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Says Nanak, in the first watch of the night, by the Hukam of the Lord’s Command, you enter
into the womb. ॥1॥ In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, you have forgotten
to meditate. From hand to hand, you are passed around, O my merchant friend, like Krishna in
the house of Yashoda. From hand to hand, you are passed around, and your mother says, “This
is my son.” O, my thoughtless and foolish mind, think: In the end, nothing shall be yours. You
do not know the One who created the creation. Gather spiritual wisdom within your mind.
Says Nanak, in the second watch of the night, you have forgotten to meditate. ॥2॥ In the third
watch of the night, O my merchant friend, your consciousness is focused on wealth and youth.
You have not remembered the Name of the Lord, O my merchant friend, although it would
release you from bondage. You do not remember the Name of the Lord, and you become
confused by Maya. Revelling in your riches and intoxicated with youth, you waste your life
uselessly. You have not traded in righteousness and Dharma; you have not made good deeds
your friends. Says Nanak, in the third watch of the night, your mind is attached to wealth and
youth. ॥3॥ In the fourth watch of the night, O my merchant friend, the Grim Reaper comes to
the field. When the Messenger of Death seizes and dispatches you, O my merchant friend, no
one knows the mystery of where you have gone. So think of the Lord! No one knows this
secret, of when the Messenger of Death will seize you and take you away. All your weeping
and wailing then is false. In an instant, you become a stranger. You obtain exactly what you
have longed for. Says Nanak, in the fourth watch of the night, O mortal, the Grim Reaper has
harvested your field. ॥4॥1॥ SIREE RAAG, FIRST MEHL: In the first watch of the night, O
my merchant friend, your innocent mind has a child-like understanding. You drink milk, and
you are fondled so gently, O my merchant friend. The mother and father love their child so
much, but in Maya, all are caught in emotional attachment. By the good fortune of good deeds
done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future.
Without the Lord’s Name, liberation is not obtained, and you are drowned in the love of
duality. Says Nanak, in the first watch of the night, O mortal, you shall be saved by
remembering the Lord. ॥1॥ In the second watch of the night, O my merchant friend, you are
intoxicated with the wine of youth and beauty. Day and night, you are engrossed in sexual
desire, O my merchant friend, and your consciousness is blind to the Naam. The Lord’s Name
is not within your heart, but all sorts of other tastes seem sweet to you. You have no wisdom at
all, no meditation, no virtue or self-discipline; in falsehood, you are caught in the cycle of birth
and death. Pilgrimages, fasts, purification and self-discipline are of no use, nor are rituals,
religious ceremonies or empty worship. O Nanak, emancipation comes only by loving
devotional worship; through duality, people are engrossed in duality. ॥2॥ In the third watch of
the night, O my merchant friend, the swans, the white hairs, come and land upon the pool of
the head.