Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In the third watch of the night, your whole attention is on what you have — what you own, how you look, what others think of you. The Name — the one thing that would free you from what binds you — doesn't cross your mind.
You get tangled in the illusion that wealth and youth are solid and lasting. Drunk on your riches, intoxicated with your own energy, life passes without you making the trade that actually matters. Good deeds, honest living — you haven't made these your companions.
Says Nanak: in the third watch of the night, the mind is fixed on wealth and youth.
The third watch — adulthood's great trap
The first watch was before you knew better. The second watch, you forgot in the sweetness of being loved. The third watch has no such excuse: by now you are an adult, full of energy and wealth and capability — and you have directed it all toward the wrong things.
Dhan joban si-o chit — "consciousness fixed on wealth and youth." These two — dhan (wealth, property, possessions) and joban (youth, vigor, beauty) — are Guru Nanak's shorthand for the entire constellation of things the ego pours itself into during the height of life. They are not wrong in themselves. They become a trap when they occupy the center: when the Name is displaced and these take its place.
"Confused by Maya"
Bikal bha'i-ā sang māiā — "you become confused by Maya." The word bikal is important: it does not mean corrupted or destroyed. It means distressed, disturbed, off-balance — like someone who has lost their orientation. Maya does not destroy the soul. It confuses it. The remedy, in Guru Nanak's frame, is not to reject wealth or beauty but to reorient toward the Name — to restore the inner compass.
The trade not made
Dharam setī vāpār na kīto, karam na kīto mit — "you have not traded in Dharma; you have not made good deeds your friends." The merchant metaphor returns: what is Dharma here? It is righteous living — truthful dealing, genuine action, care for others. The merchant who should have been building a portfolio of good deeds has instead been throwing capital at things that will depreciate to nothing.
*When you look at how you actually spend your energy and attention each day, what is it that you are trading your life for?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI