Poems of Baba Sheik Farid

[SAadmin]

I just picked up this book "The Mystic Melodies of Shaikh Farid" . I would like to share with you 100 poems by him. I be typing all those poems for the sangat. All the poems are by baba shaik farid and his un-conditional love for god/allah/vaheguroo/premsvar. Please check this thread for more poems. I also be posting some of the shaloks of baba farid in sggs ji later on.

Here are some of them-

1.

The auspicious hour of marriage is presaged

On the day a bride is engaged.

The lord she has only heard of

Would come and show his face.

He would wring the fragile life out

Crushing and cracking her bones.

You can escape not the preordained knell,

O bride,

Understand this ye well.

Life is the bride and death its groom:

He'll wed and take her away.

Having itself bidden farewall to life,

On whose shoulders shall the body wail?

The bridge of Sirat is sharp like an razor's edge

A like of which one has never heard of.

Listen, O farid, listen to the warning call.

Let not thyself be snared into a pitfall.

2.

The path that leads to the abode of God

Is strewn with thorns

And I walk the worldy way

Carrying on my head my bundle of sins.

O, how shall I ever reach

My Journey's end?

3.

The world is like a hidden fire

Puzzling and enigmatic.

My Lord has done me good

(in keeping me away from it)

Else, it would have singed me too.

4.

If only i knew

The Sesame seeds were few,

I would have filled my fist with care.

Had I only known

My love was nonchalant

I would have given myself less airs.

5.

If only i knew

Our string would loose apart.

A bit more had I tightened the knot.

To me there is none like you.

I have seen the whole world though.

6.

If thou art endowed with a finer wit,

O Farid,

Write not harangues for others,

Turn thy gaze inward, instead,

And look into thy own heart.

7

Hit not them back, O farid

who thrown blows at thee,

Kiss thou instead, their feet.

Before you go to your retreat.

8

When it was time to earn divine gain

You were ensconced in matters mundane

And death entrenched itself meanwhile.

Now that your term is over,

You shall have to depart.

9.

Look farid, what has come to pass

Your beard has gone grey.

The future is coming nigh

And the past is left away.

10.

Look farid, What has happened

Sugar is turned into poison.

Whom but the lord shall i tell

This tale of woe?

[SAadmin]

11.

My eyes have dimmed and the ears deafened:

So long have I in the world stayed.

The tree is about to ripen now,

Its leaves, therefore, fade.

12

Those who enjoyed not in youth,

Rarely do they enjoy in age.

O farid,

Love thy lord and love him deep

Ever young to remain.

14

The eyes that once enticed the whole world,

I see them in a state of decay.

Once they suffered not a line of collyrium.

Into them

The birds lay their eggs today

15

Despite thy loud shriekings, O farid,

Despite admonition and counsel sound,

How can one in a convenant with Satan

Turn his mind around?

16.

If you crave to seek the Master,

Be like grass under feet.

First it submits to be trampled

And crushed,

Only then it is allowed

In the Lord's abode.

17.

Disparage not the dust, O Farid,

Unmatched is its worth

While alive we tread it under our feet,

When we die it shall cover us all over.

18

Where this is lust, how can there be love?

For, lust falsifies love.

How long shall a thatched roof

Endure against rain?

19

Why do you wander in the woods, O Farid,

Suffering te thistles and thorns?

God dwells in your heart, indeed,

Why search for him in forests?

20

With these little legs, say Farid,

I travelled far and wide

In the plains and on the hills

But today

Even the water-jug lying nearby

Seems to me a hundred miles away.

[nadz]

these are from his saloks....

i try to get that bari on the paath at gurdwara whenever i can, i love his salok

[SAadmin]

21

Nights sans love are long :

Unfulfilled my sides smoulder in despair.

Cursed be that life

When one lives only to wait.

22.

If only I could sacrifice myself

To say welcome to the Freind,

O Farid,

Let my body burn like madder

On the live coals.

23.

The foolish farmer plants an accacia tree

And expects it to bear grapes of Bijour:

He busies himself in combing wool

Yet dreams of wearing silk.

24.

Rain has made the streets muddy.

The dear One lives away

And I have my tryst of love.

If i go I will get my rugs spoilt,

If I tarry I will ruin my love.

25.

Let the rug be soaked and drenched,

God has sent the rain.

I shall go to meet the Virtuous One,

Constant does my love remain.

26

I was careful of my turban,

Lest it should be soiled by dust.

My slumbering self did not trust

That after the death bell toll,

Into the dust

Even this head will roll.

27.

Jaggery and sugar, candy and honey

And the buffaloes' milk:

All these sweet delicacies, O Farid,

Are impediments. They hamper

Your union with God.

