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A Busy Man and His Spare Time ... The Way of the Sikh:
Letter & Spirit # 17
YUKTANAND SINGH
Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’
Part VIII
To begin with, naam simran cleanses our mind. The old, stored fruits of past acts begin to blossom. Guru Nanak’s path is straight-forward: doing naam simran while living the life of a householder.
As a result, the mind is first cleaned. Then we start to feel the taste of Waheguru’s love as it enters and settles in our heart. All this occurs gradually. We need not be impatient.
Once awakened, the mind stays attached to naam. With physical repetition, naam slowly descends into our subconscious mind, the part of our mind that was asleep (is awakened), and it becomes one with it. For this reason, we should chant naam verbally and we must do so at every opportunity.
We have many idle moments everyday but they are simply wasted. We must make them worthwhile by repeating naam. Someone who repeats naam for at least five minutes every day, will not face any difficulty after death.
Repetition of naam means taking sanctuary in the Guru, and the Guru always forgives us.
Let us say that a shopkeeper has to sell textiles. He is busy selling cloth. But when the customer is gone, he can be engaged in naam simran. Again, when a customer comes, he is engaged in business, but when the customer is gone, he is back to his naam simran.
When we are waiting for someone, for example, it is time to do naam simran. Thus, we can make good use of all our idle moments. If we did this, you will see that the total time of naam simran will certainly add up to approximately one to two hours daily.
This is an easy way to connect our attention with naam. Progress is slower when we are living with family. But we must not be discouraged and not lose patience.
Those who leave their home and family to seek solitude, it may appear that they progress faster but they miss the interaction and cooperation with other virtuous individuals. Guru Sahib’s path is living as an ascetic but without leaving your home.
Recently, I was told the following by a Sindhi Sikh family.
They had migrated from Pakistan and had settled in Bombay. Their only son studies medicine in England and he has settled there as a doctor. His sister wrote to him asking him to visit his parents and family at home.
But he could not find any time to come. Finally, his sister went to England with her husband and she brought him to Bombay with her.
His parents and his sister desired to see him become a practicing Sikh before he returned to England. So they took him to meet a gurmukh and requested the gurmukh to teach their son Sikhi and to bless him with the gift of naam.
The gurmukh told their son that one needs do naam-simran for at least half an hour daily. But the son retorted, “Where will I find time for that? I practice as a doctor and I am busy attending to sick patients all day. How can I find any spare time?
“Baba ji, I will not be able to do this.”
Upon hearing this, the gurmukh said, “I understand this … that you are always busy … you are never free. But … do you travel alone to see the patients?”
The son said, “Yes … I have my own car. Mostly, I drive by myself to see patients, but occasionally I have a nurse with me.”
The gurmukh said, “It is easy then. You can find some time. When you are driving to and from any place, you can do naam simran. If someone was with you, if you avoid small talk and talk only as necessary, you can use even that time for naam simran.”
The son thought for a moment and said, “Yes, I think I can do this much.”
Having received that teaching, the son started the practice of naam simran. Thus, the sister and brother, both were happy as they came home.
After a short stay, he went back to England. But he continued to follow the teaching of the gurmukh and he started to string his idle moments with naam simran.
After about one month, he wrote to his sister:
“I am extremely grateful to you for your act of kindness. Within one month of practicing the naam simran according to the gurmukh’s advice, my mind is restful. My heart is full of hope and peace. I can see a huge change in myself.
“My heart and my soul are quenched and happy now. I am always cheerful. My life has become beautiful, tasty, and kind of carefree. Now I will never let go of the support of naam. Naam is a sweet elixir which, just like a philosopher’s stone, transforms our life.”
The sister brought and showed this letter to me.
November 21, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 21, 2012, 5:44 PM.
Any type of remembrance of the Creator through naam simran ... e.g., the Mool Mantar, or just Waheguru or Satnam ... anytime, anywhere is akin to charging your spiritual battery.
2: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), November 22, 2012, 7:46 AM.
There is no single exclusive prescribed Name. Remember Him anyway you like. "naanak vaychaaraa ki-aa kahai / sab lok salaahay ayksai / siir naanak lokaa paav hai baliharee jaa-o jaytayu tayray naav hai" - "Nanak places his head on the feet of such people who remember Him with as many names as there are!" Guru Nanak remains unique to allow you that freedom to remember Him by any name you like.
3: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA..), November 22, 2012, 10:45 AM.
A few of the symbolic names of God, as listed or used in the Guru Granth Sahib, are: Satnam, Waheguru, Allah, Ram, Khuda, rabb, Ishar, Hari ... The term Waheguru (Wonderful Lord) which is used by Sikhs for meditation purposes appears in the compositions by the Bhatts (GGS:1385 thru 1409) where it is mentioned 16 times. Basically, He is without any Name. The Guru calls 'Him' "anaami"(without a name). So, it doesn't matter what name we give to Him. (Or Her.)