ਨਉ ਹੁਲਾ (nau hulaa)
Meaning: adjective: Freshly blooming (youth).
Quote:
ਰੰਗੁ ਮਾਣਿ ਲੈ ਪਿਆਰਿਆ ਜਾ ਜੋਬਨੁ ਨਉ ਹੁਲਾ॥
ਹੇ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਜੀਵ! ਜਦੋਂ ਤਕ ਤੇਰਾ ਜੋਬਨ (ਜੁਆਨੀ) ਨਵੇਂ ਹੁਲਾਰੇ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੈ, ਆਤਮ-ਅਨੰਦ ਮਾਣ ਲੈ।
raňg maaṇ lai piaariaa jaa joban nau hulaa.
O dear! As long as your youth is freshly blooming, do enjoy the bliss of spirituality. –Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 23
Message: We are all aware of the passing of time and the aging of the human body and mind. Every New Year is a wake-up call. We make resolutions to change for the better, to learn from the experiences of the previous years.
In the verse above, Guru Nanak Sahib is reminding us of not only the passing of time but turning our attention to the need for some form of spirituality in our lives. Most of us are focused on the accumulation of material wealth when young and turn to thoughts of spirituality when old. What happens when life is cut short and there is no experience of being old? We leave this world not knowing the bliss of spiritual awareness. The Guru reminds us to enjoy this bliss of spirituality while still young.
No one knows at what age we will take our last breath. The time is now, while the mind is still fresh and blooming, to acquire spiritual wisdom. As parallel tracks on a railway line support the train on its journey, let the material and the spiritual run side by side to support us on our journey too. With an injection of spiritual wisdom in our lives (no matter what age we are), we may be pleasantly surprised at what the New Year ahead can bring.
Life is mostly froth and bubble, two things stand like stone; kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own. -Adam Lindsay Gordon, an Australian poet, 1833-1870
Etymology: From Sanskrit nav-phull (having new flowers) → Punjabi nau-hulaa (fresh, blooming).
