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Easier & Better Than Yoga:
The Way of The Sikh -
Letter & Spirit # 36
YUKTANAND SINGH
Translated from Bhai Vir Singh's ‘Gurmukh Sikhia’
Part XXIV
“This tome is an abode of the Lord Master” [GGS:1226].
In the beginning -- [long before the compilation was complete and its investiture as Guru] -- Guru Granth Sahib used to be called ‘Pothi Sahib’, meaning, “The Venerable Book.”
God abides in it. It is also our Guru. We must remain under its guidance.
Our gurmantar is “Waheguru”. By doing simran of this mantar one finds everything that a yogi can find through the practice of yoga.
An additional advantage of this path is that it has no obstacles: “By doing simran of the Lord one does not face any obstacles” [GGS:262].
There is possibility of failure when we practice yoga, but on this path we have no fear of failure. We do naam simran of Waheguru, and He himself takes care of us and protects us.
He is morally obligated to protect someone who does naam simran.
* * * * *
“A recluse is someone whose heart remains settled” [GGS:1180].
Practice of gursikhi is being a hermit while living among friends and relatives. A gursikh does not live in a cave or on some remote mountain. It is a different matter if he seeks solitude temporarily to recuperate or to regain his spiritual strength.
Simran does not mean that we become careless or be absent-minded, nor is it avoidance of all talk. With proximity to Waheguru gained through simran, we bask in His presence. Waheguru taking residence in our attention is simran. That is all.
Simran means being aware of our aim at all moments, just as when an English speaking man says “God” he is thinking of Waheguru. But when a Kashmiri says the same word - “god” -- he is thinking of fish, because ‘god’ means fish in the Kashmiri language.
* * * * *
The Sikhs are a squad of servers. We repeat Waheguru’s naam and we live among others so that we can serve. We do not go and hide in some boulders.
In the past, good people used to leave home and stay in the forest to practice yoga. Only selfish people were left behind. The society was thus deprived of strong character.
This created a great national loss, including political and economic loss. An army consisting of a mere ten thousand invaded India and pillaged the Temple of Somnath which was surrounded by 2.1 million inhabitants. No one had the courage to fight the invaders.
Guru Sahib has shown us the natural (‘sehaj’) way of simran. One’s attention can naturally stay directed towards Waheguru while continuing to be engaged in the mundane duties of the world. Not only are we saved from the difficult practice of yoga, we attain the same state that a yogi reaches after practicing various painful techniques.
“One is then liberated … while continuing to laugh and play and enjoy food and garments” [GGS:522].
Whatever I have said, I say it only from my own life experience.
September 25, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 25, 2013, 6:57 AM.
Yoga is a multi-million dollar industry ... and little more! It is primarily there to make the 'teachers' rich. A Sikh doesn't need yoga when she/he knows that 'natural' toiling, walking and running are nature's gift to us to keep us healthy physically and mentally. For the mind and soul, we have naam simran. There is nothing wrong with us resorting to exercise if our life-style necessitates it, but to make it a central point of your life, occupying more than a few minutes a day, and have everything else revolve around it ... that's getting really goofy.
2: R Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), September 25, 2013, 10:49 AM.
Guru Nanak gave the Sikhs the yoga of "kirat karni, naam japna and Vund ke chhakna", to obtain union (yog) with Waheguru.
3: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ), September 25, 2013, 3:29 PM.
Thank you, Dr Yuktanand Singh ji, for the timely translation of Bhai Vir Singh j's "Gurmukh Sikhiya" on simran as personally experienced by him. 1) Simran is the sole purpose of our human life. 2) Repetition of "Waheguru, Waheguru" is not just a mechanical act. 3) Uttering "Waheguru" from the mouth cannot be termed as a mechanical act as we are not lifeless. 4) "Waheguru" is our gurmantar. The Formless One Himself resides in His Simran. [GGS:263]. Let's get down to His remembrance this minute and not waste any more breaths by following babas with their complicated methods.
4: Raj (Canada), September 25, 2013, 11:07 PM.
Could someone then please explain to me why Guru Ramdas' name is used to promote yoga and some bizarre and fictitious claims by some that he learned kundalini techniques from Baba Sirichand? This is what Harbhajan Singh Yogi taught western Sikhs. I had never read or heard about yoga from any historian, or Bhai Vir Singh or Bhai Gurudas, etc. Isn't it misrepresentation of the Sikh way of life?
5: Amy Yawanrajah (Seremban, Malaysia), September 26, 2013, 4:01 AM.
It is indeed very enlightening for us lay people who are neither here or there - meaning have been praticing yoga or given up on it - to read Bhai Vir Singh's essay on the topic. It does give those of us who are immersed in the task of living a life involved with everyday, mundane things to embark on trying to catch up with those who have found yoga as a means of 'realising' God's purpose. I for one am truly comforted to know that even a simple life will lead us to the path taken by yogis! What reassurance from one so erudite. My thanks to Dr Yuktanand Singh ji for putting my mind at peace.
6: Sharanjit Singh (Delhi, India), November 05, 2013, 10:50 AM.
Yoga is the practice of yogis who were exposed by Guru Nanak in his bani. Yogis were the renegades of society who did not want to earn their own bread. Such earthworm developed techniques of physical exercise in which they did not have to move any part of their body as the real workers of society donated them their bread. The technique of yoga is relevant today also but for the old and the infirm who cannot move their limbs. Sikhs who shook the rulers of the day with their movements do not need this technique. Move your limbs (and also brains) and stay away from yoga to remain a Sikh.