Regular prayer is essential to help build our faiths. Just like nutritious food is a necessary component to physical growth, prayer is a necessary component to spiritual growth. However, that is where the comparison ends. When we eat nutritious foods, we help keep our physical existence healthy but when we feed our soul with regular prayer, it provides energy that helps us build our spirit, mind, and body. Regular Upasana has the ability to generate so much “Sat” (pureness/good energy) and this spiritual energy translates into every aspect of our lives. We are mentally and physically charged to be better and do better.
So what is “Upasana”. First, let’s define it. The word “Upasana” is broken up into two words: “Up” and “Asana”. “Asana” means to sit. “Up” means closer. When we combine these words, it means “to sit closer. Thus Upasana means going and sitting next to Paramguru, not only with our bodies but also with our minds. If our minds are wandering around, it means we are not doing upasana properly. In our dharma, we have ONE Upasana. Our Upasana is “Akhand” meaning continuous. It is just split up into two parts, so one part can be sung in the morning and one can be sung in the evening. There is one section of the Upasana (the Guru Mahima Saakhi) that is sung in the morning (at the end) and in the evening (at the beginning). This section serves as a “joiner”.
Our Upasana is long.
It is long but, Guruji says that our Upasana is an ‘ansh of our granths’ – meaning one part of all of our granths. He also says, “Gagar ma sagar che.” This means that there is a whole oceans worth of water in a small pot. Our upasana is a comprehensive prathna because it has bhakti, gyan, seva, vairag, samarpan, bhaav all within it. What do these words mean?
Bhakti means prayer.
Gyan means knowledge.
Vairag means detachment.
Samarpan means devotion.
Bhaav means emotion.
Most prathnas have one or two of these qualities which make them great methods of prayer but they aren’t comprehensive. Our Upasana has all of these qualities, making it a full prayer. So it might be tough to focus and do it in the beginning but stick with it!! Persistence will pay off and you will truly experience your faith growing and your connection to Paramguru strengthening.