'How does it work?'.. he asked.

One time, a young child went to a Sikh Saint, and stated that no, matter how hard he tried to keep Gurbani in his heart, he just could not understand or keep it. He stated that his mind was not a bucket, but a strainer, which let everything pass through and did not contain the meaning of gurbani.

The saint said "let us try an experiment. Here is a strainer, and here is some water, and pour a bucket of water through the strainer. " The child did this and said " see the water was not contained, it just passed through, my mind is just like this". The saint said. " Do it once more" , he did, and still the water passed through the strainer. The saint said. " Do it ten times at least". The child did, and at the end of this experiment, he said " See water still passes through, no matter how many times , and how many buckets we pass through it" . The saint said. " Look carefully at the strainer and see if there is any thing different." The child did, and his eyes were filled with tears, and he said. "Yes, i see the differnce now, the grimy dirty strainer is now shiny and bright, like never before.

The saint said. " My son, this is what Gurbani does for you, it cleans your mind, and even if you do not realize it, it slowly cleanses your mind, and protects you from the five vices. The more you recite Gurbani, your mind will not only become shinier, but become like the bucket itself, which will not only become clean , but hold the meaning of Gurbani in your heart"

The child smiled, and felt he had received the best example of the power of Gurbani.

What i learned today..

Its better to Give, than to Recieve. The Universe will Provide.

Science & Faith is One..

'The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man'.. - Albert Einstein

Baba Virsa Singh -

'Dharam is the greatest science. Hundreds and in some cases thousands of years ago, visionaries revealed to us what scientists are just now heralding as their latest discovery. The visionaries simply closed their eyes, sat comfortably in meditation, and described what they saw. They did not have to spend huge sums on research or waste battery cell power. We human beings have many powerful brain cells. Once they are developed through meditation we can observe the entire universe—from the microscopic to the vast expanse of the cosmos.

What is meditation? concentrating on something, researching it, looking deeply into it, until you reach a conclusion. Whether you are conducting scientific research or meditating and having visions, both are a matter of inner concentration.

The stronger and clearer your mind, and the more you are able to focus your thoughts, the better scientist you will become. Likewise, the clearer your mind and the greater your power of concentration, the better saint you will become. Worry, fear, and pressure should not enter, for they will torture your mind. In reality, meditation is our mind's defense. It keeps out the bad and develops the good.

Actually, scientists are only proving what has already been revealed. Our country's ancient religious texts had already told us that some stars are so far away that it will take tens of millions of years for their rays to reach the earth. Five hundred years ago, while in meditation, Guru Nanak once said, 'This sun you see is not the only sun—there are tens of millions of suns. This moon is not the only moon—there are tens of millions of such bodies.' When you see that celestial drama, you begin to think about this earthly drama in which we live. This is just a tiny speck in the vastness of the cosmos.

Sometimes a scientist becomes worried when the parts of his research do not fit together. At that point, he needs the help of an enlightened one to share his store of knowledge and clear the obstruction in the scientist's mind. Then his research can move ahead. The scientist knows about the elements, but sometimes they may confuse him. Inner spiritual knowledge will never confuse a person.

Unfortunately, though the fields of the scientist and the saint are related, they never collaborate. The scientist feels, 'I am so learned, why should I sit with an illiterate person?' For his part, the saint feels, 'The scientist is an atheist. What have I to do with him?' Where there is dharam, oceans and oceans of knowledge have coalesced. It is our misfortune that we have not been able to explain dharam in a way that scientists could understand.

Both the scientist and the saint are studying the universe. The scientist studies its components; the saint studies the One who made them. But both conclude that no matter how much they have discovered, there is still endless vastness beyond. When the scientist and the saint ultimately sit together, the knowledge of the universe will increase, and humanity will benefit greatly. Then the scientist will start believing in God; the saint already does so '.

The Unstruck Melody

Understanding the Science of Naad Yoga

by Mata Mandir Singh

The word Naad simply means sound. The word Yoga means union or “to yoke.” Union with sound is the goal of Naad Yoga. To understand what that means we have to think about the nature of sound itself.

