Start your day right with... Amrit Vela

It has been a hectic week at work with a lot of issues and project work to be done. Sometimes makes you feel to just drop everything and run away. But thats how life is, we are never in a position to do the things that our heart wants to do. Anyways, enough philosphy, lets talk Gurbani. I know said in my last post that I want talk further about different types of death...but oh well, there is more to life than just death (hmmmm...very insightfull!!).

Today I will take up another topic which sends chills down my spine (as it is so cold in the morning) ...Amrit Vela. The other reason it sends chills is because this is one thing that I want to get back to doing more consistently, but is not always possible. Now there has been a lot of discussion on this topic on various forums and everyone seems to have their own interpretation of what exactly is Amrit Vela. Starting with our true source of knowledge in this internet age - Google, here is an intresting definition I found for amrit vela:
"It is this time of each day when the "veil" of the ego (limited self) is thinnest and so we can mindfully observe all the negative habits that lead you away from health, physical stamina, wholeness and higher consciousness and neutralize the desires underlying those habits one by one". In another place in the same article it describes the exact time as 2.5 hours before sunrise.
Now lets see my interpretation of it in 3 phases of my life:
1) When I had never been to satsang: Amrit Vela...Whats that???
2) When I had started doing satsang and was very enthusiastic about doing things the right way: The same as above i.e. I used to beleive that Amrit Vela starts at about 2.5 hours before sunrise and that one has to sacrifice their sleep and listen to keertan, recite banis, read and understand whats written in Guru Granth Sahib
3) Now when things are going well and when everything is done only if it is practical: One hour before you normally wake up. So if you wake up normally at 8am...it would mean 7am.

Now lets see what the Guru has to say about it (Warning: Some of the things said by Guru may not be to our liking...but that doesnt stop the Guru from sayig the truth):

fareedhaa pishal raath n jaagiouhi jeevadharro mueiouhi
Fareed, if you do not awaken in the early hours before dawn, you are dead while yet alive.
jae thai rab visaariaa th rab n visariouhi
Although you have forgotten God, God has not forgotten you.

jhaalaaghae outh naam jap nis baasur aaraadh
Rise early in the morning, and chant the Naam; worship and adore the Lord, night and day.
kaaraa thujhai n biaapee naanak mittai oupaadh
Anxiety shall not afflict you, O Nanak, and your misfortune shall vanish.

outh fareedhaa oujoo saaj subeh nivaaj gujaar
Rise up, Fareed, and cleanse yourself; chant your morning prayer.
jo sir saaee naa nivai so sir kap outhaar
The head which does not bow to the Lord - chop off and remove that head.
jo sir saaee naa nivai so sir keejai kaae
That head which does not bow to the Lord - what is to be done with that head?
kunnae haeth jalaaeeai baalan sandhai thaae
Put it in the fireplace, instead of firewood.

chirree chuhakee pahu futtee vagan bahuth tharang
The sparrows are chirping, and dawn has come; the wind stirs up the waves.
acharaj roop santhan rachae naanak naamehi rang
Such a wondrous thing the Saints have fashioned, O Nanak, in the Love of the Naam.

Intrestingly Bhagat Fareed ji has given an alternative use for the head (after cutting it off) of someone who does not get up and remember God...as an alternative source of energy (beat this Obama). Now this may sound pretty raw and might even offend some. But what needs to be understood is the Love and the sense of urgency that Fareed ji is trying to potray by shocking the listener. Fareed ji is saying that if we are not spending time with God, we are wasting our life and its as good as being dead. There is tremendous Love in his sayings and he beleives in shock therapy (cures the hiccups in our life).

So now that we have established that Amrit Vela is an important part of ones spiritual, physical and mental progress (read second quote again)...so whats the reason that we dont do it, even after listenening to stern warnings and loving chide from the Guru? Its gotta be my laziness:

maeraa man aalaseeaa oughalaanaa
My mind is lazy and sleepy.

bikhai naadh karan sun bheenaa
He listens to the sounds of sin and the music of corruption, and he is pleased.
har jas sunath aalas man keenaa
His mind is too lazy to listen to the Praises of the Lord.

this saevath man aalas karai
My mind is reluctant to serve Him;

manamukh ko aalas ghano faathae oujaarree
The self-willed manmukh is very lazy; he is trapped in the wilderness.

So it has been established that I am basically very lazy when it comes to doing anything related to singing Gods Praises and serving Him. What really was expected out of me was "vannj maerae aalasaa har paas baenanthee " (Be gone, O my laziness, that I may pray to the Lord). Part of this is inherit laziness and part of it is the lack of realization of the urgency of the situation. I was wondering how come I never feel lazy if I have a flight or train to catch even at 4am? So the real issue is not priortizing God in my life. Sometimes I feel that God is a priority in my life but still Amrit Vela is something that is not feasable with the current workload in my office, home (cooking, taking care of kids, family). I guess God/Guru understands all that, the question is what is our priority in life? If we align our priorities, then even a small attempt to do Amrit Vela will greatly enhance our closeness to God.

In conclusion, I would like to share this experience with whoever is reading...for the past few days, I tried getting up at Amrit Vela and seeing the effects. Since its not easy to focus your mind completely on listening to keertan, I was playing chess on my laptop at around 4am while listening to keertan. To my suprise, the whole day I was either playing chess or thinking about it. The next day, I was in a different act and again the whole day was spent doing that act or thinking about it. Then I thought to myself, that the effect of doing something at amrit vela is that it stays with you the whole day, and you do/think about it the whole day. So the third day I really focussed on listening to keertan and doing reading and understanding Japji Sahib, and LO..the whole day I spend with awareness, having that loving feeling and a positive attitude towards life....no problem at office or at home could disturb the peace that I felt within. And my friends that is what I beleive is the power and importance of Amrit Vela. Its a kickstart to the day in the right direction.
This is my take on it...let me hear your views.


Thats my take on it..your thoughts are welcome.