Simran (
Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official scrip ...
: ਸਿਮਰਨ, pronunciation: ; ; from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, is a Hindi and Punjabi word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of the self, and/or the continuous remembrance (or feeling) of God. This state is maintained continuously while carrying out the worldly works outside.
Sant Mat
In
Sant Mat
Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i.e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following '' sants'' and their tea ...
, the word simran is used for the spiritual practice of repeating the
mantra
A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
given by the
Satguru during
initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...
. The mantra itself is also called Simran. Simran repetition is done during
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
and also outside it.
Sikhism
''Simran''—commonly used as a verb in
Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official scrip ...
—refers to 'meditating' on the name (''
nām'') of God. Sikhism is a distinct faith, whereby God can be realized purely through individual devotion, without subjection to rites and rituals by priests or other intermediaries.
According to the
Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...
, through simran, one is purified and attains
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
(
''mukti''). This is because ''si-mar'' means 'to die over', thus indicating the death of ego, allowing the realization of ultimate truth (
''sach'') to appear.
On page 202 of the Guru Granth Sahib:
This hymn teaches that a person who wishes to gain from this human life must attain a higher spiritual state by becoming free of attachment by realizing emptiness of worldly phenomena. Thereby, merit is acquired by devoutly repeating, comprehending, and living by the sacred word every day so as to progressively reveal the divine and ultimate truth to the person who earnestly seeks it:
Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who ...
says in ''Sarang ki var'' (Guru Granth Sahib, 1242):
See also
*
Vipassanā
*
Dhyana
*
Dhyana in Hinduism
Dhyāna (Sanskrit: ध्यान) in Hinduism means meditation and contemplation. ''Dhyana'' is taken up in Yoga practices, and is a means to ''samadhi'' and self-knowledge.
The various concepts of ''dhyana'' and its practice originated in t ...
References
Spiritual practice
Meditation
Sikh practices
Sant Mat
Hindu practices
{{Hinduism-stub