In yogic terminology there are two kinds of sounds in the Universe, Ahad sounds and Anahad sounds. Ahad sounds are sounds created by something striking something else. If I pluck the “A” string of my guitar, it will vibrate 440 times per second, creating a vibration in the surrounding air that transfers that exact vibratory rate into the surrounding environment. That is an Ahad sound. The wind blowing through the trees, the breath striking the vocal chords and mouth—these are Ahad sounds. Ahad sound vibration must travel through matter, because these sound vibrations are transmitted through the movement of molecular structures.

Anahad literally means the un-struck melody. In yogic cosmology and science it is said that the Universe is made of sound. All matter is vibrating at certain frequencies. Rocks and stones have a very slow and low frequency. Color and light have a high frequency and can travel through the vacuum of space. Beyond all physical phenomena and matter is the primal creative sound vibration that began the creation. In Christianity it is called The Word. Sikhs call it the Naad. It is what scientists call “Cosmic radiation”—the constantly creative sound left over from the Big Bang. Yogis call it Anahad. Whatever one calls it, it is constantly vibrating, creating, and expanding the Universe—infinitely, endlessly.

Beyond the mind’s ability to grasp, one can only surrender to hear the Anahad sound and contemplate it with wonder. As Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, said, Keeta Pasao, eko kavao, tis teh hoe lakh dhariou. Kuderat kavan kahaa veechar varia na javai ek vaar, which means: “One gesture and one Word, and the ten thousand rivers of life began to flow. How can I speak or reflect on this power?”

Designed for Sound
Guru Amar Das (the third Sikh Guru) says in the Anand Sahib
(Song of Bliss):
Oh my ears, you were meant to hear only the True Name,
And for this reason were you given to a man—that
You might hear the Word (anahat),
Which having heard, the mind and body blossom forth,
And the tongue is filled with the nectar Name.

The human body is designed for Naad Yoga. The ears are designed to carry the exact pattern and frequency of sound vibration which is funneled through the outer ear and strikes the eardrum, creating a perfect replica of that vibratory rate and frequency. This vibration is then transferred to the three bones of the inner ear, and then to the inner ear canal and its mechanism, and then directly to the neuro-endocrine systemsof the brain and physical body. By meditating deeply (sunia) on the primal sounds—sacred mantra and poetry (Gurbani), we can experience a profound awakening of human potential.

The interplay of the tongue on the meridian points of the upper palate and the action of the lips, nose, throat, and the air passages of the body are directly linked to chemical and hormonal secretions in the brain and glandular system. Through sound, speech, chanting, singing—communication—we can directly and scientifically affect our own level of consciousness,as well as our physical health and well-being and that of others.

One time in my early stages of yoga practice, I was in a very unbalanced state of mind. It was a stage of complete doubt called Shakti Pad. In those days we would have said simply that I was “freaking out.” I had an opportunity to speak with my spiritual teacher, Yogi Bhajan, about it. He was in town leading a White Tantric Yoga course, which I did not attend, and he asked where I was. “He is freaking out,” my friends told him. “Get him,” he said. They were able to find me at work and I pulled myself together and hastened in to see him. “What is happening?” he asked. I told him, “Sir, I am in total doubt and cannot meditate or do yoga.” He looked at me and said, “All the planets, moons, stars, and solar systems are revolving in cycles and patterns in a perfect rhythm and harmony. Just take up any of your instruments and play melodic rhythmic patterns on them and you will come into balance and harmony.” He then told me that as a teenager in India he used to practice a martial art called Gatka, and that he was always getting hit on the head by his opponents during practice. His teacher told him to study tabla (Indian drum) and that by mastering rhythm, he would master the art of fighting. Yogiji then sent me to Punjab, India, and suggested that I study Gatka, tabla, and kirtan (singing divine poetry), which I did, and I’ve been grateful ever since for that opportunity.

That very complete study of rhythm called Taal, as well as the study of melody called Raag, is another very important component of Naad Yoga. Together they make up what we know as music. The power of music to heal has been well documented in recent years, as well as illustrated in the Bible in the famous story of David healing King Solomon with the music of the harp. The ancient seers of India understood this power to transform, and it was common for mantra and scriptures to be sung, as a way to increase their meditative power.

