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How To Keep Your Eyes Closed


Guest Naam-Jup
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Guest Naam-Jup

I find it very hard to keep my eyes closed in the sangat! Whenever I try i can only do it for 2-3 minutes. Then i keep on opening them.

It feels like that somebody is watching me, or somebody is about to call me to do some seva, or dare i say it it even seems like people are laughing at me ;/ thats why i get paranoid and always keep them open (and just genreally cannot keep them closed) and my eyes always wonder, so i cannot concentrate.

I have also seen people keep their eyes closed for HOURS!! Can i get some tips please on how to keep my eyes closed! Waheguru

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Guest ima nihang so m cool

keeping the eyes open or closed doesnt always mean concentration, even tho its a useful way once you know where to focus and the reasons for it

sometimes closing eyes allows the mind to wander more

the key isnt to close the eyes, its to calm and still the mind, if you cant keep them closed, keep you dhyaan on Guru ji and on the paath or kirtan, focus on a point with your eyes, its the same

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Yeh I recommed the third eye or heart. Kill all the people around you off and just make it you and god. You came alone and you'll die alone, these people mean nothing to your naam simran so ignore the what ifs and what are they thinking mentality. These are the tests put forward by guruji to see how much faith you have in him.

By choosing to care what others may or may not think you're choosing them over the guru. Just think they are all a part of god so relax and ignore, act like your in a vast ocean alone.

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I find it very hard to keep my eyes closed in the sangat! Whenever I try i can only do it for 2-3 minutes. Then i keep on opening them.

It feels like that somebody is watching me, or somebody is about to call me to do some seva, or dare i say it it even seems like people are laughing at me ;/ thats why i get paranoid and always keep them open (and just genreally cannot keep them closed) and my eyes always wonder, so i cannot concentrate.

I have also seen people keep their eyes closed for HOURS!! Can i get some tips please on how to keep my eyes closed! Waheguru

How much paat do you do a day? Do you get up for Amritvela? Do you do simran on a daily basis? What is the main focus of your life? Your eyes are wandering because your mind is wandering and is not focused on Sri Waheguru ji. Train your mind with the Shabad Guru. Some people do paat like its a speed track. Stumbling over words, mispronouncing words, missing words, and they can't even remember what was said in the last line. Close the Gutka and move on. What you need to do is everytime you stumble over a word or mispronounce a word when doing paat in a shabad. Finish the shabad and then start back from the top of the shabad and do it again. Then continue on with your paat. If you mess up again do the same. Finish the shabad, but go back to the top and read the shabad without any mistakes. This will train your mind to focus on what is being read and absorb the Bani. Also when you do paat, make sure your taking in what is being said. if not, on every line you read and can't remember what was said. Go back and read the line again. If you must do it 10 times then make sure you do it. You do this everyday for a week the Bani will come out of you and all will be Chardikala. But don't stop at a week keep going every day.

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I too had the same problem. Here are some tips that helped.

Go Gurdwara when it is relatively empty, say late evenings, find a spot, put on headphones with simran and just try for 2 - 3 minute bursts of concentration with little or no self-consciousness. Do this until you can do it for longer periods (like 20 minutes in an empty Gurdwara). Where you do this is important, try and find a location of the darbar that is as isolated as possible. A quiet corner perhaps?

Where you sit can make a difference. Sit where you are not easily in the visual field of the sangat - like right at the back.

The trick is practice your focus in less distracting environments and then practice what you have learned in the more busy environment later, if that makes sense.

But I hear what you are saying and I find that I prefer going to the Gurdwara when it is emptyish than full, just so that people don't think I am doing a 'dekavah' with the focusing.

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If you can't focus on god in a gurdwarra, I don't know where you can. How can people say they care what other people think of them in the one place they actually SHOULD NOT care?

Who cares if you go into smadhi in a gurdwarra or even start moving about uncontrollably as a result of meditation on god. In a gurdwarra this should be applauded not laughed at. People who laugh do so in ego and fail to see the divinity in these things.

Ignore everyone else and do your simran, god is everywhere so you can and should praise him anywhere.

I too had the same problem. Here are some tips that helped.

Go Gurdwara when it is relatively empty, say late evenings, find a spot, put on headphones with simran and just try for 2 - 3 minute bursts of concentration with little or no self-consciousness. Do this until you can do it for longer periods (like 20 minutes in an empty Gurdwara). Where you do this is important, try and find a location of the darbar that is as isolated as possible. A quiet corner perhaps?

Where you sit can make a difference. Sit where you are not easily in the visual field of the sangat - like right at the back.

The trick is practice your focus in less distracting environments and then practice what you have learned in the more busy environment later, if that makes sense.

