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.
mahalā 5.
pharīdā khālaku khalak mahi khalak vasai rab māhi.
mandā kis no ākhīai jāṁ tisu binu koī nāhi.75.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1381
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the seventy-fifth stanza, Guru Arjan elaborates on the previous stanza by Sheikh Farid and says, O Farid! The creator is in the creation, the creation dwells in the Divine. Guru Arjan presents something through language that itself feels limited—there are limitations in what can be said, asked, or answered, and limitations in our thoughts too. There are limitations on how we can learn about remembrance, limitations on how we can understand IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), and limitations on how we describe the experience of IkOankar. There is no difference between Creator and creation. The limitations are in the way we experience and understand the Creator and creation as separate. Guru Arjan is asking us to get clear on their indistinguishability. They are one and the same! When we cannot conceptualize this and know this in our hearts, we start making value judgments, separating ourselves from ‘others,’ and categorizing things as good or bad. We rush to create hierarchies.
Guru Arjan says, Who may be called bad, when there is no one other than That Creator? How can we say anyone is bad if the Creator lives in creation and creation lives in the Creator? When we know there is no other, how is it that we still tend to practice othering and judgment? This is because we have not accepted this eternal truth in a real way. The mind is not truly leveled. When we make judgments of others, we create pits and mounds within the mind and the heart. We begin to feel things like antagonism, fear, anger, and pride. We feed hatred of certain people or groups. And the mounds and pits only become greater. How do we level the mind? We level the field of the mind by making ourselves clear about the inseparability of Creator and creation, thereby bringing the mind into a constant state of living in unity with all things. This happens through cultivating a relationship with IkOankar, such that we can look upon all things with grace and a sense of the unity of all existence. In that rootedness, there is no high or low, no sense of other or sense of pride. Will we reach this understanding? Will we shift our perspectives and our experiences of the world and of creation?
