sikhni777

In this day and age you can get any pic painted and printed on any type of clothing. There are people in the printing business who can recreate whatever design you want.

If it was just a few months back - then it was just a short while ago. It was magical because prayer was the one making it magical. You are supposed to keep and feel that magic alive everyday with the help of sangat, nitnem, regular prayer and also looking into your daily life and making necessary amends. Your heart does not seem to be where your mind was - basically you were not prepared to embrace a veg life - as you were reading a hukamnama and you were looking for every excuse to return back to your old ways. Meeting this man, you stopped your prayers. This is what should have been a warning sign to you. If you find yourself slipping from prayers, it is because one of the 5 thieves are approaching you. If you had been having a routine of sangat, good books, good friends, good prayer routine and some daily resolve e.g do chaupai everyday no matter what, you may have had the strength to resist. Your consciousness is warning you here. You want to stick with the rehat. You have realised your mistake before you have slipped down and it is too late. Time for action. More important than amrit at this stage is you having to make personal adjustments to your life for at least an year before taking amrit again. When you realise your mistake and decide to make amends, Guru Ji understands and forgives you. However sins are not just cancelled. You have to do Naam jap. This will help you make the necessary amends to your mental attitude. Make amends to your diet and read up on healthy veg options. Work on your routine. You still want to keep your hair which is good. I have known ladies who have given in to men - cut their forgotten everything and then.... its just a downward story from there. Be warned - there are men out there who are sikh and they will drag down sikh women and make all sorts of excuses in the name of religion to make you quit your amrit. AVOID SUCH COMPANY (And they are also very highly educated ones - which throws further sand into your eyes. LOOK FOR SADH SANGAT and good naam japan dhi company) You can Naam net if you want - it will help you motivated to keep up your Naam japp which is the most important for you at any stage. Regular Naam jap will also bring to you good company and good opportunities. When you are mentally ready - by all means go for Amrit - go and confess your wrong and take Amrit when you are more prepared to stay in rehat. Don't rush into things and fall into the pattern of taking Amrit over and over again. Magic is all in the Naam - as you have realised. Without it is all but a burning world out there - jagat jalandha. Use Naam to neutralise it.

I recall reading something about somebody having read Babu surat Singh and then he laughed and cried. Cannot remember exactly what and where. Recently I read about someone forbidding interactions with these forms which we can see in the visions as they come back to disturb the person meditating. It seems possible that this is what your mother may have ended up doing. It was in the continuation of that thread that I posted earlier. Either way, it can seem a bit daunting to deal with. However experience is the best teacher. Perhaps reading about it on that thread I posted earlier would help you advise your mum better. Found that part have had dreams in which I have seen mahapursh and some I have met physically, I can't say I'm very close to any and that I have a personal relationship with them. Yes I do try and attend sangat of any that I can. What I do not know is if visions in sleep were just dreams or actual visions of some kind. I try not to dwell on that stuff anymore. My focus now is only the gurmantar and anhad bani that Sri Guru Granth sahib ji stresses upon so much. I have also heard stories of people having darshan in meditations, then riddhiasiddhia started, then those same beings started harassing the meditator. So I am not so keen on that side of things. Yes certain groups do place a lot of focus on sargun darshan and each have their own path. I have great respect for all but I like to focus on the path of shabad guru surt dhun chela as that is what works for me. However I suppose it is more important to be supportive so that she can confide in you without you judging her. It might just have been a one off occurrence. Hopefully she should be able to continue on her meditative journey much more successfully. The best you can do is to encourage your mum to concentrate on just the word of Waheguru or the gurmantar.

just read this.. thought I will add it on here. It is from http://www.sikhawareness.com/topic/17244-avoid-disclosing-spiritual-status/ Between sorry for talking too much but is sharing experiences really Bad ? Its only bad when we share it with ego (hankaar) (share only if u conquered ego) Pls allow us narrate our story I wasn't in sikhi much Didn't even use to read single baani whole day Was totally full of doubts Didn't even believe in God Used to play video games all day LOL My mother. Is completely innocent (bholi) She got jugti of naam abhyaas from a saint And after 30 days she had experiences she started sharing Me first She told me how she felt she was flying Then she told me how she had darshan of pavirtar rooh (she told how Devi and devta came to ave darshan of person who is chanting naam Then she told me how her voice stopped and she was fixed in simran And then in end she told me how she could enter smaadhi but later broke it with mistake (coz of bad karma) When she narrated me this my curiosity knew no bounds so I walked on Naam abyhaas path I imitated her jugti :p (Copy pasted coz of veer g request

How do you know (sorry to ask this) it was demons you were seeing and not fragments of your imagination as from what I see the kids watching all the time these days, on the T.V. are dreary images hardly worth classiying as cartoons and they love them to bits.

Chaupai sahib has similar lines as well - at the end. Sukhmani sahib also says sarab ichsha ta ki puran hoe. What you want very very deep inside your heart does become true. That is why it is important to want and also yearn for the right thing which is like naam simran. Sometimes however worldly things get the better of us. However we are human and can only try. Reading and concentrating on bani will help us make the right choices especially the shabad mangna mangan nika - har jas Gur te mangna. All the good things which we pray for in ardaas everyday are naam dhaan, sikhi dhaan, bharosa dhaan, sidak dhaan and bibek dhaan. Pray and wish for sarbat dha bhalla and do not wish bad on anyone. Get rid of all negativitity i.e lying, jealousy, anger, lust, attachments, pride, ego as much as you can. It is an everyday struggle, but you just need to keep going.

: ਗੁਰਮੁਖ ਪੰਥੀ Share ਮੁਲਿ ਨ ਮਿਲੈ ਅਮੋਲੁ ਨ ਕੀਮਤਿ ਪਾਈਐ। Muli N Milai Amolu N Keemati Paaeeai. मुलि न मिलै अमोलु न कीमति पाईऐ । The way of life of gurmukhs is invaluable; 1 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੧ Share ਪਾਇ ਤਰਾਜੂ ਤੋਲ ਨ ਅਤੁਲੁ ਤੁਲਾਈਐ। Paai Taraajoo Tolu N Atulu Tulaaeeai. पाइ तराजू तोलु न अतुलु तुलाईऐ । It cannot be purchased; on weighing scale it cannot be weighed. 2 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੨ Share ਨਿਜ ਘਰਿ ਤਖਤੁ ਅਡੋਲੁ ਨ ਡੋਲੁ ਡੋਲਾਈਐ। Nij Ghari Takhatu Adolu N Doli Dolaaeeai. निज घरि तखतु अडोलु न डोलि डोलाईऐ । Stabilizing in one’s own self and not getting frivolous in his way of life. 3 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੩ Share ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪੰਥ ਨਿਰੋਲੁ ਨ ਰਲੇ ਰਲਾਈਐ। Guramoukhi Pand Nirolu N Ralay Ralaaeeai. गुरमुखि पंथ निरोलु न रले रलाईऐ । This way is distinct and does not become defiled even when joined with some one else. 4 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੪ Share ਕਥਾ ਅਕਥ ਅਬੋਲ ਨ ਬੋਲ ਬੁਲਾਈਐ। Kadaa Akad Abolu N Bol Bulaaeeai. कथा अकथ अबोलु न बोल बुलाईऐ । Its story is indescribable. 5 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੫ Share ਸਦਾ ਅਭੁਲੁ ਅਭੋਲ ਨ ਭੋਲਿ ਭੁਲਾਈਐ। Sadaa Abhulu Abholu N Bholi Bhulaaeeai. सदा अभुलु अभोलु न भोलि भुलाईऐ । This way transcends all ommissions and all anxieties. 6 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੬ Share ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪੰਥੁ ਅਲੋਲੁ ਸਹਜਿ ਸਮਾਈਐ। Guramoukhi Pandu Alolu Sahaji Samaaeeai. गुरमुखि पंथु अलोलु सहजि समाईऐ । Absorbed in equipoise this gurmukh-way of life gives balance to life. 7 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੭ Share ਅਮਿਉ ਸਰੋਵਰ ਝੋਲੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਈਐ। Amiu Sarovar Jholu Guramoukhi Paaeeai. अमिउ सरोवर झोलु गुरमुखि पाईऐ । The gurmukh quaffs from the tank of nectar. 8 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੮ Share ਲਖ ਟੋਲੀ ਇਕੁ ਟੋਲੁ ਨ ਆਪੁ ਗਣਾਈਐ ॥੫॥ Lakh Tolee Ik Tolu N Aapu Ganaaeeai ॥5॥ लख टोली इक टोलु न आपु गणाईऐ ॥५॥ The end result of lacs of experiences is the gurmukh never exhibits his ego. 9 ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ : ਵਾਰ ੩ ਪਉੜੀ ੫ ਪੰ. ੯ Share A Gurmukh will get lakhs of experiences. It may take some time for her to come to terms with it and lead a normal life. Let us assume she has just got a little bit of the start of all which a Gurmukh experiences, but like all new experiences - they have to learn to deal with it. A line from someone who was reading some book on meditation During these stages one can come into contact with visions/forms etc which try and draw in the seeker to hinder the progress. http://www.sikhawareness.com/topic/12279-meditation-my-experiance-am-i-allowed-to-share/?page=7 go to the bottom of the page.

