Humility is an Underrated State of Being

Humility is an underrated state of being. Most people prefer to be dominating, wanting everything their own way, having lots of expectations, complaining frequently about things which are wrong, expressing anger towards colleagues, friends, family, parents, children and just wallowing in their own negativity, thinking that they are superior to other people or at least, going out to try and impress other people. Ultimately, a lot of people do not really care or think about their impact on the world or the people around them even if they have the best of intentions. A lot of people in this world are selfish, egotistical and too demanding, irrespective of whether they have developed themselves spiritually. So, humility is really an underrated state of being.

To be humble, one must find within themselves pure kindness, sweetness, truthfulness and innocence - and once found continue to remember and use these beautiful qualities on a daily basis. A humble person is kind towards all living and non-living beings, an insect has as much right to exist as the rock on the shore. A humble person rarely talks harshly, harshness comes from a lack of consciousness, and instead their words are extremely sweet and pleasant to listen to. A humble person is truthful and has transcended all their games, manipulations and trying to influence or impress people no matter how 'high' or 'low' the other person may be. A humble person is just childlike, playful, expresses their emotions freely and holds no grudges. Humility is certainly an underrated state of being.

A humble person has no need to tell anybody what to do or how to live their life and does not demand from anybody to treat them in any special or particular way. A humble person does not feel the need to show off what they are good at or to even self-judge what they are bad at. A humble person is a person of prayer, of love and of silence. A humble person loves to serve, and has no conflict against being served. A humble person has no need to be right, or to always express their opinion. Humility is an underrated state of being.

The Sikh Gurus deserve a special mention here, although I know they would not want a mention, I feel they really taught humility like no other religious prophet has. Ego has poisoned many religions of the world, and although many religions aspire for reaching God and the spiritual realms, and perhaps even to some extent succeed, I have personally seen that the ego still poisons their lives - they begin to think they are right, hold the only truth and hold the monopoly on God. They begin to ridicule other religions and try to prove how their religion is better and superior to others. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Spiritual and religious people perhaps have the biggest egos of them all, since they are aspiring for the highest peak and status of human experience - God - and can get easily caught up in the illusion that they have made it. The irony is that they have just begun to climb the mountain, and that the remaining mountain can only be seen through a humble perspective where one lowers oneself to the feet of the Universe and all its creation. The Universe then automatically raises that human being to the peak of the mountain. Humility is an underrated state of being.

The final climb to the summit is not possible to climb, but rather one must give up the desire to climb the mountain, one must realise that one is inadequate to complete the journey, one must realise that one needs help and support from some force far greater and more beautiful than us - the force of the Eternal Guru. Thus, the summit is reached not by wanting to get there, but by not wanting to get there and asking humbly for support and help in our journey. Once the illusion of a destination is removed from the mind, only the journey remains, a journey which is supported by the Universe and which is lived in the present moment. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Sat Naam.

Humility is an Underrated State of Being

Humility is an underrated state of being. Most people prefer to be dominating, wanting everything their own way, having lots of expectations, complaining frequently about things which are wrong, expressing anger towards colleagues, friends, family, parents, children and just wallowing in their own negativity, thinking that they are superior to other people or at least, going out to try and impress other people. Ultimately, a lot of people do not really care or think about their impact on the world or the people around them even if they have the best of intentions. A lot of people in this world are selfish, egotistical and too demanding, irrespective of whether they have developed themselves spiritually. So, humility is really an underrated state of being.

To be humble, one must find within themselves pure kindness, sweetness, truthfulness and innocence - and once found continue to remember and use these beautiful qualities on a daily basis. A humble person is kind towards all living and non-living beings, an insect has as much right to exist as the rock on the shore. A humble person rarely talks harshly, harshness comes from a lack of consciousness, and instead their words are extremely sweet and pleasant to listen to. A humble person is truthful and has transcended all their games, manipulations and trying to influence or impress people no matter how 'high' or 'low' the other person may be. A humble person is just childlike, playful, expresses their emotions freely and holds no grudges. Humility is certainly an underrated state of being.

A humble person has no need to tell anybody what to do or how to live their life and does not demand from anybody to treat them in any special or particular way. A humble person does not feel the need to show off what they are good at or to even self-judge what they are bad at. A humble person is a person of prayer, of love and of silence. A humble person loves to serve, and has no conflict against being served. A humble person has no need to be right, or to always express their opinion. Humility is an underrated state of being.

The Sikh Gurus deserve a special mention here, although I know they would not want a mention, I feel they really taught humility like no other religious prophet has. Ego has poisoned many religions of the world, and although many religions aspire for reaching God and the spiritual realms, and perhaps even to some extent succeed, I have personally seen that the ego still poisons their lives - they begin to think they are right, hold the only truth and hold the monopoly on God. They begin to ridicule other religions and try to prove how their religion is better and superior to others. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Spiritual and religious people perhaps have the biggest egos of them all, since they are aspiring for the highest peak and status of human experience - God - and can get easily caught up in the illusion that they have made it. The irony is that they have just begun to climb the mountain, and that the remaining mountain can only be seen through a humble perspective where one lowers oneself to the feet of the Universe and all its creation. The Universe then automatically raises that human being to the peak of the mountain. Humility is an underrated state of being.

The final climb to the summit is not possible to climb, but rather one must give up the desire to climb the mountain, one must realise that one is inadequate to complete the journey, one must realise that one needs help and support from some force far greater and more beautiful than us - the force of the Eternal Guru. Thus, the summit is reached not by wanting to get there, but by not wanting to get there and asking humbly for support and help in our journey. Once the illusion of a destination is removed from the mind, only the journey remains, a journey which is supported by the Universe and which is lived in the present moment. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being. Humility is an underrated state of being.

Sat Naam.

Are you trying to fix yourself?

It is obvious from all of our childhood comic book heros like Superman, Superwoman and the X-Men, that we all wish to have super powers and become perfect human beings, just like these superhuman caricatures.

However, the only reason we do not believe it is possible to become a Superman or a Superwoman is because we THINK there is something INHERENTLY WRONG with us which we spend our entire lives trying to FIX, either through worldly activities like parties, drinking, drugs, or even through spiritual activities like meditation, yoga, prayer. The side-effects may be different but the disease is the same - the disease of trying to fix ourselves constantly in order to feel 'OK' or 'normal' again.

We lead ourselves to believe that, "of course we have to fix ourselves, because nobody is perfect!" and "we all have weaknesses, emotions and habbits which we cannot overcome". Both of these are lies which we have led ourselves to believe.

