ਚਿੰਤਨ

Aisa naam niranjan hoye. Je ko mann janey mann koye.

If right listening has happened, it will transform you. But, for those who have not yet got the knack of listening, Guru Nanak says the next step is of contemplation. Not thinking, but contemplating. The difference between thinking and contemplation is the difference between swimming and diving. When you swim you move from one point to another but on the same level. When you contemplate you dive deep into one word only. On the surface you may not have moved at all, but you go deep into the word.

Contemplation is the mantra. Contemplation is the essence of Guru Nanak’s teachings. That is why he kept repeating the one naam Omkar. You don’t have to think about it; you have to dive into it. Let only this one sound resound inside and outside. And, as the echo becomes louder you will go deeper.

There are three planes: First is articulation. You pronounce the sound loudly. You use your lips, and the sound is heard outside. Second, you close your lips, you don’y even move your tongue, and the sound comes from within. In the first plane you use your body; in the second plane you use your mind. This second plane is deeper than the first plane. Then the third plane is where even the mind is not required, where you don’t make the sound; you just sit silently and listen to the sound. At this plane even the mind goes, and, once the mind goes contemplation happens. At this stage, contemplation becomes listening. This is listening at another plane. This sound is the source of life. Until you reach this point there is only the labyrinth of words which are man-made and utilitarian. The only sound that is not man-made, that is not created by friction, that has existed and will remain is the sound of Omkar. Because it is the nature of existence.