Amrit Vela

For a Sikh this is the best time in the day to meditate.

muhO ik bolxu bolIAY ijqu suix Dry ipAwru ]
muha k bolan boleeai jith sun dhharae piaar ||
What words can we speak to evoke His Love?

AMimRq vylw scu nwau vifAweI vIcwru ]
a(n)mrith vaelaa sach naao vaddiaaee veechaar ||
In the Amrit Vaylaa, the ambrosial hours before dawn, chant the True Name, and contemplate His Glorious Greatness.

The time given varies from person to person, jatha to jatha but around 12-6am is the best time.

Personally, this has always been (and still is) my greatest challenge.

As a teenager, I spent alot of my time in bed. Late nights we're brought on by computer games, late night television or simply laying in bed trying to get to sleep (with no luck).

The key to waking up is going to sleep. Our body needs atleast 6/8 hours of sleep depending on the individual. Maybe more if we are involved in stressful/physical activities during the day.

One day you might only sleep 4 hours and be fine, but the next day you need to remember to go to sleep that much earlier in order to 'catch up' on your sleep - otherwise it's really hard to maintain your waking up time.

The best way is to sort a time, and stick to it. Keep reminding yourself why your getting up. The Guru has told us countless times through Gurbani that the best time to meditate is in the ambrosial hours, and if we want something from God - be it a new car, good education or the Lords Name then we must do something for God.

Dedicating a minimum of two and half hours a day isn't hard, if we have our priorities right. The only thing certain in life, is death. And when we die the only thing that will go with us is the Mistakes we make everyday, and how much we've remembered God through Simran/Seva/Gurbani.

Why forget the Lord that gives us everything, and more?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well reminded.

Thank you for the English translation of those quotes from the Japji Sahib.

I totally share your pain of struggle with the morning hour. I have finally achieved the morning time Goal dedicated to Satguru, for I quit my job 3 weeks ago and eer since i stay up all night, so that I am up in the peak morning hours. I sleep through the day - But it works alright, at least for now, and is truly AMAZING!

Satguru has a plan for all, right?

Confused Khalsa said...

Congratulations :)

i think the most logical thing, if possible, would be to sleep and then wake up for amritvela though.

As when you do get a job, its going to be hard to catch up on your sleep and it might even effect the quality of your work.

I personally believe (so its probably wrong) that waking up at amritvela is a sarifice. One of the most precious things to a human is his sleep, so when you actually go to sleep in order to wake up its harder to actually get up, then to stay awake.

Atleast your getting up though right :)
Soon, with the Grace of the Guru, I will be able to solidfy my AmritVela times too.

All the best.

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa
Vaheguru ji Kee Fateh Jio.