papai pāri na pavhī mūṛe parpanci tūṁ palaci rahiā.
sacai āpi khuāiohu mūṛe ihu siri terai lekhu païā.10.
-Guru Granth Sahib 435
The Patti by Guru Amardas Sahib comprises eighteen stanzas (couplets), each containing two lines. The first stanza is followed by the rahau, which informs that the study of mere worldly accounting and writing systems is futile unless they help the being to introspect about their deeds in life. The remaining stanzas are addressed to the Pandit, the teacher, and it is stated: O foolish Pandit, you never remember IkOankar. You will regret wasting your life when you depart from this world. You are not on the path and are also leading your students astray. Though you read religious texts, you do not put them into practice. You are consumed by material attachment. This life is an opportunity to connect with the all-pervading IkOankar, but you live in ignorance. Whereas those who connect with the Wisdom (Guru) and sing praises of IkOankar settle all their accounts and are honored in the court of IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
O mind! What kind of account have you studied that giving the account of your deeds has remained hanging over your head? Delivering the message through the letter ਪ (‘pappā,’ #26), we learn that Maya (the allure of transient things and relationships) seems sparkly, and we are lured towards it like a moth to a roaring flame. After that, leaving becomes difficult, and we get stuck in a cycle of attraction. We live on the shores of material desires, unable to ferry across. Our fixation becomes endless, and we cannot separate ourselves and our sense of identity. Our account of deeds is inscribed on our foreheads because they culminate over time. Just like a social media algorithm generates content based on our viewing history and engagement, the content of our mind and life revolves around our dominant patterns. We remain engrossed in the dramas and plays when our patterns are woven material allure. We become so deeply entangled that we no longer attempt to escape, as it feels both impossible and utterly draining. But Guru Amardas empathizes with our plights and inspires us to persist. If the transgressions can exist, so does the grace as everything transpires in Divine Command. The light that we dim carries the capacity to illuminate us. Our cyclical actions are hard to escape, but seeking refuge in IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) can liberate us. This is like clouds parting after the storm as we learn that the solution to our problems also lies within. Setting aside apathy and hopelessness, we are taught that by connecting with the 1-Light, IkOankar, within, the seemingly unbreakable bondages are dissolved. We have the lifeboat to cross the ocean, but we ought to be like a leaf. Burdened by unresolved accounts, we are dense and unfeeling. The question is: do we choose to be the leaf or the stone?
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