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Summary of Question:	Regarding Path
Category:	Gurbani
Date Posted:	Sunday, 5/21/2006 3:44 PM MDT

"Waheguruji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh"

sat sri akal,

Babaji first i want to give a brief introduction about myself my name is vikramjit singh chawla born in business family where my parents are both sikhs & have a strong believe in gurbani,my age at present is 25 yrs, our house has babaji ki sawari (sorry! if i have used wrong words) i am not sure whether we use these words for "Guru Granth sahib ji".
till last year i was very relaxed about path & kirtan i used to think yes i believe in god n dats the end of the world n listening to kirtan & doing is not my cup of coffee,but things changed for in april-may 2005 (last year).one of my freind he is a namadhari & he alwayz used to tell me dat you shld path evryday let it be for 10 mins but you shuld do it n den i started with japji sahib & dukh bhanjani sahib only n tuesdayz & some other weekdays but slowly slowly i was regular with japji sahib & by month of may(last year) i started doing my japji sahib ka path on regular basis & den in september something went wrong with our family n i realized dat its bcoz of my mother's & dadi's path dat we came out of that problem & den i started doing japji sahib ka path , dukh bhanjani ka path, chupai sahib ka path & then on i was regular with my path but at wrong times sometimes i use to do my japji ka sahib ka path & rehras ka path together in the evening n other path along with them but all at wrong times n just few months back i got words of wisdom from someone & now i come back from work at 12-1:00 at night from my work(i am into restraunts) & i do my path. now my schedule is like dat i come back from my work at 12-1:00 in night i do my kirtan sohila ka sahib ka path, choupai sahib ka path & 2 ashatpadis from sukhmani sahib, den i go back & lay down on my bed & get up by 3-3:15 am take my bath (amrit vela) & do my japji sahib ka path, 4 ashatpadis ka path from sukhmani sahib ji & dukh bhanjani sahib ka path ,i do ananad sahib ka path on mondays & fridays also & finish it with ardas & in the evening i do my rehras sahib ka path with again dukh bhanjani sahib ji ka path & 2 ashatpadis from skhmani ka path n again in nite dats how my days go by,

i am very sorry i now babaji its not a very brief introduction but i wanted to tell it someone.my questions are

1. whether my schedule is goint right or not? please guide me the right schdule babaji for my path

2. whenever i do my path i am not able control my thoughts & my concentration
goes hay wire?what shld i do to have ctrl over my thoughts

3. if today if dont do my path on right time i feel very restless , do u think dat i going on right track?

4. while doing my path where should i concentrate , my parents, gurunanak dev ji's photo, gurudwara sahib ?

5.please guide me towards the right way so that i can concentrate on path & achieve the "naam" in near future?

6. babaji what is "naam" n how can i get the naam to achieve what i want to achieve in my life

7. babaji one most important question i m into restraunts n very often i have to eat chciken or mutton n den at nite i have to come do my path & all i do is wash my face & hands & do my path please tell what i should in this case? should i continue todo my path like this.

i know i have taken loads of ur time babaji (sorry for that) but babaji plzz answer all my questions.

"Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh"

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reply
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Sat nam. You are doing more paath than many, so my request to you is stop judging yourself. The goal of a gursikh is to keep the naam ever in one's mind.
Answers to your questions:
1. Your schedule is fine. As you evolve your life and practice, it may have to shift. This is alright. Japji tells us the time to remember God is the ambrosial hours of the morning--a truly magical time, so that is the goal, but doesn't mean we can't do paath at other times.
2. The mind puts forth 1000 thoughts a second. No one but the most developed yogi can concentrate fully. Keep chanting and bring your mind back. The more you practice this, the easier it will be.
3. Your body and spirit are USED to paath at the same time. The reaction to missing it is not unlike missing a meal. Do your best to make it up and keep your schedule, but realize sometimes life happens and we get thrown off schedule.
4. COncentrating on Darbar Sahib or literally concentrating on the gurmukhi words themselves (see them in your mind's eye if you recite from memory) is good. Or focus on an Ik Ong Kaar. You don't need to do this, but it helps make the practice one of focus at all levels.
5-6. The naam has been described elsewhere in this forum search 'what is naam' in the searchbar. Understand that naam is an EXPERIENCE that will be unique to you. And also understand that the experience of the naam is developmental and you have really, daily, some experience of it through your paath. This experience grows with practice, but no one can say it will take xxxx length of time. Time is per the individual and the karms involved. Just keep up!
7. The experience of naam can, truly, be enhanced by living a vegetarian diet. It's not an overnight thing. This forum has many many questions on meat versus vegetarian, so search it out and draw your own conclusions.
Guru ang sang,
DKK