A Sikh of the Guru

This is a famous SHABAD but it is worth reading again and again until it sinks in. See the Pauree at the end of it for those who choose to ignore Guru Jee's instructions.

FOURTH MEHL: One who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru, the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on the Lord?s Name. Upon arising early in the morning, he is to bathe, and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar. Following the Instructions of the Guru, he is to chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased. Then, at the rising of the sun, he is to sing Gurbani; whether sitting down or standing up, he is to meditate on the Lord?s Name. One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food ? that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru?s Mind. That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate ? upon that GurSikh, the Guru?s Teachings are bestowed. Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that GurSikh, who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. || 2 ||

Now lets go through it step by step.

One who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru,
the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours
and meditate on the Lord's Name.

The Satguru's Sikh wakes up early. When exactly? Well, other gurbaNi tukks (verses) tell us "picchal rati". That is last pehar (out of 8 pahers in a day). Which means at *least* by 4 am.

Once up, the sikh starts doing simran (meditation) on naam. Which is "waheguru waheguru".

Upon arising early in the morning,
he is to bathe,
and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar.

Then the sikh does isnan (bath). (Note simran should start as soon as one is conscious). Then afterwards, when the consciousness (surat) is focused on Naam, the sikh should bathe.

There are two isnans mentioned in the above tukk. One is the normal isnan, then isnan in the "pool of nectar" - that means, in the amrit of naam within us.

Following the Instructions of the Guru,
he is to chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har.

All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased.
Then, at the rising of the sun, he is to sing Gurbani.

Then at dawn of day, a sikh sings gurbaNi. In other words, naam has to be meditated upon from about 4 am till about 7 am. Roughly 3 hours.

Let us all reflect upon this. Satguru tells us to jap (repeat) naam for 3 hours and how much time do we, the so called sikhs, spend on naam?

Whether sitting down or standing up,
he is to meditate on the Lord's Name.

Then during the day, a sikh japs naam whenever possible. This really is only possible when a sikh japs naam at amrit vela because 'Vaahi-guroo Vaahi-Guroo' carries on inside all day long without too much effort.

One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har,
with every breath (saas) and every morsel of food (graas)
that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.

Again, let us all reflect. Are we pleasing to the Guru's mind?

That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate
upon that GurSikh, the Guru's Teachings are bestowed.

Now the interesting part. The Sikh who obeys the above instruction of the Guru, to that Sikh the Guru bestows the Guru's teachings. What are those teachings - those are Vaahi-guroo's teachings. waheguru is shown to the Sikh to be everywhere, within and without.

Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that GurSikh,
who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it.

After the above has taken place, then and only then, can a Sikh inspire others.

So the order (hukam) to "avra naam jaap-vay" is for sikhs who already have spent their life in Sikhi and have received the Guru's Supreme instructions (parm updhesh) and darshan (vision) of waheguru.

This is easily the most misunderstood gurbaNi tukk there is.

Every tom, dick and harry thinks they have the right to tell others to jap naam (like this fool is doing right now). But upon close inpection this tukk is for the Sikhs who have attained to Vaahi-Guroo jee. These GurSikhs are rare indeed and are described in more detail in the second part of the shabad.

'PAUREE: Those who meditate on You, O True Lord, they are very rare. Those who worship and adore the One Lord in their conscious minds through their generosity, countless millions are fed. All meditate on You, but they alone are accepted, who are pleasing to their Lord and Master. Those who eat and dress without serving the True Guru die; after death, those wretched lepers are consigned to reincarnation. In His Sublime Presence, they talk sweetly, but behind His back, they exude poison from their mouths. The evil-minded are consigned to separation from the Lord. || 11 || Panna305/306

So pyareoooo, enough of talk. Now it is time for action. Those of us who do not jap naam, should reflect upon gurbaNi and start as soon as possible. Daas believes now is the best time.

http://akj.org.uk/literature/article.asp?b=t&s=naam&f=asikhoftheguru