Ardaas - prayer

A prayer that is recited by Gursikhs at least 3 times a day. There is a formal way of doing Ardaas, which is standing up with folded hands, and this is usually done after Nitnem. However, we are not just set to one way of doing Ardaas. As long as the mind is set in the right place and the prayer is said from the heart, it will be heard in Sach Khand (the realm of truth). Our prayers are usually not heard (in most cases) because our concentration wavers and it is not said whole-heartedly or secondly we are still found wanting spiritually. When doing Ardaas straight after Abhiyaas or Nitnem our surtee (conscious state) should be very high and concentrated, thus we come to do a whole hearted prayer.

Ardaas is something we humbly do before our master, so that he may grant us what we want. Therefore, it should be done everyday to stay at a humble spiritual state. If we do not do Ardaas then we get ego, because ardaas is also a way of thanking God for the little spiritual and physical treasures he blesses us with. Ardaas will help us to progress spiritually, it keeps us neech (down) but also gives us confidence in everything that we do, knowing we will do it successfully with the hand of God protecting and forever blessing us.
Everytime you achieve something, whether it be at school or whilst doing Naam Abhiyaas then always do an Ardaas thanking God, you will realise that the blessings increase ten-fold and you obtain more Phal (fruit) from your Simran and Sevaa.


jo maagehi t(h)aakur apunae thae soee soee dhaevai
Whatever I ask for from my Lord and Master, he gives that to me.

Panthik Sevaa

Every Gursikh wishes to do sevaa for a Panthik cause. And rightfully so we should pray for such an opportunity.

What is Sevaa, and how do we do it?

Sevaa is the service of Vahiguroo, God through humanity. There are many ways of doing selfless service. The Gurdwara Langar is just one of them, infact, a Gurdwara can be called a training ground for such duties. As Gursikhs we should help every single human being outside of the Gurudwara Sahib also. Help every human being to find out who they really are and what purpose they are really here for. Remember, we are but guests in this world only for a short stay, make the most of it by doing Naam Abhiyaas. This is perhaps the biggest and most fruitful sevaa that a Sikh of the Guru can do. Naam Simran is Sevaa if Vahiguroo himself, so don’t delay, engross yourself in it right away.

Gursikhs like Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindraawale, Bhai Fauja Singh and many more laid down their lives, this can also be counted as Panthik Sevaa, i.e. service for the Khalsaa nation. Daas recalls reading on a Forum that Bhai Fauja Singh, in one of his letters wrote “If you are going to build an organization, then build it of Naam”. This is very true indeed, an organization can only be successful if it has he power of Naam.

Naam is such a thing that it can not be seen, it can only be experienced. It can be experienced in many ways, Prem (Love) is one way. Love is a beautiful thing that we can all spread to every human being. Naam automatically creates an aura around you which is of love, then everything is attracted to you.

If an individual wants to do Panthik Sevaa, then they should be Tyaar- Par – Tyaar (ready for any situation) and most importantly have a Jeevan which is based on Naam Simran and Amritvelaa. If one does not have Naam Simran, then their sevaa could be simply ego. With Naam, our ego is killed and we can do Sevaa to the best of our ability, but our ability has no limits when we become Naam Abhiyaasee.

So, in a nutshell, the point Daas would like to get across is that we should have a strong foundation of Naam and Baanee and then we will automatically come to do Panthik Sevaa, because God will get these people to do the selfless service himself. You may have noticed that Gursikhs who have done such service for humanity are great Abhiyasee souls such as Baba Nand Singh, Sant Gurbachan Singh Bhindraawale, Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh, Sant Attar Singh, Baba Harnam Singh etc, the list is endless. All these Gursikhs had a life full of but one thing. Naam.

naanak naam binaa ko thhir nehee naamae bal jaasaa 10
O Nanak, without the Naam, nothing is permanent and stable; I am a sacrifice to the Naam, the Name of the Lord. 10

Bf/Gf Relationships

Creating such relationships is very immoral and immodest thing to do. Perhaps, we see no shame in these things, it is the age of Kal we are standing one leg anyway.

These types of relationships can cause great injury to our personal life and most of all our spiritual life, which we should all be aspiring to improve everyday. One may think that they are committed enough in this relationship, but one is only committed when they are committed to Naam, then everything will shine out and you will be able to discern right from wrong.

