Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 119 — my whole heart aches to reach the Beloved

ਤਨੁ ਤਪੈ ਤਨੂਰ ਜਿਉ ਬਾਲਣੁ ਹਡ ਬਲੰਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ॥

tan tapai tanoor ji-o baalan had bala^Nni^H.

My body is cooking like an oven; my bones are burning like firewood.

ਪੈਰੀ ਥਕਾਂ ਸਿਰਿ ਜੁਲਾਂ ਜੇ ਮੂੰ ਪਿਰੀ ਮਿਲੰਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ॥੧੧੯॥

pairee thakaa^N sir julaa^N jay moo^N piree mila^Nni^H. ||119||

If my feet become tired, I will walk on my head, if I can meet my Beloved. ||119||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

My body is hot like an oven; my bones glow like firewood.

If my feet grow tired, I will walk on my head, if only I can meet my Beloved.

Longing for the Beloved would go any distance.

The deeper layer

The longing to meet the Beloved can feel like a fire that would go any distance.

Tan tapai tanoor ji-o: the body heats up like a clay oven. Baalan had: the bones like firewood. These are pictures of a seeker putting the body through the hardest trials, or of the heat of longing, to reach the Beloved. Pairee thakaan sir julaan: when the feet are tired, I will walk on my head.

This salok is a question waiting for an answer. The very next salok answers it gently: there is no need to put the body through this, because the Beloved is already inside.

A Question to Sit With

What would you go a long way to reach?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

← Verse 419 of 450 Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 118 — few walk the harder, truer road

Verse 421 of 450 →Salok Sheikh Farid, Salok 120 — look for the Beloved inside you

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