SIMRAN-LEKH PART-1

Lekh 110 SIMRAN 1


The contemplation of the Lord
is the most sublime of all (the deeds)

In the dictionary, the meaning of `Simran' is given as follows :- To contemplate by focusing the mind on the `Name' or `Virtues' of the Divine.

Since the beginning of time, Sidhas, Sants, Spiritually evolved souls and gurus have recommended the practice of Simran for religious development.

But in Gurbani `Simran' holds a unique position and the practice of simran has been made mandatory (a must).

While reading Gurbani, participating in Satsangs and listening to the special virtues (attributes) and power of `Simran', enthusiasm develops in the minds of many seekers to practise simran, but when they begin the practice of Simran they face with many doubts and obstacles.

Generally seekers express the following complaints and doubts about Simran :-
1. What is Simran?

2. Practice Simran on which word or mantra?
3. When should Simran be done?
4. The mind does not calm down in Simran.

What is Simran? For any idea or thought

in the mind
in the heart
in the subconscious
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in the soul -

for it to be mastered
for it to settle within
for it to be internalised
for it to be manifested

over and over again, it has to be

recalled
repeated
dwelled upon
drilled
meditated upon

worked upon.

The activity which does this is called ‘Simran’

The religious activity of Simran - namely

- meditating loudly
- worshipping in the mind
- contemplating in the heart
- mentally witnessing the unutterable name
- experiencing spiritual bliss through love-link

is the seekers principle assignment, his duty, his life.

The divine practice of Simran by the ‘grace of the guru’ is made easier through the Sadh Sangat (gathering of spiritually elevated souls).

Creation can be divided into 2 planes

1. The worldly plane - the plane of duality
2. The Divine plane - Sachkhand (Realm of Truth)

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The worldly plane has developed from the doubt ridden world of ego and its mainstay is the belief in `me-mine'.

Man has been wondering through countless rebirths, through the doubt ridden fallacies of the polluted ego. Within the polluted doubts of `me-mine' state man

thinks
recollects
plans
works and
faces consequences

and -
lust

anger

greed

attachment

ego

have him entangled within their sensual desires. He remains trapped within the cycle of coming and going (births and deaths)

1 Being entangled and enmeshed in the love of false occupations, the whole world has perished" (133)

The involvement with `me-mine' or ego, like a ghost, has clung to man through all these births thereby causing him to forget his creator.

2 Such is the ‘maya’ materialism by which the Lord is forgotten
Worldly love wells up and one is attached to the love of
another. (921)
In this way the separate existence of `me-mine' or ego state through

thoughts
contemplation
recollections
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desires
deeds
religious practices

has seeped into every facet of man's life. Within our

mind
body
thoughts
brain
subconscious
worldly ‘self’

this has forced - settled - permeated into the deepest recesses and has entrenched itself.

In this way we are unknowingly

thinking
dwelling
meditating

on the `me-mine' ego state.

This separate existence under the influence of the ego state has so much captured our attention in the deepest recesses of our being, that without the desire of `me-mine,' our life appears incomplete and dissatisfying.

Man is God's image; His illumination

1 "O my soul you are the embodiment of Divine light.
Do understand your source" (441)

When this being was suspended upside down in the mothers womb he was meditating on his creator, But when the man appears in the external materialistic world, the hue (colour) of the materialistic world spreads all over him. He forgets his creator - the Timeless Being and begins to meditate on the doubt ridden world of `me-mine'- in other words he begins the practice of Simran (of the `me-mine' state).
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1 As is the fire within the womb, so is Maya outside.
The fire of Maya is one and the same; the Creator has staged this play. According to His Will, the child is born, and the family is very pleased. Love for the Lord wears off, and the child becomes attached to desires; the script of Maya runs its course.
This is Maya, by which the Lord is forgotten; emotional attachment and love of duality well up.
Says Nanak, by Guru’s Grace, those who enshrine love for the Lord find Him, in the midst of Maya. 921

In the mothers womb the being was unaware of the materialistic world and through Simran his heart was absorbed in his creator - but on taking birth into the materialistic world, the doubts of `me-mine' state captured him and severed the link with his creator. In this way man through wrong company becomes absorbed in the doubt ridden ego state.

2 For 10 months He kept you in mother’s womb and on birth, materialism got attached to you". 481

3 He comes out of the mother’s womb
and forgetting his Lord attaches his mind to the world 1007

In this way, man under the influence of wrong company abandons the simran of

Tu - Tu (you - you) and

replaces it with the simran of

"Mai - Mai" (I - I) (me - me)

With this, man's
aim in life
purpose in life
Target in life
support in life
objective of life

becomes subordinate to the material world. For every second, every moment - day and night man's mind is engrossed in
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this or that thought

remembering
thinking
planning
practicing
dwelling on some idea.

This `practice of Simran' could either

belong to the worldly hue
or
belong to the divine hue

All the time either in sleep state or awake state we are for sure doing simran - (mind is preoccupied with some thought or other) because our mind can never remain free, not ever for a moment.

What a ridiculous thing it is, to keep asking every Tom, Dick & Harry, "What is Simran ?" or "How do I do Simran ?" when the practice of simran, its meditation, is going on every moment, day and might without our knowledge.

Under the influence of "materialistic life" we

do our thinking
make wishes
make plans

make effort
struggle
toil

work
face consequences
driven by desires and needs
face grief or happiness
and urged by jealousy and enmity, we have forsaken our creator and are rendering
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useless our priceless life (gift) - what is more - we are (completely) unaware of
these destructive and degrading tendencies.

