Guru Gobind
Singh (was the tenth and last living Guru of the
Sikhs). He became the Guru on November 11, 1675, succeeding his father Guru
Teg Bhadur Singh Ji.. He was a warrior, a poet, and a spiritual leader. His
establishment of the military order Khalsa is considered as one of the most
important events in the history of Sikhism. He fought 11 battles with the
Mughals and their Rajput alliances.
Guru Gobind
Singh was the last human Sikh Guru; he finished the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth
Sahib-Shabd Guru, and before his death,
nominated it as the next perpetual Guru.
The outcome of this shift of Age depends on our ability to assess and command our own consciousness. The demands of this great change require that each of us use and master and apply the inner technology of the Shabd Guru.
By speaking in the consciousness of the Shabd Guru the inner sound current is started, Wisdom comes and you are merged into the vast awareness of Anhad 4 (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, page 2)
Using the Shabd Guru we can quickly and effectively find the calm eye of this mental and social storm of change. From this place of inner stillness,
(To such a state of mind) happiness and grief are same and (To such a state of mind) gold and mud appear the same (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, page 275) We must prepare for and find antidotes to a wave of new maladies. Each Age has its special challenges to body, mind and soul. For example, leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria and smallpox are plagues we faced for many generations in the last Age. Through new medical technologies and committed efforts, some of the old enemies, like smallpox have disappeared. Others are contained and in retreat. Now, as we enter a new Age, previously unknown challenges such as viral epidemics and psychological/spiritual ailments beset us, with more on the way. Depression and fatigue-related psychological illnesses are at epidemic proportions and rising at accelerating rates. The Annals of Internal Medicine, a prestigious medical journal, recently reported fatigue and stress as two of the top reasons people seek a doctor. Over 25% of patients complain of prolonged fatigue lasting at least several weeks. Other symptoms come with the fatigue: insomnia, inability to concentrate or make decisions, loss of a feeling of control, and alienation from normal social and sexual relationships. News reports are increasingly documenting that even the most competent, productive and intelligent people have lost their sense of balance to the inescapable pressure of information overload, the lack of time, and increased social and personal demands.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib, page 288) With countless remedies the malady isn’t cured Such a malady is cured by the medicine of Naam 6 At first people will try to deal with this gap with increased electronic technology. We will attempt to use more sophisticated devices, software, even special intelligent helpers to sort the flood of information. The ancient defences of our human nervous system will accelerate. We will fight, withdraw, and fantasize more. Some of us will attempt to diffuse the impact of the flood of information with harmful adaptations like drug use and violence. Electronic technology will only bring us more information, more choices, more contacts, and more complexity. It will push us beyond all the old frontiers of identity- home, neighbourhood, country, values, and the natural rhythms of nature. Our old touchstones for forming an identity will fail and we will have a pervasive identity crisis.
All these examples highlight the necessity for a potent and practical technology to generate the inner energy needed to survive and excel under this pressure. Energy is “the capacity for action or accomplishment; the effort your mind and body is able to exert to move from the current slate to a desired state.” Remember the famous formula of Einstein, E = MC2. It converts the mass of an object into the amount of energy it can generate. In the realm of the mind we can write a similar formula:
E (inner energy) = MC2
(Mind) (Consciously Conscious)
We must consciously direct the consciousness of the mind. We release the energy we need to excel and balance ourselves with an inner technology that can alter the frequency of the mind and the state of the brain. All the oscillations of the mind cease with the practice of the Shabd and it gets pacified of itself (Sarang M: 3, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 1233) Praise the God, O saints and friends! With steady, complete concentration, wilh one-pointedness of the mind.
combining atoms has opened the way to use the greatest energy in matter, the quantums of sound are the atoms that open the way to the greatest inner energy of consciousness and command the chemistry of the brain. Those Shabd patterns are a legacy to be used and shared with all as an antidote to the maladies of the InfoDementia Syndromes. The Shabd Guru technology is not just for the Sikhs but for everyone, for in every human is the Light of the same Creator.8
We do not need new choices. We are flooded with choices. We need an elevated capacity to make choices. We do not need more information. We need the wisdom to use all the inforrnation. We do not need another religion. We need the experience of a Dharma 9 that creates the spiritual fitness to act believably on our beliefs. The Shabd Guru is a special kind of technology with a unique contribution to develop potentials and handle the problems of the new age – the Aquarian Age. In the body it produces vitality; in the complex of the mind it awakens intelligence and develops wisdom and intuition; in the heart it establishes compassion; in each person’s consciousness, it builds the clarity to act with fearless integrity.
