You have got to feel a bit sorry for our Guru. He does such a beautiful job of attempting to inspire us to try Naam Simran. But I know I am not alone in admitting that my "little self" has often tended to ignore my Guru because he always says the same thing, he gives the same advice, over and over and over. The Guru of the Sikhs offers the same medicine for every ailment. I complain to him about how I am feeling ill, or stressed financially, or about how my friends are suffering and I don't know what to do for them, or about my own family and personal situations and my Sikh Guru always says the same thing. Basically he murmurs, or sometimes shouts at me like I am deaf, "Have you tried Naam Simran for that?"

Mind you, our Guru gives me this tip in many different moods and ways,
sometimes he is amusing and incredibly cute about it, sometimes he gets firm
with me, reminding me that on Death Day I will be VERY VERY glad I did the RIGHT thing. But mostly, he is simply sincere and nectar sweet and
encouraging. He helps me pray and gives me faith and I marvel at how he knows what I need to hear. And I am completely bemused about how the SGGS was written hundreds of years ago, in a different World from this one in which I now live. And I connect with my Guru in a whole different language than the one that he wrote in; that is, until I am better able to communicate in his language of Gurmukhi.

I really love my amazing Guru.

Thus I feel sorry for the Guru of the Sikhs because he keeps on repeating
himself so beautifully and we keep on ignoring him and his message. So to
make amends, I have been really working on Naam Simran of late and I love it and good luck HAS increased for me. The SGGS speaks all the time about how every gift comes from practicing Naam Simran, including peace of mind, and Worldly, as well as Spiritual, success.

Now, I suppose, that it is hardly "selfless" if I do Naam Simran to obtain
all the gifts our Guru has promised, but on the other hand, no matter what my motivation, I must report that I perceive that my blessings have increased since I got serious about the work of doing Naam Simran as much as possible each day.

This experience has changed me already. For one thing, suddenly, but
hopefully not permanently, I feel sorry for myself more than for the Siri
Guru Granth Sahib. What a pity I didn't start doing more Naam Simran that
very first time my Guru ever mentioned it to me. That was, of course, the
very first time we met this life! I might have saved myself from going
through a bunch of karma.

I guess I have to blame my failure on youthful egotism and bad translations.
I simply didn't learn about the Adi Granth as personal Guide and Guru
quickly. I did all sorts of wild meditation and yoga and ritualistic practices instead of simply doing Naam Simran.

Really stupid, because Naam Simran is so easy and stress less compared to all the weird ways I have tried to find GOD in my past. The whole Creation is pulsing with LIFE. LIFE is "Vaheguru, Vaheguru" (though some call GOD different Names, of course). LIFE and LOVE and TRUTH are all GOD-stuff and they happen all the time whether I want to NOTICE them or not.

Now, I WANT to notice. I really want to witness all the LIFE and LOVE and TRUTH happening all around me all the time. I really desire the gift of the Naam.

Every blade of grass is singing out with green refreshing "Vaheguru,
Vaheguru".
The clouds huff and puff, and drift on the currents of "Vaheguru, Vaheguru".
Each brick in every building
and every pebble loose on the street,
or those imbedded in the concrete,
and the pull of the road on my imagination,
are all manifested here in LIFE,
along with an infinity of other simultaneous Creations,
inner and outer,
macro and micro,
and they all simply beam with "Vaheguru, Vaheguru".

The Truth is that even our blindness to the obvious fact that humans are designed to be able to witness the wonder of "Vaheguru" (humans are built to NOTICE and reflect, that is what we do best) well, that "blindness" is just the "Vaheguru, Vaheguru" playing "hide and seek" with us.

Relax and stop working so hard to discover GOD,
o my "self",
the "Vaheguru, Vaheguru"
is not hard to find,
as soon as you stop worrying about your "self"
and simply hold your "self" equal with all beings;
trees and grubs and dolphins and rocks alike.
From 3 Galaxies over
elephants look just as interesting and important as humans,
as does every other possible type of creature
from every other possible world.

It is hard to maintain a sense of superior ego
when humanity is such a predatory and destructive species.
Being human is embarrassing, lets face it.
We are the bad guys.
But I feel sorry for us anyway.
I do.
I feel sorry that humans don't do more Naam Simran,
and really explore our human role as joyful witnesses
to the Creation/Creator.
Please GOD, help us remember and notice You,
the great "Vaheguru, Vaheguru, Vaheguru, Vaheguru"
all around us,
at all times,
everywhere.

Kamalla Rose Kaur is a professional writer, theater director, workshop and seminar leader, publicist, events planner and singer.

USA born of Irish descent, Kamalla Rose Kaur embraced Sikhism in 1972 at age 18. She tried everything for over twenty years, including frantic practice of Yoga, until she learned "why Sikhs are so adament about having the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as their only Guru."

The author welcomes comments and feedback: Love&Light. Her articles are available in archives.