‘Shaloks’

The following couplet was a favorite of Farid’s:-

Not every heart is capable of finding the secret of God’s love.
There are not pearls in every sea; there is not gold in every mine.

A Student asked Baba Farid if singing was lawful and proper. He replied that, according to Islam, it was certainly unlawful, but its propriety was still a matter of discussion. Nizam-ul-dauliya told Nasir-ud-din a disciple of his, that one day when he went to visit Baba Farid he stood at his door, and saw him dancing as he sang the following :-

I wish ever to live in Thy love, O God
If I become the dust under Thy feet, I shall live
I thy slave desire none but Thee in both worlds;
For Thee I will live and for Thee I will die.

The following sentences are taken from Baba Farid’s sermons:-

Last night sad thoughts possessed me,
But afterwards I reflected on my beautiful Lover.
I said I would do everything to go to His door.
My tears ran, and my Lover then caught my sleeve

ਫਰੀਦਾ ਕਿਥੈ ਤੈਡੇ ਮਾਪਿਆ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੀ ਤੂ ਜਣਿਓਹਿ ॥
ਤੈ ਪਾਸਹੁ ਓਇ ਲਦਿ ਗਏ ਤੂੰ ਅਜੈ ਨ ਪਤੀਣੋਹਿ ॥੭੩॥ {ਪੰਨਾ 1381}
fareedhaa kithhai thaiddae maapiaa jinhee thoo janiouhi ||

Fareed, where are your mother and father, who gave birth to you?