Miscellaneous Religious Instruction :—
ASA
Saith Shaikh Farid, my dear friends, attach yourselves to God.
This body shall become dust and its abode be the unhonoured grave. [1]
To-day God can be met, Shaikh Farid, if thou restrain the feelings which agitate thy mind.
Had I known that I should die and not return again,
I would not have devoted myself to this false world and ruined myself. [ p. 392 ]
Honestly speak the truth ; utter not falsehood.
The disciple ought to travel by the way the guru pointeth out.
When the lover [2] is saved, the heart of the beloved [3] taketh courage.
Thou who turnest to the glitter of gold shalt be split in twain by the saw.
O Shaikh, no man’s life is permanent in this world ;
How many have sat on the seats on which we sit !
As kulangs come in Kartik, forest fires in Chet, lightning in Sawan,
As woman’s arms adorn her husband’s neck in winter,
So transitory things pass away ; reflect on this in thy mind.
Man taketh six months to form [4] and one moment to break up.
The earth asked heaven, [5] saith Farid, how many pilots [6] had passed away ;
Some have been burnt, others are in the cemeteries, and their souls suffer reproaches from the angels of Death.
Farid’s longing to meet God :—
SUHI
On account of the severe burning of high fever induced by separation from God, I wring my hands ;
I have grown crazy longing for my Spouse.
Thou, O Spouse, wast angry with me in Thy heart ;
It was through my demerits, and not my Spouse’s fault.
My Lord, I did not know Thy worth ;
I have lost my youth and repent too late.
O black kokil, why art thou black ? [ p. 393 ]
The kokil — ‘ I have been burnt by separation from my Beloved ;
Can she who is separated from her Beloved ever be happy ? ’
If the Lord be merciful, He will cause me to meet Him.
Painful is the well [7] into which lone woman [8] hath fallen ;
She hath no companions and no helper.
Thou hast mercifully, O God, caused me to meet Thy saints ;
When I look again, God is my helper.
My way is thoroughly tedious ;
It is sharper than a two-edged sword and very narrow ;
Over that is my passage ;
Shaikh Farid, prepare thyself betimes for that road.
I
The day that woman was to be married was previously fixed. [9]
The Spouse, the angel of Death of whom we have heard, hath come to show his face ;
Having cracked the bones of the body he will take away the poor soul.
The time recorded cannot be altered ; [10] explain this to thy soul.
The soul is the bride, death the bridegroom ; he will marry her and take her away.
As she goeth, whose neck shall she run to embrace with her arms ? [11]
Have you not heard of the bridge of Sarat, which is finer than a hair ?
Farid, when the summons cometh, arise and deceive yourselves not.
[ p. 394 ]
II
Farid, since I walk in the way of the world, it is difficult to be like the darwesh at God’s gate. [12]
I have tied and taken up my bundle of worldliness ; whither shall I go to throw it away ?
III
I know nothing, I see nothing, the world is a smouldering fire ;
My master did well to warn me, otherwise I too should have been burnt.
IV
Farid, had I known my sesames [13] were to be so few, I should have husbanded my handfuls ;
Had I known that the Bridegroom [14] was so young, I should have been less vain.
V
Had I known that my dress [15] was opening, I should have put a fast knot on it. [16]
So great as Thou I have found none ; I have seen and wandered the world over.
VI
Farid, if thou have acute wisdom, write not a black mark against others.
Bend thy head and look beneath thy collar. [17]
VII
Farid, if men beat thee with their fists, beat them not in return ;
Nay, kiss their feet and go home.
[ p. 395 ]
VIII
Farid, when it was time for thee to earn, [18] thou wast in love with the world :
Death’s foundations are strong ; [19] when the last breath is drawn, thy soul shall be packed away.
IX
See, Farid, what hath occurred — thy beard hath grown grey;
The future is near, the past is left far behind.
X
See, Farid, what hath occurred — sugar hath become poison.
To whom shall I tell my sorrow except to my Lord ?
XI
Farid, mine eyes have seen enough, and mine ears heard enough ;
The tree of the body hath become ripe, [20] and hath assumed another colour.