28.

To assuage the hunger

I eat my cake of coarse grain ;

And those enjoying the buttered bread

shall suffer severe pain.

29.

Eat thy dry and crusty bread,

Wash it down with water cool

And let not the sight of another's rich meal

Cause envious craving in thy soul.

30.

This one night I did not sleep with my lord,

Enjoyed not the marital bliss

And my limps convulse with torment.

Go and ask the woman-castaaway

In what agony does she pass her nights.

[SAadmin]

31

Her in-laws entertain her not

Nor parents gvie refuge ;

She is ever ignored by her love.

What a happily married woman !

32.

She bathed and washed and docked her body

And slept heedless of her lord.

She has lost all gragrance of musk, O Farid.

Only a daub of asafoetida remains.

34.

I would not be afraid of losing my youth

If i were certain of not losing the love of Lord :

For, O Farid, lack of love has made

Many a youth fade

And wither away.

35

On a cot of contemplation

Woven with anguish and pain

I lie under the quilt of sorrow

Look at me, O true Lord,

This is the life I lead.

36.

Of the sorrow of separation

People complain and whine

But this sorrow I found

Like a sultan benign

The body that suffers not the sorrow

Is like a burial ground

37.

These sprouts are poisonous, O Farid,

Though coated with sugar :

Some wasted away their lives in planting them,

Other died leaving their crops behind.

38.

Day thou frittered away in worldy pursuits

O Farid,

And nights in slumber sound:

What shalt thou tell thy Lord

To what purpose were you sent (in the world)

And did you do your task?

39.

Did you see, O Farid, the hour bell

Hanging at the entrance gate?

It is guiltless and yet beaten,

What shall be we-sinner's fate?

40.

The bell is beaten every hour,

Every three hours it is beaten again

So shall this bell of body spend

Its night in sorrow and pain.

[SAadmin]

41.

Shaik Farid has grown old,

His frame is all atremble

Even if he lives a hundred years

His body must turn to dust.

42.

Ordain not subservience for me,

O my Lord.

Take this life-instead

If thou wilt otherwise.

43.

Look at the blacksmith, O Farid

There he stands before the tree

With axe on his shoulder and a water pot on his head:

He wants to cut the tree for coal,

Under it I seek my lord.

44.

Some there are with surplus food,

Others have not even salt :

They will be seen in their true colours

When yonder they go.

O Farid,

Who will suffer strokes then?

45.

For whom the drum best,

Over his head did conopies hand,

Whose glories trumpets proclaimed

and panagyrics minstrels sang,

Even he now lies asleep

Like an orphan

In a grave deep.

46.

Those who had built high domed

Mansions, castles and towers,

Even they have gone away.

They made only the false deals

And now lie in graves.

47.

There are so many tacks to keep my robe together,

There is not even one to fix my body for ever.

Even the shaikhs will depart

When their turns come.

48.

The lamps of two eyes were still aglow

When stormed in the Angel of Death.

He conquered the fort of the body

And plundered the wealth of breath

And, returning, extinguished the lamps.

49.

Look at the fate of cotton, O Farid,

And of the sesame seed,

How coal and cauldron are burnt

And sugarcane squeezed.

Such is the punishment of those

Who indulge in evil deeds.

50.

Look at him, O Farid

who carries prayers-mat on his shoulders

And wears the robe of a seeker.

How sweet he speaks !

And yet his heart is like a knife

He appears to be as bright as day

But his soul is dark as night.

51.

There is never any blood in the body of those

Who are dyed in the hues of God.

They waste it away through penance

Not a drop will spill out of them, O Farid

If their body be cut.

53.

Seek in the pool, O Farid

Wherein thou may find thy Thing.

Of what use is exploring a ditch?

Thou shall only soil thy hands.

54.

When a bride, she enjoyed not

The love- embrace of her lord :

When old, she died

Now in her grave the woman bemoans

O lord, I did not conjoin thee."

55

The hair on thy head has gone grey, O Farid,

On thy lips and chin and cheek,

O my insance slumbering self,

still you sensual pleasures seek.

56

For long shall you pursue the ephemeral delights,

O Farid,

For how long shall you remain indifferent to the Dear one?

Thou hasnt frittered away in vain

The few days allotted to thee.

57

Attach not thyself, O Farid,

To mansions, castles and towers.

When buried under the heaps of earth.

None shall be thy freind.

58.

Attach not thyself, O Faird.

To palaces and possesssions

Keep in mind thy grave.

Think always of the place

Where ultiimately you go.

59.

