Amrit Vela Sadhana (Naam Japna) has always been one of the three cores of Sikhi along with right livelihood (Kirat Karni) and sharing with everyone (Vand Chakna.) All three are required for us to live a balanced life.
In Japji Sahib Guru Nanak Dev Ji tells us:
amrit vaylaa sach naa-o vadi-aa-ee veechaar.Karmee aavai kaprhaa nadree mokh du-aar.
Meditate deeply in the ambrosial hours of the morning on the Nam, deep and full of understanding. Your karmas will all be covered and the door of freedom will open.
And Guru Ram Das says:
gur satgur kaa jo sikh akhaa-ay so bhalkay uth har naam Dhi-aavai.
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.
If we wish to flourish and find the reserve energy and flexibility to thrive within every realm of our life, then daily early morning sadhana is a must. As Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji always said, 'First you make the habit, then the habit makes you.'
Recently a morning sadhana support website was created to help practitioners begin and sustain a strong morning sadhana practice. Of course, the blessing of morning sadhana in Sangat is great, but even if we are practicing individually, we can draw strength and inspiration from others, especially those who have had a strong daily practice over many years. The sadhana that most of us practice consists of Japji Sahib followed by 40 minutes or so of yoga and pranayama (breathing) to energize and awaken the energy needed for meditation, meditation on Naam for an hour and then Gurdwara and Hukamnama for the day. Additional banis can be recited during the Gurdwara or after its conclusion.
Even if you feel you cannot devote 2 ½ hours to morning sadhana, you can begin with goals you can sustain and then gradually build your practice. Practicing even twice a week can change your life - more can help you feel amazing! Developing the habit to do morning sadhana every day will provide every day with such a strong setup that you cannot ever become upset.
Figure out what you can manage and build on your successes and victories. Your power to sustain chardikala will become solid and your smiles, thoughtfulness, attitude of gratitude and blessing of others will lift the world along with every situation in which you find yourself.
MorningSadhana.org is a website designed to offer many levels of support to everyone who wishes to build a strong daily practice. Here you will find answers to your questions and explanations of what to do and why along with meeting others in your area who may wish to join you for morning sadhana in Sangat. Even if you just want a text or call in the morning to help you wake up, you’ll find that as well.
I invite you to check out https://morningsadhana.org/ and share the site with others who are working on themselves to build a strong foundation of Naam in their lives.