XII
Farid, # hath any one who enjoyed not her spouse when her hair was black, enjoyed him when her hair was grey ?
Love thy Spouse, so shall the colour of thy hair be restored. [21]:
Guru Amar Das offers the following objection to this couplet : —
XIII
Farid, whether man’s hair be black or grey, the Lord is ever present if any one remember Him : [ p. 396 ]
Even if all men desire to love God, they will not succeed by their own endeavours :
This cup of love belongeth to God ; He giveth it to whom He pleaseth.
XIV
Farid, I have seen those eyes which charmed the world —
They could not endure the streak of lampblack, [22] yet in them birds have hatched their young.
XV
Farid, men shout and shriek and ever give advice ;
But how can they whom the devil hath led astray, turn their thoughts to God ?
XVI
Farid, if thou long for the Lord of all, become the grass on the pathway for men to tread on ;
When one man breaketh thee and another trampleth on thee,
Then shalt thou enter the court of the Lord.
XVII
Farid, revile not dust, there is nothing like it ;
When we are alive it is beneath our feet, when we are dead it is above us.
XVIII
Farid, where there is greed, what love can there be ? Where there is greed, the love is false.
How long canst thou pass thy time in a broken hut in the rain ?
XIX
Farid, why wanderest thou from forest to forest breaking down branches and thorns ? [23]
It is in the heart God dwelleth ; why seekest thou Him in the forest ?
[ p. 397 ]
XX
Farid, with these spindle-shanks I have traversed plains and mountains.
But to-day for Farid to lift his jug hath become as toil-some as a journey of hundreds of miles.
XXI
Farid, the nights have grown long ; my sides ache and ache.
Curse on the lives of those who have hopes other than in God.
The following was written on Farid’s missing the visit of a holy friend who had come to see him : —
XXII
Farid, had I been present when my friend came, I would have devoted myself to him.
Now my body burneth like madder on the cinders, and I cannot pay him a return visit.
XXIII
Farid, the Jat [24] planteth the kikar, yet he wanteth the grape-tree of Bijaur ;
He spinneth wool, yet he wanteth to wear silk.
XXIV
Farid, in the streets there is mud : the house of my dear friend whom I love is distant ;
If I go to him, I shall wet my blanket ; If I remain at home, our love shall be severed.
XXV
O God, though Thou send Thy rain, and wet, and drench my blanket ;
Yet shall I go to me’et that friend so that our love may not be severed.
[ p. 398 ]
It is said that when Farid was one day putting on his turban, it slipped from his hand. The following was composed on the occasion : —
XXVI
Farid, I fear that my turban will be soiled ;
My thoughtless soul knoweth not that dust will rot my head also.
XXVII
Sugar unrefined and refined, loaf sugar, molasses, honey, and buffalo’s milk,
Are all sweet things, but not, O God, so sweet as Thou.
XXVIII
Farid, my bread is made of wood, [25] hunger is my condiment ;
They who eat buttered bread shall suffer great pain.
XXIX
Eat hard dry bread, and drink cold water ;
Farid, on seeing another’s buttered bread let not thy heart long for it.
XXX
I slept not with my husband last night; mf body is pining away ;
Go ask the wife whom her husband hath put away, how she passeth the night. [26]
Guru Amar Das has given the following reply to this question : —
XXXI
She findeth no entrance to the house of her father-in-law, and no place with her parents. [ p. 399 ]
Can she for whom her husband careth not, be called a happy wife ?
XXXII
Woman, whether in this world or the next, belongeth to her Spouse, the inaccessible and unfathomable One ;
Nanak, she is a happy wife who is pleasing to God the Unconcerned.
XXXIII
They who bathe, and wash, aad adorn themselves, and then heedlessly sleep regardless of their spouses,
Farid, are as it were smeared all over with asafoetida, and the perfume of their musk departeth.
XXXIV
I dread not the departure of youth if my Spouse’s love depart not therewith ;
Farid, how often hath youth become dry and withered without love !
XXXV
Farid, my bed is anxiety ; its bottom, affliction ; its mattress and coverlet, separation from God ;
Such is my life ; do Thou, O true God, look upon me.
