My Friends, Now Is the Time — Come Serve the Saints

ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ ਪੂਰਬੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥

raag ga-orhee poorbee mehlaa 5.

Raag Gauree Poorbee, Fifth Mehl:

ਕਰਉ ਬੇਨੰਤੀ ਸੁਣਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਮੀਤਾ ਸੰਤ ਟਹਲ ਕੀ ਬੇਲਾ ॥

kara-o baynantee sunhu mayray meetaa sant tahal kee baylaa.

Listen, my friends, I beg of you: now is the time to serve the Saints!

ਈਹਾ ਖਾਟਿ ਚਲਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਲਾਹਾ ਆਗੈ ਬਸਨੁ ਸੁਹੇਲਾ ॥੧॥

eehaa khaat chalhu har laahaa aagai basan suhaylaa. ||1||

In this world, earn the profit of the Lord's Name, and hereafter, you shall dwell in peace. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Listen, my friends. I am begging you. Now is the time to serve the holy, to be in the company of those who are genuinely seeking.

In this world, earn the one profit worth earning — the Name of the Lord. Then in whatever comes after, you will dwell in peace.

Now is the time — not later, not when things settle down — the window is open right now.

The deeper layer

Guru Arjan opens with genuine urgency: NOW is the time. Not when you retire. Not when the children are grown. Not when life settles down. Now.

This is not about religion as obligation. It is about recognising where the real opportunity lies. We spend extraordinary energy accumulating things that dissolve — money, status, comfort. The teaching is: the Name is the only profit that carries forward. Invest in it now, when you have the time and the body and the capacity.

A Question to Sit With

Is there something you have been meaning to do — something that would bring you genuinely closer to your best self — that you keep putting off? What is stopping you from beginning today?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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