Simran:

The Sweet Remembrance

of God

Kirpal Singh

Ruhani Satsang
 Simran

First Edition: 1954

Current Edition: 2017

Ruhani Satsang
Delhi-110007
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 5

Simran: 16

The Seat of Simran 20

The Basic Names of God 20

Simran of the Basic Names of God 22

How to do Simran 23

Benefits of Simran 27

Kabir on Simran 28

Conclusion 43

SIMRAN: THE SWEET REMEMBRANCE OF GOD

was issued on February 6, 1954 and was the
Masters Birthday Message for that year.
 About the Author
Sant Kirpal Singh (1894-1974) : On completing school, he
decided, God first and the world afterward and began an
intense search for spiritual realization. He meticulously
investigated the claims of yogis and holy men representing
different schools of mysticism and philosophy. His quest
led him finally, in 1924, to Hazur Baba Sawan Singh (1858-
1948), the great saint of Beas. For the next twenty-four
years, he pursued his spiritual development under the
guidance of Hazur and served his mission in various ways.
Baba Sawan Singh prophesied a great spiritual
awakening in the world and on his behest, Sant Kirpal
Singh took up the spiritual work in 1948, and presented
the eternal message of the saints as a perfect science.
He undertook three global tours (1955, 1963 & 1972),
and published a number of books in English covering
every major aspect of the spiritual path. He initiated
over 1,20,000 seekers and thousands have testified to the
manner in which he transformed their lives.
Sant Kirpal Singh founded the World Fellowship
of Religions and presided over its first four World
Conferences (1957, 1969, 1965 and 1970). In 1970, he
founded Manav-Kendra (Humanity-Center) at the foot
of the Himalayas, and proposed that for a full life, we
should engage in man-making, man-service and land &
animal-service.
Before Sant Kirpal Singh, the world was beset by
unbridled materialism and spiritual apathy, and leaders
of one religious faith were unwilling to speak to those of
another. It is a measure of his achievement that the world
today is far more aware of spiritual values and there is
a growing desire for dialogue between beliegvers of all
faiths.
Sant Kirpal Singhs spiritual mission, covering
twenty-six years, came to a close on 21st August, 1974.
His work was carried on by Sant Darshan Singh from
1974 to 1989. Currently, it is being shouldered by Sant
Rajinder Singh.
 Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Mr. Khanna has asked me to give some message on

my birthday anniversary. The day of my physical
birth fell on the 6th of February, 1894. The true date
of my birth is the day when I sat physically at the
holy feet of my Master, Sawan Singh in February,
1924. Still the truer date is when I was reborn anew
into the beyond and met my Master in all His glory
in 1917 i.e. seven years before my meeting with Him
physically.
I respect all holy scriptures of all the Saints,
who came in the past, as all those were given by
inspiration of God. I had the good fortune to sit at
the feet of my Master. That which I have received
of my Master, the same is what I deliver unto you.
I find the parallel with what all the past Saints have
said. The difference is in the language or the way of
expression, but the subject matter is the same. They
all talk as to how to liberate our souls from mind and
matter and know ourselves and know God. At the
time of Initiation, Satguru resides with the devotee.
He is with you always even unto the end of the world
and will be extending all feasible help. He will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. Whosoevers mind is
stayed on Him with full faith, He will keep him in
perfect peace. There is hope for everybody. Master
5
6 Simran

power comes into the world to save sinners and to put

them on the way back to God. It is for you to remain
devoted to Him, and keep His commandments.
The rest is for Him to do. God is love. You are also
love. Love is the potent factor in meeting God. He
that loved not, knoweth not God. Therefore, thou
shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul and with all thy mind. I wish you
to be the doers of the Word and not hearers only,
for an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of
theories. Reformers are badly needed not of others,
but of themselves. You shall have Godhead as salary.
I wish you all Godspeed in your efforts to tread the
way back to God, which lies within you. My love and
best wishes are always with you and will remain with
you. The mystery of life is solved in the company of
those who have solved that for themselves. How to
find such a man? One who has solved this mystery
can help in finding the same Truth.
Someone questioned Guru Nanak as to how one
could find a true and real Guru, and by what signs
he could be recognized. Guru Nanak replied, The
human body is a temple of God, and it is by turning
within that we meet God. There is a way from this
house of the body to another house within (the Nij
Ghar or Sach Khand), which is the Real House; and here
the soul finds everlasting peace. The human body is
just like a rented house, given to us temporarily (i.e.,
allotted span of life) until the soul is wise enough to
gain access to her permanent abode of everlasting
bliss. Now, the Real and True Master is one who can
show us the way out to the kingdom of God within
this body and can lead the soul from stage to stage
 Simran 7

until the kingdom is gained and the soul comes into

her own.
The human body, like any other physical thing is
subject to decay and disintegration. Even this world
suffers dissolution. But Sach Khand or the kingdom of
God alone is indestructible and eternal. The process
of Dissolution works up to the realm of Triloki or
three worlds (physical, astral and causal planes)
and that of Grand Dissolution up to the subtlest of
causal planes, but it cannot reach Sach Khand (or Sat
Lok or Muqami-Haq, as the Mohammedans call it
or New Jerusalem of the Christians), for it is the
veritable kingdom of God. The saints have therefore
set Sach Khand as their goal, which is beyond the ken
of Dissolution and Grand Dissolution.
Next, the Satguru or the True Master point out
the way to the Kingdom of God. He tells us that the
Divine Music, comprised of five strains or melodies,
is always going on in the body. This continuous
symphony is the connecting link between the
Creation and the Creator. It is the ladder which the
soul has to climb step by step in its onward journey to
the Kingdom of God. This music is most melodious,
the like of which cannot be found on earth. It has
immense attraction and an irresistible appeal in it.
The different melodies begin from Sahansdal Kanwal
(the region of the thousand-petalled lotus) and reach
as far as Sach Khand. The Master-soul gives a contact
to the human soul at the lowest end of the Musical
notes, besides some experience of the withdrawal
of the sensory current from the body, both of which
have to be developed by daily practice.
8 Simran

The Satguru comes into the world with the treasure

of Naam. The Muslims call it the Nida-i-Asmani
(heavenly music) and the Christians describe it as
the Word. The treasure of Naam is not the heritage
of this or that particular nation or community, nor
of any particular country, nor of any religion, caste
or creed. Again, this treasure is freely distributed
by a Master-soul to all, irrespective of any of the
above considerations. An aspirant may be Brahmin
or Kshatriya, a Hindu or a Muslim, or anything else,
for that is not of any consequence. Each one of us can
learn the art of life and the science of spirituality so
as to find a way out to the Kingdom of God, which is
the common heritage of all and the summum bonum
of life.
Again a Master-soul may come into the world in
any garb he may choose to. It is of no consequence to
the aspirants of spirituality. Any such considerations
will surely be a hindrance and a positive disadvantage.
Our only connection with the Master-soul is purely of
a spiritual nature, and not a temporal one. Sant Kabir,
though a Muslim weaver, had among his follows
Rajput chieftains like Bir Singh and Baghail Singh.
Similarly, Sant Ravidas,a cobbler by profession,
and had Mirabai, a Rajput princess, and Raja Pipa
in his sacred fold. All that we have to ascertain is
that Master is Shabd Snehihe who loves the Word
and is Word-personifiedand can give us first hand
experience of the Shabd or the Sound Principle to
start with. If He satisfies the conditions, we should
have no scruples on any ground whatsoever in
accepting Him and learning from Him the Science
of Spirituality.
 Simran 9