XXXVI
Men continually speak of love ;[27] O Love, thou art a monarch ;
Farid, deem the body in which there is not love a place of cremation.
XXXVII
Farid, pleasures [28] are like poisonous sprouts smeared with sugar ;
Some die while planting them ; others are ruined while gathering them. [ p. 400 ]
XXXVIII
Farid, men have lost the four watches of the day in wandering and the four watches of the night in sleep ;
God will call for thine account and ask why thou earnest into the world.
XXXIX
Farid, when thou wentest to the gate of the court, sawest thou not the gong ?
When that sinless thing is thus beaten, what shall be the condition of us sinners ?
XL
It is beaten every ghari and receiveth complete punishment at the end of every watch ; [29]
So the body like the gong passeth a painful night.
XLI
Shaikh Farid hath grown old, and his body hath begun to totter ;
Were he to live even for hundreds of years, his body would become dust at last.
XLII
Saith Farid, allow me not, O Lord, to sit and beg at another’s gate. #
If that is how Thou art about to treat me, then take the life from my body.
XLIII
O blacksmith, thou goest to the forest with thine axe on thy shoulder, and thy water-pot on thy head ;
Saith Farid, I am longing for my Lord, thou art longing for charcoal. [30]
[ p. 401 ]
XLIV
Farid, some have a great deal of flour, others have not even salt ;
When they have all departed, it will be known who shall suffer punishment.
XLV
They who had drums, and trumpets, and umbrellas over their heads, and bards to sound their praises,
Went to sleep in the cemetery, and were buried as if they had been poor orphans.
XLVI
Farid, they who built houses, mansions, and lofty palaces also departed ;
False was their business and they dropped into their graves.
XLVII
Farid, there are many tacks on the patched coat to make it last, but there are no such tacks on the soul ; [31]
Shaikhs and their disciples have departed, each in his turn.
XLVIII
Farid, while the two lamps of man’s eyes are shining, the angel of Death cometh and seateth himself on his body ; [32]
He captureth the fortress, robbeth it of the soul, and having put out the lamp depart eth.
XLIX
Farid, see what happeneth to cotton, what befalleth sesame,
Sugar-cane, paper, earthen utensils, and charcoal ;
The punishment they receive awaiteth those who do evil.
L
Farid, men carry prayer-carpets on their shoulders, wear a sufi’s robe,[33] and speak sweetly, but there are knives in their hearts ; [ p. 402 ]
Externally they appear bright, but in their hearts is sable night.
LI
Farid, if any one were to cut my body, not a drop of blood would issue from it,
Since the body which is dyed with God containeth no blood.
On this couplet Guru Amar Das made the following commentary :—
LII
This body is all blood ; the body cannot exist without blood ;
But the blood of greed entereth not the body which is dyed with its Lord.
When the fear of the Lord entereth the heart, the body groweth lean and the blood of greed departeth from it.
As metals are purified by fire, so the fear of the Lord removeth the filth of evil inclinations.
Nanak, that man is handsome who is dyed with the love of God.
LIII
Farid, search the lake [34] where the Real Thing [35] is to be found ;
What availeth it to search in a pond ? [36] one’s hand merely sinketh into the mud.
LIV
Farid, the little girl did not enjoy her Spouse ; when she grew up she died.
Lying in the grave she calleth, ‘ I have not met Thee, O my Lord.’ [ p. 403 ]
Farid, the hair of my head is grey, my beard is grey, my moustaches also are grey ;
O my heedless and insensate soul, why art thou devoted to sensual pleasures ?
LVI
Farid, how far canst thou run on a house-top ? banish thine indifference to the Dear One ;
The days which were counted and allotted thee have passed away in vain.
LVII
Farid, attach not thy heart to houses, mansions, and lofty palaces ;
When unweighable earth falleth on thee, thou shalt have no friend.
LVIII
Farid, set not thy heart on mansions and wealth ; think upon the grave ;
Remember that place whither thou must go.
LIX
Farid, forsake those occupations from which no advantage resulteth,
Lest thgu be put to shame in the court of the Lord.
