ਕ੍ਰਿਖੀ (krikhī, meaning ‘farming’) 

The last couple of decades of Guru Nanak Dev ji’s life in Kartarpur (now in present-day Pakistan), were spent working as a farmer. This piece describes the nurturing of Mother Earth, so that she is healthy and well enough to nurture her children. It also touches upon the meditative nature of immersing oneself into such tasks. The short couplet calligraphed in this piece uses farming as a metaphor for spiritual work. If we tend to our hearts the way we tend to the fields, we can nourish ourselves while growing. 

This is one of the works that was created through the generous support of the @canada.council in exploring the various facets of the life of Guru Nanak, as written in Nanak Prakash Granth

text (Braj/Gurmukhi) from Nanak Prakash:
ਦੋਹਰਾ
ਰਿਦਾ ਕਿਦਾਰ ਸੁਧਾਰਨੋ, ਤਜਿਓ ਸਰਬ ਬਿਕਾਰ।
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕਰੁਨਾ ਜਲ ਪਰੈ, ਭਗਤਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਖੀ ਹ੍ਵੈ ਸਾਰ ॥੧॥

translation (of essence, not direct):

sacrificing excessive materialistic pursuits is most effective in combing through the garden bed of one’s heart.
If the blessed waters of the Guru’s lessons irrigate our emotional soils, we have conducted the highest form of farming.

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