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 jaṅgalu jaṅgalu kiā bhavahi vaṇi kanḍā moṛehi.
vasī rabu hiālīai jaṅgalu kiā ḍhūḍhehi.19.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1378
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the nineteenth stanza, Sheikh Farid says, O Farid! For what do you wander through jungle after jungle and trample thorns in the forest? The notion of leaving the busy day-to-day world in exchange for a quieter and more meditative environment remains prevalent today. In Sheikh Farid’s time, it was relevant to various holy men—Sadhus, Monks, Sufis, and Yogis—who saw the world as polluting or distracting and retreated to jungles and forests in search of a stronger connection with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Importantly, Indic systems divide life into four stages, with the third stage being the renunciatory stage—leaving work and the household for the forest in preparation for a more intense ‘spirituality’ or connection. We do this too, in our own ways. We go on retreats, we fast, we do tech cleanses and silent meditations, all in hopes of quieting the noises of our daily life, in hopes of experiencing a stronger connection with the beloved One. Sheikh Farid was a fakir, a mendicant who also experienced this form of renunciation, living in poverty to put spiritual needs over physical needs. This rhetorical question is for all of us: why do we wander? Why do we go to these places looking for the beloved One?
Sheikh Farid says, IkOankar dwells within the heart, and asks again For what do you search in the jungle? If we know IkOankar is present within us, if we know that IkOankar is present in all spaces and interspaces, what is our reason for such monumental uprooting? What is the logic behind abandoning the world for the forests? What good is this renunciation if we have to come back to society to feed ourselves, as the mendicants and renunciates? Even in our renunciation or asceticism, we do not find what we are looking for. The urging for Sheikh Farid and for all of us is to discover the beloved One within our hearts. The urging is toward the collapsing of these four stages of life and four occupations—the pursuit of rule or power, of wisdom, of work or trade, the pursuit of renunciation, and to do it all in the same life, at the same time. This is harder to do, but this is the work. Will we stop our wandering and our escapism? Will we recognize IkOankar within?