LX
Farid, perform the service of the Lord, dispel the doubts of thy heart ;
Darweshes require the endurance of trees.
LXI
Farid, black are my clothes, black my vestment ;
I wander about defiled by sin, yet men call me a darwesh.
LXII
That which hath been rotted by water, will not bloom if it be kept immersed in it ;
Farid, the wife rejected by God ever and ever grieveth.
[ p. 404 ]
LXIII
When a woman is a virgin she is happy ; when she is married her troubles begin.
Farid, she hath this regret that she cannot again become a virgin. [37]
LXIV
The swans have alighted in a little tank of brackish water ; [38]
They dip in their bills, but drink not ; they thirst to fly aw r ay.
LXV
The swans fly away and alight on a field of kodhra ;[39] people go to drive them away ; [40]
Heedless people know not that swans eat not kodhra. [41]
LXVI
The birds [42] which occupied the lake [43] have flown away ; Farid, the full lake shall also pass away, and the lotuses [44] alone remain.
LXVII
Farid, bricks shall be thy pillow, thou shalt sleep beneath the earth, worms shall eat thy flesh ;
How many ages shall pass away for thee lying on one side. [45] •
LXVIII
Farid, the beautiful water-pot [46] shall be broken ; the excellent rope [47] shall part therefrom ;
In whose house shall the angel Azrail be a guest to-day ?
[ p. 405 ]
LXIX
The beautiful water-pot shall be broken ; the excellent rope shall part therefrom ;
How shall our friends who were a burden to the earth return now ?
LXX
Saith Farid, thou dog who prayest not, this custom of thine is not good ;
Thou never goest to the mosque at the five times of prayer.
LXXI
Rise in the morning, Farid, perform thine ablutions, repeat thy prayer ;
Cut off the head which boweth not to the Lord.
LXXII
What is to be done to the head which boweth not to the Lord ?
Burn it instead of firewood under the earthen pot.
LXXIII
Farid, where are the father and mother who gave thee birth ?
They have departed from thee; art thou not yet convinced that the world is unstable ?
LXXIV
Farid, make thy heart a plain, level all its hollows and hills;
And the fire of hell shall never approach thee hereafter.
Guru Arjan makes the following observation on this : —
LXXV
O Farid, the Creator dwelleth in creation and creation in the Creator ;
Whom callest thou bad, since there is none beside Him ?
[ p. 406 ]
LXXVI
Farid, if my throat had been cut on the same day as my navel string,
I should not have fallen into such trouble, nor undergone such hardship,
LXXVII
My teeth, my feet, mine eyes, mine ears have ceased their functions ;
The body crieth aloud, ‘ Those acquaintances have gone away.’
LXXVIII
Farid, do good for evil, clothe not thy heart with anger ;
Thus shall thy body not suffer pain, and thou shalt obtain everything.
LXXIX
Farid, the birds [48] are guests in the beautiful garden of the world ;
The morning drum beateth ; make preparations for thy departure.
LXXX
Farid, musk is distributed at night ; they who sleep obtain no share of it.
How can they whose eyes are asleep obtain it ?
LXXXI
Farid, I thought I alone had sorrow, but the whole world also hath sorrow ;
When I ascended an eminence and looked, I found the same anguish in every house.
Guru Arjan replies to this as follows
LXXXII
Farid, in the midst of this fair earth there is a thorny garden;
But the man favoured by the spiritual guide feeleth not its prickles.
[ p. 407 ]
Farid, few are found who love the Dear One ;
They who do, find their lives happy and their persons beautiful.
LXXXIV
O river, [49] destroy not thy bank ; thou too must give an account ;
The river floweth whithersoever God willeth.
LXXXV
Farid, my days have passed in sorrow, and my nights in anguish ;
The ferryman standeth up and shouteth, ‘The wind is driving the boat into the whirlpool.’[50]
LXXXVI
The long river of life floweth and wasteth away its banks ; [51]
If the ferryman be on the alert, what harm can the whirlpool do the boat ?
LXXXVII
Farid, there are twenty friends in words ; but if thou search for one real friend, thou shalt not find him.