The macrocosm is in the microcosm. The human

body is the prototype of the universe and much more
than that. In it there are millions of solar systems
with their sun, moons and earths revolving in and
out. The sweetest of the sweet Music is also going
on in it, emanating from the true throne of the True
King God.
A Muslim divine also says in this respect. When
I heard the bewitching strains of that celestial song,
Kaaba (the holiest of the holy places of Muslim
worship) and the temple (of the idol worshipers),
both appeared to be bad caricatures before the divine
intoxication it gave.
Maulana Rumi says, The Saints, who are the true
devotees of God, are always listening to the Divine
Music within, that infuses life into the lovers of God.
Shams Tabrez, another Muslim Saint, also speaks of
it: Every moment, a strange type of call is coming
from the Heaven. I hear that voice and nothing else.
Blessed indeed are they who hear this call.
This etherial song is unique in character. No
language can describe itneither Turkish, nor
Arabic, nor Persian, nor any other. It is in fact an
unspoken language and an unwritten law unto itself.
The Prophet Mohammed once declared that he
listened to the Voice of God, just as he listened to
any other voice. But when questioned as to why it
could not be heard by others, he said, You cannot
hear this Voice, as your ears have been sealed. Hie to
some Master-soul with a prayer for breaking of the
seal and when he does so, then listen attentively in
the silence of your heart.
10 Simran

Ms. Annie Besant, the great Theosophist, calls it

the Voice of the Silence and says that the Silence
becomes vocal when the mind is at perfect rest.
The kingdom of God is within you, says Christ.
- Bible (Luke 17:21) The trouble is that we search for
it without and find it not. Man in his search for God
has not spared any efforts. He has looked for Him
in the sacred rivers (like Ganges, etc.), in the snow-
capped mountains of Badrinath, Kailash, Amarnath,
etc., in the deep recesses of the forests and in the
sacred places of all antiquity, but with no success.
As the way out to God lies within, you will have
to find a Master, who knows the Way and would be
a guide unto you until the goal is reached. This work
only a True Master can do and no one else can do it.
Now the question comes: Where can this Divine
Music be contacted? To this the Master replies, This
Divine Music is going on in Sukhmana or Shah Rag
as named by the Muslims (a central cord between
Ida and Pingala, the two cords on either side, which,
running through the spine and passing through the
center of and between the two eyebrows, reaches
directly as far as Sach Khand). It can be experienced
by the soul in its deepest depths, when layer by layer,
the various sheaths or coverings (physical or gross,
mental or subtle, and causal) are shaken off from
the soul in its onward journey to the various lokas
or regions: the sun, the moon, the stars, of spirits
(Pithrian), of deities (Devian), etc. At each stage, the
Music becomes more enrapturing than before, until in
Par Brahm (beyond the three Lokas) the soul becomes
self-luminous in her pristine glory; then the Music
too becomes exceedingly charming, in full swell with
 Simran 11

unending continuity. This is the Ajapa Jaap going on

at all times in an unspoken language. As the soul
hears it, it gets magnetized, with the result that the
mind, with its outgoing faculties, is paralyzed for
want of the inspiration it is used to drawing from
the Spirit, and gradually it loses its hold on the soul.
The high-born maiden (being a drop of the ocean of
Sat Naam) is freed from its clutches and now moves
on unhampered.
It is of course impossible to describe the sublime
symphonies in so many words as they are past
description for want of adequate expression.
At present every soul has, on account of constant
association with mind, acquired a tendency to flow
downward and outward through the outgoing
faculties. It is because of this that it cannot catch
the Sound Current (the Elixir of Life) within. A cup
turned upside down may for ages remain in the rain,
but not a drop will fall into it; but if it is turned aright,
it will get filled up in one or two showers. Exactly
is it the case with the soul. As soon as the Master-
soul gives it a contact with the life-giving Sound
Current by turning it aright through the withdrawal
of the sensory current, the lotus-like cup of the spirit
gets more and more Water of Immortality until it
gets drenched through and through, and gains life
everlasting.
Mind, you know, is ever after pleasures of one
kind or another. But the pleasures of this world are
all transitory and always have some sting in the tail.
Our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught,
says an English poet.
12 Simran

This renegade of a mind can only be subdued if

some inner pleasure of the rapturous strains of the
Divine Musicthe Wordis given to it in lieu of
the outer one. When mind tastes the sweet Elixir,
it is diverted from the worldly enjoyments and is
subdued. Now the soul becomes free. This is the
only remedy by which the sages controlled the
mind. It held good in all ages, the golden, the silver
and copper, and holds good even today in Kali Yuga
or the Iron Age. The Sat is eternal. It was in the
beginning, it was in the middle, and it shall ever
remain until Eternity. The Divine Music of Sat is then
the sovereign remedy for stilling the mind. In due
course of time, by regular practice, the soul become
fully absorbed into the elixir of Naam, and the mind
is rendered absolutely ineffectual.
As said above, the Sound Current begins from
Turiya Pad when, the sensory current having
withdrawn from the body, the soul enters into the
Beyond. The five strains in seriatum follow one after
another from one spiritual plane to the next until
Sach Khand is reached. One has to take hold of each
of these strains or melodies for traversing from stage
to stage until the final stage is attained. It is only here
that salvation of the soul is assured and the cycle of
births and deaths ends. This is the grand purpose
of life, which one fulfills through the grace of the
Master-soul.
The Master Saint Shams Tabrez says, The Great
God has turned us out and closed strongly the door
behind the eyes. He Himself comes to us in the garb
of a human to take us back into His fold.
 Simran 13

The method by which He helps us invert is

explained further:
First one has to withdraw into the silence of the
soul, before he begins to hear the five strains of Music.
The sensory current is to be withdrawn at the seat
of the soul behind and between the eyebrows. The
journey onward begins from this stage, the seventh in
the order from below. When the soul rises above the
six chakras or ganglions in the Pind or physical body,
and starts toward Sahansdal Kanwal (the thousand-
petalled lotus), the seventh stage, it catches the first
of the five strains of the Divine Music and proceeds
further. There is no Naam in the lower six chakras.
This physical body, in fact, is the grave above which
we have to rise and come to the point from where the
Grand Trunk Road of Spirituality begins.
Another saint says, at the seventh stage you
begin to hear the five strains of the Divine Music,
when you vacate the soul from the graveyard of the
body, comprising the six lower chakras. From here
heavenly Music takes charge of the soul and pulls it
up from stage to stage until the final consummation
with Sat Purush or Sat Naam takes place.
Almost all the saints have given the same
qualifications of a True Master. Guru Nanak
says, Accept that man as a Guru, who can give
you an experience of the Truth, the Naam. That is
indescribable, no doubt, but we must have some
contact thereof. In short, whoever can connect us
to the Shabdthe Divine Music. Kabir also speaks
in the same terms: We have so many sadhus, the
great ones. I have respect for all of them, but the
14 Simran