Forbear, O Farid, the deeds

That bring thee no comfort;

Lest you may be put to shame

In the Master's Court.

60

Serve thy Lord in all humanity, O Farid,

And may thy heart falsehood-free

For a dervish must possess

The tolerance of a tree

[SAadmin]

61.

Black are my garments, black is my heart:

How deceptive is my appearance?

Though polluted with sin am I,

People call me a dervish,

62

The parched gain-seed will never grow

Even if in water dipped

O Farid, she who is castaway from god

Shall always be with grief gripped.

63

When a virgin she longed to be married

With marriage came complications.

Now, O Farid, she deplores the impossiblity

of gettin her maidenhood back.

64.

The swans have descended on a brackish pond.

Their beaks they dip, but drink not.

And crave to fly beyond.

65

A swan has alighted in a millet field,

They try to frighten it away

Unwitting people, they do not know

The swam eats not the seeds of hay.

66.

One by one they have flown away

All the feathered tribes

That had brought life to the lake.

The water will also flow out, O Farid.

Only the lotuses shall remain.

67.

Look, O Farid, he lies in his grave

With a brick as pillows under head

And worms consuming his flesh.

O, since ages he has lain there thus

On one side.

68.

The beautiful pitcher of body is broken,

Long rope of life cut away.

O Farid,

Whom shall the angel of death visit tonight?

69.

The beautiful pitcher of body is broken,

Long rope of life cut away.

Those who were only a burden on earth,

O Farid,

With what face they return today?

70

O Farid,

You defaulting dog, this is not the right way.

Never hast thou walked to the mosque

Fives time a day.

[Guest chamkila]

I have a question about Baba Sheik Farid if I am right was he born before Guru Nanak, if so how did Baba Sheik Farid get he work in the SGGS, and how did he know about sikhism.

Thanks

[Ideal Singh]

I have a question about Baba Sheik Farid if I am right was he born before Guru Nanak, if so how did Baba Sheik Farid get he work in the SGGS, and how did he know about sikhism.

Thanks

I think Guru Nanak Ji visited many a places during his four udasies (journeys) which included from as far as Sri Lanka to Iraq and whereever he visited he collected the writings of various renowned people at these places, who were considered to be one with God and so Guru Nanak Ji himself collected the writings of Baba Farid Ji and others and incorporated them in SGGS...

Chardi Kala

[Guest chamkila]

I think Guru Nanak Ji visited many a places during his four udasies (journeys) which included from as far as Sri Lanka to Iraq and whereever he visited he collected the writings of those people at these palces, who were considered to be one with God and so Guru Nanak Ji himself collected the writings of Baba Farid Ji and others and incorporated them in SGGS...

Chardi Kala

Don't take this the wrong way, but that would mean that Guru Ji took Baba Sheik Farid work with permission, I am learning about this thats way I ask these question.

Thanks

[Ideal Singh]

Don't take this the wrong way, but that would mean that Guru Ji took Baba Sheik Farid work with permission, I am learning about this thats way I ask these question.

Thanks

Dear chamkila

Nobody has a monopoly over the Truth... Truth is to be shared with everyone...

And if we use our common sense... had Guru ji ever tried to "took" Baba Farid ji and other's work, he would have incorporated them under his own name... but this was never his intension... his sole intension was to spread Truth... as you can gather from a glance at SGGS, where it is clearly mentioned that who is the writer of each and every shabad or shaloks, so treating it like "taking" others work is a naive observation...

The people who propogate such theories are malicious in their intensions...

Chardi Kala

[Guest chamkila]

Thanks IDEAL Singh I understand now.

Thanks again

[SAadmin]

Ideal singh, can i get the refrences when you said guroo sahib went in iraq phsyically and got the baba farid text writing??? :roll:

I was always under impression that guroo maharaj was god himself which knew everything..... guroo avatar are nirankar themselves.. they dont need to go phsyically and collect writings of bhagats... they have gyans of this bhramand(universe) under their feet...

[Nihal_Kaur]

i've been reading this book called "so said Sheik Farid" and it gives you the salok in punjabi, hindi, urdu and english.

Good stuff.

[Ideal Singh]

Ideal singh, can i get the refrences when you said guroo sahib went in iraq phsyically and got the baba farid text writing??? :roll:

I was always under impression that guroo maharaj was god himself which knew everything..... guroo avatar are nirankar themselves.. they dont need to go phsyically and collect writings of bhagats... they have gyans of this bhramand(universe) under their feet...

I think there is a Gurdwara in bagdad so I said about Iraq... I did not say that Guru ji got the writings from Iraq... I said he visited these places himself...

Well, I wont contradict you about how you percieve it... until its practical...

