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-third stanza, Guru Amardas says,
I understood it as a great swan, so I joined its company. Had I known it was a poor crane, I would not have let my limbs touch it in life. We continue with the imagery of the swan and the crane as an extended metaphor for genuine seekers and pretenders. In Indic poetry, the swan is often associated with the self or the being or the spirit within. The crane is a pretender—it looks like a swan, but its behaviors are not swan-like. To be swan-like is to sit calm on the waters. We are all crane-like and want to transform. We want to change. When we see those who are swan-like, we get excited. We see great individuals who are walking the path toward
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), and want to rise up to become like them. But when we are excited we also get careless and we lack discernment. What happens when the people we thought were virtuous turn out not to be? And what is our responsibility in having not been able to see this? Were we too hasty in looking for easy guidance or a shortcut to a particular spiritual accomplishment?
We meet people like this—people who perform virtuousness or piety or devotion but who reveal themselves to be full of pretense. These people, just like us, are crane-like. They lie and pretend and deceive others in pursuit of power and authority. They take advantage of seekers looking for connection. In our rush to experience that power and authority, to benefit from their guidance, to perform things without putting in the internal work, we miss the red flags. We are deceived. And in that state, where we feel cheated and misled, full of regret about whose company we have chosen to join, we lament and say if we had known that those who seemed to be swans were actually cranes, we would have not even let a single limb touch them. Guru Amardas is urging us to be discerning about who we consider to be swan-like. We might find people who, on the surface, seem to be Wisdom-
Guru-oriented, but before we seek their guidance, let us reflect more deeply on whether they are genuine or hypocritical, whether they can guide us to the One we seek. Will we pursue true transformation? Will we find the right guides? Will we become swan-like?