The Character of the Aquarian Age and the Information Revolution
The Nature of the Shabd Guru
“Shabd” means sound, “Guru” means teacher or knowledge that transforms you. The simplest meaning of Shabd Guru is a special sound that is a teacher. But what is it that we learn from the Shabd Guru and how does the use of sound act as a teacher?
To answer this question look at a deeper definition of Shabd Guru from its root structure. “Shabd” comes from Sha- and -bd. “Sha” means the expression of the ego, the attachments we identify with.”Bd” means to cut out/off or to eradicate. The root meaning of Sha-bd is that which cuts the ego. It is not just any sound. It is not just a wise sound or a song of truth. It is a sound that cuts away the ego that occludes the truth from you.
Ego is formed by the mind’s constant automatic processing that attaches us to and identifies us with objects, feelings and thoughts. The ego is not inherently bad. It is just limited.
Ego is a chronic malady and in itself lies the cure (Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 466)
In itself, it can be useful and even necessary to functioning. But when you act attached to the ego as if it is your real nature and as if it defines your reality and scope, then you create pain, unhappiness and problems. Your spiritual reality is that you are part of a vast creation. Inexperience, you are a creature that is not separate from the larger matrix of life and consciousness. When you act in your specific role toward a goal or project, you must focus and limit your attention and energies. You can do that and forget anything other than your current attachment. Or you can act with passion and commitment as you remember and intuitively connect to the larger Self that is you and to the larger world that you act within.
The ego creates a kind of forgetfulness. You forget the Creator
What is the alternative? If we cannot base our identity in the known or on any limited position of ego what can we do? Act egolessly. Base an identity in the Infinite and the connection to your sense of the Infinite. That may seem a great or mystic accomplishment, but it is the natural state of the Self. We are part of the Infinite by nature. It is the mind that forms a limited sense of self. We do not need to create an Infinite self. It already exists That existence is called SAT NAAM – SAT 17 is reality, truth or existence. NAAM is the identity or creative name. We are all, in essence, a reality that vibrates and creates. Most of the time we act as if we are not. That is the pain imposed on our life by ego. The Shabd removes that pain by removing barriers to perceiving and acting from the Real Self.
This is one of the miracles of grace embodied in the teachings of the ten Gurus of Sikh Dharma. Each of the ten Gurus carried the Guruship and the Infinite identity of the Shabd Guru with very different personalities, ages and situations. And yet each affirmed they were all one Light. The identity they embedded in the Shabd Guru did not depend on ego or any finite identity. They sang Shabds that merged the one who recites them into the Infinite and infinity of self, beyond the limits of time and space. It is exactly such a technology that is needed. It establishes a link with the sense of the Infinite no matter what mood and position you begin with. There are a raga and sutra to lift every possible position of the ego into the egoless merger.
Ego will no longer work! The shift of Age has changed the conditions of the mind. The Piscean consciousness operated with less sensitivity. You could hide actions, thoughts and feelings with a high degree of short term success. Some ego positions were favoured above others by the conditions in a family, society or environment. That has fundamentally changed in this new Age: all finite positions of ego are equally vulnerable.
We need to develop a new habit of awareness. We must learn an inner technology to base the identity of our Self in the Infinite. The Shabd Guru is the quantum technology that establishes that awareness. It is a compass point that directs us to the Infinite in each finite action.
