“Japji Sahib, The Song of the Soul and The Wisdom of the Ages”
This course will explore the meaning of Japji Sahib, Guru Nanak’s song of the soul, composed of 38 paurees and the Shalok. Five hundred and fifty years ago, Guru Nanak channeled this call for everyone’s soul to awaken. He disappeared for three days in the river in the north of India, and everyone thought he had drown. He was immersed in the wisdom of all ages, which he chanted upon his return to their plane. Then he traveled for the next seven years for thousands of miles to deliver his message, “There is only one Creation, Ek Ong Kar.” At the time, this was a revolutionary concept, like the one Jesus and Buddha delivered during their times.
Due to wars in India and the caste system, much of this wisdom had gone underground, and due to the emergence and proliferation of other religions, people were trapped in empty rituals, poverty and disconnection. Guru Nanak’s simple message gave us the key to awakening, an inward process based on the development of deep listening and intuitive understanding, and most all, remembrance of our love for the Naam, the divine Name of God.
Mul Mantra:
This chant will change your fate and quiet the mind. Reciting it several times changes the destiny to complete prosperity. Recited 11 minutes a day, it rids one of fear and keeps one in touch with the very foundation or root of life. Mul means root, the essence of who you are.
The Adi Kriya or Khyan Karab Kriya wll be taught to accompanied the recitation of this mantra.
Paurees 1, 2, 3 & 4:
A pauree is a step in the elevation of your soul, in your path of self-evolution and mastery. When Guru Nanak channeled the Japji Sahib, the song of the soul, he did it backwards, starting with the Shalok. So in reality, these are the last paurees of this powerful message for all times. They speak of the One Creator and provide a path to happiness and prosperity through the experience of chanting the name of God.
The meditation to change the Ego will be taught to release the ego and accept the Hukam–God’s will, universal will or consciousness.
Paurees 5, 6 & 7:
These steps towards our self-evolution and mastery entail a deep understanding of the True One, the One Creator, and how we can access the sound current, the frequency of this divine consciousness, as our Soul awakens to receive the experience of the Naam, the name of God or divine will. Chanting these paurees grant success and expansiveness of the Self into Infinity.
The Meditation to Release Distress and Anger as well as The Meditation to Experience the Expanded Self will be taught with these paurees.
Paurees 8, 9, 10 & 11:
These steps teach us deep listening (Sunnia), the art of listening beyond the ordinary and the five senses. It helps with developing intuitive understanding of the universe and ourselves. When we accomplish this meditative state of mind, then the pain of separation from the One, from Creation, and from our divine Self disappears.
The Brahm Sargam Kriya and the Antar Naad Mudra-Kabadshe Meditation will be taught in this module.
Paurees 12, 13, 14 & 15:
These paurees teach obedience, but obedience to what? Divine will or our own free will? The answer is that one who obeys knows his or her mind, so their actions are guided by an extraordinary meditative state of surrender where radiance and wonder are experienced. The experience of obedience to the One, “Mannai,” is an inward experience, within your mind. From here, the whole universe fits in your mind and you’re immersed completely in the Naam, the name of God, divine or universal consciousness and will.
The Indra Nittri Meditation to penetrate through illusion will be taught as well as the Meditation to Open the Lock of the Heart.
Paurees 16, 18 & 19:
These steps of self-evolution reveals to us the immeasurable nature of the universe (Asank) and the secrets of Creation and the entire phenomenal world. They explain the spiritual awakening that comes when surrendering the Ego and opening the heart to the Beloved, the messenger or Guru of God. Ancients call this “coloring of the Name,” when bright white light and radiance get ingrained in your forehead where all the karmas of accumulated lives lie deep within. In Sikh tradition, today the living Guru is the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, a sacred scripture of 1,430 pages. There’s no longer a Guru in a human form, but the scriptures of thirty-five sages and spiritual teachers who came before us throughout different times and regions in India, who have proclaimed and passed on, this universal and divine consciousness that’s our birthright.
The Meditation, Your Capacity for Infinity, will be taught in this module.