The truth is very hard to accept: each of us are already perfect as we are, without needing to change a single thing about ourselves

It's one of those lovely paradoxical situations where as soon as you truly, whole heartedly accept and take on this above statement, then suddenly you will find yourself transform in an instant. The things which you thought were weaknesses or things you needed to change, automatically are transformed and no longer become limitations in your character - often they transform into your greatest strengths.

Accepting this statement TRULY does also give rise to super powers inside of you which shall help you in your path.

Stop trying to fix yourself through ANY means - only a person who is sick tries to fix themselves. A person who is healthy has no need for a fix, they already know they are healthly and need no medicine. Often the trap 'spiritual' people fall into is using meditation or yoga or prayer to fix themselves - but then they are no different to the alcoholics, junkies or socialites all who are trying to fix themselves because they think something is wrong which they must bring into balance.

Read this meditative poem:

• You are perfect as you are even with all of your biologoical needs for food and sex
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your emotional needs for having people around you, for wanting to feel loved, for feeling that your are somebody significant
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your sexual desires, anger, greed, attachment and ego, there is nothing wrong with any of these emotions
• You are perfect as you are even with all of those 'bad' habbits which you cannot seem to break
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your insecurities, fears and challenges
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your imbalances, diseases and illnesses
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your unluckiness, untidyness and ugliness
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your complaints, criticisms and blocks

Read this quote:

"Gurbani was not designed for the sick, it was designed for the Sikh"

By Guru's Grace - 05-09-2011

The meditation and quote above does not mean that a person who is sick cannot pray or gain benefit from reading the words of the Guru, it means that you can only truly understand the words of the Guru when you stop fixing yourself, and understand the who you were, who you have always been, who you are now and who you will continue to be in the future is perfect - because ultimately we are God masquerading as ourselves in the guise of a human body.

So LET IT GO! LET IT GO! LET IT GO! You're PERFECT as you are, accept yourself as being a perfect being.

Are you trying to fix yourself?

It is obvious from all of our childhood comic book heros like Superman, Superwoman and the X-Men, that we all wish to have super powers and become perfect human beings, just like these superhuman caricatures.

However, the only reason we do not believe it is possible to become a Superman or a Superwoman is because we THINK there is something INHERENTLY WRONG with us which we spend our entire lives trying to FIX, either through worldly activities like parties, drinking, drugs, or even through spiritual activities like meditation, yoga, prayer. The side-effects may be different but the disease is the same - the disease of trying to fix ourselves constantly in order to feel 'OK' or 'normal' again.

We lead ourselves to believe that, "of course we have to fix ourselves, because nobody is perfect!" and "we all have weaknesses, emotions and habbits which we cannot overcome". Both of these are lies which we have led ourselves to believe.

The truth is very hard to accept: each of us are already perfect as we are, without needing to change a single thing about ourselves

It's one of those lovely paradoxical situations where as soon as you truly, whole heartedly accept and take on this above statement, then suddenly you will find yourself transform in an instant. The things which you thought were weaknesses or things you needed to change, automatically are transformed and no longer become limitations in your character - often they transform into your greatest strengths.

Accepting this statement TRULY does also give rise to super powers inside of you which shall help you in your path.

Stop trying to fix yourself through ANY means - only a person who is sick tries to fix themselves. A person who is healthy has no need for a fix, they already know they are healthly and need no medicine. Often the trap 'spiritual' people fall into is using meditation or yoga or prayer to fix themselves - but then they are no different to the alcoholics, junkies or socialites all who are trying to fix themselves because they think something is wrong which they must bring into balance.

Read this meditative poem:

• You are perfect as you are even with all of your biologoical needs for food and sex
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your emotional needs for having people around you, for wanting to feel loved, for feeling that your are somebody significant
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your sexual desires, anger, greed, attachment and ego, there is nothing wrong with any of these emotions
• You are perfect as you are even with all of those 'bad' habbits which you cannot seem to break
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your insecurities, fears and challenges
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your imbalances, diseases and illnesses
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your unluckiness, untidyness and ugliness
• You are perfect as you are even with all of your complaints, criticisms and blocks

Read this quote:

"Gurbani was not designed for the sick, it was designed for the Sikh"

By Guru's Grace - 05-09-2011

The meditation and quote above does not mean that a person who is sick cannot pray or gain benefit from reading the words of the Guru, it means that you can only truly understand the words of the Guru when you stop fixing yourself, and understand the who you were, who you have always been, who you are now and who you will continue to be in the future is perfect - because ultimately we are God masquerading as ourselves in the guise of a human body.

So LET IT GO! LET IT GO! LET IT GO! You're PERFECT as you are, accept yourself as being a perfect being.

5 Sutras of the Aquarian Age [Video]

1. Understand through compassion; otherwise you might misunderstand the times.
2. Recognize that the other person is you.
3. When the time is on you, start and the pressure will be off.
4. There is a way through every block.
5. Vibrate the cosmos; the cosmos shall clear the path.

From SikhNet.com: http://www.sikhnet.com/video/five-sutras-aquarian-age

The Four Blessings

I went to the Gurdwara this morning and there was this Kathakaar (person who explains spiritual teachings), who was speaking in Punjabi. At first I thought, "this is such an outdated way of doing things". And I was also thinking "how would any young person understand this guy". And also I thought "this guy is just doing it for the money and is very inauthentic". But despite these thoughts, I still listened carefully and when he started to explain, my thoughts dissipated - because what he was explaining was profound.

He began to explain that a Sikh, or learner, on a path of spirituality, receives four blessings. This should not be confused with the four blessings which are the four basic needs for all people (known as Char Padarath).

The first blessing, is one which every Sikh will be familiar with: Karah Parshaad, also called Sero (as shown in the left picture). This is just a sweet pudding which is made with a consciousness and with a vibration which when consumed, raises our own magnetic frequency...and its quite tasty too! Yum!

The second blessing comes from the Guru, called Gurprasaad. This is when a person has been on the spiritual path for a while and the Guru, the teacher, the light, the guide, blesses the Sikh with the ability to control the five desires of sex, anger, greed, attachment and ego. This only ever happens with the blessing of the Guru.

The third blessing is where the ego goes, called Tav Prasaad which means "Your Blessing" - referring to God. The "I" or the identity is smashed and instead is replaced with "You" or "Thou". So instead of a Sikh identifying with their own individual nature, the Sikh begins to identify with their higher, Supreme, Godly nature. Then a Sikh becomes God.

The fourth blessing is where the Sikh who has become God, then shares this path of purity of heart (Khalsa), with the whole world. So the final blessing, is not received by the Sikh, it is given by the Sikh to others. The example given was that of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and final master of the Sikhs, who created the Khalsa, the society of those who are pure, and then himself bowed before his creation and asked if he may become a part of it.

So there we have it, the four blessings on the Sikh path, explained in English, translated from Punjabi ;).

The Four Blessings

I went to the Gurdwara this morning and there was this Kathakaar (person who explains spiritual teachings), who was speaking in Punjabi. At first I thought, "this is such an outdated way of doing things". And I was also thinking "how would any young person understand this guy". And also I thought "this guy is just doing it for the money and is very inauthentic". But despite these thoughts, I still listened carefully and when he started to explain, my thoughts dissipated - because what he was explaining was profound.

He began to explain that a Sikh, or learner, on a path of spirituality, receives four blessings. This should not be confused with the four blessings which are the four basic needs for all people (known as Char Padarath).

The first blessing, is one which every Sikh will be familiar with: Karah Parshaad, also called Sero (as shown in the left picture). This is just a sweet pudding which is made with a consciousness and with a vibration which when consumed, raises our own magnetic frequency...and its quite tasty too! Yum!

The second blessing comes from the Guru, called Gurprasaad. This is when a person has been on the spiritual path for a while and the Guru, the teacher, the light, the guide, blesses the Sikh with the ability to control the five desires of sex, anger, greed, attachment and ego. This only ever happens with the blessing of the Guru.

The third blessing is where the ego goes, called Tav Prasaad which means "Your Blessing" - referring to God. The "I" or the identity is smashed and instead is replaced with "You" or "Thou". So instead of a Sikh identifying with their own individual nature, the Sikh begins to identify with their higher, Supreme, Godly nature. Then a Sikh becomes God.

The fourth blessing is where the Sikh who has become God, then shares this path of purity of heart (Khalsa), with the whole world. So the final blessing, is not received by the Sikh, it is given by the Sikh to others. The example given was that of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and final master of the Sikhs, who created the Khalsa, the society of those who are pure, and then himself bowed before his creation and asked if he may become a part of it.

So there we have it, the four blessings on the Sikh path, explained in English, translated from Punjabi ;).

Search Guru Granth Sahib in 54 Languages

GurbaniDB - The World's Most Accurate Guru Granth Sahib Search Engine in 54 Languages

Through the work I have done on The Sikher Project, today on Vaisakhi we are making a big announcement, the launch of a new revolutionary search engine for the Guru Granth Sahib called GurbaniDB, which has the following features:

• The world’s most accurate Guru Granth Sahib data with 52 translations, 22 transliterations and organised into all 60 melodies or raags (something which has never been done before!)
• Powerful, customisable search options
• A constantly improving translations database which volunteer translators can help to contribute to
• Free, open developer access to the GurbaniDB Cloud, so that other software developers can create software based upon the same data in GurbaniDB. If you wish to sign up as a developer, just remember to select "Software Developer" for the option "What do you want to register as?"

If you'd like to spread the GurbaniDB love, you can put this image on your website which links directly to the new search engine:




 Just copy and paste the code from here:
<a href="http://www.sikher.com/guru-granth-sahib/"><img src="http://www.sikher.com/wp-content/downloads/I_Heart_GurbaniDB.png" alt="GurbaniDB - Search Guru Granth Sahib in English, Gurmukhi and 52 other languages" width="190" height="35" /></a>

Numerology of the Morning Prayers in Sikh Dharma

108 - Mool Mantar, Root Chant by Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The Mool Mantar, which is at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scripture, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, consists of 108 sounds. If you count ੴ (Ik-Ong-Kaar) as two sounds, each ॥ (Double Danda) as two sounds, and the rest as one sound, you should end up with 108 sounds which make up the Mool Mantar or Root Chant. See how even the ॥੧॥ at the end of the Mool Mantar is so important into completing the cycle, silently and subtly through the eyes by simply looking at it, not reading it.

38 + 2 - Jap Ji Sahib, Song of the Soul by Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The ladder of the Song of the Soul, or Jap Ji Sahib, consists of 38 steps with one starting invocation and a destination invocation to complete the cycle of 40. Each step of the Jap Ji begins a cycle of vibration throughout the body which transforms the mind's projection towards infinity. The starting invocation acts as a scissor to cut into the mind, and the destination invocation acts as a seal to keep in the energy creating a full circle of completeness.

199 - Jaap Sahib, Prayer on Truth by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
The Prayer on Truth, or Jaap Sahib, is the second morning prayer of the Sikhs and finishes at an odd number of 199 to balance the Jap Ji's even number of 40. 40 times by 5 is 200, less 1 equals 199. This significance of this is to do with the balance of the energies of Shakti, worldly power, and Bhakti, spiritual or devotional power. Jaap Sahib creates Shakti and Jap Ji creates Bhakti. One unit of Bhakti is equivalent to five units of Shakti, or in other words, for every five units of Shakti will require one unit of Bhakti to balance it out. The 199 being an odd number is significant because there is a danger of Shakti exceeding Bhakti, and therefore this one unit less than 200 acts as a guarantee of equilibrium - its better to have more Bhakti than Shakti!

10 - Tav Prasad Savaiye, Prayer of God’s Blessings by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Following the odd, must be an even, and the Prayer of God's Blessings or Tav Prasad Savaiye is just this. The number 10 is important because it takes the 1 which represents something or the individual, and brings it to the 0 which represents void or Shuniya. In modern terms, this is the act of taking matter and putting it in a black hole. Similarly, the third ventricle or cave of Brahma, in the brain contains a void or black hole at the pineal gland. The Prayer of God's Blessings takes a human being to this void within the mind and erases their past actions in order to create space for creating a new future.

29 + 2 - Kabiobach Benti Chaupai, Prayer from the Speech of the Poet by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Following the even, must be an odd, and the Prayer from the Speech of the Poet or Kabiobach Benti Chaupai is just that. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Master of Light of the Sikhs, carefully constructed this prayer with a penetrating sound pattern that acts to make the mind one-pointed and in that state of mind all suffering, disease, pain, fear and stupidity is removed. Everyone should be aware to read this prayer up to the 29th step, since the last four steps are usually removed in a lot of prayer books or Gutkas, but without these final four steps the energy created by this prayer cannot be sealed within the mind and its effect is lost. The final four steps are:

ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰੀ ਹਮ ਪਰ ਜਗਮਾਤਾ ॥ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਕਰਾ ਪੂਰਨ ਸੁਭ ਰਾਤਾ ॥

ਕਿਲਬਿਖ ਸਕਲ ਦੇਹ ਕੋ ਹਰਤਾ ॥ ਦੁਸ਼ਟ ਦੋਖਿਯਨ ਕੋ ਛੈ ਕਰਤਾ ॥ ੨੬ ॥

Kripaa kari ham par jagmaataa || Granth karaa pooran subh raataa ||

Kilbikh sakal deh ko hartaa || Dusht dokhiyan ko chhai kartaa ||26||

The Mother of the world has been kind towards me and I have completed the book this auspicious night; The Lord is the destroyer of all the sins of the body and all the malicious and wicked persons. (26)

ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਸਿਧੁਜ ਜਬ ਭਏ ਦਯਾਲਾ ॥ ਪੂਰਨ ਕਰਾ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਤਤਕਾਲਾ ॥

ਮਨ ਬਾਂਛਤ ਫਲ ਪਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ ॥ ਦੂਖ ਨ ਤਿਸੈ ਬਿਆਪਤ ਕੋਈ ॥ ੨੭ ॥

Sri asidhuj jab bhae dayaalaa || Pooran karaa granth tatkaalaa ||

Man baanchhat phal paavai soee || Dookh na tisai biaapat koee ||27||

When Mahakal became kind, He immediately caused me to complete this book; He will obtain the fruit desired by the mind (who will read or listen to this book) and no suffering will occur to him. (27)

ਅੜਿੱਲ ॥

Arhil

ਸੁਨੈ ਗੁੰਗ ਜੋ ਯਾਹਿ ਸੁ ਰਸਨਾ ਪਾਵਈ ॥ ਸੁਨੈ ਮੂੜ੍ਹ ਚਿਤ ਲਾਇ ਚਤੁਰਤਾ ਆਵਈ ॥

ਦੂਖ ਦਰਦ ਭੇੰ ਨਿਕਟ ਨ ਤਿਨ ਨਰ ਕੇ ਰਹੈ ॥ ਹੋ ਜੋ ਯਾਕੀ ਏਕ ਬਾਰ ਚੇੰਪਈ ਕੋ ਕਹੈ ॥ ੨੮ ॥

Sunai gung jo yaahe su rasnaa paavaee || Sunai moorh chit laae chaturtaa aavaee ||

Dookh dard bhau nikath na tin nar ke rahai || Ho jo yaaki ek baar chaupai ko kahai ||28||

The dumb, who will listen to it, will be blessed with the tongue to speak; the fool, who will listen to it attentively, will get wisdom; That person will be absolved of suffering, pain or fear, who will even once recite this Chaupai-prayer. (28)

ਚੇੰਪਈ ॥

Chaoupai

ਸੰਬਤ ਸੱਤ੍ਰਹ ਸਹਸ ਭਣਿੱਜੈ ॥ ਅਰਧ ਸਹਸ ਫੁਨਿ ਤੀਨਿ ਕਹਿੱਜੈ ॥

ਭਾਦ੍ਰਵ ਸੁਦੀ ਅਸ਼ਟਮੀ ਰਵਿ ਵਾਰਾ ॥ ਤੀਰ ਸਤੁੱਦ੍ਰਵ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸੁਧਾਰਾ ॥ ੨੯ ॥

Sanbhat satrah sahas bhanijai || Aradh sahas phun teen kahijai ||

Bhaadrav sudi ashtami ravi vaaraa || Teer satuddrav granth sudhaaraa ||29||

It was Bikrami Samvat 1753; This book was competed on the banks of Sutlej on Sunday, the eighth Sudi of the month of Bhadon. (29)

40 - Anand Sahib, Song of Bliss by Guru Amar Das Ji
Again, following an odd, must be the final even. The Song of Bliss is the seal of all the previous meditations and prayers and is crystallises the mind's learning and explodes a person into the totality of bliss of their own soul. Listening to the 40 steps of the ladder of the Song of Bliss guarantees liberation - it expands a human being's concept and scale of bliss. People should be aware though not to just climb 5 steps of the ladder then jump to the 40th step, which again most prayer books or Gutkas are printed like. Instead, a person should climb only 5 steps or all the 40, otherwise you will fall off the ladder and injure yourself badly! Bliss is a carefully constructed science, it's not a pick and mix unfortunately, although it is much sweeter.

Sat Naam.

Numerology of the Morning Prayers in Sikh Dharma

108 - Mool Mantar, Root Chant by Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The Mool Mantar, which is at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scripture, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, consists of 108 sounds. If you count ੴ (Ik-Ong-Kaar) as two sounds, each ॥ (Double Danda) as two sounds, and the rest as one sound, you should end up with 108 sounds which make up the Mool Mantar or Root Chant. See how even the ॥੧॥ at the end of the Mool Mantar is so important into completing the cycle, silently and subtly through the eyes by simply looking at it, not reading it.

38 + 2 - Jap Ji Sahib, Song of the Soul by Guru Nanak Dev Ji
The ladder of the Song of the Soul, or Jap Ji Sahib, consists of 38 steps with one starting invocation and a destination invocation to complete the cycle of 40. Each step of the Jap Ji begins a cycle of vibration throughout the body which transforms the mind's projection towards infinity. The starting invocation acts as a scissor to cut into the mind, and the destination invocation acts as a seal to keep in the energy creating a full circle of completeness.

199 - Jaap Sahib, Prayer on Truth by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
The Prayer on Truth, or Jaap Sahib, is the second morning prayer of the Sikhs and finishes at an odd number of 199 to balance the Jap Ji's even number of 40. 40 times by 5 is 200, less 1 equals 199. This significance of this is to do with the balance of the energies of Shakti, worldly power, and Bhakti, spiritual or devotional power. Jaap Sahib creates Shakti and Jap Ji creates Bhakti. One unit of Bhakti is equivalent to five units of Shakti, or in other words, for every five units of Shakti will require one unit of Bhakti to balance it out. The 199 being an odd number is significant because there is a danger of Shakti exceeding Bhakti, and therefore this one unit less than 200 acts as a guarantee of equilibrium - its better to have more Bhakti than Shakti!

10 - Tav Prasad Savaiye, Prayer of God’s Blessings by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Following the odd, must be an even, and the Prayer of God's Blessings or Tav Prasad Savaiye is just this. The number 10 is important because it takes the 1 which represents something or the individual, and brings it to the 0 which represents void or Shuniya. In modern terms, this is the act of taking matter and putting it in a black hole. Similarly, the third ventricle or cave of Brahma, in the brain contains a void or black hole at the pineal gland. The Prayer of God's Blessings takes a human being to this void within the mind and erases their past actions in order to create space for creating a new future.