The practice of Jappa of the Shabd Guru changes the frequency of OUI words. We go from the words of the
It is the function of the Shabd Guru to make our ego nothing so we can serve and be served by everything. In a cyclone, you go to the eye of the storm to escape its turbulent power. In an Age swirling with chaotic change the path to the centre of the storm is through the neutral mind, 20 established by quelling the conscious and subconscious reactions to the ego. A sense of identity-based on the experience of the subtle and the Infinite within us is the only source of stability and power in the Aquarian Age.
The second word in the phrase Shabd Guru is “Guru.” If we break this word into its inner
A Guru then is an active knowledge. It is not the intellectual knowledge that simply classifies or analyzes. Guru changes you. Guru develops the capacity to see. It removes darkness, obfuscation. The Shabd Guru transforms the practitioner by removing the barriers erected by the needs of the ego. The encounter with the Guru is through action. It gives you Know How not just Know What. It gives you procedural knowledge that is in your cells and subconscious, not just representational knowledge in your ideas. Think of the difference between discussing death in general, and discussing your potential death from cancer with your doctor. “Death” takes on an urgency and relevance when it is yours. It forces a deep evaluation of it, along with everything else that is important to you. And you want to know what to do; what action to take. To encounter the Shabd Guru is to learn by doing, by experience. The Guru will give a practice. That key practice for Shabd Guru is the meditation and repetition of specific primal sounds and phrases.
That may seem easy. Simple is not necessarily easy or without challenge. The greatest challenge is the practitioner’s own subconscious. The mind is not trained to base itself in relation to the Infinite. It is based in ego. It is filled with reactive thoughts that try to maintain the attachments of the ego and tries to avoid pain.22 When you repeat the patterns of sound and thought in a Shabd, those thoughts counter the direction and intensity of the habitual thoughts. The Shabd provokes dumping of the stored subconscious patterns of thinking and feeling If, under the torrential flood of subconscious feelings and thoughts, you persist in repeating the pattern of the Shabd Guru, then the new pattern establishes itself Your mind clears, and you awaken dormant inner capacities or enhance existing ones.
Where do the patterns of the Shabd Guru come from? They exist from the beginning of creation. They are the tides and rhythms of the movement of the creative pulse of Infinite Consciousness. They vibrate in all things continually.
From One Sound countless waves are born, and These waves are inseparable from the one Sea (Akal Ustat)
It is the ability to hear and feel them that is needed. That capacity comes to a mind that is fearless, neutral, open and awakened. The ten Gurus of the Sikh path heard it perfectly. They put that rhythm and pattern of energy into the poetic compositions of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. That’s why it is called a Granth rather than just a collection. It is a “knot.” It binds the pattern of awareness into the words of the songs. Each Shabd is a template for an aspect of awareness and potential of consciousness. Each Shabd is a kind of spiritual DNA that restructures the mind and stimulates the brain
The Quantum Technology and Impact of the Shabd Guru
The impact of the Shabd Guru comes from its masterful use of the technology of sound and rhythm. It is a “quantum technology. ” A technology is the application of science. The sound patterns of the Shabd Guru are based on the science of sound. In the West, this would be the science of reflex to create changes in neurotransmitters to command the state of the brain and mind. It is “quantum” because it manipulates the smallest particles of sound and energy into effective combinations and patterns. It uses quantum patterns like seeds that act as blueprints for constructing larger patterns. The atoms of sound build the molecules of language, thought and mind.
In time we will unravel many of the mysteries of this complex relationship of sound, brain, neuroendocrinology, psychology and behaviour. We will elaborate on an intellectual model of the entire sequence of quantum sound technology. From the movement of the tongue to its reflexes to the neuroendocrine cascades to the change of mental state, we are at the beginning of that study and modelling process.
The techniques of the Shabd Guru codified in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib and in the mantras of Kundalini Yoga 23 24 waits for us to mine their secrets. Every person can use them to elevate themselves, to heal, to develop stamina, to increase in tuition. They do not need to know the science of the process. They only need to apply the technology of the Shabd Guru.
