Today’s Post is about the Importance of LOVE & LIFE & Helium Balloons …and a common thread that binds them all is Baba Fareed (Farid) – Muslim Mystic of the medieval period.
Hazrat Khwaja Fariduddin Masood Ganjshakar of Pakpatan, popularly known as “Baba Fareed” was one of the most brilliant personalities of the Chishti Order of Sufis in India. I was fortunate to be introduced to the teaching of Baba Fareed through the SGGS – Sri Guru Granth Sahib – Sikh Scripture.
It was Guru Nanak Dev ji who collected these Verses from Shaikh Ibrahim, the twelfth Caliph of the order after Shaikh Farid when Guru Nanak went on his travels, also know as “Udasis“.
There are a total of 134 hymns of Baba Farid incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. The teachings of Baba Fareed can be read under Three DIFFERENT SECTIONS in the SGGS
- First Section – Two verses on Page 488 of the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Second Section – Two verses on Page 794 of the Guru Granth Sahib.
- Third section – 130 Verses – Starting from Page 1377 and ending at Page 1384
It is believed that Guru Nanak is the second most travelled person in the world and all his travels were taken with a Purpose to “Save the Humanity“. Guru Nanak, realized very early in life that people were not Happy. Confusion had gripped them and fear ruled their life – Hatred and Hypocrisy had taken roots in the Society – God’s Creation was being destroyed and man had sunk in the muddles of Immorality… The entire world was Suffering.
Guru Nanak wanted to “Make a Difference” and decided to set HIMSELF upon a Mission to spread the “True Message of God”. He wanted people to know that Peace, Compassion, Righteousness and Truth are the core values of mankind and that every person deserves to be Happy and Content in God’s World.
Fear needed to be replaced with LOVE !
“Sowing the seeds of LOVE in this World are a must if Humanity is our NEED” – with these thoughts, Baba ji went around the world searching for those seeds – HE found the teachings of Baba Farid to be PERFECT – Each verse loaded with Spiritual Insight served to be the PERFECT SEED that could help Humanity bloom again in God’s World.
As one reads the Verses of Baba Fareed, one gets to know what denotes “TRUE LOVE”. Baba Fareed, in his teachings has shared that if a person desires to be a LOVER in this world, that continues to thrive on hatred and insecurities, then he ought to seek the RIGHT TRAIL…
When you read the verses of Baba Fareed, you will find yourself being drawn to a Central Idea that Love for God is the only lasting reality…Love of any other kind is merely an illusion – One that, though makes us feel connected, in reality is a Bondage that keeps us CHAINED.
I would like to remind you here that Baba Fareed is not asking us to reject Worldly Love – Our Family and Friends are our Support System – Love then by all means but never get chained in their LOVE. When we LOVE someone with expectations, our love is limited and rooted in attachment and can cause us Pain.
Worldly Love is a “DUTY” that must be performed with Detachment ❤ Doing so, sets us FREE.
A verse of Baba Fareed on Page 1378 of SGGS helps us comprehend the meaning of “LOVE” – When we are filled with Expectations – We are Greedy for more and a Greedy person can never LOVE us truly – all their LOVE is merely to get their WANTS satiated…in the words of Baba Fareed,
fareedaa jaa lab taa nayhu ki-aa lab ta koorhaa nayhu.
Fareed, when there is greed, what love can there be? When there is greed, love is false.
kichar jhat laghaa-ee-ai chhapar tutai mayhu. ||18||
How long can one remain in a thatched hut which leaks when it rains? ||18||
ATTACHMENT leads to Suffering ~ DETACHMENT leads to Freedom ~ CHOICE is ours to TAKE.
Through his teachings, Baba Fareed, not only gifted us the Awareness of True Love, but also revealed to us the CHOICES that can gift us this “True Love”.
Right Conduct and Moral Awareness are the two significant features of Baba Fareed’s teachings – Respect and Taking Care of all those who are a part of our LIFE is a MUST – Man in no way, should disrespect the Creation of God – Be it a Place or Person, God resides in every part of HIS CREATION…so we must LOVE ALL … But most important of all is that we must be alert so that our Love does not become an attachment that strangles others to DEATH…
LOVE and LIBERATE – Let this be your way of LIFE ❤ ~ ❤
The words of Maya Angelou come to my mind as I share these connects…”Love Liberates” – Here’s a video that teaches us how we can LOVE & LIBERATE all those who share our JOURNEY.
Baba Fareed, through HIS teachings also shared the SECRET of LIFE and its connectivity with LOVE – If one truly wishes to experience TRUE LOVE then they must be willing to “LOVE GOD“, because “DIVINE LOVE” is PURE – Free of Attachments & Expectation. Love for God has the Power to Gift us BLISS – Wondering How ? Because Loving God sets us FREE.