One who is one with the Word, and can give us a

contact with thathe overtops all, and I have the
greatest regard for him. Swami Shivdayal Singh Ji
also speaks in the same way: Guru is he who has
love of Shabd and practices no other methods except
that. Whoever practices Shabd is the perfect Guru.
You should sit at the feet of one, who can give you a
contact with it. He who is Word-personified, who
is Word-made-flesh and dwells amongst us, and
can give us a contact with that, is held in the highest
esteem by all Saints. The Holy Scriptures all speak
volumes of His greatness.
It is through the grace of God alone that a jiva
(embodied soul) comes across such a Master-soul
or guide who is well versed in the sciences of Surat-
Shabd Yoga. The Master, in extreme compassion,
takes the jiva into his fold and links it with the Sound
Current, and thereby puts him on the path of final
liberation. Guru Nanak says that he is an admirer of
the person, who has reached his True Home in this
manner.
The course of Surat-Shabd Yoga, as described
by Guru Nanak, is the most natural one. It can be
practiced by man or woman, young or old, alike. Even
a child can practice it with ease. It is designed by God
Himself and not by any human agency, and therefore
it admits of no addition, alteration, or modification.
It is Gods Law that nobody can reach Him except
through a Master-soul. This is what is given out by
almost all the Saints who have come so far.
The Master teaches us how to withdraw from
the body and contact the Sound Currentthe Word
 Simran 15
within. There are so many ways to withdraw from the
body, but the one devised by the Saints is the most
natural and quickest and that is achieved through
SIMRAN (or Sumiran) or repetition of the names of
God. So I would like to just give in detail something
about this subject which is very important and is the
first step toward going within. As far as the Word
or Naam is concerned, I have already given a talk
separately. I will now speak on Simran.

16 Simran

SIMRAN

E veryone in the world is doing simran of one kind

or another. In fact none can do without it. A
housewife, for instance, is thinking all the while of
the kitchen requirements like flour, pulses, spices
and pepper, lest any of these things run short. She
is thinking of recipes for new dishes and delicacies.
Similarly, a farmer is always thinking of ploughing
the land, furrowing the fields, sowing the seeds and
harvesting, and the like, besides his cattle and fodder.
A shopkeeper is preoccupied with his stockintrade
and is keenly alive to rise and fall in the prices of
commodities he deals in, and how he can make huge
profits in his business. A school-master, likewise,
dreams of his school, classes, pupils and lessons, on
all of which his attention is closely rivetted. Again,
a contractor is engrossed in problems of labour,
material and various building processes.
Thus, everyone of us is constantly dwelling upon
one thing or another. This close association leaves an
imprint upon the human mind, which in course of
time, becomes indelible enough and leads to complete
identification of the subject with the objectand
hence, it is said, As you think, so you become, or
Where the mind is, there you are also, no matter
where the physical self is. This being the case, saints
take the line of least resistance.
As no one can do without Simran, the Saints try
to set one type of Simran for another type. They
16
 Simran 17

substitute for Simran of the world and worldly

relations and objects, a Simran of Gods Name, or
Word. As the former leads to distraction of the
mind, the latter pulls heavenward, leading to peace
of mind and liberation of the soul. Three to four
hours in a day has been enjoined as the minimum
for Simran, and it may be gradually increased. The
Mahatmas are never without Simran even for a single
moment. As it is altogether a mental process (for it
is to be done by the tongue of thought), no amount
of physical and manual labor can interface with it.
In course of time, like the tick of a clock, it becomes
automatic and ceaseless for all the twenty-four hours.
While the hands are engaged in work, the mind rests
in the Lord.
I now give you some details of various methods
prescribed for doing Simran or repetition of the name
of God.
All persons are engaged in the doing of Simran
in one form or another. Some do Simran by means of
beaded string called a rosary. In this type of Simran,
one cannot maintain undivided attention, for while
doing it one has to roll off the beads with his fingers
and reverse the head-knot on completion of each
round of the rosary. In this method, one cannot
have single-minded devotion, without which there
can be no real gain. By constant practice, the fingers
automatically roll over the beads while the unbridled
mind keeps wandering astray. This is why Master-
souls always lay emphasis on mental Simran or one
that is done with the tongue of thought, for Simran
done with concentrated attention alone is beneficial.
18 Simran

Again there are persons who do Simran with

their tongue. This type of Simran too is no better that
done with the help of the rosary. In this type also the
tongue wags in the mouth, while the mind runs riot
all the time.
Some do Simran at the seat of the thyroid gland
.This as well does not count for much, unless it is
done with the attention fully riveted to it.
Still others do Simran at the seat of the heart in
unison with the constant heart beat, but here again
the sine qua non is wholehearted attention before
one can expect any benefit from it. Another type of
Simran is one that is done with the breath vibration of
the vital air as it goes in and comes out; it just gives
a temporary stillness and is of little value.
Each of the above sadhans (practices) has more
efficacy in ascending order than the one preceding,
but none of them, per se, is efficacious enough unless
it is done with undivided attention. A person may
experience a little calm for a while, but it cannot help
the spirit in its withdrawal and concentration at the
seat of the soul between and behind the centre of
the two eyebrows.
The Master-souls in all times and in all climes
have therefore gone to the very root of the thing
the discovery of the self called Atma-Siddhi, the
experience of the Changeless One, beyond time, space
and causationsomething subtler, higher, nobler,
purer and more powerful in the entire creation, and
have enjoined Simran of the highest order: one done
mentally on the Divine Ground, before the Threshold
of Gods own door, about which Christ says, Knock,
 Simran 19

and it shall be opened unto you. - Bible (Matt. 7:7)