Because the reflex points are stimulated by the movements of the tongue, you get the maximum benefit from the pattern of a Shabd by consciously repeating the sounds out loud. That is called Jappa -conscious, conscientious recitation. Rotating the tongue over the 84 reflex points in the pattern of the Shabd produces the maximum impact on the gross level of the neuroendocrine system. As the Shabd gets established in the nervous system and your subconscious, every cell of your body will vibrate the pattern with you. That is called the state of Ajappa Jap 25 – of repeating without repeating. In that ideal state, the resource released by the Shabd Guru is always available to you regardless of the momentary focus of your attention on daily tasks. It is the result of great devotion, much practice and mastery, or grace. When that state is reached you still repeat the Shabd out loud, but the dimensions of joy and awareness that accompany the practice are without limit. You recite the Shabd at the beginning of the practice of the Shabd Guru in order to clear the mind, and attain an awareness. When you reach a stage of mastety, you still recite the Shabd out loud because you have become the Shabd and the Shabd has become you. There is a merger between the personal experience of you and the impersonal experience of Infinity beyond you and within you. 26 The core technique to precisely vocalize the Shabd of the Shabd Guru is useful and true for the most novice beginner and for the most exalted master. The repetition of the Sutras of the Shabd Guru is a tool as timeless and unconditional as the Shabd Guru itself.
The ancient seers and the Gurus have left us maps and tools to guide us into the territory we want to explore. They also give us the clear warning not to confuse the maps for the actual territory. They implore us to realize that no amount of study replaces the knowledge which comes through experience.
The human body is analogous to a musical instrument. It is constructed with 72 strings. Each string or “sur” aets like a meridian – it is a flow of the energy of life called prana 27 . The inflow of cosmic energy into the body cascades through the crown of the head, the “tenth gate,” like a waterfall and collects in seven pools or special vortices. Those pools are called chakras or energy centers. The 72 strings are controlled by three central strings or channels These are called the ida and pingala – the left and right channels to either side of the spine, and the shushmana – the central channel up the middle of the spine. The upper centers vibrate with the release of each independent thougllt. The thoughts of the mind are released at a rate as high as a thousand per blink of an eye. These vibrations or patterns of thought “pluck” those strings. The strings vibrate into 72,000 channels. Their vibration creates the shape and function of the physical body, the emotional body and the mental body. Just as you stroke a string on an instrument and it forms a shape in
the air.
If you can vibrate a pattern in the central channel it will induce a synchronous pattern throughout all the rest of the strings. To vibrate a Shabd in the central channel you must become still, bring your full attention to the sound pattern and let go of your attachments by devotion or surrender. To vibrate perfectly it requires a combination of Shakti and Bhakti. Shakti is the power of precision and discipline in the repetition. It is the pure energy which enforces all implementation without human tiredness. Bhakti is the feeling of surrender and devotion; it is the devoted dedication which provides the energy to complete everything. It is form and flow, sun and moon, rhythm and tone in
The thousand thoughts released by the mind can distract you. They can pull you away from the Shabd. But the rhythmic Naad of the Shabd Guru engages and synchronizes the flow of thoughts. The pulse of the atoms of sound produce a pattern of energy that structures the space of the mind to link with the Shabd. This produces an active stillness, a shuniya, a zero-point in consciousness. In that
Another map for the mechanism and impact of the Shabd Guru traces the reflexes between tongue and brain. The body is perfectly designed to use the Naad or rhythm of the Shabd Guru. There is a connection between the movement of the tongue in the mouth and the chemistry and neuro-transmitters in the brain. One end of this connection is an array of 84 reflex points on the upper palate of the roof of the mout
That’s what Siri Guru Granth Sahib is.
Question is, how Siri Guru Granth can be a
Guru? It is not a man. It is not a person. It doesn’t talk. No, it doesn’t talk
outside, but it does talk inside. And we need a Guru for inside, not outside.
