Sheikh Farid, the great Sufi Saint and mystic, lives eternally in the hearts of millions of his followers. Like Nanak, he believed in One God and propagated the message of Divine love, dedicating his life to chanting of His Name. He lived a very simple life devoid of luxuries and practised severe austerities. He possessed unparalleled humility and tolerance. His detachment from wordly objects and desires is evident in the hymns composed by him. He was insanely in love with God and that was the only 'object' he cherished. It is due to the universal and eternal appeal of his hymns that they were accorded a place in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the holy book of the Sikhs. Unlike other austeres he did not yearn for a long life or for occult powers. All he yearned for, was acceptance by his Lord. He urged his disciples to spend the maximum possible time in Divine contemplation, in prime of their life. He advised them to remain equipoised in pleasure and pain. He was an extremely sensitive person when it came to the feelings of other people, and never hurt anyone. Forcing people to follow his ideas or accept his beliefs was never on his cards. At every moment of his life he believed that life is transistory and uncertain, so all wordly objects, that one expends so much energy and time in acquiring, are futile. One of his sloks (hymns) reads :

Faridaa kothae mandap maareeaa usaaraedae bhee gaye.

Kooraa saudaa kar gaye goree aae paye.46.

The hymn says : Those who have accumulated wealth and erected huge buildings, have only wasted their lives in a useless ordeal. The only fruitful bargain is chanting of Lord's Name.

A glimpse into his life is enough to leave one in a state of heightened spiritual awareness. Hope you will start loving God and His entire humanity without any bias after you have finished reading this account of the great soul's earthly sojourn.

SAINTHOOD : THE KEY TO RELIGION

The all powerful God has created the earth, water and the entire cosmos with its unlimited variety of distinguished species of life. He has created vegetation and myriad forms of animal life. Among all of them it is only the humans that He has blessed with the subtlest of intellect and refined senses of hearing, speech and understanding. He seems to be the only being equipped by God to 'realise' Him. Within his species have been born the men of God, the mystics, the great reformers, the sources of Divine Light and knowledge, the harbingers of spiritual wisdom, the ones who have guided others successfully across this world of attachments. All of them have remembered God and chanted His name, but in their own language. Thus God has been given different names in different religions. 'Eeshwar', 'Allah', 'Rabb', 'Ram', 'Rahim', 'Christ' etc. are all His names.

All of them represent the One Light which is Eternal, Indestructible, Indescribable, Incomprehen-sible, Unfathomable, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Self-Effulgent, Benevolent, Formless, Uncomparable, Attireless, Invincible, Casteless, Colourless, Creator, Terminator, Detached, Formless, Unshakeable, Impregnable, Birthless, Deathless, Fearless, Independent, Unrestrained, Friendly, Transcendent, Unblemished, and Supreme. Someone who has so many attributes is bound to be known by different names at different times of human existence and in different territories. Thus we have created the confusion and illusion of so many different Gods and different religions, fighting with each other for proving supremacy and superiority of its beliefs and ideas over others.

It is here that Saints like Sheikh Farid step in and preach the oneness or non-duality of God. Saints like him awaken people to chant His Name, and not waste this human life in seeking only material fulfillment. Its they who teach the superiority of sublime over momentary pleasures. The likes of Farid conquer the hearts of innumerable through their utter humility, and detachment. They secure their life and after life through unparallel love and contemplation of the Divine.