Hurdles In Becoming Sabat Soorat Sikh

[.- Prabhjot Singh -.]

Wjkk Wjkf

Sangat jee, theres something that has been bothering me for a long time thought id share with you all :umm: . Being born in a sikh family, ive always had high regards for sikhism, both as a philosophy and as a religion with its associated dos and donts (Bani and bana). My late father was a proper gursikh, he shakkna amrit when i was a child and till his untimely death he kept his rehat, followed Guru's word down to its last core. I have no hesitation in saying he was almost a sant in that he had given up kaam, krodh, lobh, moh and ahankaar to a large extent. Was humble not baharo but from deep within, his aura was just that powerful. Anyway, coming back to the topic, he never forced me into believing what he believed in. He used to say, you are born in a sikh family, but whether you want to be a sikh is entirely upto u, YOU have to make your own choices and I am not going to thrust anything down your throat. I think he was really wise in doing this as he made me realise what its like to be 'lost' and then find the right path yourself. Anyway, As a child, as most children do, I would try and copy him - started doing path, read quite a lot of dharam pothia (SGPC used to publish them back in the days i dont know if they still do), etc. But my quest for finding the bigger meanings of life - Who am I? Why am I on this earth? Is materialistic world be all and end all of everything? these questions never got answered. I tried to decipher bani but at that time metaphors were such they could be drawn in any direction, so that didnt help. Not satisfied, I gave up on religion altogether, i still believed in existence of Waheguru, but never understood why we have to follow a certain religion to get closer to Him. Being philosophically inclined, I read Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other greek philosophers, their works on ethics and morality. Still no rest. The voices inside me asking answers grew louder and louder, and I just couldnt make any sense of anything, it was that bad. I would pick up my guitar in frustration, put amplifier on highest distortion and just churn out riff after riff, still no relief.

THEN, this 8th of september (my birthday), I woke up, and almost as if I was driven by some higher force, I did ishnaan, then Japji Sahib, I got such immense peace, the voices inside me started dying down. But I didnt want to stop - Jaap Sahib followed, the whole 5 morning banis in total. I finally found the purpose of existence - to be in His hukam, to be in His feet and savour the indiscribable peace. I finally realised what Makseen Ji often repeats - dharam starts where boundaries of logic and science stop.Anyway, to cut the long story short, one thing led to another, from that day onwards ive kept my daily nitnem intact, and with Waheguru's immense grace have been able to devote most of my time reading other banis, and absorbing the meanings. It has done wonders to my temperament too. I used to be really hot headed, a little provocation was all I needed and I would just start off like a bomb. But now, Waheguru ji has done such immense bakhshish on me, i find it hard to get angry!

I would like to tell a little story that happened with me the other day - I had gone to Soho Road to get Sundar Gutka Sahib and while I was there I got myself Das Granthi pothi and a seperate copy of Sukhmani Sahib as well. My friend was with me, he wanted to go to Bullring to get some stuff so I went along, banis held respectfully in my hands. Othe, we came across these 4-5 pakistanis. Seeing me wearing indian style double pugh, one of them sat next to me and start saying Maharaja ranjit singh ji and what not :6 . I dont know what it was, bani in my hand or just Waheguru ji's hath on my head, I just couldnt stop smiling. I looked at them and just smiled, not just to put up a brave face, it was actually from within, I was having so much tarass on them and was saying in my heart 'Waheguru, forgive them, they dont know what they are doing'. Cut the long story short, they tried to provoke me but nothing came out of it and thats when the 'leader' felt guilty, and probably embarassed becaus everyone was giving them hard looks, he apologised and said ur cool bro, i am sorry. That for me was such a victory for the turban, i felt really great. WE shook hands, and that was that. Point is I didnt get angry, even though I tried I just couldnt!! :D

Sangat jee, you must be wondering why do we have to read all this, its ur business anyway, and that we are not bothered. But heres where I need to know a few things :rolleyes: . Ive stopped eating meat, eggs, etc, stopped cutting my hair, have started wearing turban again, and now I am trying my best to keep the beard intact so that it can grow to a nice long daarha. But now, I have a strange feeling people think I am a wannabe, a 'mona' who wears turban when he feels like, and takes it off as soon as he steps out of gurdwara. I dont do that, but judging from the animosity I see from Amritdhari singhs, Im afraid i dont feel they treat me fairly. I look at it as a form of a test before I am ready to take the final decision (being an Amritdhari sikh), but at times its really hard, especially when I look around and see so many 'jatha followers' looking down on me. I dont want to join any jatha, i just want to be a sabat soorat singh with bani as my spritual guide, why am I looking for support within the kaum? is it natural or should I just ignore all that? First it was about me being 'freshie' at uni and now this.. I dont know, i need some help :umm:

Sorry for making this post so long and probably pointless but I just had to pour it out to someone, and I am sorry if I have said anything wrong!

