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Summary of Question:	How much sevaa will it take to cancel out my sins
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Thursday, 10/05/2000 12:45 PM MDT

Hi I want to thank you all again for answering all these questions You are doing a true sevaa here. My first question is I have stolen lots of stuff I stole a lot and have cut my beard before but a little bit where my parents didnt notice. My parents are very religious and if i wasnt a sikh they would kick me out the house. i want to change as a person and try to meditate but can never concentrate, my mind is on other things. I am also stuck in the material world is why I steal stuff to make myself better because I am inseure about my turban and beard, that is also why I buy new cars new jewelry ect. How can I conentrate better on meditating and how much sevaa must i do to be forgived for the my sins of the past, I do not steal anymore now and do not cut my beard at all now but I still do sometimes wear hats when I go out in public is my other problem. My insecurity is great and I know im doing wrong whats the best thing I can do to correct this? ANd since i wear hats out in public should I just cut my hair a

nd try to be a good person instead of living a lie and wearing a hat with intwentions to change that never happen Thanks
Navpreet Singh

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Reply
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Navpreet Singh ji. I feel your pain. But be kind and loving to yourself. Do not be so hard on yourself.

Think of yourself as a royal prince of the Guru. Your turban is a crown of grace and royalty. Your beard is regal and as it flows and frames your face, you are the picture of the Divine. I believe that men who wear their turban and beard with confidence are very radiant and appealing to all.

Do not let insecurity cloud your mind with thoughts of doubt. Smile on yourself. Laugh at your doubts. Tell your monkey mind to shut up when it starts feeding you doubt. You can choose to think positive thoughts too. Your mind will feed you 1000 thoughts per wink of the eye. It is mostly garbage being dredged up to your consciousness mind. We collect so much through the course of each day.

You say you cannot meditate because you are so filled with thoughts. Well, baby boy, this is what meditation is. Congratulations, you are meditating. Just keep weeding those thoughts until you end up with "Wahe Guru" in your mind. You probably are not doing it long enough.

The reason we meditate in the Amrit Vela, is to clean out those garbage cans of collected thoughts that we pick up each day. You are a human being. This is how you were created by God, with a monkey mind. Everyone has the same situation. You happen to be more aware than most. This is a gift.

So, you can stop beating yourself up. Practice makes the man perfect. This is why the Guru gave us a standard of living called the "Rehit". Every day is a practice. I do not believe that you have to be perfect to wear a turban and beard. I believe that you are stating your intention to live in God Consciousness by keeping your beautiful form.

You have a longing to master your meditative mind. This is fantastic! Start now! Guilt and worry is such a Christian attitude. Your past is gone, it is done. There is no right or wrong, it is thinking that makes it so. Let it all go and just start.

Tomorrow, begin your 40 day Sadhana. Get up before the sun rises. Bathe yourself in cold water...oil up first, and then put each part of the body in the shower as your massage it...be sure to wear katchera's or bathing suit to keep you testicles protected from the cold water. Then towel yourself dry. Sit in a quiet place wrapped in a warm blanket. Begin your Sadhana. Read Jap Ji in Gurmukhi to feel the effect of the Gurbani on your 3 trillion cells. Read it with all your concentration to hear it with your soul. If you really have trouble concentrating, then hold your breath for 1 minute as you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, back teeth together and flex your spine.(you need to be sitting crosslegged on the floor to do the spine fles properly).Exhale after the minute and repeat a few times till you have your focus back.
Then,
Read Jap ji Sahib in English so that you really understand what you are reading.Understand it! It will give you the most deep understanding of life. It will make you a master of your destiny. Remember, master is that which does not go after anything.

You need not to chase after anything. All the beauty and fulfillment lies within you. Just start. God bless you.