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Summary of Question:	Losing Faith - Restoring Faith
Category:	Meditation
Date Posted:	Wednesday, 2/06/2002 7:44 AM MST

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa

Waheguru ji Keh Fateh

I hope you can help me. I feel as though I'm losing my faith. There was a time when Waheguru was so strong in my thoughts but now I have become more entangled in what happens around me..work, going out etc. Although I haven't abandoned my morals with regard to drinking or smoking etc, but I still feel as though I'm living a completely disillusioned life. I've stopped doing paat because I just can't seem to concentrate. I know this is wrong and there is no way I can kid myself into believing that life is just about enjoying yourself.

When I used to pray before I think it was superficial..and that I was just reading the gurbani without any real concentration anyway so in a way I'm glad that I'm not doing it like that anymore. BUT i want to start again and this time I want to do it properly. I feel as though time is slipping away. I'm not going to wait until I'm old before I decide to do something about it.

I do like going out with friends..but I think that this makes trying meditating more difficult because you're head is full of rubbish thoughts. How can i strike a balance???
Can you recommend a short prayer I can do just to get me started..perhaps first thing in the morning (and could you tell me what it means in english too because I appreciate the meaning).

Thank you

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REPLY
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
Your experience is not unusual. Guru gave us a routine so that the worldly affairs would not consume us. That routine is to arise before sunrise, bathe, and meditate on the name. This means just that. It is not JUST doing paath, it is chanting the naam or vibrating the Naam mentally in your mind. There are many replies on this forum about how difficult it is to concentrate. Search 'meditation' or 'concentration' or 'amrit vela' on this site and you will see many posts about your issue. This routine sets one for the day and helps us to always keep perspective in our mundane affairs.

It is far easier to do paath or meditate before the sun rises. That time is really magical. That part of the planet where you are at that time is 'quieter' and so concentration comes easier. I don't know why beyond that but it's true, and our Gurus understood this. The best prayer to practice is Japji, since it summarizes Siri Guru, but you will feel it easier to concentrate on it if you include at least 11 minutes of Naam simran in your morning routine. (If you cannot manage the amrit vela, make it part of your morning routine whenever you arise.) Over time this regular practice will bring you better concentration.

As for a short prayer to recommend, I would rather you go elsewhere on this SIkh site to the Siri Guru Granth and or to Siri Guru in your home and find a shabd that appeals to YOU. On this site the English translation is below the Gurmukhi line, so you can start with a shabd you like that way. Work it out. Spend some time on it. Japji is also translated in the Siri Guru section of this site, and Guruka Singh also has his translation on this site. Search it. You can do it, your heart is in the right place, now act on it. Guru ang sang,
-DKK