Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is a Mystery

There is a saying we’ve probably all heard, which is cute, because it rhymes. But it actually has a much deeper significance, in the context of our spiritual practice.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift from the Lord, which is why it is called the present.¹

Mystics tell us that true meditation is living entirely in the present, absolutely absorbed in the present moment. They tell us that if we can put forth our full effort while trying to do this, then that opportunity and the result of that effort, is a gift from the Lord.

Huzur Maharaj Ji puts this idea of living in the present in context:

Either we are miserable thinking about the past or we are worried about the future. We don't want to spend this present moment happily. There is something wrong with us. We never want to be happy at the present moment.²

How does this translate in practical terms?

At any point in time, our attention can be directed to either the past, the present, or the future.

When our attention is in the present, our mind is usually kept busy with our senses. We drive a car (eyes, hands, ears), we talk to someone (mouth, ears, eyes), we watch a movie (eyes, ears), we play music, we engage in sports, we write, etc…

All these activities require that our attention be in the present. It can be dangerous, for example, to play football, while thinking of what we’re going to eat for supper. We risk getting hit hard if we can’t devote 100 percent of our attention to the present moment.

Spiritual practice requires the same presence of mind, but while keeping our senses quiet, and making our mind motionless.

Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji explains how to do this in detail:

The first step is to withdraw the attention currents from the body up to the point where the sound can lift it. This is brought about by concentration of the attention in the eye center, which is possible only when the mind becomes motionless.³

Saints explain that if we can keep our mind in the present, while making it motionless, or empty, then this creates the room needed to allow the Shabd, Audible Life Stream, the Word, the creative energy to fill that void. When this happens, we feel a sense of bliss that mystics tell us can barely be described. And we are on our way…

From the Bible: “Be Still, and know that I am God.”⁴

The Great Master says the same: “The moment we are within, the sound current is there to take charge of us.” ⁵

Anyone who lives totally in the present for some period of time can feel a small dose of this bliss. The Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi used the word “flow” to describe how someone feels when absolutely engaged in a particularly demanding physical or intellectual activity. He describes this as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it”⁶

Athletes, for example, describe a state of “flow” when they are completely focused on what they are doing for extended periods of time. The words they use to describe this state usually include “peaceful” and “content,” and they often say they lose their sense of time. When they exit this state, some say they were in a blissful trance. Many artists, writers, surgeons, and others who must engage their mind deeply in the present for long periods of time often describe similar states of “flow.”

To do this with spirituality, we must reach this same state where our mind is 100 percent in the present, while cutting off access to all the senses. We usually achieve this by sitting quietly in a dark room.

So now again, the mind has three choices in where to focus its attention: the present (which is our objective), the past, or the future. Only now, it doesn’t have the senses to entertain it. Because of the mind’s history of going out into the world, its easiest course of action is to relive past experiences or worry about the future. It doesn’t like sitting quietly in a dark room while remaining in the present.

The French philosopher and mathematician, Pascal, famously said: “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”⁷ Initially, our mind just can’t stand this void.

Fortunately, mystics help us overcome this problem. They use our mind’s natural tendency to constantly dwell on and repeat words and images. They help us narrow that focus to five words, which is our Simran.

Most religions or philosophies have some form of mantra, prayer, or repetition. So this is nothing new. Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji explains this process as follows:

There are various methods for making the mind motionless and for collecting the attention currents in the eye center. But the simplest and the easiest of them all is the repetition of the holy names prescribed by the saints while the attention is fixed between the eyes.⁸

Mystics also give us practical tips and tricks to help optimize our spiritual practice. Each one of these is meant to either help keep our attention focused on the present, reduce our karmic footprint, or both. Vegetarian foods, for example, being lighter and easier to digest, tend to use less energy for the digestion process and allow us to concentrate more easily and more quickly. This diet also reduces the amount and intensity of killing we require to feed ourselves.

The same goes for abstaining from intoxicants: this improves our ability to concentrate and reduces the likelihood of engaging in behaviors which could result in heavy karmic loads.

