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.
kāgā karaṅg ḍhanḍholiā saglā khāiā māsu.
e dui nainā mati chuhaü pir dekhan kī ās.91.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1382
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the ninety-first stanza, Sheikh Farid says, the crows have scoured the skeleton, have eaten all the flesh. O crows! Do not touch these two eyes, there is still hope of seeing the Beloved. In this state of reflection, as the body is skeletal and withering away, so much so that death is descending upon it, Sheikh Farid still remains in a state of utter longing. He asks the crows to spare his eyes. He asks for a kind of mercy. His mind still wants to experience ‘seeing’ the Divine. His hope to still experience that is a kind of radical hope—it is a conviction that only those lovers of the Beloved have, because they are so confident in their relationship with the Beloved. They are so confident in the intimacy of that relationship, and they know that there is still time, still hope for them.
Sheikh Farid shows us, as seekers, what it is like to be at the height of being in love. We tend to second-guess our relationship with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). We tend to tell ourselves that we have not done enough to practice devotion, to seek connection, to cultivate discipline and effort. We convince ourselves out of hoping for the experience of union, even at a later stage. We convince ourselves that it might be too late for us. But if we have begun to walk this path, at whatever stage, however clumsily, what would it look like for us to still have the kind of faith and conviction that Sheikh Farid has in the Grace of IkOankar? Will we emulate this same devotion? Will we find this same conviction? Will we continue to seek union till the very end?