I am suffering like smouldering fuel for my beloved friends.
LXXXVIII
Farid, these people are ever barking ; [52] who can endure the continual annoyance ?
I have stopped mine ears, and I care not how much wind is blowing.
LXXXIX
Farid, God’s dates are ripe ; rivers of honey flow past them ; [53] [ p. 408 ]
The days that pass in enjoying them are profitable to my life. [54]
XC
Farid, my dry body hath become a skeleton ; ravens peck at the hollows of my hands and feet ;
Up to the present, God hath not come to mine aid ; behold His servant’s misfortune !
XCI
O ravens, you have searched my skeleton and eaten all my flesh ;
But touch not these two eyes, as I hope to behold my Beloved
XCII
O ravens, peck not at my skeleton ; if haply you sit on it, then fly away ;
At any rate, eat not the flesh from where my Lord dwelleth in my skeleton.
XCIII
Farid, the wretched tomb calleth out, ‘ O homeless, come home !
You shall assuredly come to me ; fear not death. ’
XCIV
How many have departed before my very eyes !
Farid, men have different anxieties, and I have mine.
XCV
God saith, ‘If thou reform thyself, thou shalt meet Me ; on meeting Me thou shalt be happy ;
‘Farid, if thou remain Mine, all the world shall be thine.’
XCVI
How long shall the trees on the banks retain their place ?
Farid, if thou put water into a fraii vessel, how long will it remain ?
[ p. 409 ]
XCVII
Farid, places have become empty and their occupants gone below ;
The wretched graves take possession of souls ; [55]
O Shaikh, say good-bye to your friends ; [56] thou must depart to-day or to-morrow.
XCVIII
Farid, death hath no more a boundary than a river [57] which washeth away its banks ;
When Death appeareth hell burneth in front ; terrible cries and sounds of woe are heard.
To some all understanding hath come ; others wander about recklessly.
Men’s acts in this world shall bear witness in God’s court.
XCIX
Farid, the crane [58] sitteth on the bank of the river and sporteth ;
While it is sporting the hawk suddenly striketh it ; [59]
When the hawk of God striketh it, it forgetteth its sport.
God hath accomplished such things as could never have been conceived.
C
A body of three and a half mans is moved by water and grain ;
Man entereth the world entertaining high hopes ; When the angel of Death cometh, he will break open every door ;
He will take man prisoner in the presence of his dear brethren. [ p. 410 ]
Lo ! man departeth on the shoulders of four men, Farid ; but the good acts he performed in this world shall be serviceable to him in God’s court.
CI
Farid, I am a sacrifice to those birds [60] which live in the forests ;
They live on fruit, sleep on the ground, and never leave God’s side.
CII
Farid, the season changeth, [61] the forests wave, the leaves drop off ;
I have searched in every direction, but found no place of rest.
CIII
Farid, tear thy coat into tatters and wear a blanket instead ;
Adopt a dress by which thou mayest obtain the Lord.
Guru Amar Das makes the following reflection on this couplet : —
CIV
Why tear thy coat and put on a blanket ?
Nanak, if thine intentions be good, seated at home thou shalt find the Lord.
Guru Ram Das has added the following : —
CV
O Farid, they who were proud of their greatness and possessed youth and untold wealth,
Went away bare from the Lord like a hillock after rain. [62]
CVI
Farid, terrible are the countenances of those who have forgotten the Name ; [ p. 411 ]
Here they have abundant sorrow, and hereafter neither house nor home.
CVII
Farid, if thou awake not in the end of the night, thou art dead while alive ;
Even if thou forget God, God will not forget thee.
Guru Arjan has here composed the following four couplets :—
CVIII
Farid, the Bridegroom is merry, and far beyond all need ;
To be dyed with God is the true decoration.
CIX
Farid, treat pain and pleasure as the same ; banish sin from thy heart ;
Consider what pleaseth God as good, and thou shalt gain His court.
CX
Farid, the world playeth as mammon maketh it play ; thou too playest with it ;
The soul for which God careth playeth not. [63]
CXI
Farid, the heart is dyed with the world, though the world be worthless ;
To be like faqirs is difficult ; their excellence can only be obtained by perfect acts. [64]
Farid then proceeds : —
CXII
Devotion in the beginning of the night is the blossom, in the end of the night the fruit ;
They who watch obtain gifts from the Lord.