And finally, doing our best to live according to good moral standards tends to reduce the chances of us getting enmeshed in complicated situations with others, thereby reducing our karmic involvement. It also leaves us with a clearer conscience, which is important when trying to eliminate all thoughts of the past or worries about the future when meditating.

Huzur Maharaj Ji describes the natural outcome of the meditation process in greater detail:

… the concentration that you get with Simran alone gives you peace and bliss and happiness. The more your mind is concentrated, the more happy you are; the more your mind is scattered, the more frustrated you are.…when you’re able to withdraw your consciousness to the eye center and still your mind, you feel bliss and contentment and happiness.⁹

However, even with the help of Simran, keeping the mind in the present can be difficult at first. The mind tries to escape by going to the past or the future.

When the mind goes to the past, it recalls or relives past experiences, often trying to find fault in others or ourselves. When things haven’t worked out perfectly, which they rarely do, our mind enjoys recreating the past in a more favorable light.

Saints explain that part of our spiritual practice is attempting to let go of the past; attempting to forgive – either ourselves or others. Forgiving others or ourselves when we are aware of our transgressions is one thing. What about the countless lives, and related karmic actions, that are unknown to us?

Saint Kabir in a poem which specifically refers to our spiritual practice and forgiveness, says:

But only one who dies while living
  and wears the diver's suit of forgiveness
  can dive and rise to the surface
  with the wealth of wisdom.¹⁰

He explains that part of our spiritual practice is learning how to forgive, to wear “the diver’s suit of forgiveness” when we go within ourselves and connect with the Shabd. We do this by exposing our mind and soul to the cleansing properties of the Shabd. Saints have explained that if you meditate on the pure name under the guidance of a Guru, your soul will be cleansed of sins.

Huzur Maharaj Ji talks about this cleansing that takes place in greater detail:

Forgiveness is for those karmas which we have been collecting in every birth and which we have brought with us today. Forgiveness is removing the coverings on the soul. Unless we are forgiven for all those karmas, the soul can never go back to the Father.¹¹

What about when we’re not thinking about the past? Sometimes when trying to do our Simran, our mind goes in the opposite direction: the future.

What is our typical mindset when this happens? We plan, we scheme, but mostly, we worry. Master Jagat Singh Ji explains why this is a problem: “Worry never helped anybody and it never will.”¹² And: “As a rule, concentration becomes difficult when we have cares and worries, for then the attention sticks to the heart center instead of rising up to the eye center.”¹³

As the stoic philosopher Seneca nicely stated, “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” In other words, the anticipation of danger is often much more terrifying than the danger itself.

Mystics further explain that most of our future is already written. We are so entangled karmically, that there is actually very little room for us to maneuver. If this is the case, then why worry so much about something we can barely change.

Master Jagat Singh wrote:

Life is not worth worrying over too much. It begins in folly and ends in smoke. It has to come to an end one day whether you like it or not. And its middle portion also passes away. The best policy is to laugh its worries away.¹⁴

So, although it is easier for the mind to dwell on the past, or worry about the future, mystics explain that this is a waste of time. Especially during those hours reserved for our spiritual practice. If we are to progress spiritually, we must bring our attention to the present, while keeping the mind still, making it motionless. They explain that as we do this, with regularity, devotion, and perseverance, it will become easier and eventually, pleasant. Ultimately, it should become that part of our day we most look forward to.

Huzur Maharaj Ji summarizes the importance of being in the present and how Simran is instrumental with this endeavor:

Either we are worried about what we have done or about what is going to happen to us. We don't want to make the best use of the present moment. If we make this moment happy, our past automatically becomes happy, and we have no time to worry about the future. So we must take life as it comes and spend it happily. Every moment should be spent happily. And simran helps.¹⁵

Simran, when properly done, is the ultimate expression of living in the present. Mystics explain that if we can repeat the words with deliberation, with conscious effort to concentrate, for a prolonged period of time, the mind will stop trying to go to the past or the future and will become motionless, in the present. If we can make the mind motionless, the Shabd will then automatically fill that void. The sound and the light that are the Shabd will guide us. This is the beginning of the path back to our true home. No more history, no more mysteries. Only the ultimate gift, or present, from the Lord.