Meditation

Simran

Daily practice of Simran is a powerful technique to not only fill your life with joy, contentment & good health, but also to ultimately merge with HIM. The steps are:

* Find a quiet place where there is no disturbance

* Sit in a comfortable position, preferably cross-legged on the floor with your spine straight (if this is not possible, one can sit on a chair)

* Close your eyes

* Say and repeat the mantra. The mantra can be “Waheguru”, “Hari Om Tat Sat”, “Allah Hu Akbar”, “God is Great”, “Gayatri Mantar”, Mool Mantar”, “Om Namah Shivaya”, “Praise the Lord”, etc. The important thing is that this mantra should deeply connect with you

* Listen to what you are speaking. Focus your mind on the sound as you are speaking the mantra

* Do this practice with love and devotion; and above all without any expectation

* Do this for as long as your wish. It can be a few minutes to start with and over time can be much longer

* End the practice by offering Ardas (or a Prayer) for well-being of the entire mankind; and express your thanks for allowing you to remember HIM

You can do Simran at anytime of the day, although the best time to do it at Amrit Vela / Brahma Muhurta (3am-6am)

 

Other Supporting Practices

The practice of Simran mentioned above is a foundational practice and needs to be done at least once per day. In addition, the following can be used as supporting practices (instructions for these in Hindi here)

  • Close your eyes and listen to Shabads, on repeat, for as long as you can

    • You can listen to Sarab Rog Ka Aukudh Naam Shabads or any other Shabads using a headphone

    • You can access these here

  • Put these Shabads (from #1 above) on a low volume via a speaker, on repeat, when you go to sleep

    • The objective here is to make your अचेतन / achaten (unconsciousness) listen to these Shabads

  • You, yourself do Path; and listen to your path

    • You can do any Path (e.g. from Guru Granth Sahib; Shabads from Gurbani; from your religious texts)

  • Go to a Gurdwara, Mandir, Masjid, Church (or to your place of worship) and rub your nose on the floor to ask for forgiveness for all of your mistakes

  • Sit at the Gurdwara and listen to any Path being sung in the Gurdwara (or follow the rituals as per your religion)

  • Do any Sewa at the Gurdwara or at your place of worship

    • This is a way for you to reduce your अहंकार (Ego)

  • Whenever you get the opportunity, remember HIM

    • e.g. when you are traveling to the Gurdwara (or your place of worship) or coming back home

    • e.g. when you traveling in your car, listen to Shabads and not to movie songs (Remember HIM)

    • e.g. even when you have 1 minute free in your day, leave your work and remember HIM for that 1 minute

    • Remember HIM by uttering the Mantra in your mind or say it aloud (The mantra can be “Waheguru”, “Hari Om Tat Sat”, “Allah Hu Akbar”, “God is Great”, “Gayatri Mantar”, Mool Mantar”, “Om Namah Shivaya”, “Praise the Lord”, etc)

  • While eating food, chew it thoroughly (~32 times) and while chewing, remember HIM

    • Before eating thank HIM for all his blessings

    • After eating, thank HIM for all of his blessings

  • Have a सदाचारी (Virtuous) way of living

    • This means to have दया (compassion), do दान (charity), dont do any नशा (intoxicants), be ईमानदार (honest living), be vegetarian, and dont have बुरी संगत (bad company)

Additional Resources

Here are some resources that provide more clarity on the Simran meditation; as well provide additional supporting practices that one can do

ध्यान कहाँ लगाएँ ? | Where do I focus when I do the Simran practice?
हर दुःख रोग से निजात दिलाएँ, हज़ारों के आज़माए हुए ये 10 अचूक इलाही कैप्सूल | 10 valuable supporting practices to enhance your Simran practice
पाठ जाप और सुमिरन में एक ग़लती जो हम सब से होती है | One mistake that almost all of us make while doing Simran