Why do we have to have a Guru for outside? Whole world has tried outside Guru
and outside Guru works in a very facade way. It is a satisfaction that I have a
Guru. We need a Guru which should work inside us, and when we read the Siri
Guru Granth, it is an inside affair within our inside. And that is what is very
challenging to people. But an ordinary person doesn’t understand why reading
the Guru puts you to sleep. Why? Answer is very simple. You are not aware how
irritated, how dissatisfied, how unqualified you are for the situation. Your
mind is irritated, your body is irritated, your psyche is irritated. Your
spirit is not functional to the point of your health and strength. You need
strength. Cherdi Kala. Phoenix rises from the ashes. Man rises from the
adversity. This universe, our universe, is a university in which you graduate
against adversity.
Guru
Granth Sahib
The Shri
Guru Granth Sahib is a Holy Book revered as the 11th Guru of Sikhism, the
physical form of the living Guru of the Sikhs.
The Guru
Granth Sahib is given the honorific prefix “Shri” which denotes its
holiness for Sikhs.
The
Guru Granth Sahib became the Guru of the Sikhs and successor to Guru Gobind
Singh in October
1708, when the 10th Guru made Sri Guru Granth Sahib the 11th and final eternal
Guru.
Guru Arjan dictating the Adi Granth to Bhai Gurdas
Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind
Singh. Collection of Takht Sri Harimandir Sahib, Patna.
The
Guru Granth Sahib contains holy ideas and thoughts of great saints from other
religions, castes, and ethics. Some of these are Kabir, Tulsidas, Ravidas, Namdev.
The
Guru Granth Sahib contains over 5000 Shabhads or hymns which are poetically
constructed; and set to classical forms of music Ragas; can be set to
predetermined musical Talas (rhythmic beats).
Below
an excerpt from the 15the “Ang” (limb) of the Guru Granth Sahib:
ਨਾਨਕ ਕਾਗਦ ਲਖ ਮਣਾ ਪੜਿ ਪੜਿ ਕੀਚੈ ਭਾਉ ॥
ਮਸੂ ਤੋਟਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਲੇਖਣਿ ਪਉਣੁ ਚਲਾਉ ॥
ਭੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਕੀਮਤਿ ਨਾ ਪਵੈ ਹਉ ਕੇਵਡੁ ਆਖਾ ਨਾਉ ॥੪॥੨॥
nānak kāgad lakh manā pari pari kīcai bhā’u
masū tōti na āva’ī lēkhani pa’unu calā’u
bhī tērī kīmati nā pavai ha’u kēvadu ākhā nā’u
||4||2||
O Nanak, if I had hundreds of thousands of stacks
of paper, and if I were to read and recite and embrace love for the Lord,
and if ink were never to fail me, and if my pen
were able to move like the wind
-even so, I could not estimate Your Value. How can
I describe the Greatness of Your Name? ||4||2||
The word “Guru” is said
to be made up of two words: GU meaning DARK and RU meaning LIGHT. The word Guru
means from darkness to light or from ignorance to enlightenment. The one who
enlightens is called GURU. — Granth is Punjabi for
“scripture”; Sahib is Hindi meaning “master”, from Arabic,
meaning “companion”, “friend”, “owner”, or
“master”. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the perpetual Guru of the Sikhs.
It has 1430 ‘limbs’ and contains the actual words spoken by the Gurus and
various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Sufi Islam.
In
October of 2008, we the Sikhs will be celebrating the tercentenary celebration
of the completion of Guru Granth Sahib to be held at Takht Hazoor Sahib, Nanded
(Maharashtra) in a big way. The tercentenary
celebration of Gurta-Gaddi to be celebrated at the SACHKHAND
GURUDWARA at Nanded is of great relevance to
the Sikh Community. This involves the remembrance of the 300th year of the
consecration of GURU GRANTH SAHIB as the eternally steady Guru of Sikh Community by Guru
Gobind Singh Ji. The event will be of 8 days duration and will be conducted in
the month of October 2008. The event will attract large numbers of from all
over the world. The event is of high relevance to the Sikh Community
considering its occurrence once in 100 years. Besides that it also involves the
remembrance of the most important landmark events in the Sikh history. I
personally invite and urge all Sikhs and believers in the Siri Guru Granth
Sahib Ji to attend this event in large numbers.
Bhai Sahib Satpal Singh Khalsa