Marvel of Naam Simran: How Does Reciting Name of Waheguru -God Almighty- Work in our Mind and Body

Reciting the Name of Waheguru-God Almighty is the ultimate way to Salvation or Moksha from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The process of reciting begins to works in phases.

First of all, why is the Name of God Almighty ‘Waheguru’ and not any other word? In Guru Granth Sahib, most of the time from the beginning to the end names of God like ‘Ram’ or ‘Hari’ and many others are used in the compositions or the Banis of the Gurus as well as various Saints. And since followers of the Gurus during their life time came from among Muslims as well, to explain to them in simple language, words like ‘Allah’ and many other names of God as per Islamic norm also show up. ‘Waheguru’ shows up for the first time on page number 1402 in the devotional composition of a Bhat whose poetic name is ‘KAL’. This part is called ‘Bhat-Bani’ and ‘Waheguru’ comes in the Swaye which are a praises of Guru Ram Das ji, the 4^th Guru.

Just for additional information: The Bhats were Sarasvat Brahmins who earned their living by reciting Vedas from memory. And when Guru Arjan Dev ji, the 5^th Guru, was compiling and editing all the Banis and devotional compositions into Guru Granth Sahib, word had spread far and wide all over India that the great Guru hade undertaken a noble work unique of its kind. Many poets came to his Darbar at Amritsar and presented their devotional compositions as they were very keen to have them included. But Guru Arjan Dev ji was selective while including only those compositions which remained within the norms of the philosophy initiated by Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Guru.

And I would my readers to know an additional information for better understanding: Guru Granth Sahib arrives at Harmandir Sahib during the Amrit-vela (the period between midnight and dawn) riding majestically in a gold-studded Palki. Devotees rush about to put their shoulders to the beams of the Palki and you could be very lucky if you manage to carry the Palki even for a few seconds -such is the rush to do this unique Sewa.

After entering the Harmandir Sahib Guru Granth Sahib is placed upon the Piddah, or a settee. Then the Mighty-Guru is unwrapped form its ‘Night-Time-Bana or the Dress’, as one would be wearing clothes for sleeping. While this is being done the ‘Swaye-Praises’ of the Guru are recited verbatim from memory by a selected group of Sikhs before the Guru Granth Sahib is ceremoniously opened and the Hukumnama for the day is read to the waiting Sangat -the devotees.

Getting back to the main subject. Waheguru means ‘The Most Fantastic Guru’. The Guru in this case is God Almighty Himself. He Himself blesses his devotees with inner spiritual secrets. He also chooses to let these secrets be revealed through selected human-beings who awaken others.

It’s a well-known fact in Sikh history that before the bodily-form of the Previous-Guru passed away from this world, the blessed soul which was residing in him was passed on to the Next-Guru by a very simple ritual: The previous Guru would come to know, through his divine inner sense, who was to be the Next-Guru. We can assume that Waheguru was telling the Previous-Guru who would be the Next-Guru. That is how continuity was maintained in the philosophy initiated by Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Guru.

Thereafter, the Previous-Guru would ask the Next-Guru to be seated and then he would place before him near his feet a Narial, some money. And then the Previous-Guru would place his forehead upon the feet of the Next-Guru and announce loud enough for everyone to hear, “Now, you are the Guru and not me!” Then Baba Buddha ji used to apply the Tilak on the forehead of the Next-Guru thus completing the formality of transfer of the Guru-Ship. The Previous-Guru invariably lay down and expired leaving his body behind which was ceremoniously cremated. An additional information: Baba Buddha ji, who was the contemporary of Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Guru, was selected by him when he passed the Guru-Ship to Lahna whom he named as Gur Angad, the 2^nd Guru. And Baba Buddha ji carried on doing this noble task until his son and grandson took over.

And when Guru Gobind Singh’s time had come to leave his body in this world at Nanded on the bank of River Godavari, he was asked by Bhai Nand Lal, one of his devotee, “Who would be our Guru from now onwards?” That is time Guru Gobind Singh ji asked that the Granth Sahib be brought and be posed for the devotee. Then he placed the Narial, some money and put his forehead on the open space in front of the Granth Sahib. After rising he pronounced, “All Sikhs are ordained from this moment onward to observe the Granth Sahib as the Guru; See here the personification of the Next-Guru; Those who wish to attain God find Him in the Word (of the Guru Granth Sahib). Therefore, from that day onwards Granth Sahib became ‘Guru’ Granth Sahib. Once this concept is accepted by the devotees then it is clear that God Almighty Himself lives in the ‘Word’ of Guru Granth Sahib.