Again, the gospel says with regard to single- minded
attention, If thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be filled with light. - Bible (Matt. 6:22) This eye
is called in Sanskrit as Shiva-netra or Divya-drishti.
The Muslims describe it as Nukta-i-Sweda. William
Wordsworth, a great romantic poet, refers to it as an
Inward Eye.
Muslim saints classify Simran or Zikr into five
categories:
1. Zikr-i-Lassani or Zikr done with the
tongue. It is also called Kalma-e-Shariat or Nasut.
2. Zikr-i-Qalbi, done with Qalb or at the
seat of the heart by the process of Habs-i-
Dam (Pranayam or control of the breath). It is
technically called Kalma-i-Tariqat or Malqut.
3. Zikr-i-Ruhi, done with full attention and
known as Kalma-i-Marefat or Jabrut.
4. Zikr-i-Sirri, that leads to the inner secret
of reality. It is named Kalma-i-Haqiqat or Lahut.
5. Lastly Zikr-i-Khaffi, or one that unlocks the
secret door. It is called Hahut.
Maulana Rumi, a Muslim Saint, while speaking of
Zikr or Simran, therefore, considers such Zikr alone
of the highest type as helps in manifesting the Reality
within, viz., Zikr-i-Ruhi, as opposed to Zikr-i-Lassani.
Similarly, Rishi Shandilya, in his Upanishad, tells
us that Vaikhari Simran (done with the tongue) is
quite good, but Upasu (done with the breath slowly)
is better still, while Manasik (done mentally with the
tongue of thought) is the best and tops all the rest.
20 Simran

The Seat of Simran

Now we have to see where the repetition of Naam
is to be done.
The Divine Ground on which Simran should be
done is the center between the two eyebrows called
variously as Third Eye, Teesra Til, Shiva-netra or
Nukta-i-sweda. It is the gateway leading to the subtle
planes. In the state of wakefulness, it is the seat of the
spirit or psyche and it is located above the six chakras
or physical ganglions. We have to transcend both the
astral and causal planes, which are above the physical
plane. The Yogis step by step cross the six physical
centers, until they finally and completely traverse and
the physical plane. Instead of descending down into
the lower ganglions and then going up by mastering
them one by one in the upward journey, it would by
far be easier and better if one were to commence the
journey right from the seat of the soul in the wakeful
state, which is at the back of the two eyes. The easiest
way to withdraw the spirit from the body to its own
seat is by means of a mental Simran, as is enjoined
by the Master-soul.

The Basic Names of God

Let us now see what Simran is and what the relation
is between the Name and Named.
For Simran there are two kinds of Names: original
and derivative. Generally people engage in Simran of
one or another of the derivative or attributive Names
of God, as may have an appeal to the individual
concerned. This may be good and useful to a certain
extent, but it cannot work as an open Sesame to
the higher and spiritual planes within.
 Simran 21

Master-souls always do and recommend Simran

of the highest type, to wit, of the Original or Basic
Names of God, for these open up charmed casements
and bring to view vistas leading to spiritual realms
within the body. Such Names are charged with and
electrified by the thought transference that usually
accompanies them when communicated to an
aspirant by Master-soul. As these are magnetized,
they have the power to attract and pull the spirit
up to the planes to which they relate. The engrafted
words charged with the Divine Spirit of the Master
very soon bear fruit. Christ in this connection says,
I am the vine, ye are the branches; and as branches
cannot do without the vine, ye cannot do without
meLet you abide in me and my words abide in
you. - Bible (John 15:4 &5)
Again, these charmed words of the MasterBasic
Names of Godhave the power to dispel the forces
of darkness that may meet and assail a soul on its
onward journey. Simran of these Names helps the
soul both in the physical plane and supra-physical
planes. Hence it is imperative that Simran be done
of such Names as the Master-soul enjoins, for they
are charged with a tremendous spiritual power
which the Negative Power can hardly put up with
and from which it flees as driven away from an
enchanter. Immortal and everlasting as these words
of the Master are, they bestow life everlasting to the
soul in which they sink and take root. Death cannot
come near such a soul. This is why it is said, Thou
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
- Bible (Exodus 20:7).
22 Simran

Every name has its own significance, influence,

energy and power. If one thinks of ice, he is
reminded of the bleak cold and the shivers it brings;
the thought of fire puts into mind its attributes of
heat and warmth. The word lawyer is suggestive
of courts and cases, and doctor at once conjures
up pictures of hospitals, patients and medicinal
chests, etc. It is a common saying, As you think, so
you become. Thought is said to be the keynote to
success. There is always a strong link between name
and the named, and much greater and stronger is the
link between God and His Names. It may be said that
God Himself resides and dwells in His own Names
(basic and original, and not derivative or attributive).

Simran of the Basic Names of God

This has an inevitable influence on the mind. It leads
to Dhyan, making the soul forgetful of the world
and worldly objects. In meditation, nothing but
concentrated Simran remains and from the great and
deep silence of the heart (Hriday Kamal of the Saints,
i.e., the Divine Ground behind the eyebrows), there
issues forth a ceaseless Sound Current, which helps
in pulling the soul up, leading to the withdrawal
from the body (without of course breaking the silver
cord), and guides the spirit in its onward journey
into various spiritual realms. The luminous form of
the Master always remains with the spirit, helping
and guiding it at every step. This Sound principle
is the link between God and man, and in this way,
an indissoluble bond and relationship is established
between the Creator and His creation. This Sound
 Simran 23

Current is variously described by various sages. The

Vedas speak of it as Shruti (that which is heard); the
Upanishads describe it as Naad or Udgit (song of the
other world). The Muslims call it Bang-i-Asmani or
Kalma. In Gurbani we have references to Shabd, and
in the Gospel it is mentioned as the Word. The
Zoroastrians call it Sarosha and the French have given
it the name of Elan-vital or life-current.
Once the consciousness takes root in this Sound
Principle or Voice of the Silence, life everlasting is
assured to the spirit. There is no other way to God than
this, and it can only be reached by means of Simran
of Gods Names. Knock, and it shall be opened unto
you. - Bible (Matt. 7:7) is what the Gospel preached.
Emerson calls it tapping inside. This knocking
and tapping is possible only when through Simran,
the mind is stilled and the soul is withdrawn and
concentrated before the very door of God. This then is
the way as ordained by God Himself, but no one can
find it without the grace of the Master-soul, an adept
in the science of spirituality, not only in theory like
Yagyavalkya, but in practice as well like Ashtavakra,
one who has transcended all the planes (physical,
subtle, causal and beyond) and holds a commission
from God to lead other souls to Him.