Chardi Kala

[nadz]

baba sheikh farids lineage also carried on, from what i know, the mahapursh who was on sheikh farids gaddi at the time of guru arjan dev ji came to do darshan of guru ji....and so on

ive also heard that not all of the saloks were written by the original sheikh farid, and that the mahapursh' that came after him on his gaddi also signed their work off with "farida"....although i dunno wether thats entirely true or not

[Pheena]

baba sheikh farids lineage also carried on, from what i know, the mahapursh who was on sheikh farids gaddi at the time of guru arjan dev ji came to do darshan of guru ji....and so on

ive also heard that not all of the saloks were written by the original sheikh farid, and that the mahapursh' that came after him on his gaddi also signed their work off with "farida"....although i dunno wether thats entirely true or not

I belive you are on the right track.....i was litening to Sant Maskeen ji's Viakhia on the Saloaks of Shaik Fareed. In it he did mention that some of the Saloaks were written by the successor of the Gaddi of Baba Sheik Fareed. I can't remember the name of that Sant, but he had used the name Fareed when he wrote the Saloaks as a Honor to the baba fareed ji.

[Ideal Singh]

Dear N3O S!NGH Ji

I think you missed shalok/poem no. 33... :roll: please do the needful...

Anyways thanx a lot for making an absorbing reading...

Chardi Kala

[Ideal Singh]

Sat Sri Akal

The following extracts are translerations from Guru Granth Darpan by Prof Sahib Singh Ji... Kindly ignore my shortcomnings in English writing skills... as I think it is informative...

At panna 5726 of Guru Granth Darpan, Prof Sahib Singh Ji says:

Quote

"While translerating the Bani by Bhagats, it seemed to me that Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself collected this Bani... And while keeping this in mind, as I further studied the references provided by the Bhagat Bani itself, this thought was further strenthened in my mind.

But what Guru Nanak Dev Ji had to do with it ? In history, there is mentioned that the Bani of Guru ji was scattered at various places where ever he visited and which was gotten collected by Guru Arjan Dev Ji by asking sikhs, living inside the country and also living abroad by writing them letters to send the same. A Guru-person who did not took care of his own writings, how would he had bothered to have taken care of Bani of Bhagats ? But, the "self references" provided by Bani of Bhagats firmly/openly confirmed that the this work of collecting of Bani of Bhagats was done by none other than Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself...

So, I started to explore the Banis of five Gurus from Guru Nanak Ji to Guru Arjan Sahib ji. After just a little hassle, it was apprent that Guru Nanak Ji had himself collected his Bani. He gave this treasure to Guru Angad Ji and every subsequent Guru added to this treasure till all this treasrue was finally handed over to Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

"

Unquote

At panna 5732 of Darpan, Prof Sahib Singh Ji says:

Quote

"There are 130 shaloks in total. Out these, 18 Shaloks have been composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji (4), Guru Amardas Ji (5), Guru Ram Das Ji (1) and Guru Arjan Dev Ji ( 8 ), these were composed to present the thoughts of Sheik Farid Ji in a simple precise direction, so that ignorant people do not get confused. There, there is no need to mix the shaloks of Farid Ji with the shaloks of Guru Ji."

Total shaloks of Baba Farid Ji = 112

Guru Nanak Dev Ji = 4 (No. 32, 113, 120, 124)

Guru Amardas Ji = 5 (No.13, 52, 104, 122, 123)

Guru Ramdas Ji = 1 (No.121)

Guru Arjan Sahib Ji - 8 (No. 75, 82, 83, 105, 108, 109, 110, 111)

Total Shaloks = 130

Unquote

At panna 1898 of Darpan, Prof Sahib Singh Ji says:

Quote :

"The come many complexities in life, we suffer numerous jolts/jerks, we need guidance at each step we take and through that guidnace we can find the right way only if we have full faith in our leader.

In Gurdwaras, it is usual norm to recite the following Dohra after Gurbani Simran...

Guru Granth kou Maniyou, Pargat Guran kee deh ||

Jo Prabh kou milbhou chahae, khoj shabad mhe leh ||

Absolutely right. Physically, we can not be here for ever. It is only the Bani which can be perserved forever and does provide the righteous way to Truth, forever. The person who want to walk on the path defined by Guru Nanak/Guru Gobind Singh Ji, then has the Bani of Gurus, Jo Jivan-Path dae hanariyaan which chanan dae sakdi hae, Jo rah dae thaediyaan (obstacles) ton bacha sakdi hae. This is the reason that Kalgidhar Patshah Ji, while stopping the series of physical gurudom and bestowed the leadership of Khalsa with SGGS, for guidance for ever..........

