A Blissful Awakening

A Blissful Awakening

When I wake up in the morning, I’m usually grumpy, tired, spaced out – sometimes energized. But rarely do I wake up feeling totally “blissed out,” singing the “Song of Bliss” – ANAND SAHIB, which some of you may know.

This morning, however, was one of those rare mornings where I woke up in a deeply joyful space. Normally it takes me forty-five minutes to two hours of sadhana to reach such a profound state of mental resolve and exuberant heartfelt awareness. Thus, what a blessed treat to awaken this morning vibrating the divine words of ANAND SAHIB. I was already tuned! Tuned with more sweetness than a piece of Belgian chocolate, with more buzz than a latte from Intelligentsia and with more nourishment than a Sun Warrior protein shake.

With the joy of this sound current radiating through my cells came a message to be delivered to all of you. And that message stems back to the reason Guru Amar Das was first inspired to sing the SONG OF BLISS: to recognize and celebrate the soul of one his late disciples, SIDH YOGI, who had reincarnated as his grandson. SIDH YOGI had requested to be reborn into the family of the Guru, so he would always be immersed in the bliss of Gurbani Kirtan.

The message I was asked to share is this: when a birth or death happens in your community, organize a KIRTAN to sing together the SONG OF BLISS called ANAND SAHIB. Singing it as a community strengthens the support and loving devotion that makes our lives so magical. Invite your friends, family, students, yoga center, Gurdwara. Sing, share food and celebrate this soul’s coming or going. The key is to do this TOGETHER. The legacy of the gift of this time is called Sadh Sangat. While immersed in group meditation, either singing or deeply listening, we have the gift of the Aquarian Age to uplift, exalt and excel.

For me the greatest experience of this Naam Simran took place at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. This is a place dedicated to glorifying the sights, sounds and feelings of Gurbani Kirtan. In March, I had the gift of co-leading a Minister’s Training Yatra with Guru Raj Kaur at the Golden Temple. The constant sound of Gurbani resounding over the water, through the air and within the souls of all the devotees fine tuned me and helped me to come to a deeper understanding of the cycles of birth and death.

With this renewed perspective, I learned to see birth and death as a continuous soul journey rather than in terms of gain and loss. Birth is not a beginning. Death is not an end. Rather, each marks a moment in the soul’s journey across time and space. During my time at the Golden Temple, a friend passed back in the U.S., a son of another met a fatal accident and a healthy baby was born; a shift, a jolt and a transformation. The sum total: souls moving, transitioning and continuing on their journeys, inviting us to come together as a community to sing, celebrate and awaken to bliss.

Here is an attachment of the Anand Sahib full 40 stanzas’ with Gurmukhi, English translation and transliteration for you to down load and use:
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/images/e/e4/Anand_Sahib_GRE_v2.pdf

Here is a link to the Gurmukhi recitation of the full Anand Sahib:
http://sikhwisdom.com/download/audio/Gurbani/2%20Nitnaim%20-%20Banis/Anand%20Sahib.mp3

Sat Nam & Blessings,
Satkirin Kaur

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