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 rātī vaḍīāṁ dhukhi dhukhi uṭhani pās.
dhigu tin̖ā dā jīviā jinā viḍāṇī ās.21.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1378-1379
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the twenty-first salok, Sheikh Farid says, the nights are long. The sides of the body begin to burn with an ache. He speaks of the restlessness of separation. The night of life is long in this feeling of separation. These nights have become so long that we cannot see an end to them. The body is in pain, deteriorating in its separation and longing, burning with the aches or pangs of this separation, desperate for union.
Sheikh Farid continues, their living is worthless, for whom there is another hope. Those of us who are looking to anyone other than IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) are wasting our lives away in vain. We are in pain, yet we do not know what it is we seek. Or we are in pain and we know what we ought to seek, but we look elsewhere. Sheikh Farid is urging us to rise above the night of our separation, the long and painful lack of connection, and take action. Why don’t we use this time, these lives, to connect with IkOankar? Why not eliminate our other loves, our other hopes, our sense of duality, and make these lives worth living?
