Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 40 — the body, like the gong
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Hour after hour the gong is struck; every watch of the day it takes its punishment.
This beautiful body is like that gong: it passes its night in pain.
The body, like a watchman's gong, takes a blow from every hour that passes.
Farid pictures a gong, the kind a watchman strikes to mark each hour. Gharhee-ay gharhee-ay maaree-ai: hour after hour it is struck. Pahree lahai sajaa-ay: every watch, it is beaten again.
So hayrhaa gharhee-aal ji-o: the lovely body is like that gong. Dukhee rain vihaa-ay: its night passes in pain. Each hour that goes by is one more strike, and the body feels the hours adding up.
How might you treat someone differently if you remembered they might be having a hard day?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI