Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 36 — longing, the king of all
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People talk of longing, longing. O longing, you are the king of all.
Farid says: the body in which longing for the Lord does not rise — know that body to be a cremation ground, a place where nothing lives.
Longing for the One is what makes a body alive.
Birhaa birhaa aakhee-ai: people speak of birhaa, the ache of missing the Beloved. Birhaa too sultaan: O longing, you are the sultan, the king. It rules over every other feeling.
Jit tan birahu na oopjai: the body where this longing never rises. So tan jaan masaan: think of it as a masaan, a cremation ground, where the dead are laid to rest. The image is stark: a body with no love for the One is cold and empty, however busy it looks.
What does it tell you about your heart that you can miss someone so much?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI