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Summary of Question: | Is Doing Path Same As Naam Japna?? |
Category: | Sikh Practices |
Date Posted: | Wednesday, 7/24/2002 7:18 AM MDT |
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Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
Many people will approach this question from different persepctives, so let me offer one thought on the difference.
Path is a recitation/meditation on the Bannis. This is a process of spiritually instructing your own soul through the Gurus' words. The Bannis have many important principles/truths contained therein which give guidance to the mind and help shape our understanding of the world, of reality. They are a call to awaken our deepest, truest Self.
Naam Japna is a state of consciousness. There is a line from Sukhmani that says, "The Name of God is found in the heart of His Lovers." Naam is not an actual word. It is an experience of the Divine within your own heart. Japna is a total embrace of the Naam where you are (1) meditatively and (2) continually abiding in the presence of the Naam within your own heart. So doing Path and meditating on the words of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib awakens the experience of Naam Japna within you.
As I said - others will probably see this and talk about this differently, but here is one perspective.
God bless.
GPK