29 + 2 - Kabiobach Benti Chaupai, Prayer from the Speech of the Poet by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Following the even, must be an odd, and the Prayer from the Speech of the Poet or Kabiobach Benti Chaupai is just that. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Master of Light of the Sikhs, carefully constructed this prayer with a penetrating sound pattern that acts to make the mind one-pointed and in that state of mind all suffering, disease, pain, fear and stupidity is removed. Everyone should be aware to read this prayer up to the 29th step, since the last four steps are usually removed in a lot of prayer books or Gutkas, but without these final four steps the energy created by this prayer cannot be sealed within the mind and its effect is lost. The final four steps are:

ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰੀ ਹਮ ਪਰ ਜਗਮਾਤਾ ॥ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਕਰਾ ਪੂਰਨ ਸੁਭ ਰਾਤਾ ॥

ਕਿਲਬਿਖ ਸਕਲ ਦੇਹ ਕੋ ਹਰਤਾ ॥ ਦੁਸ਼ਟ ਦੋਖਿਯਨ ਕੋ ਛੈ ਕਰਤਾ ॥ ੨੬ ॥

Kripaa kari ham par jagmaataa || Granth karaa pooran subh raataa ||

Kilbikh sakal deh ko hartaa || Dusht dokhiyan ko chhai kartaa ||26||

The Mother of the world has been kind towards me and I have completed the book this auspicious night; The Lord is the destroyer of all the sins of the body and all the malicious and wicked persons. (26)

ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਸਿਧੁਜ ਜਬ ਭਏ ਦਯਾਲਾ ॥ ਪੂਰਨ ਕਰਾ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਤਤਕਾਲਾ ॥

ਮਨ ਬਾਂਛਤ ਫਲ ਪਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ ॥ ਦੂਖ ਨ ਤਿਸੈ ਬਿਆਪਤ ਕੋਈ ॥ ੨੭ ॥

Sri asidhuj jab bhae dayaalaa || Pooran karaa granth tatkaalaa ||

Man baanchhat phal paavai soee || Dookh na tisai biaapat koee ||27||

When Mahakal became kind, He immediately caused me to complete this book; He will obtain the fruit desired by the mind (who will read or listen to this book) and no suffering will occur to him. (27)

ਅੜਿੱਲ ॥

Arhil

ਸੁਨੈ ਗੁੰਗ ਜੋ ਯਾਹਿ ਸੁ ਰਸਨਾ ਪਾਵਈ ॥ ਸੁਨੈ ਮੂੜ੍ਹ ਚਿਤ ਲਾਇ ਚਤੁਰਤਾ ਆਵਈ ॥

ਦੂਖ ਦਰਦ ਭੇੰ ਨਿਕਟ ਨ ਤਿਨ ਨਰ ਕੇ ਰਹੈ ॥ ਹੋ ਜੋ ਯਾਕੀ ਏਕ ਬਾਰ ਚੇੰਪਈ ਕੋ ਕਹੈ ॥ ੨੮ ॥

Sunai gung jo yaahe su rasnaa paavaee || Sunai moorh chit laae chaturtaa aavaee ||

Dookh dard bhau nikath na tin nar ke rahai || Ho jo yaaki ek baar chaupai ko kahai ||28||

The dumb, who will listen to it, will be blessed with the tongue to speak; the fool, who will listen to it attentively, will get wisdom; That person will be absolved of suffering, pain or fear, who will even once recite this Chaupai-prayer. (28)

ਚੇੰਪਈ ॥

Chaoupai

ਸੰਬਤ ਸੱਤ੍ਰਹ ਸਹਸ ਭਣਿੱਜੈ ॥ ਅਰਧ ਸਹਸ ਫੁਨਿ ਤੀਨਿ ਕਹਿੱਜੈ ॥

ਭਾਦ੍ਰਵ ਸੁਦੀ ਅਸ਼ਟਮੀ ਰਵਿ ਵਾਰਾ ॥ ਤੀਰ ਸਤੁੱਦ੍ਰਵ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸੁਧਾਰਾ ॥ ੨੯ ॥

Sanbhat satrah sahas bhanijai || Aradh sahas phun teen kahijai ||

Bhaadrav sudi ashtami ravi vaaraa || Teer satuddrav granth sudhaaraa ||29||

It was Bikrami Samvat 1753; This book was competed on the banks of Sutlej on Sunday, the eighth Sudi of the month of Bhadon. (29)

40 - Anand Sahib, Song of Bliss by Guru Amar Das Ji
Again, following an odd, must be the final even. The Song of Bliss is the seal of all the previous meditations and prayers and is crystallises the mind's learning and explodes a person into the totality of bliss of their own soul. Listening to the 40 steps of the ladder of the Song of Bliss guarantees liberation - it expands a human being's concept and scale of bliss. People should be aware though not to just climb 5 steps of the ladder then jump to the 40th step, which again most prayer books or Gutkas are printed like. Instead, a person should climb only 5 steps or all the 40, otherwise you will fall off the ladder and injure yourself badly! Bliss is a carefully constructed science, it's not a pick and mix unfortunately, although it is much sweeter.

Sat Naam.

Why I Am A Sikh?

I am a Sikh, a learner and a seeker of Truth. Learning to be a better human being in every moment of every day and seeking the Truth within. I do not believe in anything, I instead know through experience. My core values are honesty in living, sharing with and serving those in need, and daily meditation. This is my way of life. My Guru is the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Word, the eternal Master of Light, which inspires, guides and lights my life. The Guru is the complete living consciousness of perfect poetry, melody, meter, rhythm and rhyme. This is the source of my life. Poetry for me is the expression of my complete heart and soul. Union with infinity is my life’s goal, unconditional love is my vehicle and purity is my path. If I were to summarise my entire life’s lesson in a sentence, it would be to never stop putting in the effort, and one day you will be granted the grace to succeed.

By Guru's Grace - 22nd of August 2007

Why I Am A Sikh?

I am a Sikh, a learner and a seeker of Truth. Learning to be a better human being in every moment of every day and seeking the Truth within. I do not believe in anything, I instead know through experience. My core values are honesty in living, sharing with and serving those in need, and daily meditation. This is my way of life. My Guru is the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Word, the eternal Master of Light, which inspires, guides and lights my life. The Guru is the complete living consciousness of perfect poetry, melody, meter, rhythm and rhyme. This is the source of my life. Poetry for me is the expression of my complete heart and soul. Union with infinity is my life’s goal, unconditional love is my vehicle and purity is my path. If I were to summarise my entire life’s lesson in a sentence, it would be to never stop putting in the effort, and one day you will be granted the grace to succeed.

By Guru's Grace - 22nd of August 2007

A New Era for My Life

The transition of my previous life is now complete and a new era - a new paradigm in my life has begun. The past is now in the past, now its time to move towards my final phase of mastery, sacrifice and service. This phase presents an interesting challenge. The challenge is of my mind, not of my heart.

My heart already knows and accepts its destiny, and although my mind does too, my mind will be challenged to expand in mastery, sacrifice and service in order for me to fulfil my destiny. My destiny is very simple and straightforward: To see other people fulfilled and in their fulfilment I shall be fulfilled.

