Amritvela - WHY?

As we begin to follow the path of Sikhi, we question many things, one of them being Amritvela. Why do we need to wake up at Amritvela? Why is it important? Why can’t we just do our Nitnem whenever we wake up? Why is Guru Sahib Ji trying to make our lives so hard? WHY?

­On Ang 305 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj, Guru Ram Das Sahib Ji Maharaj very clearly tells us what the duty of a Sikh is in regards to Amritvela.

ਮਃ ੪ ॥ Fourth Mehl:

ਗੁਰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਜੋ ਸਿਖੁ ਅਖਾਏ ਸੁ ਭਲਕੇ ਉਠਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵੈ ॥ One who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru, the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on the Lord's Name.

ਉਦਮੁ ਕਰੇ ਭਲਕੇ ਪਰਭਾਤੀ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ਕਰੇ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸਰਿ ਨਾਵੈ ॥ Upon arising early in the morning, he is to bathe, and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar.

ਉਪਦੇਸਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਪੁ ਜਾਪੈ ਸਭਿ ਕਿਲਵਿਖ ਪਾਪ ਦੋਖ ਲਹਿ ਜਾਵੈ ॥ Following the Instructions of the Guru, he is to chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased.

ਫਿਰਿ ਚੜੈ ਦਿਵਸੁ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਗਾਵੈ ਬਹਦਿਆ ਉਠਦਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵੈ ॥ Then, at the rising of the sun, he is to sing Gurbani; whether sitting down or standing up, he is to meditate on the Lord's Name.

ਜੋ ਸਾਸਿ ਗਿਰਾਸਿ ਧਿਆਏ ਮੇਰਾ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਸੋ ਗੁਰਸਿਖੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਨਿ ਭਾਵੈ ॥ One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food - that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.

ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਦਇਆਲੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਮੇਰਾ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਤਿਸੁ ਗੁਰਸਿਖ ਗੁਰੂ ਉਪਦੇਸੁ ਸੁਣਾਵੈ ॥ That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate - upon that GurSikh, the Guru's Teachings are bestowed.

ਜਨੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਧੂੜਿ ਮੰਗੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਗੁਰਸਿਖ ਕੀ ਜੋ ਆਪਿ ਜਪੈ ਅਵਰਹ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥੨॥ Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that GurSikh, who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. ||2||

So, if we are to call ourselves “a Sikh of the Guru”, Amritvela is a must. Guru Ram Das Sahib Ji Maharaj instructs His Sikhs to wake up early in the morning, do ishnaan (bathe), do Simran, and then sing Gurbani (Nitnem and other Banis). Are Guru Sahib’s instructions not enough of a reason for us to wake up for Amritvela?

The second Hukam from the 52 Hukams issued by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji Maharaj, which a Sikh is to abide by, states that a Sikh is to give dasvand (10% share). When we talk about dasvand, we usually only think about giving 10% of our income to the needy. However, there is more to dasvand than just giving some of our salary to those in need. We also need to give 10% of our time to Guru Ji – that equals to 2 hours and 24 minutes of Naam Simran, reading Gurbani and doing Keertan. If we spend an hour doing Simran, an hour doing our morning Nitnem, 20 minutes on Rehraas Sahib and 5 minutes of Sohila Sahib, that’s our dasvand completed for the day! 

In His fourth Hukam, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji Maharaj tells us to rise during Amritvela. It is Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Hukam, our Father’s Hukam that we must wake up during Amritvela. Who are we to refuse to abide by our Father’s command?

The reason why we are to wake up so early in the morning, and not later on during the day like the rest of the world, is that it is the most peaceful time of the day – there are no unnecessary noises or distractions. While the rest of the world is still sleeping, we have the perfect opportunity to focus and meditate. If we wake up later on during the day and do Nitnem, it can be extremely hard to concentrate. Imagine trying to make your mind focus on Paath while you can hear the dishes clattering in the kitchen, mum yelling at your siblings, dad on the phone to someone in India, and the blonde woman from the morning show telling you the day’s weather… unless you’re the next Mahapurkh (if you are, then please bless us too), trying to focus with all that going on in the background is going to be VERY hard!

Now compare doing Simran and Nitnem during Amritvela to doing it later on during the day. Waking up for Amritvela and being able to concentrate while doing Simran and Nitnem will only help us get closer to Vaheguroo Ji, and reach our ultimate goal of becoming one with Vaheguroo Ji. Whereas doing Simran and Nitnem during the day when you cannot concentrate will not help us as much. Still think Guru Sahib Ji is trying to make our lives harder? Or are They actually telling us how to fulfil the purpose of our lives?

For someone who's been reciting Japji Sahib from a young age, I've never truly understood what I've been reading/listening to and in all honesty, my knowledge before this was incredibly poor. I was introduced to this katha a week or so ago and since then I've been listening to it (for literally two days) and I can honestly say my understanding of Japji Sahib has vastly increased. For those of you who aren't familiar with Bhai Sukhraj Singh, he's an incredible Gursikh known for his work with Sikh2Inspire and has a very familiar face that I'm sure many of you Smethwick folk are familiar with. My understanding is that he studied Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj for ten years at Sri Damdami Taksal researching deeply into our breathtaking scripture to educate the sangat today. Though I don't know Bhai Ji on a personal level, I've been blessed numerous times to be in the company of a Gursikh with such wisdom and pyar.

I'm only on the third video of Japji Sahib de katha and I already have pages full of notes. I highly recommend this katha to anyone who wishes to learn more about the incredible poetry written by our blessed Guru's.

Dhan Dhan Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj