Arshi ji,

Guru Fateh.

First of all I want to thank you for your great effort and a wonderful essay with a very important topic which has been discussed many times in this forum as in others but Sikhi is always about the new perspective of this beautiful Gurbani of ours, that is why Sikhi is the only way of life that did not stop in time with its founders like most of the other religions in the world did. The Gurbani was compiled by our visionary Gurus in such a futuristic manner that, we, as the followers of our only Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, have the opportunity to see the different angles presented by the same lyrical poetry with time. This is the reason Gurbani urges us at every single page to read, read, study, study, understand, understand and practice, practice daily, so that we can widen our horizons rather than living in some religious cocoons built by their respective founders.

One thing Guru Nanak and all our Gurus were, “The Devil’s Advocates” and I want to emulate that rather than the other famous terms that some scholars use before they tend to disagree or scold someone,” Malice against none,” “With all my humility” etc. etc. because for me as a person these are just charades, nothing more, the disdain and anger is quite apparently seeping out of these terms.

Allow me to expand about it a bit further what I mean by why our Gurus were, “The Devil’s Advocates”. They were never afraid to ask questions. If Guru Nanak had not asked any questions to the Pandit about the utility of the Janeiu, then all of us would be still wearing it. This is just one example out of many and our Sikh history is full of them and they are known to all the Sikh Literati, hence no need for other examples.

Questioning is the cornerstone of Sikhi. This is the reason we are told to study Gurbani everyday. Nitnem is the same we do everyday. It is like the gem miner who is mining the same mine daily and finds nuggets of gems and precious metals. Same thing is required of us by our Gurus. By learning,unlearning and relearning daily as a Sikh, one questions all the aspects. This is the only way shown to us by our Gurus to relearn. Gurbani helps us make this our second nature. This is the true meaning of the word Sikh.

Let’s talk about the often used word Ambrosial hour/time which is a very common word mentioned to explain Amrit Vela which has also been penned by you many times in your excellent essay.

I will give you the dictionary meaning of it which I am sure you are aware of.

1.ambrosial - extremely pleasing to the taste; sweet and fragrant; "a nectarous drink"; "ambrosial food"
nectarous, ambrosian
tasty - pleasing to the sense of taste; "a tasty morsel"
2.ambrosial - worthy of the gods
ambrosian
heavenly - of or belonging to heaven or god
ambrosial - definition of ambrosial by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Main Entry: am·bro·sia
Pronunciation: \am-ˈbrō-zh(ē-)ə\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from Greek, literally, immortality, from ambrotos immortal, from a- + -mbrotos (akin to brotos mortal) — more at murder
Date: 15th century
1 a : the food of the Greek and Roman gods b : the ointment or perfume of the gods
— am·bro·sial \-zh(ē-)əl\ adjective
Ambrosial - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Once again, the reason for me giving all these meanings from different resources is because of the importance of this word in English emphasised by the Sikh scholars and used frequently by them including by you in your essay. In fact that is the whole idea behind your missive.

The interesting part is that when we Google “Ambrosial Hours”, it only gives the Sikh sites explaining that it is Amrit Vela, which shows that this phrase was concocted by the Sikh literati and has nothing to do with the English language per se nor with its roots which come from Latin and Greek.

Arshi ji:

You write:

But the fact is that majority of your excellent essay is not based on your above statement but to the contrary.

Your above statement goes totally against the founder of Sikhi, our visionary Guru, Guru Nanak whom we are supposed to emulate rather than idolize, as many do, with his picture on the mantel piece with other Sants, Brahamgyanis that they idolize as well. Please share with us why are you going against the grain of Sikhi?

Was Guru Nanak wrong when he asked the meaning of Janieo at the tender age of 8 to the learned, more enlightened, and who kept good company- using your words-?

You further write:

Once again you are saying not in those words, that Guru Nanak was wrong as are many people today because they ask and challenge people with the questions of their status quo thought process rather than accepting their traditions. Can you please give us the reason behind your reasoning?

I can only talk about myself and as mentioned before, I am not a Sikh scholar, an intellect, a historian nor am I of any kind who belongs to any literati. And nor do I intend to pretend to be anything like that either. I am just a seeker, a learner, an inquisitive. In other words, I am a Sikh, thanks to my Gurus and my present and only Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji..

Secondly, thanks for calling me young at this age of mine. It is a compliment indeed. I hope I never grow up which will give me more chance to be inquisitive and challenge myself by questioning.

Your Ambrosial hour has changed from 4 am to 2 to 4am when you mentioned “like minds think alike”. Do you think our Gurus were against the nature or for it? Did they know what the body clock meant and how the body needs rests? After all we all know the writer of Jap went to so many places with different time zones.

What is the benefit of doing Nitnem at 2 am then going off to sleep? What good does it bring?

Next, I would like to discuss about the literal translations that you have posted which are incorrect as you, yourself may be aware of. As requested by me to you in my earlier posts that yourself as a scholar, to share your own wisdom about Gurbani in English in your own words, which is important not only for what you share with us through your great writings but also it is beneficial to the readers of your great essays and also please have the whole Shabad posted with your own words because one liners do not do any justice, neither to our Gurus nor to this gorgeous Gurbani.

Let me just take one as an example which I would like you to post the whole Shabad of:

This Shabad by our 4th Guru starts on page 733 and we should never forget when there is the Rahao in the Shabad because that is the central idea of the whole Shabad.
ਸੂਹੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
Sūhī mėhlā 4.
Soohee, Fourth Mehl:

Let’s talk about the Rahao in this Shabad before we get to your one liner out of three from the verse number 3. You only took one third of the whole verse and then later on you used the other one third to prove your point.

The interpretation is mine.

ਹਰਿ ਧਨੁ ਸੰਚੀਐ ਭਾਈ ॥ ਜਿ ਹਲਤਿ ਪਲਤਿ ਹਰਿ ਹੋਇ ਸਖਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Har ḏẖan sancẖī▫ai bẖā▫ī. Jė halaṯ palaṯ har ho▫e sakẖā▫ī. ||1|| rahā▫o.

Let’s breed goodness within, oh friend,

So that we can find the eternal connection with Ik Ong Kaar.ll1ll Rahao- Pause to get the central idea of the whole Shabad.

ਹਰਿ ਧਨੁ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲੈ ਵਤੈ ਕਾ ਬੀਜਿਆ ਭਗਤ ਖਾਇ ਖਰਚਿ ਰਹੇ ਨਿਖੁਟੈ ਨਾਹੀ ॥ ॥੩॥
Har ḏẖan amriṯ velai vaṯai kā bīji▫ā bẖagaṯ kẖā▫e kẖaracẖ rahe nikẖutai nāhī. ||3||

The earlier in life one sows the seeds of goodness within through Gurbani, the sooner one can reap its fruits and hence share this priceless, endless treasure with others.

Following is your interpretation.

Please allow me to explain why I disagree with your interpretation which I am sure is not yours as it is copied and pasted from the net but you seem to agree with it because it is part and parcel of your own thought process which helped you write this essay.

The metaphor of sowing the seeds which Guru Sahib has used is very important to consider. He could have used other words if he wanted to but the fact is that he used this particular one has a lot of significance.

The seed can not germinate and give its fruit instantly. It is a long term process that Guru Sahib is talking about and we should focus on that. So here sowing the seeds during Amrit Vela can not mean between 2am to 4 am but earlier in one’s life, so one can reap its fruit with time, meaning later on in one's life.

I respect the Sikh Scholars of yesteryears from whom I have learnt a lot like Maskeen Singh ji etc etc. But as Sikhs, it is our duty to make them as our spring boards so we can dive into Gurbani by ourselves and hence catch the gems from the same mine in our own way rather than wearing the necklaces of the gems discovered by them. Those necklaces are theirs to keep but they become our motivation to dig our own from this wonderful poetry called Gurbani in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, our only Guru.

Lastly, I would like to add that one is not born a Sikh whether one is born with a silver spoon or with the wooden one, but becomes one. The best example of the latter is in Narayanjot Kaur ji’s quest.

Please keep on sharing this treasure you have been bestowed with.

Thanks and regards

Tejwant Singh