How to Do Simran
For Simran one has to adopt some convenient posture
and then fix his attention on the Divine Ground
between the eyebrows. Simran is entirely a mental
process and is to be done mentally with the tongue
of thought, while the gazing faculty is to be fixed at
24 Simran

the spot between and behind the two eyebrows. The

Words as given by the Master may slowly be repeated
mentally or with the tongue of thought. It should be
done without causing any strain or pressure on the
forehead. The practice may be started with a half
hour or so as may be convenient, but in course of
time, it should be developed to two or three hours
a day or even longer. Simran of the Divine Names
inverts the mind and weans it from worldly thoughts
and mundane matters, until it gets stilled and is
equipoised.
Some do Simran with closed eyes and others
with open eyes. The first, in some cases, sinks into
drowsiness, leading to what may be called Yog
Nidra, and the second, in some cases, keeps the mind
engaged on environments. One has therefore to
guard against both pitfalls. Simran with closed eyes
is preferable provided one retains full consciousness.
It must be done regularly everyday at a fixed time.
Hafiz, a Sufi poet of Persia, says The only job is
to pray, unmindful of whether it is accepted or
not. This means you have to remember the Lord
internally, without any clutching nature to receive
one thing or the other. We have to leave everything
to Lord or Master working overhead. Just as we need
food for the body, so do we need food for the soul.
We are very careful in giving food to the horse of the
body, but starve the rider the soul the life-giving
fountainhead that enlivens the body, and without
which it has no value. We must provide food to the
spirit more regularly and timely than we do for the
body; no matter where we are, whether at home
or abroad, and no matter what the circumstances
 Simran 25

may be, this should be our first and foremost

concern.
The Simran of Naam or Word is an Elixir of Life,
and in fact, a panacea (healing) for all illsphysical,
mental, accidental or ordained. It is a food for the
spirit, and when the spirit is strong and healthy, it
will charge the body with vital currents of life and
light (elan vital), dispelling all darkness from head
to foot. It is the Bread of Life spoken of by Christ
when he declared you cannot live on bread alone. But
you can live on the Name of God alone.
Simran and Dhyan (meditation) flood the spirit
with the Waters of Life. Spirit comes into its own,
rises in its latent Godhood, and like a tumultuous
mountain stream, rushes headlong toward the ocean
of life, which is its perennial source and merges
therein, losing its separate identity.
There are no limitations as to time and place
for Simran. It may be done at any time and at any
place, sitting or standing, walking, or in bed, but it
must be done in a state of conscious wakefulness.
Early morning hours (Amrit Vela) is the best time for
Simran. A light and frugal night meal, consisting of
milk and fruits, and morning ablutions are aids in
the right direction. Purity of thoughts, words and
deeds go a long way to make a success of the Sadhan
(spiritual discipline) for ethical life precedes spiritual
life and is in fact the very ground on which the
spiritual structure has to be raised. For a householder,
it is very necessary to observe strict discipline in life,
in matters of diet, drink and speech. Again Simran
must be done slowly and the Words are to be repeated
or thought out with clarity. The whole process is to
26 Simran

be carried out with love, devotion and single-minded

attention to ensure quick results. When properly done
for some time, a state of divine intoxication comes
upon the soul and blessed calmness is experienced.
All worldly thoughts vanish like thin air and the
spirit feels separated from the bodily tenements and
is irresistibly drawn upward by the Unseen Power of
the Master. When it thus withdraws from the sensual
planes, it gets concentrated at its own seat, the inner
light dawns, and one by one spiritual experiences
like the starry welkin, the moon and the sun unfold
themselves. One comes across frequent references to
these things in all the scripturesboth ancient and
modern, like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Holy
Koran, the Gurbani, the Gospel, etc. The prophets
Mohammed and Moses speak of the various inner
lights. In the Bible, there are repeated references to
the thunder and lightning in connection with the
Voice of God as it spoke to the prophets.
As the soul crosses over these initial stages and
reaches the subtle plane, the luminous from of the
Master appears, takes charge of the soul and leads it
on the onward spiritual journey from plane to plane.
With the advent of the Master, the work of Simran
is completed and aspirants soul lies wholly in the
hands of the Master-soul.
Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, has given
a glowing account of the results, which one can
have by doing the sweet remembrance of the Word.
He impresses on us to remember Him at all times,
in so many words as used by the saints in the past.
There are so many names of the One Reality and our
aim and goal is common. We have to start from the
 Simran 27

name and make contact with the Named. Unless

you contact the Named, you cannot derive the full
benefit of the words repeated by you. For instance,
you say, water in English, aqua in Latin, paani
and aab in Urdu and Persian, jal and neer in
Hindi, but by repetition of these names alone your
thirst cannot be satisfied. It is only by drinking the
particular fluid, which is called by so many names,
that your thirst is appeased. By doing Simran of
the world and its environments, they have so much
taken possession of us that we have become of the
world and its environments. We have to use the same
methods so as to eliminate all the worldly thoughts
from within by remembering sweetly of the Lord. So
there are two uses of Simran: one use is to withdraw
from the body by Simran of the electrified words
given by a competent Master, and the second is to
drive out the world and its thoughts from within us
by the constant remembrance of the Lord in so many
ways as prescribed, the description of which has been
given above in detail.

Benefits of Simran
Some of thebenefits of the Simran of five Names with
Dhyan are summed up briefly here:
1. It creates love for the Satguru to a degree which
is very hard to cherish, cultivate and develop by any
other possible means within the reach of man.
2. It provides the easiest access to help concen-
tration. It makes will-power strong. The thought-
transference from the Guru along with the five Names
works wonders.
28 Simran

3. It enables the Surat to invert or tap inside (that is

to withdraw from the physical body) and to traverse
all the higher planes, while the simran of other
words leads only to concentration up to the back
of the eyes, the top of pind (body). If however the
Master other than that of the rank of a Sadh or Sant
gives other formulas or formulae, with an access to a
slightly higher stage, then one may go a little higher
to that stage but cannot secure admission to all the
spiritual planes above that. Thus, the Simran of five
Names given by a practical and competent Satguru
or Word Master acts as a password for access to
all the planes.
4. Again, when on withdrawal from the physical
body, deities or other formidable figures appear
before us inside to dissuade or to block the passage
upwards, or Kaal (Negative Power) in the guise of
Satguru tries to deceive us or obstructs, the Simran
of five Names unmasks them all and chases them
away from the Path. It is only the Satguru or any other
associate of a Saint who traverses all the five planes,
who can stand before the Simran of the charged
Names. Thus, it protects and helps us inwardly in
our spiritual journeys.

Kabir on Simran
I have given a digest of the whole subject matter in
connection with Simran. It will not be out of place
to put before you the sayings of the different Saints
on this subject. I now put before you the statements
made by Sant Kabir on the subject. He says:
 Simran 29

Comforting is Gods Name. All ills it cures.

Remembrance of Gods Name leads to Him besides.
Further, Kabir says:
Amongst high and low, amongst rich and poor,
Great is he who prays, and greater still he that
motiveless does so.
The pelf and power hardly make a man. Poverty
and riches are both transitory. A man of Simran
stands far above all mankind. He is much more
blessed than the rest. Most people crave for worldly
things. Some are desirous of having children, others
hanker after wealth, and still others after name and
fame. The kind Father, of course, grants prayers of
all. But a man of Simran, on the other hand, asks for
nothing. He seeks God for Gods sake, and hence is
the crowning glory of humankind.
Once Akbar, the great Moghul Emperor, while
riding, lost his way and felt thirsty. He asked a farmer
standing near a well for water. The peasant tied the
Emperors horse to a nearby tree and gave water and
food to him, little knowing who he was. The king
was pleased with his hospitality and told him who
he was and bade the farmer to see him, should he
ever stand in need of anything. After sometime the
farmer had an opportunity to visit the metropolis.
He went to see the King as he was bidden to do so.
On going to the royal palace, he found that the King
was busy praying and at the end he requested God
for the peace and prosperity of his kingdom. Seeing
this, the farmer felt humiliated for having come to
beg from a beggar, for he too could directly appeal
30 Simran

