Being and Doing

There are many different methods of meditation. Mindfulness is really kicking off these days, as an evidence-based way to practice being non-judgmental towards your thoughts and feelings, and being self-compassionate. In mindfulness, you just allow yourself to observe your breath and bring yourself back to that. In Sikhi we have been given simran with the “Waheguru” mantr as our form of meditation to ground us. The methods of simran also vary- we can use other mantrs like Tuhi, Har, etc.; we can do Sas-Gras/Sas-Sas with our breath, or Rom-Rom simran, or simran with the use of instruments during kirtan. Ultimately it is the remembrance of that connection to the Oneness in its various forms, so in Sikhi we don’t use images in our simran because that would be anchoring into maya. Over time our thoughts slow down, our minds stop racing, and we kindly bring ourselves back to our anchoring mantr and then the sound of Naam, and the immersion into the Anhad Bani. Our Guru Ji tells us that simran is necessary, it is not just an action of sitting and speaking, but is present in many different forms. Ath Pahr, a 24 hour simran, means our remembrance is constant even as we work, like Bhagat Namdev dying clothes in the color of God.  

Regardless of the type of meditation, some type of mental stillness is required. We live our lives nowadays on the go, not living in the present and meditation teaches you to use the present moment. When I first started to do yoga, I played it on 2x speed. I hated the slowness. The fact that you had to feel each part and breathe into it. I liked stretching, movement, not stillness. I disliked progressive muscle relaxation and baths for the same reason. You just sit there, being, feeling, and nothing to distract the mind. I figured that just being is an action that is worthy of my time. For me, simran was another act of doing, of accomplishing something. Just like 2x speed daily yoga and keeping my mind busy in every other way, was me accomplishing something. 

 

In the last 5 weeks I have learned that my constant need to be busy is because I am uncomfortable with the stillness. When I sit and feel there is too much, both physically and emotionally. I wasn’t letting the simran sink into the real self that needed it the most, rather than doing, simran is about being. In fact, as I’ve been learning more about the benefits of meditation and other activities that involve breathing related activities like yoga, qi gong, and tai-chi, I have realized that simran fulfills the same functions. In simran, we focus on our breath, the present moment. Simran is used by people with all kinds of pains, traumas, addictions etc. Simran, like other types of methods that activate our parasympathetic “rest and digest” response, and shut off our sympathetic “fight or flight mode”, makes us sleepy and even yawn. It is putting us in a deep state of relaxation. One of the methods of activating the relaxation response is by “softening the gaze”- allowing yourself to focus on the periphery of your vision. This happens in simran as well. As we advance from closed eyes simran to open eye simran, we are asked to soften our eyes.  The act of lying down, or finding a comfortable position to relax in is also key in doing sas gras simran. This allows our bodies to unwind themselves. The point of our focused time is for us to then learn this state of being, for the rest of our day. So we can stay in this mental state of present-living and being, while we do other things in life. So we can maintain this grounded state of connection, safety, and love. It teaches us a self-awareness of our inner thoughts, and inner state of being if we are living in the present moment. Simran allows us to connect to others when we might feel disconnected. It allows us to find a purpose, when we might feel lost. It teaches us how to live in the present moment and bear whatever the Hukam, and whatever the emotion of the moment without being scared. 

 

I am realizing now why simran was so important to me since it changed my life in 2016. The more data I’ve read about mindfulness, and relaxation methods to activate the vagus nerve to train the mind into relaxation, and the body-mind connection, I am realizing that simran fulfills all of these for us. As I’ve been practicing it, I’ve gone through different phases and challenges which I’ve been lucky to have guidance from the sangat and Guru Ji about how to proceed. I think the key learning for me in the last few weeks has been I have not been letting the simran into the core, the place where it needs to go to a state of being, and not doing anymore.  I lack a lot of these benefits because I was doing. I am exploring some really interesting new areas of "being" lately and I'll post about those sometime soon.