Sympathetic Sound
For a moment imagine the human body as a musical instrument, especially one of the Indian instruments like the Sitar or Sarangi, which have playing strings that are struck or bowed, and also have 40-odd strings which are never played but are sympathetic strings. When the playing strings are struck, they set up vibratory frequencies that begin to sound the finely tuned but un-struck sympathetic strings. These strings pick up the frequency and vibratory rates of the struck notes and begin to sound and create incredible overtones without being physically touched. It is this design that gives these instruments their unique and meditative sound.

The human organism has a similar design. In Yogic terms, we have the central pranic energy channel (shushmana)corresponding to the spinal column. To either side of it are the ida and pingala, the energies of the sun and moon. Think of these as the playing strings. These energy channels then connect with 72,000 nadis (energy channels) loosely corresponding to the nervous system, that extend throughout the body. Think of these as the sympathetic strings. Whatever we vibrate in the shushmana begins to set up a sympathetic vibration in the ida and pingala and throughout the nadis that transfer that vibration to all the cells of the body. If we are unconscious in our speech and what we are vibrating, we can set up waves of negativity, self-doubt, and disharmony. These things lead to a deteriorating state of health and wellbeing. On the other hand, we can consciously choose mantra, scripture, harmonious communication, and musical sounds that elevate, heal, and balance us. Naad Yoga is the practice and experience of all this on a very practical and scientific level of self-exploration.

Each Jap, or repetition, of these sacred sounds brushes off alayer of unreality that causes us to falsely identify with theego, and opens up our inner channels to the Divine energy of God. It is a question of awareness, brain chemistry, vibratory rates and frequencies, and the Grace of God.

the Aquarian world..

40 Days

Yogic science teaches that it takes 40 days to create or change a habit. A 40-day commitment to a practice can provide the shift needed to develop a healthy habit or to drop a destructive habit. In yogic terms, a sadhana is a daily personal practice. It is something you do every day for your own upliftment and expansion. It is a practice of connecting to your intention in a focused and conscious way. A good way to get into the sadhana habit is to start with a 40-day practice.

Doing something every day for 40 days is demanding. It is difficult. And you can do it! A 40-day practice gives you the experience of discipline the experience that you can go through life's challenges and create the change you desire.

There will be days when you don't want to keep going. But as Yogi Bhajan, the Master Teacher of Kundalini Yoga, always said, "Keep up and you will be kept up!" Keep going and, at the end, you will have truly accomplished something. To support your growth and change many also find it helpful to journal during the 40 days of transformation.

Our 40-day sadhana gift to you is to invite you to join us in doing the Har Aerobic Kriya for a minimum of 5 minutes every day for the next 40 days. Start today and you will bring new healthy habits into the new year.

This kriya is a great antidote to depression, fear, and anxiety as well as a fabulous cardiovascular workout. When it was originally taught it was done for 62 minutes per day so you can build up to that time if you wish. 5 minutes will give you a great start! As always, tune in to what is right for you and grow from there.

Har Aerobic Kriya

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After tuning in with the Adi Mantra, come standing with the feet hip distance apart.

1. Bring your arms straight up overhead and clap your hands together 8 times as you chant Har with each clap.

2. Bend from the hips and slap the ground 8 times chanting Har with each slap.

3. Bring your arms out to your side parallel to the ground with the palms facing down. The arm movement is about one foot above and below the midline. Flap your arms up and down 8 times chanting Har.

4. With your arms straight out to the sides you will jump and cross your arms in front of you and your legs at the same time-in a criss-cross jumping jack motion. Chant Har as your limbs cross and chant Har as they open. Complete this motion eight times chanting Har. (For those with knee problems, do the arm leg crossing without jumping.)

5. Now come into Archer Pose with your right leg forward and left leg back, pulsing forward and back, chanting Har each time you bend forward eight times.

6. Switch sides and do Archer Pose with your left leg forward and right leg back, pulsing forward and back, chanting Har each time you bend forward eight times.




7. Repeat exercise #4



8. Stand straight with your arms straight up overhead. Then lean back arching your back, and pulse backwards eight times chanting Har.



