“Naad” means “the essence of all sounds.” All languages contain sounds, which relate to one or more of the five elements of air, fire, water, earth, and ether. “Gurbani” is a perfect combination and permutation of sounds relating to all the five elements in complete balance. When Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, compiled the Siri Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, he put in only those banis which were in Naad. These compositions are called “Gurbani.” 

Naad is a particular vibration, a fundamental frequency that comes from one common source or sound current. It is the universal code behind language, and therefore behind human communication.

Naad is the glue or medium that connects the little me, the individual, to the Big Me, the Universal Self. For Sikhs it is the vibrational harmony through which the Infinite can be experienced.

Sikhs believe that we can alter consciousness by changing the chemical composition of the fluids in the brain.

There are 84 meridian points on the upper palate of a human mouth. One can feel that upper palate with the tongue and experience its different surfaces. There are two rows of meridian points on the upper palate and on the gum behind the upper teeth. The tongue stimulates those meridian points, and they in turn stimulate the hypothalamus, which makes the pineal gland radiate. When the pineal gland radiates, it creates an impulsation in the pituitary gland.

When the pituitary gland gives impulsation, the entire glandular system secretes, and a human being obtains bliss. The chemical composition of the brain becomes balanced, automatically changing one’s outlook on life. This is the science of Naad and Gurbani.

The entirety of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is in Naad.

~Resources: “The Science of Naad and Gurbani” (Sikh Dharma International) and “Naad Yoga and How Mantra Works” (3HO).