Verse 365 of 450
Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 64 — swans at a salty pond
ਕਲਰ ਕੇਰੀ ਛਪੜੀ ਆਇ ਉਲਥੇ ਹੰਝ ॥
kalar kayree chhaprhee aa-ay ulthay hanjh.
The swans have landed in a small pond of salt water.
ਚਿੰਜੂ ਬੋੜਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਨਾ ਪੀਵਹਿ ਉਡਣ ਸੰਦੀ ਡੰਝ ॥੬੪॥
chinjoo borhniH naa peeveh udan sandee danjh. ||64||
They dip in their bills, but do not drink; they fly away, still thirsty. ||64||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Swans have come down to land on a small, salty pond.
They dip in their beaks but do not drink, and they fly away, still thirsty.
Some ponds look like water but cannot quench your thirst.
A pure heart does not drink from what cannot satisfy it.
In old Indian poetry the swan stands for a pure soul. Kalar kayree chhaprhee is a little pond on salty ground, a picture of the world's pleasures that look like water but cannot quench thirst.
The holy person may land among those pleasures, dip in, and still leave without drinking, thirsty for the One alone.
A Question to Sit With
What quenches your thirst, and what only looks like it will?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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