FARID Couplets

Description

Farid Bani, the 112 slokas presented here in English verse translation and their original text in Gurmukhi, Shahmukhi and Devanagari, along with a few verses (not included here) is the first specimen of Punjabi poetry available to us. These slokas are believed to have been acquired by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) during his visit to Sheikh Farid’s shrine at Jodhan (now in Pakistan) nearly two and half centuries after Farid’s death. However, they came to light only when Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru, made it part of the Sikh scripture in 1604. This book is a tribute not only to the deep spirituality and immense poetic talent of a great Muslim saint but also to the great wisdom of Guru Arjan Dev who, following Guru Nanak, strengthened the foundations of the syncretic and egalitarian traditions laid by the Bhakti movement and the Sufi Silsilas in the subcontinent by including in the Adi Granth not only verses of two Muslim saints, but also many Hindu saints irrespective of their caste. Farid, if you be wise, don’t paint others black; lower your head, look within to see what you lack.