Fateh!

[guptveer1469]

Waheguru! Waheguru!

Amazing brother.

Keep the 5s and also keep your daily nitnem rehit intact.

AKAAL

[simonsandhar]

VAHEGUROO JI KA KHALSAA

VAHEGUROO JI KI FATEH !!!

dear veer ji, all i can say is Vaheguroo has done immense kirpa on you and im so happy that your working your way up the spiritual ladder. i know exactly how u feel about how people think ur a wanna be, i felt the same way (started growing my kes recently and wearing a dastaar, learning to read bani etc) only Vaheguroo knows how badly u want mukti and all u need to do is trust in him. it doesnt matter about what jatha u belong to, what sant u follow or if ur a nihang or what not. it doesnt matter. just keep up ur sat sangat, bani, seva, simran and bana and Guru Ji will pull you closer into his embrace. situations will unfold, opportunities will arise, new and better Sangat will appear etc. just as you are, im trying to find his darbaar and i totally agree with how important it is to truly realise how lost we are and to find the path that bears enternal fruit. i was having a discussion with a friend about leaders and things like that and a point came up that u must follow a truly pure example, not someone whos "heart is in the right place". i dont mean to hate on anyone at all because if they feel that what they do or whatever is right, then so be it - it is only Guru Jis play. eg - nihangs have sukha/marijuana prsaad. they say it helps with battle and meditation etc but to be honest, it doesnt make sense to rely on a materialistic substance to further your spiritual path. so if that prsaad isnt available, does it mean u can no longer progress as a Gursikh? what happened to "Sacha Naamu Mera Aadharou"? or AKJ Singhs generally dont believe in Sadhu Sants...but if u look into Gurbani definitions of saints and countless praises of true saints and then take a glance over to great Gursikhs such as Sant Baba Thakur Singh Ji of Dam Dami Taksaal and Sant Baba Isher Singh Ji of Rara Sahib, it doesnt take long to find a bit of logic behind the whole situation. the point im trying to make is that your views will be moulded for you, your Rehit will be created for you, everything you will ever be as a Gursikh is all ready for you, the only thing that stands in the way is time. your right to have entire faith in Gurbani and follow it with your heart because Bani Guru, Guru hai Bani, and Guru Ji and all those who have recieved his look of grace are paviter. Jus keep your faith and Vaheguroo's devine grace will unfold your life like a flower and everything will fall into place. a great Gursikh from here in the west midlands said that you can NEVER EVER do enough Sat Kar for Maharaji. so however strict u want to be is entirely up to you, all that really matters is you do it with true love and faith. every situation you come across is just your best friend ever (Akaal Purkh) jus trying to help you find him. it is a test for you to pass, a lesson for you to learn etc. i always think about great Gursikhs like Baba Deep Singh Ji for example who is said to do approx 110 Jap Ji Sahibs a day as well as his daily 7 Nitnem Banis and obviously more bani, seva and simran. but to even physically do those Jap Ji Sahibs without a break, each one taking about 10 mins would take about 18-19 hours!!! and you know what, i dont think that Dhan Dhan Dhan Baba Deep Singh Ji thought it was "enough". we can never do enough, but we can always try and do more. and thats when u get to the stage where every breath and morsel of food is dedicated. Veer Ji please aim for that, with true faith and just step onto the path with your head in your hand, give your tan man dhan and FORGET public opinion. Guru Ji is watching you as he is all of us, so whatever you do, do it to please him, and only him. stay in CHARDI KALAAAA and keeep keeeep increasing your love.

I kind of went off topic there but i just wanted to say keep going, your inspiring me to keep going too. thankyou for sharing your story paaji, dont every stop pushing to Guru Jis duaar.

VAHEGUROO JI KA KHALSAA

VAHEGUROO JI KI FATEH !!!

[Akaali]

This pauri came to mind:

ਮਨ ਤੂੰ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥

Man ṯūʼn joṯ sarūp hai āpṇā mūl pacẖẖāṇ.

Guru Sahb is telling us to direct our mind to the truth, the origin of it all, akaal purkh vaheguru, he is your origin. This is what you need to recognize and once you recognize this origin, which I feel like you are starting to with guru sahb's kirpaa all other things automatically fall into place like bani/bana/rehat/seva/simran, you just have to develop love for guru sahib, love for gursikhi, if your love is strong then you won't look back, but if your mind is weak, and your love is weak it will always wander in 10 directions, and this love will ONLY develop through bani/simran/sangat.

ਮਨ ਹਰਿ ਜੀ ਤੇਰੈ ਨਾਲਿ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਮਤੀ ਰੰਗੁ ਮਾਣੁ ॥

Man har jī ṯerai nāl hai gurmaṯī rang māṇ.

Next he says, O mind, har jee is always with you and through the guru's teachings, the guru's wisdom, the guru's grace, rang maan, enjoy his love, this also has the answer to your question of pleasures, rang maan means to enjoy the bliss of peace and tranquility, which you can't receive from the pleasures of maya.

ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣਹਿ ਤਾਂ ਸਹੁ ਜਾਣਹਿ ਮਰਣ ਜੀਵਣ ਕੀ ਸੋਝੀ ਹੋਈ ॥

Mūl pacẖẖāṇėh ṯāʼn saho jāṇėh maraṇ jīvaṇ kī sojẖī ho▫ī.

Understand your true origin, and then you'll get to know akaal purkh vaheguru, in worldly relations of family/friends, we get to know people by spending time with them, the same way, the time spent on japping naam, reading gurbani we get to know vaheguru, we begin to love him for him, and understand why we are on this earth and why we are born, why we die.

ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣਹਿ ਤਾਂ ਦੂਜਾ ਭਾਉ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥

Gur parsādī eko jāṇėh ṯāʼn ḏūjā bẖā▫o na ho▫ī.

So how do we get to know HIM better? Only by Guru sahib's kirpaa. Once Guru sahb bestows his grace and blesses his gursikh, only then does the gursikh begin to develop his/her jeevan and gives up all other loves of people/maya.

ਮਨਿ ਸਾਂਤਿ ਆਈ ਵਜੀ ਵਧਾਈ ਤਾ ਹੋਆ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥

Man sāʼnṯ ā▫ī vajī vaḏẖā▫ī ṯā ho▫ā parvāṇ.

Peace comes to the mind, like you wanted, and congratulations resound, once you understand the teachings of guru sahib, you start to jap naam, recite gurbani, and start following rehat, which includes starting to practice wearing your kakaars, not indulging in drugs/sex, keeping good company, and building yourself to the step of taking amrit, notice I said step, because there's a long journey that follows..

ਇਉ ਕਹੈ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਮਨ ਤੂੰ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਅਪਣਾ ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥੫॥

I▫o kahai Nānak man ṯūʼn joṯ sarūp hai apṇā mūl pacẖẖāṇ. ||5||

In this way, with a combination of uddam (effort) and kirpa (guru's grace), you will recognize that you are the image of vaheguru and if you follow the teachings of guru sahib you will realize your true purpose in life. My two cents, bhul chuk muaaf karnee.

[.- Prabhjot Singh -.]

o mere veeroo i wish i could hug you all!! you all are truly blessed!

ਮੂਲੁ ਪਛਾਣਹਿ ਤਾਂ ਸਹੁ ਜਾਣਹਿ ਮਰਣ ਜੀਵਣ ਕੀ ਸੋਝੀ ਹੋਈ ॥

Mūl pacẖẖāṇėh ṯāʼn saho jāṇėh maraṇ jīvaṇ kī sojẖī ho▫ī. Waheguru there is answer to EVERY question in gurbani! Thank you tilakhaak! your reply is really inspirational! I am doing sehaj paath but this tells me I need to sit down with a steek sometime and understand the deeper meanings too!!

Simonsandhar ji, thank you thank you for the support, may waheguru bless all of you with his love! why am i crying?