When the word ‘Waheguru’ was accepted by Guru Arjan Dev, the Fifth Guru, and included in the Holy Scripture on page number 1402, then we can safely assume that all other names of God Almighty –which appear on various pages until then- were included in this one-word ‘Waheguru’. One can safely state that all names of God until then were ‘filtered’ into its English translation ‘The Most Fantastic Guru’ -the Waheguru.

It is my humble submission that all the philosophies of all man made religions of the world have been concentrated into Guru Granth Sahib. And let me inform all my readers that if there is a concept of Heaven -like we have a building in this world with four walls, roof and floor- and if there is a Throne inside that building like we would have a decorated chair, then Guru Granth Sahib is privileged to be seated upon that Throne forever from the day the ‘Guru-ship’ was bestowed upon it by Guru Gobind Singh ji. Therefore, God Almighty Himself is speaking through the ‘Words’ of Guru Granth Sahib.

But of course we are all entitled to our individual points of view and others may not agree with me, but I have no dispute with anyone. Crux of the issue is that those who are destined to understand this point will do so and others may ridicule me. They are most welcome to express their views. And if ridiculing me would make my critics happy then I might as well add another issue for them to beat me with. Since God Almighty Himself created all the 33 Crore (330 million) demi-gods and demi-goddess, (called Devi and Deva) then I am of the view that they all bow with reverence to Guru Granth Sahib. If you want to see if I am right or wrong, then ask any Deva or Devi you have been worshiping for Moksha and hear for yourself what he or she might have to say -if you have the power (the Siddhi) to hear your favourite Deva or Devi speak back to you. You would be very lucky if that happens.

The Story of Sant Pippa

To emphasize my point, I will tell you a short story from the life of Sant Pippa whose devotional hymns are included in Guru Granth Sahib.

Pipa’s year of birth or death is unknown, but he is traditionally believed to have lived a very long life in early 14th century and passed away from this materialistic world in late 15th century. He was born in a Chauhan Rajput royal family (Kshatriya Varna) at Gagaron in present-day Jhalawar district of Rajasthan. He became the king of Gagaraungarh -a Chauhan Rajput ruled State- which now lies within the territorial bounds of the State of Madhya Pradesh -east of the former Princely State of Kota which falls into the adjoining State of Rajasthan.

Pipa was a disciple of Shakti (Durga Bhavani). He gave up the throne after a dream and became a Sanyasi. Then. he along with his queen Sita, went to Varanasi and accepted Swami Ramanand as his guru and joined his Vaishnavism Bhakti movement. Pipa later preached Nirguni (god without attributes) belief of life. Sant Pipa is considered one of the earliest influential Saints of the Bhakti movement in 15th century northern India.

As a ruler, Pipa worshipped goddess Durga Bhavani when he was king of Gagaraungarh. He had a peculiar dream in which a message was conveyed to him not to worship Durga. Confused he went to the Durga Devi’s temple located inside his Palace and asked the statue why he had such a dream. A voice came from Durga Mata’s statue and asked him, “Rajan, why do worship me?” He replied, “I want Moksha.”

Durga Mata said, “Rajan, I can give you any amount of wealth, another beautiful queen if you want one (he already had 13 queens), make you win against your enemies in any battle. Ask for anything other than Moksha.”

He asked Durga Mata, “Why not Moksha.”

She replied, “I cannot give you Moksha because that power is with our creator -God Almighty- who created all the Devas and Devis. God Almighty Himself can give Moksha to any deserving person and no one else. I can function within the powers given to me. Ask for what I can give and I shall oblige.” This is the most important conversation which convinced Pipa to give up the throne and all worldly matters. That is what convinced him to become a Sanyasi.

Now that I have shown by historical example that no Deva and Devi can give you moksha, let us get on to the main point ‘Reciting the Name of Waheguru -God Almighty’.

How do People Start

Some people start on their own and there are others who get initiated by a Saint. Yet there are people who are initiated after they start reading Gurbani –the holy Words of Guru Granth Sahib.

