Arise, Awake
Don't sleep through life — wake up to the truth before the night runs out.
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत
Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata, prāpya varān nibodhata
Arise! Awake! Approach the great teachers, and learn.
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी। यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः।।2.69।।
yā niśhā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti sanyamī yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśhā paśhyato muneḥ
That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the sage who sees.
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲਾ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਉ; ਵਡਿਆਈ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥
amrit velaa sach naau; vaddiaaee veechaar |
Punjabi
ਸੁਬ੍ਹਾ ਸਵੇਰੇ ਸਤਿਨਾਮ ਦਾ ਉਚਾਰਨ ਕਰ ਅਤੇ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੀਆਂ ਬਜ਼ੁਰਗੀਆਂ ਦਾ ਧਿਆਨ ਧਰ।
English
In the Amrit Vaylaa, the ambrosial hours before dawn, chant the True Name, and contemplate His Glorious Greatness.
Common thread
A call rings through every scripture: rise from slumber, the dawn of truth is already here.
Echo
Katha's “Arise! Awake!” and the Gita's “what is night for all beings, the disciplined one is awake in” meet the Guru's call to rise in the ambrosial hours and remember the Name.
📖 A story to understand
Each day before dawn, in the still ambrosial hours, Guru Nanak would rise to bathe and sing of the One. He taught that these quiet hours — when the world lies asleep — are the most precious of all, for then the awakened heart drinks most deeply of the Name.
Traditional sakhi / story (simplified retelling)