SIMRAN

In Sikhism, it is very interesting to make a differentiation between "Jap" and "Simran". Though in English language, "Jap" would simply mean enchanting the name of God and "Simran" would mean contemplating on it. Sikhism teaches us to meditate on the holy word "Waheguru" which is also referred to as a "Guru-mantra". Some preachers emphasize on the word "Waheguru" as an acronym with the following expansion:

Wa - Vishnu

He - Hare Krishna

G - Gobind

R - Raam

This expansion is interesting because all the prophets mentioned belong to different ages or "yugs" of Indian mythology which classifies the time into four "Yugs".

1) Sat-yug

2) Treta-yug

3) Dwapar-yug

4) Kali-yug

Each yug has different timeline and age and also different messiahs or "Avatars". Though one year of demigods or "Devtaas" is equal to 360 years of humankind, hence the age of different yugs can be calculated as:

Satyug - 48000 x 360 = 1,72,80,000 years

Tretayug - 36000 x 360 = 1,29,60,000 years

Dwaparyug - 24000 x 360 = 86,40,000 years

Kaliyug - 12000 x 360 = 43,20,000 years

Though all these yugs have a specified timeline and are assumed to occur in circulation, realization of GOD is considered easiest in Kaliyug- "The Dark Age" which is currently going on. And the way of realizing god as recommended by most of the prophets of various religions is by meditating on his name.

In Sikhism, some devotees practice a very powerful and effective technique called "Swaas-Giraas Simran" which is often propagated by various "Jathas". In this technique, the word "Waheguru" is bifurcated into two words i.e. "Wahe" or "Wah" + "Guru". In order to preform "Swaas-Giraas Simran" one must inhale with the sound of "Wah" and exhale with the sound of "Guru". On repeating this process consciously for some time, one realizes that the human body automatically responds to this word and a sound of "Wah" or "Wahe" is produced while inhaling breath with full vigor and the sound of "Guru" is produced while exhaling breath with the same amount of vigor.

One simply needs some practice to adopt this technique for changing his/ her life as it is a very useful technique for meditating on lord's name and practically too, it's a wonderful stress buster. One could experience the universe within oneself with the help of this technique. It is definitely worth trying and adopting for a better and more spiritual life.