But I hear what you are saying and I find that I prefer going to the Gurdwara when it is emptyish than full, just so that people don't think I am doing a 'dekavah' with the focusing.

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if keeping your eyes closed leads to to many thoughts... then open them or vice versa.

if the mind is too active, lower your gaze. if too sleepy, raise your gaze.

also, many find it helpful to keep eyes roughly half open and lightly softly focus on the tip of the nose while doing simran. this helps greatly wiht focus

you can also use a mala.

another tip is DO SIMRAN OUT LOUD and listen to the sound. don't do vichaar, just listen to the sound. do this for a while and thoughts will be overcome.

do lots of ardas all the time again and again. do dandout bandhan and keep asking. every . single. day.

waking up early / sleeping slightly less than your needs help preven excess thoughts.

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If you can't focus on god in a gurdwarra, I don't know where you can. How can people say they care what other people think of them in the one place they actually SHOULD NOT care?

The world is diverse and people appear to go to the Gurdwara for different reasons. Some to pray, some because family has made them, some for social element, some for spiritual. Some because they are illegal immigrants who have no place to sleep, some because they are troubled etc. etc.

No one is perfect and we are all victim to the vikaars inside of us. I still think I am less than an infant spiritually, so it doesn't surprise me that I sometimes have these silly battles to fight. Plus people will be people and at this moment in time I generally like to try and keep my faith a very personal, private matter as much as I can I guess.

But I have witnessed people mock other people doing paat/bhagti in the Gurdwara which is quite shocking when you think about it - this is stuff like nodding towards and smirking at what people are doing whilst they are trying to concentrate. People should know better - but they don't....that;s humans for you I guess?

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Yes please forgive me you are right and I am a hyprocrite because I have held back many times due to stress about people around me etc.

But I have come to a point where I can do bhagti in the midst of people with my eyes open (at work etc).

Perhaps this could be a beginning point for people. I know it's difficult to ignore peoples vibes etc, but we really are drops in an ocean, we're all gods children, god in different forms, we must all accept this fact and move forward or we'll never get over slander/ never stop judging others as bad etc when its really god teaching us a lesson/ wiping away our karma (for which we ourselves are responsible aand noone else). God gives us pain for a reason, perhaps we are being set a test with these people around us to distract us. We must ignore and continue, we all have the same aim whether it';s realised or not- union with god. You're just ready to pursue it and not slander others, but perhaps facing slander is the only way to reach your aim as it has been for so many bhagats. If you can't pass through the forest you'll never get where you want to be, people are never going to stop slandering, so what will you/we choose?

(quote name='dalsingh101' timestamp='1292532016' post='480849']

The world is diverse and people appear to go to the Gurdwara for different reasons. Some to pray, some because family has made them, some for social element, some for spiritual. Some because they are illegal immigrants who have no place to sleep, some because they are troubled etc. etc.

No one is perfect and we are all victim to the vikaars inside of us. I still think I am less than an infant spiritually, so it doesn't surprise me that I sometimes have these silly battles to fight. Plus people will be people and at this moment in time I generally like to try and keep my faith a very personal, private matter as much as I can I guess.

But I have witnessed people mock other people doing paat/bhagti in the Gurdwara which is quite shocking when you think about it - this is stuff like nodding towards and smirking at what people are doing whilst they are trying to concentrate. People should know better - but they don't....that;s humans for you I guess?

ਐਸੇ ਝੂਠਿ ਮੁਠੇ ਸੰਸਾਰਾ ॥ ਨਿੰਦਕੁ ਨਿੰਦੈ ਮੁਝੈ ਪਿਆਰਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ ਜਿਸੁ ਨਿੰਦਹਿ ਸੋਈ ਬਿਧਿ ਜਾਣੈ ॥ ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦੇ ਦਰਿ ਨੀਸਾਣੈ ॥: Aise jhooth muthe sansaaraa. Nindak nindai mujhai piaaraa. Jis nindahi soee bidhi jaanai. Gur kai Sabade dar neesaanai: Such is the falsehood (worthless activities, corrupt thinking, ਝੂਠੇ ਵਿਚਾਰ, etc.) that's plundering the worldly people (of their spiritual life - ਆਤਮਕ ਜੀਵਨ ਅਜੇਹੇ ਲੁਟਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ ਕਿ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਸਮਝ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਪੈਂਦੀ). The slanderer slanders me, but even so, I love him (because, by doing so, he takes my sins upon himself). ||1||Pause|| He alone knows the Way, who has been slandered. Through the Shabad, he is approved at the God's Doors (he keeps the Lord's Name in his heart - ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਉਹ ਆਪਣੇ ਹਿਰਦੇ ਵਿਚ ਵਸਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ) (sggs 1330).

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