The
saloks of Sheikh Farid
Ji guide the seeker towards life’s true purpose, the devotion to the one absolute Divine, IkOankar. In these saloks, he reminds us that our time in this world is finite; therefore, one must turn to IkOankar without delay. Yet, attachment to transient possessions and relationships causes many to forget this truth, becoming entangled in vices that lead to restlessness and inner turmoil. In contrast, those who cultivate virtues such as love, humility, patience, contentment, selfless service, and righteousness experience the bliss of connection with IkOankar even while living a householder’s life. Their life becomes serene and suffused with inner joy.
pharīdā ruti phirī vaṇu kambiā pat jhaṛe jhaṛi pāhi.
cāre kunḍā ḍhūṁḍhīāṁ rahaṇu kithāū nāhi.102.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1383
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the one hundred and second stanza, Sheikh Farid says O Farid! The season has changed, the forest has shuddered, and the leaves are shedding. We know this from being alive, that there is no constancy—the seasons change, the environment shifts into different states of being, and we witness this cyclical changing. We see changes in our relationships, too—maybe we grow apart, maybe we become closer, maybe our family members age in a way that feels too quick, or in a way that feels slow and goes unnoticed until one day we look at them and realize just how much time has passed. Depending on our condition, we may look around and see all these changes and internalize them—we might understand that nothing will go with us. More often than not, we have that realization and we promptly forget it. We return to our day to day, we get caught up in the immediate desires and needs within us, and we enter again into a state of forgetfulness and anxiety around permanency of the temporary.
Sheikh Farid brings us back to the lesson nature is trying to teach us: I have searched all four corners. The permanent abode is nowhere. His tone is urgent—listen! I have looked! That permanency we seek is not here. Nothing will remain. There is no space or thing or relationship or creature or planet that will remain forever. Children become teenagers who become adults who become the elderly. Spring becomes Summer which becomes Fall which becomes Winter. The leaves will always shed. Things will always change. We can try to slow this down—we can go to medicine men and spiritualists and retreats and we can perform rituals and go to pilgrimage places but nothing will stop the ending of all things. What we have now will never be this way again, so why don’t we make the best use of our time? Why not practice remembrance of the only constant, IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One)? Why not see the shuddering of the forest, the leaves falling to the ground, the passing of time, as great reminders?
