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 twenty-first stanza, Guru Ramdas builds even more on the ideas of the previous stanza, also offering us an expansion on Sheikh Farid’s words. In Sheikh Farid’s words, he is willing to do anything, go through any kind of pain and suffering, if it means he will get to ‘meet’ or connect with
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). In the stanza that follows, Guru Nanak urges all of us to look within, rather than putting our bodies through austerity in pursuit of connection. Guru Ramdas, then, follows by exploring the question of
how we might see the One within us. Guru Nanak says,
I search for the Friend, the Friend is with me. The Imperceivable Friend cannot be seen on one’s own; the Wisdom-centered being reveals the Friend. We might not be able to feel that presence within ourselves—maybe we are distracted, maybe we are engrossed in the temporary, maybe we have not made an effort to cultivate a relationship with the Friend. Because of this tendency, we have a hard time understanding or ‘seeing’ the imperceivable Friend.
How can we perceive the Imperceivable? Guru Ramdas says that when we become Wisdom-
Guru-centered, when we take the guidance from other Wisdom-Guru-centered seekers, we are shown the way to the Friend. If we turn our faces toward the Wisdom-Guru rather than toward the self, or the worldly, or the temporary, that Wisdom-Guru will reveal the Presence to us! If we cultivate a relationship with the Wisdom-Guru, if we are able to come out of our forgetfulness and distraction and return to remembrance, we will begin to experience the Presence within us, and realize that the Friend has always been with us. Will we begin to work toward becoming Wisdom-Guru-centered? Will we perceive the Imperceivable?
