ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>IBR&#256H&#298M SHAIKH (Shaikh Far&#299d of the Janam S&#257kh&#299)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="IBRH*M,SHAI"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279IBR&#256H&#298M, SHAI<u>KH</u> (Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d of the Janam S&#257kh&#299), twelfth in succession from the famous S&#363f&#299 saint, Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d ud-D&#299n Gañj-i-Shakar (1173-1266), held the seat of the earlier Shai<u>kh</u> at P&#257kpa&#7789&#7789an in the present S&#257h&#299w&#257l (former Montgomery) district of Pakistan when Gur&#363 N&#257nak (1469-1539) was travelling in these parts. Shai<u>kh</u> Ibr&#257h&#299m, like his illustrious predecessor, lived a pious and austere life and was on this account known among his followers and admirers as Far&#299d II. Gur&#363 N&#257nak, accompanied at the rebeck by Bh&#257&#299 Mard&#257n&#257, was singing God's praises in the forest on the outskirts of P&#257kpa&#7789&#7789an, when Kam&#257l, a follower of Shai<u>kh</u> Ibr&#257h&#299m, collecting firewood for the <i>kh&#257naq&#257h</i> kitchen, came where sat Gur&#363 N&#257nak and Bh&#257&#299 Mard&#257n&#257. He was enthralled by the verses Gur&#363 N&#257nak was reciting:</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thou art the tablet, thou the pen,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thou too art the writing thereon.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Worship the One Lord, O N&#257nak,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For there is none other besides Him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote> </p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kam&#257l, says <i>Pur&#257tan Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>, reported to Shai<u>kh</u> Ibr&#257h&#299m, "I have met a man of God, Reverend P&#299r! His name is N&#257nak and accompanied by a rebeck-player he sings of the One Lord." And he repeated the lines he had heard and remembered. Shai<u>kh</u> Ibr&#257h&#299m himself went out to meet Gur&#363 N&#257nak. According to the <i>Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>, the two held a long discourse in a mixture of poetic metaphor and philosophy. On seeing Gur&#363 N&#257nak, in the ordinary attire of a householder, Shai<u>kh</u> Ibr&#257h&#299m remarked:</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Covet either the world, or covet Allah, the Creator.</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Set not thy feet on two boats,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lest thou drownest all thy goods.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Gur&#363 answered:</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Set thy feet on both boats, in both ships, thy goods.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A boat will sink, a boat will go across,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For those who deal in true, everlasting goods,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is no ocean, no boats, no drowning, no loss.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He told the Shai<u>kh</u> that to gain the Divine one need not disown the world. In discovering harmony between the two lay the way to attainment. The body would perish, but the other boat, the soul, could be saved by living in the world in the spirit of a true seeker. Gur&#363 N&#257nak then repeated the advice which would have sounded familiar to the ears of the S&#363f&#299 saint: "Know thy True Friend. He is in thy own heart. The Beloved is not far from thee."</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> V&#299r Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, ed., <i>Pur&#257tan Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>. Amritsar, 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Kohl&#299, Surindar Si&#7749gh, ed., <i>Janam S&#257kh&#299 Bh&#257&#299 B&#257l&#257</i>. Chandigarh, 1975<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurnek Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>