FAILING TO WAKE UP AT AMRITVELA ๐
Baba Sham Singh jee, at a very early age of 5 years, started living with a Baba Raam Singh jee. His father had died and his mother could not feed him. For this reason she came to Baba Raam Singh jee and urged him to accept Baba Sham Singh jee. Baba Sham Singh had a remarkable inclination towards doing Bhagti (meditating), at such early age. He developed so much love for sangat (congregation) that he refused to go back with his mother.
Once, when Baba Sham Singh was only 6 or 7 years old, he became a little relaxed in getting up at Amritvela (rising early) and missed Amritvela for 2 days in a row. At this, Baba Raam Singh told one of his sewadaar to take Baba Sham Singh and drop him off to his mother. When Baba Sham Singh heard this, he was horrified. He could not imagine going away from sangat and this way lose his spiritual life. He started crying! The sewadar lovingly told him to seek forgiveness from Sant jee. Baba Sham Singh prostrated before Sant jee and earnestly sought forgiveness for not getting up early in the morning. At this, Sant jee forgave him and told him that if a person loses Amritvela, then there is nothing left in that person. He said, if he (Baba Sham Singh) was not going to keep Amritvela in his sangat, he (Baba Raam Singh) too will have some burden of the sin incurred with this, since he is responsible for him. After this, Baba Sham Singh jee never lost Amritvela. He lived for 115 more years, after this incident.
Another Singh, while describing the importance of Amritvela, used to say that Siri Guru Kalgidhar jee (Guru Gobind Singh) himself takes attendance of who get up at Amritvela. If a person misses Amritvela, he marks them absent but if a person regularly misses Amritvela, Guru Sahib just strikes off his name from the list. This is a very scary thought. If Guru Sahib was to strike off our name from his list of Gursikhs he monitors, what would happen of us? We would just die in regret and repent.
Bhagat Farid Ji Says, "Fareed, if you do not awaken in the early hours before dawn, you are dead while yet alive."
Vaheguroo!