http://www.realsikhism.com/index.php?action=shabadoftheday I usually put in a shabad a day into google and one shabad comes up. It will not be the same one if you try again later during the day.

It takes some time to get used to any routine. The mind will resist and come up with all sorts of excuses especially when it comes to prayer. Avar kachu mere sang na challe. Nothing else will go with us to the next world. Naam simran is the only thing which we will be able to carry along with us. Jithe kithe maenu lae shadhaye Naam is the only thing which will set us free from all else. Mangu dhaan thakur naam Naam is a dhaan - our mind only starts to enjoy naam jap when we are given it by Guru ji as a dhaan. Reciting some shabad during the day helps to keep the mind better attuned to naam jap later on. Naam jap does not have to be forced and painful. Think of it as a way of just sitting quietly with your parents and getting some peace. Naam jap with other people and especially as a family has the greatest benefits. Gurbani calls that time your most luckiest time when you get some time to do some naam jap. A little adjustment to mental attitude will greatly help. Lets hope you realise how lucky you are that in this day and age your parents want to sit down with you and pray. That is the greatest deed which anyone can perform according to gurbani. Sant jana mil bholo Raam sab te utam nirmal kaam

Shabads which are commonly sung in the guradwara can be found in the amrit kirtan which can be downloaded. Finding the meanings of one Shabad at a time lets say daily - concentrate on one particular shabad which you heard. Read the meanings and recite it aa much as you can. Learning by memory a number of the main shabads helps greatly. Visiting the guradwara frequently will help you keep choosing your new shabad to learn. It is important to keep in mind prema bhagti too. Recite the shabad which appeals to you most. Sing with the tune which you like the most. As with everything this takes time too to reach a place where you feel you can understand almost most of the shabads. Katha with shabads hepps greatly. Some giani jis recite one shabad only with katha. This helps better as the meaning is easier to understand when you can relate it to the katha character experiences. It is a general requirement that sikhs memorise a shabad a day. I am surprised that this has not been brought up in any recent forums. Reading a few pages of SGGS Ji daily is also part of this rehet.

This person clearly needs that helpline address

sorry not belittling someone. I have just mentioned that I have been in that situation many times maybe 4 or 5 or more. That is why I symphatise with them. Their parents should have guided them by taking them to the Guradwara. That is worked best for me of all the times I was in trouble myself.

What a sad story. What I wonder is why people don't just go talk to someone instead of posting their worst moments on here. It is totally different if you are asking for some inspiration. Trying to put your man mat infront of all - is just so sad. I am not trying to say that we are perfect. We all have moments when we are broken away from God because of our lack of faith. Broken away from him means that we are going to follow our own brain instead of following what the Guru says. After we have gone through this episode of visarna from God we suffer greatly until he unites us with him again. This is why you keep telling people to Naam jap and they just can't. I have gone through this stage many times. One of these trying times it just took a visit to the Guradwara and my brother guided me into performing a sukhmani sahib dha path in the Guradwara. This sort of greatly helped me get in touch back again. What ever happens we must force ourselves to the Guradwara and sit down and get some sangat and do some simran for a time. It greatly helps instead of just surrendering to our man mat. We have free will at the end of the day.

