Meditation in Sikhism - WebLearn

1 S College, Oxford(February,2008)If youwereto aska devoutSikhto summarizetheidealwayoflife,you d probablyhearthesloganNaamjapna,wandke shaknate dharamdhekiratkarnee. Thatistosay(inreverseorder): Earninganhonestliving,sharingone s blessingswiththoselessfortunateandmedita tingonthenameofGod. Whilethisphraseis notintheSikhScriptures,theGuruGranthSahi b, it lifeofactivity,andearnitscomfortswithhon esthard ,and,O Nanak,allworriesare dispelled.[1](Guru GranthSahib, RaagaGujari, Mahala5,p. 522)Thecentralspiritualissue,whichhasper plexedmefora longtime,is:WhatisthisNaamandhow shouldwemeditateuponit?Inthemid-1970s,wh enI wasa teenager, myfathergave mea copy oftheAutobiographyofBhaiSahibRandhirSing h. ThiswasanEnglishtranslation,byDr.

2 TrilochanSingh,ofthePunjabibookJailChitt ianor LettersfromJail .Al-thoughthedescriptionofthehardshipsen duredbyRandhirSinghandhisfellowpatriotsd uringtheirincarcerationforindependenceac tivitiesinIndiaintheearlytwentiethcentur ywereverymoving,andmirroredthefateofNels onMandelaandhiscompanionsinSouthAfricaso medecadeslater, I wasentrancedbythenarrative abouthisspiritualquestasa ,butwasn t surewhichwordheshoulduseforthemantricrec itationbecauseGodis referredtobya myriaddifferentnamesintheGuruGranthSahib :Creator, Giver, Lord, , butconfirmationonlycamewitha mysticalepisode;subsequentlyheenjoyeddee pspiritualexperiences, ,I wentthrougha didlittleforme,butI putthisdowntomylackofcommitment;unlike RandhirSingh,I didn t getupat 2 ,whenI wenttotheLosAlamosNationalLaboratoryinNe wMexico, ,asa post-docfora wasonly20milesfroma communityofEuropean-AmericanSikhswhoprac ticedmeditationseriously, attheEspa rapidlycametotheconclusionthatthelatterw asa completecharlatan,wasthereanythingofvalu eintheyogictechniquesforanaspiringmedita nt?

3 I can t speakfromexperience,sinceI wastooputoff bytheYogi-centredsetuptotryit,butsomehow I don tthinkI , it hasfinallystartedtodawnonmethatthenotion sofNaamandSimaran, orcontemplation,asgenerallyexpoundedwith inSikhcirclesareatoddswithGurbani they can t have anythingtodowiththephysicalrecitationofa particularwordorphrase!Whilethebeginning ofthefollowinghymnbythetailor-SaintNamDe v mightsuggesta conventionalmantricinterpretation,thesub sequentlinesruleit out:Withthemindasmyyard-stick andthetonguemyscissors,Measure bymeasure I mcuttingoff death s noose.[1]WhatdoI care aboutcasteandwhatdoI care aboutsub-caste,WhenI recitetheLord s Namedayandnight.[Refrain]Eventhroughthec horesofdyingandsewing,WithoutGod s NameI don t livea moment.

4 [2]I contemplateandsingtheLord s praises,RememberingGodeveryhouroftheday. [3]Justlike a silverthreadina goldenneedle,Nama s mindis attachedwiththeAlmighty.[4](Guru GranthSahib, RaagaAasaa,BhagatNamDev, p. 485)It doesn t matterhowcommittedyouare,it s notpossibletorepeatWaheguru,oranythingel se,everysecondofthedaythroughhumanendeav our. Evenif youcouldtrainyourmindtodosowhileawake, couldyouguaranteethattheprocesswouldcont inueuninterruptedduringsleep?No,notwitho uttheprocessbecomingakintoone s breathingorheartbeat;thatis,involuntary. TheNaamandSimaranthatGurbanitalksabout,w hichgoesoncontinuallydayandnight,is alludingtoa spiritualprocess,ratherthana physicalone,tendtoarguethattherepetition oftheWahegurumantrais anecessaryfirststepforachievingthehallow edstate;assuch,meditative practiceis mafraidthisdoesn t mymind,take theshelterofGod s Name.

5 Itscontemplationdispelsbadthoughtsandlea dstothestateofcontentment.[Refrain]Consi dersuch soulstrulyblessed, ,they finda placeinheaven.[1]Inhisfinalmoments, , soughtbygrand-yogis,inaninstantdidheachi eve.[2]Lackingin meritanddevoidof learning, ,thegiftoftranquillityhegavehim.[3](Guru GranthSahib, RaagaRaamkali,Mahala9,p. 901)Two referencesfromIndianmythology, thefablesofthe sinner Ajamalandthe arrogantelephant Gaj, areusedinthesecondhalfofthisversetomake a point:onlytheGraceoftheLord,andnotyearso freligiousactsoryogicpractice,leadstothe stateofenlightenment,contentmentandtranq uillity. ThecitationsofAja-malandGajdonotindicate thatSikhismacceptsthateitherreallyexiste d,but2simplymeansthata ,asinGurbani, theelephantcouldmerelybea metaphorforarrogance,justasa tiny antis like sugarthatis scatteredinsand,Anelephantcan t pick ,theGuruhasgiventhissoundadvice:Becomeli ke anantandsavourthenectar.

6 [238](Guru GranthSahib, Slokas, BhagatKabir, p. 1377)ThenotionthattherecitationofWahegur uasa mantrais centraltotheSikhspiritualpathseemslike a grossmisconceptionto dozentimesinthe1430pagesoftheGuruGranthS ahib, andattachingspecialsignificancetoonename forGodover anotheris justaconvention,willitsrepeatedchantingl eaduseventuallytoenlightenment?I notobtainedbybathing, evenif youwasha , notachievedthroughindulgence, evenwiththewealthof , falsehoodbebreached?It happensinaccordancewithGod s Will,O Nanak,asit is ordained.[1](Guru GranthSahib, Japji,p. 1)Thesecondverseofthefirstcomposition,Ja pji, thengoesontodiscussGod sWill:everythinghappensinaccordancewithi t,butit defiesdescription;thosewhoarelucky enoughtorecognizeit ,suchasasceticism,pilgrimageandsacredbat hing,andruledoutalltheothersthatmightbed reamtup,it s highlyunlikelythatGuruNanakwouldhave theTruthwithwhichGuruNanakis concerned,andwhatconstitutesthewalloffal sehood?

7 Heanswersthisina shortSlokaat theheadofthe38versesofJapji:TheTruthwast here inthebeginning,TheTruthhasbeenthere ,O Nanak,theTruthwillalsoexitinthefuture.[1 ](Guru GranthSahib, Japji,p. 1)TheTruththatis beingreferredtois somethingwhichis ,beingtransitory, is consideredanillusionakintoa dream; finiteamounttime,beit ourselves,ourplanet,thegalaxiesandeventh e3stuff fromwhichtheuniverseis made(currentlyestimatedtobearound15billi onyearsold),theTruthmustbeunlike anythingweknow. It is thisveryuniquenessthatmakesit impossibletodescribe,sincethereis nothinginourexperiencewithwhichit ,andtheassociatedlimitationsofdescriptio nandunderstanding, is OneGod,whosenameis , whois withoutfearandwithoutenmity;A timelessbeing, whois notbornbutis (Guru GranthSahib, p.)

8 1)Thisfundamentalstatementisreiteratedat thestartofeachchapterandmajorcomposition ,anditsabridgedversion(EkOnkaar- Sat- Gurparsaad) ,I wastakenabackwhena goodSikhfriendofminetoldmethathe d cometotheconclusionthattherewasnoGod!Whi leI wouldhave paidlittleattentiontosucha claimfromsomeonelike RichardDawkins,myfriendwasadevoutandspir itualmanwhothoughtdeeplyaboutthemessageo fGurbani. So,how couldhesaythat?HewentontoelaboratethatGo dwassimplya metaphor, stillhave reservations,I ,asassertedinthefirstbookoftheBible(Gene sis),wetendtovisualizeGodinhumanterms:pr esumablyhemustlive somewhere,sowepicturea placecalledheaven;hemusthave friendsandenemies,sowebecomethechosenpeo plewhileothersfeelhiswrath;beingtheultim ateauthority, hemustexpecthomageandobedience; ,suchworldlyattributesoftime,space,birth ,death,fear, enmity, etc.

9 , handcanbesummarizedasfollows:weseekanete rnalTruth,butit is beyondourcomprehensionbecauseit liesoutsidetheexperienceoftheonlyreality weknow (transientasthatmightbe).Whilesome,under standably, regardthissituationasabsurdanddismissthe wholenotion,othersarenotsoeasilyputoff , fasts,denominationalmarks, ,nomatterhowsweetthewordswithwhich they re performed.[1]ThecontemplationofGod s throughmanydifferentways,butit s a difficulttaskandhecan t befound.[Refrain]4 Chanting, penance, wanderingtheglobe, methodsfindnofavourwiththeLord, whetherthey beyogictechniquesorJainpractice.[2]Theam brosialName, thatpricelesspraiseofGod,is obtainedbythoseonwhomheshowers bestowsthisjoyin holycompany, O Nanak,andsuch blessedsoulsliveinpeace.

10 [3](Guru GranthSahib, RaagaDhanaasri, Mahala5, p. 674)Althoughthepurposeofthequestis clear theacquisitionofa perpetualstateofmentalpeace,joy andtranquillity themethodbywhichthenecessaryenlight-enme ntcanbeattainedis ,giventhenatureofthetask,it simportanttorealizethatthisgoalcannotber eachedbyhumanendeavour. Onlyiftheveiloffalsehoodis liftedforuswillthetheTruthberevealed;onc eglimpsed,theillusionofeverydayrealitylo sesitspower. ThusconcludesGuruNanak, enlightenmentcanonlybeachievedthroughGod s Grace,whatcanwedotoencouragethisblessing ?Theanswer, I believe, is nothing!Aslongasyouthinkthatcertainacts, practicesorbehaviourwillmake youmoreworthyofGrace,you ve areaftersomethingsopriceless,thereis nowayinwhichit canbeearned;thereis nothingwecangive harboura yourmeditation,penance, fastingandworship,If inyourheartyoudon t havetheLoveoftheAlmighty?