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 jā labu tā nehu kiā labu ta kūṛā nehu.
kicaru jhati laghāīai chapari tuṭai mehu.18.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1378
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the eighteenth stanza, Sheikh Farid asks, If there is greed, then what kind of love is this? If we are still holding on to desires that feed themselves, cravings and thirst, and an inability to feel satiated, we cannot have real or lasting love with the IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). If there is greed, then our love is temporary. From an Islamic angle, both in the Qur’an and in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, there is incredible warning about and caution against greed. Greed is what keeps us from experiencing peace or mental health; it keeps us from connecting to the Divine, and it keeps us from being able to cultivate faith. When we are not satisfied, we doubt, we pine, we enter into forgetfulness, and we experience frustration. To be free of this greed and materialism is to be free from restraints—things that stand between us and the beloved One.
Sheikh Farid continues, How long can time be passed, while rain is falling on a cracked thatch? If rain falls on a cracked roof, how long can we sit under that roof before we get wet? How long before it inevitably begins to leak? That crack in the roof is the greed in our love. Love with greed cannot last. It cracks easily—it is vulnerable to change, it is not able to withstand the changing weather, and it cannot protect us. Our love, when rooted in greed and transaction, is not a true or lasting love. This does not mean worldly love is inherently bad or not worth our time! In Sufi Muslim framings, there are two loves: Ishq-e-haqiqi, or Divine love, and Ishq-e-majazi, or worldly love. That worldly love has the potential to take us to the Divine love. Sufis sing of a worldly love that is free of greed. This is possible! And if we can cultivate that kind of greedless love, a love without expectation or score-keeping, we can be taken into the space of Divine love, that is also without expectation of score-keeping. If we do not cultivate a greedless love, whether worldly or with the beloved One, our love becomes false or temporary. Will we cultivate a greedless love? Will we transform our temporary, fleeting love into something genuine and steady?