I think you are concentrating on the wrong end of what you are actually meant to concentrate on. You have told them what you did. You went for the pesh. Assuming that you are reciting bani everyday, your paaps will be slowly reduced. What you should actually be concentrating on is the name of God, kirtan, path, seva and try to read as many good books as you can and stay motivated to do your naam jap as much as you can. Thinking about your sins is a waste of time. Even God keeps our past lives hidden from us. If we kept on looking back how would we be able to focus on our way forward? It is naam which destroys sins at the end of the day. Pichle augun bhaksle prabh aage marag pavae How do you know that when you had amrit the last time your sins were not forgiven. If you had not been forgiven already - you would not have been led to have amrit again.

The worst halocausts and deaths have occured in the name of religion. So I think we should be thankful when something like this happens where people have managed to put their religious differences aside. God sees us all as equal. He sends the poor and the rich through the same channels down to earth and calls them back to him through the same channels. He lets his great sun shine on all equally and does not stop the wicked, poor or any other being from receiving rain, air or sun. He has given all the same type of body with 2 hands, 2 legs, mouth, nose and ears. He has given the same message through all the different religions. It is men who have misinterpreted his messages and used them to achieve their own selfish ends. At the end of your days, God will not ask you whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Sikh or some other religion and give you different treatment. The rules for judgement are the same for all.

SGGS Ang 385 ਗਿਰਸਤ ਮਹਿ ਚਿੰਤ ਉਦਾਸ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ॥ गिरसत महि चिंत उदास अहंकार ॥ Girsaṯ mėh cẖinṯ uḏās ahaʼnkār. In the householder's life, there is anxiety, and in the life of the renunciate, there is egotism. ਕਰਮ ਕਰਤ ਜੀਅ ਕਉ ਜੰਜਾਰ ॥੩॥ करम करत जीअ कउ जंजार ॥३॥ Karam karaṯ jī▫a ka▫o janjār. ||3|| Performing religious rituals, the soul is entangled. ||3|| ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਤੇ ਮਨੁ ਵਸਿ ਆਇਆ ॥ प्रभ किरपा ते मनु वसि आइआ ॥ Parabẖ kirpā ṯe man vas ā▫i▫ā. By God's Grace, the mind is brought under control; ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਤਰੀ ਤਿਨਿ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੪॥ नानक गुरमुखि तरी तिनि माइआ ॥४॥ Nānak gurmukẖ ṯarī ṯin mā▫i▫ā. ||4|| O Nanak, the Gurmukh crosses over the ocean of Maya. ||4|| ਸਾਧਸੰਗਿ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਗਾਈਐ ॥ साधसंगि हरि कीरतनु गाईऐ ॥ Sāḏẖsang har kīrṯan gā▫ī▫ai. In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, sing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises. ਇਹੁ ਅਸਥਾਨੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇ ਪਾਈਐ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੭॥੫੮॥ इहु असथानु गुरू ते पाईऐ ॥१॥ रहाउ दूजा ॥७॥५८॥ Ih asthān gurū ṯe pā▫ī▫ai. ||1|| rahā▫o ḏūjā. ||7||58|| This place is found through the Guru. ||1||Second. Pause||7||58|| The way cannot be found by either being married or celibate. It can however be found with the grace of the Guru, nadar.

I was just curious to know where you heard this from as I have realised that Maharaja Ranjit Singh had quite a sane upbringing as in he had complete faith in the Guru Granth Sahib. He carried out regular akand paths before any war. I doubt it that he was the reincarnation of Aurangzeb, and I doubt it that he preferred Muslim females. Is it a part of history which has been twisted to lead people astray, I wonder? I have read in the original punjabi kalgitar chamatkar book which details Guru Gobind Singh Jis life that he was a reincarnation of the pandit who helped Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Please confirm.

