From Mortality Awareness to Inner Awakening: Exploring Mindfulness and Spiritual Consciousness in the Vaani of Satguru Sukhramji Maharaj

Abstract

Mindfulness and spirituality have increasingly emerged as important areas of interdisciplinary inquiry, particularly in relation to human consciousness, self-awareness, emotional regulation, ethical living and the search for meaning. Indian spiritual traditions have historically addressed these concerns through contemplative practices, remembrance of the Divine, self-inquiry and awareness of human mortality. The teachings attributed to Adi Satguru Sukhramji Maharaj, preserved in the form of Anbhai Vaani Ji, offer a distinctive spiritual framework centred on awareness of mortality, remembrance of Ram Naam, the nature of the self, the limitations of worldly intelligence, and the pursuit of liberation.

This paper presents an interpretive study of selected teachings from the Vaani Ji, with particular attention to a Pad beginning with the idea that a person may regret at the time of death having failed to employ his intelligence in spiritual remembrance. The teaching challenges the conventional understanding of intelligence and success by suggesting that worldly cleverness has limited value when it is disconnected from awareness of mortality and spiritual purpose. From a mindfulness perspective, the text can be interpreted as an invitation to remain conscious of the present human condition rather than becoming completely absorbed in material concerns. From a spiritual perspective, remembrance (sumiran/bhajan) becomes a disciplined practice through which the individual redirects attention from external preoccupations toward inner consciousness.

The paper argues that the Vaani of Sukhramji Maharaj can be productively examined as a vernacular contemplative tradition in which mortality awareness functions not as a source of fear but as a catalyst for spiritual awakening. The study further explores the relationship between attention, remembrance, self-awareness, ethical discipline and liberation. By bringing this relatively less explored spiritual literature into academic discussion, the paper contributes to the broader understanding of Indian approaches to mindfulness and spirituality.