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(1173-1266 AD)
"Farid return thou good for evil; In thy heart bear no revenge.
Thus thy body will be free of maladies, And thy life have all
blessings
Baba Sheikh Farid had been in the 12th & 13th centuries, a great
intellectual, unique renunciat, perfect ascetic and committed
devotee of the Timeless Lord who communicated to the common folk
the revealed divine message through the medium of sweet,
soothing Punjabi language. Farid lived a householder's life
marked with contentment and perseverance. One of the greatest
virtues of his life was his love and sympathy for entire
mankind. His heart felt pain of oppression perpetuated by the
Muslim invaders in the name of religion. He tried to put balm on
the hurt psyche of the people through the medium of sweet,
soothing words so that the adverse impact caused by excesses of
the orthodox Muslims to the image of Islam could be neutralized.
Such an act on the part of someone was required for the revival
of the feeling of fraternity amongst mankind. The unique
humanitarian values of compassion, love, sympathy, mutual
understanding and appreciation are clothed in the hymns of Farid
as fragrance is in flowers. For his sweet words, sweet ideals
and sweet behavior, Farid became known as an epitome of
Sweetness (Shakarganj); his full name was Sheikh Farid ud-din
Maund Ganj-I-Shakar.
Farid occupies a place of pre-eminence among the Punjabi poets.
During his lifetime, wherever he went, whomever he conversed
with, could not but be influenced by the high, pious and divine
ideas of Farid. So much do that Raja Gokul Dev changed the name
of his capital town to Faridkot in honor of this great Sufi
saint. Faridkot is today one of the important towns of the
Punjab state. Sheikh Farid was a disciple of Khwaja Bakhtiar
Kaki, the disciple & spiritual successor of Hazrat Ali who had
received spiritual training from Hasan Basri; a known saint of
Chishti tradition. Baba ji was born in 1173AD at Khetwal, now
known as Chawli Mashaikh, a village in the Multan district
(Pakistan). His mother's name was Mariam, also called Kursum by
some. It is said that after birth, he didn't suckle milk for
breatfeeding until night because he observed Roza (fast) at the
time of his birth. This simplicity and austerity in the manner
of his diet was to remain a life-long habit. The writer of 'Life
and Times of Sheikh Farid' says that half a tumbler of Sherbat
(sweetened water), few raisins and half a loaf of bread,
prepared of the millet flour generally comprised his daily meal.
Farid's mother was very wise & noble, and wished for her son to
acquire the best education so that he could comprehend the
Truth. His father, Sheikh Jala ud-din Suleman, was descendant of
the second Caliph of Islam. According to a historian, Farid was
related to the Royal family of empire Farakhshal of Kabul, but
the family was uprooted due to the invasions by Changez. Farid
deeply impressed his spiritual mentor, Kaki, with his varied
virtues. Thus, Kaki had a high respect for this disciple whom he
used to call the most important bead in the rosary of Dharma.
In an absolutely impressive manner, Sheikh Farid realized this
manifest world, the reality of God. He advises us to overcome
worldly temptations & remain devoted to God, the creator of the
whole universe. He cautions us against the false attractions of
the world through his Bani which is deeply sensitive to the
feeling of Empathy, Inevitable death & the waste of human life
due to man's indifference to God & goodness. He continued
preaching his message throughout his life, and at last breathed
his last in AD 1266 at Pak Patan, earliar known by the name
Ajodhan. He was succeeded on his spiritual throne by his son,
Diwan BaDaruud-din Suleman.
The essence of the hymns of Farid can be stated as follows:
- Never forget Death under any circumstances.
- Avoid all quarrelling & polemics.
- Non-violence is the most beautiful ornament of Peaceful life.
Baba Farid ji exhorts mankind to cultivate these & all such
virtues. He states that Contentment resides in the heart
purified of all traces of Ego & Greed. Talking of a Faqir
(hermit) he states that any new cloth is like a coffin for him.
According to him, the detached person is also the wisest. He is
the greatest who can face both pleasure & pain with Equanimity.
The richest person is the one with the most content heart. He
who has given up contentment is the worst dependent. Farid ji
preached Ideology reflecting the reality of life. That is
perhaps why he has been known as the best poet of old age &
death.
According to Farid, self-realization or liberation from self is
the other name for God-realization.. One who is subject to
desires of senses, is the meanest of all because such a man
fails to control his mind, and the endless desires emanating
from mind make him a tool in the hands of the devil who makes
him dance to his tune. Farid not only preached detachment and
austerity but also made these the guiding principles of his
life. It is said that at the time of Farid's death even a small
piece of cloth to serve as coffin for his body could not be
found in his house. For the tomb over his grave, the bricks were
taken by pulling down a portion of one of the walls of his
house.
The hymns of Sheikh Farid are available at 3 different places in
the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (SGGS):
- 2 hymns under Asa musical measures.
- 2 hymns under Suhi measure
- 112 slokas toward end of Scripture.
Every reader of SGGS looks up to the hymns of Sheikh Farid with
due respect & reverence & seeks solace for his restless mind by
reciting them.
The fame of Sheikh Farid had crossed the boundaries of Punjab &
spread to the regions far & wide because his utterances touch
every human heart. There is at a hill town called Girar in the
Wardha district in the South, a place sacred to his memory.
Similarly, he is revered as 'Shakar Bhai' on the Dawar Mountain
at Janagarh, in Kathiawar.
Muslims & Hindus alike made their lives meaningful by following
his teachings & the noble and pious spiritual flight achieved by
him. Inclusion of Baba Farid ji's Bani immortalised his
personality, vision & philosophy eternal and everlasting. As it
is, his hymns form an integral part of Gurbani and inspire the
mankind to live a life on contentment and austerity. They
reiterate the humanitarian values of mutual love and
understanding. Every human who has faith in religion or
righteousness cannot but respect and revere Sheikh Farid from
the core of his heart.
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Biography by: Shansha Taji
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