to the great God, who listens alike to the prayers of

both rich and poor.
Guru Nanak has said, Why should we ask for
worldly things from God? All those who love the
body and bodily relations go the way of hell, but
one who does Simran motiveless is truly great. We
generally pray for the fulfillment of our wishes and
desires. So long as a man or a woman is full of these,
the human body, far from being a temple of God, is
an abode of Satan. So Kabir says that God loves those
who love God alone: for no other purpose, but for
the love of God. The same is in the Sikh scriptures:
What should I ask for? There is nothing lasting in all
the world over. I see the whole world passing away.
Kabir says:
In pain we pray to God, in pleasure we forget,
Could we in pleasure pray, then pain would not
come our way.
We remember God only when we are hard pressed
from every side. It is affliction, and not affluence that
turns us Godward. If one were not to forget God in
prosperity, adversity would never come near him.
Hard times only come as a result of sins committed
when forgetful of the Lord. Simran (or constant
remembrance of God) is a tonic for the soul. It makes
the will grow stronger from day to day. Troubles
and trials, however severe, cannot cow him down.
With a smiling face, he pulls through the storms of
fate or destiny unscathed. Simran is a panacea for all
the ills of the world. It is a potent remedy and works
wonders to remove worry where all human efforts
fail. A man of Simran never has any worry or anxiety.
 Simran 31

Simran to be very effective must be constant and

ceaseless. Once Moses, the prophet of the Hebrews,
felt that he was the most devoted of Gods creatures.
In an egotistic frame of mind, he questioned God if
there was in the world a greater devotee than himself.
The Great God told Moses that among His devotees
were many birds and animal besides human beings.
Pointing to a solitary bird in the jungle, God directed
Moses to meet the said bird, if he wanted to know
the great depths of devotion. As Moses did not know
the language of the birds, God endowed him with an
understanding so that he could talk with the bird.
Moses approached the bird and inquired as to how
he was. The bird replied that engaged as he was in
constant remembrance (Simran) he could ill afford
any time for useless conversation except for the
Beloveds sake, who had sent him. Next, the prophet
asked the bird if he had any trouble in which he could
be of any help to him. The bird replied that he had
no trouble whatsoever, but if the prophet wished to
do him a favor, he asked him to bring nearer to him
the spring of water that lay at a distance, as a flight
to it to quench his thirst interfered with his Simran.
This incident humbled the pride of Moses.
Guru Nanak also speaks in this wise: If I forget
you, O God, even for a fraction of a minute, this
amounts to me more than fifty years. Again, he says,
He who is in constant remembrance of God, only he
is alive, O Nanak, all others are dead.
Simran must be done at all costs. Constant
remembrance of God is life-giving to the devotee.
Guru Nanak says, If I remember Thee, I live. When
I forget thee, that means death to me. There are
32 Simran

many devices to develop concentration. Some stand

for hours and hours. Others keep their arms uplifted.
Some engage in breathing exercises like Pranayam,
and some sleep on nails or sit under the burning
sun with four fires lit around them (i.e., Panch Agni
Tap or the austerity of the five fires). But all these
methods are artificial. Simran or the remembrance
of God is the only natural method and the easiest to
follow and develop. It can be practiced with equal
ease by both the young and the oldin ones hearth
and home, and in the midst of kith and kin, as well
as in his business.
Kabir further says:
Forgetful of prayer in pleasure, we pray only in pain;
So says Kabir, such prayers go all in vain.
Since we remember the Lord only when in
trouble and never care for Him when in affluent
circumstances, Saint Kabir says that God also does
not listen to such selfish prayers, which are muttered
in vain in distress over ones ailments or when one
is involved in a lawsuit, etc.
Prayer should be ceaseless, overflowing as a
lovers passions are, forgetting not his love even for
the twinkling of an eye. When a man is in love with a
woman, he carries her image in his mind at all times
whether sleeping or awake, sitting or standing. If one
could carry with him the love like this, it would be
grand indeed.
Kabir goes on to explain how the sweet
remembrance of God should be done. He gives
another example of the same type. He says:
 Simran 33

Attend to the prayer as do the village maids,

moving and talking,
But with attention always fixed on pitchers
overhead.
The daily routine of life, says Kabir, does not
interfere with the Simran. The village maids, as
they go to fetch water, carry pitchers of water one
above the other on their heads and in spite of an
unseen path, they keep jesting and talking among
themselves, while the pitchers remain steady on
their heads, as their attention is perennially fixed on
them. Similarly one need not forget Simran even in
the midst of the hustle and bustle of life and worldly
obligations.
Kabir again says:
Attend to prayer as kine do of the calves.
Who grazing in the meadow, never forget their young.
When a grazier takes the cows for grazing, they
do not forget the young ones they leave behind at
home. All the while they are busy grazing in the
field, but their attention remain fixed on their calves.
In this way, while engaged in worldly pursuits, we
should not forget our aim and objective in life, i.e.,
self-knowledge and God Realization.
Kabir gives another example to explain and bring
home the fact that we should do the remembrance
of the Lord:
Attend to prayers as misers do the wealth,
With mind forever fixed on the hoarded pelf.
A pauper collects his money by begging coppers
and keeps counting it day and night. Whether
sleeping or waking, he is dreaming all the time of
34 Simran

his little hoarding. We too should, like a pauper,

always keep an account of the Simran that we do and
try to accumulate bit by bit the wealth of Naamnot
forgetting it even for a moment.
Kabir has given so many examples so that we
may understand the true value of real Simran which
brings forth ample fruit.
Love the prayer as the deer loves the trumpet sound.
Who life and freedom risketh for sweet musics sake.
A fleet-footed deer which cannot otherwise be
caught is entrapped by the hunters, just by means
of playing upon the trumpet. He is so enamored of
the sound that he is irresistibly drawn toward it and
helplessly places his head on the mouth of the musical
instrument. In just the same way, when once the ever
restless mind hears the Naad (or the Sound Current
within) it is charmed, stilled and becomes motionless.
Soul, when freed from the tentacles of the mind, is
able to soar easily into higher regions.
He gives another example:
I love the prayer as the moth loves the light.
In the flame doth burn itself, never turns aside.
Light is the very life of the moth. He loves it
so passionately that he does not hesitate to singe
himself to death, rather than to avoid it. Kabir Sahib,
therefore says that we must love Simran as the very
breath of our life, whether rich or poor, healthy or
sick, awake or asleep, and like a moth be ever-ready
to sacrifice our very self in our devotion to our ideal.
Again he says:
 Simran 35