[ p. 412 ]
Guru Nanak offers the following objection to this doctrine :—
CXIII
Gifts are the Lord’s ; what can prevail against Him ?
Some who are awake receive them not ; others who are asleep He awaketh and conferreth presents upon.
Farid continues to expound his doctrines : —
CXIV
Thou who searchest for thy Spouse, must have some fault in thyself ;
She who is called a good wife never looketh for any one else.
cxv
Make patience thy bow, patience thy bowstring,
Patience thine arrow, and the Creator will not allow thee to miss thy mark.
CXVI
With such patience do the patient mortify their bodies ;
They thus become near God, but tell their secrets to no one.
CXVII
This patience is the main object ; if thou, O mortal, adopt it,
Thou shalt become a great river and not a separate branch thereof.
CXVIII
Farid, to be a darwesh at God’s gate is difficult ; my love for God is only on the surface.
Few there are who walk in the way of the darweshes at God’s gate.
CXIX
My body is heated like an oven ; my bones burn like firewood ;
Were my feet to tire, I would walk on my head to meet the Beloved.
[ p. 413 ]
Guru Nanak has here composed the following couplet : —
CXX
Heat not thy body like an oven, burn not thy bones like firewood ;
What harm have thy head and feet done thee ? Behold the Beloved within thee.
The following is by Guru Ram Das : —
CXXI
I go searching for the Friend, but the Friend is with me ;
Nanak, the Unseen is not seen, but the pious show the way to Him.
The following couplets have been contributed by Guru Amar Das : —
CXXII
The crane seeing the swan [65] swimming conceived a desire to swim ;
But the poor crane was drowned ; and its body turned upside down.
CXXIII
I thought he was a great swan, wherefore I associated with him ;
Had I Toiown that he was only a wretched crane, I would never have touched him.
CXXIV
What mattereth it whether he whom God looketh on with favour be a swan or a crane ?
Nanak, if it please God, He can change a crow into a swan.
Farid thus closes his spiritual instructions : —
CXXV
In the lake there is but one bird, while there are fifty snarers ; [66] [ p. 414 ]
This body is immersed in the waves of the world ; O True One, my hope is in Thee.
CXXVI
What is that word, what those virtues, what that priceless spell ;
What dress shall I wear that I may captivate the Spouse ?
CXXVII
Humility is the word, forbearance the virtue, civility the priceless spell ;
Make these three thy dress, O sister, and the Spouse shall come into thy power. [67]
CXXV1II
There are few saints
Who, though wise, are simple,
Though strong, are weak,
And, though having not, divide what they have.
CXXIX
Utter not one disagreeable word, since the true Lord is in all men.
Distress no one’s heart ; every heart is a priceless jewel.
CXXX
All men’s hearts are jewels ; to distress them* is by no means good :
If thou desire the Beloved, distress no one’s heart.
