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 je mai hodā vāriā mitā āiṛiāṁ.
heṛā jalai majīṭh jiu upari aṅgārā.22.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1379
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the twenty-second stanza, Sheikh Farid says, If I had hidden anything from the friends who came, my flesh would burn just as madder dye burns on embers. When we have friends come into our homes, we may calculate how we can best serve them without giving all that we have. We may hide certain food or beverages away, wanting to keep them for ourselves—we decide not to fully serve our friends. This hoarding of things, this refusal to fully serve our companions, later gives us pain and eats away at us.
Sheikh Farid says this pain is like a slow burning, like the way that madder dye burns on embers. This is how life becomes when we refuse to serve, when we lean into our greediness. We slowly die. There is so much pain in living this kind of lifestyle. The urging here is to be generous, to refrain from calculation, to lean into giving without expectation or taking stock of what we have given and what we are keeping. Will we shift our mindsets and give without condition? Will we serve fully, without greed? Will we stop our burning?
