by SS Guruka Kaur Khalsa, Espanola NM
Winter 2012
I know we commonly think of prosperity in terms of money, being financially comfortable, and so on. But I feel that my life is so prosperous and so blessed and has so many riches in it. Practicing my “Sukhmani sadhana” moved me into a space of shifting my life and being able to serve my teacher and serve our Dharma. I’m filled with incredible gratitude and happiness and prosperity.
I recited Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani Sahib every day for about 17 years. It began quite a while ago, during the time that the Siri Singh Sahib’s heart first started bothering him and he was unable to travel. I was meditating on his heart in many different ways, praying for clearing the arteries; praying for his heart.
Guruka Kaur at the marriage of her son, Siri Krishna Singh, with Gurushabd Singh and her husband Guruka Singh.
On the morning of Guru Ram Das’ birthday, while we were chanting Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur for 2-1/2 hours, I heard the Siri Singh Sahib’s voice saying to me as clear as if he had been sitting next to me, “Do Sukhmani for me every day.” And so I did.
I took it really seriously and I started doing Sukhmani for him every day. It was such an incredible experience in my life. Even though I was doing it for the Siri Singh Sahib I really felt like it changed my personal life drastically. With his blessings, Guruka Singh and I left Columbus, Ohio and went to California, eventually moving to New Mexico three years later.
Even though I never talked to the Siri Singh Sahib about the fact that I did Sukhmani for him every day, I felt that it eventually changed my relationship with him.
There was one point when I was going through a lot. He had me come out here to Espanola and he said, “I’m fixing you, and I don’t do this for everybody any more. I’m doing this for you. You need to understand what a huge thing this is right now.” Then Guruka Singh and I ended up living here.
It was very hard for me when the Siri Singh Sahib passed, because I didn’t know what to do about Sukhmani. It was the 17th day after his passing and we were having the big event here in Espanola to honor him. I couldn’t even go over to the Ranch. I sat down in my room, turned the heat all the way up, covered myself in my blankets and pillows and started to recite Sukhmani.
Releasing Sadness
I just started crying and releasing my sadness and I finally realized that I had to start to do Sukhmani for Guruka Singh! And I did do that for about three years, until I realized that cycle was completed for me.
There are so many things Sukhmani did for me. It was the first time I ever got steady in any sadhana, ever. Maybe it was because I wasn’t doing it for myself, but for the Siri Singh Sahib. Before that I would do a perfect sadhana for six months and then I wouldn’t do any sadhana for three months and then I would do a perfect sadhana for four months and then not do sadhana for two months. I was always flipping around.
But once I did Sukhmani I understood that I could do something every day. From then on my sadhana got steady and I never missed sadhana again. It was my first relationship with “discipline being my best friend.” Once I had that experience I could apply it to any part of my life. I feel like it blessed my whole family.
About the Author
SS Guruka Kaur Khalsa is an ordained Sikh Dharma Minister. She serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Ethics & Professional & Spiritual Standards. She also serves as Executive Director of the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers’ Association and is a Senior Executive Advisor for IKYTA. She took her Minister vows in 1973 and has been a student of the Siri Singh Sahib for over 40 years. She is a member of the Espanola sangat where she lives with her husband, MSS Guruka Singh and her son Gurushabd Singh.
