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.
In the eighty-fifth stanza, Sheikh Farid says,
The day has passed with suffering, the night with thorns. While standing, the boatman shouts: the boat is in the mouth of the storm! When we live in this world in forgetfulness, with nothing steering us through the waters of life,
our lives pass in suffering and discomfort. We cannot get comfortable during the day, and we cannot get comfortable even through sleep. We struggle with worry and overthinking. When we stand on the banks of this river-like world, the Wisdom-
Guru acts as a boatman, calling out to us, guiding us through the unpredictable currents. The Wisdom-Guru is what shows us that our boat-like lives are trapped in a rip current of vices. We are drowning in that current, unable to pull ourselves out on our own.
We are in this water. We are humans on earth, living lives that are complex and full of both joys and sorrows. By nature of being in the world, we experience pain and poisonous vices. We struggle. But we can learn to navigate these choppy waters with the help of the Wisdom-Guru, the boatman. Will we seek that Wisdom-Guru’s guidance? Will we root ourselves in the Wisdom-Guru so that we may make our way through the mouth of the storm?