Read the Jeevanees of Gursikhs from the olden days, none had a love marriage. Our Guru Saahibaan all had ‘arranged marriage’ (if that’s how you want to put it). A householders life (Gristhee Jeevan) is a very big thing and was encouraged by our Gurus. It will improve our Sangat and Amritvelaa. However, leave this all to your parents. Our parents know us much better than we know ourselves! Of course we will shudder to agree with this statement though. Once a very inquisitive lady asked me, ‘are you having an arranged marriage?’, I said ‘Yes, I will leave it to my parents to decide’. She replied, ‘It is a good thing, I’m on my second husband, things still aren’t going well and I picked them both myself.’ This is not to say that ALL love marriages are wrong, the only true love marriage is to Vahiguroo God. This is the avasthaa of Sunn Samaadh.

Of course, we are Kal Jugee Jeev (mortals of this age) and we are bound to get lustful thoughts at sometime (some people may not, due to karam) but we must suppress these feelings out of our system. How? Simple. Naam.

Infact, do not fight with the mind, you will end up loosing, recognise what is there (in this case lust) and replace it with Vahiguroo.

These relationships drain out our spirituality because firstly, it is simply not in the Sikh Rehat Maryaadaa to do such things and secondly we have not done Anand Kaaraj in front of Guru Granth Sahib Jee. So this relationship has not been made ‘parvaan’ or acceptable in the court of the almighty lord Vahiguroo. There are a lot more things to do in life other than make such worldly entanglements, think about your Parents and repay them for what they have done for you, think about Naam 24 hours 7 days a week and you will fall into love with the greatest thing around, ever and ever.
Aad Sach Jugaad Sach Hai Bhee Sach Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach

Ekta? Anyone

Three times a day, we as Gursikhs do an ardaas for the Ekta of the Khalsa Panth. What is Ekta? How can it be achieved? What are the different types of Ekta?

It is Kaljug, the world is divided. There is only one way to achieve Ekta, which is through Naam. Through the one commoness of Naam we all have one aim in life, which is to ultimately merge with the true source. We should look at ourselves as Ambassadors of Sikhi, and spread the message of Guru Nanak, which is about peace, unity and meditation. Strenghten yourselves by keeping one Rehat of Siree Dashmesh Jee and becoming ready for any situation ahead.

Ekta on a bigger scale, is Ekta with Vahiguroo God. This is the ultimate type of Ekta, when our soul enjoys Naam Ras in the warm embrace of God, however, in order to achieve this Ekta it is a must that we achieve unity between the Panth and the World. It is just a matter of time that Unity comes in the Panth, and a matter of time that unity comes throughout the whole world. However, on must note that it will only come when we are all Naam Abhiyaasees and spread genuine love amongst other human beings, become the Charan Dhoor of everyone. No one is higher and no one if lower. Strive to do your best in whatever you do and always do Ardaas and stay humble.

There is no use squabbling over worldly matters, which is what we see in Gurdwaras every week. We must start doing Vichaar of Gurbani and Abhiyaas of Naam in Gurdwarai and get the Youth involved. Getting the Youth involved means a safer structure for Sikhi. Once their is Ekta in the Panth what makes us think we can stop there? Naam merges all types of people together. When a Gursikhs starts to Jap Naam, others are automatically drawn to him - so much is the power of Naam inside him and in this way love scent spreads from one to another.

We need a tolerant society. No, tolerant is such a harsh word, we need a loving society, in which everyone lives together peacefully, sharing and caring for one and other.

When you start to Jap Naam you will start seeing the light of God contained in every single human body, which gives you the strength to smile. Whenever you are about to unwrath your anger, just smile and see God in that person, Maharaaj is just testing you. Anger is notoriously dubious, with anger we say a hundred foul words and break relationships, in the Rang of anger we loose our sense of calmness and loose other peoples respect. Think about it, there is no Jathebandee except the Khalsa. There is no Caste, Creed or Colour. Just Naam. Take examples from Praatan Gursikhs, such as Bhai Ghaniyaa Jee, who did not see no friend or fiend. He was a Naam Raseeyaa Gursikh who used to eat the left overs from Guru Kaa Langar which also shows his humility.

Recognise the Human Race as One.