But how do I allow people to become fulfilled? Well now I have a number of tools at hand: hypnotherapy, counselling, Shabad Guru, meditation, Kundalini Yoga, intuition, healing through eyes and hands, and soon also, Shamanic Journeying. With these tools all miracles are possible. As I continue to delve deeper into each of these tools I'm expanding my ability to heal people's hearts and give people an access to transcend their own self-created suffering to expand into the realm of bliss. The more I learn, the more I can share. The time is now and now is the time, to become gracious as a King, to become the light of everlasting, the time is now and now is the time.

Before this became possible however I had to transcend the desire to serve. Usually people go into service because they think there is something wrong with the world and want to fix it. Their conversation is this: "I want peace on Earth". But if a person removed the "I" and removes the "want" then all that's left is "peace on Earth". Ego and desire, or in other words, self-interest and emotions which drive a person towards or away from something need to be transcended or channelled in order to create peace on Earth. The universal rule is simple and paradoxical: go and things will come. Now it is time for me to apply this in real life to my life of service. It shall be a continuous process of letting go in the moment and transcending my desire in order to serve through a clear consciousness and a heightened intuition.

But let's not forget how FUN this all is. Fun is the heart of spirituality, whatever that is. If a person cannot have fun whilst serving, then either the service is wrong, or the person is clearing a whole HEAP of Karma! Either way one must just be with the feeling until happiness emerges, and emerge it shall. For happiness is an essential and core state of being in this life, it is the basis upon which the human being is built. The Soul which we truly are is a perfect expression of God who is beyond desire, beyond suffering and completely in bliss constantly - thus by being in Soul it is possible to always be happy and blissful in this life.

May God and Guru continue to give me the strength in this life to serve with compassion and kindness, and to complete the final stage of my development as a human being towards mastery, sacrifice and service and continue to keep me at his feet so that I may not become complacent in seeing and learning the continuing unfolding of life and legacy. Sat Naam.

A New Era for My Life

The transition of my previous life is now complete and a new era - a new paradigm in my life has begun. The past is now in the past, now its time to move towards my final phase of mastery, sacrifice and service. This phase presents an interesting challenge. The challenge is of my mind, not of my heart.

My heart already knows and accepts its destiny, and although my mind does too, my mind will be challenged to expand in mastery, sacrifice and service in order for me to fulfil my destiny. My destiny is very simple and straightforward: To see other people fulfilled and in their fulfilment I shall be fulfilled.

But how do I allow people to become fulfilled? Well now I have a number of tools at hand: hypnotherapy, counselling, Shabad Guru, meditation, Kundalini Yoga, intuition, healing through eyes and hands, and soon also, Shamanic Journeying. With these tools all miracles are possible. As I continue to delve deeper into each of these tools I'm expanding my ability to heal people's hearts and give people an access to transcend their own self-created suffering to expand into the realm of bliss. The more I learn, the more I can share. The time is now and now is the time, to become gracious as a King, to become the light of everlasting, the time is now and now is the time.

Before this became possible however I had to transcend the desire to serve. Usually people go into service because they think there is something wrong with the world and want to fix it. Their conversation is this: "I want peace on Earth". But if a person removed the "I" and removes the "want" then all that's left is "peace on Earth". Ego and desire, or in other words, self-interest and emotions which drive a person towards or away from something need to be transcended or channelled in order to create peace on Earth. The universal rule is simple and paradoxical: go and things will come. Now it is time for me to apply this in real life to my life of service. It shall be a continuous process of letting go in the moment and transcending my desire in order to serve through a clear consciousness and a heightened intuition.

But let's not forget how FUN this all is. Fun is the heart of spirituality, whatever that is. If a person cannot have fun whilst serving, then either the service is wrong, or the person is clearing a whole HEAP of Karma! Either way one must just be with the feeling until happiness emerges, and emerge it shall. For happiness is an essential and core state of being in this life, it is the basis upon which the human being is built. The Soul which we truly are is a perfect expression of God who is beyond desire, beyond suffering and completely in bliss constantly - thus by being in Soul it is possible to always be happy and blissful in this life.

May God and Guru continue to give me the strength in this life to serve with compassion and kindness, and to complete the final stage of my development as a human being towards mastery, sacrifice and service and continue to keep me at his feet so that I may not become complacent in seeing and learning the continuing unfolding of life and legacy. Sat Naam.

The Society of Saints - Saadh Sangat

Sikh Dharma continually emphasises the importance of Saadh Sangat or Holy Company. When nothing else works, the only way out is to choose to commit oneself to a group of people that meets regularly, worships regularly, eats food cooked with consciousness and blessings regularly and sings the praises of God regularly. When the individual concept has become too distorted, complicated or ineffectual, then only the group concept can help to balance it out and give the individual the necessary direction, vitality and vision. This is most beautifully and intricately described in this hymn by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Master of the Sikhs on Part 1120 of the Sikh Holy Scripture the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The hymn is written in melody Kaydaaraa or Kedara,which creates the mood of contemplation, sadness, and longing for the Divine:

ਕੇਦਾਰਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
kaedhaaraa mehalaa 5 ||
Kaydaaraa, Fifth Mehla:

ਪ੍ਰਿਅ ਕੀ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਪਿਆਰੀ ॥
pria kee preeth piaaree ||
I love the Love of my Beloved.

ਮਗਨ ਮਨੈ ਮਹਿ ਚਿਤਵਉ ਆਸਾ ਨੈਨਹੁ ਤਾਰ ਤੁਹਾਰੀ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
magan manai mehi chithavo aasaa nainahu thaar thuhaaree || rehaao ||
My mind is intoxicated with delight, and my consciousness is filled with hope; my eyes are drenched with Your Love. ||Pause||

ਓਇ ਦਿਨ ਪਹਰ ਮੂਰਤ ਪਲ ਕੈਸੇ ਓਇ ਪਲ ਘਰੀ ਕਿਹਾਰੀ ॥
oue dhin pehar moorath pal kaisae oue pal gharee kihaaree ||
Blessed is that day, that hour, minute and second when the heavy, rigid shutters are opened, and desire is quenched.

ਖੂਲੇ ਕਪਟ ਧਪਟ ਬੁਝਿ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਨਾ ਜੀਵਉ ਪੇਖਿ ਦਰਸਾਰੀ ॥੧॥
khoolae kapatt dhhapatt bujh thrisanaa jeevo paekh dharasaaree ||1||
Seeing the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan, I live. ||1||

ਕਉਨੁ ਸੁ ਜਤਨੁ ਉਪਾਉ ਕਿਨੇਹਾ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਉਨ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
koun s jathan oupaao kinaehaa saevaa koun beechaaree ||
What is the method, what is the effort, and what is the service, which inspires me to contemplate You?