Some people mix ‘Naam Simran’ with ‘Concentration-Meditation’. Both are meditative processes but there is a thin line of difference between the two. Both can lead to spiritual activity but the end result is different in each case.

In both, one has to sit in a somewhat similar posture. The sitting posture for ‘Naam Simran’ is called half-lotus-Asana which is comparatively relaxed. In the full-lotus-Asana, both your feet have to rest upon the opposite thighs which is difficult for some people who suffer from joint problems. Not everyone can do it.

In the half-lotus-Asana the heel of one of the foot rests against the inner side of the opposite thigh near the genitals and the other foot can be comfortably placed upon the opposite thigh. This is also called Bhagati-Asana. One can even sit in the normal crossed-leg position if its suits you because you don’t have to be austere or rigid or torture yourself in your devotion but be carefree and loving. Bhagti is Sehaj-Yoga meaning ‘easy-going-technique’ and you don’t have torture your body to achieve anything.

In ‘Concentration-Meditation’ one can go astray if you are not made aware of the pitfalls associated with it. I shall explain them at the end of this write up

‘Naam Simran’ is also called ‘Jappa Yoga’ by those who are fans of Yoga practices. The word ‘Jappa’ means reciting while reading or from memory. The word ‘Yoga’ means ‘Technique’. Therefore, in ‘Concentration-Meditation’ you adopt rigid rules and improve your concentration whereas in the ‘Jappa Yoga’ you adopt a relaxed technique and gradually, in a relaxed manner, try to open up the door to Moksha or Salvation. How?

Let us first assume and accept the fact that God Almighty lives in all of us or one can say that we are a small part of God Himself. Gurbani repeatedly states in many passages that ‘you find Him inside yourself and don’t go looking for Him in the forest or upon mountain tops or inside some cave or generally wandering in this world trying to find peace of mind.

Therefore, if God Almighty lives inside everyone one of us, then how come we have lost him and cannot merge with him. That is because God while living inside us has been covered by the dust-of-our-bad-Karma. It is like looking for something in a room which is fully dark or looking for a needle in a heap of rubble or garbage. What would you do if you have to find what you are looking for? Would you not switch on the electric light or switch on a hand held torch or light a lamp? And if the place is full of dust or rubble or garbage would you not wipe away the top surface to reveal the ‘item’ you are looking for?

Therefore, if God is inside you then you have to search for him and remove the cover of darkness from inside yourself or wipe away the dust/rubble/garbage. How do we do that?

I will explain this assuming that you are inside a house or a hut where the floor is covered with a white-carpet or cotton sheet. (I know that is unusual because normally floors are covered by colourful carpets or the floor is plain or tiled).

Next let us assume that it is constantly raining and there is a very small leak in the roof of the house or the hut. What would happen? Certain amount of water leaks through and a drop falls on that white-carpet or sheet. Each time a drop falls on it, the surface ‘changes-colour’ and becomes darker than the rest. The rain does not stop and every day one drop of water leaks through the roof and every day the portion of ‘changed-colour’ becomes larger and larger. And over a period of time the whole floor becomes discolored and covered with dirt.

Now consider that for some inexplicable reason the rain over the house or hut is loaded with a certain amount of detergent or washing powder. Therefore, as the detergent-rain seeps through the leak in the roof and a drop of detergent-liquid falls at the center of the carpet or the white sheet, the cleaning process starts. Over a period of time -just like in the earlier explained case where the soiled water discolored the surface- the white carpet or sheet would begin to get cleaned. The process would start from the middle and spread outward until it’s completely done.

Therefore, in simple words, assume that the detergent is the daily dose of NAAM which enters through the top and drops over our inner-self which had been covered with the dirt-of-bad-Karma. Slowly and steadily the essence of NAAM would clean the inner self and lead the devotee toward higher and higher level ultimately leading to a state of Moksha from the worldly attractions. And then on the day of departure from this world Dharam Raja, who keeps a record of our deeds in his voluminous ledger, would tear away the pages on the recommendation of our Guru. Thus Moksha from rebirth and death is achieved.

Now let us discuss Concentrated-Meditation

Concentrated-Meditation is done by some people by ‘Concentrating the energy of the Mind’ upon an object. The object could be anything from the flame of a candle or oil lamp or a framed photo or a statue of some demi-god or some Saint. The individual concentrates upon that object by looking at it or studying it very carefully: its each and every detail from its shape, size and the artwork or texture of its composition.

