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Turning Attention Inwards
The Way of The Sikh
Letter & Spirit # 38
YUKTANAND SINGH
Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’
Part XXV-B
Once simran has softened our heart, we abhor the company of people who have evil intentions. When our heart is purified, we then naturally feel sympathy and pity and we desire the welfare of others.
But we need vigilance so that we are not trapped in self-praise and we do not lose the path to perfection. Guru Sahib has counted self-praise as one of the several evil tastes.
A great soul named Sant Bhola Singh ji lived in the city of Taran Taran. He had served his teacher for 25 years. Once, while absorbed in contemplation during his walk around the sarovar of Taran Taran Sahib, he realized that he preferred those who bowed to him above others who would simply greet him.
“What have I earned by now,” he said to himself, “if the self-praise is still hanging around my neck?” It took him another six months to eliminate that error.
The difference between cattle and us is that they do not ask “why” and they cannot distinguish between good and evil. Their other traits are the same as humans. We are expected to understand and deliberate, so that we do good deeds and thus improve our future by repeating naam.
Our mind needs to be joined with the shabad. This is yoga. The attention is easily attached to kirtan (the singing of gurbani). Then our mind can be one with the taste of the shabad. Thus, when we are listening to the kirtan, we must listen with complete attention and we must revere the shabad. This practice turns our attention inwards, towards the Self.
We ask Waheguru for the gift of His own naam. He then comes and resides in the shabad. This is known as the worship of God who is without any form or attributes.
The goal of our life is to reside in naam so that while we are engaged in various activities, our inner attention stays turned towards Waheguru.
“If you seek your own welfare, then tend to the welfare of others. But be known as a nobody.” [GGS:465.16]
This practice eliminates our haumai. When the haumai, the sense of me and mine, is gone, then truth comes and resides in our heart.
Truth is extremely powerful. Someone who resides in truth enjoys a firm conviction. Such a person’s intentions are as adamant as steel.
We need cables to bring electricity to a house. Without the cables we would have no electricity. Similarly, simran is the cable. Through simran we bring Waheguru’s power to us.
When we wake up at night while our family is still asleep, that is a good time to engage in simran. This is the solitude of a householder.
Only God-Guru can give us naam. We had satgurus in the past. They initiated naam with the sip of water touched by their feet. This was called charan-amrit. Today the Five Beloved initiate us with naam with the Amrit (water stirred with a steel Khanda) and they prescribe the new Sikh lifestyle.
“Fruitful is the birth of the Lord's humble servant who makes the Creator the father of a worthy son. O Nanak, realizing the perfect Lord, such a being takes along and saves everyone with him.” [GGS:532.10]
Guru Nanak's aim is to save everyone. We help him out by repeating naam and by doing what he told us to do and avoiding what he told us to avoid.
December 19, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Yuktanand Singh (Michigan, USA), December 19, 2013, 11:21 AM.
Thanks to S. Sangat Singh ji for posting the links to download the books, I have been able to include the paragraphs that were missing from the audio. This particular segment of audio has skipped several pages, so we will be dwelling on Part XXV for a while.
2: Aryeh Leib (Israel), December 19, 2013, 1:00 PM.
Dwell on it as long as you please, Bhai Sahib; this is wonderful and practical Sikhi, of the kind that far too few are teaching (at least, on the net).
3: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), December 20, 2013, 7:50 AM.
Powerful stuff!