It is said that when Baba Fareed used to BLESS SOMEONE, he said – ” जा तुझे इश्क हो” – which when translated means “May you be in LOVE”
This LOVE was no ordinary love but a Gift of Grace that makes one fall in LOVE with GOD – When we LOVE GOD, we surrender to HIM and then LIFE echoes with Joy – Good & Bad Times, both are taken as GOD’s Gifts – Can anyone refuse a GIFT from its LOVER – Not really.
A person who loves GOD is filled with Gratitude for all the GIFTS of LIFE.
Baba Fareed believed that when we LOVE GOD, we are filled with Awareness that makes me LIGHT and then we radiate Gratitude in all Moments of LIFE. A True lover of God inhales LOVE & exhales GRATITUDE in return in all phases of Life ~ This is what denotes BLISS ❤
Man should strive to develop Deep and Selfless Love for God.
I am a BIG FAN of ANCHORS and so here’s sharing my ANCHOR that helps me comprehend these Learnings of Baba Farid with ease.
A Beautiful Day, it was and a loving and caring teacher walked in the classroom carrying some balloons…The students wondered at this unique gesture – they were excited for the teacher was known to impart Life Lessons through allegories, life connects and simple displays – After the greetings were exchanged, the teacher let lose all the balloons up. While some balloons fell to the ground, others rose higher and touched the ceiling of the classroom. The students were impressed and awaited eagerly for the lesson concealed in this simple act.
The teacher then shared an important LIFE LESSON with them, stating that the balloons on the floor were filled with “ordinary air” and the ones that were on the ceiling were filled with Helium…
Helium being lighter than air, kept the balloons up.
The teacher went on to add that – In life too we were be careful in what fills our inner self – If we wish to RISE HIGHER in LIFE like the Helium Balloons – we must be willing to fill our INNER SELF with things that will lift us up…Anything that brings us down must not be entertained in LIFE.
I, being a student of Chemistry wondered at the connectivity of Life in this story and it got me THINKING – In our middle school, we are taught about the Air and how it sustains our life. We think that Oxygen is the HERO that can save us – But, the story made me realize that Helium is indeed the Hero that can take us HIGHER in LIFE…
Wondering how the Equation works – Let’s do some solving here ?
Helium gas is lighter than air and is recognized as “Noble Gas” due to its non-reactive nature – Air on the other hand is a mixture of gases, 78% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen with traces of water vapor, carbon dioxide, argon, and various other components. (Oxygen is a reactive gas and thus it supports BURNING)
The air that we breathe is comprised of just 21% of Oxygen. When breathing, we take in (inhale) all the air. Out of 21%, 5% gets used up by our body and the rest 16% gets exhaled.
As I mentioned earlier that Air is a Mixture of Gases – and Oxygen is what keeps us ALIVE – but never do we really take in the complete OXYGEN as it is Volatile and can harm the Body. Our body uses a small fraction to keep us alive…which means that even though oxygen is the need of the BODY, its intake must be guarded – Too much of it can be fatal.
When we fill Balloons with Helium – we are confident that no harm will be caused because Helium is non-reactive…Besides the Lightness keeps the Balloon HIGH UP… however, when we fill AIR into the Balloons, we have to be careful as the Oxygen component in air is flammable & highly reactive…Time for some Comparative Study Connect – Assume these two gases to be Love & Ego
- Helium = LOVE (Noble & Non-Reactive)
- Air = Ego (Mixture of Gases – some of which are reactive)
Air is needed for Survival due to its Oxygen Component – Ego is the Oxygen need to LIVE – it keeps us ALIVE – It is an important part of our Survival but only a small percentage is needed to keep us ALIVE – The extra EGO must be exhaled out as Gratitude or else our DEATH is CERTAIN.
Let us remember that EGO maintains our “Self Esteem” that helps us perform and survive in this World but when this Survival becomes SELF-CENTRED we end up falling in our character and then our Downfall is certain…
We must fill ourselves with LOVE – which is LIGHT & NOBLE – Filling ourselves with EGO is only going to cause us harm.
I take this STORY to be my ANCHOR as it helps me to always keep a check on my state of mind – Any failures in life direct me to check what is residing in me – what is bringing me down – and then I set myself up to discard the Heavy Stuff (EGO) and fill myself with “LOVE” that make me RISE HIGH in LIFE.
Let us offer prayers to God that the desire to Love God gets rooted in our Hearts and we too like the Helium Balloons rise high in the Sky and touch the Horizons.
Journeys & Reflections 