Lose yourself in the sweet remembrance as the keet

in the bhringi,
Who forsooth loses itself to rise like the bhringi.
Bhringi (an insect) after almost killing a keet
(another insect) revives the latter to life by bestowing
its powerful attention to it. The keet, when charmed
back to life, is no longer a keet, but becomes a bhringi
being saturated with the life-impules of the latter.
In just the same way, Kabir says that one who does
Simran and gets firmly engrafted therein, will have
new birth and new life quite distinct from the old
sensual life he has been living hitherto.
This is the second birth of which all the Saints
speak. Christ says, Whosoever will lose his life
for my sake, the same shall save it. - Bible (Luke
9:24) Unless you lose this life, you cannot have life
everlasting. Except a man be born of water (first
birth) and of the Spirit (second birth), he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. - Bible (John 3:5)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever. - Bible (1 Peter 1:23) The first birth
was of corruptible seed, and the second shall be of
seed incorruptible. This may be called birth in
Christ, and when it actually takes place, one would,
like St. Paul, say, (It is) not I, but Christ liveth in
me. - Bible (Gal. 2:20) The principle of engrafted
life works alike in plants, as well as in man, and is
in accord with the laws of Nature.
Hazrat Baziad Bustanvi, a man of extreme piety
and devotion, once looked within himself and found
nothing but God. In a state of divine intoxication,
36 Simran

he exclaimed, I am God! His disciples, unused

to hearing such apparently sacrilegious words,
wondered what had happened to their Pir (Master).
After some time, when the Master had come down
from the super-conscious state, they inquired of
him why he had exclaimed that he was God, which
was quite contrary to his usual instructions to them
(that God could not come into a human body). The
Master told them that the expression, I am God
was not uttered by him, but by someone else (he
could, according to the Koranic Law, be condemned
as a heretic for uttering such blasphemous words).
After some time, this Hazrat was once again seized
by a fit of God-intoxication, and began to exclaim, I
am God. This time some of his disciples came down
upon their Master with staves, spears and swords. In
the Masnavi by Maulana Rumi (the original poetic
narrative in this behalf), it is stated that whoever
aimed a blow at the Masters head, hands or legs got
his own chopped off, the Master beside himself kept
chanting, I am God. The disciples were amazed and
inquired of the Pir the significance of the incident.
The Pir, with a smile on his face informed them that
one who merged his little entity (soul) into the greater
entity (Oversoul) becomes one with God and no one
could harm him.
Similarly, it is mentioned in Ghat Ramayan that
once Tulsi Sahib of Hathras (a man of great devotion),
when staying with Baji Rao Hulkar, a Maharatta
chieftain of Satara, said, While the people see my
physical raiment (the body ), I actually live out of it .
Our own Master, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji was
once on tour to Gujranwala city in the Punjab when
 Simran 37

some opponents came up with the idea of fighting.

The Master was inside. He rose up. He was in a state
of Godintoxication and said, Look at me, who am
I? And it was all quiet.
This is the experience of those who sometimes
become God-intoxicated. Such statements bring out
the true meaning of Simran.
Sant Kabir gives so many examples. He says:
Love the prayer as fish loves the water,
Who would rather die than be separated from its
element.
Water is the vital element for the fish without
which it cannot live. A fish would prefer to die
rather than live without it even for a single moment.
Similarly, Simran (the Sound Current) is the vital
element in which we live and move and have our
being. Unless we, by actual practice, realize this
fundamental truth, we cannot have true peace.
Now he further explains:
Pray with all our heart in the silence of the soul;
Shut off the world without to unveil the Truth within.
Simran is to be done with the tongue of thought,
and not by word of mouth. It is entirely an inner
mental process, to be practiced only after the outlets
of the outgoing faculties are closed.
The treasure of Simran is to be kept hidden from
the people of the world. It is the most precious wealth,
the value of which worldly people can hardly realize.
The reality dawns only when you rent the veil behind
the eyes. Christ too says in this behalf, Seek and ye
shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
- Bible (Matt. 7:7)
38 Simran

Referring to the outer process which we generally

do by way of Simran Kabir says:
By telling beads we please ourselves and yet we
never gain;
But if we were to make a bead of the mind,
an inward light would dawn again.
The telling of beads on the rosary gives just a
mental satisfaction, but leads us nowhere. If you were
to turn the beads of the mind, you would witness
Gods light within.
Kabir Sahib says that there is hardly any need of
beaded rosaries, for while the hands are engaged in
telling the beads, the mind is fixed on the beads of
the world, without and cannot possibly withdraw
within; and without this, there is no gain whatsoever.
Conversely, when the mind is once absorbed in
Simran (mental concentration), the iron curtain
will fling open (at Open Sesame or the spiritually
charged enchanted words).
He says:
Aeons have passed in telling beads yet our minds
changed not;
So cast off the wooden beads and take to the mental
ones.
Kabir Sahib therefore says that we waste our
entire life in performance of outer works of merits,
but the soul finds no access. The veil within does
not give way, and soul remains without. We should
therefore turn the bead of the mind, and it will act like
a push-button, giving an ingress of soul to spiritual
realms within.
Kabir further explains:
 Simran 39

Continuous flow symphonic strains sublime;

Divine in birth, subdue the mind.
By concentration, a feeling of numbness gradually
begins to creep up the hands and feet, and spreads
to the rest of the body, until the sensory current gets
focused at the seat of the soul between and behind the
two eyebrows (from whence, during wakefulness, it
proceeds). The concentrated energy then falls upon
the veil behind the eyes, which is rent asunder,
opening a brilliant vista ahead. The inner sun and
moon, in turn, appear with a melodious Sound
Current emerging from beyond. These unbroken
strains of music continue on their own accord. When
this stage is reached, an aspirant has nothing more
to do except to be absorbed in them.
Kabir goes on further saying that:
True rosary lies in the mind, the rest is all sham and
worldly show;
Lo, the rosary on the Persian wheel draws water alone.
Simran, to be effective, should be characterized
by love, affection and devotion. If the rosary alone
were to lead to God, then the big rosary on the Persian
wheel could as will do the same thing. But our daily
experience shows that they fail to achieve any such
thing (rosaries on the Persian Wheel are the ropes
to which the water pots are attached, and they draw
water only, and nothing else).
Similarly, the Chinese have invented what is called
the Wheel of Prayer. If it is once put in motion, it
makes about a thousand rounds. They transcribe a
mantra or a holy hymn on a piece of paper and put
it the wheel and set it into motion and feel satisfied
40 Simran

