Questions regarding -- Jo Jaagay so Paavay

Few questions came regarding the earlier post -- 

      ~ Raat kay pichhlay hissy me ik daulat bantati rehti hai 

         Jo jaagay so paavay hai - jo sovay hai vo khovay hai ~

1. Kindly elaborate it.....

2. What is considered the last part of the night?

3. want to know what is the last part of the night ... I mean is it Bhor i.e. four in the morning?

       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Indian system, the day and night are divided into four equal parts, known as Prahar or Pehar.

The day is considered from sunrise to sunset (not from midnight to midnight) 

A general or more common time for sunrise throughout the year is taken as six in the morning. 

Therefore, the day is considered from 6 am to 6 pm and the night from 6 pm to 6 am.

One Prahar is equivalent to three hours. 

So, the fourth or the last Prahar of the night is from 3 am to 6 am.

Waking up and meditating in the last Prahar of the night can be translated literally and/or metaphorically. 

Literally - this verse would mean that one should get up sometime during the last Prahar of the night - before sunrise - some would say around four or four-thirty - and meditate, read holy scriptures and chant the name of the Lord. Because during this time - neither the body is tired nor there is any noise around. So, it's easier to focus the mind in a peaceful atmosphere to meditate.

 

However, metaphorically, it can be implied to the four quarters of the day and night of human life.

Supposing a general lifespan of seventy or eighty years - first 30-40 years would be considered the day - consisting of four quarters of childhood, adolescence, youth, and early adulthood. When everything is growing - learning, earning, and settling are on the rise. 

Then starts the decline - the sunset or the night. 

The wise say that even if one has missed the opportunity during most parts of his life, one should wake up in the last period at least - during old age.

Adi Shankracharya in the eighth century and many other later Saints used this analogy in their writings.

Guru Arjun Dev ji also elaborates this concept of the four stages in a Shabad which starts with Pehlay Pehare Rain kay Vanjaareyaa to the Chauthay Pehare Rain kay Vanjaareyaa*.  

                                       (Sri rag mehla 5th- Page 77-78)

A few other similar Shabads also aim towards - not the last part of the night but the last period of life. 

So - whether we see these verses metaphorically or in a literal sense - to achieve physical and spiritual benefits, one should wake up before the end of the night.

                                           ' Rajan Sachdeva '

* The traders/travelers of the first, second, third, and fourth Pehar.

पहले पहरे रैन के वणजारिया To चौथे पहरे रैन के वणजारिया (Siri Rag mehla 5th- Page 77-78)