EDIT: sorry, just something I wanted to add to the original post: the more i am getting deeper into sikhi, the more i feel like i am detached from rest of the world. I mean, I might be sitting with a group of friends but my mind is reciting Japji, its gone to a point where I cant concentrate on what they are saying, i feel bad for making them feel that i am 'ignoring' them but i just cant concentrate! Moreover, I am at the worldly stage where i should really be going out and looking for a job, and frankly, this used to worry me a lot not because i want to earn more money it was just the peer pressure! now i just dont see the point tho, i mean i am earning enough to survive, i dont see why I should bother wasting my energy getting all dressed up to please people so that they can give me 'a good job'. These thoughts scare me sometimes, but the more I read gurbani the more I am getting detached from, what some would say reality. what should I do??

[neemaana]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh pjs Veer Ji

Just like you mentioned that you felt your hand been held by Guru Ji, similarly Guru is always with you. Just do lots of Sewa at gurdwara sahib and believe me same guys who are showing you eyes will ask you to join there jathas. Just do ardas and start doing Sewa from today only.

Guru Rakha

Bhul Chuk Mauf

[mskcan]

You are experiencing something that few of us experience on our day to day basis. Your life experiences have challenged you, and you have overcome them. To live in such a way is victorious. Rising spirits, being in spirit, is something that we should cherish.

What can be said, other than you are on the right path. You have the music within you, but you wonder beyond yourself why that music, the way you are playing it now, is not appealing to others.

Some of us have been where you are, some of us haven't. This is not about acceptance, it is about acceptance of the self. Realisation of the self has begun, but even realising that you are not the realiser, you still can not understand this concept. Self-realisation is the Divine blessing, and this is what will always taunt the heart. It will always be there this emptiness.

bahuth janam bishhurae thhae maadhho eihu janam thumhaarae laekhae ||

For so many incarnations, I have been separated from You, Lord; I dedicate this life to You. - Ang 694

You haven taken the steps now that have been awaken upon you. But because the window is open, it is not yet time to step through the door. The light shall shine through, the air shall fill you, but until the air fills the home, and until the dirt is washed away from the front of the door, all will not be clear. This is the adventure, and it is the adventure which is just as important, thrilling, and vitalizing as the quest to the final destination.

Continue on the path you have discovered, if you have such happiness inside you spread it into the world. The aura you create every day creates the world around you. If the world is to be at peace, then you are to be at peace. You can not get sick enough to heal the world, but you can enhance your life, your spirit and let it flow into the world.

Blessings upon your journey

[.- Prabhjot Singh -.]

You are experiencing something that few of us experience on our day to day basis. Your life experiences have challenged you, and you have overcome them. To live in such a way is victorious. Rising spirits, being in spirit, is something that we should cherish.

What can be said, other than you are on the right path. You have the music within you, but you wonder beyond yourself why that music, the way you are playing it now, is not appealing to others.

Some of us have been where you are, some of us haven't. This is not about acceptance, it is about acceptance of the self. Realisation of the self has begun, but even realising that you are not the realiser, you still can not understand this concept. Self-realisation is the Divine blessing, and this is what will always taunt the heart. It will always be there this emptiness.

bahuth janam bishhurae thhae maadhho eihu janam thumhaarae laekhae ||

For so many incarnations, I have been separated from You, Lord; I dedicate this life to You. - Ang 694

You haven taken the steps now that have been awaken upon you. But because the window is open, it is not yet time to step through the door. The light shall shine through, the air shall fill you, but until the air fills the home, and until the dirt is washed away from the front of the door, all will not be clear. This is the adventure, and it is the adventure which is just as important, thrilling, and vitalizing as the quest to the final destination.

Continue on the path you have discovered, if you have such happiness inside you spread it into the world. The aura you create every day creates the world around you. If the world is to be at peace, then you are to be at peace. You can not get sick enough to heal the world, but you can enhance your life, your spirit and let it flow into the world.

Blessings upon your journey

wow, i dont know what you say except that this journey sure is very exciting, something i cannot describe in words. But sangat jee, people here are much more wiser and have already crossed the hurdles i am facing, thats what keeps me inspired that this exciting journey is not ending anytime soon, if at all. May waheguru ji give all his blessings! fateh ji!