True, however spiritual knowledge is universal and sikhism is a universal religion. Understanding the spiritual is so tricky that you can read anything but choose what to believe. Sometimes these things which are not even based on God help to guide us towards him. For instance some years ago - I found a book the wisdom of the ages in the library. It was full of what happens to the soul and how we are born and other such stuff. It also talked about 14 worlds - 7 of which exist under the earth. Hell was assumed to be the deepest. Recently after 25 years while reading the meanings of log chaudhe ke vikhe of sauvaiye I read Guru Gobind Singh Jis bani stating about these worlds or layers where our soul which go and digest the knowledge acquired from this life. I watching a video of Anita Murjani who got healed from severe cancer after having experienced an after death experience. She does not connect her experience directly to any religion. However her videos greatly inspired me to search what happens after death and I turned to religion to look for the answers. Reading and knowing is different to believing. Beliefs only come after you have listened and what you have taken in makes sense and you can connect the missing dots successfully. There are so many holes in our understanding which need to be filled in. That is why we are still searching because our understanding of the divine processes and the divine beings themselves is limited. Just like a study of the Bible does not necessarily mean that you are a Christian automatically, reading about spirituality which does not link directly to God does not mean you will stop believing in God. It may lead you directly to trust your scriptures which already have all these truths said in them. It is only we who have not taken the time to understand their deeper meanings. Sometimes we need to listen to katha or have someone explain to us these concepts in a different manner and then they make complete sense. This is from where we develop our faith which is then unbreakable and strong.

I actually mean to look for the answer of this in Kabir Jis life history where his wife was complaining about him bhunna channa teyag ke... but have not had the time to do so. Bhagat Ji was spending so much time in bhagti and his wife was complaining about his hungry children. Some paras was given to him by a bhramin or somebody so that he can make gold with it and become rich. He however shunned all this and his family was living in great poverty. This is directly in contrast with what I was reading recently in that if you are a gristi then you have to do your duty. However Kabir Ji still was welcoming sants and bhagats and offering them the last of any food which was available in his house. To fully understand the life and spritual progression of Bhagat Ji you need to read the various shabads and meanings. I have a larger book in punjabi which details all his life. There are so many happenings in his life which help one to understand about the things which we have to fight against in order to reach the one supreme waheguru. Maiya is the greatest distraction. In fact Laxmi came to him and he cut her nose and threw her out. Kanno kati nako kati kaat kuut ke dhari. (unfortunately because I am married too, I have limited time to research all these and present them in a more understandable manner) A gristi needs maiya that is money and other materials in order to successfully feed, clothe and serve his children and wife. However the route to becoming one with Waheguru involves shunning maiya which means all money and material things. Bhagat Jji did not once get tempted by maiya. He shifted houses when this paras was planted into his house once again. (this is where celibacy steps in to rescue the individual. Bhagat Ji was having to neglect his family - they could not understand what was happening to him. He stopped working and was getting steeped up in deep bhagti. Therefore Nanaksar maryadha offers such individuals a chance to steep themselves into deep bhagti and achieve their goals. This is my understanding which I have received after studying Bhagat kabir Jis life and events. )

7.1.1 Guru’s Image In the preliminary stages, many seekers of Truth, while resorting to the Simran of “Waheguru,” fix their mind on Guru Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh or some incarnation or other, but they have to face a great difficulty in the final stages. I myself used to have a picture of Guru Nanak before my eyes when I began Simran. At first, this device proved very useful in promoting concentration. As I progressed, I visualized that the picture scintillated with sparks of light and glowed with life - as if Guru Nanak was present in the flesh. Then my joy knew no bounds. Whenever I so chose, I could, as it were, have a glimpse of the Guru. I felt as if the image of the Guru dwelt in my heart, and when 1 chose, I closed my eyes, and I could visualize the Guru within. 7.4.1 My First Illusion When I first felt this stage of effortless union with God, I thought that though my bliss was infinite, yet Simran was seemingly wanting, and so 1 fancied that without Simran God-worship was meaningless. At first, I imagined that God-worship consisted in repeating the Divine Name only; then I conceived that mental Simran was God-worship: now I felt as if Simran had ceased altogether and, therefore, I felt that the repose of the mind in peace and poise, without Simran, was not God-worship and was, I thought, a mere waste of time. For years, I laboured under this delusion. Here again he has problem going on ahead. 7.4.2 Second Illusion The devotee labours under another illusion. In this spiritual state, he falls into the state of Sukh Nindra, or the ”Sleep of Ease,” which the yogis call the sleep of Tandra. In this stage we live as in a sweet, dreamless sleep, when all thought is absent. But the devotee must beware of this sleep and remain poised in the state of Sahej. This sleep of ease blocks the way to further spiritual progress, and labouring under a delusion, we fancy that it is the culminating stage of spiritual advancement. I strayed in this state for long. My inner voice said that this was not the final stage, and the journey ahead was yet long, but I could not see the way ahead. Whenever I tried to concentrate, the Sleep of Ease overpowered me. At last, I chanced upon a book, in English, A Visit to a Gyani, by Edward Carpenter, at an auctioneer’s shop, a study of which resolved my long-standing doubts and my spiritual progress was accelerated: Here above again he was stuck and needed help to continue. A Mahatma used to remark, “Householders must not indulge in an excess of Samadhi, for it tends to create too much detachment from worldly affairs and one feels disinclined to throw one’s whole heart into the affairs of the world. One continues to yearn for the Sahej state, as one yearns for the joys of kingship which one has enjoyed in a happy dream!” I find this confusing - as we are supposed to have swas swas simran even when in grist.... so why would anybody discourage any one from doing bhaagti. Unless saying waheguru during the day is not part of bhagti. It is a pity that although there are enough Sikh colleges and schools for secular education to spare, there is not a single Sikh institution for the guidance of spiritual seekers. For want of appropriate assistance in Simran, many aspirants to spiritual advancement, such as myself, have to wait for years before we can progress from one stage to another. I thought an individual would be able to progress from one stage to another with the help of reading gurbani as it is supposed to contain everything.