For this reason Gurbani severely admonishes (or warns) us

1 1 As the world of sand, built and plastered with care lasts not even for four days. 2 So are the pleasures of materialism. Why are you entangled in them O ignorant man. 3 This very day, come to your senses. No harm is yet done. So utter the Name of the Lord- the enemy of pride. 633

The entire creations, consciously or unconsciously is absorbed in the practice of this `Simran'. The 8,400,000 living things in their unconscious state, unknowingly and instinctively are practicing the Simran of their Creator in their own way - living by the Divine will."

2 1 The earth contemplates you and also the sky. The moon and sun contemplate you O the treasure of virtue. 2 All the beasts birds and ghosts remember you. The forests, mountains and the renouncers remember you. 3 All the parasite vines, creepers, and branches remember you. You O Lord are pervading all the souls. 4 All the subtle and gross beings remember you. The adepts and seekers remember the Lord's Name. 5 The invisible and the visible meditate on my Lord. My Lord is the master of all the world. 1078-79

But the human being witnessing the astonishing and sparkling materials and drama of the material world with his conscious state and polluted intelligence, has become too absorbed in the materialistic doubt ridden life, forgotten his creator and the practice of Simran of the `me-mine' state has started within.

4 Beholding the false worldly valuables You have gone astray my mind. 486
5. Hope, doubt, sin and worldly attachments In this the mortal is engrossed.
The false world abides within his mind and He understand not the lofty
Lord. 815

6 O lord of the world, the master of the universe This worldliness has made
me forget your feet. Even a bit of love for you wells not up In your
slave. What can the poor slave do? 857

In this way
body
mind
heart

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concentration
attention
subconscious

nay, his whole inner self has been so much coloured by worldliness, that apart from the doubt ridden egoistic state of his life, that realisation of some other

better
beautiful
lofty
peaceful
emancipating


divine life’s
awareness
understanding
belief
faith

is simply not there.

Whilst reading, / listening to gurbani and participating in Sadh Sangat, even if a momentary flash of `Divine faith' or `belief’ appears it quickly hides behind the cloud of materialism and disappears.

The moment (we) take leave of the sadh sangat, the influence of ‘materialism’ or ‘me-mine’ in the form of

desires

imagination

thoughts/ideas

needs-desires

worries-anguish

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lust - anger
greed - attachment
Jealousy - duality
enmity - opposition

and other sensuous attractions capture the mind causing (us) to forget the `divine faith' and `Gods Simran'.

Isn't it ridiculous to think that for one to practice the `Simran of worldliness’ man

needs no guru
needs no advice/guidance
needs no education
needs no know how
needs no research
needs no rights & rituals
need not suffer the hardships of penance or meditation.

The moment God is forgotten, the 5 satans - lust, anger, greed, attachment and EGO, by their astonishing & dazzling charm, trap man without his knowledge, and for his whole life, imprison him in the `secondary or worldly love' or ‘me-mine' state and like the monkey of a juggler, makes him jump and dance - making him their permanent slave.

1 The worldly love is an arduous ocean of pain and poison which cannot be crossed
The ego centrics pass their life taking pride and saying `It is mine - It is mine', they decay to their death (1416 - 1417)

In spite of numerous religions and religious sermons, man remains unaware of this mental or materialistic charm.

In this way, unsuspectingly and without resistance man becomes a slave to materialism, strengthening the chains of materialism around him and getting totally trapped under materialistic burdens.

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1 My erring soul is entangled with materialism
Whatever deeds I do with greed, with themI tie down my self (702)

2 All the relations are like bonds for the soul
O brother. The world has gone astray in doubt. (602)

4 Nanak, just as many as there are sins
as many are the chains around man's neck. (595)

Within the worldly life or the performance of worldly simran, our mind

- remains ever alert
- is scheming cunning and whilly moves
- is pandering to his needs and desires
- is lost in its mental engagements
- is drowned in anxiety and worry
- is absorbed in the desire of `me-mine'
- is trapped in his daily chores
- faces the consequences of his actions - good & bad
- remains a slave to sensuous desires
- burns in jealousy and `others love'
- tortures himself through ill will & enmity

In this way our `priceless birth' is being sold out in vain for a worthless coin. If we deeply consider our daily thoughts and actions, we will realize that we are so very deeply engrossed in the cobweb of materialism, that like the germ of filth we cannot see any other alternative to this materialistic life.

The reason is this. Our mind, over many births, has been uninterruptedly practicing the simran of materialism, that

It has itself become the image of materialism

From such a materialistic mind it is but natural to expect to be tainted by the

hue (colour)

odour
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desire
direction
support
of materialism.

If other words our materialistically tempered mind, without knowing, without resistance, effortlessly and continuously is engrossed in the simran of materialism. The proof of this state is our current `materialistic life'. It is the result and essence of the uninterrupted involvement in materialistic simran.

If this practice of simran can be reversed from its worldly directions and turned towards spiritual direction, then our practice of simran can become spiritually based and our life can be successful.

We are already engaged in doing simran. Its practice / methodology remains the same.

But its
aim
support
target
objective
needs to be altered.

1 My mind is now reverted to its original parity
When I become dead to this life, then I come to know God. (327)

2 Turning away from the world, my soul is merged In the supreme soul.
By gurus grace my understanding has become different, otherwise I was quite ignorant. (333)

3 When I turned from the world and became dead to this life, I got spiritually awakened.
By repeating the Name, my soul got attached with the lord. (221)

4 He turns away from materialism and enters the Lords mansion, within those mind abides the God's ambrosial Naam. (786)

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In other words the life of `materialistic simran' needs to be grafted with the hue / colour of spiritualism. BUT this spiritual play is difficult.


5 O Slave Nanak, this is a difficult game
Only a few know it through the guru. (219)


Yes, This arduous spiritual play can become simple and is spontaneously attainable in the company of Gurmukh piarays (spiritually enlightened souls).

Cont: in Lekh 111 Simran 2