Guruka Singh:
The question is: the Guru says remain awake sitting and standing, day and night. Does that mean you have to keep yourself up all night and never sleep? Is it bad to sleep? How can you remain awake yet be asleep?
Being asleep doesn’t mean you are not aware. When you sleep, your brain is processing things. But there is a deep sleep called thuriya - where you are completely surrendered in your sleep. So what the Guru is saying is - if you have surrendered yourself to the Guru, and you feel that complete trust and complete surrender during the day, and on the vibration of Kirtan Sohila - you surrender yourself into sleep - you are still in His care.
That vibration of Naam goes on continuously inside you. Your heart beats in the rhythm of Naam. Your breath comes in and comes out, in the rhythm of Naam. The energy in your body pulses in that rhythm. When you rest in that during the day, you live in your root - not out in the leaves. You live in your root, in your breath, in your blood, in your heart. You live in your center. And when you fall asleep, you fall asleep in the root - connected. And you wake - connected. That connection you feel as you release yourself into sleep and that connection you feel as you rise from sleep.
The problem is - you have made your life chaotic. The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is reach for your phone. Who Facebooked me last night? Who messaged me? Oh - I have to do this and this and this today. Oh my God - I forgot to do that. This is late. I have to meet that person. I’m late waking up. I have to get dressed. I have to get to work.
And when you fall asleep, you fall asleep thinking about the movie you just watched, or the television show. Or you fall asleep thinking about some dilemma or problem that you have. What am I going to do about this? Oh my God - my boss is this. What’s going to happen. You fantasize about possible things that can go wrong in the future. You fall asleep in bad vibration. You wake up in the hustle and hassle of your life.
Guru is saying - let your sleep be like your wake. Be grounded in Naam. Be grounded in your own Identity. Let the affairs of the world be far from your mind. Meditate during the day, even while you speak and act, and live your life. And meditate during the night, even as you sleep. Wahe Guru is every breath. Rest in that and wake in that.