9. Repeat exercise #4


10. Stand straight with your arms straight up overhead. Then bend to your right side pulsing up and down for four times chanting Har. Then bend to your left side pulsing up and down for four times chanting Har.



11. Repeat exercise #4

Repeat the entire sequence over and over again.

Healing the Mind, Body & Soul..

The Journey of the Soul – Karma, Dharma, Reincarnation

Karma

Is the law of cause and effect applied to mental, moral, and physical actions. Ego attaches to and identifies us with objects, feelings, and thoughts. These attachments create a bias toward certain lines of action. Instead of acting, we react. Karmas are the conditions required in order to balance or complete these tendencies.

Dharma

Is the path of life above the wheel of karma, aligned with our soul and destiny, where all our actions are towards the Infinite. It is action without reaction, or karma.

Reincarnation

Is the cycle of birth and death spurred on by karma. Our thoughts and actions create cause which must be completed, thus creating our next incarnation.

Liberation

Is release from the cycle of birth and death. When our actions no longer create karma, when we live in dharma, rather than karma, we are said to be liberated.

Naad - The Unstruck Melody

Japji Sahib: This bani controls one's "ji," one's soul. When your ji, your being, is endangered, when the radiance of your soul is weak, recite Japji. GuruNanak said that the thirty-eight pauris of Japji would liberate the humanity from the cycles of birth and death.

Shabad Hazare: This is the highest love letter by a disciple, written by Arjan to Guru Ram Das. Its gift is that it gives the benefits of a thousand shabads,and one's soul will merge directly with God. It makes the separated ones come home with grace. One who recites this shabad will never be separated fromtheir beloved.

Jaap Sahib: The naad of Jaap Sahib rouses the soul and the self of the Being. "Sahib" also means grace. Recite it when your position is endangered, orwhen your authoritative personality is weak. This bani brings grace and greatness. It will also give you the ability that, whatever people say, you willautomatically be able to compute what they are actually saying. Once you are able to recite it correctly, it will give you the power, the siddhi, that whateveryou say must happen. Man can direct God, and God can direct man. Guru Gobind Singh recited Jaap Sahib so we won't become beggars at the doors ofothers.

Tavprasad Swaye: This bani was spoken by Guru Gobind Singh. When you are not getting any satisfaction out of life, this is the bani to recite.

Anand Sahib: Whoever recites the forty pauris of Anand Sahib will have endless bliss, because the Guru is limitless. In this bani, mind and body areexplained in relation to cosmic divinity. Guru Amar Das gave us the song of bliss, which is Anand Sahib, to qualify the mind and to understand the depth.For husband and wife to get together, recite it together, alternating sutras (lines).

Rehiras Sahib: This bani is recited after one has worked and is tired. It adds energy (raa-hu) to one's being, to one's total concept. Also, recite it whenyour principle worldly wealth is endangered. In naad, reh means live, and raas means commodity, so Rehiraas means living commodity. Rehiras Sahibhelps you when you are physically weak, or weak in money, property and earthly goods.

Kirtan Sohila: This bani is done before sleep at night. It is the most harmonious naad ever uttered. It multiplies the aura to the sensitivity of protection thatit eliminates any negativity for miles and miles. When you are endangered by any species of direct or indirect source, and when you want to protectyourself with the surrounding of the entire magnetic field of the earth, recite Kirtan Sohila.

Word Definitions Rehansbhai - Continual repetition of GurbaniNaad - The essence of all soundsGurbani - A perfect combination of sounds related to all the 5 elements in complete balanceBani - That which ??? on the Naad and is balanced

One who knows the naad knows the Aad, which is God.

Siri Guru Granth Sahib

Siri Guru Granth Sahib is the Guru, and it contains the Guru. What is the Guru? It is the formula for experiencing one's own divinity. Siri Guru GranthSahib has the power to give one the experience of God because it is a Siri Guru. Here is the progression: Guru, the one who tells you the truth of theformula, and Siri Guru, the one who tells you the universality of the formula, the application of the entire applied formula. Siri Guru Granth Sahib alwaystells you what you need to hear in order to be able to rise above the limitations of the particular time and space. Waheguru is the ecstasy of the experienceof the application of the formula. In other words, by doing what the Guru says, you experience the blessing of that.

