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.
m: 3.
ihu tanu sabho ratu hai ratu binu tannu na hoi.
jo sah rate āpaṇe titu tani lobhu ratu na hoi.
bhai païai tanu khīṇu hoi lobhu ratu vicahu jāi.
jiu baisantari dhātu sudhu hoi tiu hari kā bhaü durmati mailu gavāi.
nānak te jan sohaṇe ji rate hari raṅgu lāi.52.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1380
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the fifty-second stanza, Guru Amardas expands on Sheikh Farid’s previous stanza and says, This entire body is blood; without blood, there is no body. Those who are imbued with their Master, there is no greed-like blood in that body. Of course, we all have blood! This is a necessity for the human body to live and thrive. Guru Amardas compares our greed to blood in light of the previous stanza. When there is greed, there is death—greed ties us to temporality and dissatisfaction, forgetfulness of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), and causes us to be fearful of death. Guru Amardas says that those who are imbued with IkOankar, who are dyed in the love of their Owner, have no greed in their bodies. They live in reverence to IkOankar, and this reverence rids their bodies of vices.
Guru Amardas compares the process of becoming ‘blood-less’ or greed-less to the purification of metals. When metals are put in the heat of fire to become purified and strengthened, so too does the deep reverence of IkOankar, the Fear-Eliminator, the All-Pervasive, cause us to shed our filth-like false or negative thinking. This is how we lose our temporality. This is how we become vice-free. This process is not easy! It requires us to withstand the ‘heat’ of the fire; it requires great devotion and great effort. But those who undergo this transformation are beautiful. They have applied the color of love of IkOankar to their bodies. That love is permeating every cell of theirs. There is another element to this transformation as well—when we are so devoted, so in love, so steeped in this love, the body becomes inconsequential. The blood becomes irrelevant. There is no expectation, no fear rooted in physical temporality, and no worry about loss. We see this kind of impossible bravery fueled by devotion to IkOankar in the great martyrs throughout history—prophets, warriors, devotees of all backgrounds—who have given up their lives in that love. Will we go through the fire and come out stronger? Will we shed our greed and instead immerse ourselves in reverence?