There is a book online with numerous accounts of many people stating how Baba Ji performed many miracles. I prefer to use the word Baba Ji because I am new to reading about them both too. Baba Nand Singh Ji and Baba Isher singh Ji were true Braham gianis who never slept at night. Yes you are right, the roop in which you will see God is all different. Rare are those people however who realise that eh sansaar har ka roop hai. Har roop nadhri aya. The above line is from Anand Sahib. The constant reading of Gurbani will begin to show to you and remind you of God as you look at the normal world. All the examples taken from daily life get you thinking of divine principles. An example is Kabir kukar Raam ko mutiya mero nao. Gale hamare jevrhi jae khinche te jao. When ever I see a dog tied in a leash and being pulled by their owners, this line comes in mind. Kabir Ji says that he is a mere dog tied up by a rope which Raam (God) pulls. He goes wherever God takes him. For a normal person or for children who have just started on the path of prayer and simran, Baba Ji recommends a photo of Guru Nanak Dev Ji so that they can progress faster and be able to make a personal connection which is important too. Every body will look at God through different sorts of eyes just as we all have different opinions about the same subject and no two posts will be equally identical in wording.

I was recently reading somewhere that their Baba Ji stresses on the use of pictures so that the mind can have an image to concentrate on. He recommends the use of mala as well - it is for our fingers to feel something and as a result it helps our concentration when doing path or bhagti. God does not have any paticular image as such. So Guru Nanak Dev jis photo is the one which Baba ji tells people to sit and focus on to keep the mind still. When the photo is not there then it is still engraved in the mind and it helps concentration and better connection to the divine. This is parallel to something else I was reading where people are training themselves to up their concentration levels. It was about a painter who was asked to paint a certain picture of a landscape without having access to his first main draft. He managed to reproduce it excellently. We have to realise that it is our mind which is the tricky one here. It is the one which keeps leading us astray from the one basic requirement which is say Waheguru with every breath. It is the mind which makes excuses like I will do it later. its a waste of time. I need some excitement. Here come some distractions so that I dont have to do my simran. My sleep is more important without which I will have a bad day. God is without form and he will keep existing and stay the same - it is we who are going from body to body, jug from jug, janam to janam. Our mind is the horse which leads us in that direction. mun pankhi payeo. The mind is like a bird which will keep flying everywhere. The sangat which we get is of the utmost importance. Our sangat will determine what we are going to plant and we are going to reap accordingly. We are just so helplessly stuck and caught up in the darkness of our mind. The state of which is explained in gurbani as janam janam ki mel laghi is mun ko. kala peya siya. It has become covered with so many layers of darkness that it is going to be a great effort to clean it. Therefore we need the most help we can. concentration on path here is supreme. It can be better achieved by giving the mind one focus Waheguru and photo of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and mala. Baba Ji stresses the use of Guru Nanak Dev jis photo in the home as well. As we look at it day and night we are going to develop a divine image in our mind which will eventually lead us to control our mind and concentrate it on the one Waheguru who is formless. My first connections with the Gurus as a child began with the photos of the first and tenth Gurus which my mum had placed in our room. Think about it people do keep photos of footballers and actresses and keep looking at them and admiring them. Why do we start doubting and debating when it comes to the picture of the divine atma who came to rescue us all in the form of Guru Nanak Dev ji?? A photo will also make us aware of the presence of God everywhere in the room and extending outwards too. A lady in the Guradwara was telling us about the photo of Guru Ji which was in their living room. The men wanted to have a drink and felt guilty. So they insisted that the Photo of Guru Ji be removed so that they indulge without guilty feeling as they were afraid to do beadhbhi in that room. So that is the power of the photo of the divine. It makes us aware of his presence. It is more for our dark dark dirty mind which is covered with the dirt from all the jugs for we were existing in satyug, treta jug and dhuapur jug but we were not fortunate enough to obtain mukti. This is now the last yug which is kaljug. Bhai Gurdaas shiya vaara state this fact. as do the bhagats and tell us this is your chance. Take it. Who knows whether you will be a human being in your next janam? https://searchgurbani.com/bhai_gurdas_vaaran/vaar/1/pauri/15