The Science of Naad and Gurbani

Naad means "the essence of all sounds." All languages contain sounds which relate to one or more of the five elements of air, fire, water, earth and ether.Gurbani is a perfect combination and permutation of sounds relating to all the five elements in complete balance. When Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth GuruNanak, compiled Siri Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, he only put in those banis which were in naad. These compositions were called Gurbani.

When we break up the words, "Siri Guru Granth Sahib," into their naad, the syllables of each word tell the essence of the meaning of Siri Guru GranthSahib. Every word has a naad, and every naad has a combination.

Siri means the entire light of the sun's creativity, Lakshmi. Whatever has been created, whatever is possibly created, shall be created or can be created, iscalled siri.

Guru ("Gu" means darkness, and "ru" means light) means from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. Guru is one who gives you the technologyto remove your ignorance about something.

Granth ("gra" means knot, "an" means ultimate, and "naath" means owner, master, God) is that which creates the ultimate knot with God. Anything whichcreates the ultimate knot with God is called a granth. Granth is not a book and can never be a book. Sahib ("saa" means light, infinity, and "hib" meansnow) is the totality of here and now.

How Naad Works In Recitation of Gurbani

There are eighty-four meridian points on the upper palate of a human's mouth. One can feel that upper palate with the tongue and experience its differentsurfaces. There are two rows of meridian points on the upper palate and on the gum behind the upper teeth. The tongue stimulates those meridian points,and they in turn stimulate the hypothalamus which makes the pineal gland radiate. When the pineal gland radiates, it creates an impulse in the pituitarygland. When the pituitary gland gives impulses, the entire glandular system secretes and a human being obtains bliss. This is the science.

Gurbani is the combination of the tongue with the meridian points. When you read and recite Gurbani, it stimulates your hypothalamus. It is totallydifferent than any scriptures because Gurbani is made in a scientific way. One who knows the naad, knows the aad, which is the primal creativity. Onewho knows the aad is Parameshwar, the supreme God.

The whole language of Gurbani has the power to make a person divine, just in its recitation, if done correctly. One need not be concerned with themeaning to experience a change in consciousness. Bani has to be understood by the heart, not by the head. There is no power in the head; it is in the heart.The lead is for God and the heart is for you. That is why Guru Gobind Singh asked for the head, and not for the heart. "Whosoever lives with head to Godand heart for self, that prayer is complete." (Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan)

The entire Siri Guru Granth Sahib is the calling of the Beloved. It is in naad. The following are the daily banis given by Guru Gobind Singh, and which tattvas (element) they relate to:

• Japji, Shabad Hazare Ether


• Jaap Sahib, Tavprasad Swaye Air


• Anand Sahib Fire


• Rehiras (including Bentee Chaupaee) Water


• Kirtan Sohila Earth

These banis should be read from the gutkaa (book of banis), so that one does not get engulfed in one's thoughtfulness. They are best read, even thoughone may have them memorized.

Experiencing and Understanding Gurbani

The Guru's Word (Gurbani) is what the Guru spoke. It is the imprint of the essence of God. It is the pathway to God. If the ordinary human being speaksit, it will always elevate him to that state of consciousness of the Guru. The Guru's consciousness is united with God, so the person will automatically getunited with God, if he speaks the same words. It is a scientific and direct way to unite the finite with the Infinite Consciousness. The hypothalamus will getthe same tingling. The impulses of the pituitary will function the same way and get the other glands to secrete also in the same way as it was in the body ofGuru Nanak.

Gurbani is nothing but a total illustrated, facilitated science of naad for human knowledge. It is an individual effort. Read Gurbani in the way Guru says it,and understand it, and you will be in such ecstasy you will not believe it! Concentration on the construction of the word, and the sound is the proper wayto recite Gurbani. As you are creating the sound, the meaning will automatically come to you, now or later. It is just a matter of time and space. You mustlisten to your own construction of the Gurbani. This is the technical way in Naad Yoga.

There are two ways to go about understanding Gurbani. The first is to know the meaning through purposeful study; and the second is to recite it, and youwill automatically understand the meaning intuitively. Gurbani has to be recited with the tongue, through japa. But, when you read meditatively for thepurpose of understanding the meaning, it is okay.

