If you read the last blog then hopefully you know the four golden rules outlined by Bhai Sahib Raghbir Singh Bir on ‘The Power of Pray’. Can you recall them? Have you tried applying them? Did they work for you? Perhaps you think it is all hogwash and believe that there are NO rules.

Each to their own belief!

There is nothing right or wrong . Thinking makes it so.

Bauji

I can only share my own ‘anubhav’ (life’s experience) and how in retrospection I can understand why things that seemed impossible did become possible.

It’s truly magical!  

I believe that right in the middle of an ‘ordinary’ life, ‘extraordinary’ things happen and they do so because of one’s firm convictions (thoughts).

 I would like to take Bhai Sahib ‘Bir’’s thoughts about the Power of Prayer further. He asks the question – “What is the best thing to pray for?” A very good question indeed. 

There is a saying that I cut out about zillion years ago from somewhere and stuck in my shabad book, so the source is unknown. “Pray Until All Praying Ceases”. Although I found these words very insightful at the time, I really did not have the personal understanding of what they meant. At this later stage in my life I feel that I ‘know intuitively’ what it means but still find it hard to explain in words. So, Bhai Sahib Jee suggests that the ‘best’ prayer is to ask foryour own spiritual growth. He suggests that we pray incessantly for this. As we grow spiritually, we will become more at peace with ourselves and others – in other words, become happier.

But what is spiritual growth, he asks? 

Spiritual growth is to become more and more like your master, your guruin every way that you can. In order to do that we would have to keep in perspective all their virtues constantly. When we remember these virtuesover and over again we are doing ‘sangat’ of them and by and by we become what we think about.

Bauji used to say this repeatedly – As you think, so you become!

So how do we do that? How do we keep in front of us the ‘Gun’ (virtues) of our Guru’s? By singing his praises lovingly– especially those gurbani lines that emphasize His greatness. Can you think of some lines that depict the virtues you would like to emulate in your life. Here is one that I wish I can practice at all times.

ਮਿਠ ਬੋਲੜਾ ਜੀ ਹਰਿ ਸਜਣੁ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਮੋਰਾ ॥
My Dear Lord and Master, my Friend, speaks so sweetly.

To become like your master, your beloved, you will have to love Him in a very unique manner – with a love that surmounts all others so much so that no other love can substitute it.

You can become like your guru only when like Him you do not have even a trace of any lower level thoughts like (envy, hatred, worry, doubt, greed, lust, attachment). These types of thoughts are the seeds for any discomfort, unhappiness, pain, suffering and disease that we experience in our lives. These type of low depraved thoughts are simply an absence of higher thoughts.

Once again it boils down to the ‘Power of Thoughts’– lekh written by Bauji. In it he stresses the importance of replacing any negative thoughts that we incur with positive ones. What better way than to start singing His praises? When you get engrossed in the words of greatness, you too are taking on the same qualities momentarily. So the more you stay in shukar (gratitude) and love, the more you are in tune with His presence. (If you get a moment read the blog on Gratitude –Oct, 2010).

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was,
‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”    Meister Eckhart

Of course it is no easy feat to remain in ‘shukar’ at all times or to not have any lower thoughts.

 

To do so requires intense preparation, effort and sacrifice. To live a life that is an embodiment of love, of gurbani, of our guru requires us to be aware of how things affect us and to do sangat of those things and people that can keep us on the same track.

ਮਾਗਨਾ ਮਾਗਨੁ ਨੀਕਾ ਹਰਿ ਜਸੁ ਗੁਰ ਤੇ ਮਾਗਨਾ
Begging, begging – it is noble to beg for the Lord’s Praise
from the Guru. ||4|| GGS p.1018

ਮੈ ਕਿਆ ਮਾਗਉ ਕਿਛੁ ਥਿਰੁ ਨ ਰਹਾਈ ਹਰਿ ਦੀਜੈ ਨਾਮੁ ਪਿਆਰੀ ਜੀਉ ॥੧॥
What should I beg for? Nothing remains permanent;
O Lord, please, bless me with Your Beloved Name. ||1|| GGS p.597

 

 

 

 

 

At the Montreal Samagam last week (Mar 4-6), it was great to see some of you in person. We discussed Bauji’s lekhs on Seva (lekh numbers 95-97). If you would like to see the powerpoint you can have a look at it at it here SEVA .

A reminder to all who can read punjabi that if you can do read the 3 lekhs mentioned above. You will see the link between prayer and seva.

I would love to hear from you.

Warmest Nanak Love

RA

DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN GURU NANAK DHAN