that they have repeated the holy name a thousand

times; but to no avail. Simran done parrot-like by
repeating a mantra thousands of times in this way
cannot bear any fruit.
Among orthodox Hindus, there is a practice of
writing the word Ram, Ram or the Word of God
on paper in thousands every day. They then cut with
scissors each Word, Ram and put it in a pill of flour
and consign the pills to the waters of some running
stream and believe that the have gained religious
merit. It gives only a little remembrance of Ram. If
one were to tell them that real Ram is within them,
they would not believe it. So they neither find Ram,
nor do they gain any substantial thing.
Similarly Purbias (an orthodox sect who attach
great importance to outer rituals and try to perform
them with religious faith) generally take a bath
early in the morning in waters of a running stream,
as an act religious merit. In a lighter veinonce a
few Puribias went to Kabul in Afghnistan (a hilly
county to the northwest of India), where the weather
is generally very cold. Here, one of them went for
a bath in the Kabul river, but finding the water icy
cold, he hesitated to enter the stream. He thought of
a good device to escape the ordeal and yet satisfy his
scruples. He took a pebble and threw it into stream,
saying O pebble, thy bath shall also be mine. After
saying this, he turned back, and on the way, met
another Purbia going to the river for his morning
ablution. The latter asked him if he had taken the
bath in this chilly and bleak weather. The former
told him of the vicarious pebble-bath that he had
had, and thereupon the other fellow embraced him
 Simran 41

saying, Your bath is my bath as well. So, when

the blind leads the blind, both fall into the ditch by
performing deeds blindly.
Kabir sahib further refers to the rosary, saying:
Over the wooden rosary you have wasted much time;
Now take to the mental rosary, that has no knot on
the end.
O Kabir, the telling of the wooden-beaded rosary
is a great laborious task, but the continuous mental
rosary, as of the (incoming and outgoing) breath, is
a natural phenomenon. It goes on endlessly without
any effort.
In the rosary, there is the head knot. When one
round is completed, it is to be reversed so as not to
neutralize the effect, for beads are to be told in one
direction only. So, Kabir advises that we should
take to the natural rosary of the mind, which being
in endless continuation, has no knots and needs no
reversal at all.
Further, he says:
On continuous fruitless revolution,
The rosary cried out quarreling,
Why do you turn out me round and round?
Turn the mental rosary, should you want a Master
guide.
Telling beads and counting the turns on fingers,
Hollow are such deeds of merit performed with a
wandering mind.
How can God be found with an insensate mind?
Kabir says, When doing all ablutions or
purificatory exercises like telling the beads, etc. if
your mind is not still, what is the good of doing
42 Simran

them after all? While you are telling the beads and
counting the number of rosary revolutions performed
on your fingers, the mind, like an unbridled colt, is
wandering about. All such deeds are therefore of
no avail. You can meet God through a living Master
only, when according to His instructions, you learn
to bridle the mind and turn it the other way. (i.e.,
inward and upward from its usual way of looking
at things outward and downward). The practice of
concentration and focusing of the mind can only be
achieved through Simran as enjoined by a Master-
soul, and by nothing else.
Kabir Sahib further presses the point.
In vain is the rosary that loosens not the mind knot.
A true heaven lies in the Masters feet alone.
No outer shows are needed, all must be done within;
Why lose time with the outside world?
I am now engaged in my Lord within.
Simran as above is a mental or inner process and
as such the rosary or any other aid cannot be of any
use in this behalf. By concentration at the blessed feet
of the Master, by implicit faith in his instructions, and
by putting them into actual practice, we can attain a
stage of perfect bliss. There is no other short cut, but
that of Simran as enjoined by the Master.
The Bible too says, Be ye the doers of the Word
and not the hearers only, - Bible (James 1:22) and
then you will enter New Jerusalem.

 Simran 43

CONCLUSION

T he Naam or Word is within you. This is to be

contacted within. The observance of the outer
rituals and performance of so-called meritorious
deeds cannot be of any help in this matter. While the
untold treasure of divinity lies hidden within, we
search for it without and so all our efforts go in vain.
Emerson in this connection says, The human
body is a temple of God and as such God can only
be made manifest within. The contact between an
individual spirit or human soul and the Oversoul is
of course established by a Master-soul by means of
the Sound Current or Word.
Another Sant, Bhikha says, O Bhikha, there is
no man starving in this world. Everybody has a
diamond of precious value within. They do not know
how to withdraw from the body and concentrate the
sensory currents and transcend the lower chakras and
transcend body-consciousness. That is why they feel
impoverished. They have the diamond within them,
but they do not know how to contact it.
The Sound Current or Word is contacted through
the medium of Simran, which withdraws the spirit
current from the body; when the current comes up
to the seat of the soul in the waking state, only then
it contacts the Conscious Power working throughout
the whole creation. Therefore, Simran or the
process of the sweet remembrance of the Word is
the stepping-stone to contacting the Word within.

43
44 Simran

The first step is to do the Simran or repetition of the

charged words given by a competent Master, and the
second step is, when the soul is withdrawn to its seat
in the body, between and at the back of the two eyes,
it contacts the Word, which is called Naam, Shabd,
Naad, Akash Bani, Kalma, Sarosha, etc. This Word has
two phases: one is of Light, and the other of Sound,
which the soul experiences when it comes in contact
with that Power. He sees the Light of God and hears
sweet symphonies of the rapturous strains of the
Sound Current going on within, which gives its very
sublime and ineffable sweetness, so sweet that no
words can convey.
Farid, a Muslim Saint, says, O Lord, there are
so many sweet things in the world such as honey,
buffalo milk, sugar, but the sweetness that Your
Name conveys, O Lord, is far sweeter than all these.
It is a subject to be done practically and tasted by the
individual self. It is not a matter of routine only nor
of mere talking. It is a matter to be experienced by
the contact within. Those who have tasted this sweet
elixir, have talked about it in glowing terms.
Once Guru Nanak met Babar, the great king of
India, who was taking an intoxicant. He offered it to
Guru Nanak, who told him, Babar, this drug that
you are taking eventually loses its intoxication, but
the intoxication I have by contacting the Word of
God, is everlasting and does not diminish. Those
who have once tasted a bit of it, can never forget it.
All the worlds enjoyments and other things lose their
weight and value in their eyes.
Constant remembrance of the Lord, further, gives
a wakefulness to the man, who is engaged in it.
 Simran 45

Tennyson, in his memoirs, gives an instance of his

experience of a waking trance he had, which could
be interesting to know. He says:
A kind of waking trance (this for a lack of a
better name) I have frequently had quite up from
boyhood when I have been all alone. This has often
come to me through repeating my own name to
myself silently, till all at once, as it were, out of
the intensity of consciousness of individuality, the
individuality itself seemed to resolve and fade away
into boundless being, and this is not a confused
state, but the clearest of the clearest, the surest
of the surest, utterly beyond words, where death
was an almost laughable impossibility. The loss of
personality (if so it were) seemingly no extinction,
but the only true life. I am ashamed of my feeble
description. Have I not said the state is utterly
beyond words?
H. Tennyson
(A letter to Mr. B.P.Blood, May 7, 1874)
This wakefulness Tennyson had by remembering
his own name calmly a few times, this was, as it were
dipping into his own self, the soul. If we but dip into
our sourceGod, by constant remembrance, losing
our own selves into the whole, how much greater
consciousness and wakefulness, full of intoxication
we would have! We can well consider all this.
Thank you for your patient hearing.

- KIRPAL SINGH