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.
In the one hundred and twelfth stanza, Sheikh Farid says,
The devotion practiced in the first quarter of the night is a flower, in the last quarter of the night, fruit is also obtained. Those who stay awake, they alone receive the gift from the beloved Owner. If we do not take care of engaging in devotion to
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) in the last quarter of the night, the devotion we engage in in the first part of the night will not be as fruitful. In the Sikh tradition, we want to practice remembrance before we sleep because it helps us with the fragrance and causes things to fruit in the early morning. This calls our attention back to stanza one hundred and seven, where Sheikh Farid said if we do not wake up early in the morning to practice devotion, we are dead while alive. For a seeker, the last quarter of the night and the first quarter of the morning are not to be ignored—these are times for remembrance and connection, such that the beloved One dwells in the consciousness before sleep and when we wake. How does the flower become fruit? We tend to the garden of our devotion multiple times a day, cultivating it carefully and with sweetness. Just as we often spend our mornings in distraction and forgetfulness, we often spend our evenings before we sleep in the same circumstances. We might be on our phones, or find it hard to wind down. We might begin to fill our minds with the anxieties of what things still need to be done, of our work for tomorrow, of setting our alarms and re-entering into all the things that keep us from remembrance.
Sheikh Farid is reminding us that if we cultivate this devotion in the evening, in the first quarter of the night, we can begin to smell the fragrance of that cultivation. We can form a connection with the
Nam (Identification with IkOankar). In the last quarter of the night, we find that that fragrance and flowering has borne fruit. Will we spend this time cultivating devotion each night? Will we watch this devotion blossom into something fruitful by the morning?
