BABA FARID SIKHIWIKI FREE

He spoke of his people in the people’s dialect and asked them to use Punjabi for religious purposes. There was something in his poetry akin to prayer. Baba Farid occupies a very high place in this cultural anthology.īaba Farid lived in Punjab in the 13th century and composed hymns in Punjabi, the likes of which are yet to be composed. It is these saints and sufis who bestowed a sense of Indianness on Indians down the ages. They integrated the diverse elements of Indian society and knit them in a unified cultural necklace. The cyclic tales recited by the lute players of ancient India, the songs of the wandering minstrels, the ba!lads and the ‘kathaks’ (storytellers) of medieval times provided a framework for the evolution and growth of the composite culture of India. One great characteristic of the Indian civilization is that more than its kings and warriors and generals, it is the Saints and the Sufis who realized the goals of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Besides, it provided a base for common socio-religious culture in India. They all sang in the people’s dialect about the glory of India’s culture, the greatness of Indian values and the supremacy of Indian thought.Īmong the many social and religious movements in India of the last two thousand years, the Bhakti movement of the middle ages from the 13th to the 17th centuries was the most pronounced, as it cut across all distinctions of high and low birth, the learned and the unlettered, men and women and opened the doors of spiritual realization and salvation to one and all. Later when Adi Granth (Sikh scripture) was compiled by the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev, Farid’s ‘slokas’ (sacred couplets) were given the place of honour along with those of Kabir, Ramdev and Guru Ravidas. He made Punjabi poetry and poetry Punjabi. He ate the same austere food, which the Devotees ate, slept on the same mat and pledged not to kill any more innocents, only to break the pledge later.Īcknowledged by every literary authority as the first major poet of the Punjabi language, Farid was to Punjabi what Chaucer was to English. Timur bowed low in the ‘Khanqah’, heard the Sufi hymns, spent the night in the ‘dargah’. The armies were ordered to spare the town. Every tongue felt that it had an ear on it. As goes the legend, a voice came from somewhere and called, 'Baba Farid, the King of Kings'. The general’s hands reached for his sword but before they could go any further, a miracle happened. 'By one saint whose ancestors had migrated from Iran to escape death at the hands of your ancestors', the old man replied. At last an old man came forward and said, 'Your honour, this place is sanctified'. Not used to such unscheduled halts, the Turk chief leapt forward, roared like a lion and demanded answers. There was consternation and alarm writ large on every face. There was panic among the soldiers, hysteria among the officers, total confusion in the army. The stallions started bleeding but refused to move further. On the banks of the river Sutlej at a place called Pak Pattan, his horses suddenly stopped. It was a typical Punjab winter and the air in the fields mingled with the blood of the innocents. Timur was returning home after ransacking Delhi -light of mind but laden with gold, trampling corn, killing men and cattle alike.

Yea, sweet are these but sweeter by far is God.' 'Sweet are candy, sugar, honey, and buffalo's milk. His following insight forms the subject of the painting above. He asked for only one blessing from Goda life of prayer and meditation.

BABA FARID SIKHIWIKI FREE

Thus thy body will be free of maladies, And thy life have all blessings.'īaba Sheikh Farid Ji was a great Sufi saint, very sweet of tongue and who lived an austere life. 'Farid return thou good for evil In thy heart bear no revenge. The tenth in succession to his post was Shaikh Brahm (Ibrahim), also known as Farid Sani or Farid the 2nd, and it is this Farid who Guru Nanak Dev ji met on two occasions. Many Sikh scholars ascribe them to Farid Shakarganj (1173 – 1265) of Pak Pattan, a disciple of the Sufi Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. There are 134 hymns of Sheik Farid incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. Later when Adi Granth (Sikh scripture) was compiled by the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Farid’s ‘slokas’ (sacred couplets) were given the place of honour along with those of Kabir, Ramdev and Guru Ravidas.

Farid was to Punjabi what Chaucer was to English.

Baba farid sikhiwiki