Paurees 20, 21, 22 & 23:
In these steps, Guru Nanak draws on cleansing practices of the body and mind, and calls for equality when it comes to matters of the heart and soul. Listening to God’s praises at the sacred altar within our soul is the real purification and cleansing, and not empty religious rituals that were common in 15th century India. He teaches how to develop the qualities of virtues, possibly only by the blessing (Bhagatee) of the Guru, the messenger of God who marks a spiritual path or steps for us to follow. Without this blessing and the fruits of our deeds, devotional worship is not possible–that is, the minimum insight comes from divine will and the seeds of our actions, for us to access that space where there’s no good or bad because it is all God’s will, that eternal flow that connects us like a thread of life to everything that exists, inside and outside of us.
The Meditation for Self-Blessing Guidance by Intuition will be taught in this module.
Paurees 24, 25 & 26:
These paurees, or steps, are about the endless, limitless and countless nature of the One (Ant Na). And as is in the macrocosm, it is in the microcosm–within ourselves, in every thought we have, in every word we say, and in every action we take. Whether we are aware or not, we’re endless creatures of abundance, love and radiance, only if we were taught how to experience these virtues. And the only way to cultivate them and ingrain them in our psyche is by practicing Nam Simran, chanting and meditating on the Naam. This practice and understanding, teaches Guru Nanak, may unlock and open our inner door to invite in the divine experience of divine frequency. Priceless (Amul) are his virtues, his dealings and treasures, and our love for God. Priceless, precious and beyond value, is his mercy and his blessings. If we truly understand this concept, there would be any judgement left for us to engage in, neither good nor bad, because all that is within the Divine Will is true and authentic, generous beyond any valuation or estimation.
The Meditation to Change Poverty into Prosperity will be taught in this module.
Paurees 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31:
The pauree 27 is often referred to as the Sodar, God’s gate, and is part of the Rehras Sahib, the evening prayer of the Sikhs. It’s the longest pauree of the Japji, and Guru Nanak asks the question, “How great is the door and how great is the mansion where God dwells and observes Creation?” This is where the Naad, the sound current of existence, vibrates in the mansion from instruments of countless musicians. God is explained here as the Infinite Energy Vibration, and that’s why the concept of God is always related to chanting and meditation, ultimately to music, which is also a vibratory frequency. The vibration of the whole creation is a metaphor for singing. The next four paurees, Guru Nanak describes the true yogic path under Divine authority of the One, not under the powers that ancient yogis cultivated and lived off the goodness of people.
The Mahan Gyan Mudra Meditation will be taught to accompany the 27th pauree, and the Meditation to Break the Cycle of Cause and Effect will accompany the rest of the paurees.
Paurees 32, 33, 34 & 35:
In these paurees, Guru Nanak tells us about the importance of reciting the Naam, the name of God. This is the ultimate way to immerse with Infinity, and let go of the idea that we are the “doers” of our existence. Complete surrendering is called forth here to eliminate one’s Ego. It is only by immersing in the grace of God that we are able to receive his blessings. Some may view this state of mind as hopelessness, yet it is in that emptying out of our mind, that we achieve true Union with the One. Then Guru Nanak goes on to explain the spiritual cosmos as five Khands or realms: Dharam Khand, Guyan Khand, Saram Khand, Karam Khand and Sach Khand. These are stages of spiritual progression that the soul takes over the ages of incarnations.
The Meditation for a Stable Self will be taught to accompany this module.
Paurees 36, 37 & 38:
These paurees bring divine realization, granting complete understanding of opposites, good and bad, female and male, day and night, Heaven and Earth. This understanding or yourself and the universe cuts through karma and eliminates the impact of all bad karmas, giving you the power to rewrite your own destiny.
The Kriya to Rewrite your Destiny will be taught in this module.
Shalok or Slok:
After climbing the 38 steps from the Mul Mantra, Guru Nanak delivers us to the final Slok, where he explains that “Air is the Guru.” To sustain life, we must have air, we must breathe. Life begins with our first breath and ends with our last. Our breath is our life force, our power to detonate an explosion or calm a fire–a “tinder charge.”
Structurally, a slow is a poetic couplet, but it also makes a statement that is a spiritual truth. Each pauree is a lesson on how one can know, through one’s experience of consciousness, the truth of the Mul Mantra. Then in the Slok, Guru explains the fulfillment of that experience and seals the Bani or prayer.
The slow brings self-satisfaction, elevation, acknowledgement and respect.
