ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲਾ (aṁmrit-velaa)
Meaning: noun: Literally, the ‘ambrosial hours’, the period before dawn; early morning.
Quote:
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲਾ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਉ ਵਡਿਆਈ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲਾ (ਸਫਲਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਜੀਵਨ ਲਕਸ਼ ਬਣਾਈਏ), ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦਾ ਸੱਚਾ ਨਾਮ (ਮੂੰਹੋਂ ਬੋਲੀਏ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੀ) ਵਡਿਆਈ ਦੀ ਵੀਚਾਰ (ਕਰੀਏ)।
aṁmrit velaa sach naau vaḍiaaee veechaar.
Let us make the amrit-vela fruitful, recite the true Naam of the Divine and contemplate on His glory or praises. -Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 02
Message: The verse above asks us to dedicate to the Divine a small part of our day early in the morning when the mind is mostly clear and free from clutter. In this peaceful time, let us reflect on the praises and virtues of the Divine Naam and endeavour to follow them in our life during the rest of the day. Let us thus live by keeping the Divine in our consciousness. This will be the best offering that we can make before the Creator.
The meaning is that we should spend some time—possibly the calm and serene hours of dawn, or any other tranquil time convenient to us, for spiritual contemplation. The reading and reflection done during this period will help us to obtain the understanding of the realities of life and the required spiritual values for leading a fruitful life. This will fill our lives with divine love, truth and bliss.
Notes: It may be interesting to note that this term, amrit vela, appears only once in Guru Granth Sahib, though its synonyms, such as subah, prabhaat, etc., appear several times. Further, amrit vela or ambrosial hours refers to the period of 3 hours before the 1st light, and is usually thought to be about 3am to 6am.
Etymology: Combination of aṁmrit (ambrosial) + velaa (time, period).