The Power of the Shabad, Gurbani Kirtan, and Nam SimranIn Siri Guru Granth Sahib each shabad has its own individual domain, power, ridhi (worldly riches), sidhi (spiritual power), and nau nidhi (ninetreasures). All occult powers are there. The recitation of shabads gives you the power to redeem the environments. Shabad is a part of the power of God,and when the shabad merges in you, you become God.

The lotus feet of God is the shabad of God. The sound itself will uplift you and take away the disease and sorrow from within you. Meditate on the lotusfeet of God in your heart. The sound of the spirit is the shabad. Decorate yourself with it. Shabad is the fountain of spirit. It will always keep you flowingand growing.

The neutral mind records the shabad, the Truth. When your mind is freaking out, the shabad automatically comes. The shabad has the power to controlyou and your mind. Otherwise there is no way you or your mind can be controlled. Shabad brings inner balance. The power of inner balance is the shabad,and the power of the shabad is inner balance.

When controlled, our minds can create great things, because the power of the mind is also very infinite. When disciplined, it can change the vibrations andthe magnetic psyche of the earth. That is why we come before Siri Guru Granth Sahib and do kirtan (singing of God's praises). Kirtan is to change themagnetic psyche of the universe with those vibrations of the Word of the Guru, the naad, so that we can principally enrich the self in ecstasy.

Nam simran (continuos remembrance of God's Name, of Self) is the preparation for Gurbani. You grind the ground, make the earth ready, and then youdo simran. Simran is gurmantra (mantra given by the Guru). Khalsa is to recite Waheguru, and a Sikh is to recite Sat Nam. Sat Nam can elevate theconsciousness of any person to Infinity, and Waheguru can bring you the experience of that Infinity. Wha means Infinite, he means Thou, and guru meansself. When chanted, it brings you very near God. Sat Nam is a panch shabad (mantra containing five parts). Saa means Infinity, taa means birth, naameans death, and maa means resurrection. Sat Nam is the shabad in which you have superiority over God. God is a slave in the hand of the devotees. SatNam purifies the entire time and space, when you speak it even once; it does not matter when. It is superior self-power of God. God is remembered by Hisactions. Nam simran is a must to prepare for Gurbani to have its effect. It is the complete science of the word and sound. It changes a human's biologicaland psychological metabolism of his body, mind, and soul.

Nitnem: Daily Recitation of Guru's Bani

The following is a story which Siri Singh Sahib ji told at Khalsa Women's Training Camp: "There is a surprising story about my grandmother. She neverspoke in a loud voice. I have never seen that woman offending anybody, and I have never seen a single human being offend her. The respect was so greatthat everyone would settle disputes by Mata ji's decision, without going to court. Whatever she would say, people would accept it as the truth and nothingbut the truth. That reputation and non-offensiveness was built from her perfection of her nitnem, her sadhana and Gurbani.

I am trying to illustrate to you that after a certain age in life, if you do not have nitnem and sadhana, then you will not churn yourself. When milk ischurned, it takes a lot of milk to make a little butter. As milk has to be churned to make butter, like has to be churned. Gurbani works to churn the brainwaves through the hyp0othalmus. You need not be a Sikh. In India, for example, there are a lot of Hindus and Muslims who recite Gurbani. Gurbani is fora person who wants to be graceful, a person who wants to be balanced, and a person who wants to do things by their radiance. A person's presence aloneshould see the job done."

Nitnem in Gurbani gives you a very powerful meditative mind. It gives you the balance required. Energy comes to a person from the head, and the head isthe distributing center through the spine. It is a must that when one reads Gurbani, it be done in the correct harmony and rhythm.

It is compulsory for Khalsa to read all the five banis daily. They were given so that a person's incarnated personality may elevate itself to defend through any negativity or misfortune.

Bhagat Ravidaas

Background

Guru Ravidas was born in a village near Varanasi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India in 1376 CE. His father was a leather merchant. He was born in a poor family. Nonetheless he rose to a position of great honor through a life of simplicity and piety. He set an example for his followers to break the barriers set up by so called upper castes and set a philosophical and armed path for freedom. He incited his followers against cruel ruling class.

Untouchability

He was the first to motivate his followers to challenge discrimination on the grounds of caste. Because of his charismatic deeds, he has become an important figure in the Whole World, his followers calling themselves Ravidasis. He was the first to motivate his followers to make/call them untouchables who make/call them so. By his deeds he proved that he was a high caste, although others were calling him a low caste. He was the first to scientifically prove the highness of his caste.

Devotional songs

His devotional songs and verses made a lasting impact in the Bhakti movement.
अब कैसे छूटे राम, नाम रट लागी प्रभुजी तुम चन्दन हम पानी, जाकी अंग अंग बास समानि प्रभुजी तुम घन बन हम मोरा, जैसे चितवत चन्द चकोरा प्रभुजी तुम दीपक हम बाती, जाकी जोति बरै दिन राती प्रभुजी तुम मोती हम धागा, जैसे सोने मिलत सुहागा प्रभुजी तुम स्वामी हम दासा, ऐसी भक्ति करै रैदासा

Translation:

How to escape? I recite the name Ram.
Lord, if you are sandalwood, I am water;
with the fragrance in all parts of my body.
Lord, if you are a cloud, I am a peacock;
looking for you like a chakora for the moon.
Lord, if you are a lamp, I am the wick (bAti);
with the light burning day and night.
Lord, if you are a pearl, I am the thread;
together like gold and suhaga.
Lord, you are the master and I servant;
thus is the devotion of Raidas.[1]
Forty-one of his writings have been included in the Sikh Holy Book Guru Granth Sahib. There is also a larger body of hymns passed on independently of the Guru Granth Sahib.

the wise ones speak..

the true & full capacity of us humans is far beyond something most of us have ever experienced, yet some of us have. the few that do live their total human capacities, or have done so, go on to be remembered as great sages, divine beings, prophets & even gods..

.. yet they breathe like us & have bodies like us.. but they live in their Light. & they raise others to the same stature. 'Blessed is the Guru, who made Angels out of humans, without delay'.

'The only real valuable thing is Intuition'.. so my intuition tells me. its your inner voice telling & guiding you to your destiny. giving you the courage & strength to fulfill it. the devotion to serve it.

' when we are in partnership and have stopped clutching each other's throats, when we have stopped enslaving each other, we will stand together, hands clasped, and be friends. we will be comrades, we will be brothers, and we will begin the march to the grandest civilization the human race has ever known '..

words from the wise..

learn the art of patience. apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success..

what i learned today..

' i will come for you, in the final hour ' ..

a source of well being..

A few months back my best friend and his wife had a baby named
Jot Saroop. When we went to visit baby Jot Saroop in the hospital, I was
struck as I often am when in the presence of extremely young
children at how peaceful and almost blissed out he seemed to be.
In fact, it was difficult to look at him without falling into a
state of wellbeing myself.

Judging by the goofy looks on all the grown up faces in the room,
I realized I was not alone in having this experience. Since I
make a large part of my living by assisting people in accessing
their own happiness and wellbeing in the pursuit of their goals
and in the midst of challenging situations, I began to wonder
how it is that that state of wellbeing we were all born into
seems to fade over time and become more and more difficult to
access.

Here's where I've got to with it so far...

The way most people think about life is that their experience is
a continuum ranging from misery to joy. The game of life is
figuring out which things take you towards joy (and doing more
of them) and which things take you away from misery (and do less
of them).

At one level of consciousness, the path towards joy seems to be
marked by having the right stuff - plenty of money, a good job,
a great relationship and a nice home.

But we all recognize that there are plenty of people who have
all those things on paper but are still pretty miserable in
themselves. So we begin to look deeper and see that it's not
your stuff but your - actions - that make you happy or unhappy.
Do the right thing and you feel good about yourself, do the
wrong thing and your conscience will haunt you until the end of
time.

The problem with this theory is that we all know that as often
as not, good things happen to bad people and bad things happen
to good people. And though we may think that 'doing the right
thing' should be its own reward, life viewed from this level
doesn't seem remotely fair.