ਮਾਨੁ ਅਭਿਮਾਨੁ ਮੋਹੁ ਤਜਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੰਤਹ ਸੰਗਿ ਉਧਾਰੀ ॥੨॥੩॥੫॥
maan abhimaan mohu thaj naanak sa(n)theh sa(n)g oudhhaaree ||2||3||5||
Abandon your egotistical pride and attachment; O Nanak, you shall be saved in the Society of the Saints. ||2||3||5||

The Society of Saints - Saadh Sangat

Sikh Dharma continually emphasises the importance of Saadh Sangat or Holy Company. When nothing else works, the only way out is to choose to commit oneself to a group of people that meets regularly, worships regularly, eats food cooked with consciousness and blessings regularly and sings the praises of God regularly. When the individual concept has become too distorted, complicated or ineffectual, then only the group concept can help to balance it out and give the individual the necessary direction, vitality and vision. This is most beautifully and intricately described in this hymn by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Master of the Sikhs on Part 1120 of the Sikh Holy Scripture the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The hymn is written in melody Kaydaaraa or Kedara,which creates the mood of contemplation, sadness, and longing for the Divine:

ਕੇਦਾਰਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
kaedhaaraa mehalaa 5 ||
Kaydaaraa, Fifth Mehla:

ਪ੍ਰਿਅ ਕੀ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਪਿਆਰੀ ॥
pria kee preeth piaaree ||
I love the Love of my Beloved.

ਮਗਨ ਮਨੈ ਮਹਿ ਚਿਤਵਉ ਆਸਾ ਨੈਨਹੁ ਤਾਰ ਤੁਹਾਰੀ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
magan manai mehi chithavo aasaa nainahu thaar thuhaaree || rehaao ||
My mind is intoxicated with delight, and my consciousness is filled with hope; my eyes are drenched with Your Love. ||Pause||

ਓਇ ਦਿਨ ਪਹਰ ਮੂਰਤ ਪਲ ਕੈਸੇ ਓਇ ਪਲ ਘਰੀ ਕਿਹਾਰੀ ॥
oue dhin pehar moorath pal kaisae oue pal gharee kihaaree ||
Blessed is that day, that hour, minute and second when the heavy, rigid shutters are opened, and desire is quenched.

ਖੂਲੇ ਕਪਟ ਧਪਟ ਬੁਝਿ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਨਾ ਜੀਵਉ ਪੇਖਿ ਦਰਸਾਰੀ ॥੧॥
khoolae kapatt dhhapatt bujh thrisanaa jeevo paekh dharasaaree ||1||
Seeing the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan, I live. ||1||

ਕਉਨੁ ਸੁ ਜਤਨੁ ਉਪਾਉ ਕਿਨੇਹਾ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਉਨ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
koun s jathan oupaao kinaehaa saevaa koun beechaaree ||
What is the method, what is the effort, and what is the service, which inspires me to contemplate You?

ਮਾਨੁ ਅਭਿਮਾਨੁ ਮੋਹੁ ਤਜਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੰਤਹ ਸੰਗਿ ਉਧਾਰੀ ॥੨॥੩॥੫॥
maan abhimaan mohu thaj naanak sa(n)theh sa(n)g oudhhaaree ||2||3||5||
Abandon your egotistical pride and attachment; O Nanak, you shall be saved in the Society of the Saints. ||2||3||5||

Know yourself?

I always see people walking around with a certainty in where they are going and what they are doing. But do people really stop to think what they are doing? Personally I find it quite bizarre that we as a species assume we know what we are, but if we were ever to really stop and reflect in silence, it would reveal dimensions to ourselves we never knew even existed.

Ultimately, it is our basic goal to feel fulfilled, happy and joyous. And thus, is what we are doing everyday bringing us closer to that goal, or further away? Usually we tend to mistake those things which bring some degree of happiness as being a way to fulfilment. For example, recreational drugs, alcohol, relationships, job promotions, going on holiday, lots of money, friends and personal possessions. However, in the end these things cannot provide sustained happiness without negative side effects. For example, working hard to get a job promotion may bring lots of wealth and recognition, but the cost may be your aliveness, family time and health. Trying out recreational drugs may bring a buzz for 2 hours, but the cost is your health, time and money. All these things do bring happiness, but in order to sustain that happiness, the cost continues to multiply in its severity. Therefore, to reach the goal of happiness and to sustain it, none of these solutions are practical.

So what should we do? We should practice a tried and tested science for happiness - indeed this is what all spiritual teachers have taught, but overtime people have diluted the teachings, making it difficult to ascertain what is authentic. And so the quest for happiness lies in getting back to an original authentic science and then practising that science - such teachings are known as the eternal teachings for humankind. The eternal teachings are concerned with the heart and the head (mind).

The Heart
The heart-centre, located in the centre of the chest two and a half inches below the neck, is where God resides. God is everywhere but we can find Him in the heart. The heart-centre is an infinite source of love, joy and compassion. When people fall in love it is this centre which is activated and a person experiences bliss. Similarly, this experience gives a glimpse of the state of happiness which can be achieved through devotion to God. Devotion. There's no right or wrong way to love or worship God, so long as a person doesn't hurt others in the process. Love is love is love. Love is in sacrifice, communication and service. Sacrificing your own time to serve your higher self, communicating with God constantly through the heart-centre and serving others without intending for reward.

The Head/Mind
The mind is more precious than a diamond but treated worse than dust. The secret of the mind is that when it is clear it is as expansive as the universe and allows us to know the unknown, see the unseen and hear the unheard, but when it is dirty it makes us limited and becomes our worst enemy. All authentic spiritual practices should result in the purification of the mind's thought waves to bring it to stillness. There are many practices which do this, but one of the most effective of all in the current age is the chanting of the Name of God at the Third Eye (in between the two eyebrows) along with an awareness of the breath incoming and outgoing through the nose. Two eternal Names of God are Sat Naam (rhymes with But-Mom) meaning 'Truth is My Identity" or Wa-Hey-Guru which is an expression of complete intoxication in God.

Ultimately, it shall be God who gives us liberation through His Grace, and thus chanting the Name of God connects us back to the source of happiness and liberation. The single-pointed concentration at the Third Eye gives us direct access to our soul, so we may discover who we really are. Chanting Sat Naam gives us the power to discover the truth in all areas of our life and to control all the 5 elements of earth, fire, water, air and ether within the being to give command of our domain. Chanting Wa-Hey-Guru brings us to our origin so that we may see God in all and be intoxicated with love of God day and night, night and day, forever. These Names of God are universal and may be chanted by anyone, not just those practicing Sikh Dharma.

