you?

Half the time I pray when they have all gone out or are downstairs or asleep, u know they wont find out and disturb u and then ask u a million Qs.

Hope I didn't say anything wrong.

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

[Guest]

Kaur_05,

There are stages of vairaag(emotions). There are 9 in total (check out in this thread: http://www.sikhawareness.com/sikhawareness...opic.php?t=5312 )

What you feeling everyone feels that way because there are stages of bairaag we have to outcome..you can check that thread ..got english version also in that thread...everyone is stuck at in certain stages ...rare are those who have overcame all 9 stages and live life with full shanti.

You said, you crave for those feeling (ie-anand) back. That's a good sign in starting however in spiritual marg we have to over come that as well.

Feeling is also maya but pyaar is not. So if you are craving for pyaar then it's good but when you say you want those feeling back then there is a danger of one's becoming addicted to get that anand and upon getting it then fully attached with feeling (anand).

Sikhi is above anand. Don't get me wrong...anand is good..you will get loads of anand when you do meditation but what if just out of blue you stopped getting anand then what you do?? you stop meditation??? No that's a test ..you keep doing it in pyaar regardless of anand.

You will notice if you do something in pyaar you will reach higher stage then anand which is "Parmanand".

Kabir says,

Jis Maran Jagat Daraie Mera Mann Anand, Maran hai Pa aieya Poora Parmanand" ||

The death which this universe is afraid, I m in bliss. Death(jivan mukht) is only way to get infinite bliss"

so in conculsation whatever you do..you do it with prem..prem of maharaj...prem to see Guru Nanak Dev Nirankar and serve him..serve Sant/Mahatam's with prem and shardha...just think of yourself jot(atma) not "body" that will prevent ego and vices. Because body needs fancy clothes, house, look, upma(so you feel yourself popular), nindiya (so your mind feels sad) not ATMA.

Think of yourself not Kaur_05 but Atamsaroop(image of god) and do seva of maharaj...do seva not in fear but in pyaar... do simran not in fear but in pyaar to merge with that super -cosmic light.

There are three layers of body-

Ashtohol sirar (body) , Mann (matt, chit, budh) (Mann is the biggest problem/ kalesh khanna of all..mann creates thoughts and trigger them in action) and then you got third "Surat" - Surat is "Sat" (Nirankar),

"Chit" (state when surat resides in bhram(vahiguroo) and "Anand/Parmanand" (highest state of Surat).

Surat is purest of pure..Surat is atma...Surat is ang(part) of Vahiguroo.

i hope i didn't confuse you even more :?

[Pheena]

a thought arose within me while the mind awoke from deep sleep at the early hours of morning. the body sat mostly awake from the shock and the desire to awaken the early hours to do simran. No sooner did my eyes close to sound his name, a flood of thoughts came and sleep crept back....a thought arose of who had awakened me? Who made it possible for me to sit here and meditate on his name...well if somone did , then let him stop my flood of thought and let him keep me awake from the need to sleep. Let him. If he so awakened you to repeat his name, then leave all onto him. Pray that he so keep you awake, pray that he so quiet the flood of thoughts. It is he that produces the thought to awaken, It is he that keeps us awake, it is he that brings us into bliss while doign simran. Surrender the results to him...You had awakened...he called you, so you got up. He produced the thought to sit and do simran, so you sat down. You closed your eyes, now let him keep you awake. Prarthna is your anchor, it is your 911.

If it was up to us we'd be Saints by now.. IF it was up to us to stop our sleep and thoughts, we'd be Liberated by now. But without his grace not once are we able to say his name. It is he himself that allows us to find himself. Be Thankfull that you have been able to feel the bliss you felt at camp. It is only when we have lost something that touched the core of our hearts that we strive to find it again.

[Guest]

wicked post pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeena...that's it..Pheena is amolak heera (diamond) of Sikhawareness...we are honored to have you here premiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

:)

[Pheena]

i am no such thing veer, only if you knew of the things i do in this life; you would not speak such words.

[tSingh]

I think that is a nice way of looking at it Pheena,

However to my mind, how many of us REALLY want brahmgyaan? How many of us are truely willing to accept that everything we hold dear is not going to be here soon? How many of us are willing to let such things go? Because that is a very scary prospect...

Now there is saying it, and there is actually REALLY deeply doing it.

So to my mind, I think it's fine to rely on ideas of nadar as a way of avoiding that fear. I think really the Sants accept this (vairagya), along with many other things before they get to the point of intuitively understanding and accepting nadar.

[tableji]

I think that is a nice way of looking at it Pheena,

However to my mind, how many of us REALLY want brahmgyaan? How many of us are truely willing to accept that everything we hold dear is not going to be here soon? How many of us are willing to let such things go? Because that is a very scary prospect...

Now there is saying it, and there is actually REALLY deeply doing it.

So to my mind, I think it's fine to rely on ideas of nadar as a way of avoiding that fear. I think really the Sants accept this (vairagya), along with many other things before they get to the point of intuitively understanding and accepting nadar.

I totally agree

[Sukhi]

thank you all for the helpful advice and ur right about trying. this morning i got up at 6 but my eyes kept shutting...and am so not a morning person....but i wanna be! i wanna change myself....

sukhi penji, misleading expec? im not too sure wat u mean. u mean about sikhi?i knw wat i felt at camp and just wish i cud experience it evryday...like at camp i dunno if this was jus me but i had the most sweetest pain in my heart...it felt so good and made me smile so much...my mate from uni was there and he goes to me stop smiling ur scaring me! LOL but it was that brilliant environment...ful of love that i was in that made me smile so much...jus wish i cud feel like that all the time!

it so hard tho esp wen own family members keep puttin u off...i have trimmed hair..and yeah i do my eyebrows and they think that just becuase i do that im not allowed to mediate...or read about sikhi...im on a path...u cant expect me to change suddenly...takes time...but my heart sinks wen sum1 says ur not good enough...u dnt even look apart of Guru ji's fauj....

but surely all of us have to start somwhere?

misleading expectations in the sense that maybe you're expecting yourself to be able to get up at 5 in the morning when usually you would sleep til whatever time.

there's a different atmosphere when you have a group of people who do something and when you're alone. there's more motivation to wake up early when you're in a group rather than when you're alone. you need to build the habit. and as Pheena suggested, you also need to recognize that it's not your efforts on your own that are leading to this change. Someone Else's Hands are behind this too.

just take it one step at a time.

if all roads lead to Rome and Rome wasn't built in a day, then all paths lead to One and spiritual strength cannot be built in one moment (unless of course you are blessed with such a thing).

ease up on yourself and don't beat yourself over the head if you aren't doing the exact same things you were doin in a group. do what you can and accept it as the best you can do on your own for now. but don't give up.