satnaam.info: What is Prayer/Ardaas for?

SatNaam Ji dandauth Bandhna ji,

thankyou for sharing this divine wisdom. Sadhguru Ji explained that there are two things SURVIVAL and SPIRITUALITY. We can see that most of the people and animals in the world are quite happy to get on with their own survival without any need for divine intervention (praying to God). Even if they dont believe or know about god, nature has given us everything we need to survive - a body with a brain and senses. Just using these people and animals are all busy surviving - getting food, reproducing, protecting themself and their families.

The problem is people are not happy just to survive, we want something more than just staying alive and making a couple of replacements (kids) for after we have gone! Sadhguru ji explained that deep down longing inside us to be more than what we are can find expression in several ways. That deep down longing is the root of all desires and how they express themself within us. If we look at our basic makeup, we are a physical body with mind and emotions and a soul.

If our longing/deep down desire to be more than what we are expresses itself in the aspect of our physical body, then we seek out another body and in sexual union we feel for a moment more than what we are alone. But then we come back to being our limited self. So a person like that may seek out many bodies, but no matter how many bodies we seek out to have sex with, the longing will not be satisfied, it will always seek more.

Sadhguru ji explained that a person who seeks to be more than what they are at the mental level, will be intellectual, will seek more knowledge of the world around him, but even then he cannot be satisifed as there is always more to learn.

A person seeking to be more than what they are at an emotional level, could see that expressed as ambition. For example to start one business, then another, then another. But still never benig compeltely satisifed.

That deep down longing within all of us to be more than what we are is called desire when we try to fulfill it through physical , mental or emotional levels within us. We are trying to do "1+1+1+1 ....." trying to reach infinity, but it can never happen like that. No matter how much we expland ourself by collecting people, knowledge or businessess we are still limited.

Guru Nanak Dev ji wrote this right at the beginning of Guru Granth Sahib ji - bukhiaa bhuk na utraee jin bunniaa puree paar - the hunger of the hungry is not satisified even with a mountain of food.

So what is the real way to become unlimited, to become Infninte or as SAdhguru ji says to become boundless? How can we transcend our physical, mental and emotional limitations?

By focusing on our soul. The Truth, SatNaam. An how does that journey begin? The Guru is the one who plants the seed of SatNaam at the level of you soul/astral body. Not in your body by merely getting you to just recite Satnaam with the tongue. Not in your mind, by getting you to just to think of Satnaam. Not in your emotions by singing and using music and emotional language with stories of past Gurus. But the Satguru will plant the Naam directly into your astral body.

When you now take the longing inside you to be more than what you are, to be with God, to realise the Truth, and you put your efforts into doing Naam simran then you will transcend all limitiations and become boundless when you merge into your own soul, the Truth, SatNaam.

Ask yourself, what direction are you putting all of your efforts in? Phycial, mental or emotional? Are you just in survival mode and but praying to God/Guru just to help you to survive? If so, then realise that your deep down longing is for the Divine and to make efforts in that direction. Make that the number one priority in your life. Still you live in the world and get married and have kids, you gain knowledge, you work in businesses, you still have phusical, mental and emotional aspects to your life. But you see them for what they are - just part of livig in the world, but they can never bring us the peace, love, Truth we are seeking in becoming unbounded.

God Bless All.

On 7 February 2012 02:45, rajinder chahal <rajinderschahal@yahoo.com> wrote:

All religions have incorporated prayers into their beliefs/rituals/congregations. Most of the prayers are directed towards materialist things i.e. worldly possessions, health, happiness, good jobs, beautiful wife, children & so on. However let us look into what our Guru's prayed for in SGGS.

ਵਿਣੁ ਤੁਧੁ ਹੋਰੁ ਜਿ ਮੰਗਣਾ ਸਿਰਿ ਦੁਖਾ ਕੈ ਦੁਖ ॥ਦੇਹਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਸੰਤੋਖੀਆ ਉਤਰੈ ਮਨ ਕੀ ਭੁਖ ॥
viṇ ṯuḏẖ hor jė mangṇā sir ḏukẖā kai ḏukẖ.Ḏėh nām sanṯokẖī▫ā uṯrai man kī bẖukẖ. page 958
To ask for any thing other than You, is like asking for the miseries. O Content Lord bless me with Your Naam/Name so that the hunger of my mind be satisfied.

ਕਰ ਜੋੜਿ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਦਾਨੁ ਮਾਂਗੈ ਦੇਹੁ ਅਪਨਾ ਨਾਉ ॥Kar joṛ Nānak ḏān māŉgai ḏeh apnā nā▫o. page 988
With palms pressed together, Nanak prays for the donation of Your Name/Naam.

ਨਾਨਕ ਕੀ ਅਰਦਾਸਿ ਹੈ ਸਚ ਨਾਮਿ ਸੁਹੇਲਾ ॥ਆਪੁ ਗਇਆ ਸੋਝੀ ਪਈ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦੀ ਮੇਲਾ ॥

Nānak kī arḏās hai sacẖ nām suhelā.Āp ga▫i▫ā sojẖī pa▫ī gur sabḏī melā. page 421

Nanak prays, that he may be adorned with the True Naam/Name so that the selfness gets eradicated, understanding is obtained and union is achieved.

We can see that only thing one should pray for is the Naam/Name of the God, because that is the blessing He bestows Himself. O my friend does anybody prays for the suffering, sorrows but they still get it. So if happness and comfort is in your destiny it will also come automatically, you do not have to ask for it. It is karma playing out. By forgetting everything and asking for His Naam and Lord Himself to be with you, one will get detached from the feelings of sorrow/happiness. If the Guru's asked for the blessing of Naam, why are not you following their footsteps and asking for the same.

ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਆਗੈ ਜੀਅੜਾ ਤੁਝ ਪਾਸਿ ॥ਜਿਉ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਉ ਰਖਹੁ ਅਰਦਾਸਿ ॥
Man ṯan āgai jī▫aṛā ṯujẖ pās.Sacẖ jihvā har rasan rasā▫ī. page 1345
My mind, body and the life are before You, keep them the way it pleases You, Lord; this is my prayer.

ਜੀਉ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਸਭੁ ਤਿਸ ਕਾ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਤਿਸ ਕੈ ਪਾਸਿ ॥ਵਿਣੁ ਬੋਲਿਆ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਜਾਣਦਾ ਕਿਸੁ ਆਗੈ ਕੀਚੈ ਅਰਦਾਸਿ ॥

Jī▫o pind sabẖ ṯis kā sabẖ kicẖẖ ṯis kai pās.viṇ boli▫ā sabẖ kicẖẖ jāṇḏā kis āgai kīcẖai arḏās. page 1420
Life, body and everything belong to Him; everything is available to Him. He knows everything without being asked so why should we pray.

Every page in SGGS reminds us that all and everything is the creator Himself and Lord will take care of itself. Surrender your body to the One it belongs because the Creator created Himself for experiencing itself. One is reaping whatever was seeded in the past. It just gets multiplied. You want good for yourself then you have to put the seed of goodness and water it/take care of it.

ਜਿਨ ਕੇ ਚੋਲੇ ਰਤੜੇ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਕੰਤੁ ਤਿਨਾ ਕੈ ਪਾਸਿ ॥ਧੂੜਿ ਤਿਨਾ ਕੀ ਜੇ ਮਿਲੈ ਜੀ ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਕੀ ਅਰਦਾਸਿ ॥

Jin ke cẖole raṯ▫ṛe pi▫āre kanṯ ṯinā kai pās.Ḏẖūṛ ṯinā kī je milai jī kaho Nānak kī arḏās. page 722

Whose faces are radiant with light/love, their Husband Lord is always with them. Nanak ji says, pray for the dust of those humble beings.

ਕਿਆ ਹਮ ਕਥਹ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਥਿ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਣਹ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਵੈ ਬਲਾਨ ॥ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਕੀ ਧੂਰਿ ਇਕ ਮਾਂਗਉ ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਪਇਓ ਸਰਾਨ ॥
Ki▫ā ham kathah kicẖẖ kath nahī jāṇah parabẖ bẖāvai ṯivai bolān.Sāḏẖsangaṯ kī ḏẖūr ik māŉga▫o jan Nānak pa▫i▫o sarān. page 1203
What can we say, we know nothing. As God wills, so do we speak. Nanak has come to your door and asks only for the dust of the feet of the Holy Congregation/Saadh Sangat.

The other thing the Bani tells us is to pray for the dust of the Holy people. The simple reason is that it is the body where the God is in action. Do not forget without this body, no one would have created the Statues to which you bow, the Bani would not have been spoken and written, one will not be able to sing the hymns & praise the Lord. Why is that you want to bow to the Statues, Holy books, SGGS but not the body from where they all came.

So my friend we beg of you if you want to pray just ask for the blessing of Naam, ask the Lord to come & live inside your body. You are afraid of bowing to a body, you the Naam we will bow to you. Take the leap you got nothing to loose. The bliss and the everlasting happiness are waiting for you.

We are dust of your feet. All was written as it came with the blessing of Guru Gur, we know nothing.