So Purkh, a personal experience.

Does the So Purkh work? A friend asked me a few months ago when I told her that I had completed a quarantine with this mantra for the first time. What does it mean that it works? I asked myself. What made me recite it for forty days?

The So Purkh is a shabad in the Sikh tradition written by Guru Ram Das and a recommended practice especially for women. Among its most mentioned benefits is the manifestation of the divine masculine energy (not necessarily a divine man) in our lives. Through my personal experience I have understood that beyond my initial motivations, reciting the So Purkh opens a path of reflection regarding the importance of healing patterns in relationships

My first motivation: “Cleanse the karma of your past relationships”

Isn’t this the best “selling point”of So Purkh? Who doesn’t want to clean the karma of their past relationships? Who doesn’t want to interact without the memory of fear or pain? From the list of benefits this was for me the most attractive one. Not without surprise I discovered that end releasing a karmic relationship is only the tip of the iceberg compared to the deep cleansing process this shabad activates. Meditating with So Purkh revealed to me that it was not simply a matter of healing the wounds of a specific relationship, but to discover the patterns that I repeated in my relationships.

Perhaps these questions resonate with you: Why do I invest more energy in my relationship with others than in my relationship with myself? Why do I make creative efforts for others’ projects that I have not done for my own yet? Why do I wait for the “perfect companion” to make that journey? Why do I cook for others with a love and care that I do not show in cooking for myself? This constant waiting for “the other” is not necessarily limited to relationships with the opposite sex. Partners, colleagues, creative accomplices get into the package of “self-imposed authorities”, those people whom we unconsciously ask for permission to create.

Sharing is a pleasure, but making other people the catalyst for any kind of creation weakens self-confidence and personal power. Perhaps we make an excuse of others: if the project or the relationship doesn’t work out, we will have someone to blame. And we blame them even when they are gone. So, what about my reproaches? Are they for someone else or are they for myself? Isn’t my inner saboteur my worst enemy? Who, but me, feeds it with neglected thoughts? “That’s my real karma,” I told myself, “I need So Purkh”.

Second motivation: To attract a divine man into your life.

If you accept your desires, you accept your power. Healing your wounds by over-analysis is like learning to swim without jumping into the water. The first time I recited the mantra the effects were astonishing: the manifestation, not of one man, but two. There is no drama to tell, nor Disney ending. I attracted two mirrors that invited me to transform into me what I was criticizing in them. I asked myself which habits, relationships and thoughts were not at the service of my evolution and well-being. Questioning my routines and everything that didn’t help me build self-confidence, showed me that an unbalanced man tends to abuse the feminine, sometimes even in the form of a plant.

The So Purkh is a purge. Just as ceremonies with sacred plants do not end when you return home, your sadhana does not end when you leave the mat. In the darkness of the room and far from the neutral mind, there was only one anchor left for me: to breathe. I was not meditating for a new love, it was impossible, I just wanted peace within myself. I wanted the gift of forgiveness: to forgive myself for having remained for a long time where I could neither love, nor create. The sun rose every morning to remind me that being at peace with someone does not imply being their friend, and no matter what comes in the future, I am responsible for my projects, my dreams and my own happiness.

Three proven effects of So Purkh, based in my personal experience:

Courage over the negative voice..

I have taken action for things I wanted beyond fear of the result. I have put energy into what I want to create and see growing. I do what is on my hands honestly and without judgment. What used to be a paralyzing search for perfection and expectations has been replaced by the search for authentic connection with others as a creative intention.

Manifest and materialize…

Ideas that were waiting for me to act. Writing about So Purkh and its effects is an example. Through this article I go beyond the usual indications on how to recite it and what for. I write from my own experience, and validate my own voice.

Materialize and share.

My favorite version of So Purkh accompanies me as I write. It is another way of meditate with it: while I write, I draw or create images. To activate the masculine and feminine energies in me, is to ignite and sustain my inner fire. I feed my self-confidence, I share what I do, I stop hiding. For me that’s healing!

Written by Crista.