The main problem here is ignorance. The sangat trust the raagis and the Giani jis to know what they are doing and do it the right way. I think the lowering of the standards of kirtan performance is because most Giani jis we have performing this seva have actually turned to kirtan as a way of getting out of India. We personally knew a Giani ji who was actually a person who rows people across the river... kisti chalaun vala and he learned a few tunes on the vaja. As long as you can sing some gurbani on the vaja - outside country committees will be fooled as to you can perform kirtan. He had a forged giani certificate. The sakhis he told us - got mixed up in between and he had a business running on the side for him. In his free time he was selling stuff to people and even this stuff was sort of fake. Once someone bought a fixo from him and it was watery and useless. He forged reciepts too. A lady gave him 50 shillings and he cleverly wrote her a receipt of 50 and on the carbon copy it said 5. The lady came to my dad who was sevadaar at that time. This was all insider information which we were able to get at because my dad had access to the paper copies of the Guradwara. As long as this continues and we keep getting fooled, kirtan maryada cannot be adhered to. Another giani ji - this one was a genuine one came and he was all the time getting framed up by these others. No one has the time to follow up activities which go on in guradwaras. Our committees are the ones who employ people from India and they can only respond to applications they receive. No one makes an active effort to go seek the actual real and well trained giani's who will perform kirtan in maryada and not look at it as a way of simply making money. These gianis then move on from countries like Kenya to go on to canada and Uk. If possible then we should have our own trained youth to perform kirtan in the Guradwaras. There is no place where at present (or maybe there is) where a reputable person from India can impart such precious knowledge to our own youngsters who can learn and perform kirtan and also educate the sangat on the correct way of performing kirtan.

Ardaas always for strength to accept what Waheguru's wish is. There is a sakhi where a sant always had a thal presented to him at night. This is an old sakhi when sants used to do bhagti and in the middle of the night, they are sent some food from heaven. Taliya akash to utardiya - if you have ever heard of that line. This sant saw that it was raining too heavily and he wished it to end. The rain stopped. That night no thali for him. He prayed for an explanation and another sant told him that he had interfered in the hukam of Waheguru. It is very hard to say what hukam is.... hukam na keheya jaye. Therefore always pray for strength to bear whatever you are having to go through. Dukh sukh prabh dhevanhar. Avar teyag tu tise chitaar. Dukh sukh prabh devanhaar. Jo tis kare soi sukh maan. Guru Arjun Dev Ji even on the tati tavi said - tera kiya meetha laage. Ardaas always for thankfulness too even for dhukh because dhukh is the real medicine. Dhukh daru sukh rog peya. Sukh makes us forget God and we think it is all right if we don't pray. However we suffer afterwards then when we have wasted time and not said our prayers. http://spiritofthesikh.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/ardaas-what-are-rules.html

Totally interesting if this is how we reincarnate. No wonder we just cant remember our past lives!!! http://www.seasofmintaka.com/deceased-loved-ones.html