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 tanu sukā pinjaru thīā talīāṁ khūṁḍahi kāg.
ajai su rabu na bāhuṛio dekhu bande ke bhāg.90.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1382
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the ninetieth stanza, Sheikh Farid addresses himself and says, O Farid! The body has withered, it has become a skeleton, the crows peck at the palms and the soles. The Divine has still not come; look at the fortunes of the being. We spend our lives caught up in all sorts of indulgences and entanglements, dealing in a currency of temporality and forgetfulness. We become frail in this state, fueled by greed and attachment, tormented by our continued dissatisfaction, and unsure of how to pull ourselves out of it. Throughout these stanzas, Sheikh Farid has presented the union or meeting with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) as sweet, heavenly, and possible now. Even when we hear this as seekers, we feel a pang of separation from deep within the wells of our hearts. How great, how immense must the longing for that union be? This pull from within to experience connection with IkOankar is so big, it can eat us alive as time passes. We age and we wither in this longing. We are almost skeletal in this longing. In Sheikh Farid’s reflection, the crows are already pecking at his hands and feet—he is as good as dead.
Sheikh Farid says, the Divine still has not come! Despite reaching this final stage of existence in the body, we still have not experienced union and connection with IkOankar. It is as if Sheikh Farid is saying in his condition, look at my fortunes as a being of the Divine, as a devotee of the Divine. Sheikh Farid would engage in extreme austerities and disciplines out of devotion, much like many other Sufis or Yogis of his time. In that condition, in the frailty that these acts bring upon a body, a crow might think that one is already on the verge of death. Sheikh Farid is reflecting on his pain—that of separation and longing, and that of not being able to see the Divine in a particular way. The focus here is really the longing. We spend our lives seeking the One, longing for the One, enduring all sorts of things in order to move towards that yearning so that we might experience union in this lifetime. Will we be able to pull ourselves out of our current states to feel a similar kind of longing? Will we pursue a connection with IkOankar, knowing that it can be painful to seek it?
