Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 3), Salok 95 — whose name in the early hours
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In the very early hours, before dawn, whose name should we call?
Call the Naam of the Highest One, who has the power to break and to build.
In the quiet hours before dawn, call on the One who makes all things.
vadrhai jhaal jhalumbhlai — in the very early morning, while the world is still dim. Sikhs call this time amrit vela, the sweet hours before sunrise. The mind is clear then, like a lake before the wind starts.
The verse asks a question. Whose name should we call? The answer comes right away. Call the Naam of the Highest One. bhannan gharhan samrath — the One has the power to break and to build. Think of someone playing with clay. They can squash it and shape it again, as many times as they like. The One shapes and reshapes everything that is.
What would it feel like to start a day in stillness before anything else?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI