Most of us, when we think of Nam Simran think of "repeating God's Name" out loud, either musically, or simply verbally we think.... "Sat Nam, Sat Nam, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru..." but actually, that is Japa, not Simran. Japa is the audible repetion of Nam. In fact, the only command in the entire Siri Guru Granth Sahib is "Jap!" Jap what? "Aaad Sach, Jugaad Sach, Haybee Sach, Nanak Hosee Be Sach."
That mantram is commanded for Jap by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. What a powerful mantram!
But what of Simran? Simran is silent. It is not audible. Simran is the constant inner awareness of the Infinite - silently, through the breath and through a bij mantram (Har, Ram, Sat Nam, Hari, etc.) or through the Guru mantram "Wahe Guru."
Simran is not that you chant the Holy Nam loud and clear and wake up the whole neighborhood and then when it comes to the test, you act like the worst human being anybody has ever met! That is not Simran.
Simran becomes a state of mind. It is not something you do, it is something you are. It is the state of never forgetting your True Identity - being one with the One in everyone and everything.
When this habit of remembering becomes established, then you remember that you and God are One in every moment, with every breath, whether you are in pain or pleasure, whether the kids are crying at the top of their lungs or when you are just brushing your teeth or combing your hairs. You feel that everything is sacred and it is the constant awareness of the sacredness of all things that we call Simran.
"Simran has no other evaluation except its own self-generating power. A man without Simran is just a monkey on the tree. It will never change. Your grit, your strength, your stability, your depth and your totality is based on your simran. Simran is constantly tapping into the infinite. And then tapping into the Infinite you can have seva. There are four fundamentals. Tell me where we have gone wrong. Bana, bani, seva simran. We always say simran the last. Because simran is tek. Simran is our own 'tek.' Simran is our own strength. Simran is what we depend on. Simran is our companion. Our friend, our constant associate, our well-wisher. Our total support. Simran is the ambassador of God within us. It's our reality. It is the congeniality of man and God. Whosoever will do simran can do seva. Whosoever can do seva, can be understood through his bani and can wear bana. The order is actually reversed. The majority of people are very shaky when they wear bana. Especially in the United States. Because bana puts you right in front lines. The moment you wear bana, then you have to perform to what bana shows. If you do not match up with the performance of bana, you will be nakedly known for how stupid you are. A person will say, "Hey, you look different, but you talk common. Your feelings and emotions are common. You don't match up to who you are." Bana is a reminder to match up to who we are, to feel who we are, to understand who we are. And bana is also an invitation to people. It tells people, "There goes a Sikh of the Guru! There goes a person with purity and piety, who stands for something. There is the Khalsa." - SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa - March 25, 1990
