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Sikhism·Raag Tukhaari·Shabad 2
Verse 2 of 5

The Second Watch — Wake and Tend Your Field

ਦੂਜਾ ਪਹਰੁ ਭਇਆ ਜਾਗੁ ਅਚੇਤੀ ਰਾਮ ॥
doojaa pahar bha-i-aa jaag achaytee raam.
The second watch has begun; wake up, you unconscious being!
ਵਖਰੁ ਰਾਖੁ ਮੁਈਏ ਖਾਜੈ ਖੇਤੀ ਰਾਮ ॥
vakhar raakh mu-ee-ay khaajai khaytee raam.
Protect your riches, O mortal; your farm is being eaten.
ਰਾਖਹੁ ਖੇਤੀ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਰ ਹੇਤੀ ਜਾਗਤ ਚੋਰੁ ਨ ਲਾਗੈ ॥
raakho khaytee har gur haytee jaagat chor na laagai.
Protect your crops, and love the Lord, the Guru. Stay awake and aware, and the thieves shall not rob you.
ਜਮ ਮਗਿ ਨ ਜਾਵਹੁ ਨਾ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹੁ ਜਮ ਕਾ ਡਰੁ ਭਉ ਭਾਗੈ ॥
jam mag na jaavhu naa dukh paavhu jam kaa dar bha-o bhaagai.
You shall not have to go on the path of Death, and you shall not suffer in pain; your fear and terror of death shall run away.
ਰਵਿ ਸਸਿ ਦੀਪਕ ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਦੁਆਰੈ ਮਨਿ ਸਾਚਾ ਮੁਖਿ ਧਿਆਵਏ ॥
rav sas deepak gurmat du-aarai man saachaa mukh Dhi-aav-ay.
The lamps of the sun and the moon are lit by the Guru's Teachings, through His Door, meditating on the True Lord, in the mind and with the mouth.
ਨਾਨਕ ਮੂਰਖੁ ਅਜਹੁ ਨ ਚੇਤੈ ਕਿਵ ਦੂਜੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਏ ॥੨॥
naanak moorakh ajahu na chaytai kiv doojai sukh paav-ay. ||2||
O Nanak, the fool still does not remember the Lord. How can he find peace in duality? ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The second watch has come. Time to wake up fully.

My life is like a field I have been given to tend. If I drift off, the good in it gets nibbled away. So I stay awake and love the One — and then nothing can rob me.

When I live this way, the fear of endings loses its grip and simply walks off.

The teaching lights up my mind the way the sun and moon light the sky, and I hold the True One in my thoughts and on my lips. Where else would such peace come from?

Tend the field of your life awake, and nothing can steal its harvest.
The deeper layer

The second watch. The field or crop (khaytee) is a favorite image for the life we have been given to tend; staying awake and loving the One keeps it safe. Note that the sun and moon are lit “by the Guru’s teachings” — an inner light, not an outer one.

A Question to Sit With

What is a “field” in your life that grows well when you pay attention to it?

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

About this shabad →
← Verse 1 of 5 The First Watch — Guard What Is Precious
Verse 3 of 5 →The Third Watch — Do Not Let Love Put You to Sleep
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