Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Saadh Sangat Ji,

Please find below an Audio Recording by Bhai Surjit Singh at GNG. The topic was around Naam.

1) Naam Japahu

This Shabad is by Guru Raam Daas Ji in Raag Aasaa on Pannaa 366

nwmu jphu myry swjn sYnw ]

naam japahu maerae saajan sainaa ||

So chant the Naam, O my friends and companions.

nwm ibnw mY Avru n koeI vfY Bwig gurmuiK hir lYnw ]1] rhwau ]

naam binaa mai avar n koee vaddai bhaag guramukh har lainaa ||1|| rehaao ||

Without the Naam, there is nothing else for me. By great good fortune, as Gurmukh, I have received the Lord's Name. ||1||Pause||

Full Shabad

2) ek shabad mere praan basat hai

This Shabad is by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Bilaaval on Pannaa 795

eyku sbdu myrY pRwin bsqu hY bwhuiV jnim n Awvw ]1]

eaek sabadh maerai praan basath hai baahurr janam n aavaa ||1||

The One Word of the Shabad abides within my mind; I shall not come to be born again. ||1||

Full Shabad

Download MP3 File

Bhai sahib discusses the two shabads that he has recited, and explains how Guru ji himself could not live without chanting naam, and  how we should be constantly remembering Vaaheguru. Gurbani reminds us that:

AwKw jIvw ivsrY mir jwau ]

aakhaa jeevaa visarai mar jaao ||

Chanting it, I live; forgetting it, I die.

but in reality how many of us abide by this?

Guru Sahib further states in Gurbani that only those are truly alive, whose minds are filled with the lord:

so jIivAw ijsu min visAw soie ]

so jeeviaa jis man vasiaa soe ||

They alone are truly alive, whose minds are filled with the Lord.

nwnk Avru n jIvY koie ]

naanak avar n jeevai koe ||

O Nanak, no one else is truly alive;

The Guru's came to this world to inspire us all to meet the Lord

jIA dwnu dy BgqI lwiein hir isau lYin imlwey ]2]
jeea dhaan dhae bhagathee laaein har sio lain milaaeae ||2||

They give the gift of the soul, and practice devotional worship; they inspire others to meet the Lord. ||2||

A sikh of the guru will be thirsty for 'naam rass' and will chant and meditate on the name for may years before this thirst is quenched.

Bhai Sahib then talks about Amrit Vela and how Gurbani states:

PrIdw ipCl rwiq n jwigEih jIvdVo muieEih ]

fareedhaa pishhal raath n jaagiouhi jeevadharro mueiouhi ||

Fareed, if you do not awaken in the early hours before dawn, you are dead while yet alive.
 

jy qY rbu ivswirAw q rib n ivsirEih ]107]

jae thai rab visaariaa th rab n visariouhi ||107||

Although you have forgotten God, God has not forgotten you. ||107||

Bhagat kabeer goes even further:

kbIr sUqw ikAw krih auiT ik n jpih murwir ]

kabeer soothaa kiaa karehi out(h) k n japehi muraar ||

Kabeer, what are you doing sleeping? Why not rise up and meditate on the Lord?
 

iek idn sovnu hoiego lWby gof pswir ]128]

eik dhin sovan hoeigo laa(n)bae godd pasaar ||128||

One day you shall sleep with your legs outstretched. ||128||
 

We have been given this human form to chant on the Lords name, but what do we do – we waste it on wordly affairs. If we remember the lord we will be content, without it we are helpless and in reality no one is there to help us.

If we depart from this world without remembering the lord its as useless as adourning a corpse with jewellery.
 

nwm ibnw jyqw ibauhwru ] ijau imrqk imiQAw sIgwru ]2]

naam binaa jaethaa biouhaar || jio mirathak mithhiaa seegaar ||2||

Without the Naam, all occupations are useless, like decorations on a dead body. ||2||
 

If we do not remember the lord then what do we have to look forward to?

kbIr jm kw TyNgw burw hY Ehu nhI sihAw jwie ]

kabeer jam kaa t(h)ae(n)agaa buraa hai ouhu nehee sehiaa jaae ||

Kabeer, Death's club is terrible; it cannot be endured.
 

But Guru ji has shown us a way to avoid this treatment by receiving amrit, but wemust not only receive amrit but also keep our rehit. This is very important, and keeping our amrit vela.

cauQY phir sbwh kY suriqAw aupjY cwau ]

chouthhai pehar sabaah kai surathiaa oupajai chaao ||

In the fourth watch of the early morning hours, a longing arises in their higher consciousness.

But if we spend the day working and the night sleeping then what time have we made for the Lord. When our accounts are read out in his court, and we are told we were sent to meditate and chant his name. What answer can we give?

It is only with Guru Ji's kirpa that one can meditate on this name, and that one can listen to the name.Otherwise in this dark age it is difficult to sit and listen to this name. To those that do not like the chanting it is like being stung by a scorpion.

Bhai sahib then reiterates the reasons why we come to the gurus darbar and how we should behave when we get there. We have come to meet the king of kings, not our friends and relatives. We should sit and listen to gurbani and chant the lords name. He further explains that we should take time out and come to the gurdwara as much as possible, the more we attend the more we will benefit spiritually.

The Guru is the great giver,and will shower us with blessings. In Gurbani, Guru Ji says those mothers are blessed who give birth to children who remember the lord.  

iqn DMnu jxydI mwau Awey sPlu sy ]2]

thin dhha(n)n janaedhee maao aaeae safal sae ||2||

Blessed are the mothers who gave birth to them, and fruitful is their coming into the world. ||2||

but on the flip side if they do not remember the lord, then Guru sahib is equally harsh on the mothers

ijh kuil pUqu n igAwn bIcwrI ]

jih kul pooth n giaan beechaaree ||

That family, whose son has no spiritual wisdom or contemplation

ibDvw ks n BeI mhqwrI ]1]

bidhhavaa kas n bhee mehathaaree ||1||

- why didn't his mother just become a widow? ||1||

In our glorious history many thousands of brave warriors were born to those mothers who contemplated and meditated on the lords name. Which shows the impiortance of elders setting an example for the children.

To conclude the divaan Bhai Sahib recites the following shabad and Anand Sahib

ijnI gurmuiK nwmu iDAwieAw iqnw iPir ibGnu n hoeI rwm rwjy ]

jinee guramukh naam dhhiaaeiaa thinaa fir bighan n hoee raam raajae ||

Those who, as Gurmukh, meditate on the Naam, meet no obstacles in their path, O Lord King.

Full Shabad

Tags: Bhai Surjit Singh Ji, Bradford, gng, Gurbani, gurdwara, Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji, gursikh, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Guru Nanak Gurdwara, history, Katha, keertan, Kirtan, Naam, Sikh, sikhi, sikhism, sikhs, Veechaar