Conclusion
Until we purify the mind and connect to God in our heart, the eternal teachings explain that fulfilment is not possible. The heart and the mind are the two keys in unlocking a life of sustained happiness without negative side effects. By using these two keys it is possible to live a life free from all worry, anxiety, stress and pressure, irrespective of time, space or circumstance. If we are fortunate enough to come across an authentic science of happiness which deals with the heart and the mind, may we practice it and be fulfilled and then go on to help others find fulfillment.

Sat Naam.

Know yourself?

I always see people walking around with a certainty in where they are going and what they are doing. But do people really stop to think what they are doing? Personally I find it quite bizarre that we as a species assume we know what we are, but if we were ever to really stop and reflect in silence, it would reveal dimensions to ourselves we never knew even existed.

Ultimately, it is our basic goal to feel fulfilled, happy and joyous. And thus, is what we are doing everyday bringing us closer to that goal, or further away? Usually we tend to mistake those things which bring some degree of happiness as being a way to fulfilment. For example, recreational drugs, alcohol, relationships, job promotions, going on holiday, lots of money, friends and personal possessions. However, in the end these things cannot provide sustained happiness without negative side effects. For example, working hard to get a job promotion may bring lots of wealth and recognition, but the cost may be your aliveness, family time and health. Trying out recreational drugs may bring a buzz for 2 hours, but the cost is your health, time and money. All these things do bring happiness, but in order to sustain that happiness, the cost continues to multiply in its severity. Therefore, to reach the goal of happiness and to sustain it, none of these solutions are practical.

So what should we do? We should practice a tried and tested science for happiness - indeed this is what all spiritual teachers have taught, but overtime people have diluted the teachings, making it difficult to ascertain what is authentic. And so the quest for happiness lies in getting back to an original authentic science and then practising that science - such teachings are known as the eternal teachings for humankind. The eternal teachings are concerned with the heart and the head (mind).

The Heart
The heart-centre, located in the centre of the chest two and a half inches below the neck, is where God resides. God is everywhere but we can find Him in the heart. The heart-centre is an infinite source of love, joy and compassion. When people fall in love it is this centre which is activated and a person experiences bliss. Similarly, this experience gives a glimpse of the state of happiness which can be achieved through devotion to God. Devotion. There's no right or wrong way to love or worship God, so long as a person doesn't hurt others in the process. Love is love is love. Love is in sacrifice, communication and service. Sacrificing your own time to serve your higher self, communicating with God constantly through the heart-centre and serving others without intending for reward.

The Head/Mind
The mind is more precious than a diamond but treated worse than dust. The secret of the mind is that when it is clear it is as expansive as the universe and allows us to know the unknown, see the unseen and hear the unheard, but when it is dirty it makes us limited and becomes our worst enemy. All authentic spiritual practices should result in the purification of the mind's thought waves to bring it to stillness. There are many practices which do this, but one of the most effective of all in the current age is the chanting of the Name of God at the Third Eye (in between the two eyebrows) along with an awareness of the breath incoming and outgoing through the nose. Two eternal Names of God are Sat Naam (rhymes with But-Mom) meaning 'Truth is My Identity" or Wa-Hey-Guru which is an expression of complete intoxication in God.

Ultimately, it shall be God who gives us liberation through His Grace, and thus chanting the Name of God connects us back to the source of happiness and liberation. The single-pointed concentration at the Third Eye gives us direct access to our soul, so we may discover who we really are. Chanting Sat Naam gives us the power to discover the truth in all areas of our life and to control all the 5 elements of earth, fire, water, air and ether within the being to give command of our domain. Chanting Wa-Hey-Guru brings us to our origin so that we may see God in all and be intoxicated with love of God day and night, night and day, forever. These Names of God are universal and may be chanted by anyone, not just those practicing Sikh Dharma.

Conclusion
Until we purify the mind and connect to God in our heart, the eternal teachings explain that fulfilment is not possible. The heart and the mind are the two keys in unlocking a life of sustained happiness without negative side effects. By using these two keys it is possible to live a life free from all worry, anxiety, stress and pressure, irrespective of time, space or circumstance. If we are fortunate enough to come across an authentic science of happiness which deals with the heart and the mind, may we practice it and be fulfilled and then go on to help others find fulfillment.

Sat Naam.

The Kara - A Succinct Summary

I was recently asked by a non-sikh student studying Sikh Dharma at university what the Kara was. A lot has been written about this but I think this is a great summary:

1. The Kara is my handcuff to God. (My commitment to a God-Centered life)
2. The Kara is my pledge to be aware of my actions and be in a state of higher conscience in all actions (Hence, it worn on the hand most used or even both arms). Higher Conciousness leads to better actions. Actions are our behavior. Behavior is our society. Society is our world.
3. The Kara is my pledge to stand for justice and be courageous. (It has and is also a weapon (melee weapon) sometimes called 'chakar')
4. The Kara signifies God's infinite never beginning and never ending nature. (Ofcourse the nature of God is not exactly empirically provable but being beyond the dimension of time would by default make something infinite)
5. The Kara for me acts as a balancer of the body's magnetic field (being made of Iron) and provides some iron to the body.
6. The Kara for me is symbolic but more importantly it is a spiritual tool gifted to the Sikhs along with 4 other 'k's' (spiritual tools) that help a person on their spiritual journey. The Kara is an integral part of a Sikh's identity because it is an integral part to a Sikhs way of life. It is certainly not jewelry (which is of course the assumed purpose).

Blessings,

Onkardeep Singh Khalsa

The Kara - A Succinct Summary

I was recently asked by a non-sikh student studying Sikh Dharma at university what the Kara was. A lot has been written about this but I think this is a great summary:

1. The Kara is my handcuff to God. (My commitment to a God-Centered life)
2. The Kara is my pledge to be aware of my actions and be in a state of higher conscience in all actions (Hence, it worn on the hand most used or even both arms). Higher Conciousness leads to better actions. Actions are our behavior. Behavior is our society. Society is our world.
3. The Kara is my pledge to stand for justice and be courageous. (It has and is also a weapon (melee weapon) sometimes called 'chakar')
4. The Kara signifies God's infinite never beginning and never ending nature. (Ofcourse the nature of God is not exactly empirically provable but being beyond the dimension of time would by default make something infinite)
5. The Kara for me acts as a balancer of the body's magnetic field (being made of Iron) and provides some iron to the body.
6. The Kara for me is symbolic but more importantly it is a spiritual tool gifted to the Sikhs along with 4 other 'k's' (spiritual tools) that help a person on their spiritual journey. The Kara is an integral part of a Sikh's identity because it is an integral part to a Sikhs way of life. It is certainly not jewelry (which is of course the assumed purpose).

Blessings,

Onkardeep Singh Khalsa