Sheikh Farid has penned down his vast experience, which he had encountered during his life long search for the spiritual bliss and a deep rooted desire to meet God face to face. In Saloka 90, he writes.
“Farida, your body has dried up and has become a skeleton and the crows find it a potential food source and peck at the palms. Look at the fate of this humble person, even now there is no indication of an approach by God”.
Here are a few lessons to be learnt from the (Verses) Kalam / Bani of Sheikh Farid in Guru Garanth Sahib:
Go to Church or temple or Masjid or Synagogue of your faith as per the practice established by your elders. There you come in contact with persons of your views and concepts and your faith is enhanced. (Shaloka 70 of Sheikh Farid)
Do your prayers as dictated by your religion, as best as you can, it will add up to your spiritual belief in God and will give you confidence. (Shaloka 71st of Sheikh Farid)
Pay full attention to the voice of your conscience, which your spiritual leaning keeps it vibrating.( Shaloka 39th of Sheikh Farid)
Do not criticize others method of spiritual belief and rituals. It is the voice of your ego which induces you to down size others, better search your conscience. (Shaloka 6th of Sheikh Farid)
Do not be a hypocrite, the death equalizes everyone at the end. (Shaloka 26th of Sheikh Farid)
Avoid bad deeds, they bring you shame at the end. (Shaloka 59 of Sheikh Farid) Do good even to a bad person, do not let anger over power you, such a way of life will enhance your life span and will give you all the satisfaction you desire. (Salok 78 of Sheikh Farid)
All the Salokas of Sheikh Farid depict his state of mind and his eagerness and his whole hearted devotion to God of his faith. He reacted strongly to the cunning and the hypocrite world around him.
When he was still young he got so much upset with his surroundings which distracted his concentration of mind on God, that one day he gave up. (Shaloka 2,3 of Sheikh Farid), He said , going door to door to beg for food is so degrading, let me go somewhere, away from the wicked ways of the world. In such a disgusting mood, he folds into a bundle, his essential belongings of daily use, picks up the bundle to go away somewhere. Then he said to himself, where shouId I go?
He said, “I am confused, I am not able to find a way out and I cannot think of what to do. The working system of this world is hypocrite people talk nicely on the face but they are indifferent inside”. Then the wisdom comes to him and he drops the idea of going away and he says: My God has done a great favor to me to give me wisdom, otherwise if I had wandered about, I would have suffered and would have been torn to pieces.
There are 130 shalokas (Verses) of Sheikh Farid Ji, enshrined in Guru Garanth Sahib, from Page 1377 to Page 1384. With-in these 130 shalokas, there are few shalokas enjoined by Guru Amar Das Ji and some of the shalokas by Guru Arjun Dev Ji, to supplement the thoughts of Sheikh Farid Ji.
Author:
Prit Paul Singh Bambah. 5th September 1923 to 16th June 2013
Prit paul Singh Bambah, was born on 5th September 1923. He was married to Sukhbir Kaur in 1948 and had 4 daughters and 3 sons. He led a happily married life till 1989 when his wife died of cancer. Later in 1992 he migrated to USA from India and lived with his youngest daughter and her family in New York till 2004. For one year he lived with his middle born son. He loved all his children and went out of his way to meet them. His 3 daughters and eldest son (who passed away, young in 1996) were in India, every year he would go to India to visit them.
Prit Paul Singh Bambah had always been in search of the solutions and remedies for inhumane activities that add miseries in the world. His quest to form a Peaceful Global Human Society reflects in all his books. His spiritual aspirations, emotions and intellectual ideals found the outlet through his creative writings. His book, ‘The Ultimate Solution of Terrorism for Global Peace’ (Originally named as, “Faces of Terrorism and The Ultimate Solution”.) takes the reader’s mind away from the barriers of caste and creed, towards a soothing inclination to think about a peaceful human society. He has projected many different types of worldwide terrorism activities with plenty of examples. His wide knowledge of religions, history, politics and other subjects reflects in his writings.
The author’s other published works include, “Insaniat” (Humanity), in which human values have been interpreted with reference to some world religions. “Dilemma of the People of India and Pakistan,” where he laid stress on the common culture, language and heritage of the two countries specially the area of Punjab before the partition of India in 1947. The books coauthored with Dr. Harpal Sodhi “Japji Sahib: Song of the Gods” and “Spiritual Verses of Sheikh Farid”, from “Guru Granth Sahib”, have the translation of Guru Nanak’s Shalokas in English and script in Gurmukhi, Hindi, Urdu and Roman English.
Prit Paul Singh Bambah was a civil Engineer and Law qualified. Writing was his passion and he had a meditative mind coupled with spirituality. He was loved and respected by everyone, for his qualities. The last nine years of his life he lived with his youngest son and his family in California. On 16 June 2013 he left for his heavenly abode. He is survived by his 4 daughters, 2 sons, 15 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Author:
Dr. Harpal Sodhi
Dr.Harpal Sodhi, a US citizen was born on February 14, 1954 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. She has the potential of harboring a number of creative activities. Her quest for attaining knowledge made her multi-dimensional. She is an artist, a teacher, an author, a Sitar player and a ‘Reiki-Master’. All these aspects complement each other, and enhance her knowledge and ability to give birth to her creativity in various fields.
Dr. Harpal Sodhi is a post graduate in M.A. English and M.A – Drawing & Painting. She is a PhD in Fine Art (Drawing & Painting). Some of her achievements are:
Awards and Special Mention:
First Prize Painting Exhibition, 1974 – M.H. College, Jabalpur
Bhathe Khande Sitar competition First Prize 1975 and 1976 Jabalpur
Second Prize – Art Competition- Ladies Club – 1982, Nasik
Gujarat State Award, Music Art Competition First Prize – 1986
Group Exhibitions: more than 30
Solo Exhibitions: Jabalpur, New Delhi, Ahmadabad & New Jersey Edison, USA.
Paintings in Private Collection: USA, Canada and India.
Research:
Creative activity in the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Maqbool Fida Husain: An Analytical Study.
‘Art Appreciation’ from National Museum Institute, New Delhi
Published Works
Master Minds: Creativity in Picasso’s & Husain’s Paintings (Book).
Spiritual versus of Sheikh Farid, 2005 (Book)
Articles / Research Paper
Dr. Harpal Sodhi is a humanitarian often volunteers in non-profit organizations to sever humanity. Presently she is engaged in writing and publishing.
Contact: [email protected]