Nimani gor is a common expression in the writings of Farid. Nimmi is not an epithet of the body as some suppose. ↩︎
Chhail, literally — a handsome young man ; here the reference is to the elect. ↩︎
Gori, a handsome young woman ; her# the reference is to those who are striving for perfection. ↩︎
That is, the foetus is formed after six months in the womb. ↩︎
That is, the disciples asked the guru. ↩︎
Religious guides. ↩︎
That is, the world. ↩︎
The soul. ↩︎
Marriage here means death. ↩︎
Man shall live his allotted span. ↩︎
Whose help shall the soul seek at the last moment ! ↩︎
That is, it is difficult for worldly people to be holy. ↩︎
Breathings. ↩︎
Had I known that God, like a very young and innocent bridegroom, did not value me, I should have been less vain. The verse is also translated —Had I known that the Bridegroom was for the humble, I should have been less proud. ↩︎
The body which contains the soul tied up in it. ↩︎
If I had known that this trumpery body was so soon to pass away, I should have taken greater care. ↩︎
Look into thy heart, consider thine own faults and not those of others. ↩︎
That is, to serve God. ↩︎
Literally — increase by a fourth daily. ↩︎
The gyanis translate—The vegetables have become ripe. That is, the field of life has yielded its harvest, and it is time for death. ↩︎
That is, youth shall return, and thou shalt have another opportunity of enjoying thy Spouse. Rangan wela hoi is also read and translated— This is the time for enjoying Him. ↩︎
Used to darken the eyelids. This slok fe said to have been written on seeing the skull of a beautiful courtesan who used to find fault with her servant for touching her eyes when applying lampblack. ↩︎
Also translated— When the thorns of the forest seek to drive thee back. ↩︎
A tribe generally employed in agriculture. ↩︎
A reference lo the wooden cake Farid J wore on his stomach to satisfy the cravings of hunger. ↩︎
This and the preceding line are explained.— If man feel so much from a temporary separation from God, what shall he feel from an eternal separation ? ↩︎
Literally — separation, but here it means love in absence. ↩︎
Some make women tfce subject of this slok, but this is contrary to the teaching of the Granth Sahib. Thus Guru Nanak writes, ‘Why call woman bad?’ Guru Arjan through his regard for women, rejected a stanza brought to him by Pilo for insertion in the Granth Sahib. It began, ‘ Look not even on a paper likeness of woman ’. ↩︎
At the end of the first ghari of the pahar the gong was struck once ; at the end of the second gkart twice, and so on till the end of the pahar of eight gharis, when it was struck sixteen times. ↩︎
This is believed to be an appeal fromJFarid to his friend Jassa, a smith, to spare the tree under which the saint used to pray. Jassa was not a wood-cutter, as the English reader may suppose. In the East smiths go to the forest to cut down trees to make charcoal from them for the purpose of their trade. ↩︎
There is nothing to restrain the soul from flying away from the body. ↩︎
That is, death comes while man is looking on. ↩︎
Suph, also called a kafni, a patched coat without sleeves worn by Musalman faqlrs. Suf is generally supposed to come from the Greek sophia wisdom, but in Arabic the word means wool. Sufis affected woollen garments. ↩︎
The guild of the saints. ↩︎
God’s name. ↩︎
In inferior company. ↩︎
The soul which has lost its opportunities of salvation regrets that it cannot again return to a human body. ↩︎
That is, saints have fallen into the company of the wicked. ↩︎
An inferior Indian cereal, the Paspalum scrobiculatum. ↩︎
The saints fare badly among the perverse who annoy and slander them. ↩︎
Holy men do not covet worldly things. ↩︎
That is, kings and persons in high portions. ↩︎
The lake means the world ↩︎
Holy men. ↩︎
Not moving. ↩︎
The body. ↩︎
The rope by which the water-pot is let down into the well. Here it means life. ↩︎
That is, souls. ↩︎
This was addressed t<» the Satluj. ↩︎
The guru warns man that he is going to die. ↩︎
The body wastes away and death gradually approaches. ↩︎
Crying out for worldly things. ↩︎
The dates are the saints of God, the rivers of honey His praises. ↩︎
Dates and honey are promised to Muhammadans in heaven, but Farid means that they can be obtained on earth. ↩︎
The Musalmans believe that the soul remains with the body till its account is taken. ↩︎
Also translated— worship God. Some say this hymn was addressed to a disciple of Farid. Farid told him to worship God, as his sojourn in this world was uncertain. ↩︎
Literally— the boundary of death appears like that of a destroying river. Death does as much havoc in the world as a large tropical river during the rainy season to the surrounding country. ↩︎
The soul. ↩︎
Death strikes the soul. ↩︎
Hermits. ↩︎
That is, old age comes on. ↩︎
Water will not rest on a hill, neither will God’s grace on him who holds his head too high. ↩︎
Is not subject to worldly love. ↩︎
Also translated — by perfect good fortune. ↩︎
The crane is the hypocrite : the swan the holy man. ↩︎
That is, the temptations of the world are many to lead the soul astray. ↩︎
In the oldest Janamsakhi this reply is attributed to Guru Nanak. ↩︎