It's thoughts like this that lead many people into a more
internal-direction in their pursuit of happiness and wellbeing,
and we quickly see that it's not what happens but what we think
about what happens that determines our experience. So we begin
experimenting with things like affirmations and positive
thinking, sure that if we could just control the flow of
thoughts through our own brains, we would have the key to
life-long happiness.

A lot of people get stuck at this level of understanding because
of one simple, innocent mistake - they attribute their
inability to think only positive thoughts to a lack of skill or
effort on their part instead of recognizing that the theory
itself is based on an incorrect premise - the idea that you can
actually control which thoughts come into your head.

When you really stop to think about it, you realize that you can
only choose which thoughts to dwell upon and make important -
not which ones pop into your head in any given moment.

At this point, people come to what seems like an real sticking
point. As one of my clients once put it, 'if happiness doesn't
come from what I have or what I do, and I can't choose my
thoughts, doesn't that leave me kind of screwed?'

And that's certainly the conclusion some people come to. They
decide that happiness is completely outside of their control,
and they give up on the pursuit. Often times, they actually
begin to feel better when they stop trying so hard to be happy,
leading them to another false conclusion - that happiness can
only be pursued indirectly.

The reason that's a false conclusion is because it still makes
happiness into a 'thing' - something which we can have or not
have, pursue directly or indirectly, successfully get or if
we're not careful, lose.

Some people take their pursuit of connection and well-being, or
as we're calling it 'happiness', and they decide that since we
can't control which thoughts come into our heads, the thing to
do is to stop thinking altogether.

For reasons you'll see in a few minutes, this seems to work,
leading people into a complex set of routines, prayer,
meditation practices, and a variety of other disciplines all
designed to at least temporarily stop thought.

Since peace and well-being often follow these practices, the
practices themselves appear to be the means to a happy end. But
again, the problem with all of these practices is that they
take practice - and while that may seem a small price to pay for
such a precious jewel, there is still another level of
understanding beyond this one.

What if, like the baby Jot Saroop, we are born at peace - in tune with
the infinite, in touch with our bliss, resting in the well of
our being. But even as babies, our very human needs from time
to time interfere with our connection with this innate
well-being. We experience physical discomfort. Because we do
not yet understand the source of our discomfort, we do the best
we know how to do - we scream, 'what the hell !'

Then, to our delight and amazement, someone comes (this is in a
functional household) and 'makes it better' - they feed our
hunger, dry our bottom, entertain our nascent brains with funny
noises and rollercoaster type movements, and before we know it,
we are back in touch with our innate well-being.

Over time, it would be the most natural thing in the world for
us to connect/attribute that return to well-being to the people
or activities that seem to be causing it - we are OK because
Mommy loves us, we are OK because Daddy protects us, we are OK
because the people around us, for the most part, appear to have
our well-being at heart.

And then one day we do something in our joy that mommy or daddy
doesn't like - we splash colors on a wall, or cry when daddy's
tired, and suddenly the ocean of love we are used to swimming
in is filled with sharks and other monsters.

Before long, we have bought in to the myth of love and
well-being outside us.

But well-being - happiness, connection, love, peace, spirit - is
your nature. And the reason you can never consistently hang on
to it when you pursue it from the outside in is that it's
already inside you. It would be like looking for your keys in
the street when you had left them in the house - no matter how
long and hard you look, you can never find what's not there.

Sitting in the hospital that day, watching Jot Saroop as he
slept off the rigors of his birth, it became clear to me that
the source of well-being comes from deep inside us. It is not
the fruit of something we do; it is the essence of who we are.
And all our attempts to find wellbeing from outside ourselves,
no matter how well intended and practically followed, are
doomed to fail. Not because happiness and wellbeing are
unattainable, but simply because it is impossible to find what
has never been lost.



Have fun, learn heaps, and take some time this week to hang out
in your own good feelings. Worst case, you get to feel good;
best case, they may lead you all the way back to the source.

what i learned today..

oang sohung
i am thee, peace is within me

oangkara

sky's the limit..

you can do what you want, be what you want. is the sky realy the limit ? when there are foot prints on the moon..

what i learned today..

Jesus loves me