Unquote

Rest later

Bhul Chuk Maaf

Chardi Kala

[Pheena]

I belive you are on the right track.....i was litening to Sant Maskeen ji's Viakhia on the Saloaks of Shaik Fareed. In it he did mention that some of the Saloaks were written by the successor of the Gaddi of Baba Sheik Fareed. I can't remember the name of that Sant, but he had used the name Fareed when he wrote the Saloaks as a Honor to the baba fareed ji.

I might have confused it with Sant Kabeer ji....i always seem to do that.

[SAadmin]

Continued...

71.

Awake from your slumber, O Farid,

Wash your hands and feet

And say the morning prayers.

The head that bows not before the Lord,

Cut that head off.

72.

To what use is the head

That bows not before the Lord?

Burn it under the cauldron

In place of fuel

73.

Where are thy parents, O Farid,

Who gave births to thee?

They have gone away for ever,

Never again to be.

And yet thou dost not prepare

For the inescapable journey

74.

Make thy mind plane, O Farid,

Level up mounds and pits,

And when yonder you go,

You will suffer not the fire of hell.

75.

If only they had cut off my throat off

When they cut my umbilical cord,

I wouldnt have suffered such hardships

Nor undergone such pain.

77.

The teeth and feet and eyes and ears have all decayed

And this body now awails:

"My freinds have me farewall bade"

78.

Do good to the evil-doer, O Farid,

And be blessed with many a grace.

Anger doesnt continue thy heart,

Your body suffer not malaise.

79.

Man is like a visiting bird

In the beautiful garden of the world.

The drum has annoucned morning,

O Farid,

Get ready for the journey.

80.

At night is dispersed the fragrance of musk:

Slumbers enjoy it not.

Impossible is it for those to conjoin

Who have drowsy eyes.

[Ideal Singh]

I might have confused it with Sant Kabeer ji....i always seem to do that.

Sat Sri Akal

Dear Pheena & Nandz, you were not off track...

At panna 5730 of Guru Granth Darpan, Prof Sahib Singh Ji says:

Quote ::

Baba Farid Ji, went for his heavenly abode in his village 'Ayodhan' (aka 'Pak-Patan') in 1266 AC, at an age of 93...

Shaikh Braham was in eleventh generation of Sheik Farid Ji. Guru Nanak Ji met Him at 'Pak-Patan' in His third 'Udassi'. Shaikh Braham, Baba Farid Ji di 'Gaddi' tae sann 1510 wich baithae sunn, tae '42' saal reh kae sann 1552 vich chalana kar gayae sunn. There is His Tomb in Sarhind. Guru Nanak Ji collected the entire Bani of Shaikh Farid Ji from Shaikh Braham...

Some writers say that the shaloks composed by Baba Farid Ji and found in SGGS are actually written by Shaikh Braham, who is also known as Shaikh Sani. But this thought is totally wrong. If Baba Farid Ji had not composed any Bani, then nobody in next generations, had the right to use the name of Baba Farid Ji. Guru Angad Sahib, Guru Amardas Ji, Guru Ramdas Ji, Guru Arjan Sahib & Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib could use name "Nanak" coz Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself composed Bani with "Nanak". Pher, Baba Farid Ji di 'Gaddi' uttae onhaan tonn lae kae Shaikh Braham tak, Baba Farid Ji ton bina koyi horr sajan, unhaan di brabari daa mashhoor nahi hoyaa.

Then this is another thought that in the times of Baba Farid Ji, Punjabi Boli had not developed so beautifully, in its pure "Thaeth" or "Core" Form... Farid Ji left for his heavenly abode in 1266 and Guru Nanak Ji was born in the year 1469. There is time gap of just '200' years. Many words used by Guru Nanak Ji are in pure 'Thaeth' Punjabi. In the times of Akbar, there was a poet called Damodar, who wrote "Heer" da Kissa in pure Thaeth Punjabi. Jae Baba Farid Ji dae wailae ajae 'Punjabi Boli' thaeth roop which nahi cee aa saki, taan onhaan dae '300' salaan which itni paari tabdeeli nahi aa sakdi cee... Evolution and changes in 'Boli' do not take just few hundred years but rather thousands of years... Although Baba Farid Ji was a scholar in 'Arabi' and 'Farsi', but He was born & brought up in Punjab, and Punjabi was His mother tongue. And What could have been the best way to spread His message other than Punjabi and that what Farid ji actually used. There are many words in Bani of Farid ji, which are influened by punjabi spoken in that Area.

Unquote::

Bhul Chuk Maaf

Chardi Kala