By Kamaljit Singh

As I was watching a video recording of kirtan/katha by Sant Waryam Singh Ji (Ratwara Sahib Wale), it occurred to me that it offers lessons that could help a lot of people.  For the most benefit, I recommend listening to the full audio on the Ratwara Sahib website, which is just over 2 hours long (search for film #706). The video is in Punjabi. If you only kind-of understand Punjabi, I’d still recommend watching. If you don’t know Punjabi at all, translations of Sant Waryam Singh Ji’s books are available at the Ratwara Sahib website. Please note, however, that no translation can ever be as good as the original. Sikhs are encouraged to learn Punjabi so that the original books and katha can be understood.

Nevertheless, translations are very useful for those of us who are not fluent in Punjabi, yet want to learn more about spirituality and Sikhism. I’ve translated an excerpt of this video, which you can find below. Note that I’ve added text in brackets and parenthesis for ease of comprehension. All other text is direct translation.

Roohani Updesh by Sant Waryam Singh Ji (Ratwara Sahib Wale)

An excerpt from film #706, at about 18:00.

The path to happiness, oh Gurmukh [1], is the repetition of God’s name (i.e. Naam Japna).

“Naam japiye ta door hunde dukhre.”

Translation: “By repeating God’s name, pains go far away.”

If there is a treatment for all diseases, it is:

“sarb rog ka aukhad naam… kar ishnaan, simar prabh apna, man tan pey aroga.” 

Translation: “the cure for all diseases is God’s name… bathe [in the early hours of the morning], remember God, the mind and body will become free of all diseases.”

[By following the above guidance] the mind becomes free of disease, as does the body.

So where is God’s name obtained? From the perfect, true guru (i.e. satguru). In Sikhism, it is obtained from the panj pyare (i.e. five beloved ones). After we take amrit, they give us the mantir (e.g. waheguru). Then, according to the guidelines of Sikhism, we are to spend time in the sangat (i.e. congregation) of the great, realized souls, and do the work of repeating God’s name (naam di kamaee karo). After doing this work, slowly a spiritual stage is achieved and we get to the world of God’s name (i.e. naam de mandal).

Maharaj (i.e. the guru) says your prime duty, your most important duty, is to remember God. Everyday we read in Rehraas Saihib, but we never wait here, we never worry that “I have not merged with God, so many of my years have already passed.”

These are the thoughts that are obtained when we come into the satsangat (i.e. the true congregation).

Footnotes

[1] A gurmukh is a God-inspired person (i.e. one who follows the way of life prescribed by the Guru).