After having seen or studied the image very carefully, the person closes the eyes and recreates the image step by step in his or her mind. As soon as one finishes recreating the image in the mind one can go over it again and again depending upon available time. The session could last a few minutes to start with and gradually increase the time depending upon other priorities for the day.

The practice of Concentrated-Meditation has its positive points for your day to day functions. Firstly, it increases FOCUS which in turn helps you to focus on your job or profession. Needless to say that focus increases your productivity of whatever you may be your profession.

In this technique the power of mind increases very much and very fast depending upon your dedication and tenacity. In almost all cases I have heard of there is a tendency -due to some inexplicable reasons- to slow you down or to stop you from all together. The crucial situation appears in most cases when you cross 30 days of regular Meditation. Once you cross around 35 days it could become more difficult to devote time for some reason or the other or there may be some other disturbances strong enough to distract you. The zenith of your concentration comes after exactly 40 days.

Once you cross 40 days you are on your way to attaining one of the first Siddhi or achievement or Mental Power which gets bestowed upon you out of the 18 Siddhis or Powers which are mentioned in our ancient scriptures. These 18 Siddhis were possessed by several holy men in India irrespective of their religious faith in the past.

BUT IT IS NOT EASY AS IT SOUNDS. THERE ARE FIVE TRAPS.

What are these ‘Five Traps’? Our evolution from the Ape age to the stage of being civilized human beings has basically created the five evils which reside within our mind. There is no doubt that they were essential for survival in the distance past when survival of the fittest was the norm. These five evils are (1) Kama (the desire for sex); (2) Krode (anger); (3) Lobh (greed); (4) Moha (attachment) and (5) Ahankaar (ego).

But with the evolution of organized societies, social norms have undergone many changes. We have evolved from the hunter-gatherer stage to a settled-in-one-place stage. That change brought in permanent settlements and the need for regulations and their governance and prioritization in our daily lifestyles. Down the ages various individuals took the lead to bring about essential reforms in our behavior and they thus identified the problem-areas. And these problem-areas were identified as the abovementioned five evils.

Another very important factor in our evolution and survival has been the FEAR FACTOR.

While you may feel that Concentrated-Meditation will increase FOCUS which you may find very useful, it’s time that I remind you that all the five evils also get very much strengthened at the same time.

Once all the five evils get strengthened then the image of the object one was concentrating upon begins to show up for a short duration. This is the power of vision. Then with daily activity it may repeat every time you sit and concentrate. When this happens, the person has to exercise restraint or go whole hog and declare that he or she has had Darshan of a god.

By exercising restraint and keeping the secret to yourself one actually would rise to even higher levels. But in most cases when the word spreads, innocent people come and put their head upon the feet of such a person and seek blessings. And then they go about declaring that they have been blessed by Swamiji or Babaji. Thus his or her ego further increases. This is contrary what we are supposed to do. Destroy ego altogether.

Thus, unwittingly, many people become their loyal devotees and go about spreading half-truths. That is how self-declared godmen are created and they fleece the public and get involved in other unholy activities. One can write a lot about such self-declared godmen who are probably living as per their pre-ordained Karma.

Then comes the next trap which is Kama or desire for sex which is the first evil mentioned in the list. If the person practicing Concentrated-Meditation is a householder, then the desire for Kama remains within the relationship of husband and wife. In case the person is single man of woman then there is a great possibility of falling into the trap of Kama.

And if the self-declared godmen or god-woman has devotees who would like to serve him or her then the chances of the trap are even higher. Without going into more details I would like to point toward several cases of sexual misbehavior by such self-declared godmen which have been well documented within India as well as abroad.

The other four evils like anger, greed, attachment and ego get mixed with the first trap and there is no end to it. That is why the path of Guru Nanak Dev ji’s philosophy is the safest because the Great Guru has stipulated that you must live the life of a house-holder.

Therefore, there is a need to decide which path one wants to follow.

There is no doubt, in view of the above, that the path of Naam Simran specified by Sikhism is the best. The process of Concentrated-Meditation is a cheap second class activity for those who are selfish. The reader can decide where he or she wants to fit in. Rest is as per your Karma.